Neris didn't know why, but she slept very poorly. Some presence kept her from fully relaxing, even while she drifted off. It definitely was waiting for her to fully sleep, talking to her throughout her drifting phase, though. For what purpose? She didn't even understand what it was saying, just that it was saying something. She didn't particularly want to find out either, but her body needed the rest so she relaxed, for better or for worse.<br/><br/>She formally woke up when the door slammed shut. Not Ocieros, though. Carmine. Neris kept still, pretending to stay asleep, as Carmine walked over and kicked her in the stomach. Ocieros isn't home… pretend to sleep… fake… fake… It took every ounce of Neris' will to not tighten her stomach. "Still sleeping, aren't you the carefree one?" Carmine mocked as she came closer and slid her hand around Neris' throat, fingers closing around where her pulse was strongest. Pressure? She started feeling blood pound in her head. Don't look, don't look… it'll only make it worse… Just before Neris reflexively started struggling, Carmine leaned down and whispered into Neris' ear, "If it weren't for Ocieros, you wouldn't be here," then got up and left, finally releasing the pressure.<br/><br/>Neris made a small noise and rolled over and shivered a little, like she was having a bad dream or she was cold. Neris saw right through Carmine. One more season and Carmine wouldn't even have anything to hold over her. Carmine's time here was short. Painfully  short. But in that time… Neris bit her lip. She wasn't broken. Far from it, in fact. If words provoked an argument, silence was her friend. If reactions only fueled what was going on, she froze. However, when Ocieros wasn't around, she was next to powerless. Times like these before she aged were the most dangerous for her around Carmine. When that day comes though... Carmine won't be able to defend herself. At this point, it was almost certain she knew Neris would call her out on it. Both of them were just delaying the inevitable.<br/><br/>The door opened and shut a second time. Ocieros, this time. Safe. He came over to her and moved the blankets so her wounded arm was exposed. She flinched "awake" at the pain. She looked around, a little lost. "Cie...? How long has it been?" She asked, feigning confusion.<br/><br/>"Not too long. Perhaps an hour or two," he responded, examining the arm, trying to treat it as gently as possible.<br/><br/>Damn, should've asked for something to bite on… She turned her head away and sucked in a sharp breath through clenched teeth. "How deep is it?"<br/><br/>"He didn't cut muscle, but... we're going to need to sew this shut."<br/><br/>She shut her eyes and exhaled slowly. "Just do it."