Far from Home

[PixelatedGlory]

All of Oren's ridiculous expectations and worries flew straight out the vent at the top of the tent. These people barely even seemed to care who he was. No matter, he wasn't here to be noticed and to be honest he didn't really want to be questioned either.

When the council didn't seem to object to his presence in their camp, he breathed a sigh of relief. That was much better than I expected, I don't even have to speak and I can get right to-

His thoughts were interrupted by Shyla, and the nudge was enough to make him step forward and stumble. He nearly fell, but steadied himself as the heat of embarrassment rose inside him at nearly making a fool of himself in front of so many people.

He cleared his throat and started, hesitantly, "Um, I'm Oren. I-I can heal your people with my touch, but I can't tell you what caused any diseases. I told the others what, uh, compensation I would like but I can negotiate with you if you aren't happy with it..."

[DragonSong]

"You're fine, lad," one of the men said with a wave of his hand. "We just needed to know who you are. The council rules that you're free to practice your arts in this camp."

Aeris nodded with a soft huff. Shyla turned to lead Oren back out of the tent, calling, "Come on, I can lead you to the infirmary-"

Before she could take more than two steps, a new lycan came charging into the tent on all fours, skidding to a stop before looming onto her hind legs, panting. "Erik-" she gasped between breaths. "Out hunting- he fell- bleeding bad-"

Before she'd finished, Aeris scooped Shyla up by the scruff of her neck and dropped her onto his back as he fell forward onto four paws and took off. The elven girl buried her fingers in his ruff as she leaned low over his neck.

"Oren! This way, hurry!"

[PixelatedGlory]

Oren had started to trail off but finished silencing himself completely as the man spoke. He once again was thrown off by how casual the council was being. He wasn't upset, as it was a good thing for his needs, but it stuck in his mind that someone with more ill intentions than him could pose a serious risk to these people.

Oren bowed respectfully, if a little clumsily, towards the man who had spoken and then replied to all of the council members, "Thank you all for your time. I will do everything within my power to help care for your sick and injured people."

With a quiet but audible sigh of relief, he turned to follow the lead of Shyla. At least now he could get to things he knew how to do. He figured that depending on the number of the most severe patients, he should be able to see to quite a few before sunset. At the very least he could determine a priority for the rest.

Oren only had enough time to take a single step towards Shyla before the new Lycan woman came sliding her way into the tent. Oren was glad he was following the others, as if he had been in front he might have been bowled over by mistake. As it was he flinched and jumped a little away from where the woman entered.

As what the woman was saying started sinking in Oren's heart started thumping and a serious look took over his face. Gone were the palms sweaty with nerves. Oren was actually calm despite his body preparing to leap into action. He always had been calm when preparing to use his power.

This hunter was very likely bleeding out from what the woman was saying. Oren had no time to hesitate or think and didnt even reply to Shyla. Instead he started running after Aeris as fast as he could. There was no way he could keep up but he was doing the best he could.

[DragonSong]

Winter, the she-wolf that had come with the news, grabbed Oren by the scruff of his neck and threw him onto her back as she went tearing after Aeris and Shyla, not bothering to ask permission or even really warn him. She'd just been told he was the healer, and that was enough for her.

Ahead, Aeris panted, "Even if we get there in time...he may not be able to do anything-"

"Don't say that," Shyla snapped, curling her fingers tighter in his fur. He's only twenty-six, it's too soon...

[PixelatedGlory]

Oren flailed for a moment and gave a yelp as he was startled by being grabbed from behind. Humans weren't really made to be grabbed by the neck. It was a little painful but the sudden loss of control over where he was going was more jarring. As Oren realized what was happening though, he stopped trying to fight her off and let her pick him up. Not that he really had a choice in the matter of course, as his feet dangled above the ground. He felt his power start to tingle in his neck but suppressed it. Better to save everything he had left for the seriously injured person.

Landing on top of the running she-wolf knocked the wind out of Oren. Fortunately he had the presence of mind to quickly grab hold of the thick fur around her neck and he squeezed his knees as best he could against her back. He then could safely take a breath and look around him.

Oren had never even been on a horse before, so the experience of riding at this speed and seeing things go by that fast was mildly terrifying. Right. Priorities. If this gets me there faster, there's a better chance I can help. With that he closed his eyes and focused on holding on as tight as could.

He did lean a bit closer to the woman's head and yelled so she would be able to hear him, "I know you need to save your breath for running so don't worry about trying to respond. When we get there it is important that the injured one doesn't get moved at all. Not an inch until I can put my hands on him." And even then I may not be able to do much if he has lost anything too vital. Hope they don't blame me if that's the case, he thought to himself.

