Lei'lira wasn't noticing a whole lot in her current tipsy state, but Teia was quick to catch Vivian's hint about slowing down. She set her drink aside in favor of watching Lei'lira finish hers. And as she did so, she happened to glance in Vivian's direction. The other woman had a lot more wine left than she did, indicating that she had been nursing it a lot slower than she herself had.
"It tastes better the more you drink." Lei'lira said in bemusement, her tone making it half statement, and half question.
"Maybe you have to get used to the way it tastes?"
When Lei'lira finished her drink, she contemplated her empty glass for a few trills. She was feeling more than a little sleepy. A nap sounded like a good idea, but she felt silly asking for one.
"I don't think I want any more right now, though. I think you have to be careful with that stuff."
The thought that the wine Vivian had given them was mild, and that there was stronger stuff available was an intimidating one. She wasn't sure she wanted to know how the stronger stuff would make her feel when the wine she had drunk was affecting her so strongly. Lei'lira was more than a little relieved when Vivian suggested she get some rest, and helped to the room she would be staying in. Between the wine she had drunk, and everything she had been through, she was dead to the world within a matter of trills.
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"Too often." Teia replied in response to Vivian's question.
Teia paused for a few trills to gather her thoughts.
"It varies. Lei'lira has...triggers. She's terrified of crowds, and of being touched unexpectedly. But she is also terrified of being alone or alone with her kids because she feels she can't defend them if they are attacked. Loud noises, sudden movements, and people she doesn't know frighten her now. So does the slightest sign of anger or violence towards her. Her worst fear by far is of men. Any and all of those things can cause her to have an anxiety attack, or to withdraw...or both, with her starting with an anxiety attack that causes her to pass out, and being unresponsive when she wakes up. Having something to focus on helps a little, and may stave off an episode if she's having a good trial, or if the trigger isn't one of her stronger ones. But if she's stressed, or anxious to begin with, her reaction to a trigger is likely to be much worse. She has nightmares every night, and if they're bad enough, she will wake up disoriented, and uncertain of where she is. That can also trigger her to withdraw."
Teia glanced at Lei'lira's room before turning back to Vivian.
"I don't believe that she is able to live on her own right now. She needs someone she trusts with her to...manage things. To deal with the people she's too afraid to talk to, or to take care of the kids when she's having a bad trial. To be her guardian, or protector essentially. She needs a quiet, stress free place where she can feel safe and begin to recover from her captivity."
Teia hesitated.
"You should also know that she is pregnant. The bandits used an herb called Saikuru to ensure that their efforts to...breed her would be successful. I think that the thought that one of the noble houses would have children with common, bandit blood running through their veins amused them. Lei'lira..."
Teia sighed.
"I think that she is trying to convince herself that they made a mistake, and that there's a chance that they didn't succeed in getting her pregnant. And I don't know how she will handle it when her pregnancy is far enough along that she begins feeling the symptoms of it." she finished pensively.
