She comes to her with large burns and charred hair. She comes to her with bloody wounds and scared eyes. She had hoped not to see this image ever again - she had hoped to forget, but the goddess had other plans.
It seemed so long ago that this had been her fate, as Gryffen’s captor she had been tortured, maimed, beaten, and then released (or better yet, escaped). The mental scars she bared were worse than her physical ones, and as Kuma approaches herself (what she THINKS is herself), she feels tears welling in her eyes.
<I>”You deserved this, you know.”</I> The mirror murmurs. <I>”Had you not left Imperial that day, we wouldn’t be in this predicament.”</I> Kuma grows angry, ears pinning.
<b>”You and I both know that’s not true. I wandered too far.”</b> She replies, blood growing hot beneath her skin. That’s all it had been, an accident. She hadn’t wanted what happened to her.
<I>”Because you were a stupid girl then, and a stupid one now. And you don’t even have the courage to tell Embark where she came from. You. Are. PATHETIC.”</I> The voice hisses. Kuma can no longer contain her rage.
She lunges, tackling the mirror to the ground. She sobs, plunging down upon her, over and over. She says nothing, simply trying to destroy the voice, to leave it behind.
As suddenly as it begins, it is over. And the image is gone. Kuma looks up to the goddess through watery eyes, chest heaving.
<b>”Why?”</b>
The Answer: The Marwari horse.
It seemed so long ago that this had been her fate, as Gryffen’s captor she had been tortured, maimed, beaten, and then released (or better yet, escaped). The mental scars she bared were worse than her physical ones, and as Kuma approaches herself (what she THINKS is herself), she feels tears welling in her eyes.
<I>”You deserved this, you know.”</I> The mirror murmurs. <I>”Had you not left Imperial that day, we wouldn’t be in this predicament.”</I> Kuma grows angry, ears pinning.
<b>”You and I both know that’s not true. I wandered too far.”</b> She replies, blood growing hot beneath her skin. That’s all it had been, an accident. She hadn’t wanted what happened to her.
<I>”Because you were a stupid girl then, and a stupid one now. And you don’t even have the courage to tell Embark where she came from. You. Are. PATHETIC.”</I> The voice hisses. Kuma can no longer contain her rage.
She lunges, tackling the mirror to the ground. She sobs, plunging down upon her, over and over. She says nothing, simply trying to destroy the voice, to leave it behind.
As suddenly as it begins, it is over. And the image is gone. Kuma looks up to the goddess through watery eyes, chest heaving.
<b>”Why?”</b>
The Answer: The Marwari horse.