G A R E T H
The scream from Noor echoed through the plains as the elk curled into himself, trying to assess the situation and to protect his body further from the beast. He couldn’t think straight and the impact from both it and then tumbling to the ground with Gareth’s intervention had turned his whole world upside down. His vision swam, but he could hear the predator as a mumble, something about being hungry, he thought. He screwed his eyes shut and shuddered, focusing on trying to breathe and not allowing his emotions to flood the stallion as he attempted to mitigate the situation. It would do them no good if he was bombarded with pain from their psychic connection.
Gareth stood shaking, though it was mostly from adrenaline, and perhaps a bit of anger. He’d never met another person who had dared touch a bonded. Granted, such creatures were usually within close reach of their companions, and he had left Noor to his own devices out in the open. Perhaps he had grown too complacent, hadn’t considered that there may have been a creature that he could not defend himself from. The guilt started to worm its way into his heart but he pushed it down. That was something to settle within himself at another time. Currently, the large winged beast lay before him, protecting it’s vital organs. Now that he had a moment to take everything in, he could see that they were roughly the same size, though she might have had a little height on him. She, for he could see now that it was a mare of some kind, spat words in his direction, about not knowing. There was the twinge of guilt again, but he swallowed it down hard once more.
He watched her struggle to get to her feet, the talons that had done the damage to his friend. Anger flared up in him again to be quickly extinguished by his healer’s instinct. She was frail. Not by most standards, not at first glance. The woman was a beast, just as he was, stocky framed with thick limbs and a hide that held tough layers of muscle. Or she should have been. Her midsection was devastatingly lean, and the back talons that had caused his friend so much pain were twisted and ripped open. He knew that those injuries that peppered her being could not have been his own doing. They looked old, but infected, unhealed. He hadn’t caused these gashes, but his impact certainly had done her no favours. It looked as if she’d had some kind of altercation. He didn’t want to spend time thinking about the kind of creature she would have needed to encounter for it to do such damage to an obviously skilled predator. She must have been confident in her abilities if even in this weakened state she thought that Noor had been a perfectly good meal.
“Gods and Goddess,” he swore. “Has no one taken you to a clinic?” The anger that rumbled deep in him morphed into concern. She might have tried to eat his companion, but she had been blinded by hunger and infection, he could see that now. She hadn’t been quite in her right mind, and the elk had seemed like an excellent option. He heaved a heavy sigh and shook his head. The herbs that had been scattered around were lost, but thankfully there were still a handful left deep in his satchel. They would come in use.
“Stay put,” he said, though it was a moot point, as the predator clearly wasn’t going anywhere any time soon. “I’m going to go check on him, and then we’re going to get you fixed up.” He spoke with a matter of fact tone, not giving her the choice to refuse his help. Besides, he thought that in her condition, she wasn’t exactly in a place to fight him on the subject.
The stallion moved back towards where Noor was curled, whispering softly. “Move so I can see it, Noor.” His vocals were thick with emotion. He had not seeing his companion in pain like this since the night they met. When he had first nursed Noor back to health and they had developed that sacred connection that was forged between two bonded creatures.
The elk turned so that his friend could look at the injuries. The mossy lichen and mushrooms that adorned his ruddy coat were torn free, soaking up the blood from several large gashes all across his flank. While the injuries looked terrible and jagged, his flesh ripped from his body, wide because of the thickness of the talons, Gareth could see that for all intents and purposes it had been nothing more than a particularly nasty scratch. She hadn’t severed the muscles, hadn’t torn pieces from him. He’d arrived just in time for her to clip his hind. He paled to think about what the outcome would have been had he not.
“Do you think you’ll be able to move if I can staunch the bleeding?” He knew that it would be painful to do so, but Gareth simply did not have the supplies on him to handle such injuries, for both Noor and the predator. He needed to get them both back to his home in order to treat them properly.
Noor didn’t have the strength to speak to his friend, choosing instead to simply nod. He could not both keep his pain in check and impart his thoughts. He knew that if he opened the floodgates it would only make matters worse, and the elk was stubborn, much like his friend. He looked to the predator as she lay a distance away, his gaze wary. He knew Gareth better than to think he would leave another creature to simply suffer. If he didn’t have any intention to harm her (and as long as Noor had known the stallion, he’d never had such a thought) then that meant that he intended to bring her with them. As the party member that was almost turned into a snack pack, he was less than thrilled with the idea.
He kept his eyes on the mare as Gareth moved around him and set to wrapping the wounds as best he could. Even though he was fairly certain she would have gone off already if she’d been able to, he didn’t trust her one bit, and if the only thing he could do right now was stare her down, then so be it.
Gareth worked swiftly and in silence. He didn’t have to tell his friend that he was going to be bringing the predatory mare with them, and there was little conversation to be had while emotions and adrenaline were still running rampant. Once he finished, he stepped away and walked straight back to the injured woman, loudly announcing his approach so that he might not cause more distress than was already shared between the three of them.
