Disclaimer: We do not own Kingsglaive, FFXV, or any of the SquareEnix Characters. If we did, Crowe, Nyx, and Pelna would have lived. Nyx would also be happily married to Luna. But we don't own them so, we just have heck of a fun time writing them.
A/N: Hello! Welcome to Chapter two~ This was written by the combined efforts of Truthy and I and we are very proud of this bad boy here. So, sit back, relax, enjoy and leave a review! Have fun my hatchlings!
Chapter Two
Wounds Of The Weary
Nyx didn't know how long they walked for, nor where they were even going. Each step he took sent a ripple effect of pain over his body, his wrenched knee shaking every time he put any weight on it, threatening to buckle underneath him. Pelna walked just a few meters ahead of him, and Nyx could feel more than see every time he glanced back to check up on the younger glaive.
Faint whispers still circled through his head, the last vestiges of the Lucii's power throwing him off balance with brief moments of light-headedness, though, he supposed, those could have been something to do with blood loss. It was strange; he felt distanced, detached almost, like he was watching someone else live his life for him.
Pelna's voice broke him from his thoughts with a jerk, a grimace passing over his face as he was forced back to the reality of his aching, exhausted body. The older glaive had stopped, looking back at him with a concerned frown, making Nyx sigh softly as he limped up to stand beside him, "I'm fine," he muttered, shifting his weight onto his left leg, "How much further?"
Pelna looked anything but convinced, one eyebrow rising at Nyx's choice of words before he shook his head and gestures towards a small rise in the terrain. Nyx realised with no small amount of surprise that they were no longer inside the burning city, the soft light illuminating their path coming from the large moon hovering above them rather than the insatiable fires burning through Insomnia.
"The entrance to the tunnels is just through there," Pelna informed him, still not moving as he watched Nyx closely, as though afraid he might just drop on the spot. In all honesty, Nyx was a little afraid of the same thing. His body was tired, incredibly sore and beaten to a pulp, his arm and abdomen constant, sharp pains while his knee complained whenever he let the barest weight onto it. But more than his physical pains, he was mentally exhausted, he didn't even have the energy to think clearly. He felt numb, in a way, like he had been disconnected from the rest of the world. His senses were dulled, dampened down in such a way that things he knew should be different, more acute, were a fuzzy haze that passed him by unnoticed.
Sighing softly, he forced his legs to start moving forwards again, hobbling towards the entrance to Pelna's safe place and waving his uninjured arm at the man, "Let's go then." He said.
They walked in silence for some time, Pelna moving back into the lead to guide Nyx down the surprisingly smooth tunnels, cracks in the roof providing light from the bright moon above ground. Nyx could feel himself lagging as they walked on, his head starting to feel more and more fuzzy before, with a soft groan, he sank to his knees.
His left arm wrapped protectively around his middle, pain flaring through his whole abdomen unforgivingly, while his right hand splayed against the wall of the tunnel. His shoulders shook slightly as he tried to regain his breathing, but it was incredibly hard to draw in air when the slightest movement made his stomach burn.
He was distantly aware of Pelna moving back to his side, a hand being placed on his forehead while he was otherwise engaged, and would not bat Pelna away.
"I knew it. You've got a fever. Come on, Nyx. Just let me help you." The elder glaive pleaded, his voice coming to Nyx like he was underwater When he opened his eyes - and when had he closed them anyway? - everything looked fuzzy, tilted to one side too.
"I'm fine," He rasped at length, managing to push himself back to his feet with a surge of strength he wasn't quite sure he had, though he swayed unsteadily, his knee threatening to give out at any moment while his head swam painfully. "We need to keep moving."
He watched Pelna shake his head, an expression of exasperation flashing across his face as he reached out and took Nyx's right arm, pulling it over his shoulder and placing his other hand at Nyx's waist. It took a great amount of effort not to just let himself collapse on the elder glaive, his legs shaking badly as he fought to keep himself upright.
"Come on, hero, lean on me." Pelna murmured, and though he had intended to hold himself, Nyx found his weight slowly drifting onto the man supporting him, his exhausted body relishing the reprieve.
"Fine," Pelna repeated thoughtfully, a little bit of a smile tugging at his lips as Nyx huffed in his general direction, focusing on dragging his aching body along beside Pelna, "We are removing the word 'Fine' from your vocabulary."
By the time they reached the cave, Pelna was carrying more of Nyx than Nyx was. The young glaive had lasted nearly the whole way to the safe place, but his body had just not been able to take the last trek of the journey. He was still vaguely conscious, a few murmured replies leaving his lips as Pelna kept up a steady stream of nonsensical chatter, both to ground Nyx in the real world, and to keep himself from worrying to death.
It was clear how badly Nyx was hurting, and Pelna could only pray the supplies he had hidden away where still intact and unspoiled. Unless his injuries were treated effectively and quickly, Nyx could well die.
With that thought in mind, Pelna pushed himself to move a little faster, carrying Nyx with him, and as they moved around a large bulge in the tunnel walls, they finally emerged in the large, cavernous area he had found all those months ago.
It wasn't much, a small bed nestled in the corner of the room underneath a canvas cover and a fire pit constructed out of the cave's own stones, but it would do. Moving swiftly, Pelna hauled back the canvas with one hand while the other kept Nyx upright and leaning against him.
A flash of a smile arced across Pelna's face when he saw the two large bags settled atop the bed, the bags looking like they had hardly been touched by anything, and he quickly there then to the floor before focusing on getting Nyx settled on the bed.
