Rath felt a twinge of pain when he attempted to move his leg.

He had finally overcome his momentary shock only to find that he had sprained his ankle after having rolled down the ravine. And it stung in more ways than one. He supposed that he shouldn't have expected any other outcome, after running blindly — stupidly — through a patch of bushes with all caution thrown to the wind. He winced and managed to shift to his hands and knees. He was just full of bright ideas today.

"Uh..."

He directed his attention back to the faerie who was now anxiously wringing her hands. She couldn't have been bigger than his hand, but she was definitely real. It had taken considerable convincing, on his part, to dismiss the fact that he may have just hit his head hard enough to permanently damage his brain, resulting in faerie-related hallucinations. It wasn't that far-fetched of a concern. And it's still — she's still — almost too good to believe.

"I uh — I'm r-really sorry about this," she stammered after a while.

"Yes, you've said that already — you've said it a lot, actually," Rath said through gritted teeth. It was true, for the past five minutes she had done nothing but babble out apologies. While he was, at first, patient, it was becoming harder and harder to stay so the more she keened in his ear. He dropped his gaze back to the ground under his palms. The pain wasn't too intense, but he could forget about moving any faster.

He had at least managed to pull himself out of the cold trickle of a stream that he had been lying in and was now kneeling on the ravine's slight upward sloping incline, unable to move much further. His head still ached slightly from where he had hit it, but a thorough feel procured only a tender bump. He was thankful he had gotten away with that little.

"Um..."

He blinked when he felt the warmth of the faerie's light on his face as she drifted closer to him.

"What is it?" he questioned briskly, steadying his breath as he readied himself to move again.

"You're hurt," came the diminutive answer.

"Yes. Yes I am," Rath grounded out as he attempted to stand. He ended up only succeeding in dragging himself up on one bended knee, his bad ankle remained stationary. A dull pain radiated from the area, despite him favoring it. This was ridiculous. He needed a crutch of some kind.

The warmth left his face and he blinked when he felt something light land on his ankle. The faerie, he found, had placed her tiny hands on him. She frowned and as she lowered her head, a few strands of dark hair shifted to fall over her eyes.

"What are yo—" he began and froze when a bright light enveloped her hands and radiated outward towards his skin.

A chill ran down his spine and his entire body tingled as the light swirled and then touched his flesh. The grass stalks around them seemed to sway slightly, and as the faerie's light settled on the entire patch of grass beneath them, each blade was bathed in a faint glow. Rath realized that he knew what this was — had felt this before. He could feel the warmth under his very skin. He shivered slightly as the pain flared up angrily before it disappeared all together. The grass dried and bent, trailing after the light as it receded from the ground and his leg — she had drawn energy from from an outside source to fuel her task. He understood, then, when she lifted her hands and gave him a weak smile; he had just witnessed a faerie's healing power.

"...Thanks," Rath said breathlessly, a bit overcome.

"It was — nothing..." she trailed off, her eye-lids drooping, and he scrambled to catch her as she nearly dropped to the ground. Her body was so light and so delicate, it felt as though he were holding nothing at all.

Alarmingly, she did not stir, and for a few agonized moments Rath was troubled by the thought that she had perhaps drained all the strength in her little body in order to heal him. A wave of relief washed over him when her eyes finally fluttered open.

"Usually, I don't get this exhausted after using my healing power. It's good that it was only sprained, I could at least do that" the faerie said softly with a faint smile. "I'm sorry."

Rath shook his head, dismissing the apology. He had been partially right, then, about the magic using up most of her reserves; the faint light that radiated from her body had faded somewhat and she seemed somewhat paler. If it was harder for her to use her magic, it was possible that it had something to do with the Faerie Forest and the disappearance of the faeries themselves.

She propped herself up on her elbows, trying for a somewhat elevated position, and let out a little soft breath at the effort.

"I really am sorry about making you fall like that!" she exclaimed fervently, some strength returning to her voice, and then she murmured, "I just, at first I thought you were a big demon, so I got scared and I flew away. You don't look very much like one, though, up close."

