Dark Currents II: Foggy Shores [open]

[TreeFolk]

Read First: Dark Currents I: At the Mouth of Secrets

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The current was swift and cold, growing colder as he struggled to the surface for air. He couldn't tell if it felt colder because of the blood loss or if he was being swept upstream somehow. Dimly he thought that hands were carrying him along, taking him up streams and rivers instead of out to sea.

The time that passed was agonizing, as his body hit rocks and logs, and he struggled to catch his breath. The little bit of nymph magic from his ancestry was all he credited to his survival. Eventually his body washed into a great lake in Ravensway (though he did not know he had traveled so far), where the water slowed enough for him to swim himself to the shore. Spluttering and shivering, he clawed his way out of the water and through the rocky and muddy shore, his black hair plastered against his face. He just barely made it to a clump of grass, collapsing into it with his hands gripped to the pulsating wound in his side before passing out, a fog descending upon his surroundings.

[DragonSong]

Fog. So much gods-damned fog.

Glowering and grumbling to herself, Maka picked her way along the shore of the lake, eyes peering into the gloom as she worked desperately to keep her footing on slippery rocks and mud. "Stupid lake," she muttered, feeling damp and chilled. "Stupid mud. Stupid fog."

She was so intent upon her own misery that she almost tripped over the body sprawled out along the shore before she saw it, hidden in the fog. Yelping and cursing, she managed to stop before she stepped on the man- she could make out that he was a man now- but lost her footing and nearly landed on her butt in the mud.

Swearing colorfully, Maka caught her balance and glowered down at the dark shape. "Oi! What the hell? If you're gonna get black-out drunk, at least have the decency to do it-"

Her voice choked off as a scent somehow managed to reach her nose through the fog. Blood. Her eyes narrowed and she took a closer look at the man, saw the dark pool spreading from his side, the barely-there rise and fall of his chest.

He was hurt. Shit. Muttering a few more curses, she knelt and reached her hand out to touch his shoulder. "Hey, uh, sir. Can you hear me?" He wasn't dead, that was certain, but he was pretty damn close. Gods, what was she supposed to do?

[TreeFolk]

Grian dimly heard the voice calling out to him, his eyelids heavy. He felt cold, too cold to bear. The cold air hurt his lungs, so accustomed to the warm coastal breezes, but he couldn't feel the wound in his side even though he knew he should. This was not the first time he'd been stabbed, but it was the first time he had not been tended to quickly. As the heir of Rivers Ward, his safety was the priority of his men when he led them into battles and skirmishes. It was his leadership that had led them to countless victories... Where were his men now?

His eyes squeezed shut more tightly against the dim light of dawn. He had been laying here all night, and was surprised he still lived. Despite his dim awareness of his surroundings, when his eyes painfully opened he couldn't make out anything of the young woman kneeling over him other than her dark hair. Perhaps it was one of his sisters? His voice was paper-thin, "Elina? Elora?" The effort caused a spasm in his side, bringing on a harsh, gritty cough which produced droplets of blood across his blue lips. He gulped in air like a drowning man, clutching his side as the coughs encouraged a new welling of blood to come up through his wound. His consciousness, if one could call it that at all, was short lived as his dark blue eyes rolled back in his head. Shallow, labored breaths barely made it past his lips as he lost consciousness once again.

[DragonSong]

Who? Great, he was delirious, he must be mistaking her for someone else. "No, I'm not- Listen, you need help-"

And he was unconscious again. Damnit. Her eyes skated over him. Other than the wound to his side, he didn't appear to have any serious injuries. She'd have to take care of that first then. Ripping a strip of fabric off the hem or her tunic, she pushed his shirt up so she could properly see the wound, trying  to be gentle and work quickly at the same time.

She winced. Stabbed. That had to hurt like a sunovabitch. Maka wasn't a healer by any stretch, but she knew enough first aid to be able to stop his bleeding at least. She wrapped her makeshift bandage around his torso and tied it as tight as was probably safe, putting her hand against the cut and leaning to apply pressure.

"Oi, mister. Come on, stay awake. Open your eyes." She reached for the flask at her hip with one hand and flicked the catch on the lid, tilting it to dribble a few drops of water on his lips, hoping he might swallow some instinctively.

[TreeFolk]

A rather pathetic sounding moan escaped his lips as the pressure applied to his side woke him again. He swallowed hard as the water passed his lips, coughing again. If he hadn't been raised to not curse around women, he would have been slinging the foulest sounding language he could muster. He opened his eyes, squinting in pain as he hissed in pain, shivering in his wet, cold clothes. Groaning, he looked down at his side, seeing the blood soaked through his undershirt.

