The pain was overwhelming. Sin had no idea what was happening anymore, but it hurt too much for her own comfort. She could no longer articulate anything that she wanted to say, but that did not matter--all she would do anyway is cry softly and moan over and over again. It would do nothing to dull her pain, but at least it would have given her a slight sense of relief.
Her entire body was trembling as she felt herself being lifted off of the ground. Was Hail... carrying her? Despite the pain coursing through her body, she started wondering why this expri cared so much about her well-being. Was he genuinely concerned? Probably not--he seemed too aloof for that sort of thing, especially compared to his attention with Palmira. Could he be in love? Again, probably not--what was the possibility that he would have cared that much about her in the short span of time he had known her? Besides, who would ever care about a freak like her that much anyway? She would not have been able to survive without his assistance, but she never deserved it in the first place--
...was he attempting to recruit her for his plans? Hail had mentioned something about doing a few "favors" for him at some point in the future... Would he require her to kill someone for him? Multiple people? Swear an oath of undying loyalty? Rub his feet every night before bed? Perhaps this work would be demeaning or... bloody--she flicked her tongue out of her mouth in her pain and the stench of blood was overpowering as it was before--but whatever she had to do for the lion would have to be better than sitting in a cell all day, waiting for a plate of meat and dreading what they might need her to do for them...
She could hear them talking over the pounding in her head. There was no real way to discern what they were talking about in particular—Sin knew that it was because of her that they were talking, but she did not need nor want to be that extra weight if she did not have to be. She wanted to speak up and tell them to just leave her alone, that she wasn’t worth the time or effort, that no one should be acting this protective of the freak that she was becoming--
Another burning sensation of pain in her mouth as the fangs pushed through ever so slightly through the gums. Sin could not help but cry out as something began to burn in her sinuses, a sensation that she had never felt before this moment. Her face felt as if it were on fire, crackling and burning and taking on a dry, cracked texture. Her eyes darted around the area, glancing from tree to tree and watching the shadows grow longer with every second. Her gaze was growing lower and lower—
A crack in her back, followed by another and another. Suddenly she felt limp, bending over Hail’s arm much farther than she thought possible. Sin was now looking straight at the ground, taken aback by the sudden change of scenery. She gasped and watched as a bit of blood dripped from her tongue, falling to the ground and covering a small flower with red splatters of color.
At first, she could not hear it over the pounding in her head and the soft whimpering escaping her mouth, but she saw it with her own eyes: the flower was wilting, curling its petals and—were those holes forming in the flower!? Was her blood… burning through!? Another quiet moan as she felt a tear welling up in her eye; so many emotions flooding her system at this point, but by far the most predominant were fear and confusion.
What’s… Who… Why me…?