[h3][color=666fff]Alyona[/color][/h3]

Waste her gift, he said. Alyona wasn't sure if she should laugh or vomit at the boy's words - both would hurt about equally, given the beating she received. '[color=666fff]Let's swap places and see how well you'd use this "gift,"[/color]' she thought, gritting her teeth as he left her. He couldn't even walk away - he had to vanish as if the ground beneath his feet might not be good enough to support him. She let him leave without a word. Nothing she could say would really change what had happened, though she wondered why he chose the words he did as he left. Alyona chalked it up to a language barrier, even though she had a fairly strong grasp of the local tongue. There wasn't really any other explanation for why he'd call her "indecent."

Aly rested against the alley wall for a moment before shakily standing. It was another one of those days. She thought she had actually seen an upturn recently, but she supposed this was what she got for thinking positively. She didn't have a change of clothes, so she'd have to walk home like that. She had experienced worse. In fact, the dreadful ferry ride at the capital as a child had this beat by far - More water, by far.

She slowly paced to the edge of the alley, finding her bag. Walking was difficult, and her body ached with the trauma as well as the cold. She probably couldn't make it home like this. It was a thought that was an inconvenience, rather than an existential threat. Alyona knew very well that she could heal using her lances - not being able to make it home as is was a simple matter of finding something... or someone to drain. She had some ideas on that front.

"[b][color=666fff]Despite everything, I guess I'll be fine.[/color][/b]" Alyona muttered to herself. It wasn't a statement of joy or pain, merely an observation of her state.