Written for Fluri Month 2016, prompt, "anxious and trembling".

Seeing Red

A branch cracked. Yuri's head jerked down and his teeth clamped on his tongue. His arms waved but he managed to throw his leg forward and keep running without crashing to the ground. His breaths came in gasps as he crashed through the underbrush with his arms stretched in front of him, feeling his way.

There was a stitch in his side, but that was the least of his worries now. The bloody mess that was his shoulder and bruised muscles throughout his torso and legs slowed him down far more. All of that was secondary to the pain - sharp, hot, stabbing, and deep - in his eyes. More than anything, he longed to reach for his face and claw at the sticky goop tingling on his cheeks and turning his eyes to hot coals, but he couldn't slow down now. Keep moving - keep running - don't stop - they were behind him.

What? He honestly wasn't sure. He hadn't gotten a good look at them and now all he knew was that they were coming. He could hear the crunch of leaves and soft hooting of the beasts as they stalked him. They had no need to run; they knew he was injured. One of those little bastards had left the large, still-bleeding bite mark in the space between his shoulder and neck, which dripped blood and throbbed with pain.

Yuri's arm hit a tree and her steered away at the last second. Running through Keiv Moc was perilous when he could actually see where he was going, but this damn slime the beast had spat at him kept his eyes shut tight in an attempt to keep the pain from getting any worse.

His feet hit a slope and he tripped over moss. Yuri crashed to the ground with a grunt as fresh pain jolted through his body. A wheeze escaped him and his limbs shook as he tried to get back to his feet. A few feet away, water rushed over rocks. It sounded so refreshing and without a thought, he scrambled over moss-covered rocks to stick his hands in the cold water. It moved fast and based on the sound, it had to be fairly wide. He didn't care about that, though, and focused on splashing water on his face. It soothed his inflamed eyes and he scrubbed, trying to wipe away the sticky substance clinging to his face.

In the distance, something trilled like a bird. A very large bird. Did they know he'd fallen? He jerked away from the river and toward the tree root that arced over it like a bridge. His eyes still burned as if they'd been replaced with hot coals, but he didn't have time to keep trying to wash them out. He had to keep moving.

It was a struggle to drag his left arm into a position to support himself and his right had to do most of the effort of pushing himself up. Blood from the bite trickled down his arm and toward his numb fingers.

As soon as he tried to get upright, dizziness overtook him. Without eyesight to anchor himself, his brain spun in confusion and for a second he was certain he was upside down. Yuri dropped back to his knees with a gasp. Alright. Alright, he'd crawl. Yuri dragged himself up the curving wood of one of the forest's giant roots. He used his right hand mostly because his left felt weak and tingly like when he slept on it. He crawled up and the wood dug into a cut on his knee.

Leaves rustled behind him and something not nearly far enough away chirped. Yuri shuddered and crawled faster. Maybe, if he was lucky, they wouldn't be able to climb after him. Moss dug under his fingernails and his shoulders heaved with every breath. Was it sweat, tears, or spit dripping down his cheeks? With the way his eyes ached like knives were lodged in his sockets, it could very well be blood running along his nose and dripping onto the back of his hand.

He reached the highest point in the arc of the root. Out of breath and in no shape to run, Yuri sat on his knees and tried to keep his breathing steady as he prayed the monsters wouldn't be able to -

The wood vibrated as something hopped on not far away. They were climbing up to him.

It had started that morning. A chance meeting in Heliord had led Yuri and Flynn to grab lunch together at a local tavern. There, they'd overheard some guildsmen muttering about an unusual monster attack in Keiv Moc, and it didn't take much longer for the pair to decide to check it out in order to spend some time together. Yuri, Flynn, and Repede had arrived at the forest in mid-afternoon, on the hunt for these mysterious monsters.

"How much longer do you think we should stay out?" Flynn asked after they'd roamed the forest for a few hours. "Sunset will be in another two or three hours and I don't fancy walking home in the dark."

