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The Night, Its Call

Started by Lion, December 23, 2013, 05:31:46 PM

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Lion

If she was modest, Rook did not think of it, nor did he have anything else on his mind in the midst of their crisis.  At the mention of what distance they had to go, Rook blinked at Roxanne and the ahead.  "In this cold..." he breathed, but he shut out any and all negative thoughts feeom his mind.  "No, we can make it.  Don't let go of my hand."

Even if she wanted to, Rook's grip held fast to her own and began walkin, rather limping, as quickly as he could toward the direction she indicated.  "What's this way?" he breathed.  "A camp or something?"




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

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Desert Valley Nights
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"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Zero

It was an awfully long way to walk, considering how cold they were, and she noticed that Rook's leg was bleeding again, another injury, she guessed. Her own shoulder ached and she thought a bruise was probably going to form, though what she had hit it on was hard to say. "Of course we're going to make it."

She squeezed his hand as he tried to drag her along. Dirk was behind them, having picked up what Rook hadn't carried himself. "A camp? Better than that, a cabin. You're hurt, if you don't think you can walk that far...maybe we could talk Dirk into carrying you." The animal behind them gave a soft growl letting them both know just what he thought of that idea.

Lion

Rook was shivering and every muscle in his body ached and was sore from it all.  But when he looked beside them and caught the glare in Dirk's eyes and promptly shook his head.  The wound was throbbing along his thigh and shin where the flesh was torn from the rock but he grit his teeth and strove forth, hobbling along and never once complaining from the pain.

The hunter was shaking by the time he saw the cabin in sight and clung to a tree by the time they were but a few steps from the door.  He gathered what strength he had left and limped toward the door.  "How do we know someone else isn't already inside?"  Despite his question, however, he leaned on the thatch-work door and slowly shifted it open.




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Zero

She must have been out of her mind when she suggested they walk all the way here. Her legs felt like they ended in stumps, every inch of flesh must have been covered in goosebumps. Roxanne as leaning softly against Rook, though she wasn't entirely sure who was keeping who up, maybe a little of both.

"This time of year this place is usually empty. He goes south, near the border, has a home and family down there. Only comes up during the summer to hunt." Roxanne peeked inside as the door opened, the hearth was cold and empty, and the place did look as if no one had been there in weeks. It was a small, simple cabin, but considering their circumstances it was as good as a damn palace as far as she was concerned.

Gently she pulled Rook inside, Dirk dumped their things by the door and left. Kicking the door closed she left her companion and began rummaging through drawers. There were furs folded neatly on a shelf over the bed, which was also draped in warm looking blankets. "There's kindling stacked there by the fireplace, should be flint on the mantle. There's a shelf over there with some candles and lamps. There might be oil in the lamps. I lost my medicine bag, but here's some linen we can use for bandages."

Her hands were shaking so badly it was hard to actually pick up the things she had found, but they would have heat soon. Roxanne didn't even notice that she was rambling. All she could think about was getting warm and taking a look at Rook's leg. Hopefully it wasn't too bad. She could try to get him to Ketra once they were warm and daylight. Then an actual healer could take a look  at him.

Lion

Rook's eyes adjusted easily to the thick darkness and simply listened when she mentioned the cabin's former resident. "How do you know him?" Rook stammered, shivering as he searched around for the kindling and the flint and steel.  "Who is he?  Your father? An uncle?"  His hands fidgeted with the wood and striking  a spark was proving to be more difficult than it should have been.  But after a few failed attempts the kindling took in the hearth and smoke began to rise and light filled the room.

Rook didn't realize how pale he'd turned, but he did notice how bad Roxanne looked and he made a noise that sounded something like a cross between a gasp and a croak. But it was only then that he remembered he was still in wet clothes and weakly reached for the buckles on his boots, managing to undo them just enough to slip them off his feet and moved toward his trousers.




