Ch 2
And you'll feel no more
Your sorrows
And your pains
Will too be gone.........
A wave of disturbance woke Jade from a deep sleep, she had been dreaming of him again. A man she had never seen, but knew well. Perhaps it's the forest she thought to herself, he appeared to fit the descriptions she had heard of the Hawkbrother's and this place looked like the forests they were said to live in.
She sat up looking out at the morning , then she felt it again. It felt like someone had let loose a crude levinbolt. Leaving her pack behind she walked as quietly as she could in the direction of the disturbance. It wasn't far and she soon heard the sound of fighting. She slowed down rounding a tree. She heard the bird's cry and stopped. A man lay on the ground, the branches that had broken his fall scattered on the leaves.
:Stay away: the voice rang loud in her head, she winced and looked at the bird standing by the man wings outspread.
:Let me help: she sent to the bird.
:No hurt Starfire: he said, warning her off.
:I've a little healing gift: she said, trying to sooth the bird. :He could die without help:.
:Not die, save Starfire:
:I'll do my best: she said easing up to the man, she ran her hands over his body and felt for injuries. She felt cracked ribs and some slight bleeding inside, she also saw blood in his hair, though he was lying face down. She felt the bird's impatience as she carefully checked his condition. She heard a nearby crashing in the woods.
:I'm going to have to move him, it's too dangerous here: she said to the bird.
He stood there nodding his head :Good, save Starfire:
This might hurt she thought to herself, she touched his mind deepening his sleep before grabbing under the arms and dragging him back towards her camp, once there she checked him quickly and went back over her trail blurring it, she didn't want the ones who hurt him to show up when she was trying to heal him. The bird launched himself and she stared in shock at the size of the bird. Then she turned back to the injured man. She hoped that her training would be enough.
Windsong heard Starfire's scream and the cry of his bird, but he was too busy with the two men he was facing to check on his partner. He fought the two men on the path, backing up to keep them from circling him, before finally seeing an opening and killing one of the two. The other man backed up and ran crashing his way through the woods. He took off in the man's wake, running silently.
Jade walked up to the man laying on her bed, she looked up to see the bird watching her from the top of the larger of the three rocks. She knelt and pulled her pack to herself, pulling out the kit the healer's had given her when she had finished her training with them. While her gift wasn't strong, magegift being her strongest gift, she saw no point in not training herself to the best of her abilities, especially if she could help another person.
She walked over to the fallen man, kneeling again by his side, it was crowded but she could still get to him, she brushed the hair from his face and froze, it was him. The man from her dreams.
"Oh" she whispered, before turning to the wound on his head, she ran her hands over his head gently, but only felt the sullen pain of his split scalp. She reached for the kit, pulling out her distilled spirits and clean pads, cleaning the wound the best she could. Then she stitched it together, before putting the final bandage over it to keep the wound clean.
She checked his ribs again,she was glad they were no worse than they had been before she had dragged him here. Jade looked at him thoughtfully, she hated to do it but she would have to cut his shirt off. She looked up at the bird .
:I need to cut his shirt off, so I can help him: she said, pulling out her knife, she waited for the bird's reply. As large as he was, he could kill her easily if he thought she was threatening the man.
:Good, help Starfire: he said, settling back to watch.
She nodded and started cutting, it was a shame his clothing was finely made, but his life was more important. Soon she had his chest bare. She winced in sympathy at the bruises darkening his ribs. As bad as it looked the bleeding worried her more, she ran her hands down his side her gift's meshing as she scanned his insides for the tear inside, once found she healed him quickly, before her strength could desert her. Without her magegift her healing gift wouldn't have been strong enough to help him, but it was an effort and she would need to rest after she was done.
Finally, she swayed in fatigue, but made sure to carefully bind his ribs before laying down next to him. She had time to cover them both with her cloak and ask the bird to watch them before falling asleep.
Windsong walked quickly among the branches toward the site of the fight, he was worried about Starfire, the other scout hadn't answered him since he had heard his fall.
Once back, he carefully searched, but there was little sign of the other man, he saw the broken branches and a spot where he might have landed, Reaching out to a spot on the dirt, he looked at the blood on his fingertips. The leaves were disturbed, but it was as if a windstorm had stirred them, there was no trail. He cast out with his mind hoping for an answer, there was none, finally he turned and retraced his steps back to the Vale, maybe with more searchers they would find him.
On a boulder over Jade's camp Ghyr looked up, he heard Windsong, but he still wasn't happy with the scout and he was on guard over his bondmate and the woman who had helped him, he didn't bother to answer.
Windsong wasn't looking forward to facing the Elder's without Starfire. He hesitated near the entrance until Berol landed on his shoulder, then he entered the Vale.