Suicidal... (PRIVATE - Small Wonder)

[Anonymous]

A cold wing blew, whistling past the rooftops. It was a beautiful night, the moon full and the stars emanating brightly. A human boy gazed dismally up at the night sky, closing his eyes as tears rolled down his pale, blood-spattered cheeks. Thick black hair and two dragon scale earrings ruffled in the wind and he cried silently, his face cold and blank. Those tear-soaked eyes opened up at the sky, the right a rich blue and the left a distinct pink, offsetting his darker features. They were filled with pain, horrible pain...  His head craned back down, vision focusing at his feet, the building's edge, and the large distance between him and the ground.

His slender body swayed slightly, eyes trailing over to his hands that rested at his front, soaked in the same blood and cuffed together. They trembled. Shredded clothes covered the boy, ripped and slashed at.  His left pant leg was missing, and the left side of his shirt torn apart. Two different bloods covered him, one being his own, and the majority being somebody else's.  His breathing was heavy, blood running down the side of his lips. He panted quietly, fatigue swelling in his body. Two gunshot wounds entered from his backside, one in the left shoulder and the other in the back of his ribs, just below the first.  He shivered, his weight on his right leg due to another gunshot wound in his thigh.

He was so cold. His socks wet with blood and the temperature in his body dropping. End it now...  But will I survive this too...?? Or will God let me have my peace...?? He clenched his teeth, tears welling up again. Why...why...!!!??  He couldn’t move his legs.  Why cant I do it...??! Its s o simple...its right there...just fall...  He fought with himself.  The him he refused to let have this body.  He'd rather die...  

"Let me kill you, you bastard...!" he whispered painfully.  "Y-you killed them...Why did you kill them...!!!??  Why...!!??" he broke down crying.  "You killed HIM...!!!  Why do you hate me so...!!!??" he glared at the street below.  "I hate you...!!!"

The screams haunted him.  He murdered eight people.  He was arrested...  and he killed eight people...  Would this horrific night never end??  Three of his friends lost their lives...and then five officers...  They died so easily...  He was getting nauseous...  And not even did they die peacefully...!  They were ripped limb from limb...! Even cuffed, he slaughtered them without hesitation...  It all happened so fast, and before he knew it, he was running frantically for his life.  Not even the bullets stopped him...  

He came to from the blackout, the rooftop, his feet, the street below coming back into sight.  He gasped sharply, remembering the incident.  But in truth, he didn't want to die.  He was afraid of death...afraid of loosing his existence...afraid of disappearing...  

Closing his eyes tight, he reached up with his cuffed hands and clasped the charm on his necklace and began whispering a chant.  The aura inside his body wrenched and jerked; yet he stood calmly.  He finished the chant and all the strain in his muscles vanished.  He suddenly felt lightheaded, his balance leaving him on the roof s edge.

[Rhindeer]

Ah. What a long day.

Yawning and resting his hands on the back of his neck as he walked down the dark, empty street, Aidan sleepily made his way home from work from the tavern he worked at. It was a modest living, not a job he was really too keen on, but what could he say, it paid for food and taxes and clothes and shelter, so he really had no reason to complain. No, a dishwasher at a tavern hadn't been the sort of job he'd been banking on when he came to this country, but oh well! He had a better life here in this city than he'd had back in his homeland, so it was all good. True, he'd made more money back home as a performer, a dancer for a noble court, but...the trade-off was well worth it, and he was humble enough to recognize that. His family hadn't approved of his decision to move, but they'd get over it. He'd promised to visit, and said they could visit him!

Besides, money wasn't everything. This place was more interesting, even if it was colder...but, what could he say, he was a desert guy. Anything below scalding was cold. Okay, maybe that as an exaggeration, but it was the same thing.

Taking his hands off of his neck and pressing them to the small of his back, he arched his spine a little to work out the kinks. Dishwashing wasn't a difficult job, but standing for eight hours scrubbing pots and pans did make his back ache after a while, not to mention his hands got all pruney and sore. Perhaps it was best his family didn't visit. They'd have a fit and fall in it if they knew how he was living, and he could practically hear the lecture--after all the money they'd spent schooling him and training him in the arts, he'd run off to be some low-life...commoner. Nah...he just got tired of the same old, same old. That was all, he didn't really need a reason. He'd probably return to his native land sometime in his life, but for now he just wanted to make his own future and, once he made enough money, it was off to see the rest of the world for him.

...Which had been his original plan, except as it turned out he'd ended up spending all the money he'd saved up from his old job as a performer on moving and buying a place to stay. He hadn't thought it would be so expensive. Apparently, his homeland's currency counted for less here.

His mistake.