Yuri grunted as he used his sword to clear the path of branches. "True. Frustrating that we haven't found anything yet, though." They'd found plenty of monsters, but nothing Yuri would consider 'unusual'. They'd talked to the guildsmen before heading out, but they couldn't tell them much. One of their horses got free and ran off the path. A newbie to the guild had run after it to bring it back. A few minutes later, they heard an unfamiliar call that sounded something like a very large bird and then a scream. Spooked, two more members had gone after their friend, swords drawn and ready for anything. Those two had also failed to return. By this point, the remaining guild members had no interest in letting a monster pick them off one-by-one, so they'd turned around and hurried home. They felt bad for the men they'd lost, but thought that staying and trying to find out just what had happened would only get the entire group killed.

"I wonder what killed those men," Flynn said for the fifth time that day. While trekking through the woods, the subject of exactly what they were looking for was the paramount of conversation.

"No idea." They started walking uphill. This was an area of the forest Yuri had never been to before, away from the worn paths. "They said it sounded like a bird, right?"

"I suppose it's too much to hope for a large chicken."

"You never know. Imagine a small but poisonous chicken. The peck of death!"

"No, don't be silly. Besides, if it delivers the poison by pecking, then it's venomous, not poisonous."

"Oh, aren't you a fancy zoologist. What's the difference?" Their path was taking them up a massive tree root, as wide as a boulevard in the royal quarter. It gently arced along a hill, so that there was a long drop to the forest floor on one side and a shallow slope covered in bushes and smaller trees on the other, just over a two-foot gap.

"It's simple. If it bites you and you die, it's venomous. If you bite it and you die, it's poisonous." Flynn smiled and added, "Lady Estellise taught me that." He looked so unbearably pleased with himself for knowing that, and Yuri took a moment to wonder just when - and why - he'd fallen for that dumb grin.

"Ok, so if I bite it and it dies, then it's -"

"Then you're venomous, aren't you listening?"

Yuri grinned and imagined himself with fangs. "That would be pretty cool, huh?"

"You'd bite your own tongue and die. And anyway, this is all silly because chickens aren't venomous. I've never heard of any venomous bird." Flynn sighed and stretched his arms above his head. One of them batted a large frond. "What do you think? We haven't seen anything. It's been a fun outing, but maybe we should call it a day."

Yuri laughed a little. Of course Flynn would refer to battling giant insects in a rainforest as a 'fun outing'. That actually answered his earlier thought about why he'd fallen for him. "If you want. Staying out a little longer wouldn't bother me." One hand rested on his hip and the other toyed with a leaf on a vine the size of his arm that draped over the path. Crimson flowers dotted the vine, and while Flynn crouched to ask Repede his opinion, Yuri plucked a few.

"Repede says we should head back," Flynn said.

"Looks like I'm outvoted." Yuri turned around with his handful of flowers. "Here, have some flowers." He shoved them in Flynn's face.

Flynn spluttered at the sudden pollen in his face. "Huh - oh, uh, thanks." Flynn held the now crumpled petals in his hands. "These are really… um." Flynn squinted at them and then raised his eyes. "Yuri, do these flowers have little… um…."

"Like 'em?" Yuri eyed the flowers still on the vine. Yuri didn't know much about flowers, but these petals formed a small cup on top with a long, oddly-shaped petal that looked bizarrely like a little person with its four strategically placed tendrils. Best of all, right between the lower two tendrils was a fifth, smaller one, which looked exactly like a certain piece of anatomy.

Flynn cleared his throat. "They're certainly oddly shaped."

"And you say I'm never romantic. See, I just gave you flowers."

"Gee, thanks." Flynn let them fall to the wooden ground.

Yuri gasped and clutched his heart. "I'm hurt, Flynn. Real hurt."

"Thanks for the gesture, I guess." Flynn leaned forward and left a kiss on Yuri's cheek. He started to pull away, but Yuri caught him around the waist and pulled him back.

"Hey now, you're suggesting we go back to town, surrounded by people. Why not take advantage of the privacy for a moment?"

