Welcome to Gaia! ::

Manga sighed, letting herself relax as everyone sprang into action. "Tkal's... not going to be... happy..." He was going to throw a fit when he got back with Thalanir.

Danny blinked and nodded when she was instructed, darting out the door. When she found the stallion she was supposed to find (or at least she hoped he was), she found herself in an awkward situation. "Er... you're Damir, right?" She scratched her head. "Aila needs a few of your tail hairs." That was about as polite as she could get; considering he was probably an Azrien, she didn't want to just sneak up on him and snatch what she needed.

Manga smiled. "Only if some idiot breaks his hairtie again... His swordsmanship usually can fend off severe injuries." She couldn't help dreading the inevitable cleaning of the stab wound in her shoulder. Because of where she was stabbed, there was a good chance Aila--and anyone else in the room--would get a good look at her back when she did.

Danny dipped her head in a bow and thanked the stallion before hurrying off with the tail hairs. She tripped on her way in, but a hand to the floor let her simply flip back onto her feet instead of face-planting. "You're as acrobatic as ever." She grinned. "I try. Got the tail hairs." She offered them to Aila, trying not to let her mind wander.

Danny didn't have a job to distract her from the sparks. She just watched the woman work and eventually let herself get distracted by Manga's pain. The Skh'et couldn't help smiling and shaking her head. Some things never changed. Even as a child, no matter what the injury, Manga never let out so much as a whimper...

Manga just closed her eyes. "It's fine." She couldn't hide it forever, and she couldn't exactly move at the moment. Her gaze wandered over to Danny. "... Right?" The Skh'et was quiet for a moment, then nodded. "Thought you'd be the last." She sighed and closed her eyes. "So did I."

Danny smiled sheepishly as she accepted the offered hand. "... Danny. Er, Danielle Knight." Might as well make her gender clear now.

Manga forced herself into a sitting position. "I guess you could say... I'm a bit similar to Tkal and Thalanir." She tried to tug her shirt off with her good arm, but ended up needing Danny's assistance to do so. The deep stab wound in her shoulder was revealed--along with a brand located just below it on her right shoulder blade. Unlike a normal brand, however, it all but glowed a bright, crimson red.

Danny set the torn and bloody shirt aside, hesitating before adding, "We both are."

"... No. Not slaves," Danny replied softly, her gaze avoiding Aila's as well.

Manga's gaze was straightforward, her tone eerily calm as she finished, "We were sacrifices."

"The kingdom that we were in believed... in the reincarnation of the seven deadly sins: Wrath, Lust, Greed, Gluttony, Pride, Envy, and Sloth. According to their cult, they're reincarnated... into each new generation and need to be sacrificed... to maintain peace, order and prosperity in the land. They said I was Wrath. They said Danny was... Greed, I believe."

Danny nodded. "But the... the queen..." She couldn't finish and guiltily let Manga continue for her.

"The queen was... zealous, to put it in polite terms. She decided... that killing the seven of us wasn't enough. She... 'purged the sinful houses'." She did not relay the details. She could still see the corpses left in the streets, the flames burning the houses, smoke filling her nose... It was hard enough explaining what she had; she wasn't going to force herself and Danny to relive those events in their entirety.

Danny shook her head, as if to clear her thoughts. "I'll get them," she replied cheerfully, all but prancing out the door. Others may have seen it as strange or even rude, but it was how she coped.

Manga didn't even glance over, but she slid her hand over until it rested over Sebastian's. She didn't mind the lack of words, nor the fact that her stabbed shoulder was still clamoring for attention; for once, Manga was truly... at peace.