Yawning, he rubbed his blue eyes with a fist sleepily before running a hand through his messy, jaw-length red hair, which was currently still damp and greasy from hours spent leaning over steamy hot water scrubbing dishes clean. He probably should have been paying attention to what was going on around him as he shoved both hands in his breeches pockets and strolled on towards his modest home, but then again, most nights there wasn't a bloody man standing atop a roof contemplating suicide. Which was why he didn't think to look up. Aidan just had no reason to be overly-cautious; this was a safe part of town from his own experiences, and he didn't feel like he had anything to fear.

Not that he feared much. Maybe he was foolish, but he just figured it was pointless to spend one's life in fear. Who knows? Maybe some bandit would come up behind him now and choke him with a chain, or maybe a carriage would fall out of the sky and crush him? Bah, so what? Then he'd be dead. Couldn't help that. So, what was the point? It was just best to live it up! Fear was for those who hadn't yet lived!

Little did Aidan know, but he was sort of correct in his thoughts. It wouldn't be a carriage that would fall out of the sky--no, on the other hand, if the man on the roof above him, the man who seemed to have lost his balance, didn't regain his balance--chances were, it would be he that fell out of the sky and landed on Aidan.

And man, would he be surprised.

[Anonymous]

(Sorry if its crappy ^^; )

He slid his feet further apart, his heart racing and his eyes wide.  He was spineless...  His vision was leaving him, so h e could not see the lone man just below his path.  He was careless, for he did not realize the amount of blood that left him. The stone he stood upon soaked up the staining blood to an extent, but it could only take so long before it dripped from the building's side.  His knees jittered, in pain from the cold.  It was as if he was being laughed at.  But that voice was gone now, and the urge to leave this world began to subside. He took a deep shaky breath, closing his eyes tight and biting his lip while tears ran.  

It was dark, so the pool of blood in the street below was hardly noticed, especially with the lack of people at this late hour.  Drip. A large droplet of blood landed on the boy. A second and third drop then followed. The faint sticky sound of his shoe in the puddle blood squished.  

No! I have to do this! I have to end it now! Why should I be able to live!? It's not right!  He cried, craning his head toward the sky again. "I will not let you survive...!!" he coughed, blood still draining from his throat. And finally, he relaxed and fell forward. And at that same moment, the wind picked up violently, as if it were screaming at him.  The human body plummeted toward the ground below, and at some point, his consciousness left him.  The stories flew past as he came closer and closer to his fate. This was it... It was finally his end...  Or was it?

A second before the lifeless body spattered into the hard ground, a black taloned wing shot from his shoulder. The massive claw dug into the solid brick and stone wall of the building, halting the body's decent, but the abrupt stop slammed him into the rough surface. He dangled now, mere feet from the sidewalk. The boy was barely breathing, but his life was...spared?? Fresh blood ran down his leg, the life inside him clinging. What appeared to be a Dragon's arm saved him from certain death, and continued to grasp the wall for dear live in front of the passerby.

[Rhindeer]

Plop! A big, fat droplet of liquid landed right on Aidan's forehead and, wrinkling his brow, he carelessly swiped at it with the back of his hand. What? Rain? But the moon was out and he didn't see any clouds. Plop, plop. More droplets landed on his cheek and forehead, and Aidan suddenly groaned. Crap! For all he knew, he was standing right beneath a window and someone was about ready to empty a chamberpot! Picking up his pace, he wiped as the droplets on his face with his fingers, then started when the liquid came back sticky and thick instead of watery. That...wasn't water or piss...and when he held his hand up to his face and took a sniff, the scent of copper filled his nostrils.

Blood.

With a gasp, he whirled around and gazed skyward, craning his neck back to see. But in the darkness he couldn't see much, though he could hear more blood splattering onto the ground from somewhere up above. It was coming from that manor...

Dear Goddess. Blood. Was someone being murdered?!

A chill running up his spine, Aidan realized he'd maybe been lying to himself. Okay, it was fine not to live in fear, and if he was knocked dead that was one thing. But this? Yeah, needless to say he was suddenly, and effectively, scared shitless at the moment, because of course it was easy to talk big until you were faced with something like this. Come on, getting blood dripped on you from some building was not normal or everyday, and Aidan had lived a normal and quiet life for the twenty-three years he'd been living, unexposed to violence even here in the city. For one second, all he could do was stare in disbelief at the growing puddle on the pavement below, the hair raising along his neck and arms as goosebumps broke out...and then his senses came to him. Shit! He had to find someone! A guard, soldier, someone! And who knew, there might be more people around. He'd be a witness. Even if he hadn't seen anything. Crap!

Turning on his heel, he bolted down the street to go search for an authority that could handle the situation better than he could--he was a dancer and dishwasher! He wasn't trained to handle this sort of situation; hell if he knew what to do!--and fast, but he'd gotten all of ten feet before a resounding crash nearly made him jump clean out of his skin. He stumbled with a yelp, his heart leaping, and spun around--

To see a bleeding man hanging off the side of the building by what appeared to be a claw-like appendage.

The person who'd been murdered?!

Fucking great!