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Zero

Roxanne managed to pull out a few pieces of linen and close the drawer. She dropped them near the fireplace while Rook struggled to get the fire going. Climbing onto the bed she stood up to reach the fur blankets that were folded on the shelf, pulling them down and tossing them in the right direction as best she could. "No, just a hunter I've met and helped a few times. I have no family. None that I know or claim, anyway."

Getting out of the bed proved difficult, she stumbled and nearly fell, barely catching herself on the dresser. She made a sound of frustration. The huntress was not used to this at all. She felt weak, clumsy. Her limbs didn't want to move the way she wanted them to, and her thoughts were still sluggish.

"Hurry and get those off, you shouldn't have kept them on so long." Roxanne had been naked almost since leaving the water. She could thank him for that. Dragging the heavy furs over she threw one on the floor in front of the fireplace and collapsed onto it. Weary, aching, and chilled to the bone, she wondered if she would actually thaw out.

Lion

"I know that!" Rook muttered through chattering teeth.  "But I didn't exactly have the luxury of worrying just about myself at the time."  Rook leaned back ans managed to slip out of the trousers enough to wiggle out the rest of the way.  He shivered as he crawled toward the furs that had fallen to the floor and laid one out before throwing one  over his shoulders, bundling himself in a large bears skin.

But his body contineed to shudder all over and sitting was greatly uncomfortable.  He shifted his leg and peered at the gash across his lower shin with great disdain.  "As If I wasn't hurt enough..."




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Zero

Roxanne almost shot a retort, after all, he didn't have to help her, save her, or feel obligated by her in any way. She bit the words off, though. They were both exhausted and freezing and hurt. No need to pick a fight now. Not to mention coming off as ungrateful wasn't something she wanted to do.

After Rook situated himself, she reached over with a sigh and grabbed the linens she'd gotten out for him. Crawling over to him Roxanne sat beside his leg, looking over the gash. With a grimace she pulled one linen free of the tangle and dropped the rest. "You have a knack for leg injuries."

Lion

Rook carefuly stretched out his leg when she crawled over to him.  "Sorry," he breathed sharply as she unfurled those extra linens, moreso that she had to attend to him once again after all the unpleasantness of being chased by that damned creature.  "I didn't try to get hurt on purpose just so you can take care of me again.  You took a pretty bad spill at the water fall.  I'll take a look at you when you're done," he murmured, wincing when she came into contact with the shin gash.

The cut was long and fortunately not very deep.  Once it was cleaned and bound, Rook motioned her to turn around so that he could take a look at her himself.  "Does it hurt anywhere?" he asked.  He stuck his hands in her hair, feeling gently along her skull and then moved down to her neck, feeling along her spine.




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Zero

As Roxanne worked on patching him up for the second time that night, she tried to be as gentle as her mostly numb fingers would allow. When she had first cut the arrow out, she really hadn't cared if she caused him pain. Now she honestly didn't want to hurt him anymore than she could help. A weak, tired smile was spared for him. Next to him Roxanne thought she had gotten by pretty lucky tonight when it was all said and done.

When the linen was secured over the gash she sighed softly and moved over to sit with her back to him, pulling her legs up and hugging them slightly. The fire was slowly warming the room and she knew that warming back up was going to be a long, uncomfortable process. Already her fingertips and toes prickled.

Her eyes closed as his hands moved through her hair, causing her scalp to tingle. "I think I either pulled or bruised my left shoulder, but I'm fine. Really." she murmured, letting her head sink forward to rest on her knees as she felt his hands moving down her neck. The jagged scars that criss-crossed her back would be quite obvious.

Lion

They were indeed and Rook curiously let a hand trace across one of them following the cris-crossed shape of the scars and grimacing as he did so.  "Looks like you've been through a lot," he commented solemnly.  "You've been out here in the forest all your life?"

The answer might have been a painfully obvious one from not only her body, but her lack of social skills, but Rook wasn't going to make a scene of it.  Instead, he went back to inspecting her shoulder and he winced audibly to find that her shoulder felt out of place

"You're right.  But I'm more surprised that you're not screaming right now.  Just brace yourself," he commented before grabbing her shoulder with one hand and her upper arm wth the other and pushed until he heard a pop.  "Better?"