For the first time he focused on the woman at his side, unsure of what to make of her. She looked uncertain, an unfortunate passerby. Well, unfortunate for her. Fortunate for himself to have a kind enough stranger willing to help a man in need. He really didn't have any way to help himself... He could barely stay conscious. "Who...? Where...?" The questions were hard to get past his dry throat, though her water had helped. How was it his throat was still dry, when he must have swallowed nearly half the lakes and rivers on his way here?

[DragonSong]

Oh thank gods, he was conscious. Well, mostly.

"Here." Maka slipped one arm around his shoulders to help him sit up, offering the flask again. "Drink, you probably need it."

"My name is Makani," she said softly, not wanting to overload him with information in his current state. "I'm gonna help you, okay? Try not to move too much." She returned her attention to his wound, ripping off another strip of fabric from her tunic and using it to pad the bandaging. The bleeding was slowing at least, so that was a good sign.

[TreeFolk]

His forearm shook as he used it to keep himself propped up, feeling a tenderness in his shoulder from where he'd been pummeled against the rocks of the rivers. Wincing, he backed himself so he could lean against a rock and took the flask with battered shaking hands. Taking a drink, he nodded grimly and offered his own name. "Grian. Thanks."

He glimpsed down at the bandage job, thankful for the somewhat dry material against his cold skin. This was by far and without a doubt the coldest he had ever been. "Where am I?" He set the flask down, his arms feeling too heavy to hold it any longer. He felt the familiar prod of his hilt into his side, close to the wound. His fingers too cold to make quick work of it, he fumbled with his sword belt before loosing it and letting it drop to his side. Thank the gods his hilt had somehow managed to hold his sword securely for all that distance!

[DragonSong]

"Hey, hey, take it easy," Maka urged, frowning a bit as he moved himself back against the rock. With a sigh, she ran a hand through her hair and reached out to take the flask, holding it against his lips. "Here, you really need to drink more of this."

Glancing around, peering through the fog, she muttered absently. "You're in Ravensway." Eyes flicking back to him, she tilted her head and asked, "Did you take a blow to the head as well? Lose some memory?" That might explain why he didn't know where he was.

[TreeFolk]

He took a few solid gulps from the flask before turning his head, his breathing still strained and wheezy. The sound of his breathing reminded him of the death rattling breaths men took in their last moments, and he wondered how much longer he could have made it without this woman finding him. He also wondered if he was going to make it now, even with her help. It was quite a lot of blood he'd lost, and...

His eyes darted to her face, incredulous, "Ravensway?" He looked at his surroundings, felt the coolness of the air. "Are you... How..?" How the hell did he get all the way to Ravenway from the coast of Summervale? How far into Ravensway had he traveled via the river systems? Better yet, how had he traveled upstream so far?

His memories were foggy and the face of his attacker seemed fuzzy in his mind. The last thing he could recall clearly was leaving the Highwater Inn and his betrothed behind. His betrothed... It almost came as a relief that she might think him dead. No, no, those thoughts weren't going to help him any, and were not proper of him. The poor woman was probably beside herself with worry. Perhaps not for his safety, but at least for the future of her people and land.

He gave her a grimace of a smile. "Something like that." He pressed a hand to his side to add pressure, shivering again. "Is there a town nearby?" He needed dry clothes, something to stitch his wound, somewhere to heal. He needed to find a way to clear his head. His need to survive overrode his generally trusting nature, at least until he could remember who had tried to kill him. 

[DragonSong]

Instinctively Maka drew her hand back when he pressed his own against the wound. She frowned when he shivered and shouldered the pack she carried to the ground, digging around in it for a few moments.

"Here," she said, dredging up a blanket and leaning forward to wrap it around his shoulders. "Sorry, I should've done this sooner. Wasn't thinking." Adjusting the cloth so it covered as much of him as she could manage, she jerked her head over her shoulder and said, "There's a village about a half mile back that way."

Leaning back again, she gave him a considering, up-and-down kind of look. "Think you can make the walk? You need a healer- a proper one- but I don't wanna move you if it's just gonna make you bleed out."

[TreeFolk]

"Apologies." He had not meant to make her feel uncomfortable by moving his hand on top of hers, it was just that the extra pressure felt good. Made it hurt more, but comforted him to know that he had a bit of control.