Heart hammering in his chest, he had to clap a hand to his mouth and bite his knuckle to hold in his yell. Call him sheltered, but he'd never seen a bloody, broken body like that before. Blood didn't really bother him; he'd been in a fight before and his nose had bled like a fountain when it had been punched, but...that was it! That was a far cry from a maimed and mangled body! For a few seconds, he was frozen completely. What now? Run and find that guard? Check and make sure it was dead? Blood continued to drip, but through it all he thought he caught the faint sounds of breathing.

It never occurred to Aidan that that man might be the one that was the criminal. Now, Aidan was by no means naive, he just...hadn't really been out in the world enough to know that the injured person wasn't always the victim. No, not naive, but he could be pretty clueless sometimes. Convinced he was the victim of some attempt at murder, and that the murderer still might be somewhere above, Aidan knew he didn't have much time, especially with that guy losing so much blood. Swallowing his nerves, he jogged quickly over to the dangling man without even really thinking and bent to hook one arm around the bloody shoulders and toss one of the man's arms around his. Then it was a quick, fumbling effort to pry the claw from the building.

He nearly toppled over when he succeeded as the man's full weight was suddenly on him. Even as it turned out that the other man was shorter, it was still dead weight.

...Well...not dead.

Shuddering, Aidan shifted the man's weight. Great, great. Now what, genius? He...he had to get out of here, that was what. His home wasn't too far away. Right. He'd take him there, and fast. Then he'd go find a doctor. He had no idea how to tend wounds. Well, he'd tended to injured animals. Was it the same thing? He'd nursed a few lizards back to health and raised a mouse that one of his cats back home had gotten. Gah! Never mind that! First things first, getting away from here...whoever did this to him could be close by.

Stumbling along, he did his best to support the man as he made his way toward his home, and it never occurred to him that they were probably leaving a trail of blood behind. Damn. How could someone do this to another person?!

"Hey! Hey, you, can you hear me?" Aidan hissed into the man's ear as they staggered along, jolting him. He felt limp and lifeless...and he was losing a lot of blood. The last thing Aidan wanted to do was haul around a corpse.

[Anonymous]

(Bah, short ^^; )

As soon as the young man aided the boy, the arm released the wall, the noise of soft hide folding as the wing shrank and returned within the shoulder, leaving yet another hole in the remains of clothing.  His body gradually became lighter again, almost abnormally light. But what the young man couldn’t know was that it came from the boy's species rather than the loss of blood.  'It is not your time...' a silent voice coaxed his resting body. They were moving now, the boy could feel it. How am I supposed to get any sleep with all this racket?? He though to himself, jolted conscious again. Those mismatched eyes flickered open exhaustedly and he gasped, remembering where he was. But wait...! I-I'm alive??? He blinked, tired eyes trying to open more fully now. W-where...?  He turned to see somebody was carrying him, the sound of a muffled voice all he could hear. His ears were clogged from the rapid descent.  "Who..." he spoke strained. "W-why...am I alive..." he mumbled, that pink eye trying to focus on the face next to him.

Without even realizing it, his legs tried to pick up his weight for the poor man and he walked with him, still leaning on him for support. He was still dazed and rested his head against the young man.  He frowned slightly in his incoherent state, breathing shakily.  His eyes focused on the ground in front of him now, a rosy blush spreading across his pale cheeks. His hands were still cuffed, so he locked them together over the young man's chest as the he carried him.  This was bad... But he couldn’t do anything. He could barely move, let alone speak much to this man.

[Rhindeer]

It wasn't until he was almost home that one very important detail registered in his shocked mind, a detail that should have been painfully obvious but one he'd overlooked for all the blood and brutality. Cuffs. The man's hands were bound together. One would think this should have been obvious, given Aidan had only looped the guy's arms around him as his own arms worked to support the other man's weight, but it just didn't click until the modest, one-bedroom, two-room cottage he was renting came into view. It wasn't anything fancy; it was actually in bad repair with a celing that leaked in patches when it rained, but his landlord was fair and the rent was cheap. It was a roof over his head, and he didn't spend much time in it, anyway. He really only slept there and he wasn't trying to impress anyone, so it wasn't like he needed anything better than that.

It was when Aidan, calmer now that they were a good distance away from the manor, went to shift the boy's weight to a more comfortable position that he suddenly realized his hands were bound together by manacles.

...Wait.

Something about that set off warning signals in his brain. Cuffs. What...what did that mean? It could mean a lot of different things. The first possibility was that he was a slave of some sort. The second was that he was a criminal. The third was that he had been the prisoner of some deranged, murderous noble.

Quite a few different possibilities all carrying different risks and connotations...