Rath allowed himself to smile, in order to reassure her. "It's alright. I shouldn't have chased you like that..." he said and paused for a moment, on the cusp of forming an inquiry. The faerie eagerly perked up, catching his drift.

"Miyabi! My name is Miyabi!"

"Rath," he replied simply.

He still couldn't believe how surreal this moment had become. Here he was actually holding a faerie - and conversing with her. He knew that there was no time to dwell on the matter, but something about this moment made him feel a bit stronger inside. Like he had options, for once in his life. He had found something, someone, outside of the Demon Castle.

Miyabi's round eyes flicked to his face for a moment, lingering, before she looked away.

"What were you doing out here anyway?" Rath found himself asking and watched as Miyabi climbed to her hands and knees in the palm of his hand. If she was here, perhaps there were others? Maybe an untouched part of the Faerie Forest that had been hidden away. And then there was the Water Realm to consider.

"I was," she began and her face fell. A serious look then adorned her features. "I was looking...for everyone."

Rath remained silent.

"I didn't — there isn't a Faerie Forest here, not anymore," Miyabi's voice wavered and her hands curled into fists.

A silence fell over the two of them at that heavy statement. The faerie's shoulder's hunched as she bent her head further down to hide her face, her tiny hand coming up to rub at her eyes.

Rath understood — or perhaps that was too bold on his part, he didn't know, but he could sympathize. There was a good chance that she was the last of her kind in Dusis. And wasn't it the same for him? He knew had heard rumors about dragon survivors, but that was all that they were, weren't they? Nothing but rumors and ghosts. He needed to be prepared to face the reality that he could really be the last of his kind; the last member of the Dragon Tribe in existence.

Miyabi wiped a hand across her face twice and then pressed both of her palms against her eyes for a moment before she let them fall with a tiny sigh. She seemed to have regained her composure but Rath felt a little guilty. He felt like he should have said something to comfort her. But he had always been awkward with that sort of thing.

"I'm not all alone though," she said, her voice gaining some strength. "I came here with someone!"

Rath frowned.

"A human," Miyabi continued, her wings fluttered as she rose to stand, "Lord Nohiro!"

Lord Nohiro? Rath somehow felt strange hearing the name. It didn't hold any sort of immediate significance to him, but there was something strangely familiar about it — as though he had heard someone else mention it to him before. Usually he was good with that sort of thing. It was rare that he would forget someone he might have made some attempt to remember, let alone one holding the title of 'Lord'. But a human? He had known only a few humans personally, and known even less of them by name. There was something troubling about the fact that he could not remember who this Nohiro was and that it felt as though remembering him was somehow important.

He would probably find out who this 'Lord Nohiro' was soon enough. If Miyabi had been traveling with him then that meant that he couldn't be very far.

"But I — we were separated." Miyabi nervously glanced around at the surrounding forest.

"Where? In the forest?" Rath questioned, a little disappointed. Miyabi shook her head in a quick, jerking motion, averting her gaze, and suddenly began to tremble.

"N-no — I came here without him knowing. H-he wouldn't let me go into the forest alone." She swallowed and put a hand to her chest. "He s-said it was too dangerous so I had to sneak away...I should have listened."

Dangerous? So far Rath had only come in contact with a few birds himself.

"We should keep moving, I think I sense something—" Miyabi began quietly and the two of them went rigid when a beastly howl echoed through the forest. A flock birds burst forth from the trees, flapping nosily into the sky; a multitude of screeching and squawking black bodies.

Startled, Rath immediately stood up. He instinctively expected some pain from his ankle but remembered as equally as fast that he had been healed. He looked around him, his heart pounding. Miyabi flew up to his head, her little chest rising and falling rapidly.

"What was that?" he whispered, standing stock still. He peered uncertainly into the dark growth of trees around them.

"Quick! We have to hide somewhere!" Miyabi urged her eyes wide with terror. Her tiny form hovered beside Rath's shoulder and she suddenly pointed to an overgrown area of bushes.

