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Off the ship and into the light, the first person Shan literally stumbled into was Kaz - looking as though he had been about to tear the earth stone from stone just to find her.
He went to put a hand on her arm to steady her but faltered, waters in his mind rising, shame consuming his thoughts.
"For a brief moment I thought you were Volcra food." His rough voice noted. He did his best to veil his emotions, stone cold on the exterior.
She shifted her weight onto her good leg, biting back a grimace.
"Almost was," she said gently back, voice rougher than she'd have liked.
Long strands if loose hair fell free around her rosy cheeked face, fallen out from it's neat updo.
In the light of the sun beginning to set over the horizon it created a silvery halo around her head. Exhausted, run rugged and in pain but presenting to him of all people the softed of smiles - one he could work all his life for and still not deserve - he found her a divine portrait fit for a Chapel. Too holy to be standing in front of him, too angelic to be a Crow.
As they made their way over to the others, far into the feils away from the giant expanse of darkness that only seemed to foretell death, Kaz and Shan were the last to join the circle sat half around a crude little campfire.
Alina and Mal spoke with friendly smiles to Inej, while Jesper sat busy polishing his guns and Zoya stared off into the flames appearing off-put by something.
As Shan neared she could practically see the rain clouds above her head.
The two sat together on a seperate set of rocks, nearest Jesper and opposite the others.
A few relieved smiles and once-over glances were sent her way as she stiffly sat down, clutching her leg.
While gentle conversation flitted about, she turned herself away from them so they would not have to see the bloody slashes across the skin above her knee while she attempted to tear fabric from her underskirt to use as makeshift bandages.
One pair of eyes lingered on her, though she expected it with how he too appeared secluded from the group, whether intentional or not.
While wrapping tight strips of fabric around her wound, she spoke quiet enough so only he could hear.
"Thank you," she told Kaz sincerely. She paused to fight back a whimper, swallowing thickly. "...for not letting me fall."
"Wasn't worth the effort in the end," he remarked back, without turning to face her. "Was it?"
"Still," she murmured. "It means more than you know."
"Well if I ever meet the gallows, you can say something nice over the corpse."
Despite it, she twitched a tired smile, tying the bandages tighter with grit teeth and a barely concealed grimace.
"I'd like to think if you were to meet that end, I'd be right there next to you, greeting death with an open heart and hand."