However, the guy was bleeding to death, and what criminal tried to throw themself from the window of a manor? Not a very smart one, that was for sure. What would a bound criminal be doing up there, anyway? That option didn't really make much sense, and Aidan hadn't heard any commotion that would indicate he was being pursued--and a wary backward glance showed that they were quite alone--so he was going with one of the others. Or, hell, maybe it was both...a slave was technically a prisoner, right? In his country, slaves were prisoners of war, and Aidan didn't have any qualms about that. It seemed only fair--if the other group lost, they became slaves. It was better than death, and they could always earn back their freedom. He wasn't sure if that's how it worked here, but slave or not, he knew where he came from that while hazing them was all right, abusing, and certainly murdering them, was not. An abusive owner would get the owner punished and the slave would be either freed or given to someone more responsible.

Whatever the case was, he couldn't have just left the guy behind. It wasn't his nature. Maybe he'd never been in a situation where he had to help an actual person, but if he couldn't ignore a wounded animal, he certainly couldn't ignore a wounded human. Or...whatever it was that he was.

Even if he was a criminal. Criminal or not, he was hurt bad. He wasn't a threat. Besides, whatever the case was, once Aidan got him inside and got that bleeding stopped as best as he could, he was going to fetch someone who could get this whole mess sorted out.

Running all the scenarios through his head, he hardly noticed that the boy had gotten lighter and his progress was made easier. He did, however, notice when the boy spoke, because it was so unexpected that it just about made him drop the guy. He quickly regained his composure and glanced briefly down at the boy's face. This was a good sign...he was conscious at least, so now he supposed it would just be best to keep him that way. As long as he was awake and talking, he wasn't dead, at least.

"I'm Aidan," he introduced quietly, realizing the guy must be disoriented and confused. He sure sounded it. "Look, don't worry. You somehow managed not to splatter, and you're gonna be fine, now. I'll be getting you a doctor, and you'll be fine. Hey, what's your name? What's your favorite color? Do you like dogs?"

Stupid questions, he knew, but he didn't know what to say! He figured anything that kept the guy talking and awake was good, and he kept up the useless chatter even while grappling clumsily with his keys and the door to his home, kicking the door open and kicking it closed before hauling the man over to the only soft surface in his house, his bed. After this, he'd have to get all new bedding, he knew...probably a new mattress, too, if the blood soaked through. Oh well. With a soft grunt, he maneuvered the guy into the bed, laying him out flat on his back and making him as comfortable as he could make him--probably impossible, because he knew he'd be in a world of pain if he were in that kind of state.

That taken care of, he bit his bottom lip thoughtfully as he looked down at the wounded boy, caught in an internal debate. Run and find a doctor now? Try and haphazardly bind his wounds, then find a doctor? He might very well bleed to death before he found a doctor...but he might also bleed to death while Aidan fumbled around trying to stop the bleeding. It was one thing to doctor up a cat's torn ear and quite another to deal with gaping wounds. Well...all he had to bind a wound were sheets. The blood would probably just soak right through that, right? Ugh...Goddess, he was no doctor.

"Alright, I'm gonna go get a doctor--just stay awake, okay?" Aidan said hurriedly, turning to leave.

[Anonymous]

"Ai...dan...?" he repeated softly. The person then began talking and he couldn’t keep up. The guy needed to calm down. He closed his eyes at the fast passing words and tried to concentrate on them.  Woah...s-slow down..p-please... Those sore eyes opened again and he coughed a little. "U-uh..." he paused to remember anything that was said. He missed the part about bringing a doctor, but caught the rest all right enough.  Splatter...? He frowned a little. "My name...?" he thought. "D-drake..." he spoke timidly. Why was he asking these questions?? They were so random... "Um...th-this color..." he pointed to his pink eye, adjusting his cuffed hands to do so, and he blushed.  "D-dogs...? I don know..." he began to mumble, his eyes drifting shut again.  

Drake watched poor Aidan fumble frantically with his keys and felt really bad for inconveniencing him. This man was frightened for him... He felt selfish now... They were inside finally and he gazed about. His heart raced in his chest with worry as he tried to keep conscious. He was layed out on the bed and winced with pain, watching Aidan tiredly. Aidan was staring at him and be blushed again, looking away nervously. What??  D-doctor??? Immediately Drake sat up in the bed, his chest heaving. "N-no...!" he squeaked. "I-its o-okay...  P-please d-don’t bring a doctor here...!" he begged softly, on the verge of tears again.

[Rhindeer]

That wasn't quite the reaction he'd been expecting.

Spinning around on his heel as Drake--that's what he said his name was, right--squeaked and proceeded to beg him not to bring in a doctor, Aidan's blue eyes widened and an absolutely blank look crossed over his face. What? The guy looked about ready to burst into tears and he sounded pretty desperate--he'd even sat up, and he didn't seem so out of it anymore. Finally, his blank stare evolved into an all-out look of utter confusion, his brow furrowing and one eyebrow raising, his head tilting a little to one side like a dog that was trying to register some obscure command given by its master. Um...bleeding? The guy was hurt bad, bleeding, and, uh...he didn't want him to get help?

