CreareunderCreare
New Member
A sigh escaped Ashely when she and Jura were out of Diabmoure's range. Although they still had a long way to go before making it home, Ashely grimaced. And judging how tense Jura's body was underneath her, it wouldn't be a comfortable ride. Jura slowed her pace when dusk came about. Jura finally spoke after giving her the silent treatment; her voice dripped with anger and hurt, "Yes, my muscles ache; I have a couple of cracked ribs, many flesh wounds..."
Ashely let her friend rant, letting her get all her thoughts and frustrations out. She listened silently but intently as she pulled out her storage tool. She shifted her weight and pulled out a small first-aid kit and a rope. When Jura said, "...you took too long to rescue me." Ashely quietly sucked in her breath a little, feeling slightly guilty. She tied one end of the rope around her own waist and two loops around her thighs. Then she shuffled forward to secure the other end of the rope around her friend's neck. A safety precaution, just in case.
The two would enter many fights in their line of work, and Jura often protected Ashely from attacks. So Ashely developed a way to care for her friend's injuries in the air. However, Ashley fell quite a few times in the beginning. Thus, the rope helped. When Jura finished her rant, Ashely had already begun cleaning the cuts found on her back. A few minutes of silence passed before Ashely responded, "You fought well, though. Very entertaining. I especially enjoyed it when you crushed that criminal's skull. I made quite a fortune betting on you."
She attempted to joke around, but Ashely felt it was not received well.
More moments of silence passed again. Jura gently angled the tips of her wings so that the direction they travelled changed slightly. Ashe could hear Jura's tiny hisses, "I'm sorry this happened to you, Jura," she said. "I should have known they would capture you from the beginning. That they were explicitly after you. I would not have let you go if I knew they were waiting for you."
As gently as Ashely could, she tied a few climbing knots and created sling to hold herself in. Gracefully she simply slid sideways, ducking between Jura's legs. There she was held by the rope sling she fastened and observed the cuts. Then she began cleaning and dressing them. After which, Ashely placed her hands on Jura's ribcage. "This will hurt like a hippogriff biting your paw off." She pressed inwards, feeling where her ribs had been damaged. She had recalled one of Jura's more dangerous fights left quite an injury. "Yep, two broken and 3 bruised ribs ones." She used the rope to climb back onto Jura's back. "I will wrap your chest up to support your ribcage when we land and dress your other minor cuts."
Little by little, the night sky disappeared to give way to the sun. Looking back, they could no longer see Diabmoure. "I actually estimated that you would have lasted for 6 months in the Diabmoure, thus had planned to root my influence in the Arkarma. However when I saw your fights after the first month, you began to lose your spirit. A soldier without hope is a dead one. So that left me to complete 5months of work. I managed to extract information on funding locations. Sent that to our guild to steal. Solidify a presence as a trader, but now of course, I cannot show my face there again. I managed to scout the structure of the Arkarma, figure out who the most powerful are, and research prison and guard layouts."
Ashely made her case to Jura and explained her main point, "Jura, I waited as long as possible to rescue you because I took that opportunity to cement a strategy to take down Diabmoure for good."
The silence came again, and Ashely waited for Jura's response. When none came, she decided to leave the topic for another time. Right now, they needed to camp and rest. They flew a couple more hours before a wide river came into view. Once they crossed it, they would take an indirect route back to Outcast Island. Standard guild protocol to shake off anyone following them. The sunrise was beautiful, particularly in partnership with the beach. She untied the rope and packed her first-aid kit, putting them back into her storage tool. She leaned back onto her hands and stared at the scenery ahead of them.
Ashely glanced back at Jura from the rising sun. She listened to Jura's wings flapping against the wind when the air current wasn't enough. She looks utterly wrecked. Flying on fumes. I don't know anyone with more grit and loyalty than her companion. Ashley frowned. She wondered where exactly Jura was leading them. She considered their next possible moves. Jura needs a healer; she will need to rest until we can locate one or, at the very least, buy some healing mana tools. The healing services are expensive, but I am sure the pouches of gold from Abaddon will be sufficient. They would need shelter to hide, food wouldn't be a problem, and I could always hunt with my bow and quiver.