The blanket felt blissful. "You are too kind, miss."

He let his eyes drift towards the direction she nodded in. Half a mile felt like a thousand miles, and if he was honest with himself, he knew it was unlikely he'd make it. But he wasn't going to get any better lying here as he was, in soaked clothing and in the cold. And he was relying on the kindness of this stranger, who he didn't want to burden.

Closing his eyes again, a line creasing his brow as another wave of pain hit. At least he knew he wasn't going into shock. "Perhaps... You could send for help?"

[DragonSong]

Maka furrowed her brow at him. "I...could," she said slowly, biting her lip in an unconscious, nervous gesture she'd thought she dropped the habit of years ago. Shaking her head, she muttered, "I'm not sure I like the idea of leaving you alone, though."

What if she went to get help and he died? She did not need another ghost following her around, and this man would definitely be one of those irritating spirits that refused to move on. With her luck, if he died he'd end up latching onto her for the foreseeable future.

And...she just really didn't want to leave him by himself. He was wounded, in shock, probably had hypothermia- she may be a mercenary, but she wasn't totally heartless.

"Here." She stood, brushing mud off her breeches and what was left of the hem of her tunic. "I'l get a fire going, make sure you're settled and not- you know, on the verge of death. Then I'll go see if I can find some help."

[TreeFolk]

He tried to give her one of his classic reassuring smiles, but wasn't certain how effectively it came across. "I'll be fine, nothing stitches and rest won't fix." He knew he wasn't being too convincing, what with his arms limp at his sides and head listlessly rolling in his effort to move it normally to watch her.

Though his situation was rather dire at the moment, he told himself he was just taking a rest to regain his strength. Maybe then he could walk a bit. He might be brave and hard-headed, but he physically didn't have an ounce of strength left in him. "I will be forever in your debt, Miss Makani." If she started a fire, he could perhaps cauterize the wound. He'd run a higher risk of infection, but at the moment he felt it more crucial to stop himself from losing anymore blood.

[DragonSong]

Her nose wrinkled a bit at that. "Just Makani," she told him quietly. "And no need for that debt stuff. Couldn't just leave you lying here after I almost tripped over you." Looking around, she let out a sharp sigh and planted her fists on her hips, muttering, "We'll be luck if we can find anything that actually burns in this damn fog."

Her eyes flicked back to him. "You should get out of those wet clothes, if you can manage it," she suggested. "Use the blanket to keep warm. I'll be right back." With one last, concerned glance at the injured man, she set off in search of anything that might fit the term "firewood".

[TreeFolk]

She was right, and although he did not feel right being near naked in front of a lady, Grian struggled out of most of his clothes until he was in his underwear once she left. The effort was quite pathetic, and he felt weak and useless.

The struggle of removing his clothes alone left him so exhausted, that he soon found himself unable to stay conscious waiting for her return. With the blanket resting against his clammy skin, he fell prone to the darkness of sleep or unconsciousness.

[DragonSong]

Finding anything that didn't fall somewhere in the range of "damp" to "soaked through" took longer than Maka would have liked, and when she did return to where she'd left Grian she had a rather pitiful armful of sticks and twigs. Still, at least it would burn.

She dropped her bundle and started, "Just hang on a minute, I need to find my flint-" before she actually looked at him and realized he was asleep again.

At least she hoped he was asleep. Suddenly worried, she let a thread of her power reach out, searching- alive. He was definitely still alive. Good. Reassured, she decided against waking him and set about digging her flint out of her pack, trying to keep as quiet as she could.

Eventually she managed to get a small flame going and she sat back as her handiwork slowly started to eat away at the fog. Her eyes flicked to her unexpected patient and she bit her lip again. She really didn't want to wake him- the poor man probably needed the rest- but she didn't want to go for help while he was still asleep and have him wake up alone.

Make turned her gaze to the fire, frowning slightly. This wasn't like her. She wasn't normally so trusting- for all she knew, Grian deserved that stab wound. But she couldn't make herself just walk away.

[TreeFolk]

The fuzzy face of his assailant taunted him in his sleep, unwilling to make itself clear through the fog. The docks at Rivers Ward creaked beneath his feet, alerting his attacker to his presence. He'd overheard something, something important, but it still evaded him.

