[color=lightgray][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/pTMPkMp.png[/img]
[h2][color=#B38B6D]Dahlia Fletcher[/color][/h2][/center]

[color=#B38B6D]Time: [/color]Nightfall
[color=#B38B6D]Location: [/color] Sada Kurau
[color=#B38B6D]Interaction: [/color] [@Apex Sunburn]
[hr]
Pressed into the shadows near the deck’s edge, Dahlia watched the scene unfold, her brown eyes flicking between the Captain, Yasawen, and the ever-animated Inshahri. Her fingers curled tightly into her cloak as dread crept up her spine. [i][i]Magic.[/i][/i] The word reverberated in her mind like the toll of a warning bell. They were looking for something—or someone—and the sinking suspicion that it might be her sent her thoughts into a tailspin.

[color=#B38B6D][i]No, no, no. They can’t know. They won’t know,[/i][/color] she thought, her breath hitching. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears, drowning out the captain’s sharp tone. She had been careful, hadn’t she? Whatever trace of magic she carried should have been too faint to notice—or so she had hoped.

As Sjan-dehk questioned Inshahri, Dahlia shifted nervously, trying to stay hidden. But her elbow clipped a coiled rope, sending it tumbling with a muted thud that felt deafening in the tense silence. Panic gripped her chest like a vice. Stupid! So stupid!

She froze, every muscle taut as she watched for any sign that the sound had drawn their attention. If they found her now, if they connected the strange magic to her, she didn’t know if she’d be able to talk her way out of it.

Her mind raced as she pressed herself further into the shadows. Think, Dahlia. Think. But for once, no clever plan came to mind. All she could do was pray they’d dismiss the noise and keep searching elsewhere.[/color]