MoD RP (Shaples)

[Shaples]

For a moment, she just gaped at him. The street urchin part of her brain was still tingling with suspicion, unable to reconcile his staunch secrecy and suspicious behavior with his apparent helpfulness. The little voice in the back of her head said: he's probably going to shank you, or run, or get you arrested, or set you on fire; this is definitely a trick, or a trap, or a setup. But what tactical advantage was there in weighing himself down with a second person? She was so bone weary that she clapped down on the little tinkling alarm bell in her mind and nodded, letting out a tired sigh. "Yeah, okay."


She bent down and gave the injured man another quick once over. His breathing was soft but steady. He wouldn't be running any marathons tomorrow, but she wanted to be sure that moving him wouldn't do any more damage to him. Looking at him again, though, without the haze of panic and adrenaline, she realized just how devastating the wound had been - like he'd been punched straight through with a rather hefty spear. It was no wonder she was exhausted. She ran her fingertips over the circle of pink new skin, touching the jagged, bloody hole torn through the man's tunic, and clenched her jaw, muttering under her breath, "Damnit, Yue."


She let out an angry huff, then slid the unconscious man's arm up onto her shoulders and gripped gently at his hip, careful to avoid his injury as she rose to her feet. Their height difference meant that his feet dragged a little, but that was nothing new. "Other than the blood loss, he's mostly okay, but watch your hands. I don't want to jostle him too much if we can help it." She maneuvered herself over so the soldier could take one of his friend's arms onto his shoulder, and she had to stand a little straighter to keep her share of his weight. "I'm Kari, by the way." She glanced up, giving him a tired smile, "You got a name, or is that a secret, too?"

 

[redribbon]

"Oh, yeah, Kari, everyone knows that," the man said with a chuckle as the two shuffled over to his other unconscious friend. It was a half-truth that everyone knew her name. Soldiers were supposed to recognize a magician if they ever came across them, after all. Granted, she hadn't gotten her portrait done yet so there was no way he could recognize her, but the name was circulated along camp. Besides, a girl casting holy magic? That fit the description well enough, and from the sounds of it, Yue happened to be with her, too.


"Name's Eric. Boring, but that's what my mother called me," he said with a light laugh. As soon as they reached his friend, the man named Eric urged the injured man a little more towards Kari. "Hey, think you can hold him for a sec while I get my buddy on me here?"

 

[Shaples]

Kari puffed out a little laugh and muttered, "Right, of course they do." For a moment, she thought he was going to ignore the second half of her question, but when he actually answered her, she turned her face up to look at him curiously. "It's not a boring name," she said without really thinking, then glanced away, adding, "It suits you."


When they stopped by the third man, she nodded, hefting the weight of the injured soldier onto her shoulder and gripping a little more securely at his hip. "Yeah, I've got him."

 

[redribbon]

Eric's brows furrowed for a moment as he glanced over towards the magician. The expression soon washed away, though, and he was back to smiling. "Suits me in that it's boring," he laughed. He eased his support from the injured man slowly, just in case she didn't have a secure grip on him. When he was fully free of the weight, he turned to the man before them.


Eric hoisted up the soldier, draping the man's arm around his shoulder and hooking a hand to his companion's belt for a stronger grip. It was at that moment, holding up another soldier's full weight to trek through the field, that he realized how tired he was from today's events. He pushed the thoughts out of his mind, and simply turned back to gather up the other man's weight.

 

[Shaples]

Kari blinked at his self deprecation. Boring. He'd said that twice, but why? Not a single boring thing had happened in the last hour, and there was not a single person in the entire universe that could argue otherwise. And yet. Maybe in daylight he was the kind of person who mended socks for fun, or told jokes that weren't funny, or who picked onions out of his stew, but in this moment, sneaking in the dark, carrying a wounded soldier, covered in blood and bone weary and pretending not to be, why would this man - who she'd roughed up and tied up, who had never made a sound of pain, or called for help, or even seemed particularly perturbed by the situation, let alone given in and told her whatever it was he was keeping a secret - why would he call himself boring, twice? Why would he-?


Because she was a magician.


The thought came unbidden, but rang through her head as clear as a bell. She deflated a little as he bent down to pick up his friend, but when he stood back up, she found her voice, though it was a little quiet, "It's a strong name. You look like an Eric."

 

[redribbon]

Eric tried to flash the holy magician a smile but with a body in the way, he knew she wasn't going to be able to see it. So, instead, he laughed, a polite gesture to let the her know he was listening and had heard her. Otherwise, he didn't respond with any words as he assisted in heaving the two, both companions' legs dragging across the grass with a rustle.


A light breeze picked up in the area, gently caressing the trees, which was a relief to the soldier. Lifting the men wasn't anything too intensive, but he was tired and sweaty from everything that had happened. The slight chill patting his face helped him focus on putting one foot in front of the other. Hopefully the tents or any soldiers weren't too far away. Or at least one of the men would wake up sometime to ease the burden. The magicians really did a number on them all.

 

[Shaples]

It happened quickly. One moment she was hauling the soldiers, focusing on their weight and her feet beneath her and trying to think of nothing but moving forward, leaving this awful night behind one step at a time. Then the wind breathed over her skin, and her animal mind flooded with panic. The information hit her faster than thought: Yue was still out there, and he was angry, and vindictive, and they were moving through the dark like wounded prey. It wasn't conscious, not something she puzzled through or considered, but a sudden shot of adrenaline that bypassed her tired mind and directly triggered her survival instinct.


Kari flashed with blinding white light, the last dregs of her magic pouring out of her and expanding, then closing back around her. No, not just around her: from touched skin to intertwined arm to bumped hip to tangled leg, she felt her protective bubble close around all four of them, encasing them each in a hardened second skin that was invisible to the eye.


Then everything went black, and her legs gave out beneath her.