"It's just one of the villagers rambling. A demon, really? What superstitious nonsense!" A gruff voice growls, eyes narrowing at the pair of armored men before him. They just stare nervously at their master, who only studies the small map on the table in front of him. They look towards each other, too worried to speak, before one of them works up the courage, voice trembling slightly in the dimly lit chamber.

"But sir, if their claims hold truth...This might be serious!" The man only sighs, thin fingers curling around his palm. He'd really rather not waste men on the claims of country bumpkins, but if it was truly a demon, then he'd rather take action now than later.

"We might as well go to the village and get more testimonials. We would need much more proof than the blathering of a couple frantic peasants. We may need to have the local church authorities involved. As much as I loathe dealing with them, they are often the best resource to turn to when talk of spirits and devils is about…"

This looks alright...She thought, doing her best to ignore her aching feet as they seemed to enter an open space of some sort. She found herself looking at the creature through the corner of her eye; if she was this exhausted then it must surely be feeling worse. It's usually strong and steady body was hunched over, partially from having to lean on the smaller woman for support, dried blood caked to its skin and the patches of fur on its body.

She could hear it's somewhat ragged breathing, the heavy panting from its closed jaw startling her. It was still clutching it's pierced shoulder tightly, the arrow still sticking out through its dark fur. The hole around the wound was not to be trifled with however, as Chise learned when she had first tried to examine it. Of slightly more concern to her was its limp arm, which had barely moved in the whole time they had been walking. It was sliced up pretty badly, gashes running across the forearm and showing off its muscle fibers underneath; the red tendons and ligaments clearly visible as it spasms in pain.

"Are you alright?" She asked, unsure of its condition. The creature let out a pained grunt, orbs swiveling in her direction.

"I...I'm not sure. I have never been wounded this badly before…" It mutters, it's declaration slightly shocking the red head. She felt worried for it, wondering if it could last until they found a safe place to tend to its wounds. She doubted she could do too much to fix its arm, but she could at least bandage it up and stop the bleeding. With that thought in mind, she begins to lead it toward a copse of trees, setting the creature down gently so as not to agitate its wounds any further. It wasn't as good as the cave they had lived in, but for now it would have to do.

It's lean body just slumps against the wood, blood staining the bark and the ground beneath its feet. Chise just does her best to step away from its body, looking through the slightly worn bag they had been using to keep their supplies in. She easily found the odd herbs they had been using for medicine, some of them thankfully turned into a gauze and wrapped a second time beforehand. Luckily they had figured it best to keep some ready in case of emergencies; using it sparingly on tiny wounds and cuts Chise thought would become infected.

"Using this now would be pointless...I need to find a way to stitch the wounds up first…" Chise realizes, setting the tiny pouch of medicine on the ground next to her. She looks at its injured arm once again, understanding that that was the more important of the two wounds. It was bleeding quite heavily, lacerations clearly showing the damage it had sustained, and she was concerned how it would affect the creature's movement. It's red orbs lock on her then, and she simply stares back.

"It won't move…"

"...Your arm is badly hurt. Our run through the forest probably made it worse as well. I need to treat it."

"..." It's only response is to keep staring at her, silently, with no change in expression that she could place, unnerving the young woman. She just quickly goes through the rest of their supplies, thankful to find a small needle she could use. She was quite adept at sewing, learning it from her early years as a child while her mother was still alive, along with most of her other skills. She had to do so with the clothes she had obtained from the dead villager, else they would have been useless in their current state. She only stares at the thing next to her with a worried look, holding the needle and showing it to the weary beast.

"I'm going to try and stitch you back up. This will hurt...And don't move either; that only makes the process harder for both of us."

She attempts to explain, the creature nodding its giant head as best it could in its tired state. Its sockets were nearly pitch black, the red light of its eyes quite dim and lifeless compared to before. This only concerned Chise more; just how badly was it hurt? She just did her best to attach some of the loose thread from her shirt to the needle, seeing as that was really the only material they had available to use, before gently and carefully gripping its arm with one hand. She was careful as she wrapped her own tiny hand around it, noticing the clear difference in size between them; she had some difficulty in bringing her fingers all the way around it's thick fur, though she somehow managed enough to get a steady purchase on its limb. She only did her best to steady herself as she plunged the needle into its odd purple and red flesh, hoping to sew together the opened bits so it could heal properly.

