[ this is exactly what happened on the island. so many volatile memories and emotions that her own thoughts were drowned out, unable to tell what was real or imaginary. the pain doesn't belong to her; she isn't hurting but it hurts, and the only way it can hurt less is if she learns to shut it out.
eddie says to look at him so she does, stares him in the eyes and tries to remember istredd's calming presence as she forces herself to take deep, steady breaths the way he had shown her. it takes a long moment and she holds tightly onto eddie's arms to stay on her feet as the rush of oxygen and adrenaline leaves her trembling.
be brave. go slow. wire him in. she's still staring as she speaks, seeing beyond him and trying to explain. ]
There's... there's two. This one was left waiting in the dark, waiting for her sister to come back but she came back wrong. Bones cracking, roots growing. From her back, and her face - where her face used to be. Clumps of red hair falling away. Can't make it stop, it's cutting into her too, can't get it out.
[ river stops with a gasp, still crying but not in the same frenzied panic as before. she's trying to channel all of that energy into eddie instead. he crossed his heart. can't make him into a liar. ]
People used to say they looked like twins. But now... I don't know if she's human anymore.
[ the observation doesn't really come from her, more like the last impressions of a dying woman trying to make sense of their grim fate. but river is hoping this helps eddie understand more about the state of the other body they're looking for, one so twisted and grotesque that it might be hard to identify as a former human, if not for the bits of auburn hair still stubbornly clinging to a misshapen skull. ]
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eddie says to look at him so she does, stares him in the eyes and tries to remember istredd's calming presence as she forces herself to take deep, steady breaths the way he had shown her. it takes a long moment and she holds tightly onto eddie's arms to stay on her feet as the rush of oxygen and adrenaline leaves her trembling.
be brave. go slow. wire him in. she's still staring as she speaks, seeing beyond him and trying to explain. ]
There's... there's two. This one was left waiting in the dark, waiting for her sister to come back but she came back wrong. Bones cracking, roots growing. From her back, and her face - where her face used to be. Clumps of red hair falling away. Can't make it stop, it's cutting into her too, can't get it out.
[ river stops with a gasp, still crying but not in the same frenzied panic as before. she's trying to channel all of that energy into eddie instead. he crossed his heart. can't make him into a liar. ]
People used to say they looked like twins. But now... I don't know if she's human anymore.
[ the observation doesn't really come from her, more like the last impressions of a dying woman trying to make sense of their grim fate. but river is hoping this helps eddie understand more about the state of the other body they're looking for, one so twisted and grotesque that it might be hard to identify as a former human, if not for the bits of auburn hair still stubbornly clinging to a misshapen skull. ]