"...Um...okay. Erm, Drake? You're gonna bleed to death if I don't..." he said stupidly, still too stunned by the odd request to say anything intelligent. But the odd reaction did hit on some points that Aidan had been thinking over on his way dragging Drake here--Drake didn't want to be found, obviously. If he was a slave or a criminal, he could understand why. Or...maybe he just had a deathwish. Unlikely, his hands were bound; it was probably one of the first two. Aidan was leaning more toward the slave with an abusive master bit, though; the kid was way timid, though he was covered in too much blood for Aidan to have noticed any of his blushing.

Sighing in frustration, Aidan shook his head. "Hold on, I'll be right back--just to the other room, not to get a doctor. Stay awake." That said, he crossed out of the bedroom and out into the slightly larger multi-purpose room, fishing around through some drawers until he found a knife. Returning to the bedroom, he sat down at the foot of the bed where the top sheet and blankets were folded neatly and hastily began to cut up the sheets into broad strips.

"I'm not a doctor, you know...I don't know what I'm doing," he informed Drake, glancing over at him seriously as he tore the sheets. He knew he could easily just ignore Drake and go fetch the doctor anyway, but the way the kid had pleaded with him had taken him off guard, and, well...he just couldn't harden his heart enough to ignore that. Even though listening to him was quite possibly putting the boy in more danger. Well...he probably had a good reason for asking him not to, and Aidan just justified it all by figuring that if Drake's condition began to worsen, he'd go for that doctor no matter what he said. In the meantime, he could try and sort out the situation, do what he could, and...try and get to the bottom of this.

Finished shredding one of the sheets, Aidan stood up and went over to stand by the head of the bed, looking down at Drake again. His own shirt was smeared with blood from carrying the boy. "Okay...I'm just gonna try and bind your wounds and stop the bleeding, alright?" Try was the key word here. "If you can...you should tell me what's going on and give me a good reason why I shouldn't bring in a doctor..."

With that said, he reached down, gripped the hem of Drake's blood-soaked and torn shirt, and brought the knife toward it, figuring he'd just cut it off of him instead of jostling the boy more than necessary trying to take it off. He didn't know where the kid was injured and it would only get in the way, not to mention it was kind of unsanitary, and he didn't imagine it was too comfortable.

[Anonymous]

(^^ So, now you know what he looks like cuz i suk at describing. I hope you liked the piccy! ^^)

That question felt rather rude for some reason. He lowered his head in slight embarrassment. Of course he was bleeding profusely... But he was confident it wouldn’t kill him. Because if it was threatening, he would have been yelled at again. Wait...!  Why didn’t he die??? Did he hit the ground?? No...he couldn't have. He'd have broken bones...right?? He frowned, wiping tears and trying not to cry in front of the stranger.  Drake lifted his head to look at Aidan before speaking, but was cut off when Aidan spoke first and then left the room.  "Uh-" was all he could spit out as he watched the guy leave.  He blinked, and then relaxed and sighed.  He was shaking badly.  Stay awake...?? Yeah...he was awake all right... And alive too... But now he wondered what happened when he fell. It was all a blank.  I passed out... He stared at his shackled hands and cursed then for shaking so badly.  

Then Aidan came back...with a knife!? His heart jumped as he stared at it. W-what was he goi...?? Aidan sat at the end of the bed and Drake scooted back a little, unsure of his intentions.  Aidan's words then jolted him from his scared silence.  "H-huh...?" N-not a doctor...?? Didn’t know what he was doing...?? His mismatched eyes trailed up to Aidan's face as he spoke, H-he wasn’t going to remove the bullets with that, was he???? The ripping of the sheets made him flinch, unprepared for the sound. Oh... Drake sighed in relief.  Well, at least he scared the crying away.  Drake sniffled and wiped his eyes, only smearing even more blood around on his face.

After that, he watched tiredly as the sheets were cut into strips. He was cutting up hi sheets for me...  He felt really bad now.  Aidan then got up and stood over him. Drake was nervious and shrank back, but he didn’t move away.  That knife was making him uncomfortable though...   "Mmm...o-okay..." Drake answered timidly.  He blushed, moving over so Aidan could sit beside him while he cut his shirt off.  That knife was making him very uncomfortable...  Drake sighed and took a deep breath before he explained, holding still for Aidan.  "I-if I'm still alive right now...th-then I'm not going to die...  I-it isn’t so easy..." he sounded like it was a bad thing that it was hard for him to die.  Drake felt a burning sensation in his body then, around his wounds.  It was the bullets... They were dissolving... He knew this because the other him did.  

