Halt had seen Strider make a run for the horses, and the moment he heard the thunder of hooves against the forest floor he abandoned his position and began to run through the trees. He listened carefully for the sound of the horses and moved to intercept them, gauging the distance the best he could. He had been lending a hand to Fell and Strider from a distance and he only had to backtrack a little until he found a relatively clear spot to wait for them. He jogged up a short slope free of trees, his boots slipping a little as the dirt gradually turned to shale underfoot. He ripped his hood from his head and slid to a stop once he reached the top. He turned back towards the sound of the hooves just in time to spot Fell and Strider as they barreled through the woods. Halt shouted and raised his bow over his head and Fell quickly turned his horse's head Halt's way at the sight of the Ranger.

Fell was nearly close enough to reach down to Halt and pull him up when a thrum filled the air. Halt shouted a warning and flung himself towards the edge of the clearing as the first arrow slammed into Fell's horse. The beast reared, its flailing hooves raking the air where Halt had been a moment before. Fell threw his weight forward in the saddle and flung his arms around the horse's neck to try and keep the animal from toppling over backwards. Behind him Strider hauled on her reins and brought her own mount to a sliding halt on the shale.

Halt was already on his feet again, an arrow nocked to the string of his longbow. He rapidly scanned the trees, but he only spotted the archer when he fired again. There was a flicker of movement off to Halt's left followed by another thrum. The Ranger ducked and rolled away, coming to his feet quickly and dodging back into the undergrowth as the arrow hissed through the air. Halt thought he had him now and could spot the archer's armor glinting as he moved through the trees again. He moved a few paces, vanishing for a breadth before stepping forward and loosing more arrows.

This time he aimed for Fell, who had just managed to get his horse to put all four hooves firmly on the ground again. The archer fired two arrows in quick succession before retreating once more. The first slammed into the side of Fell's horse, and the second slammed into Fell. His horse bolted forward, bucking and half rearing erratically. Halt dove out of the way just as the horse lost it's footing and crashed over onto the rocky earth, dragging Fell right along with it. The Ranger glanced back to where the archer had been, but he was already moving again. Halt turned to Strider, who was struggling to keep her own horse from bolting amidst the chaos.

"Get Fell and get out of here!" The Ranger ordered as he rose to his feet. Strider balked at him, her face pale and eyes wide. "Now!" Halt roared, and Strider flinched and nearly fell out of the saddle. She bolted to where Fell lay pinned beneath the horse, and Halt saw it again, a flicker of movement. The Ranger loosed two arrows towards it in the blink of an eye and was rewarded with a startled curse and the sound of someone retreating.

"Go," Halt shouted again to Strider as he nocked another arrow and set off into the trees at a trot. "I'll hold him off."

Halt's voice yanked Strider back to the present, but it was the groan of pain from Fell that kept her there. She paused long enough to tether her own horse, her hands shaking so hard she could barely draw the knot tight. She'd watched Fell go down hard, the feathered end of an arrow sticking out of his leg. He hadn't been able to kick himself free from saddle as the horse collapsed, and now he lay pinned beneath it. The horse tossed her head and whinnied but aside from that first groan, Fell had been still and silent.

"Fell!" Strider scrambled to his side, her heart thudding wildly in her chest. He lay on his back on the shale, his legs pinned just above the knee by the shoulder of his fallen horse. He wore a slightly dazed expression, and there was blood running down his face from a cut near one temple. Fell tried to sit up, using his arms to push against the horse to try and pull his legs free.

"Don't move," Strider said as she came closer. Fell gave up and dropped his head back down onto the shale. He shut his eyes and clenched his teeth as the horse kicked out, her whole body shifting and grinding down onto legs.

"Strider," he said, and his voice turned her name into a plea.

"Hold still," Strider said. She knew there was no chance she would be able to simply drag Fell out from under the animal. Strider moved to the horse's head instead and grabbed the bridle, turning the mare's head towards her as she murmured softly to it. None of the mare's legs seemed to be broken, and the arrows hadn't bit too deeply into her. Strider spent another moment or so murmuring to the horse to calm her, then rose slowly to her feet. She pulled lightly on the bridle at first, then tugged a little harder when the mare didn't try to rise.

"Come on," she clucked her teeth and tugged on the reins, shutting out the sound of Fell groaning as the horse rocked her body further onto him to gather her legs beneath her. She heaved herself up, her hooves striking the ground with soft clops. Once she realized nothing was broken the mare let herself be led away from Fell. Strider gave the mare a final pat and dropped the reins before hurrying back to Fell. He had dragged himself back from where the horse had fallen on him and was sitting up now, his legs stretched out in front of him. An arrow protruded from his left leg just above the knee, the feathered end hanging at an odd angle from where the weight of the horse hand bent the shaft. Strider realized Fell's legs must have been twisted where they were pinned, or the arrow shaft would have been snapped instead of bent.