Only inches from his face, Flynn said, "You're so demanding," and then finished with a peck on his lips. That wasn't nearly satisfying enough to Yuri, who dipped his head and planted his lips on the side of Flynn's neck. His arms wrapped around Flynn's waist while Flynn's hand slipped up his back and intertwined with his hair. Maybe their mission to find the new monster had been a bust, but today hadn't been completely useless.

It was Repede's growling that broke them apart. His hackles were raised as he snarled at the bushes to their right. Instantly, Flynn and Yuri were ready. Swords drawn and attention locked on the slope, they waited for a sign of the monster Repede had heard first.

Something rustled straight ahead. Yuri readied himself for another giant bug, or some kind of carnivorous plant. In the back of his mind, he could still feel the warmth of Flynn's lips on his skin - a memory waiting for him to give it attention once the immediate threat was dealt with.

It had been a minute and they didn't hear anything else. Yuri's tension was beginning to slack, but Repede was still alert, teeth bared, and ready for action. Whatever was out there wasn't gone yet, it was just -

There was a screech and something burst out of a bush barely a yard away. After that, things happened in disjointed flashes.

Something wet smacking into Yuri's face and spikes driving into his eyes.

Flynn shouting.

Yuri's sword clattering to the ground.

A weight, a little larger than Repede, smacking into Yuri and teeth digging into his shoulder.

Pain - in his eyes, in his shoulder, in his waist, so much -

A screech and a grunt and Yuri staggered backward, clawing at the fire glued to his face.

Moss crunched underfoot and then - nothing. His stomach lurched and he tumbled toward the faraway forest floor.

Then there was rolling, the world spinning out of control, stabs and scrapes assaulting him from all directions and then -

Yuri lay in a heap on the forest floor, cheek resting on a waxy leaf. He breathed heavily, ribs creaking and aching. But his blood still raced from the attack and Yuri shoved the ground to push himself upright. His head spun and daggers drove deeper into his eyes. He clawed at his face and felt something thick and sticky clinging to his skin and making his flesh tingle.

"Yuri!" Flynn's voice came from above, sharp and full of panic.

"'M here," he choked out, and then called back, louder, "Yeah!"

"Thank heavens. Are you injured?"

Yuri felled blood trickle down his chest from the bite on his shoulder and a hundred bruises screamed for attention. Something in his ribcage was probably cracked. "A bit."

"Stay where you are. I'm going to find a safer way down."

"Yeah," Yuri mumbled. He didn't want to hurt his ribs more by forcing a shout. It had been a long time since he'd gotten this beat up.

A trill like a bird came from the distance and his nerves spiked. Another beast answered it and he heard leaves crashing about a hundred yards away. He still didn't know what they were beyond a flash of teeth and the brush of feathers because he'd clamped his eyes shut the moment the spit struck him. What exactly they were didn't matter, though. The pertinent issue was that he could hear them coming closer, and Yuri had no wish to meet two of them while unarmed and injured.

He fumbled for a vine near his head, grabbed it, and used it to pull himself to his feet. His joints ached and the movement sent fresh waves of pain through his eyes. A hoot getting closer forced those thoughts out of his mind and he started to run.

Yuri crawled forward. Escape was his only chance. He could hear the monsters chirping and snapping at each other as they scrambled up the arching root. It didn't take a genius like Rita to work out that his rate of crawling was significantly less than their rate of climbing. His left arm was getting weaker and weaker and his breathing was laboured, even considering how much running he'd done.

He looked over his shoulder and cracked his eyes open, desperate to at least see what he was up against. Opening his eyes turned the pain from intense to excruciating and he slammed them shut again without seeing anything. Whatever these monsters were, Yuri didn't want to come into contact with one in his condition. His mind raced. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't outrun them, he couldn't fight them. Yuri pulled himself forward on his hands and knees, stubbornly determined not to die here.

A clamp of needles sunk into his ankle and Yuri shouted, followed by kicking the foot-long head with his other leg. The monster yelped and Yuri rolled, not knowing where he was going. He just needed to get out of here - fast - and the rush of water below him gave him a burst of inspiration. He let himself roll over the side and drop ten feet into icy, swift-moving water.

