Don't Take the Girl (Yeva)

[Norani]

Searing 36, 122 immediately following this

Norani stumbled out through the beaded doorway of Chieftain Vine's house, her chest tightening, her eyes burning from the tears. She didn't understand, couldn't understand. She could hear Chieftain Vine and Aunt Hijuka shouting her name as she stumbled away from them, unable to truly see where she was going through the her crying. When did it get so dark?

A hand reached for her, gently grabbing her shoulder and she swung her hand back viciously, "DON'T TOUCH ME!"

She turned to face them both now, feeling the rain drops on her skin. The darkness made sense. Her face was twisted into anger, an emotion that was thoroughly new to the young woman. She pointed at Hijuka, "YOU LIED TO ME!"

Her aunt looked on her sadly, "Norani, please. Come inside. I will explain."

Norani snarled at her, silencing the woman, tears of her own flowing now. "Does everyone know?! The whole village?!"

Vine put a hand on Hijuka's shoulder, shaking her head sadly, but saying nothing. Hijuka continued, "No. Juno is from here, the family-around-her knows, as does the family-around-you, as does Chieftain Boraba." Norani was stunned that they all knew. She gasped, stumbling backwards. Lying? Keeping secrets? These were things one never did in Ecith. It was a betrayal of her, of the entire culture. She turned again as the winds blew violently against her. Hijuka shouted, "Norani come inside! There's something wrong with this storm!"

Norani glared through her tears over her shoulder, "You're not family-around-me! Family does not lie!"

And with that, Norani took off running toward the sheltered nests where Ruvaf would be, along with the raptors of the village. She Called to the water and the winds, and her breath was stolen from her at what she heard. They were screaming! The winds were in pain, screaming, being forced to go against their nature. The rain drops were lost, confused and scared, crying as Norani cried. Something was very wrong about this storm and the winds were going strong. She tried to ask them to flow around her but they could not hear her over their own screaming.

She was now running as hard as she could, her breath straining against the tightness in her chest. She had to get to Ruvaf. It was not safe here. As she ran through the grasses of the hidden village, she saw the clouds that had formed over the waters of Nora, and they were spinning now. She'd heard that storms up in the Crystal Sea could spin violently like that, but never here inland. As she ran, Norani slipped in the newly forming mud, hitting the ground hard, water splashing up and stinging her eyes.

Angrily, she slapped the ground, getting her feet beneath as she continued down the hidden pathway. She'd heard her voice. Juno's voice. She said what only a dear friend could know. Only something Norani would share with her closest friend. Her friend was taken by the Unknown, and she was alive. Norani knew this. She absolutely knew.

Around some heavily whipping grasses, she stumbled into the nesting area. The raptors were all panicking and Norani felt the water on her ankles. Nora was starting to flood, faster and worse than expected. Handlers were busy trying to calm the raptors and move them deeper into the grasses away from the lake. Panic was in the heard, and Norani squawked loudly over them all. A squawk sounded back. She turned toward the sound, running through, dodging around the raptors carefully, coming to her knees before Ruvaf. He was shivering, and she pulled his beak into her chest, cooing him. Her tears stopped flowing as she spoke to calm him down. She rubbed at his neck, along his beak, holding him close.

Then she felt water tickling at her toes. She looked back, her eyes wide, the flooding growing faster now. The winds were roaring now and the many meters tall grasses were nearly bent over fully parallel to the ground. Norani looked to the sky once more, her eyes growing wide in fear. The storm was forming a swirling wall, cutting Ouno'uve from the lake, from Ounokt Nora. She could see plants, debris, and so much water spinning in this giant storm that had claimed their lake. She saw a large branch of a tree, that could only have come from her village's tree soar by. Her mind snapped back to her home.

Yeva was there.

She whispered to Ruvaf, "I need you to be strong for me, and I will be strong for you. We have to go find Yeva."

Ruvaf was still shaking a bit, but he acquiesced. He knelt forward, and she leapt upon his back with a practiced ease. Her eyes studied the winds. She was no longer trying to listen to their pained screams. If she was going to make it back to her village, she'd have to go with the winds, not against them. Even the slightest turn against them could tear Ruvaf's wings and they would both be lost. She leaned in close against his neck, before signaling for him to take off. He gave a hard flap and they lifted off. She signaled to tuck his wings and he did.

