[ It's the lurch and scream of the horse beneath her that jolts Ciri roughly back to consciousness. She is exhausted, dehydrated and hungry, aching, dizzy-- but awake.
Whatever scraps of energy left to draw on, she finds; adrenaline spiking, Ciri acts on raw instinct first, before she is aware even of what caused the sudden drop as the horse tips sharply forward and the only thing on her mind is don't get crushed. It's muscle memory. She's rolled off a horse many times, though usually not trussed up the way she is now, ropes tight around her wrists and ankles.
Something else flares up inside her, too, something that happens before she can realize it, without time to notice or dwell on it yet. Ciri lands in the dirt, her cry muffled in the gag around her mouth. But with the wave of fresh pain comes something else: renewed, sudden strength where there'd been none left in her limbs before, a boost in addition to the simple spark of adrenaline. The mare, snorting and struggling to right herself, crumples to both knees, and then lies down.
With her blindfold askew from the fall, slipped halfway off her face, Ciri blinks through the dust and the watering of her eyes as she squirms onto her knees. The world rushes into focus.
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Whatever scraps of energy left to draw on, she finds; adrenaline spiking, Ciri acts on raw instinct first, before she is aware even of what caused the sudden drop as the horse tips sharply forward and the only thing on her mind is don't get crushed. It's muscle memory. She's rolled off a horse many times, though usually not trussed up the way she is now, ropes tight around her wrists and ankles.
Something else flares up inside her, too, something that happens before she can realize it, without time to notice or dwell on it yet. Ciri lands in the dirt, her cry muffled in the gag around her mouth. But with the wave of fresh pain comes something else: renewed, sudden strength where there'd been none left in her limbs before, a boost in addition to the simple spark of adrenaline. The mare, snorting and struggling to right herself, crumples to both knees, and then lies down.
With her blindfold askew from the fall, slipped halfway off her face, Ciri blinks through the dust and the watering of her eyes as she squirms onto her knees. The world rushes into focus.
She sees Geralt. ]