Shrieks and hisses came from above, but the monsters didn't follow him into the river. Yuri quickly stopped worrying about the monsters and instead turned his attention to not drowning. The river was shallow enough that his feet scraped the bottom, but without being able to see, he kept crashing into boulders and felt like a cork bobbing through rapids.

Yuri coughed and fought to keep his head above water. Every time he managed to get his face out of the river, his lungs struggled to expand to their full capacity. There might as well have been an anchor on his wrist for all the effort it took to move it against the current.

Yuri's arm whacked a boulder and he grabbed it. His fingers slipped on algae and with a gasp of frustration he lost his grip. His heel banged a boulder on the river bed and the vibrations made the fresh bite on his ankle throb. Yuri breathed in water and threw his arms out in the hope of finding another rock. The current twisted him around and his elbow bashed against the rock with a crack.

Finally, he managed to hook his foot on a tree root. Water rushed past him and Yuri's numb, sore fingers scrambled to grab the piece of wood. Panting, he pulled himself to the edge of the river and then threw his numb arm forward onto the muddy bank. With a heave, Yuri pulled himself out of the river and flopped onto the mud.

For a minute, he lay still and took deep, heaving breaths. His cheek pressed into mud which soothed the warm tingling on his cheeks. The rushing of the river and the rustling of leaves in the wind were the only sounds, though Yuri's ears were piqued for any hoots or trills.

Lying on his chest didn't give him enough air, so Yuri reluctantly dragged himself to his knees. His muscles shook as water dripped down his face. Yuri didn't want to move, but his eyes still stung, so he turned and crawled to the edge of the river. His elbow clicked with every movement and he wished it had been his numbing arm that was injured.

Yuri leaned forward and dipped his face into the water. He scrubbed his eyes until he had to breathe, and then tried to rub his face dry. He couldn't feel any more spit on his face, so he cautiously opened his eyes. There was a slight flash of pain as cool air hit his eyes, but otherwise the level of pain stayed constant. Both his eyes were filled with a dull burning, which stayed consistent no matter how much he blinked or rubbed.

And no matter what he did, he still couldn't see. Yuri rubbed his eyes once more, certain there must still be something blocking his vision. Still, all he saw was darkness. His panic, if possible, grew even greater.

Blind. Part of him had known - or at least suspected - as soon as he felt the fire spreading through his eyes, but he hadn't wanted to accept that his lack of vision was anything other than a result of keeping them closed.

It had to be reversible. Right?! Yuri heaved for another breath and coughed; his throat tasted like river. He had to get out of here. Where was he?

Yuri started to look around and then stopped, reminding himself it was useless. He kept blinking, willing his eyes to see anything. He thought one of them might have glimpsed a flash of light, but the forest was too dark and dreary to make anything out.

Ok. Ok, take stock of where you are. He sat at the side of a river. Did this river lead out of the forest or would it take him on a winding path into more danger? If he followed it back to where he'd jumped in, he might be able to backtrack to where he'd fallen off the path.

If he could see. He'd never be able to retrace his steps with only touch to guide him, and besides, going back there might take him back into the hunting range of those… things. Yuri shuddered just at the thought of them. He doubted he would survive another encounter with them.

Something alarmingly similar to a moan slipped out of his mouth. Yuri told himself it was a reaction to the pain, not fear, because that was a slightly more tolerable excuse. How long had it been since he fell from the path? How would Flynn find him all the way out here? But he had no way of getting back to their proposed rendezvous point….

He couldn't just sit here. Yuri pushed against the ground and felt his muscles whine as he forced them to support his weight. He managed to get halfway up, and then pushed against the ground with the leg that had been bitten. Pins and needles rushed through the foot and up his leg and then it collapsed beneath him. Hitting the ground made everything hurt again and Yuri squeezed his eyes shut with a sharp intake of breath.