[DragonSong]

Winter didn't bother to respond, and soon enough the small group reached the crevice where Erik had fallen. The lycan was caught between two jagged rocks at the base of the dip, and there was an awful lot of blood painting the stone.

Shyla, using the ravens that had already begun circling as her eyes, hurried down into the gap. She could fit better and faster than the lycans. "Hey, brother," she murmured quietly as she approached, reaching for Erik's hand.

His paw twitched weakly as he fingers touched it and he gave a ragged, chuffing laugh, then coughed, red staining his lips. "Hey there, pup."

[PixelatedGlory]

Winter and Oren arrived shortly after Shyla climbed down to check on Erik. When Winter stopped, Oren opened his eyes again, let go of her fur and slid down to the ground without wasting any time.

He walked over to peer down into the crevice and get an idea of the situation. Noting the large amount of blood, the difficulty breathing and the red stains on Erik's lips Oren guessed there were significant internal injuries. Most likely the man's lungs were injured, maybe punctured.

Oren turned toward Winter and Aeris and in a stern voice he started giving instructions, "One of you two help me get down there without falling or knocking loose rocks down onto him. Then you can stay up here to keep an eye out. The other will come down to help hold him still if need be." He turned back towards Shyla and called out, "Shyla, I need you to keep him calm and still. Slow breaths, but don't force him to make them too deep if he starts coughing."

Oren then took of his cloak and tossed it out of the way. With the help of one of the lycans he lowered himself carefully down to where Shyla and Eric were. He rolled up his sleeves and kneeled down in the blood next to Erik. "Erik, my name is Oren and i'm going to heal you. Just try to be as calm and still as you can. Focus on Shyla's hand." He then closed Shylas' hand around Erik's fingers.

A bright violet glow lit up the crevice as it poured out form Oren's eyes and hands. He leaned over Erik and placed one hand on the man's chest and the other on the side of his neck. As he made contact tendrils of light began leaping from Oren's hands and traveling across the lycan's body, investigating every injury big or small but focusing most of their energy towards his torso.

To Erik this would have felt as if all of a sudden his body was being submerged into a nice warm bath and his pain was dulled but not removed entirely. Oren was focused more on trying to heal the injuries than giving comfort. The first phase of trying to heal an injury like this was to scout out the damage and determine which things were in immediate need of focus and which could wait. Oren wasn't a trained physician and his power didn't work that way. His diagnosis was more of a series of feelings that he got as the tendrils of light made their way across the body. His main focus was on stopping any major bleeds and making sure Erik could breath without choking or drowning in his own blood.

While Oren worked he did not notice or care that his clothes and hands were being completely soaked by the blood. Indeed while he was concentrating on this task he didn't notice much of anything outside of what was happening to Erik. He could hear and respond to the others if needed but if he broke contact, things could turn out badly for both of them.

[DragonSong]

Shyla watched through the eyes of the circling birds, clutching Erik's hand. There was...something off, something wrong with the healer's attempted magic. As though something in the lycan was actively fighting against being saved.

"Please..." Shyla didn't realize she was speaking out loud, bowing over her brother like a mourner. "Please, please, please..."

[PixelatedGlory]

Oren could feel the extent of the damage inside Erik's body. He could tell that his power could repair the internal injuries and keep the lycan man from bleeding out. The trouble was every time one of his tendrils of healing magic tried to seal a tear the man's body seemed to be doing everything it could to oppose him.

What is going on here? This is something far beyond normal injuries. 

Oren was confused by how the body was fighting against his every attempt to heal. He would have to ask the others what was going on later, but he couldn't drop his focus on what he was doing for even a second. Determined to keep Erik alive he poured more and more healing energy into him. Much more than he normally used on a single person. For every little tear that would normally have one tendril working on it he sent three.

Beads of sweat began to run down Oren's face. He knew he couldn't keep up with this amount of healing magic for too long. He had passed his usual safety limit and was starting to see black spots. All of a sudden all the violet light ceased pouring from Oren's hands and eyes and he slumped over onto Erik's chest. A few lingering tendrils of violet light danced through Erik's body and then dispersed.

[DragonSong]

Shyla cursed quietly and leaned forward to catch Oren, easing him gently to the side with one arm while she still clutched Erik's paw with her other hand.

He wasn't breathing.

Tears stung at her eyes and she clenched them shut, cutting off her Sight with the ravens. "Aeris-" Her voice cracked and she bowed her head.

Winter whimpered, then howled quietly. Aeris gave a soft, pained sigh before slowly climbing down into the crevice to take the unconscious healer from Shyla's arms. "Get him back to camp," the girl whispered. "I- I'll stay with Erik."

"Shyla..."

"Just go."

