it felt like centuries since she had last been home, had seen her siblings in person and not just over the scroll, but she was not happy. what had happened over the past few days --- the pain, the loss, the immobility she was now left with --- had changed her, perhaps beyond repair. she knows that they must have been worried, and her beloved elder brother likely more than the rest (save their mother), but she can hardly bring herself to talk to anyone or accept such warmth. it feels as though what has happened has left her with a bottomless pit, a vacuous black hole, inside her very body where her heart once beat. when Mpampas brings her home, she looks everyone in the eyes, averts her gaze immediately, and turns away. she does not want this right now.
she locks herself in her room, refusing to see or talk to anyone, as her thoughts plague her mind. i’m a murderer. i don’t deserve this. and she doesn’t deserve to still live. the scenes of that horrific night were replaying in her head once again, bringing her back to the bottom of her pit of despair and keeping that void ever-present, when she heard it --- a light rap on her door. who could be coming to bother her now?
ah. it’s ... it’s Phoenix. i should have expected no less.
she moves quickly to retrieve her crutches and is just standing when he enters. the first thing that she notices is the basket he dons on his sleeve, full of materials for his craft, no doubt. she only offers a soft sigh before pulling herself up fully. ❝ ... yes, it has been cold for Mistral, hasn’t it? i ... ❞ and she pauses, as if wanting to deny him the chance but desperately needing him to understand. she cannot deny him anything --- not her beloved older brother. no matter how bad things are, he has always been on her side, there for her when she needs him.
she thinks about it a moment. ❝ isuppose that wouldn’t be so bad. ❞ you’ve nailed it, Pyrrha. truly.