It was an incredibly stupid idea, but she had already lost one friend today. She couldn't lose Yeva too.

[Yeva]

Yeva looked upon the injured, prepared to step in.

A great gash across the chest, above the heart, somehow slipped past dragon scales, peeling back green flesh to expose red muscle beneath. They needed to numb the wound and although he fought to remain composed, pain vibrated into the air as he gripped the hut's central beam, biting down on folded leather. His eyes were wide, and then pinched closed. Splinters of wood fell to the floor and his ragged breathing filled the room. Muscles across his back spasmed, like a twitching horse, and the healers spoke confidently to him while Yeva mixed the salve and prepared the bone needles.

"Almost done," she grabbed the tray of bandages while the others coaxed him to move towards the cot where they could work easier.

Outside the wind was picking up, howling like a lost soul. The other hunter, who had come with his friends with more superficial wounds watched the flap of the tent seriously, "How much longer?"

Yeva glanced towards the exit, "We just need close the wound now."

He frowned, baring his teeth, and prowled by the door like a caged tiger.

The mystic didn't need signs or omens to read his expression, nor fill the tension in the room which was building. The others sensed it too, pretending not to hear the tumultuous rain until the patient was tended to. The hiss of rain began to patter against the walls and she moved in front of the injured, Khagra, and spoke to him in a calm voice, steady and simple in explanation as his yellow eyes watched her. She watched for sense of permission, and he gave a curt nod of his head, jaw clenching in preparation. His tusks sank deeper into the leather.

"Do you feel that?" she inquired, poking lightly around the wound to test how much the numbing agent had taken affect. He looked down at her hand.

"He'll be fine," his friend called, "Please hurry."

Beyond where he stood, Yeva caught a glimpse of the debris tearing through the air and she felt a creeping wash of nerves. She hadn't experienced all the seasons of Ecith, but she knew enough to recognize danger. She also needed to head back to Norani's hut; she could be back by now. Wasting now more time, the redheaded elf curled the needle into the loose skin, following the direction of the other more experienced healers, ignoring as the cries of wind grew louder.

As the skin came together, the storm worsened.

Blood was cleaned and Yeva prepared to leave. Someone grabbed her arm, urging her to stay.

She swallowed, "It's not far," she argued. She could run and make it, if her path stayed true, "Norani will be worried if I'm not back."

"Yeva-"

"I'm sorry," the redhead slipped free, thinking next of her friend's family, and the babies which might be scared. Of Ruvaf, who she doubted had ever seen weather of this scale, "I have to go."

Yeva took a deep breath and ran outside before she could be grabbed again. Rain stung as it bit her skin and the wind tore at her fiery hair, nearly sweeping her up in its fury. She stumbled and then lowered her weight. Without hesitation, she began to sprint, racing through the chaos.

[Norani]

The racing winds yanked the Orkhan and Ci'uvan forward with a jerk, a pained squawk emitting from the flier. This sent a pang of guilt through Norani, but she stuffed it down inside for now. She had to focus. Her scales came forth, covering her brow and arms, far denser than normal. She couldn't hear anything beyond the deafening screams of the winds racing past her, pushing them along, an arrow through the storm.

She reached out with her magic, keeping her eyes focused on the outer edges of the winds ahead. She didn't want to get too deep into the storm, making it difficult to get back out. It was dark off to her left, the grasslands obscured by the clouds. As Norani's aether touched the winds once more, she mentally began to shape those that were pushing them. She had them provide the smallest bit of cushion before they swirled around them, a tiny bit of gap, so as to help prevent debris from striking Ruvaf.

And she held it, for as long as she could.

The pair sailed along the outer edge of the storm, as the great tree now came into view. She could see lights moving in and around the tree, people rushing to shelter. The entire tree was swaying heavily but it was holding. Norani guided Ruvaf with her knees, banking him to the side, so as to leave the wind with as little resistance as possible. He followed her direction and they zipped right out of the wind currents, streaking toward the tree, a javelin launched from it.