That mission accomplished, he turned and opened the smaller of the two bags, upending its contents on the cave floor and quickly spreading out the various medical supplies. Finding what he needed, he turned back to Nyx and took a breath, placing a hand on the younger's shoulder, "This may hurt a little," he muttered.
He was silent as he set to work on Nyx's arm, peeling off the burned dead skin, and smothering the entire appendage with copious amounts of burn salve before wrapping bandages around it snuggly. When he was done, Nyx's face had relaxed somewhat from the pained grimace it had previously been, the analgesic effects of the burn salve working it's magic.
Blowing out a slight breath as he got a proper look at Nyx's abdomen, Pelna winced at the amount of red staining the mostly intact fabric of Nyx's coat. Leaning over, he gingerly peeled the coat back, wincing when Nyx made a small, pained sound. A grimace passed over the elder glaive's face when he saw the damage underneath the coat, letting it back down as he started working on the numerous buttons, glad Nyx never did them all up as his fingers fought with the stubbornly stuck catches.
Pushing the coat back, he apologized under his breath before digging out his smallest knife and cleanly splitting Nyx's shirt down the middle, pushing the edges out of the way to get a good look at the two bullet wounds in the younger man's lower abdomen. Blood pooled around the wounds, trailing down Nyx's side and coating the top of his pants in a thick, crusty layer of half-dried crimson. Steeling himself, Pelna quickly spun and pushed aside the rolls of bandage and gaze he would need later before grabbing a small bottle of disinfectant, eternally grateful he had found this place and hidden these supplies months back.
Taking a deep breath, he grabbed a packet of gauze as well, ripping it open with his teeth and pulling out a fairly large wad before he started trying to mop up some of the blood around the wounds, wincing when Nyx let out short, pained gasps.
Unscrewing the cap on the bottle of disinfectant, he cast a look at Nyx's face and bit his lip, "Sorry buddy." He whispered before tipping the stinging concoction over the wounds.
Nyx's whole body tensed violently, the younger glaive making a small grunt as his hands scrambled for something to hold onto to prevent from crying out in pain. Pelna winced at the obvious pain Nyx was in before he quickly took a look at the bullet wounds, Luckily, the bullet's themselves were absent, how he didn't know, but at least it meant he didn't have to cause his fellow glaive more pain by trying to dig them out.
As he set to work methodically stitching up the wounds, he noted that Nyx had suddenly gone quiet, looking up to see the younger man's eyes were closed, his face lax. That was good, it meant he could start to rest and heal, though Pelna would have liked to get some painkillers into the other before he dropped off. Once he was finished stitching the twin wounds in Nyx's abdomen, he set to work cleaning the glaive's abdomen of the blood that had dried and pooled there so the wounds would heal without risk of infection.
After what seemed liked forever Pelna sighed and tied off the bandage he had wrapped securely around the wounds. A pile of bloodied gauze sat by his side as he sat back on his legs, stretching his back out from being bent over for so long. Glancing over at Nyx, he smiled slightly to see he was still resting, his face settled in a blank, restive expression.
The burns seared into his skin still troubled Pelna, their likeness to the marks that -had, he reminded himself grimly- flickered under the skin whenever they used the King's magic was too close for him to ignore. He didn't know what the heck had happened to Nyx, or even what had gone down in the citadel before he returned.
The King was dead, how could that even be possible? All these years he had held strong, a symbol of strength and hope to his people. But now, just when it seemed like this blasted war might finally be over, Nifflehiem had destroyed everything. It all seemed just a little unreal, how quickly everything they had been fighting for had been swept away. They might as well have not fought at all, for all the good it did.
Sighing harshly to himself, Pelna gathered his feet under him and stood, moving over to the bigger bag and opening the top of it to pull out a small canteen of water, before moving back over to the bed. He hated to do it, but he needed Nyx to wake back you, drink something, and shift under the blankets on the small bed. The night would soon be even colder than it already was, and catching cold would hardly help Nyx recover.
"Nyx, come on and wake up buddy." Pelna said as he slapped the younger glaive's face gently. Nyx grunted softly in reply, his head lolling to the side as his eyes flickered before slowly sliding half-open. He watched the elder Glaive in silence for a while before he cleared his throat uncomfortably,
"..Thought you were dead.." He murmured, eyes never once leaving his friend's face. Pelna smiled sadly, laying a hand on his friend's forehead.
"So did I. But I'm here now, I'm alive and so are you." He reassured, slipping one hand behind Nyx's shoulders and gently levering him into a sitting position. "I need you to help me out a little bit here, buddy."
Nyx frowned, whether the expression was caused by pain or confusion, he couldn't tell, but he nodded after a moment, seeming to gather his wits about him for whatever Pelna needed.
It was somewhat awkward, but by their combined efforts Pelna managed to get Nyx settled under the blankets on the bed, pain smeared across the younger glaive's face as a result. Pelna quickly retrieved the canteen he had removed from the supplies and dug out a small bottle of painkillers, frowning when he saw there weren't many others in the mix of medical supplies he had acquired.
Moving over to Nyx's side, he pressed two of the painkillers into the glaive's hand, offering the canteen after Nyx quickly tossed the pills back. Taking the water with a grateful look, Nyx drank a fair amount before handing the canteen back and relaxing back into the bed.
"Thanks." He murmured, eyes flickering threateningly. Pelna merely smiled, taking a sip from the canteen before screwing the cap back on.
"Just get some rest, hero, you got people waiting for you." He smirked.
Nyx grinned lucidly, managing a quiet whisper before he submitted to the sleep that was fogging his mind.
"I'm worth the wait."