"That's it," Suke said, shaking her feathered hair back and forth and plucking out broken and ripped feathers.
"That's not it," Ulrika replied. She winced as Gisil and Sypha fretted over a wound still oozing crimson laced with ink on her side. It had been bleeding since the battle, despite Sypha's magicks and herbs.
"Have you gone mad?" Suke said, opening her black eyes wide. She spat out a bit a blood, then gestured around to all the wounded that surrounded them in this haven of a forest glade. Trees were shifting occasionally, walking on their roots in patrols. Bear stood stoic over Ulrika's injured form, watching every movement of the two trying to heal and stabilize her.
"Everyone is injured," Suke continued, "everyone is hurt. No one wants to fight anymore."
"If it's one thing I know--" Ulrika said. She interrupted her heated tone to let out sharp cry of pain. Sypha had just poured another herbal remedy into the wound. The inky color seemed to let out smoke, and there was a distinct hissing sound. "I-I know that good always wins."
Gisil paused, turning his head to gaze into Ulrika's pain filled face and eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but Suke beat him to it, laughing coldly.
"This is not some child's story! The good guys don't always win. Most of the time, it's the bad guys. This time, it's the bad guys. The bad guys win, Ulrika. There's nothing you can do about it. This is reality, and this is the end."
Ulrika grinned. It looked more like she was baring her blood-reddened teeth than an actual grin. The inky-blackness in her blood returned, and Sypha let out a wail of frustration.
"If the bad guys are winning, if they have won," Ulrika said. She inhaled deeply, and let her head rest back down against Gisil's thigh as he supported her on her side. "Then it's not the end yet."
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