Emma cried as she felt the pain of her heart breaking at seeing her lover bloodied and beaten in her arms. She wept harder as Shalimar's blood flowed from her bruised body and soaked the ground. She pulled the feral tighter into her arms as she tried to feel any type of life she might have left within her.
As Emma cried she realized she had to pull herself together and make sure there wasn't still any danger about. She slowly stood to her feet and tried to get a clear vision through her blurry eyes. She whipped away the tears that still fell and looked around the shed to search for any unwanted intruders.
When she was satisfied they were alone, she turned herself back to the fallen feral at her feet. She knelt down to scoop up the body of her love once more and held her tight against her breast. She felt the dampness on the ferals' back brought on by her over flowing tears.
Emma cried harder and held the feral tighter and thought for a second she felt a slight heartbeat. Is she still alive? Emma wondered as she pulled Shalimar closer to listen for her breath. She felt the feral finally let out a breath which seemed to take all her energy. It occurred to her Shalimar was alive, but was dying before her.
"Shalimar, hun, you need to hold on," Emma tried to coach her as she rocked the feral in her arms. She knew she had to do something to try and save her before it was too late. She felt the feral trying to push out another breath and knew she wasn't going to last much longer. It occurred to Emma that Shalimar had suffered a psionic blast which had paralyzed her. She wondered if one of her own psionic blasts could help her.
She watched the feral twitching in her arms feeling helpless to put an end to her pain. She couldn't imagine Shalimar having let this happen to her. There must've been a reason. Emma held Shalimar's head in her hands and brought her face to meet with her own. She wasn't about to watch the love of her life die without trying something, anything to help her. She cradled the feral and let out a psionic blast straight into her forehead in hopes it might calm her down.
"Shalimar, you're ok. Come on, you're ok just hang in there."
Emma could see Shalimar thought she was dying. Emma was sure Shalimar could beat this if she could just get a hold of herself.
"Shalimar, stay with me. Please concentrate."
Emma knew she had to form a link with the feral if there was any chance of her surviving. She could see and feel how her subconscious was fighting her and telling her to die. Emma pulled the feral closer as she felt her body let out a small jolt as a soft breath escaped her lips.
"Shal? Shal? Shalimar wake up! Don't you dare leave me, Shalimar!"
Emma pressed her hand to the ferals' heart but found it offered her no beat in return. She calmed herself as much as possible and began to form a psionic link with the feral. She felt all the pain Shalimar had felt and knew it was her own mind that had allowed herself to die. She had to convince her subconscious she wasn't supposed to die now. That she was strong enough to withstand the wounds and could keep herself alive. She worked her way through the defeated mind of the feral as she tried to convince her subconscious to live.
When she'd done all she could, she relaxed herself and exited the mind of the feral as she pulled back to watch for any signs of life. She felt her own heart beat increasing in anticipation as she pressed a hand to the ferals' chest. She signed in relief as she felt the slight beat followed by another and another until Shalimar's heart was strong enough to beat normally once again. She smiled and watched as Shalimar opened her eyes and began to breathe normally. Emma smiled as she hugged her and helped her sit up. She slowly rubbed the ferals' back to comfort her as Shalimar smiled a thank you back at her.
"Come on," Emma began as she helped her to her feet. "You need to rest."
Emma helped Shalimar back up to their room wishing she had somewhere else to bring her but knew she didn't have any other choice as the storm still raged outside.
When Emma reached their room she gently kicked open the door and helped the feral inside to lie down on the bed. Emma locked the door behind them and turned to push the nearby dresser in front of it. She quickly searched the room for danger and returned to lie beside the feral on the bed. She gently whipped her down with the towels she found in the bathroom and removed her torn, bloody, and soaking wet clothes. She pulled the covers up to keep the feral warm and whipped her hair down with the towel.
"You get some rest. The storm should be over soon," Emma said as she stood from the bed to bring the dirty towels into the bathroom. "And then we're outta here."
Emma dropped the towels in the bin and began to clean herself up as well. She hurried herself up and headed back into the bedroom to sit beside the now sleeping feral. She smiled and lay down next to her on the bed. She wrapped her arms around her to hold her close and placed her hand over her heart to fell the steady beating beneath her smooth skin. She signed as she thought of how close she came to losing her but remained still, stroking the ferals' hair, as she sat beside her in bed watching over her as she slept.