Well, this is her life now.

She doesn't try getting up. What's the point, really? This is it. Rock bottom. Kinslayer, despised of her mother, and now two posturing muscleheads are enough to defeat her.

Oh, yes! Alexa, the Pallas! Beautiful, strong, graceful! Bow to her! Bow to the queen of garbage!

Why bother trying to move? Let her sit here, be still amongst the garbage heap. Redana can find Gaia without her. She's got an army now, and she never needed her in the first place. The others will manage with her. She'll just rest here with the rest of the garbage and feel quite sorry for herself, thanks much.

Redana would probably even let her go. Drop her off when next they make port, promise never to suck her back in. She'd...

She'd never see them again. But they didn't need her, anyway. Old relic of the past, too blind to see when its usefulness has gone. She'll just hurt them by staying, right? Better this way.

And she'd probably be able to do it, too, if it weren't for the nose digging into her back. 

G'wan. Leave her alone, dog. You don't need her. The Alcedi will toss a ball for you, probably. 

Nudge nudge. Whine.

Come on. Have you no pity for your elders? She [i]is[/i] your elder, right? Maybe? 

Bark.

Hrrmmmm. Fine. Fine. She's moving. We'll at least get you fixed up. And then she's coming back to the trash heap, you mark her words.

***

Alright. Fine, Not!Rusty. You were right. Baths were a good idea.

She sits in the steam of bathhouse, water up to her nose, and gently blows bubbles. At least the dirt of the garbage heap is gone. Not!Rusty even seemed to like having the soil of ages gently wiped off its surface. Now, if only the thoughts in her head were as easy to chase away.

A stranger. After dedicating her life to her service, one misdeed turns her to a stranger.

And what is she, if not a scion of Athena? What [i]can[/i] she be, when her purpose is gone? No, worse than gone, shunning her? Who else could she turn to? Who else would listen? She can't just... exist, can she?

It'd be one hell of a pivot.