the fortifications won't hold. weak lumber, stitched together by knotted chord barely thick enough to hold the bundle taut. under her meager weight it shifts and l'rhea exchanges a knowing look with a departing wren ; animals were smart. they knew when their best chance was to flee. it's what differed them from the mass crawled about inside the grove, one body run over another and another after that. they clamber, reaching after swords too dinged up to amount a proper offense. swung by children, no less.. zevlor sees the writing on the wall, as does she, but a bit tongue is managed for what good it brings them.
@riphalos " don't be foolish. "
where earth once trembled, vines climbing tall to reinforce a hopeless defense.. instead it grows still. a delicate burble of soil, pebbles rolling through sparse grass to graze the sides of bare soles that only move to best pin rolan under the weight of an ever-unimpressed stare. the appraisal that comes back lackluster. finds him lacking.
" and you would recognize it well, would you ? " no vow binds her here. let the goblins pillage and burn. in time, seeds would resow. what nature loses to the flame will sprout anew come next spring. whether she's there to see it or not. whether he's there, either. " we don't all have the luxury of sitting on our hands. " she did. poached it of her own volition for the purpose of seeking a healer who hadn't been worth the trip. " though i suppose if you can't help, it is best to stay out of the way. " further out of the way would have been ideal, in fact.
slow steps. graceful. purposeful. a stride that marks her approach as both threat and promise. " you realize, " index finger drawing tight circles around the outline of his face, " when these walls fall — and we both know they will — you being inside of them means you're no better off than any of the rest of these fools. " herself not-so-subtly excluded from the equation, l'rhea stalls at a careful distance, her tail flicking with poorly restrained agitation. " ...that goes double for your siblings if you're all that stands between them and the knife. "