So much to do yet little time to do it.
Ashely let her friend rant, letting her get all her thoughts and frustrations out. She listened silently but intently as she pulled out her storage tool. She shifted her weight and pulled out a small first-aid kit and a rope. When Jura said, "...you took too long to rescue me." Ashely quietly sucked in her breath a little, feeling slightly guilty. She tied one end of the rope around her own waist and two loops around her thighs. Then she shuffled forward to secure the other end of the rope around her friend's neck. A safety precaution, just in case.
The two would enter many fights in their line of work, and Jura often protected Ashely from attacks. So Ashely developed a way to care for her friend's injuries in the air. However, Ashley fell quite a few times in the beginning. Thus, the rope helped. When Jura finished her rant, Ashely had already begun cleaning the cuts found on her back. A few minutes of silence passed before Ashely responded, "You fought well, though. Very entertaining. I especially enjoyed it when you crushed that criminal's skull. I made quite a fortune betting on you."
She attempted to joke around, but Ashely felt it was not received well.
More moments of silence passed again. Jura gently angled the tips of her wings so that the direction they travelled changed slightly. Ashe could hear Jura's tiny hisses, "I'm sorry this happened to you, Jura," she said. "I should have known they would capture you from the beginning. That they were explicitly after you. I would not have let you go if I knew they were waiting for you."
As gently as Ashely could, she tied a few climbing knots and created sling to hold herself in. Gracefully she simply slid sideways, ducking between Jura's legs. There she was held by the rope sling she fastened and observed the cuts. Then she began cleaning and dressing them. After which, Ashely placed her hands on Jura's ribcage. "This will hurt like a hippogriff biting your paw off." She pressed inwards, feeling where her ribs had been damaged. She had recalled one of Jura's more dangerous fights left quite an injury. "Yep, two broken and 3 bruised ribs ones." She used the rope to climb back onto Jura's back. "I will wrap your chest up to support your ribcage when we land and dress your other minor cuts."
Little by little, the night sky disappeared to give way to the sun. Looking back, they could no longer see Diabmoure. "I actually estimated that you would have lasted for 6 months in the Diabmoure, thus had planned to root my influence in the Arkarma. However when I saw your fights after the first month, you began to lose your spirit. A soldier without hope is a dead one. So that left me to complete 5months of work. I managed to extract information on funding locations. Sent that to our guild to steal. Solidify a presence as a trader, but now of course, I cannot show my face there again. I managed to scout the structure of the Arkarma, figure out who the most powerful are, and research prison and guard layouts."
Ashely made her case to Jura and explained her main point, "Jura, I waited as long as possible to rescue you because I took that opportunity to cement a strategy to take down Diabmoure for good."
The silence came again, and Ashely waited for Jura's response. When none came, she decided to leave the topic for another time. Right now, they needed to camp and rest. They flew a couple more hours before a wide river came into view. Once they crossed it, they would take an indirect route back to Outcast Island. Standard guild protocol to shake off anyone following them. The sunrise was beautiful, particularly in partnership with the beach. She untied the rope and packed her first-aid kit, putting them back into her storage tool. She leaned back onto her hands and stared at the scenery ahead of them.
Ashely glanced back at Jura from the rising sun. She listened to Jura's wings flapping against the wind when the air current wasn't enough. She looks utterly wrecked. Flying on fumes. I don't know anyone with more grit and loyalty than her companion. Ashley frowned. She wondered where exactly Jura was leading them. She considered their next possible moves. Jura needs a healer; she will need to rest until we can locate one or, at the very least, buy some healing mana tools. The healing services are expensive, but I am sure the pouches of gold from Abaddon will be sufficient. They would need shelter to hide, food wouldn't be a problem, and I could always hunt with my bow and quiver.
So much to do yet little time to do it.