It was hard to breathe. A fat lump had settled in Maia's throat, pressing on her gills robbing the royal naga both of adequate air and the ability to speak. Not that she even knew what to say, or even to whom. Since the news of the attack on the ship, Zero's fate and their descent further down the massive tree began there had been a thick mist between Maia and the world around her. Colour was muted, sounds and sensations dulled. A brief snack tasted like ash in her mouth. Throughout the descent, she had stayed quiet and cut off, just watching her body struggle, often stumbling or slipping without any conscious thought entering her mind.<br/><br/>Even the beauty that lurked so close to the planet surface with it's myriad of lights and colours just felt strange, alien and dull. A sting of pain lodged itself in the ball of needles that was Maia's bleeding heart. She was a priestess of the Terhoma of beauty and now her eyes were blind to the wonder around her. Maia swallowed as she heard Alicia call out awestruck. The lump in her throat felt even bigger.<br/><br/>At last, they appeared to reach the bottom and the planet's surface, yet it didn't bring Maia any relief. The royal naga was as dulled to the prospect of finally getting some rest as to the blood on the platforms. Slipperyness didn't affect someone with a tail as large as her anyway. You'd have to coat the whole floor in superlube before she would slip and loose her footing. Mhmmm... Maybe that'd actually be a fun thing to try?<br/><br/>Why was everyone worrying about all the blood anyway? Most species had blood and usually it wasn't painted all over the floor but it wasn't going to try and murder them, unlike the rest of this nightmare planet.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>