Some Wounds hit Deeper than Flesh.

[waytoonew]

Kord hefted the heavy bardiche style weighted ax. Marching down the almost buried road he pushes his feet through the snow wearing thick furs for his clothing to keep himself warm in the open tundra. He had lived in the forests and plains in summer and winter through storms and floods but never had his homeland been this cold. He slogged through the snow, light white powder thankfully, slowly watching the open tundra on either side of him. One hand held onto the haft of his ax the other in the front of his coat warming it against his stomach.

Kord stopped seeing something int he road ahead, blood, even int he fresh powder the red liquid permeated through into large zones of red. He began moving faster his ax now at the ready held tightly in both hands he didn't know what was up ahead a large outcrop of rocks covering the path ahead to the point he couldn't see around it so he moved ready to fight anything.

The first thing he noticed along the outcropping was a cave, he noted it in case the storm got worse. For now he pushed passed the outcropping knowing something was near the blood stains no longer spreading out onto the path. Whatever was making them was nearby...

[paganchick]

Sapphira had barely gotten away. The close calls she had been getting into lately were getting really old. Of course it was her fault, but still she didn't like it.
She laid, half propped up like a large bolder. Blood was everywhere, and she was weak. She knew if anyone happened upon her that wanted to do her harm she couldn't do much to defend herself. She had a large gash over her abdomen that was still bleeding and several other cuts as well as bruises all over her body.

She heard someone coming, she tensed then cringed in pain. She put her hand up to block the blare of the sun from her eyes so she could at least see who was making there way towards her.

[waytoonew]

Kord saw the girl but didn't rush forwards, he walked up slowly glaring down at her, if she had lived this long and gotten this far and was still conscious and able to move then she would last a while longer. He glares down as he hefts the ax over his shoulder letting it flip so the blade was facing away. He sighs and looks at her. "How did you end up like this girl... If you are here like this then there isn't much good that could come of you still being here... Did they rob you?" He questions looking at her wearily.

Kord wasn't one to abandon someone who was hurt but he was entitled to being weary of who he helped at least, owing one too many scars to being too trusting of someone he had just met.

[paganchick]

Sapphira knew now was the time to play victim. She had gotten rather good at it, perfecting it almost.
She coughed a laugh, a bit of blood spraying from her mouth.
"I think that was there intention," She motioned back to the swords strapped to her back.
"Lets just say all of the blood here isn't mine, atleast I managed to scare them away ay," Sapphira added with a deep sigh, flinching slightly at the pain it caused.
"They ambushed me as I was making my way around that bind," Sapphira added as she rested her head back, feeling weaker by the moment.

[waytoonew]

Kord looks at the girl, if she was coughing up blood that meant the bleeding was internal, not much he could do himself for her at that point. He walks over and as gently as a man of his build could, he picked her up in his arms sighing as he carries her. Around and back between the stones he lays her down after dropping a blanket onto the ground so she wasn't sitting on the stone.

Shaking his head he stands back up. "I'll do what I can... First thing I need to do is make sure we don't just freeze to damned death... I'm going to pick up some wood from out there to see if I can gather some fire wood..." He left her there before heading out. The place was a mess of rock and snow with little to no plant life. a bit of magic helped that. He used flame to clear a patch of its ice and permafrost before he began to work up power into a chant. Slowly he caused a thick patch of shrubs and even a few small trees to sprout up and grow rapidly. He finally cut it off ending the chant roughly the plants all drying and cracking before falling apart and to the ground. Collecting it in large armfuls he brings it back making a pile going back and forth getting it all a large stack of the wood in the back of the cave.

Kord looks to the girl as he piles the wood up a few gruff words of a chant and he fires a small stream of flame into the wood for the fire. Kord sighs looking to her. "Now that that's done... I have no idea what I can do but I'll try to help..."

[paganchick]

Sapphira nodded before he left, "I'll hold down the fort," She spoke.
She pulled the pack off her back as she waited for the man t return. She found it odd that the man just seem to take guardianship over her. He could have left her out in the snow, continued on, ignored her presence. He didn't though and she found it odd, but comforting.
Still she didn't trust the man, she rarely trusted anyone so he wasn't special.

She looked down at the gash, she would have to close it some how. She didn't have anything to stitch the wound together, which meant she would have to burn the wound closed, that was the only option for the big wound. Beyond that her only option would be to let her body naturally heal the rest with time and patience.

He soon returned and she found it odd that he found so much wood. When she was flying over she didn't see hardly any wood at all. She shook her head slightly, he had to use magic, that would be the only explanation. Her question was answered when she watched him light the fire.

"I suppose I will have to cauterize my biggest wound closed," She spoke with a sigh, looking down at the wound.

[waytoonew]

Kord gets the fire burning hot tossing wood on in before he comes back to her dropping his coat over on the pile of wood. He was thinking of how he could help, his fire magic was too butal and uncontrolled to work for cauterizing her wound, maybe heating a dagger? Later he thought for now he was going to close it. Going through his back he takes out a small pouch sighing. "Lay back... Here..." He helps her lay down and then puts a large water skin next to her head. "It's going to hurt a lot... try to dull it with the wine... It'll also help with the lost blood..." He grunts pushing it towards her as he pulls away the clothing around the wound making sure he had room to work.

