#charting waters

Del wiped at her nose, red streaking the back of her hand. But she ignored it, Aura focused on the long cut that stretched across her face. Facial cuts always bled profusely, and she couldn't open her right eye as a result.

"Del." The bat flicked her ears in acknowledgment. "Miss Wisteria wants to see you."

Well. Wonderful. Leaning back from the mirror with a sigh, Del said, "Tell her I'll be a minute."

She needed it, to mentally prepare for what was about to follow.

When she finally knocked on Sable's door, the blood was washed away, the cuts knit together without a trace of a scar. Only aches lingered, where some fellow'd whacked her arm with a chair, where another had grabbed her ears and twisted. They’d the advantage of numbers, and had used it, but in the end, they’d come out worse for wear.