Chapter 2. Not much "Action," so to speak, but necessary nonetheless. I still don't know what the ultimate pairing will be, so keep voting.

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Blue light. It streamed through his eyelids, and suddenly he could breath again. He heard his chest rattle, and the pain returned, twisting his body as he coughed. He tried to bring his hand up, to block...something, he didn't know what. There were people around him, and he didn't want to open his eyes.

"The vulnerary, the vulnerary, give it to him!" His hoarse, wracking coughs made it hard to hear the soft female voice. Was it Mist?

"Shinon, just hold still." Someone held him, gripping his shoulders and head as he coughed. The coughing hurt less when they did that. He opened his eyes, and Gatrie, silhouetted in the sun's light, peered down at him. His eyes seemed...bluer than usual. "Haha, he's awake!"

By the Goddess, did his chest hurt. He couldn't stop coughing. Gatrie's face frayed around the edges.

"Hurry and make him drink it!" Something was put to his lips, and he wanted to tell Mist to shut her damn mouth and let him die in peace. Then he swallowed the vulnerary. It tasted like mint and cream.

The pain went from a sharp stab to a dull ache, and he coughed with less urgency. He still couldn't stop, though, and his mouth tasted like blood. It gagged him. He rolled over and vomited onto the leaves, someone holding on to his hair. Probably Gatrie. Damn him...Shinon closed his eyes, wishing the taste of blood would go away. Gatrie lifted him up and cradled him, Shinon sensing the strength in the knight's powerful arms. Gatrie had never held him before...

"Shinon! Are you alright? Talk to me!" Shinon didn't want to open his eyes. He didn't want to think. He felt so tired. At least the coughing had stopped, although his throat still tickled, and his chest felt tight.

"What's wrong with him?!" Gatrie's panicked voice rang in his ears. "The staffs and vulneraries are supposed to work!"

"I...I'm not sure." Mist answered. Her voice faded as Shinon gave in to unconsciousness. "He..lot...blood."

The next thing to wake him was the sensation of being dropped. He fell, and panic gripped him until he realized that he was cocooned in a large sheet. He opened his eyes, and looked up to see two horses, and two riders. He lay between Oscar and Titania. He moved a hand, seemingly through air thicker than syrup, as if to ask what they thought they were doing.

"We're taking you to the town." Oscar smiled down at him kindly. "Rhys can tend you there, as he hurt his leg during the fight. The ride won't be long."

Shinon wanted to curse at the paladin for talking to him like he was a child, but the fatigue was too intense. His entire body felt like lead, and he barely felt the motions of the horses as they made their way through the woods. He hoped Gatrie followed.

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"Shinon." A soft masculine voice prodded him awake. The first sensation to return was touch, and the ground-no, bed-under him was unbelievably soft, far softer than his bunk at the compound. He heard no birds singing, no crunching of leaves...he was safe here.

"Shinon, I'd like you to open your eyes." Rhys asked him.

"Go screw yourself." Shinon answered. He wanted to sleep.

"Well, he's fine." Soren said from somewhere. Someone put a cool hand to his neck, and Shinon slapped it away, finally opening his eyes and giving the healer what he hoped was an angry glare.

Rhys drew his hand back, frowning at the archer and rubbing his wrist. "How are you feeling?"

Shinon's head hurt, he was tired, and he was thirstier than he had ever been in his life. "Fine." He replied, his mouth dry as cotton.

"Good, then you can explain how you were injured." Soren walked up to the bed, a quill and paper in hand. "Because if you followed my instructions, you shouldn't have been." Rhys looked askance at Soren, and then left the room.

Questions of where he was and how long he had been asleep were replaced with anger at the mage's tone. "Maybe you underestimated the enemy. Wasn't Rhys hurt as well?"

Soren narrowed his eyes. "He didn't skirt death. Now, how were you hurt?"

Shinon sat up straighter in bed, doing his best to keep his gaze on Soren as a wave of dizziness hit him. "I was hit with a lance." He smirked.

Soren wrote something down, not rising to the bait. "Maybe I'll ask Gatrie."

Shinon swallowed hard. The mage couldn't know. Gatrie had left him to die. Anger warred with sadness and shame. Gatrie hadn't meant it, of course. Of course not. Shinon wanted his friendship if he couldn't have him, but women...they stood in the way of that too. Damn them. Damn him! Shinon leaned back on the pillows, the dizziness returning, and closed his eyes. A friend who couldn't even stay by his side in battle wasn't worthy of defending, but he simply couldn't report Gatre's ineptitude to the tactician. It would make the betrayal too...real. Gatrie couldn't help not caring, and that hurt most. But, the knight had held him so tenderly...

"Shinon?" Soren asked, his normal monotone broken by what could have been concern. "Are you awake?"

"Take this." He opened his eyes again to see Rhys holding out a glass of water. "You probably need it." When the archer grabbed it and drank it in seconds, the healer smiled knowingly. "You lost a lot of blood, you know. You've been asleep for a full day." Shinon blinked and handed the empty cup back to the bishop, not letting his surprise show.