"A doctor wouldn’t do much good...a-and I don't want you to pay for any charges..." he frowned a little. He stared at his cuffed hands again, wondering if he should keep quiet, or spill the whole story.  Well...If Aidan wanted to know, he'd say something, right?  So in the end, he decided to let it pass. Then it occurred to him. What would happen if he admitted to murdering those people???? Crap...!  Drake tensed up a bit at the sudden thought.  It was extremely hard for him to worry though. Internal conflict was too good at persuading him to relax.  Damn...  And so, Drake relaxed again, his eyes showing it. He felt naked... His shirt was removed and he curled p a little in Aidan's presence.  The majority of the blood was coming from only the three wounds. The rest wasn’t his blood...

[Rhindeer]

[I did! He looks cool. XD]

Sitting down at the edge of the bed, Aidan worked to cut the shirt off--thankfully he'd thought to sharpen it a few days ago, otherwise he would have had a difficult time with the sheets and this. It didn't take very long before he could finally peel off the matted garment, grimacing and simply dropping it to the wooden floor with a sickening plop, where it would stay until he could dispose of it later. Gods and Goddesses. He'd never seen so much blood in his life, and the stench of it was almost overwhelming in the tiny room. After this, he'd have a hell of a lot of cleaning up to do; the stuff was everywhere, and Aidan had a feeling that if he still wasn't so shocked by everything that was so rapidly unfolding, he would have been having a total panic attack--or, you know, be vomiting his guts up because of the stomach-churning blood-stench and the sight of so much gore. Amazing what adrenaline could do; his mind was amazingly lucid right now, and he felt strikingly calm.

He set the knife down on the nightstand near the bed when he was through with it. Reaching for one of the strips of cut up sheet and looking over Drake's bare chest, wondering where the hell all that blood was coming from, Drake suddenly began to speak. Glancing up toward his face, Aidan narrowed his eyes a little in confusion. "What do you mean?" he asked, then sighed and shook his head, finally hooking one arm under Drake's shoulders to lift him up. His hand came into contact with one of the wounds, the one in his shoulder, and he quickly moved his hand, wincing apologetically, and looked. It didn't look all that big, just a puncture...but it had sure bled a lot. He found a similar one near his ribs. It didn't look like it was caused by a knife...those tended to be thin lines, not wide, gaping, round holes. What could have caused that? Speaking of which...he could have sworn he'd seen a weird, clawed arm...but he couldn't see any evidence right now to show that one had ever been there. Maybe he'd been seeing things...or...something.

Still supporting Drake awkwardly, he began to wrap the sheet around his midsection first, to take care of the wound in his side. He'd use another strip to bind the shoulder wound. "What did this to you?" he asked as he worked, trying to make the binding tight, but not too tight. No. He really didn't know what he was doing. He didn't even know if he was securing it right. It was true...he didn't really have the money for a doctor or a healer, but...if it came down to a matter of life or death, Aidan did not want someone's death on his head, not even a stranger's.

He still didn't understand what the boy was going on about, but he seemed convinced that he was out of the danger zone. Aidan didn't get it. One thing was for certain, though: the Drake guy's words matched his actions; he didn't seem like he'd be keeling over dead any moment now. If he had enough strength now, after all that, to sit up on his own and talk, then he wasn't going to die, right? Maybe he wasn't human...if that claw thing he'd seen was true, then he wasn't. That could explain why he wasn't already dead.

Finally finished, he brushed some of his jaw-length red hair out of his eyes, smearing some blood across his forehead as a result without even realizing it, and glanced back down at Drake. "Are you hurt anywhere else? Uh..." He glanced down uncomfortably. The guy's breeches and shoes were also soaked, and it would only get all stiff and crusty from the blood when it started to dry. Ugh.

Aidan glanced back up finally. "Look, um...we should probably get you outta those clothes. I have some clothes you can use, but I don't think sitting around in your own blood is healthy, right? When you feel up to it, you can also get cleaned up. I can bring in some water and heat it up." It was just a suggestion. He wasn't going to be removing more than the guy's shirt unless he had permission, and even that was only if the guy couldn't do it himself. He didn't want to come across as some creep that was playing doctor in an attempt to get in this stranger's pants or something sick like that. He wouldn't blame the guy for freaking and thinking that, though; there were a lot of weird people out there, and the poor guy already seemed so nervous.

He'd just been blessed not to have come across any of them so far.

Then, at random, remembering the cuffs, he added, "I could try and get those off. Look, kid, are you a slave? I'm not gonna turn you back in, so you don't have to be so nervous. If your master did this to you, you can tell me...I really can't believe how people treat slaves in this country. Back in my country, abusing a slave is wholely dishonorable." He hoped that, at least, made him a little more comfortable. He seemed scared, and he could imagine whatever he'd gone through had been horrible.

[Anonymous]

"U-um..." Drake wasn’t sure of how to explain without scaring him. And the last thing he wanted was to freak out Aidan anymore than the poor guy already was. But then Aidan shook his head and Drake quieted warily. Maybe its best to keep quiet anyway... He didn’t like lying...but if everybody knew the truth, the chances of anyone befriending him were slim to none...  "I-I'm sorry to have inconvenienced you..." Drake mumbled right before Aidan's hand stabbed his wound. He winced, but held his tongue, a small meep escaping him while he tried to keep quiet and sit still for him.   Drake leaned forward for Aidan to examine him, and trembled nervously. "Y-yeah...I-I-its n-not th-that b-bad..." he squeaked, trying to relax.

