[b]Miriam
Chapter 24: Forceful catharsis[/b]

"Aaah...Crap." She groaned in pain as she limply fell down with her back against the fallen birch tree. She squirmed meekly and put her right shoulder against the frost-covered log so that her wounded left would not suffer the pressure. "Damned... Crap..." Miriam muttered as she begrudgingly inspected her arm, Leiah stood just before her with a concerned expression inside of her beady, dark eyes. The arm had been jerked out of socket and throbbed continuously with surges of aching pain, it could still be willed to move but the pain nailed any attempts futile as Miriam could only gasp and fight for breath if she tried. It would have to be put back into place again before it could start to heal and the thought of having to do this alone made Miriam awfully weary, she thumped her head back against the log and gazed skyward, she couldn't see much; the right side of her face was sticky with dry blood and her matted hair clung against her face and over her eye. Either way there was not much to see in the dark and white woods. She was surrounded by birch-trees, black, and white and tall they stood in a circle around the fallen one where she was now resting, silent and empty, the woods seemed to be at peace and without any significant presence. Miriam hadn't been followed, she knew this because her escape had been slow, due to her state and if anyone did follow her they would undoubtedly had caught up at least an hour ago. For the moment, she was safe and she could finally face the thought that had been stored inside the recess of her mind until this time. With a sigh she rose her functional right arm and squinted her eyes as she peered at her hand, the memory came back to her. She had expected death and even, for a moment, accepted it as the halberd had come swinging down. But just as the blow would have come, a single instinctual thought had come before her: "Stop" It had said, the following sensation had been odd to say the least. As if every ounce of blood lost sizzled and quivered with over her face, the air around them had grown still and suffocating quiet before finally laying down the pressuring weight of... something, Miriam could not guess what, but during that single second, all of these things had happened and caused the large man to completely halt in his movement and it had saved Miriam's life. They had both been equally surprised and confused about the outcome, but now, with clarity of mind; Miriam could guess.
	"Magic?" She said thoughtfully, as she turned her right hand about in inspection, it looked just the same as it always did, but to Miriam it seemed to hold so much more potential, and so much more mystery. Leiah sat down in the snow and panted a breath with her tongue lolling out. Miriam looked to her friend. "Those soldiers might have been right all along, girl." Said Miriam. "I've been a witch all along..." Leiah barked happily when being spoken to, as if the response would mean something. Miriam smiled and ruffled the dog's head lovingly with her hand. "Yeah. Ridiculous, I know." She then left the thoughts to her own mind while resting, she had always been pragmatic and the origin of her magical ability or its meaning was hardly in focus. Instead she thought about what to do next, and most importantly what to do with her wounded arm. She had tended to broken bones before but it had always been in the comfort of civilization, and for fear of the Undead hunters, she could not return the Marspointe just yet. After some time of thinking and after Leiah had ambled off in search for food Miriam decided that it was finally time. With gritted determination she turned and faced the log she had been resting against, the snow had turned her legs cold despite the warm layered clothing she wore and moving them was a hassle in the crispy snow. With her right hand she dug out the snow from beneath the fallen log, she broke off a twig and used it to grope a hole large enough for her arm to fit in between the log and the snowy ground, when finished she tested to push her right arm through and found that it fit, barely. It would have to do. She bit onto her lip and noticed that she shuddered frightfully in anticipation as she shimmied her broken arm into the small hole that she had dug out, she put most of her arm through and set her shoulder against the log with strained issue, once it was firmly locked between the ground and the firm log above she held onto a branch with her right hand to steady herself before firmly yanking back and upward and pushing away from the log while her broken arm was still caught beneath it. There was a tremendous surge of pain which felt as if someone had suddenly pierced her arm with knives, pushing them through her bones. She cried out in a ghastly breath and shut her tearing eyes firmly, grasping her shoulder with her good arm while pushing back against the log, forcing the bone back into its socket, this sent a second wave of pain through her, as bones and flesh moved unnaturally and ground across each other. Miriam fell headfirst against the log as she with a final jerk had collected her arm and she began to shed tears of pain, her body shuddering from shock and aches. As she lay there in recovery a light and careful snowfall began to gently fall through the sparse canopy, in their silent way; the snow began to sheet the wounded huntress, Snow flake, by Snow flake...