Too fast.

She couldn't make the bank to reach her hut, to find Yeva. She had to do a less sharp curve around the trunk just to slow down. As she came around the back of the tree, she saw her Chieftain there, upon the Matriarch, swooping and diving, catching villagers who were blown from the branches. An upwelling of anger and hurt swelled into Norani's chest, knowing that her Chieftain was a liar like the rest of her family.

Still, she had a duty to do.

Slowing down a bit, she managed to guide Ruvaf back around to the front of the tree. She swooped in closer, looking for that telltale red mass of curls. But in the darkness, even that would be hard to pick out. She did see that the Flickvines were flapping heavily in the winds around the tree, coiling and uncoiling nonstop. It would be a struggle for anyone to go up or down the tree now.

She banked down closer to the ground, seeing the waters of Nora flooding up to the base of the tree. Panic was creeping into her chest, where was safest? The flooding ground? The wind lashed tree? Or deeper into the grasslands without shelter from weather or creature? The pair curved up and over one of the great roots, and she saw her, lit up by the torch of another villager running near her. Norani could see the waters coming in rapidly. And she made a decision.

She leaned down into Ruvaf's ears, squawking at him. A command that was taught early to all the Ci'uvan. Find mother. She brought him in close to the trunk, seeing one of the flickvines there flailing about. She snapped out at it with her aether, seizing the winds that were assaulting it, and had it blown toward her. She reached out with both hands, grabbing the thick vine heavily, yanking her legs up quickly.

Ruvaf continued forward around the tree, making his way to the Matriarch who would guide him to help the others as needed. Norani meanwhile found herself hurtling towards the great tree, a newly formed pendulum. She held tight, crossing her ankles around the vine, closing her eyes as she slammed into the trunk with her left arm taking the brunt of it. Pain blossomed brightly across her entire torso and she hissed loudly. She bit through it, sliding down the vine, her feet finding purchase on one of the taller roots, ahead of Yeva and the man, Kojak, running with the torch.

She gripped the vine with her right arm, sliding down further from the root, landing hard in the sopping ground. She shouted, "Climb! Nora is flooding!" Her left arm laid cradled against her side, as she held the vine taut, preventing it from curling back up defensively. Kojak did not hesitate, leaping up and grabbing the vine, as Norani braced herself against the root at her back, anchoring it for him. He climbed quickly, despite one arm hanging free to keep a hold of the torch as he went.

The vine was close against the trunk, so the winds and rain were less severe here, but they were still hard. The flickvines, thankfully, were textured for maximum grip, and Norani reached into her aether reserves once more. But she could feel them growing low. She grit her teeth and Sculpted the nearest winds to blow around Yeva protectively, keeping the other winds at bay from assaulting her. She was still holding the vine, her scared eyes finding Yeva's, "Get to home! I'll follow you!"

[Yeva]

There were reasons one should listen to their elders.

And their were things pride could not overcome by grit alone.

As Yeva found her footing on the jungle floor, she was running, down winding pathways and leaping over and under great tree roots that patterned the earth with the intricacies of wooden lace. She could feel the danger of her actions, but she was not alone in this roaring chaos. She desperately raced behind another, chasing the flickering flame of the held torch like a beacon to salvation. Her lungs were burning and she pushed herself harder than ever before, rain pelting her skin with the force of stones. Rocks and twigs and vines sliced into her flesh, the storm washing away blood as fast as it spilled it. The crack of branches, the boom of fallen trees, the roar of wind and water. The sky had darkened, thick and murky clouds snuffing the sun's light.

The tree was coming into view.

They were close, and then-

"Norani!" her voice was stolen and she struggled to see the woman's features clearly with the shower of rain and blowing leaves.

Like a true warrior, the orc slid down the vine to shout at the pair of stragglers, "Climb! Nora is flooding!"

Yeva's eyes widened. The torch bearer started to scale the tree and the redhead felt a pit of dread.

Do or die.