[PixelatedGlory]

Oren's limp, blood-soaked form didn't put up any resistance as Aeris carried him. He was breathing and his heartbeat was fine but otherwise he was dead to the world. Oren never dreamt when he was like this. To him it was like one moment he was desperately trying to heal someone and the next he was clawing his way out of thick mud to reach consciousness again.

He winced as he tried to open his eyes and was nearly blinded by even the dimmest of lights. His head pounded and he had the distinct impression that the world was spinning around him. Oren coughed, trying to find his voice to ask where he was.

He couldn't use his power to heal even his headache, but it normally subsided after a bit of time and some food and water. The trouble was, he knew that he had failed. He had felt Erik's body going limp even as he had lost consciousness. Oren wanted very much to puke.

[DragonSong]

"Easy there." Feeling the healer stir, Aeros paused and tried to set the younger man up in a seated position. "You alright, lad?" he asked gruffly after giving Winter a quick nod to go on ahead to the camp and bring the others the news.

[PixelatedGlory]

Oren squeezed his arms around his head trying to reduce the headache and keep the world from spinning. Sitting up had helped a bit but he still couldn't open his eyes yet. "I'll be ok in a while." He frowned deeply, "I tried so hard. Why didn't you all tell me there was something else wrong? Something was fighting me."

He paused to take a deep breath, "I'm afraid I may not be much use to you all if that's how all your injured are. At any rate i'm tapped out for today. I might be able to see to a few minor wounds after a few hours but if I start to black out again i'll have to stop. I'm sorry."

[DragonSong]

"Nah, don't push yourself." Aeris laid a hand on his shoulder, steadying him. "Look...it's sort of a long story. Not all our injuries are like that, Erik is- he was getting close-" He sighed. "It's complicated. And personal. Kind of a family secret. But I'll...explain what I can. Once you've rested up, alright?"

[PixelatedGlory]

Oren wanted steel himself and push back. To insist on being told the reason he wasn't able to heal the Lycan. If he had known.... no that would have changed little. Oren would still have done his best to save Erik and still probably have pushed and pushed until he blacked out.

Besides, Oren's head was still pounding hard enough to make it difficult to focus. The nausea had abated a little but he didn't trust himself to not fall over. "Water. Can I have some water please?" he asked weakly.

Still with his arms wrapped around his head he turned toward where the hand on his shoulder lead. "Is everyone going to be ok dealing with this loss?" He winced as the pounding in his head worsened and he decided to rest back against Aeris again.

[DragonSong]

"Back at camp," Aeris responded gruffly. His grip was gentle though as he tried to pull the healer to his feet. "Don't have a flask on me, but we can get you something to drink and maybe some food once we get back."

He didn't bother answering the second question. They'd be okay; the Red Howlers were used to losing members of their pack. That never made it easier.

[PixelatedGlory]

The promise of water and maybe even food was enough to distract Oren a little from the splitting pain in his head. "Ok, then lets get back there. I think I can walk with a little help." He wavered and stumbled, nearly falling again, but with the gentle help of Aeris he made it to his feet.

Oren stopped holding onto his head so that he could cling to Aeris' arm instead. He opened his eyes just a crack and the whole world around him started swimming. He started to get dizzy and quickly shut them again. It would be better to just focus on walking and let Aeris make sure he didn't trip too much.

It was excruciatingly slow but they were able to start heading back to the camp. Oren didn't comment about how Aeris hadn't responded to his second question. There was no good answer to that type of question, no matter how many times he had tried asking it in the past.

[DragonSong]

"Here." Aeris picked the healer up by the back of his shirt and craned around to drop him onto his back. "This is easier for everyone. Just hang on."

[PixelatedGlory]

Oren moaned as the sudden movement made his head spin but he was glad for the offer. If truth be told he really preferred to be riding and not walking in his state. He buried his face in the softer fur of Aeris' back and clung to him like a child.

So warm and comfortable, I think I could just...No! I can't sleep now or i'll fall off.

Oren held on as best he could and by the time they started getting back to camp his headache had abated quite a bit. Enough that he could open his eyes and look around again, though he chose to keep his face buried in the fur instead. He didn't want to look at any of the faces of the others until he had to.

He wasn't quite ready to deal with their disappointment and sadness. Some healer he was, unable to do his job and then he couldn't even comfort the survivors either. Hidden from view, he brushed his face against the fur to wipe a few tears out of his eyes.

[DragonSong]

Aeris continued on to the camp in awkward silence. They arrived a few minutes after Winter, so the news at least had already been delivered. A younger Howler approached their leader cautiously, murmuring, "We sent Lila, Tan, and Alan to get Shyla and- and the body."

Aeris nodded solemnly, kneeling down to let Oren get off his back. "Get the lad to a bed, he needs rest."