The faces of his sisters, his mother, swam through his dreams, too. How innocent and vulnerable the twins were and something nagged at his heart, telling him that they were could be implicated in the danger he'd stumbled across. A plot. An unexpected enemy. His sisters with their long black hair and lavender eyes were captive, and then they were burning... They were burning! They were burning and he couldn't save them.

A hoarse scream lit in his throat, but as he came to his eyes landed on the small fire and the young woman tending to it. No. No, his sisters were not burning, it was just the smell of the campfire weaving its way into his dream. They were safe, safe in Jadenshine with his mother. Pulling the blanket closer around himself to protect her modesty, Grian wondered why she remained. Surely she would want to send for help so he did not delay whatever journey she was on? He felt guilt for being a burden, something he was entirely unaccustomed to. Others had always depended upon him, but that was usually because he'd never let his injuries get as serious as this one had.

"Thank you for the fire..." Leaning cautiously forward, he took one of his daggers and rested the blade in the fire until it turned red with the heat. As it did, he let the blanket drop into his lap to expose his bare chest which was covered in bruises and cuts from his passage down the rivers. Tentatively he peeled her makeshift bandages away, blood welling up again, before gripping the sheath of his dagger between his teeth. Taking up the hilt, he quickly pressed the hot steel against the wound, a strangled growl emerging as his teeth cut into the leather of the sheath. He pressed the hot blade against his skin again and again, leaving it long enough to cauterize the wound, but not so long as to damage the healthy skin around it.

With the task quickly complete Grian fell back, chest heaving as he squeezed his eyes shut and tried not to pass out again. All he could think to himself was Damn! Damn! Damn!

[DragonSong]

Maka started a bit when Grain began to stir, then just nodded at his thanks. "Yeah, no problem." She started to get up, to tell him she was going for help, but then he laid his blade in the flames.

Oh shit. She flinched and looked away, knowing what he planned to do. It was a good idea- better than her makeshift bandages. Still, she'd cauterized wounds herself before and she knew how much it hurt.

When he collapsed back she moved forward automatically, kneeling next to him. "Here." She grabbed her flask and sifted through the abandoned "bandages" to rip off a few clean pieces of cloth. She placed the fabric against the mouth of the flask and tipped some water onto it until it was cool and damp.

Reaching up, she pressed the cloth against his forehead. "Try to keep still," she said gruffly, withdrawing her hand. "I'm gonna head back to the village, bring a healer for you, alright?"

[TreeFolk]

His skin pasty and clammy from the effort, he opened his eyes and gave her a tight-lipped smile, blue eyes bright with the pain. "Now you don't have to worry about my bleeding out while you're gone, right?" It was meant as a joke as serious as it was, but the way his voice strained with the pain was rather pitiful. Nope, not funny at all.

The cool cloth felt nice against his forehead, despite the rest of his body feeling cold. There was little doubt in his mind that a fever was starting to set in, and prayed that the wound had been clean enough to prevent a serious infection. The idea of reopening the wound to clean out any infection made his stomach churn. Although he'd seen greater men than himself caterwaul much more over wounds smaller and less serious than his, he felt pathetic not being able to carry himself to the town... Perhaps, if he had been alone, he might have felt inspired enough to push past the pain and go for it. Or he'd have perished. Funny, how one stab with a sword and a drift upriver could do so much damage to a man.

"I'll be here, unless I have something better to do." He replied with another joke, still trying to reassure her. He'd been surrounded by family, friends, and his loyal men all his life, and was surprised by the kindness of this stranger.

When he lost sight of her, he allowed the tension in his muscles to go slack, burying himself deep into the blanket. Dimly he thought about how he owed her a new tunic and a great deal more before he slipped into darkness again, his sword hilt clasped tightly in his hand should he be able to defend himself against what might come across him.

[DragonSong]

Shaking her head with a small, wry smile at his attempts at levity, she stood and set off at a steady jog back in the direction of the village she'd passed through before.

Getting there didn't take too long, at least not as long as she would've thought. Finding a healer and convincing them to come back with her took longer than she would have likes. Eventually, she managed to get a rather thin, older man to believe that she was telling the truth.

Of course, he couldn't go with her- apparently he was nearly blind, and was too elderly to travel such a distance on his own even if he could have seen properly. But his granddaughter apparently had inherited his knack for healing, and she agreed to follow Maka back to the lake.

She barely waited for the woman's agreement before she was jogging back the way she'd come, hoping Grian hadn't done something foolish int he time it had taken her to find help. The fire was spluttering, but at least it had cleared enough of the fog for her to make the site out fairly easily as they drew closer.