This was not going to work. If he kept pushing himself, he'd just get more injured. Resignedly, Yuri dragged himself away from the river. His arm was basically useless now, so he was forced to rest his weight on the one with a fractured elbow. Before every pained drag, he reached forward and fumbled across the ground, feeling for rocks or bushes. Even this small amount of movement was making his head spin and he'd never felt as helpless as he patted around to guide himself.

He felt the thick roots of a tree rising up and dragged himself toward it. He couldn't tell how high they went because he didn't have the energy to raise his arm over his head. Yuri fell to the ground in the crevice where two roots met the trunk.

For a long minute, Yuri lay still and leaned back against the trunk. Every breath took effort and creaked his aching ribs. While his left arm lay slack at his side, Yuri reached for the bite on his shoulder and delicately poked the wound. Tiny lacerations circled his shoulder and Yuri breathed deeper as poking them started a fresh wave of throbbing. However, it didn't hurt as much as he expected it to. Even the one on his ankle hurt more. The shoulder was starting to go as numb as his fingers and Yuri thought back to the conversation he and Flynn had been having before everything went wrong.

If it bites you and you die, it's venomous. The burning in his eyes proved those creatures' saliva held far more than just water. If it had destroyed his eyes this thoroughly, what was it doing injected into his blood? He took another deep, forced breath. Was it his imagination, or was breathing getting harder even though he was resting now? The venom spreading down his arm was gradually paralyzing the muscles, so what would happen when it spread into his torso and paralyzed his lungs? Or heart?

I've gotten myself into a real pickle this time, haven't I? He ought to put a bandage of some sort on his bleeding wounds, but with what? And the smell of blood would no doubt attract other creatures, too.

Yuri pulled his good arm over his waist and tried to calm down. His fingers were trembling. Over and over, the odds of his getting out of here alive rushed through his head, and they weren't good. He kept looking around, as if this time his eyes would show him something other than darkness. The thought that a hundred monsters might be silently closing in on him kicked off his nerves. How was he supposed to defend himself if he couldn't even see? Or walk?

The trembling in his hand became more pronounced. Was that oncoming paralysis squeezing his chest, or fear? Yuri couldn't breathe. He couldn't stand. He couldn't see. All he could do was sit in a slump at the base of a tree and hope Flynn found him before a ravenous monster.

Time passed slowly at the base of the tree. Yuri forced himself to sit still and take deep breaths, struggling to relax. He knew that the harder his heart thumped, the faster the venom would spread through his veins. It was hard to force his body to relax, though. He flinched at every noise, from the buzz of insects to the crackling of chipmunks in the underbrush.

Had the forest always been this loud? Without being able to see, his ears picked up every tiny sound. Without being able to run, his brain turned those sounds into approaching monsters. He tried to think about other things to distract himself, but this didn't help calm him down.

Yuri thought about Flynn. He imagined that handsome face smiling at him and then shuddered at the pit in his stomach when he realized he probably would never see it again. Even if Flynn found him, his eyes were ruined. They still burned softly, like smouldering coals, burning the light out of his life. If he got out of here alive, he's still be blind… stumbling through the world without sight… it was too awful to think about.

Yuri woke up, startled. When had he fallen asleep? He blinked, trying to clear his eyes, before remembering that was pointless. It was impossible to know how long he'd been asleep and he couldn't even use the sun as a basic guide. It could be nighttime for all he knew, which meant it had been hours since he saw Flynn and his chances of being found were quickly diminishing.

More importantly, what had awoken him? He thought it might have been an animal cry, but the woods were silent. In fact, they were a little too silent. Yuri swallowed heavily as he strained to hear something - anything - but if there were any small birds or animals around him, they were staying quiet. They were scared. Something was nearby.

Yuri shuddered and tried to think of a plan. With a great heave, he managed to shift his left arm, kicking of a storm of pins and needles. It was almost completely numb and breathing was a struggle against his tight chest. In fact, every breath was ragged and far too loud. Surely anything nearby could hear him.

Then there came a low-pitched tweeting, which Yuri might have mistaken for a bird if he hadn't heard it before. Panic spiked as he tried to determine how close it was. Didn't matter; he had to get out of here. In his condition, fighting wasn't an option.

