Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
FOR A WHILE, all North could hear was nothing.
Everything sounded dull. Muffled. It was as if her brain was trying to drown out every noise that fell on her ears.
She almost didn't realize the massacre had come to an end, that she and her friends had found safety under the medical tent while Ambessa's men scoured the place for any lingering Zaunites.
All North could do was focus on her lap and let her subconscious mind drift off to wherever it pleased while Steb carried out a short checkup on her.
It wasn't until her junior spoke up when her focus returned to her.
"Officer Averescu." Maddie called out softly, causing North to quickly blink a few times before looking up at her.
She then gazed at Steb and the light stick in his hand, his free hand pointing to his eyes to communicate that he wanted to examine North's.
"Sorry." North apologized, Steb shaking his head before gesturing upward.
North then looked to the ceiling while Steb held his light closer to her face and tugged on her bottom eyelid, scanning thoroughly for any debris or foreign matter.
Beside her sat Caitlyn, who rested a hand on her back while she was tended to, having already been cared for herself.
"A memorial." Said Caitlyn furiously. "What kind of animals?"
North didn't know how to respond to what was escaping Caitlyn's lips.
Her mind could barely function enough to spew more than a few words, to move without the guidance of someone else. She felt as though it was fail her at any second, reducing her to nothing.
Not long after things had ended, Vi approached, Maddie and Steb heading off so that she could speak with North and Caitlyn privately.
"I thought for sure you were going to get yourself killed." Vi said to North in an attempt at humor.
North glanced up at her, then down at her legs again, releasing a silent chuckle with the slightest upward curve of her lips.
