How does she feel? 

Her throat is burning up from the inside out. Every time she takes a breath, it’s a fight between coughing up a lung, and doubling up clutching at her bruised chest. She tastes sickness and acid and no amount of spitting will clear it away. She can’t wipe at her eyes because she already wiped at her mouth. Her paws [i]reek.[/i] There’s...fighting? Somebody’s fighting? Coleman’s fighting, and she needs to get up. She’s soaked to the bone, she needs to dry her things. Ailee’s looking at her, and she needs to say [i]something,[/i] and, and...

And just a moment ago, none of it was. And with each passing second, she loses hold of her peace, and cuts herself on familiar thoughts gripped tight. They needed somebody brave and strong and smart, and all that woke up was Jackdaw.

The word is [i]lost.[/i] That is how she feels. 

Numbly, she rummages through her cloak, and pulls out a short stick of polished wood, not much taller than her paw. She holds it close, and hoarsely whispers

“De...fend…”

At once, it sprung to life, growing several times in size and whipping through the air with a life of its own. It batters and prods at the Amalgamation, striving to keep it away from Coleman.

She already knew it wasn’t going to work. She didn’t need to see it fail. 

But today was not a day for small mercies.

[Rolling to Keep It Busy: 4 + 1 + 1 = [b]6[/b] It is a bad day for Jackdaw.]