She ran full force at the tree, kicking up the side of the trunk and jumped, gripping where she could. Fear and adrenaline pushed her, but she was less sure in her footing. She grunted as her knees smacked into the bark. With the winds and rain, Yeva felt her grip weakening, but the world stilled, defeaning in its silence. Norani's doing. She could hear her friend's voice clearly now, "Get to home! I'll follow you!"

She nodded weakly. Yeva reinforced her hold and took ragged breaths, muscles burning as she began to long climb up, pushing and pulling. She favored her lower body where she could, stronger there than in her arms and shoulders. With the aid of magic and the structure of the vines, Yeva ascended higher. She could hear the floods coming closer and had to pause, arms shaking in their exertion. She took a breath and continued climbing, knowing that the magic couldn't hold forever, and had it not been for her friend's involvement, she wouldn't have been able to do this.

Her chest tightened. Norani had such fear in her eyes.

Had she left the healer's hut for her friend or for herself? She had not known how quickly the weather would have turned, but in the end, she had put them both in danger.

Tears budded in her eyes and she shook her head.

No time for regrets. Regrets were for the living.

She pushed onward, following instruction.

Once she had pulled herself into 'home', she collapsed, scared and hurt.

"Norani!" she screamed, a plea for the friend she had endangered.

[Norani]

Norani held the vine taut, gritting through the pain with each wind that battered against her injured arm. She was the anchor to keep Yeva and Kojak from being flung to the winds or slammed into the tree. Her eyes scanned the murky darkness see the waters rising up the wood of the tree's roots. As far as she knew, Nora's waters had never once come this high. Ever. With the winds this strong, with the water seeping in, would the great tree be able to hold itself upright?

The vine pulled against her, and she hissed out in pain, eyes cast upward. She could see Kojak making good distance and Yeva was making a steady pace. The Sculpting that Norani had cast was still draining on her, and getting more difficult with the distance that Yeva was making. The muscles in her arm and chest were bulging and straining to fight against the winds that threatened to crash her dear friend.

Once Norani saw Yeva climb over the wooden platform of her home, she stood up fully. She wrapped the base of the vine loosely around one leg, crossing it over one foot, and under the other. She reached up with her good arm, keeping the injured one close and cradled. And bracing herself by clamping the rope, she pulled herself up a small distance. She clamped the rope once more, allowing her to brace there. She reached up once more, gritting through the slow, arduous climb.

She tried not to think of how much the vine was swaying now that she was no longer anchoring it. It swung heavily in the winds, twisting and turning her stomach. She heard her name yelled over the screeching winds. Yeva! She could taste the bitterness in her mouth as her adrenaline pumped even harder, and she reached up with her injured arm. The pain of the broken bone was dulled as she pulled. Snarling, hand over hand, she climbed. She had to get to Yeva.

Soon, she pulled herself over the platform, chest heaving, trying to suck in enough air, her muscles on fire. Yeva was there, exhausted on the wood. She saw Kojak climbing further, his family's home in the next branch. Norani reached out, a gentle touch on her cheek, a soft smile to let her know she was here for her.

Then Norani got her good arm beneath her, pushing herself up from the slick platform. They still weren't safe. She crawled over to another edge of the platform, looking down at her family's home. There was light spilling out, and she saw Mama Kiki standing there in the doorway, a stalwart in the face of the storm. She looked up, seeing Norani's face, and signed a question. Norani nodded, and asked it back. Mama Kiki nodded and Norani relaxed. Her family was safe there with them.

Norani got up on her knees, crawling over to Yeva, "We have to get inside." She extended a hand out of habit with her injured hand, hissing and drawing it back in pain, her body twitching as the adrenaline was already wearing off, switching to her other one. She stood up, looking to bring Yeva with her, eyes cast out worriedly into the storm. She suspected that Ruvaf and the rest of the Ci'uvan would go to the nesting grounds, a rocky outcropping a ways off from the village. She hoped he made it there safely. She prayed to the winds, giving the last tendril of aether, asking them to help him if they could.

She would never know if the winds did.

A struggling stumble of exhaustion and pain through the hanging beads of her house, overshadowed by the loud roaring of the winds outside amplified by the hollowness of her house. Norani struck her injured arm on the door frame, crying out and dropping back to her knees, crutching the broken limb, silent tears streaming down her face.