Another ear-splitting howl chilled Rath to the bone, and he hurriedly began to climb the steep incline of the ravine, slipping as he went, before reaching the top. Miyabi flitted behind him and stayed close until they made it to the patch of foliage. He slid to a halt and crouched down in the leafy growth, trying get a better look though the branches and leaves.

The ravine slopped upward to level out into a small clearing surrounded by bushes and trees - a bald spot interrupting the wild, untamed swathe the forest had made. He couldn't see very well, but the sound of creaking and shaking trees was unmistakable. He felt a stab of fear. Whatever it was that was coming towards them was moving way too fast, like it already knew that they were there.

At once, a creature stepped into the clearing, shaking its large body free of the tangle of vines and branches that clung to the olive-colored fur around its neck. Its translucent skin was stretched taut against its ribs and bony hips. A few patches of fur ran down its forelegs and haunches, stopping just short of the cruel-looking claws that protruded from its four large paws. It was a quadruped – canine by the looks of it, with a long tapered muzzle.

"Where the hell did that thing come from?" Rath breathed.

Miyabi flickered briefly at the corner of his vision and then hovered close to his face. Her brows bent as she watched the creature. He threw an anxious glance at her faint glow and thought that it'd be best if they moved as soon as possible, lest she attract the beast's attention as she had his.

"Lord Nohiro had been warning me about a demon that had been spotted here. He told me not to go to the innermost Faerie Forest but I just wanted to see — I-I should've stayed with him. I promised I'd protect him — " She paused in mid-sentence and Rath, hearing a soft sob in his ear, turned to find that the little faerie was rubbing her eyes with her tiny hands again but was unable to stop the big, pearly tears from slipping out and rolling down her cheeks.

"Hey — hey now," he whispered uncomfortably and tried to sound more confident than he felt at that moment. "I'm sure we'll find him. He's probably looking for you too, you know."

She nodded, as if she expected him to say this, but even as she wiped her tears away, the sad look was still present in her eyes.

"Anyway." He jerked his gaze back to the demon when it let out a growl that ripped through the air. "Just how are we supposed to get past this thing?"

The beast suddenly let out a pitiful keen and lifted its hind leg to scratch at its neck with a shrill whine. For a brief second, Rath glimpsed the large, interlocking metal links around its neck before it lowered it's head to sniff at the ground. Chains and an iron collar? Just like the dog-demon that was on the ship. Perhaps Nadil had placed the demon in the Faerie Forest as a sort of guardian - no, that had to be it. Though the faeries were apparently gone, much of the forest still remained intact and heavily fortified with dense growth, essentially making it a sort of blind spot for Nadil - and therefore its proximity dangerous to the Demon Castle's security. Planting a demon in such an important strategic point would assure the Demon Lord protection from any enemies attempting to use it as cover.

Rath swallowed, sitting on the back of his heels, ready to run. Could they even outrun this thing? It was fairly large, and Rath didn't have the advantage of flight as Miyabi did. Even if he could match the demons four legs, it would be on him soon enough. A sudden thought crossed his mind. When he had fallen in the ravine, it was possible that water could have washed away some of his scent. That would explain why the demon had so abruptly stopped and was now circling and sniffing. It seemed like his luck was turning.

"Look, Miyabi," he began, and paused when the demon twitched, its lips curling into a snarl, "we should probably start moving. I think I may have inadvertently bought us some time."

Miyabi shot him a questioning look.

"You should probably get in my hood," he explained quickly, seeing her tense a little at the suggestion. "Your light might give us away, right?"

She was still wary of him, he could see it in the way she reacted and in her eyes, but he wasn't offended – she was smart to keep her guard up.

Trembling slightly, she nodded again, as though assuring herself that she was making the right choice. Her little wings folded down as she slipped into his hood. He gently pulled it over his head. Before he began to crawl, he peered through the branches and caught a glimpse of the demon's heaving sides, its back still turned from them. He slowly lowered himself to the ground.