Kord dug through the bag finding gut thread, the stuff was usable for just about damned everything and now it would work perfectly for keeping her from falling apart. He smiles and looks over the wound, it wasn't as deep as he had worried, he assumed she had had something blunt hit her as well explaining the blood, not as serious as the gash, it would heal on its own, but this needed help.

[paganchick]

Sapphira shook her head. She knew it was going to hurt, but sewing it shut would be much less painful than burning it shut. She leaned her head back, taking a deep breath.
"I drink too much for the wine to be strong enough to have much of an effect," She answered, not speaking the actual truth which was she was a dragon and dragons had an almost complete resistance to alcohol.  She took a deep breath, steadying herself. The dagger covered in poison that had given her her scar over her eye had hurt much worse than the gash. She knew she could take it, that wasn't the question.

The question was could she keep her identity as a dragon concealed during the ordeal. She didn't know the answer to that question honestly, she just hoped that she could keep control over her facade. She squeezed her eyes closed, her fist balling up.
"Okay, go for it, I'm ready," She spoke before clenching her teeth, preparing herself for the onslaught of pain that was about to begin.

[waytoonew]

Kord looks up and grunts as she refuses the wine, he shrugs and then holds her down a bit to keep her steady as he heats up the needle, then he slowly pushes it through the first side and back and forth sewing her wound shut slowly sure to seal it up properly. He was slow his hand on her stomach above where he was working oen leg pinning her legs so that she couldn't run off on him. He held her down tight as he worked. It took about half an hour of steady stabbing and tugging for him to fianlly close her fully. Then he sighed, "Now to make sure I need to cross each stitch..." He mutters and bites his lip.

It began again going the other way before he finally reached the other side holding her down tight the whole way across to make sure she didn't hurt herself further. He finished and then let her go. "Lay there and relax... If you move too much it might open..." he warns muttering a bit as he leans back on the cave wall next to her sitting with his knees up and his forearms resting on his knees.

[paganchick]

The stitches weren't the most painful thing she had experienced though they weren't pleasant in the least. As he stitched he would feel her muscles straining tightly against him. Not trying to move or fight against him but flexed from the pain.
Her skin was hot to the touch as if she was running a high temperature, a layer of sweat quickly covering her. Finally when he was done she let out a deep sigh. Her muscles instantly relaxing. She took several slow deep breathes. She was glad it was over.

She turned her head over, looking at him.
"Why did you help me?"

[waytoonew]

Kord smiles and sighs as he looks over to her nodding, it was a clean job and it should hold, pretty good for a man who's claim to fame was a brutal swing of a massive ax with little planning or dexterity needed. He nods to her as he looks at his bloody hands, he'd need to wash them some how, standing he goes into his bag digging out a large pot and some cloths he fills the pot with snow and sets it next to the fire feeding more wood into it. The large man was quiet after her question still as he bustled around doing things it took a few moments before he sat down again this time right next to her head.

"Why?" He pauses thinking as he puts his forearm to her fore head to check her temperature. "Why does a bird fly or a fish swim? It's in their nature, they do it because it feels right to them, birds are more than capable of hopping on the ground... fish could be jumping along too... But they most of the time fly or swim... I'm the same... Usually I'm fighting but now and then I take time to try to preserve life... No human deserves to die so early... Let alone die alone int his godforsaken place..."

[paganchick]

Her eyes watched him closely as he stood and moved about, would be avoid her question. Finally he sat back down, Sapphira's eyes were locked on him.

'So he assumes I'm human, if only he knew how old I actually was,' Sapphira thought to herself after his answer. It was useful. Humans were typically weak, slow healing, and rather unintimidating in general. Her skin would have been hot to the touch, a definitely temperature. Well it would be considered running a temperature if she were human. 
"You never told me your name."

[waytoonew]

Kord sighs and relaxes looking back at her as she stared at him. He grins and lets his shoulders slump down as he sighs and shakes his head. "Jeez... You are quite the woman..." he mutters and lays across the cave.

Looking at her as she asks his name, nodding he sighs. "Mmmm my name... I seem to get called bastard a lot if that counts..." He smiles and laughs nodding. "Sorry needed to lighten the mood... I'm Kord... No last name, where I'm from we never made them...  We used our profession as one... I was too young to get one before my tribe was wiped out... So I never got one... So it's just Kord..."

[paganchick]

Sapphira laughed openly but soon regretted it as sharp pain struck her from her newly stitched wound.
"Kord huh?" She spoke more to herself than to anyone.

"My name is Sapphira," She stated plainly with a slow breath. She knew it would be a long next couple of days as her body healed and she would have to stay mostly immobile. She would have to rely on the stranger. She didn't particularly like that. 

[waytoonew]

Kord runs a hand over the wound and massages aroudn it a bit after she laughed, tryign to loosen the muscle up and relax it around it so she didn't tear it open again. He smiles and sighs, as he finishes the little stomach rub to relax her muscle more. He nods and sits back smiling.

"Nice to officially meet you Sapphira..." he smiles and pulls his pack around opening it he takes out a small clear bottle filled with a clear liquid, "This is going to hurt ten times as much as the actual stitches... But infections twice as dangerous as any cut..." He mutters and smiles softly as he pours some of the liquid into his hands clearing them of any dirt or blood before he dribbles some of it onto her cut, the drink, extremely alcoholic burns as it touches the wound like fire branding her wound, he dabs it up with a clean cloth as he goes along the cut so it isn't left to pool along her gash.