"Anything broken?" Strider asked as she cast a glance around the trees. They hadn't put a ton of distance between themselves and the rest of the Cult during their short ride, and she half expected more men to come crashing through the brush at any moment.

"I don't think so," Fell said. "Where's Halt?"

"Taking care of the archer," Strider said as studied the trees. Nothing stirred to herald the arrival of more men with swords or the Ranger. Strider decided it was still best to follow Halt's instructions and get away while they could. She stuffed herself under Fell's shoulder and helped him stagger up to his feet. He grimaced and grunted on the way up, leaning heavily on Strider as he gingerly placed weight on his injured leg.

"Can you ride?"

"I can hold on," Fell said through gritted teeth.

Together they hobbled back to where Strider had tethered her horse. Strider leaned him against a tree and took a closer look at his leg. The arrow hadn't gone all the way through but judging by the length of the shaft Strider guessed it was a close thing. It was bleeding in a slow trickle than ran down his trousers and into the top of his boot. Strider knew if they pulled the arrow out Fell might bleed to death before they reached Rodney's camp, and they left it alone while they struggled up onto the horse together. Strider swung up first and held down a hand to pull Fell up behind her. He clasped her arm tightly, and with his good foot in the stirrup he was able to haul himself up with help from Strider.

"Alright?" Strider asked. Fell slipped his arms around her waist in answer, and Strider clucked and put her heels to the horse's sides. They set off at a slow walk at first, but the moment they were off the shale and back on the beaten track leading through the forest Strider pushed them to a fast trot. Fell's arms tightened around her waist, but he didn't complain or ask her to slow. She pushed them faster still, and nearly rode right past the secluded stand of trees where they'd left their own mounts much earlier in the day. She muttered an apology to Fell as she pulled up her horse a bit sharply to turn back to it.

Abelard whinnied softly and tossed his head at the new horse and it's riders. If Strider didn't know better, she would have thought the horse were trying to ask a question. She shrugged it off and nudged her horse close to the trunk of a tree. Fell slid himself out of the saddle and put his back to the trunk to steady himself. Strider swung down and tethered the mare near the other horses. Whiplash made as if to nip at the strange horse, but Strider whistled sharply to stop him. He flattened his ears against his head in annoyance while Strider dug quickly through her saddlebags for bandages. She brought them back to Fell, who had carefully lowered himself to the ground and had his injured leg stretched out in front of him. It had bled while they rode, the steady jostling of the horse eliciting a steady stream of blood which had soaked Fell's trouser leg. Fell hadn't complained, but his face was drawn tight with pain, and there was sweat dampening the collar of his tunic. He was panting slightly, but his eyes were still clear and steady.

"Should I…?" Strider laid out the supplies beside him and reached for the arrow to take a closer look. Fell shook his head vehemently.

"No," he said.

"It has to come out," Strider said. She pulled out a wad of bandages and pressed them into Fell's hand. Using her knife, she cut Fell's pants around the arrow shaft and peeled the fabric away from his skin to get a better look at the wound. It wasn't as clean as Strider expected, the edges having been stretched and widened from when the shaft was bent or from the jostling canter she'd pressed for on the way to safety. Fresh blood welled around the arrow and ran down Fell's leg as Strider inspected it. The sight of it gave her a little pause as she remembered the thunk it had made when it hit Fell, but she was sure it could be safely removed.

"I'll do it," Fell said, and Strider looked up to find him watching her hands. They were still shaking from earlier, and a hot wash of annoyance flooded through Strider. She realized Fell must think she was shaking at the sight of him injured and was trying to spare her from having to tend to him. Before she changed her mind Strider took a firm hold on of the arrow and ripped it straight from Fell's leg. He screamed in surprise, the sound short and sharp. He reached to stop the bleeding, but Strider had already taken the wad of bandages from his hand and pressed them firmly to the wound the moment the arrow was out.

"Hold this," Strider said. Fell wordlessly obeyed and held the bandages against the wound while Strider unwound another length of gauze and wrapped it around his leg tightly to hold the bandages in place.

"Better?" Strider asked as she cleaned her hands of blood.

"You enjoyed that," Fell accused, but there was little heat behind the remark. Strider noticed he was much paler now, his eyes a bit cloudy from the pain. They would have to get him back to Rodney's camp soon.

Strider gave him a rueful smile and passed him a strip of cloth to wipe the blood from his face. "You were none too gentle when you plucked that arrow from my shoulder," she said as she rose to her feet.

"That was years ago," Fell said.

"I was beginning to think I'd never get the chance to return the favor," Strider said. She moved to her horse and tightened the girth on the saddle, then repeated the process over again with Abelard and Timber. Fell's horse—Timber—didn't mind Strider's touch at all, but Abelard eyed her curiously as she worked.

"Can you make it back to the camp?" Strider asked Fell as she led Timber over to him. He managed a nod, and Strider helped him stand and climb up into the saddle.

"Where are you going?"

"To get Halt," Strider said. "I have another favor to return."

Please read and review! :)