Reclamation

Riley laughed, zipping out of the arena, and shook her head- 14 years for activation is better than none at all! She clutched the bloodied leather armor from her torso and legs in her arms, dropping them to the ground before seating herself at Roxanne and Marcus' table- keeping a distance between her and the group as she felt like she had probably bothered Roxanne. She'd talk to her later, Riley supposed, for now Roxanne needed her own space. The wisps of steam were still coming off of her body, barely visible unless one actively tried to see them. Sydney passed her a small bowl of soup before heading off, collapsing onto a seat by Roxanne and Marcus before warily glancing at the girl.

Riley let out a breath, clasping the bowl and gulping down the soup. Warmth spread through her and she sighed, shaking herself. The steam seemed to dissipate almost instantly. Her energy returned to it's normal level. "Well shit- no more soup for me." She laughed and set the bowl down. She felt less hungry- Maybe that was it? She thought people just sorta got a sudden epiphany when it activated- like they just knew what it was. Maybe it was just that she wasn't focused enough? Riley stood, stretching, before exiting and seating herself by the moat yet again. She dipped the armor into the moat, blood coming off in small foggy pools. 

"It's weird, huh?" she ended up talking to herself as she washed the armor "That I find blood so pretty. Back then, I'd find myself delirious. Waking up alone in the basement or a random hallway, lying in a pool of my own blood. I guess I always just watched the blood- admired the color, admired the fact that my pain somehow resulted in such beautiful red. Just watched and passed the time, waiting until he'd finally come back and pick me up- throwing me onto a table and carelessly wrapping me up before throwing some rags at me to change into."

She pulled out the armor, shaking the water off "Shit, do you even wash leather like this?"