She looked at Yeva, trying to give a comforting smile through the pain, fear, and worry, "I am happy you are safe."

[Yeva]

Searing 36, 122

Norani's interference had done well to protect the Mystic, but at a dear cost. Rain pelted the elf with an unrelenting fury and Yeva rolled on her side to try to alleviate the stinging bite against her face as her muscles shook from exertion. The roar of the storm seemed to deafen everything around her, the skies swirled and cracked with divine threat and Yeva clawed at the wooden platform. She grunted, forcing herself to sit up, reaching outward when Norani's face appeared and the woman forced herself forward.

"Norani!"

"We have to get inside."

The brunette reached for her and Yeva realized her arm jutted at a strange angle and Norani recoiled, releasing a sharp hiss of pain, "You're hurt," she realized, her guilt spurring a strength that allowed her to rise on uneasy legs. The power of the storm raged, making it difficult to see her friend's face clearly, but she slipped an arm around the larger woman, willing to offer whatever stability she could while they stumbled through the beaded door cover.

Norani jerked forward, and Yeva, not strong enough to stop it, tumbled forward as the other woman smacked her injured limb against the door frame and the two dropped to the ground. Pain bit at her knees as they smacked the floor and she bit her cheek to keep from crying out. Yeva felt the budding rise of panic, scared for her friend, for the village, for those she did not know the whereabouts of, like Ruvaf. And her friend, who had done so much to keep her safe, when she had been so foolish. But who could have expected a storm so violent?

Her throat tightened and she tried to offer apology, feeling her heart clench when she saw Norani's relieved smile, "I'm glad you are safe."

"You're arm," she sucked in a shaky breath, looking around the small space for something to help, "We have to get away from the door." The beads whipped at them both, "Can you go a little further? Over there," she pointed towards the furthest point in the room, far enough from the entry points to offer a bit of respite against the raging storm. Yeva was breathless, running a hand down Norani's back as she tried to help her back to her feet, "I'll help you."

Yeva summoned what strength she could, both firm and gentle, careful to avoid aggravating Norani's injuries any further as she helped her further into the space. Guiding her friend to the wall to help support her weight or lean against if she needed to sit down, the mystic finally moved, to dig about for supplies. She grabbed blankets and a knife, one of her spare dresses that had survived since Zaichaer and an herbal tincture that could perform as a disinfectant, "Are you okay?" she asked, dropping in a heap with arms full. She finally took a moment to sit and see both of their states. Norani's had done so much and was now broken. Yeva felt her eyes well. They would need to set the arm, or sling it. She needed to see how bad the break was.

Adrenaline fading, she moved slower. Unwanted tears were beginning to creep from the corners of her eyes and she crouched forward, pressing her forehead to Norani's, hands shaking as they cupped the woman's face, "I...I'm so sorry."
.

[Norani]

Yeva asked if Norani could go a bit a further, and Norani wasn't sure if she could. Her aether reserves were entirely depleted, something she'd never experienced before, but knew that it added a physical exhaustion on the mind and body. That coupled with the physical exhaustion of fighting with and climbing that vine left the Ork woman so depleted of energy that she was closer to death than she realized.

The hand on her back somehow felt a mile away, distant, as though her soul was already detaching from the body. Yeva's words were spoken through a fog, slowed and soft and reverberating, Norani recognizing them but unable to tell from what direction they came. She felt pressure beneath her. A lifting support, from so far below that surely it must be from the base of the tree. She was being guided to move, to get to safety.

Norani grit her teeth hard, her body in a state of panic beyond much of her control. Her hands that were flat against the panels of her floor found dragon claws extending out from where her nails had been. Everywhere that was touched by floor or by Yeva sprouted hard, reptilian scales, and Norani's tusks extended up past her nose. She got her healthy arm a bit beneath her, and as she pushed herself up, relying on much of Yeva's help, a draconic snarl of pain escaped her throat. She was propped up on the one arm pushed to get a knee beneath her, her body burning everywhere, her heartbeat racing.

