Eight Intertwined

100 - Ahead

Over the course of the few hours after the fight, Ali slept as much as he possibly could. Tressa was more than happy to stay with him, bouncing her leg to help pass the time. She couldn't tell if she was more desperate for him to wake up or if she needed the time to think on her own. It was impossible to tell much of anything these days. All Tressa could say for sure was that she had a lot on her mind, and it all stemmed back to Morlock. 

Tressa wanted to look after Ophilia. She was halfway tempted to get up and find the cleric every other minute just to make sure that she was alright. At the same time though, Tressa knew she wouldn't be able to just leave Ali alone as long as he was in a condition like this. Tressa had given it her all when it came to helping him, gladly using the innate healing magic skill she had been granted by Aelfric. What he needed now was a lot of rest and a lot of patience, though Tressa had neither in generous supply. The best thing she could do was stay there with him until he was feeling well enough to get back on his feet, but Tressa had no idea how to handle the agonizingly long wait, so she just stared at the ground blankly. 

Tressa still couldn't believe they had actually won the day. She had been hoping, albeit quietly, that perhaps they would be able to find a way to convince Morlock to change his ways without the need for murder, but at the same time, she had always known this was how it was going to end. Tressa knew they had acted in the best and only way they could for the sake of saving Ali and exacting justice for everyone else Morlock had hurt in the path of his greed, but at the same time, her stomach twisted and churned each time she thought about it for too long. This hadn't been the life she wanted, but it was the path she had been granted all the same. 

Tressa tapped her foot a little bit faster, the bouncing thunderous in the silence of the room. At least Ali was starting to look a little bit better than he had earlier in the day. It was a small mercy, but Tressa knew that she had to take what she could get. Ali was still obviously exhausted, but at least the color was starting to return to his face. That was beyond welcome, and Tressa would take it. He deserved better than all of this. He shouldn't have been dragged into this at all, but as long as he was involved with it, she had to try and help him through the fallout. 

Ali groaned lightly, and Tressa looked over to him like she was a monster pinned on the other end of a hunter's arrow. Ali rubbed at the side of his head with his hand, blinking a few times as he came to grips with the reality around him. When his eyes fell on Tressa, he shot her a weak smile. Even now, he was still trying to put on a show of some kind. "Hey, Green Pea," he greeted. 

Tressa did her best to not roll her eyes at the ridiculous nickname. Instead, she leaned forward a little bit, bracing her hands against the edge of the chair cushion beneath her. "How are you feeling?" she asked. She prepared herself to summon a bit more healing magic if that was what he needed, but she couldn't bring herself to pull away from the grounding surface of the cushion between her fingertips. 

Ali thought about it as he slowly but surely sat up. He looked around the room, and Tressa could already see the difference in the way he was carrying himself. He seemed much more composed now than he had been before. His eyes were a bit sharper than they had been when he had just been attacked by Omar, and Tressa could take that as a sign that he was crawling back to reality. Luckily for her, Ali seemed to agree. "Better than before," he said. 

"I'm glad to hear it," Tressa smiled as relief hit her like a tidal wave. She looked down at the ground once again, wishing she had something else to say. What could she even say? Gods above, it would only come off as awkward and stilted if she tried to talk. How was she supposed to say that she was glad she had saved his life even if it had come at the price of killing two men who had ruined countless lives? How could she explain to him that Morlock had already smeared blood all over the present and past to justify his death? How could she justify Morlock and Omar's deaths at all? Was she sick and twisted for thinking she would be able to?