The mysterious arm would have to wait. Drake knew not of what happened earlier and assumed that Aidan hadn’t seen anything strange. But he didn’t hit the ground... Did Aidan catch him??? No...that couldn't possibly be it...  Drake hoped nothing suspicious happened and had no idea to assume that the very same claws that slaughtered those people were the same to save him from certain death. But it still bugged him nonetheless. He didn’t like not knowing in the least. He was paranoid. Blacking out was very bad in his case. Whenever he did, the him inside had control...  

Aidan then began wrapping him and he snapped from his worried thoughts and blinked. He moved obediently and accordingly to give Aidan access to do what he could.  Ack! More questions! "Uh...um..." But before Drake could even think about whether to be honest or not, Aidan started talking. "Oh...uh...yeah...  M-my leg..." he answered softly, his hands shaking in his lap as Aidan looked down at his ripped pants. All his cuts and bruises had already healed earlier. All that were left were the puncture wounds. So it might seem strange to have such cut up clothes with no injuries. Crap...  Eek! G-get out of my clothes??? Drake blushed furiously.  He nodded in agreement to Aidan, feeling really awkward still.  

"Hmm?" Oh, right, the shackles... Well, they did have a keyhole. Could Aidan pick them? That would be nice. They were really taking a toll on his wrists.  Drake sat quietly and listened to what Aidan had to say, waiting politely instead of speaking up now and cutting him off. Aww man..he hated to do this... "Y-yeah...I-I guess you could say that..." he smiled a little.  "Th-thanks..." he felt awful lying...  "U-um...so...d-do you want me to take off the rest...?" he asked timidly. He knew Aidan's intentions were good, and he trusted the guy.  He wasn't about to argue and was willing to cooperate.  "I-I would like to get this blood off now that you mention it..."

[Rhindeer]

His leg, too? Aidan glanced down, and found the wound on his thigh, though...it didn;t seem to be bleeding anymore. Odd...

Aidan shook his head. Some people in this country were disgusting...but, eh, every area had its flaws, right? Shifting on the bed, Aidan began to rummage around in the drawer of his nightstand, pushing aside pieces of parchment, keys, little trinket boxes, and the like. "I'll go ahead and try and get those cuffs off. I can't really guarantee anything, but I used to be kinda good with picking locks." Never for anything serious; mostly he'd just picked the lock of the food storage room when he'd been a kid to sneak out sweets that were supposed to be for special occassions alone. Man, had his mom been pissed when she'd caught him in the act, thus solving the mystery of the vanishing sweet cakes. It was a far cry from picking the lock of manacles, but, hey, it was worth a shot. The locks couldn't be that different, could they? Sure they could, but that was beside the point.

Aha! Finally, he came in contact with a bit of wire, and he pulled it out and closed the drawer before looking at Drake. He still looked thoroughly nervous and afraid, and he sounded it, too. Then again, he didn't blame him; he had every right to be. Aidan was a stranger, he'd just gotten beat by some sicko, and he'd just basically told him to take off his blood-soaked clothes--regardless of whether or not that was only logical and healthy, Aidan knew he'd be uncomfortable if some random person he'd never seen before in his life told him that, even if they were helping him. It wasn't like he was terribly modest--he didn't feel like he had anything to be ashamed of--but really...he would have preferred a doctor to have handled this situation.

"Alright...like I said, I'll try my best. Then you can take care of your clothes and I'll bind your leg. Okay?" Then, tilting his head as he bent the wire appropriately, he added, "Look, you don't have to be so nervous..."

Reaching out, he gently grasped one of Drake's forearms and inspected the cuff on his wrist, turning it a little until he found the keyhole. Then he inserted the wire and started working away at the lock, prodding around in an attempt to locate the mechanism that kept it fastened. "So...uh...I don't mean to be rude, but...what are you?" Aidan asked as he worked, glancing up briefly at Drake's face before looking back down at the lock. He didn't really expect an answer, but he just decided to throw it out there to fill in the silence as he worked. "I mean, just curious, you don't have to answer. Anyone else would have probably been dead with all the blood you lost...I thought you were a goner. And your wounds didn't look that bad when I binded them...you're not acting too bad off, either." He frowned. Stupid thing was tougher than he figured. Or, maybe he was just out of practice. "Plus, I coulda sworn you had a wing..."

Click!