"Hmph. I'll be by later. And we're leaving in the afternoon, so get strength to travel." Soren left without any further words. Shinon just lay back and closed his eyes.

"That's his way of giving you a rest." Rhys offered. Shinon didn't respond.

"Um..." What did the Goddessdamned man want? "I'm sorry I wasn't there when you were hurt." The sniper's eyes flew open incredulously.

"What?"

"It was risky, Soren knew that. That's why I gave Gatrie the vulnerary..."

"Where is Gatrie?!" The sniper almost shouted, interrupting Rhys's tiring little speech. Shinon stopped caring about Rhys's misplaced guilt. Why hadn't his friend come to visit? Rolf he understood, he had told the boy to keep the training quiet, but Gatrie...the knight was all he had.

"Oh...Ike ordered him back to base. He was depressed, with you hurt and-Hey!"

Shinon threw back the covers and tried to storm out of bed, snarling. "That idiot pup!" He didn't get far before the room whirled around him and he fell, his knee hitting the wooden floor hard. "Damn..."

"Oh, be careful!" Rhys put a soft hand on Shinon's arm, and the sniper let himself lean on the bishop as he got to his feet. Amazingly, the healer did not get bowled over by the weight. "C'mon, you need more rest."

Shinon tolerated Rhys's touch until he was on the bed before shoving the man's hand away. Rhys's hands were very soft, though. Shinon tried to focus. "He sent Gatrie back alone?!"

"No, no...Rolf, Boyd, Mist and Mia went as well. The rest of us stayed behind to help you."

"I don't need any help." Shinon pretended he had not just nearly fallen on his face. "Where is here, anyway?"

"Stonecart. Because of our help, they let us use this house to tend our wounded." Rhys smiled at him, and Shinon looked away.

"Was anyone else hurt?"

"Boyd suffered a scratch or two, and my leg...no one as badly as you." Shinon bristled, but Rhys had not meant it as an insult. "What happened, Shinon?" The healer lost his smile. "If Mist had found you one second later...You must have lain there for almost an hour before she did. Why did you go off on your own?"

Shinon ignored him, rolling over and staring at the far wall. Typical townhouse, he thought. The room was sparse, but cozy. They had painted the walls white, but the sun coming in the window brightened it and made it look more natural. There was a bookshelf, and the sniper's sharp eyes out could make out some of the titles. "History of Tellius." "Penmanship." A particularly thick book on etiquette. Whose house was this? He hadn't known villagers could read.

"Shinon..." Why wouldn't Rhys leave him be? "If something happened, I should know." Yeah, right. So he could report it straight to Ike. "Did you feel ill?" He lowered his voice. "Had you been drinking? I know you have...issues with alcohol sometimes."

Shinon grit his teeth and kept his silence while his thoughts chased each other in circles. He wished he could talk to Gatrie. The knight would smile and nod, and apologize. And Shinon would have no guarantee it wouldn't happen again. He sighed. Gatrie was an idiot when it came to women. He always would be. No amount of wishing would change that. No amount of fooling himself would change the fact that Gatrie had left him in danger, had nearly gotten him killed, while the knight chased some whore. Shinon knew that. Had Gatrie realized the danger? Shinon wished he hadn't. If Gatrie had known Shinon would be attacked, and suspected Shana to be in danger...who would he have chosen to protect?

Not me, Shinon thought to himself. He didn't want to believe it. But he did.

A weight settled itself on the bed, and a hand was lain on his shoulder. His muscles tensed immediately, and he refused to look at Rhys. "Shinon, I do want to help you. Believe me." The bishop's voice was soft. "Your near death is no light matter. I just...I want to make sure that whatever caused it won't happen again." When Shinon still refused to speak, Rhys continued. "Rolf was very upset, you know."

Conniving, for a priest. "Stop touching me." Shinon hissed.

The hand left his shoulder, but the sniper could still feel the ghost of it's weight. He was rarely touched, and it had almost felt nice, even from Rhys. Not that the sniper would ever admit it.

Rhys didn't say anything for a long time, and Shinon wondered if the priest had finally gotten a clue until another glass of water was held in front of him. "You need to keep hydrated." Shinon braved sitting up again, drinking until the glass was empty. He actually felt better this time. At least, he did until he realized the damned priest was still staring at him.

"Gatrie was worried too." Shinon quickly looked away. "We all were! You're our companion, Shinon." Rhy had the audacity to touch his fingers to Shinon's chin, guiding the sniper to look at him. "You may think we don't care, but we'd all be devastated if you died."

The healer had barely finished his sentence before Shinon grabbed his arm, twisting it so that Rhys fell onto the floor. "I told you to stop touching me!" Why wouldn't the damned man shut up!? Gatrie didn't care, not enough to prevent it. Why would anyone else? Rolf might, but he was a child. He would have gotten over it. Shinon hated being lied too, especially about something so stupid.

