"This one is stronger than the others! Shanoa! Be careful!"
A swinging of claws, followed by the shredding of skin and the stench of fresh blood.
Screams from all around, and a heavy thud hitting the ground, plus the name being shouted yet again.
Shanoa opened her eyes, finding herself starring at the stone ceiling and the electric lights shining down on her. Her skin felt like it was on fire, even a simple action such as turning her head to look around made it feel like she was getting burned. The pain was mostly coming from her chest, and as she gingerly moved her right arm up to her chest she felt the bandages that covered her skin from her collarbone on down. She used her fingers to find that her entire torso was covered, from her collarbone to the top of her navel she was covered in wraps.
She moved her other arm but found that it was anchored down, and Shanoa moved her head to find that she was held down by another person's hand. Albus' to be exact.
The other disciple of Ecclesia was sound asleep, his head on its side on top of his other hand.
'He must have been there the whole time,' Shanoa concluded. She tried to sit up but she felt a sharp pinch in her chest and she grunted in pain.
Though she had tried to keep it down, Albus moved. He raised his head and he immediately got up on the bed, "Shanoa…lay back. You're still hurt."
"I'm fine." Shanoa was trying to play off any empathy that Albus was going to attempt to give her. However, Albus wasn't going to give her any leeway whatsoever.
"You were nearly cut in half by the claws of a rather large werewolf. It took Barlowe hours to seal your wounds," Albus explained, putting his hands on her shoulders and lightly forcing Shanoa back down to the mattress. Barlowe was their master, the one who took Shanoa and Albus in and raised them like his own children. He was also skilled in recovery magic, and it was his skill alone that saved Shanoa's life.
The werewolf… Shanoa rested back against the pillow, she watched Albus intently as he helped make her comfortable again, "Whatever happened to the creature?"
Albus fluffed the pillow Shanoa was laying on, and he nodded once, "After you fell from your injuries, I was able to kill it. Silver bullet to the heart. The monster was too into eating you apparently to notice me loading the bullet." He then sat back in a chair he had put next to the bed.
Shanoa closed her eyes, "How long have I been here…"
Albus leaned on his elbows, "Three days. Barlowe went and gave you a sedative so you could fully heal yourself. He didn't want you fighting again until he cleared you fit for duty."
Shanoa didn't respond at first, mainly because she knew that Barlowe was right. Shanoa often ignored her injuries to go out and fight again, and it nearly killed her multiple times over the years.
When she did speak, she began to remember the fight from three days ago. Shanoa followed what she had been told to the letter as to how to deal with the werewolf they had been sent to fight by the Order. The beast had been terrorizing many of the little hamlets of France for months and only now were professional hunters asked to deal with it.
Both Shanoa and her friend Albus were tasked with killing this creature, but it proved to be rather daunting to say the least. For their skills combined seemed to help little against the monster. Albus' skills at using firearms was not working, the wolf was just a second faster than he was at pulling the trigger.
Then there was Shanoa, whose magic powers were being used at their fullest. She wasn't able to handle the beast on her own but she tried nonetheless.
It took a split second of carelessness to make her get injured by the werewolf.
The strike the creature had made was devastating enough for it to knock Shanoa out, and ever since then she had been pretty much confined to the hospital bed.
And it had been since then that Albus had remained at her side, since he believed that he was unable to save her the pain.
Shanoa raised he right hand towards the ceiling and clenched it into a fist, she gripped as hard as she could, feeling the muscles tense with her strength. "How long will it be before I can get out of here…"
Albus put his hands up and grabbed Shanoa's hand. Shanoa turned her eyes, her expression blank, like she wasn't the least bit affected. This was a ruse, as Shanoa had feelings but couldn't express them outright, she had that sort of problem and it caused many to think she hadn't any feelings. Shanoa's hand remained tense despite Albus' action, "What are you doing?"
"You need to be more careful, Shanoa, or you'll just end up back here again."
She closed her eyes in a show of defiance, "Your concern is touching but hardly necessary. I made a mistake before, it won't happen again."
"Are you just saying that so you can make me get off your back? Or do you really mean it?," Albus retorted, trying his hardest to be polite and make Shanoa rethink herself. Albus had known Shanoa for a very long time, and he also knew how hard Shanoa pushed herself. Forgetting injuries to the point that she nearly died, much like this time. He didn't want her to kill herself just for the sake of killing monsters.
Shanoa could ignore anyone else that she worked with, but Albus was the closest thing to family she ever had. Being an orphan from a young age, Shanoa had known only one thing in her life: saving the world from the forces of darkness. Everything else, she had been told, was of secondary concern.
However, there were times when she felt as though there were more to it than that. "I suppose I was trying to fool you, Albus. I apologize."
Albus held onto Shanoa's hand with both of his, hoping his next words would reach her heart and mind, "Shanoa, just promise me that you will not end up back in the hospital—or a coffin for that matter."
She felt his feelings through the contact they shared and although her face showed no emotion she quietly gave in. She realized that she didn't want to see him even more concerned than he already was. Such feelings were not too common for her, so much so they confused her from time to time, but she handled them as best she could.
"Very well Albus…I promise," she answered.
Albus raised his head and their eyes met. He saw the truth in her eyes and knew she meant what she said. "Thank you, Shanoa. Now, you get some rest. I'll be back later to check up on you." He gave her hands a light squeeze before he set them down on the mattress.
The lights in the room began to dim as he walked away, Shanoa's eyes followed him until he was out the door. She raised her left hand and looked at it briefly, still feeling how warm it was from Albus' touch, before laying it back down and closing her eyes.