Chapter four, comin' right up! I've got nothing to say, save for my usual disclaimer...
I DOES NOT OWN STORM HAWKS!! Yes, my grammar are good! XD XD XD
Negotiation
Piper awoke with a jolt; something wasn't right. She immediately got up and headed to the Infirmary to check on Aerrow.
Piper found him sweating and gasping for breath. Aerrow was tense and clearly in pain. She carefully moved his hand off of his chest and hissed through her teeth; a crimson stain was spreading under the bandages.
Piper softly called for Weaverbird. The Dragoness groggily stepped out of her quarters and stretched, giving a cat-like yawn. She briskly trotted over when she had gotten the blood flowing again. Weaverbird examined the bandages before swiftly tearing them off with one claw; the wound had reopened again. Weaverbird sighed.
"It must not have sealed properly. I'm going to have to cauterize it again, or he runs the risk of picking up an infection." Piper frowned.
"There might be something in the poison that keeps it from healing." The navigator suggested. Weaverbird rumbled softly.
"That may be, but it must be sealed all the same. We'll try again and see how it goes. Can you clean it out a bit while I get what I need?" Piper nodded and went to fill a bowl with hot water. She bundled a towel out of a cupboard and slung it over her arm.
Piper had no sooner soaked the towel in the hot water and pressed it to the open wound when Aerrow yelped and cringed. His hand flew to her wrist as though to fend her off, but Piper had caught his hand and stroked it soothingly. Aerrow's eyes opened halfway.
"Shhh…" Piper murmured softly, "Easy, now. Let me look after this, okay?" Aerrow's arm slackened and she let go of his hand. Piper sponged the wound with the towel again. Aerrow tensed and hissed through his teeth, but held still.
By the time Weaverbird had returned with the cauterizing iron and a paw-full of strong smelling herbs, the bleeding had mostly stopped; the wound now only appeared to be an angry red slit in Aerrow's chest. When Aerrow caught sight of the iron, he moaned in dread. Piper stroked his hair back.
"Don't watch, Aerrow. You'll be okay…" Piper continued to murmur assurances to her friend, and cooled his brow with a damp cloth. She continued to talk to Aerrow while Weaverbird cauterized the wound for a second time. It gave the young sky knight something steady to hold onto while he rode the pain out.
Weaverbird soon put the iron aside and tore open one of the fleshy leaves she had brought among the herbs. She squeezed the juice onto the wound; it stung at first, but Aerrow found that it eased the pain well enough.
Weaverbird took the rest of the herbs and ground them together in a mortar. The result was a thick green paste that the Dragoness then spread liberally over Aerrow's chest. He sighed and relaxed into the pillows. Aerrow's chest was soon tightly bound with clean linen bandages. Weaverbird brushed him with her snout before returning to her quarters.
"Good thing you… Showed up when you did…" Aerrow murmured, breathing heavily. Piper smiled softly.
"Good thing…" She agreed. Piper squeezed Aerrow's shoulder; he was cold and shivering. She retrieved a few thick, fleece blankets from a cupboard and gently spread them over her friend. Deciding to stay with him for the remainder of the night, Piper settled herself beside Aerrow and clasped his hand. He was soon asleep again.
"Don't worry, Aerrow," Piper whispered, "we'll get that antidote tomorrow. You'll be just fine." She just hoped that the Dark Ace wasn't leading her into a trap.
Piper was walking down a street in a small town on Terra Knoll. It seemed like a pretty shady terra, so Piper had donned a thick coat with a hood to hide her face. She wasn't taking any chances. Plus, it was cold; the terra was very close to terra Nord.
Piper thought back to just before she had left. The Condor's heating system was not working well. She had had to pile several thick blankets over Aerrow, he was shivering so hard. Piper had taken his hand, only to find it was like ice. Piper bit her lip, hoping he was warm enough.
The navigator was just passing by an inn when she saw a very familiar Talon Switch-Blade Elite parked outside of it. She narrowed her eyes and pushed the door open.
Piper found herself in what appeared to be a restaurant or a bar of some sort. She sat down at a booth and waved away the waitress that approached her. Piper stared around at the other occupants, wondering where the Dark Ace could be.
That was when she caught sight of a man wearing a hooded cloak sitting in a dark corner. Piper couldn't see his face, but she caught a glimpse of gleaming red eyes and knew she had found who she was looking for. She strode over and settled herself in the seat opposite from him. He eyed her malevolently and she lowered her hood slightly so he could see who she was. He blinked and relaxed somewhat.