Panting for breath, Yuri struggled to stand. His joints were slightly less battered after the rest, but sitting had stiffened all his muscles and given the venom more time to sink in. He flung his right arm up and grasped the top of the thick root he'd been sitting next to. His fingers shook as he strained to pull himself up and the fracture in his elbow brought tears to his eyes. Leaning against the tree, he balanced on his good leg while the only thing he could feel in the other was distant static.

Yuri hopped. Every movement made his muscles scream and complain and he breathed like he'd just run a marathon, except he didn't feel the accompanying racing heart. He could feel every slow, strained throb as the muscles fought the encroaching paralysis. After a couple hops away from the big tree, he smashed face-first into a smaller tree and barely grabbed a low-branch before falling over. Catching his weight made his elbow burn and something crunched, but he knew if he fell he'd never get up again.

Come on, Flynn… please find me soon… Flynn….

Leaves crunched as light feet darted toward him. His hand ran over rough bark as he looked for a branch he might use as a weapon, but found nothing. The rustling was directly behind him now - he could hear something breathing as it hurried toward his exposed back. On instinct, Yuri threw himself forward. He came down on a shallow slope and rolled a few feet until his back crashed into new tree roots. Desperation found the last dregs of strength hiding deep within him and forced them to get to work, powering upright.

The creature squawked and hurried down the hill after him. Yuri heard leaves rustle as it tripped and fell, and then a thump as it also crashed into the tree. That gave him time to heave himself around the massive tree. Maybe there was a low enough branch that he could climb it and get out of reach.

He couldn't think of a plan further than a few seconds in advance, and then his leg passed right through the ground. His momentum kept him going and in the darkness he failed to grab anything to stop himself and tumbled completely into a small hollow in the base of the tree. The space was cramped and moist, but seemed to wrap around one side of the tree where the ground was uneven from the hill.

Yuri crawled around the tree on his back, dragging his useless leg. If he was lucky, he could hide down here and the monster would move on - wood splintered and Yuri slammed against the earth wall as fangs nearly nipped his ear. The creature had stuck its head through a hole and into his hideaway. Yuri pressed as far away from the opening as he could get, feeling vulnerable every time his chest was forced to expand greatly in an attempt to get more air.

There was an angry hiss and rancid breath assaulted his face. Roots creaked as the monster struggled to force its body through the little opening. It gave a screech like a hawk and then hot saliva splattered his face, tingling on his cheek.

Yuri lashed out with his fist, bellowing in rage in the hopes of scaring it off. His fist hit a feathered snout and he snatched it back, but not before needle-like teeth grazed his knuckles.

The creature hissed, inches from his face. Yuri didn't dare move in case it put him in range of its jaws. Its sour breath was thick and nauseating. For a long moment, neither of them moved. Then, Yuri heard wood crunch. It was chewing the roots. All it had to do was widen the hole by a few inches and it would be able to squeeze in and lock its jaws around his throat, to drag him out kicking and struggling like any other prey animal.

He wished the venom would hurry up and kill him. If not that, hurry up and make the rest of his body as numb as his leg and arm. He really didn't want to be alive to feel the monster begin its feast.

Damn… damn it… he didn't want it to end like this. Blind and scared and hiding in a hole. He hoped the rotten thing choked on him.

Leaves rustled again as more footsteps approached. Great, its friends were here. Just what he needed - more monsters to fight over which parts of him were the tastiest.

Then the monster screeched and something very mammalian growled and barked. Yuri hardly dared hope until he heard a human grunting and the squelch of a blade sinking into flesh. Repede growled again and footsteps dashed toward the opening.

"Yuri!" Warm hands touched his shoulders. "Thank heavens you're still alive. I was worried sick about you."

Yuri's voice was slurred and he barely had the air to spare for it. "'Bout time you showed up…."

Flynn reached under Yuri's armpits and started to pull. Yuri let out a hiss as his injuries were jostled and Flynn pulled back.

"Where are you hurt?"

Where wasn't he hurt? "Everywhere. Just… pull me out."