Aidan jolted visibly as the lock clicked open and he quickly pulled the manacle free of Drake's wrist, flashing a sudden grin before going to work on the other wrist; he seemed a lot more at ease now that he was finally convinced that Drake wasn't going to fall over dead on him. Aha! That really wasn't too hard at all once he found the catch. The cuffs must not be meant for long term wear; he imagined cuffs that were meant to restrain someone for a long time would be a lot more difficult to pick. "Heh. Cheap things," he muttered, soon locating the catch on the next manacle and snapping that one open, as well. Releasing Drake of the cuffs, he tossed those to the floor to join the blood-soaked shirt. Then he stood suddenly and wiped his hands off on one of the ripped strips of sheet.

"Alright, ah...I'll go get some water and let you undress," he suggested. "Go ahead and use a blanket to cover up for now. I have some clothes you can use when you're clean."

[Anonymous]

Drake watched as Aidan rummaged, and nodded.  "S-sure..." He forced a small smile.  He peeked over Aidan's shoulder as he searched, just slightly curious by nature.  He leaned closer to see when Aidan turned around to him after he found what he was looking for. Drake froze at the sudden face to face and then fell back a little, blushing again.  "S-sorry...!" he squeaked tiredly.  Drake nodded again at Aidan and held out his wrists, his hands still shaking nervously, especially when Aidan grabbed one of them. N-nervous?? "H-heh...s-sorry..." he apologized again.  Drake looked away, trying to focus elsewhere while Aidan fiddled with the shackles. It wasn’t working too well though.  His eyes couldn’t help but look at Aidan as he worked.  

He listened as Aidan spoke, not really excited to answer those kinds of questions. Then Aidan met his eyes and Drake looked away quickly.  "I-i...uh..."he stuttered.  Aidan cut him off again and he stayed quiet until he finished.  And then the mention of a wing brought Drake's tired eyes wide awake.  Eep!  Crapcrapcrap!  He saw a wing???  What to say, what to say???  "U-um..." he squeaked again.  "Y-yea-sorta-kinda...um..." Drake lowered his head in shame.  The click may have jolted Aidan, but it was Aidan's jolting that jolted Drake. Drake flinched as Aidan finished and he took his freed wrists back and rubbed them.  "Th-thank you..." He bowed his head to Aidan politely.

"O-okay..." Drake nodded in reply to Aidan before he left him to change.  Drake wasn’t too comfortable with it, but there wasn’t much else he could do.  Once in privacy, Drake scooted to the bed's edge and stood. He looked over at the closed door quickly, and then proceeded to take off the rest of his clothing.  In the nude now, Drake grabbed the sheet and wrapped it around his waist, holding it with one hand, still trembling like a leaf.  He then waited for Aidan's return patiently while he sat back on the bed and thought about the random stuff running about in his mind.

[Rhindeer]

Before Aidan went outside, he bent down and reached under the bed to slide a wooden tub out. That done, he gave Drake one last, reassuring smile before he made his way out of the room, grabbed a bucket from the kitchen, and went outside to fetch some water.

He probably took a lot longer than he should have getting the first bucket filled, but he wasn't trying to be fast. He wanted to give Drake plenty of time to change before he went inside to empty the first bucket, because it would take a few trips overall to get the tub filled and he didn't want to walk in on the guy. It'd probably give the poor kid a heart attack, and hell, it wasn't like Aidan wasn't modest--he was! Probably hard to believe considering he'd been a firedancer and hardly wore anything when he performed. That was different, though.

Lowering the bucket into the well outside, he just waited a while, leaning his arms on the well wall and staring absently down staring out into space--or, just zoning out, in other words. Damn...what a day. Aidan yawned and ran a hand through his red hair tiredly. How the heck did these kinds of things happen to him? Oh well...he just really couldn't wait to get this over with and go to sleep, though where the heck he'd sleep was something else. Heck, maybe he was just so tired he was hallucinating.

Maybe.

Finally snapping out of his stupor and turning the crank, he pulled the filled bucket back up , grabbed the handle, and walked back inside with some of the water sloshing out and getting his right leg wet. The, approaching the bedroom door, he rapped on it once with his knuckles in warning before cracking the door open a little. "Hey...you decent?" he asked, peeking in cautiously--and, oh good, Drake was covered up in a sheet. Opening the door all the way, he came in and poured the first bucket into the little tub. "Don't get in yet; it'll take a few more buckets and then I gotta heat it. Hold a sec!" and with that said, he was off again to refill.

When the tub was finally filled up to a safe amount of water--high enough to be effective but not enough that Drake sitting in it would raise the water level over the edge--and Aidan had brought in a bit of soap, a towel, and a washcloth, which he set on the floor near the tub, Aidan nodded to the other guy, kneeling down next to the tub and sticking a hand in the water. "Feel the water; I'm gonna heat it up, so just tell me when it's good enough, alright?" he told him, tilting his head a little.

Let's see if Drake knew what the heck Aidan was talking about. Because, well...indeed, Aidan's element was fire, and he used it now--or, more appropriately, used its heat--to start warming the water up even as he spoke.