Norani's eyes opened and nearly buckled from the nausea at what she saw. Or rather, how she saw. Her eyes were almost entirely crimson, bloodshot and draconic, tear filled. Her vision was in triplicate, layered over each other and tinged red. Her world was swimming and bouncing. She crawled with Yeva's assistance for what felt like an eternity until she was able to be slumped against the wall.

Norani was cradled into the corner, her temple resting on the wood, her eyes closed to keep her from vomiting all over herself. Now that she was no longer moving, no longer in as much extreme pain, her draconic traits began to disappear back into her body, her chest still heaving, struggling still to regain her breath. She heard Yeva's voice, but the words seemed to escape her mind's ability to comprehend them. The fog in her mind was capturing so much that Norani was beginning to feel trapped in her own head.

There was that distant, phantom feeling, pressure on her cheeks, her head turned slightly. A forehead touched to her own, the Ecithian sign for comfort, and it cut through the fog. Yeva. Norani's eyes opened, still severely bloodshot and strained, and they struggled to find their focus, but they managed to take in Yeva's face, or at least the general shape of her. Her angled jaw, her pointed ears escaping from her wild curls, the soft glow of her cheeks and her bright eyes. Oranges and crimsons and browns, the colors of her friend.

And through the pain, the corners of Norani's mouth curled up ever so slightly.

At this proximity, with her entire worldly focus as she barely held onto her own mind, she heard Yeva's words and a tired, shaking hand reached, cupping Yeva's cheek. "Friends... help."

Her arm fell from Yeva's face in exhaustion and that slight bump sent a jolt of pain through her broken arm, eliciting a gasp from the Orkhan woman. She turned her body a bit, a slow, painful struggle, bruises all over her skin already showing from being battered against the tree she called home. She turned to show and give Yeva better access to her broken arm. The skin of her arm was already dark from the deep bruising of colliding with the tree. There were scrapes and cuts but it no bone was jutting through the skin of her upper arm. However, it seemed that the bone was in three distinct sections, the middle one floating a bit freely between the detached shoulder and elbow joints.

Norani reached out once more with her good hand, and with some luck, managed to find what seemed like one of Yeva's own and gave a weak squeeze, her raspy, tired voice from her lulling head, "Friends... always."

[Yeva]

Panic cut her open.

"Friends... help."

"Yes," she nodded quickly, pressing her cheek into Norani's seeking palm. It was the weakest she had seen the orc, a fire reduced to a struggling ember. Yeva swallowed the stone in her throat. Her hands were shaking, knocking her thoughts around like marbles in a box. The shelter groaned, and the snapping of branches cracked like bones.

Broken bones.

Yeva flinched, and held tight to Norani's offered hand. She kissed it, scared. Norani's other arm had looked mangled when they had struggled to tentative safety. Outside the world sundered, and it was up to Yeva to make it better. To fix it all. She stared at the supplies she had gathered, at the lack of a proper sling and went to work. It was an attempt, but a far cry from proficiency. To the best of her ability, utilizing the medical training she had received so many years ago. The cleaned and tended to open wounds, having to be creative in her execution. Her hands were gentle as she worked, but she did not doubt that Norani would feel every brush of pain and tried to distract Norani with words of a future,, "When the storm lessons, we will get you a real healer," she promised, her eyes flicking to Norani's pale face every so often, afraid the shock might take her, "You were so brave. You are strong."

And this is my fault. Her suffering... I did this.

Yeva's breath quickened and her chest tightened. The storm had come so quickly, like a hand of god smashing upon the land. This was no ordinary storm. This was.. this was the catalyst of something far greater. No... far worse.

Her body pleaded for mercy, but Yeva did not stop moving. With a pained bite of her lip, she choked back a sob while going to gather up a blanket, a towel and a pair of scissors. Rummaging for a bundle of herbs from her pack, she began to burn them, the sweet smoke filling the room. It would relax them both, and acted as protection from negative energies. Yeva had not cleansed her home for sometime. Perhaps that was why such misfortune found them now.

"I'm going to dry you off, alright? Are you comfortable?"