"Tell me if something hurts too much." The hands came again and Yuri wished Flynn could just come down here and lie with him. He didn't want to move, he just wanted to curl up next to Flynn, burrow his face into his neck, fall asleep, and wake up sometime in the distant future when he didn't hurt anymore.

Instead, Flynn heaved and Yuri's joints creaked. His bruises throbbed, his broken elbow seared, his limbs tingled, and his eyes flashed with fresh pain when he flickered them open. He couldn't stop himself from groaning and Flynn let him go as quickly as possible, laying him gently on his side on the damp earth.

Yuri panted from the exertion. Now that he wasn't actively in danger of dying, the reserves of strength he'd drafted in his last flight for safety were quickly jumping ship and his muscles were paying for being overworked. The fear and pain tried to leave his body through tears, helped along by how watery and aching his eyes already were. "Fuck," he breathed. "Flynn…."

"You're all right." A hand came down on his shoulder and he flinched; it was too close to the bite. Flynn pulled away quickly. "Sorry." Instead, that hand brushed still-wet hair away from his face.

It was embarrassing how rattled he was. Flynn ran his fingers through Yuri's hair, speaking softly to try to calm him down. "Hey… you're alright. I've got you. Repede's a good dog. When he lost your scent, I guessed you'd gone into the river and he was able to pick it up again further downstream. We've already killed a few of those monsters and the rest ran off."

He found himself leaning toward Flynn, desperate to feel his hand. Without being able to see him, his warm touch was the only comfort Yuri had. He was glad Flynn was the only one here, because he couldn't bear anyone else seeing him this pathetic. He was just so glad to not be eaten.

Flynn chuckled nervously. "Calm down, Yuri." With a gentle hand, he tilted Yuri's face toward his and left a tender kiss on his cheek. He pulled away and then breathed in sharply. "What's wrong with your eyes?"

Yuri felt sick again. If they were visibly damaged, there was probably little hope of his sight coming back. "Can't see," he mumbled.

"At all?"

Yuri shook his head.

"Ok… I'm sure a doctor can treat that. Or - or Lady Estellise. It'll be alright, Yuri."

He didn't sound very confident.

Flynn sighed and his armour clinked as he moved. "We should get out of here. The monsters are gone for now, but I don't want them to come back. Can you walk?"

Just thinking about standing and walking made him feel heavier. "Don't think so."

"It's ok. I'll carry you. We're not far from the path, actually. Put your arms around my neck."

Yuri's numb hand twitched on the ground and his broken arm clicked as he reached blindly in the direction of Flynn's voice.

"I've got you." Flynn's hands guided his arms to his neck, and then hefted him off the ground. Yuri grunted in pain as he was moved, but he knew he couldn't stay here. One arm flopped against Flynn's chest while the other clung tightly around his neck.

"Thanks," he mumbled into Flynn's ear.

Flynn squeezed Yuri's thigh as he hefted him up. "Don't mention it. I'll get you to a doctor and everything will be ok."

Yuri squeezed him again and heaved another breath.

"Are you having trouble breathing?"

Yuri nodded. "Venom."

Flynn whispered a curse and walked a little faster. "I'm sure the doctor will have an antivenin."

They walked in silence, Flynn's footsteps lulling Yuri towards sleep. He saw nothing but darkness anyway, so he might as well pass out. "Flynn," he mumbled.

"Sh. Just rest."

"Thanks for saving my ass." He pressed his face against Flynn's neck. "Think I'm gonna pass out now."

"Good. Just close your eyes and rest. When you wake up, you'll be at a doctor."

Yuri sighed in contentment at the thought. A doctor would be so nice….

He was on the brink of sleep when he heard Flynn's voice, though it was so soft he must be talking to himself.

"You're the toughest fighter I know, Yuri, and I'll always fight by your side." His thumbs rubbed against Yuri's thighs. "But everyone falls sometimes, and when you do, I'll fight there, too."

A/N: If you were curious, the monsters in this story were heavily based on the dilophosaurus as seen in Jurassic park (the spitting one).