It felt uncomfortable and wretched, squirming amongst the dead leaves, branches and dirt like a worm, but Rath knew that he couldn't take the chance of standing and being spotted. The bushes provided some cover but were still too sparse to risk walking upright and heading toward the denser forest around. He had more of a chance of avoiding detection by staying close to the ground, were he'd be provided somewhat ample cover.

Every once and a while, he would stop, straining his ears as the demon let out a short snort and a huffing sound. Despite the slow work he soon made it to the forest's edge.

Miyabi clenched the fabric on his shoulder tightly. Rath could've sworn he heard her heartbeat near his ear.

Rising somewhat to a half-sitting, half-standing position he kept himself still, listening for the demon once more. He dared a glance and saw that the demon had its nose buried in the stream, lapping up the water with a sort of fervor that made Rath think it had been a while since it had drank. Or eaten, Rath thought grimly, watching the unfortunate beast's ribs expand and deflate with each monstrous swallow. Nadil's army probably weren't the best of caretakers.

"Is it safe to go?" Miyabi's voice was scarcely a whisper.

Slowly, Rath thought. They were a good enough distance, and the forest floor here was damper and would muffle the sound of any branches or leaves he might step on.

He felt Miyabi suddenly seize up beside his neck and he lowered his eyes only to find, horrified, that she was in mid-sneeze. Hurriedly, she bowed into his shoulder, muffling the sound effectively and then relaxed.

"S-sorry," she sniffled quietly, rubbing her nose. "That would've been pretty cliché huh?"

"Yeah," Rath murmured back uneasily. He took his first step. The second his foot connected with the ground a vicious growl suddenly sounded out from behind him.

Rath felt immense fear manifest itself in the pit of his stomach. Reluctantly, he turned around.

The demon was staring straight at him, its razor sharp teeth bared and hackles raised.

They had already run out of time. It had picked up his scent once more.

Run. Run. Run!

Rath bolted into the dark forest, pushing branches out of his way, only one thought — a fleeting, sharp, terrified message looming on the brink of his mind; avoid getting caught in the jaws inching closer and closer from behind.

He could feel the demon's hot breath on him, almost on top of him. He could hear the puffing and panting, and he could definitely smell it — a ripe, pungent odor, like something had rotted away between its teeth and was still there. That wouldn't be pleasant, being crushed between razor sharp incisors, with the last thing he ever smelled being whatever the beast had last eaten and had failed to pick out of its teeth.

The thought was enough to keep him running, for now, but not even fear could push him along forever.

He was overestimating the strength he had left. Already his feet were beginning to feel like lead, and he began to stumble, muscles aching and protesting as he pushed himself past his body's limit. Blood was rushing past his ears, his heart was in his throat and his breath came hard and fast. It was a frustrating, frightening feeling, as he feel his body beginning to hit its wall; as much as he willed himself to move faster, all his legs seemed to want to do was slow down.

Miyabi suddenly launched herself out from his hood, yelling something his way that he didn't quite catch, and he watched her flit further and further away from him, her comforting light fading with her.

And with her disappearance, the terror seemed much more intense than before. If only he had a sword! The dagger in his knapsack was hardly enough to bring such as large demon down. The thought died when a tangle of vines suddenly whipped down from above. It was a huge mass, probably loosened by the trees the demon had been bumping into. It was making a beeline for him, a huge, imposing mass of dark green.

It's going to fall on me, Rath could only absently think. He felt cold, knowing he was done for, when he tripped and stumbled through the undergrowth with a yelp. But the demon's jaws did not close around him.

Suddenly, he was out in the open again, the cool night air on his face, and then he took in face full of earthy-smelling dirt. His head throbbed painfully and his head swam for a moment. He blinked past the momentary haze after some effort, only then just remembering his rather toothy predicament.

Rushing up to his hands and his knees at the sound of a snarl, he found an unexpected sight.

The demon was writhing, trapped in a mass of vines, the vines making a sort of net around it. It pressed against the unyielding plant, lifting up slightly to claw at the air before settling back down on it's feet. Furious, it let out an enraged howl and once again began bucking against its restraints.

