Written for womenverse on livejournal. See my livejournal (linked on my profile page) for more details.

Aurora has to bite her lip to hold in a scream as Mulan comes towards her. She is barely awake from her nap, straightening out their camp and when Aurora stands she nearly falls on unsteady legs. "Shut up," Mulan hisses and her grip is like iron as she grabs Aurora's wrist. Aurora isn't sure if she grabs her wrist to steady herself or to make sure that Aurora is listening. "Listen to me. Pack up our things quickly. We need to get out of here."

Aurora has so many questions that she wants to ask but she doesn't say anything. She has learned not to argue with Mulan. Mulan has kept them alive so far. Once she has all of their things together, she turns back to Mulan, wincing at the sight of her. "Perhaps I should-"

"No. Just come on. We have to get out of here," Mulan interrupts. In the time that Aurora has spent packing their things, Mulan has managed to get her armor on that she should've worn when she went out hunting. It doesn't stop the steady flow of blood though and Aurora takes a steadying breath. She can't afford to fall apart now.

Holding tightly to their bag of things, Aurora holds out her arm and Mulan leans against her gratefully. "Will you tell me what happened?"

Mulan shakes her head and they set off. They're on their quest to be reunited with Phillip but lately it hasn't seemed as vital. Right now, Aurora thinks of Phillip, of the pain that she felt when she lost him and she thinks about losing Mulan as well. That thought makes her tense and Mulan looks over at her in surprise. "Are you alright?"

"Just… worried about you," Aurora admits softly. They walk for what seems like ages, leaving a trail behind them of the dark red blood. When Aurora looks back it seems to glint in the sunlight. The red is almost overwhelming and Aurora wonders why Mulan thinks that it's safe to keep walking when they're leaving an obvious trail.

The answer becomes apparent when they reach a small stream and Mulan nearly collapses next to it. "Help me," Mulan requests, her voice weak as she starts to remove the too-heavy armor.

Aurora is by her side instantly, hands gentle but Mulan still cringes away, the pain evident on her face. "I'm sorry," Aurora whispers, trying to be more careful. It's almost impossible and Mulan waves her concerns away.

"I've had worse."

The armor is coated with blood on the inside and the outside and Aurora puts it aside to clean, making Mulan lay back. Aurora pushes her clothes aside and her breath catches, her fingers pushing into Mulan's skin and Mulan hisses. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Aurora says a few more times and she's not sure she's not about to pass out. "Okay, I'm sorry. It just looks so bad. What happened? Is somebody chasing us?"

"Just an animal. Can't smell blood," Mulan breathes as if she can't say anything else because of the pain. She closes her eyes as Aurora grabs a piece of cloth from their bag. They've managed to accumulate some supplies although they're going to have to try to find more soon. Mulan has changed since they first met. In the beginning, she never would've trusted Aurora enough to close her eyes for more than a few moments. Aurora feels a surge of heat about their changed relationship.

As gently as she can, Aurora presses the cloth to Mulan's side. She can feel the warmth of the blood and when she pulls back she can see the red on her fingers. There's a buzzing in her ears and her vision blurs for a moment but she perseveres. The redness is washed away in the water and Aurora continues. The wound had started to scab over and reopened at least once and it makes Aurora want to vomit.

When the wound is finally clean, Aurora sits back and scrubs at her hands. The blood is in all of the little lines of her hands and she scrubs and scrubs until she's about to start bleeding on her own, the water starting to sting. Mulan grabs her hands, pulling them out of the water. "I'm sorry that you had to do that," Mulan murmurs.

"It's fine. Somebody had to clean you off," Aurora says as if it's not a big deal. As if there's not blood all around them, leading a trail directly to them. As if Aurora can't still smell the blood, as if she doesn't have blood stained on her dress and she still has to wash Mulan's armor. Mulan looks at her and Aurora softens just a bit, her tone gentler. "It's fine. Really."

Mulan doesn't let go of Aurora's hands, her thumb sliding along Aurora's knuckles and Aurora doesn't pull away. They've been different lately, the two of them. There's more trust, more companionship. They curl together for warmth at night and neither gets up as soon as they wake, preferring to stay cuddled together and discuss their plan for the day. It's not like what she had with Phillip but it kind of gives her the same feeling.

"Yet you're shaking," Mulan says simply and Aurora abruptly realizes that she is. There's no hesitation as she leans forward then, pushing herself into Mulan's hold and Mulan wraps her arms around her. They're both careful of Mulan's injuries as they settle together, Aurora's face buried in Mulan's neck. "You've proved how strong you are. You're allowed to break every once in a while."

That's all that Aurora needs and she does break. The tears come, sliding through a dried bit of red blood on Mulan's neck and Aurora has to bite her lip to keep from being sick. Sometimes she's fine and can patch them both up and do everything that Mulan does but other times it just becomes too much. She appreciates that Mulan isn't upset with her for this. She is trying so hard. Mulan makes soothing noises in her throat, one hand coming up to run through Aurora's hair.

Aurora sniffles when she pulls back, looking at Mulan with a small smile. "I'm sorry. It's just sometimes overwhelming."

"I understand," Mulan promises and it sounds like she truly does.

They spend a few moments looking at each other. Aurora isn't sure which one of them leans in but suddenly they're kissing and it should feel oh so wrong but it doesn't. There's not the immediate spark, the explosion that she had felt when she had first kissed Phillip but it doesn't matter. There's a heat and a feeling and she slides her arms around Mulan's neck, pressing closer.

Mulan pulls back with a gasp of pain and Aurora realizes that she had slid closer too fast and immediately apologizes. Mulan holds up a hand to stop her apologies before she's finished. "Its fine, Aurora. Really. It just caught me by surprise."

"Right," Aurora says and she shifts. Her arms are still around Mulan although there are a few inches of space between them now. Mulan takes a few moments to breathe, one hand pressed against her side before she seems to be okay. "So, can I kiss you again?"

They kiss until their lips are red and swollen, only stopping because Mulan says that she's out of breath and really has to lay down for a while. They make camp even though it's early and they help each other wash the rest of the blood off of each other, Mulan sitting back when Aurora washes off her armor. Aurora asks if they should be worried about the trail of blood but Mulan says that she's sure they'll be fine and they'll leave immediately in the morning.

Together, they curl up inside their makeshift tent and Aurora tentatively holds out her hand to slide her fingers through Mulan's. It's easy. Perhaps Aurora should feel bad about this, should feel as if it's wrong but she doesn't. This, laying with Mulan, kissing her, holding her hand, it's the most natural thing in the world. They're still going to find Phillip. They owe him that but Aurora suddenly wonders if perhaps they're not still trying to find him for the same reason that they originally had set off to.

Aurora and Mulan come out of the tent to cook and they sit together next to their small fire, looking up at the sky. It's red, dark red and Aurora tries to recall what Mulan had said about red skies at night. She can't remember and it doesn't really matter. Aurora changes Mulan's bandages, taking deep breaths because the blood has seeped through the cloth. She's satisfied to see that it seems to be healing properly. It's not too bad really. They've had worse on their journey.

They kiss again before going to sleep, arms wrapped around each other and bodies pressed together. Aurora doesn't know what things are going to change but she finds that she doesn't mind the thought of things changing. In fact, she welcomes it. She can't wait to see what happens.