"Shinon..." Rhys's face was flushed, and he rubbed his arm as he stood up. "Why are-"

"I DON'T CARE!" Shinon shouted, his voice echoing off the walls. The healer took a step back, a horribly sad expression on his face. It reminded him of how Rolf looked when he yelled at the kid too much, except on the face of an adult, it was doubly pathetic. Shinon stared at the bookshelf again, unwilling to acknowledge Rhys. He spotted another book, something about dogs. Dog Training.

"I take it from all the yelling that you're well enough to head back?" That was little Ike's voice. Shinon didn't move. Ike wasn't worth his time.

"Um, commander..." Rhys was unmistakably shaken. Well, good. "I'm...I'm not sure if...It's a whole day's hard walk, and..." Shinon realized the priest was trying to tell Ike to give him more time. Screw that. He swung his legs out of the bed, discreetly using the desk to steady himself as he stood up. He still faced the bookshelf, and could not see Ike. He felt dizzy only briefly, though there was a moment when he heard a strange roaring in his ears and his vision fuzzed yellow.

"You can ride, if you like." Ike spoke up. "The villagers were so grateful to us that they rewarded us with a horse."

Shinon turned around, making his expression unreadable. Soren must have been thrilled with that. What would they do with an extra horse? And how would that be split evenly among all of them? Shinon imagined eating a horse, and then quickly banished the thought.

"We'll be outside." Ike left then. Shinon wished that just once, the boy would challenge him in some way. Then Shinon could really prove who was superior. The coward never did, though.

Shinon walked towards the door, doing his to best ignore Rhys, who dutifully followed him. At least he kept his mouth shut this time. He was probably frightened of how the sniper would react, and Shinon was perversely pleased with that.

Oscar raised a hand in greeting when he came outside, and to his surprise a good number of the villagers smiled at him as well. They milled around, pressing gifts onto Ike and Soren, and stuffed flowers into the saddlebags of all three horses. Some of the girls even smiled at Shinon, and he simply glared back. It didn't seem to dissuade them from giggling at him and offering him useless trinkets like flowers and in one case, a comb. He refused to touch any of it, and focused on collecting his things. There wasn't much, besides his bow.

Despite having little experience with horses on a daily basis besides avoiding Oscar's, who liked to bite him when he came into the stables drunk, Shinon was able to get himself situated well enough on the horse. He would never be a good rider, but he noted that Titania and Oscar positioned themselves on either side of him should he fall. They also hooked their horses's bridles to his-apparently he didn't have to do any work. It should have galled him, but the sun beating down and the dry autumn air were making him thirsty and tired all over again. He didn't have the energy to complain.

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He spent most of the ride back in a daze, sleeping fitfully in the saddle. Conversation buzzed around him, and he heard Oscar laughing periodically at whatever Titania was saying. At one point someone gave him water, and he raised it to his lips and drank without even really acknowledging what it was until a few minutes after the fact. Finally, after what seemed like ages, Shinon recognized the area around him, and the mercenary compound came into view.

Titania and Oscar unhooked his horse, and Shinon came fully awake when he heard a high pitched voice. "Shinon!"

Rolf flung himself at the horse, and Shinon promptly slid off onto the ground with a thud that jarred his bones. The horse trotted a few feet away and began cropping grass, unaware of and uncaring of what had befallen it's rider. Stupid horse. Only then did the sniper realize how much his legs and hips hurt from riding the stupid beast for so long, and he muffled a curse.

"Uncle Shinon, Mist said you almost died!" Rolf told him in a whisper that was far too loud.

"Get away from me, brat." Shinon pushed Rolf away, and the boy looked at him tearfully. Shinon would have thumped the kid on the head for being so dramatic, but at the moment he couldn't quite stand up.

Oscar intervened, hoisting the sniper to his feet quickly. "You get used to it." He said, his ever present smile turned up more than usual. Shinon stumbled a bit on his feet before he got his balance back, the outside of his thighs aching abominably.

More of the mercenaries were coming outside to greet those returning, and Shinon quickly hurried towards the rear of the compound, hoping to get inside before he saw Gatrie. He couldn't face the knight in front of everyone. He heard Rolf trotting after him, and he turned around quickly, giving the kid the thump on the head that he deserved.

"Ouch! Uncle Shinon..."

"Not now." Shinon made himself sound less stressed than he was. "I need sleep, and for that I need quiet. Don't let anyone bother me." Rolf was the only person Shinon would ever admit a weakness like exhaustion too. He could be trusted. "Go back and...have fun or something." There would certainly be some celebrating once everyone had gotten settled.

"Will you be okay?" Rolf asked quietly.

"I'm fine." Shinon turned and left then, before anyone else could catch up to him. He didn't see Gatrie at all as he went up the stairs to his room, and was able to stop thinking about the knight when he fell asleep. Strangely enough, his last thought before falling asleep was of Rhys's soft voice, and even softer hands.

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TBC.

Criticism please! It helps me keep up my motivation, and tells me how I can improve my writing.