(She dabbed gently at the bite, the damage a bit more severe than she'd expected.)

Gracious, I'd expected Desmond to be joking... I didn't think he would actually bite me...

(She's covered any deep indigo stains with scraps of fabric, should Teddy make her way over; in gloves and with a small pillow under her knees, she dabs gently at a blotch of red foam on the edge of a shrinking brown stain.)

(After dressing, she fusses with her hair rather intently, grumbling.)

Braids have always worked before... was it loose..?

(She buries the twinge in her head as far back as possible. It'll fade, surely.)

(She closes the door softly and makes her way to the bottom of the stairs.

Now that there are no eyes on her at all, her hands shake ferociously as she clumsily tries to get her cigarettes.

She manages to get one, but her lighter fails once, twice, three times before she pauses.)

...

...

...

...

...

...

"Mum"...

(She gave the two a quick nod before leading @puzzlevoid.bsky.social to one of the bedrooms. When the tether ran out, she laid the hat gently on the ground.

She made sure the door was fully closed before turning to Hershel.)

I can block the door, if you'd like?

If I was going to smoke, I wouldn't say I was getting air..!!

(The urge to grab her hair and rip it out ebbs and flows with every passing moment as she walks around the tarmac.

Once she's behind the Bostonius, she stops.

Every destructive behavior she's fought to unlearn surges like a riptide.)

(She enters the bedroom as directed and makes her way to the bedside table.)

Do you want to get into your pyjamas now or a different outfit first?

(As she opens the drawer, she pauses.

His hadn't had dasies, but...)

[ @profhartleylayton.bsky.social ]

What the hell..? Why is she so small??

She...

...

Well, it makes my job easier, I suppose...