[Ah. That's who got her, Steve or Atem - Steve had shown up half-dead when it was all over, so it had to have been Atem. Easily underestimated. It had taken her and Celeste to bring him down. Perks to being undead. Really, she's lucky harpies are more fragile--

The thought makes her sick, and she turns from it like jerking away from a hot stove. That wolf ruthlessness had kept her alive, like it had for so many years, but god, she's not used to this kind of cost. She doesn't want to get used to it. As much as it would be easier to just turn off her feelings, she knows she can't. It's so, so hard - it feels impossible, with Riley's blood and tears soaking into her fur.]

It's okay.
I know it wasn't you. You didn't want to. It's okay.

[Her voice is low and soft, thrumming in her chest. She still has the scars on the side of her muzzle and down her back, but those are so much more easily forgotten than the one across Riley's throat. Even as she murmurs reassurances, her thoughts tick along steadily, mulling over exactly what Riley had said. When she speaks again, her voice is slow and stilted with the effort of translating vague feelings into words. It's not something she's had much practice with and it shows.]

I think - that's why I - got out of control. The - the tricking.
It's not your fault. I'm not upset. But when it happened, it was like - it felt like - when I died.