Rath fell back on his hands, staring wide-eyed at the creature, unsure of how this had happened.

He could've sworn that all that vine was going to land right on top of him.

"Rath? Rath!" A tiny form fluttered into his line of vision, blocking the struggling demon

It was Miyabi, none the worse for wear from last time he had seen her.

She jerked when the demon snarled again and she hovered close to Rath's arm, pulling nervously at his cloak.

"There's never been a demon like that in this forest," she whispered sullenly, as though she were afraid that somehow her voice would break the demon free of it tenuous bonds.

Rath slowly stood up, dusting himself off and adjusted his knapsack which, thankfully, had remained on during the commotion.

"I thought, you didn't have enough magic for this sort of thing?"

Miyabi turned to him, a confused look gracing her features.

"Me? I didn't do this," she said blinking.

Rath held her gaze for a while, unsure if she was telling the truth, before he turned back to the demon writhing about in the make-shift neat of vines. If Miyabi hadn't used faerie magic of some kind, then what—?

"Did you know Rath? The magic is so steeped in Faerie Forests," Rune began, smiling down at the tiny, black-haired boy beside him, "that the trees themselves have taken a life of their own."

"Whoa, that's cool," Rath said, his eyes alight with curiosity. "Do they talk?"

Rune seemed uncomfortable for a moment, looking away and then finally faced Rath, shaking his head. "I can't say. They don't really talk so much as, well..."

"Tell me! Tell me Rune!"

Rune put up his hands nervously, a bit surprised by the child's sudden eagerness.

"Well they sort of, whisper, sometimes." He put a hand on Rath's head. "If one listens closely. Unfortunately, I think that only faeries are capable of hearing them. Sometimes they might move too, and some are a little mischievous. On more than one I occasion I can remember momentarily putting something down and coming back, only to find that it had disappeared."

Rath pouted, seemingly disappointed." What? Only faeries? You aren't lying to me are you?"

Rune smiled nervously, unable to meet Rath's serious, unwavering gaze.

"Of course! I wouldn't lie to you Rath. That's just how it is."

Rath searched Rune's face for a moment and then, seeming pleased with what he found, pulled the young elf into a great bear-hug.

"Good. And I like that you're the Water Dragon Knight, Rune, 'cos you're really warm."

Rune patted Rath's head and laughed.

"I'm glad. I like you too Rath."

Rath lowered his gaze from the writhing demon to stare at the ground, his teeth resolutely driven into his lip.

"Rath?" Miyabi ventured quietly.

Perhaps Rune had been right. That the trees of the Faerie Forest, after years of housing faeries, had been imbued with magic — magic so old, that even once all the faeries were gone, it still remained in the trees and was strong enough to do something like this. He wasn't sure. The falling vines could have been a coincidence, but the way that they wrapped around the demon, securely holding it in place and effectively hampering its movement, made him wonder.

The two of them jumped, when the beast roared again and Miyabi nervously began to float away — the unspoken desire to leave that place as quickly as possible evident on her features.

Rath paused before he turned on his heel and jogged after the retreating faerie. He glanced behind him one last time. The struggling beast had begun to jerk around even more fierily as it watched them leave. The chains around its neck only further hampered its process.

Even when he and Miyabi finally exited the forest, they were still able to hear the demon's frustrated howls echo out from within the dark trees.

It was harder to clean when he had only the use of one arm, but he had already made so much progress with Kharl's mess that he just wanted to finally get it all out of the way. He realized that he would only feel perturbed, anyway, leaving the work unfinished. And also, leaving it for later would only ensure that Kharl would add to the mess.

Garfakcy sighed — a lonely sound that reverberated against the cavernous walls of Kharl's dusty study. There seemed to be endless piles everywhere but, he thought with some satisfaction, at least they were all organized.

He placed a bandaged hand on his shoulder and rolled the joint slowly, feeling the tension in it lift a little. Even this subtle action, however, caused a lick of pain to shoot up his arm. He winced and glared down at the cast and sling that he had been forced to wear.