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Zero

Having a hand running over her scars didn't draw much reaction from Roxanne, they weren't something she was ashamed of or that most people even knew about. It was just part of her body, those scars. "No more than some." There were people that had lived worse lives than her, that still lived worse lives than she ever had. "Something like that."

Roxanne hadn't flinched during the inspection, though when he winced her eyes narrowed as she raised her head. "Why would I --" she began as he grabbed her arm and shoulder, but a moment later she couldn't even breath as pain exploded through her body. That only last a moment before she cut off a strangled scream by biting on her tongue and cheek. If seemed like an eternity before she felt her shoulder slide back into place, though it was probably only a few seconds.

She blinked away tears that had gathered at the corner of her eyes, slumping forward slightly with a shudder. Her mouth tasted of copper as she panted softly, her right arm reaching up to tentatively feel her relocated shoulder. "Was that some twisted form of payback? Maybe karma."

Lion

At that Rook gave an amused laugh and he smiled at the side of her face.  "Payback?  No.  Besides, wasn't it I that started this whole thing?  Me nearly shooting your friend.  Well I guess both of us would have gotten hurt at some point.  Something tells me you're not very accustomed to having someone else take care of your for once.  But I didn't put parts back in different places did I?  I think I did okay fixing you up.  You your head seems a little lumpy."




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Zero

Roxanne made a face as he laughed, turning her head to look over her shoulder at him. Pale eyes regarding him rather seriously. "You really didn't start it. Dirk did by messing with your stuff. I'm sorry about that, and about shooting you. You're not so bad, you did save my life. Uh, thanks for that."

Sure, her life wouldn't have been in danger if it wasn't for him and that thing - whatever it was - that had been stalking him.  On the issue of having someone take care of her, well she just ignored it. "And what do you mean lumpy?"

Lion

"Your head's all bumpy!" Rook exclaimed.  "I'll show you."  His hands dug into her hair once more and combed through it, his fingers dancing over her lumpy head and brushed her hair out of her face.  "You took a nasty fall.  All you have to do to make the lumps go away is just relax into a head massage.  See?  The lumps are dissipating as I work."




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Zero

Roxanne stared at Rook incredulously as he began moving his fingers through her hair, softly rubbing the "bumps" away, to which she wasn't truly convinced were there to begin with. It did feel good, though, so she closed her eyes and relaxed. "You know what I think? I think these lumps are just you making excuses to keep touching me."

There was no indication whatsoever of if she was joking or not.

Lion

"Yeah.  You're right," Rook replied with a shrug.  "So what?  Being close together will allow us to warm up faster and keep hypothermia at bay.  I don't know about you but I don't want to freeze to death.  And..."  Rook looked at Roxanne a little more clearly now in the firelight.  "And despite a few unfortunate scrapes, it's not like I pose any real harm to you."




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Zero

"How did you go from excuses to touch to whether or not you pose any harm to me, hm?" Roxanne laughed softly, now amused. "Oh but I agree, I don't want to freeze either, and body heat will speed up recovery, but you could have just said so. No need for lumps."

As if to prove her point she leaned back, shoulders resting against his chest, letting her head drop to his shoulder.

Lion

Rook chuckled and took the bear fur around them.  It was enough to hold their warmth together and Rook was starting to feel a greater sensation in his hands and legs.  He still trembled now and then but that could be expected from being in wet clothes out in the cold for as long as he was.

As she laid her head against him, he nudged his head against hers and laughed.  "But you're head is a little lumpy."




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Zero

Roxanne sighed softly as he wrapped the bear fur around them both. Snuggling against him a little further, they would make a little cocoon of warmth before too long, that was a pleasant enough thought. It was just too bad they didn't have any hot tea or broth to sip as well. Beggars couldn't be choosers, she guessed.

She crinkled her nose a bit when he knocked their heads together lightly. "How about I make your head a little lumpy and we'll match?"