Hesta sensed Simoya approaching and looked up—
A disheveled face appeared before Simoya.
Hesta's nosebleed had not fully stopped. She kept tilting her head back; although the bleeding had lessened, blood still seemed to keep flowing. Simoya saw blurred bloody fingerprints streaking Hesta's cheeks. She seemed to have tried to wipe the blood away, only to make the marks stand out even more.
Simoya looked at her, at that face—as though she had just clawed her way out of hell. It was so chaotic, so brutal, and impossible to look away from.
"...Stop tilting your head back. It doesn't work; it won't stop the bleeding." Simoya stepped forward and supported her cheek and jaw. "Sit up straight, lean forward a little—"
"I know," Hesta interrupted. "I just wanted to see if it was still bleeding."
Yet Hesta did not resist. She let Simoya adjust her posture, turning her eyes toward her. "How are things with Victoria? Is everything intact?"
"They're still sorting things out. Officer Silei seems surprised you let so many people build wooden cabins in your backyard—"
"What's so surprising about that?"
"It's wildly against fire safety regulations," Simoya said. "If a fire started... Well, you saw the result."
"...There was nothing to be done about it. She didn't come earlier," Hesta said. "If she'd come two weeks earlier, this wouldn't have happened, would it?"
Simoya was about to say something when she suddenly heard footsteps behind her. Hesta glanced past her, then immediately stood up.
"Tulan..." Hesta said softly. "Is Ligo all right?"
"Sit." Tulan pressed a hand to Hesta's shoulder and pushed her back down onto the fallen tree trunk beside the road. "Let me take a look at you—is it still bleeding?"
"I think so, but not as much as before."
"It's been nearly half