The creature lets out a pained cry then, startling Chise and causing her to drop the needle she was beginning to thread through its skin. It's body thrashes slightly, it's usable arm whipping out to lash at the small human. The back of its hand slaps against her cheek slightly, really no more than a glancing blow thanks to their distance, a stinging pain that caused her to shout out. With surprise more than pain, thankfully. However, she was quite glad it hadn't hit her with the full force of its limb; that probably would have sent her flying and possibly broken some ribs.

"Ow, that hurt!"

"...Sorry…" It pitifully mumbles, orbs curved slightly so that they were crescent shaped. It was different from what the thing usually did with its colorful eyes, Chise noticed, and this intrigued her slightly. Was it regretful? She sighed, rubbing the part of her face and staring angrily at the creature. She wasn't very mad about it, the young woman was more concerned if the thing was going to let her even finish stitching it up.

"Hold still! Stop struggling!"

"I...am not used to being touched...Sometimes my mind works on instinct…"

She felt an odd connection to it then, dropping the thread and needle to her side, understanding its words completely. Chise too, had little experience with being close to others, thanks to the quick death of her parents. Physical contact was even less of a luxury for the young woman now; back then she at least had her parents to provide that for her. After her mother had passed, she found that the villagers wanted even less to do with her, effectively alienating her from their small community. Any contact between her and the villagers was a fleeting thing, born mostly out of necessity. Of her need for their services and theirs for hers. The only real reason they hadn't gotten rid of her until now. Until they had heard of new herbalists sprouting up in places, lands beyond their tiny village, who traveled and offered others their services. Certainly no contact she could subsist on, nothing she could grow new emotional attachments from. She only had herself for these last few years; herself and the small house her parents had grown up in. And would probably die in, she assumed back then.

Her mother and father were one of the few people who understood medicine and herbs, Chise starting to take up their craft at an early age. Chise was figured to inherit the practice, and took up many skills at any early age, like sewing. Of course, that was a long time ago; back when both her parents were alive and the village looked upon them somewhat favorably. Now, all she could remember were their cold, callous stares, mocking words and simmering disdain for her very existence. It was better that she left them; even though it wasn't particularly he best way to go about it.

"Oh...Did you think I was going to hurt you?"

"No. Logically I understand...you would not. But...the pain—it stirred something inside me—something I have been trying my hardest to suppress."

Chise could only look at the creature in shock then, her green eyes widening in surprise as she took in its own orbs. They betrayed nothing to her, no hint of emotion in those circular eyes.

"Suppress?"

It hesitated before it spoke next, warm breath wafting over her neck as she felt its body shift underneath her.

"I...don't know...what it is. But...it's gone now. I won't hurt you again; I promise."

She could feel some kind of hesitantly in the words, like the creature wasn't being completely truthful with her. Like it was hiding things. That made her feel uncomfortable, but she could worry about it later. This thing was her only lifeline out here; she needed to keep it alive and well so it could protect her. Luckily, the thing was true to its word, and didn't move at all while she finished up fixing its arm, eventually bandaging it and the other, smaller wounds. This had made her quite tired, but she only shook the sleepiness from her eyes, knowing that she had much more to do.

The redhead securely packed away the thread and needle, after carefully cleaning them so they were no longer covered in the monster's blood and disinfected, wanting to keep it preserved in case she would need to do something like this again. She had a feeling it wouldn't be the last time either of them would be badly injured. Her legs were slightly shaky, still tired from all of her running and the excitement of the night, but she knew she still had more to do before she could rest.

"Stay here. I'm going to try and look for a better place to stay for the night. And maybe find some food."

The creature didn't answer her immediately, though she felt it's eyes on her as she left the enclave of trees.

"Be careful, human. Fae— tricksters that prey on mortals—often roam the woods at night."

"Don't worry."