She tentatively set aside her burnings and cut away the little clothing Norani wore. Yeva did not think she would mind in the same way she would, and carefully peeled them away, green skin turned black from the bruising in many places, "These will heal," she whispered. To herself or to the orc, she was not sure. Yeva wiped the tears from her face, and took the towel, carefully running it down the exposed skin still wet from the rain, that which had not been sealed away by gauze and wrappings. If only she had succeeded in her pilgrimage by now, she would have been a real Seer. She could have relieved Norani's pain. She could have shared this burden.

When her friend was dried off, she aimed to make her comfortable, offering her a blanket for warmth, or a pillow to better support her neck. Holding Norani's hand once more, Yeva began to pray.

[Norani]

There was a soft warmth against Norani's palm and she knew it was Yeva's. Only Yeva made warmth like that. And with that warmth, Norani relaxed into the hand, and for a moment, her many pains were gone. It was a moment she could savor forever. But it wasn't to be. Soon, Yeva went to work, and Norani allowed her. Her trust in Yeva was complete and absolute. When unsteady hands twisted her misplaced bones back together. Norani growled and grunted through teeth gritted so firmly she thought they might break. But she didn't flinch, she didn't struggle or lash out at Yeva, even if her tusks protruded more.

She panted weakly after that, unable to feel the tears streaming down her face. And still, she continued to let Yeva do her work. She barely felt the open wounds being cleaned, but she silently screamed into her nearly bitten tongue as the the bandages and sling were wound. "You... healer... .... .... me." Speaking was exhausting. But Yeva was doing her best, Norani already knew this, and for that, she was grateful. Norani was starting to grow cold, her body shuddering, the defensive scales pointing upward. Each touch was a flash of lightning hot pain, followed by the briefest glimpse of caring warmth.

It was hard to hear Yeva's words over the thundering of her own heart, but Norani heard her say brave, say strong. She scrunched up her face, she needed to be stronger, to be braver. Norani was so tightly wound in this, she didn't notice the scent of the burning herbs, just so clenched in and of herself, withstanding the pain, enduring it, being strong. Yeva's words were muffled, traveling through meters of water but Norani timidly, weakly, nodded her head. Somehow the mumbling jargon had made sense. She felt Yeva's hands, caring and nurturing, finding her pains and soothing them, as the elf dried the orkhan.

The blanket was a welcome respite and the nudity that Yeva had brought upon her was unnoticed, and wouldn't have been unwelcome in the first place. Norani was somehow laying down now, her arm in a sling, her body bandaged, and comfort was being offered. The amount of time that had passed was... unclear, but Norani could feel, somehow, that it was long. Maybe it was the growing gnaring of hunger in her belly, or the creep of weariness over her mind.

Her blurred, bloodshot eyes opened to find Yeva at her side, praying. To whom did Yeva pray? Norani knew she was on a pilgrimage for Galetira, but did she pray to any other gods. Norani wondered what that was like. She knew the gods of her people were real, that they existed, and that they did very real acts of honor, bravery, and extraordinary feats, and yet, her upbringing told her to worship the lands, the waters, the skies. They came before the gods and deserved the worship.

A weak hand reached out to the kneeling Yeva, insistent, but without the strength to force it, she gave a tug on Yeva. Her healer was weary, was cold, was she injured herself? Norani new barely anything on healing, but she could do something. She mustered her strength, wincing her eyes shut in the pain, lifting the blanket with her busted arm, her other urging Yeva closer.

Warmth, camaraderie, security, friendship and love is what Norani offered. And rest. Yeva had worked so hard for her, surely she needed to rest. Surely she needed warmth. Surely Yeva needed to feel safe.

Norani did, and so, she reached for her friend.

[Aegis]

REVIEW TIME

Yeva
Loot: None
Injuries: Superficial wounds

Points: 10, may not be used for Magic.

Skills Used Eligible for Expert/Master Progression: Climbing, Medicine

Lore Development Opportunities: N/A

Comments: It was nice, this feels like one of the earliest examples of Yeva yearning to grow herself while also providing care.


Norani
Loot: None
Injuries: Broken arm, other superficial injuries

Points: 10, may not be used for Magic.

Skills Used Eligible for Expert/Master Progression:

Lore Development Opportunities: Climbing, Tactics, Leadership

Comments: Norani was there, I suppose.