When Shyrendora had caught him, back at the Demon Castle, she had broken his arm with a casual flick of her wrist. The bone fractured quite badly, enough to actually break the skin, and he was far more shocked than in pain when it had happened. He had forgotten how powerful demons could be. It was lucky shot, usually he was more careful. She wouldn't have been able to touch him if he hadn't been caught off guard; Kharl had disappeared so suddenly from his side, and the alchemist's sudden departure distracted him for only a moment, but a brief second was all it took. The ugly hag had seemed so pleased with herself too — his blood boiled when he recalled her her smug look.

And then when he had been finally reunited with Kharl, he found — to his fury — that his master had been horribly injured. It had been a mistake, going to the Demon Castle in person. They weren't welcome there, he knew that — god damn it Kharl knew that. Why couldn't Kharl have sent another clone like the last time he tried to speak with Rath (and look how well that went)? Why was Kharl so insistent on seeing Rath himself this time?

Garfakcy hated being left in the dark, but no matter how insistently he pried, Kharl wouldn't tell him anything about Rath. It frustrated him and made him a little disappointed at the same time; there were few things that Kharl purposefully withheld from him — he had been under the impression that Kharl saw him as his equal. And after all this time, he had been trying to figure out just what it was that was so special about Rath. There was no way that Kharl would've made such an effort — putting his own life in danger in the process — if the Dragon Knight had been just another one of the alchemist's many creations.

The sound of footsteps padded on the stone floor and Garfakcy tensed for a moment, half-expecting to see Kharl himself, but was instead greeted by the dark-furred Sinistora. Its feathered tail lifted slightly when its gaze fell on him.

"Hey there," Garfakcy murmured quietly and Sinistora stepped over to him. It touched his cast with the tip of its nose.

"Yeah, still hurts. Lord Kharl wants it to heal normally — to observe bone growth, or something."

Sinistora tilted its head slightly, its eyes dark and emotionless.

"Speaking of which has he—"

A loud crashing sound suddenly echoed through the study. Sinistora's ears perked up. Garfakcy cringed at the sound and placed his good hand to his forehead. The noise seemed to have come from one of the rooms nearby, and Garfakcy could guess what, or rather who, had made it.

Sinistora suddenly dashed away, brushing past a pile of wrapped rolled-up parchments which then all rolled about on in every direction. A stack of unopened packages followed suit, ending the chain reaction and re-cluttering the floor of the study.

Garfakcy groaned and limped after Sinistora, muttering curses under his breath.

The dog finally paused in front of a closed door and scratched at it with blunt claws.

"I'm not very happy with you," Garfakcy said sourly and scowled at Sinistora's blank look.

Resignedly, Garfakcy opened the mahogany door and cautiously peered inside.

The large bay windows that faced the courtyard were open, letting in a cool breeze and some slivers of sunshine that had pierced through the low hanging clouds. The room itself was much brighter than the dim and dreary study Garfakcy had just left and smelled faintly of herbs and metal. He blinked a little, his eyes still adjusting to the change of scenery.

Kharl was standing before the window, vacantly staring out at the scenery. A broken pot was on the ground near his feet.

"...Lord Kharl?" Garfakcy tried hesitantly.

Since they had returned to Arinas, Kharl had only tended to his wounds and had said nothing — regardless of how passionately Garfakcy pressed him for answers. Garfacky couldn't break past the uncharacteristic silence that hovered over the alchemist. As a result, for the past few days a deathly stillness had come over the castle; a bit unsurprising since no else but the two of them lived there. But, nonetheless, something about the alchemist's silence didn't sit well with Garfakcy.

Kharl finally turned, as though just noticing Garfakcy and smiled sadly.

"Oh Garfakcy. I'm sorry, I was lost in thought." He flicked out a white, gloved hand in Garfakcy's direction, beckoning him.

"Come, let me see that arm of yours."

