A low groan vibrated in the back of Ren's throat.
She wasn't necessarily in any physical pain, but her head felt really weird. Her brain was doing dizzying cartwheels inside her skull, making her entire body feel floaty and spinny.
Her eyes were still glued shut, but her other senses were slowly, painfully booting back online. Her ears twitched as she picked up the loud, echoing symphony of night insects chirping, mixed with all sorts of weird croaks and clicks. Beneath the cacophony of the bugs, she could clearly hear the gentle, lazy lapping of water against stone. From somewhere deep in the darkness, a lone owl let out a haunting, echoing hoot.
But it was the smell that truly assaulted her. The scent invading her nostrils was horrible. It smelled exactly like an old, sweaty leather boot that had gotten thoroughly soaked in a muddy puddle and was never allowed to properly dry out.
Slowly, Ren fluttered her heavy eyelids open.