“What in the name of the gods happened to you, then? I need to know so I know what I’m dealing with. Your legs look godawful, you know?”
Gareth stood shaking, though it was mostly from adrenaline, and perhaps a bit of anger. He’d never met another person who had dared touch a bonded. Granted, such creatures were usually within close reach of their companions, and he had left Noor to his own devices out in the open. Perhaps he had grown too complacent, hadn’t considered that there may have been a creature that he could not defend himself from. The guilt started to worm its way into his heart but he pushed it down. That was something to settle within himself at another time. Currently, the large winged beast lay before him, protecting it’s vital organs. Now that he had a moment to take everything in, he could see that they were roughly the same size, though she might have had a little height on him. She, for he could see now that it was a mare of some kind, spat words in his direction, about not knowing. There was the twinge of guilt again, but he swallowed it down hard once more.
He watched her struggle to get to her feet, the talons that had done the damage to his friend. Anger flared up in him again to be quickly extinguished by his healer’s instinct. She was frail. Not by most standards, not at first glance. The woman was a beast, just as he was, stocky framed with thick limbs and a hide that held tough layers of muscle. Or she should have been. Her midsection was devastatingly lean, and the back talons that had caused his friend so much pain were twisted and ripped open. He knew that those injuries that peppered her being could not have been his own doing. They looked old, but infected, unhealed. He hadn’t caused these gashes, but his impact certainly had done her no favours. It looked as if she’d had some kind of altercation. He didn’t want to spend time thinking about the kind of creature she would have needed to encounter for it to do such damage to an obviously skilled predator. She must have been confident in her abilities if even in this weakened state she thought that Noor had been a perfectly good meal.
“Gods and Goddess,” he swore. “Has no one taken you to a clinic?” The anger that rumbled deep in him morphed into concern. She might have tried to eat his companion, but she had been blinded by hunger and infection, he could see that now. She hadn’t been quite in her right mind, and the elk had seemed like an excellent option. He heaved a heavy sigh and shook his head. The herbs that had been scattered around were lost, but thankfully there were still a handful left deep in his satchel. They would come in use.
“Stay put,” he said, though it was a moot point, as the predator clearly wasn’t going anywhere any time soon. “I’m going to go check on him, and then we’re going to get you fixed up.” He spoke with a matter of fact tone, not giving her the choice to refuse his help. Besides, he thought that in her condition, she wasn’t exactly in a place to fight him on the subject.
The stallion moved back towards where Noor was curled, whispering softly. “Move so I can see it, Noor.” His vocals were thick with emotion. He had not seeing his companion in pain like this since the night they met. When he had first nursed Noor back to health and they had developed that sacred connection that was forged between two bonded creatures.
The elk turned so that his friend could look at the injuries. The mossy lichen and mushrooms that adorned his ruddy coat were torn free, soaking up the blood from several large gashes all across his flank. While the injuries looked terrible and jagged, his flesh ripped from his body, wide because of the thickness of the talons, Gareth could see that for all intents and purposes it had been nothing more than a particularly nasty scratch. She hadn’t severed the muscles, hadn’t torn pieces from him. He’d arrived just in time for her to clip his hind. He paled to think about what the outcome would have been had he not.
“Do you think you’ll be able to move if I can staunch the bleeding?” He knew that it would be painful to do so, but Gareth simply did not have the supplies on him to handle such injuries, for both Noor and the predator. He needed to get them both back to his home in order to treat them properly.
Noor didn’t have the strength to speak to his friend, choosing instead to simply nod. He could not both keep his pain in check and impart his thoughts. He knew that if he opened the floodgates it would only make matters worse, and the elk was stubborn, much like his friend. He looked to the predator as she lay a distance away, his gaze wary. He knew Gareth better than to think he would leave another creature to simply suffer. If he didn’t have any intention to harm her (and as long as Noor had known the stallion, he’d never had such a thought) then that meant that he intended to bring her with them. As the party member that was almost turned into a snack pack, he was less than thrilled with the idea.
He kept his eyes on the mare as Gareth moved around him and set to wrapping the wounds as best he could. Even though he was fairly certain she would have gone off already if she’d been able to, he didn’t trust her one bit, and if the only thing he could do right now was stare her down, then so be it.
Gareth worked swiftly and in silence. He didn’t have to tell his friend that he was going to be bringing the predatory mare with them, and there was little conversation to be had while emotions and adrenaline were still running rampant. Once he finished, he stepped away and walked straight back to the injured woman, loudly announcing his approach so that he might not cause more distress than was already shared between the three of them.
“What in the name of the gods happened to you, then? I need to know so I know what I’m dealing with. Your legs look godawful, you know?”
