[ The desert. She catches the very ephemeral edges of the reminiscence, like hearing the outline of a whispered word. It makes all the difference, that image: the wasteland. Her entire perception of the situation changes, turning back the clock to the little girl she was a long time ago. The barefoot girl in the wastelands, following her caravan, step after step. She had been so helpless then... Every moment had been death and thirst and hunger, exhaustion, terror.
But she had had her feet under her, and she had walked all the same, because there was no other choice. There is no other choice now and she begins to filter away the reeling. Tucks it to the side where it continues to shriek so piercing, but she realigns all priorities down to what must be done: she must walk, she must leave this place with these men.
The disassociation is like being two people at once. The future and the past, overlaid with similarities, fighting one another where the seams do not match up. It flashes in her other hosts as well, the burned world. Its ashy skies, its evaporated earth, miles and miles of scorched brick, cities burning in the distance...
But she walks, dazed, with a support on each side. Their bodies on either side keep her from swaying, showing too obviously her disorientation, and the hands at shoulders, waist, elbows let her stride on fearlessly, even if she trembles as she walks.
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But she had had her feet under her, and she had walked all the same, because there was no other choice. There is no other choice now and she begins to filter away the reeling. Tucks it to the side where it continues to shriek so piercing, but she realigns all priorities down to what must be done: she must walk, she must leave this place with these men.
The disassociation is like being two people at once. The future and the past, overlaid with similarities, fighting one another where the seams do not match up. It flashes in her other hosts as well, the burned world. Its ashy skies, its evaporated earth, miles and miles of scorched brick, cities burning in the distance...
But she walks, dazed, with a support on each side. Their bodies on either side keep her from swaying, showing too obviously her disorientation, and the hands at shoulders, waist, elbows let her stride on fearlessly, even if she trembles as she walks.
But she walks. ]
( W̢̦̰͍͚̻̳͐́͗̃͂͘͞e̴̮͉̻͐̇̽̓̉̓́͜͜͟'̬͔̭͉̹̀͂̓́͐͑͛͟ḷ̶̤̫̜̗͍͉̯̙̬̀̌͊̉̾̊̌͋ĺ̴͔̭͙̭̜̂͊́̎̑̚͝͡͡ b̶̯͉̠̟̗̥̰̠̰̉̇͋̆̽̓̕͘͡è̶̡̙̘̹̻̺̘̈̏̀́͐̚͞ a̷̢̭͈̤͚̙̔̏̆̆̊͢ḻ̛͚̥̙̱̲̍̀̏͌͛̆̊r̢̢̮͓̱̦̫̊̓̓̀̃͂̾̊͞i͎̘͍͉̙̍̊̈͆̆̎͗͗̇̕͟ġ̢̧̧̛̞̜͚̮͔̩̀̈͒̊͛h̴̨̭̫̼̮̽͒̑̈̆͛͛͞ͅṯ̴̩̹̱̠͓̟͉̂͌͊̂̕͠.̤͔͚̲̬͚̟́̾̉͛͘͢ )