Garfakcy slowly walked over to Kharl, eyeballing the mess of paper and books on the large desk in the middle of the room with distaste. He finally reached Kharl and was about to say something when a small keening sound interrupted him. He paused to look down at the shattered remains of the pot and grimaced at the sight.

The pot Kharl had dropped had been filled with ash, and in the dusty remnants a bird fetus squawked nosily. Its large eye was glassy and remained focused on the ceiling. It squirmed pathetically, its tiny malformed wings pushing its small body in half-circles.

"Oh, that." Kharl finally looked down, his lids dropping slightly as he observed, "Just another experiment I had forgotten about. I didn't think it'd still be alive, after all this time."

The alchemist's fingers twitched and Garfakcy hurriedly bent down to retrieve the tiny creature. It felt disturbingly smooth and rubbery, but was dry.

"No I'll get it," he said and lied, consciously keeping any emotion off his face, "It'll probably die soon anyway. I'll just bury it in the garden when it does."

Kharl blinked lethargically and tilted his head in assent, seemingly wiping his hands of the matter.

Garfakcy was about to turn around when Kharl suddenly spoke, bemusedly.

"Wait now, Garfakcy. I said I was going to check your arm, don't you remember?"

Right, that's kinda' why I wanted to leave, Garfakcy thought feebly. He turned back around to face Kharl. The little squawking creature had stilled, somewhat, in his grasp.

The second Kharl had the bandages off the the alchemist began poking and prodding. His gloved fingers were spidery and smooth against Garfakcy's skin.

"Fascinating." Kharl's eyes were suddenly alight with the same sort of interest and life that Garfakcy had seen a distinct lack of since they had returned to the castle.

"Demon bones just snap back together, without much effort or energy, but humans — first a blood pocket forms over the site of the fracture, encompassing it in a protective pocket and essentially allowing for new growth. I wonder how much stronger this part of the bone will be when it grows back..."

"Er, yeah," Garfakcy muttered, wincing when Kharl handled his arm a little too roughly.

"Ah, forgive me, Garfakcy."

Kharl rubbed some stinging, foul-smelling ointment onto the wound left from the bone's protrusion through his skin and then wrapped it once more with fresh bandages. His work was careful and attentive. Garfakcy squirmed a little uncomfortably.

"There." The alchemist turned for a moment, opened a drawer, and withdrew a container full of round pills. He handed two to Garfakcy. "Drink those with some water, it'll help numb the pain."

"Thank you," Garfakcy said a bit timidly and scooted off of the desk. He kept the now quiet bird close to his chest.

"Uh, Lord Kharl?"

Kharl had once again turned his head to gaze out of the window, the same dazed look falling over his features. At the tentative voice he jerked back to Garfakcy, eyebrow lifted.

"Are you—," Garfakcy shifted on the spot, "are you feeling alright?"

His eyes briefly scanned over the open part of Kharl's long white cloak — the alchemist's clothes themselves varying tones of gray. There had been so much blood staining his clothes from before, almost equal to the amount that Rath had spilled after killing Kharl's clone. But despite the extent of his injuries, Kharl had tended to Garfakcy's wounds first. Maybe it had been because he was human, and therefore more delicate, but it couldn't have been completely painless for Kharl to remain so long without treatment. The thought made Garfakcy bristle — he was going to make Nadil and his army pay, somehow he would make it happen.

Kharl smiled, but it didn't reach his cold eyes.

"I'm fine..." he trailed off and turned back to the window.

Garfakcy knew, at once, that his master had settled back into the same, torpid mood again, and realized that there was probably nothing more that he could do or say that would bring Kharl out of his stupor. He turned around, glancing behind him at the alchemist a final time, before he walked out of the room. He closed the door behind him with a quiet snap.

Sinistora greeted him quietly. It raised its muzzle to sniff at his hand.

I guess he'll talk when he's ready, Garfakcy pondered and glanced down at the softly cooing bird in his arm. Its large, watery gray eye blinked up at him, and it pressed its soft beck into the palm of his hand to give the flesh there a halfhearted nip.

Garfakcy smiled, in spite himself, and cupped it closer.