"I was wondering if you'd ever show up." Dark Ace drawled quietly. Piper huffed.
"Let's dispense with idle chatter and get down to business, shall we?" Piper hissed. Dark Ace chuckled.
"If you insist." He pulled a tiny crystal vial filled with a thick purple liquid out of his cloak, "Let me guess. He's suffering from nausea, fever, chills, mild internal bleeding, is struggling to breathe, and is experiencing excessive pain in the area of the crystal's entry." The Dark Ace rattled off the symptoms. Piper thought back over the past two days and nodded. The Talon Commander flourished the vial, "Then this is indeed the correct antidote." Piper sighed, relieved.
"Now, what do you want us to do? Surely you're not going to give us the antidote for free?" Piper asked. Dark Ace grinned darkly.
"The assassin that attacked Aerrow has usurped me from my mission. I was supposed to be the one to go after Aerrow, as usual, but Master Cyclonis didn't see me fit for this fight anymore. She hired that assassin to go in my place." He fingered the antidote slightly. Piper stared.
"So, what exactly are you getting at?" Dark Ace snorted.
"I want you Storm Hawks to get that assassin out my way. Then things can get back to normal and we can all act like this didn't happen." Piper narrowed her eyes.
"Why can't you do it yourself?" She asked suspiciously. The Dark Ace rolled his eyes.
"Don't you think it would be rather suspicious if the assassin Master Cyclonis hired was killed right after she was sent to destroy my arch enemy? I was told to go take a vacation when Shrike was sent. Master Cyclonis was testing my loyalty." Dark Ace gave Piper a sideways glance, "but if you'd rather not get tangled up in all of this, I can just take the vial and return to Cyclonia as though nothing ever happened." Piper's breath hitched in her chest. Dark Ace raised an eyebrow. Piper sighed reluctantly.
"All right. We're in." Piper looked at the ground uncomfortably. Dark Ace passed her the vial and a sheaf of papers. Piper stared at them. Dark Ace stood and prepared to leave.
"What are these for?" She asked suspiciously. The Talon Commander didn't even look her way.
"I infiltrated Cyclonis' files and took the one belonging to Shrike. This has all the information you need to figure out a way to defeat her." And then he was gone. Piper stood and swiftly left the inn.
"You got it!" Weaverbird exclaimed as Piper showed her the vial. She handed it to the Dragoness.
"Yup. As well as some information on the assassin that attacked Aerrow." Weaverbird nodded approvingly. The healer filled a syringe with the antidote and pulled back the blankets that covered Aerrow's chest. She removed the bandages and pierced the needle through the partially sealed skin and into the wound. Aerrow twitched and gave a choked gasp. Weaverbird injected the antidote and swiftly pulled the needle out.
Piper eyed the wound uneasily; it was still weeping slightly.
"Maybe we should clean the wound a bit before we bandage it up." Piper said, thinking out loud. Weaverbird smiled.
"You're getting to be a natural healer." Weaverbird commended. Piper blinked.
"Really? I'm just…" She trailed off. Weaverbird ruffled Piper's hair affectionately.
"Following an instinct?" Piper nodded. Weaverbird grinned, "That's half of what healing is. It can be a good thing to follow your instincts when it comes to tending to a wound. It can sometimes lead you straighter than any textbook remedy can." Piper pulled out a cloth and filled a bowl with hot water.
"I'll never be as good as you." Piper sighed. Weaverbird bumped her gently with her snout.
"You don't have to be. All you need is to be able to take care of him until you can find someone who knows a cure. There are healers all over the place; we're not exactly hard to come by." The Dragoness winked. Piper smiled sadly and started cleaning Aerrow's wound. The young sky knight was soon re-bandaged and sleeping peacefully. Piper watched him for a while, thinking. She turned to Weaverbird, who was settling herself in her quarters.
"Weaverbird?" Piper called softly. The Dragoness looked at her inquisitively. Piper swallowed.
"Can you teach me about healing?"
Dark Ace, you dirty double-crosser! ...Or is he a triple crosser? -muses- I dunno.
And now the ball really starts rollin'. Just one more prospective teacher to introduce! You'll meet him in the next chapter. :3 I think you'll like him. I certainly do!
Stay Tuned!