Chapter 2: Wounded Wanderers
Light was coming through the treetops, everywhere it touched taking on a warmth that was alien to him. With the young girl's help, he'd done his best to patch himself up using what was on hand, mostly vines and broad leaves. It had taken some time to get the blood loss under control, and even now his head throbbed, but it had mostly stopped, a tar-like substance accumulating around the edge of the makeshift bandages. Tashya had seemed concerned when they'd first noticed it, but he'd assured her that it was normal for him. He couldn't remember how or why, but seeing it didn't alarm him in the slightest, so that was what he was going on.
Now, they sat in the shade of one of the massive trees that made up the forest. She didn't remember which way her home was, and he had never known, so he had lead them deeper into cover, hoping whatever lived here wasn't as dangerous as the enemy he'd likely made. He wasn't in any real shape to fight if it came down to it, and he only had so much ammo for their looted weapons, he needed options.
Gripping his bow from where it rested, affixed to his back between his shoulders, he brought it around where he could get a better look at it. As he'd discovered soon after waking, the string was broken, and in fact was almost entirely gone. The bow itself, on the other hand, seemed serviceable if he could replace the string. He wouldn't be able to produce arrows to his standards, but a few pointed sticks were better than nothing, and were readily available in this environment. Picking up some of the leftover vines that had been gathered for his bandages, he gave them a quick tug to test their strength.
'Not great, but usable.'
He got to work tying a length of vine to the bow. While working on that, his mind turned to Tashya.
'What am I gonna do with her?'
She was nervous. Her protector had assured her that he was going to be fine, but in the light, he didn't look it. Dark rahd streaks marred the surface of his gray armor. Well, she chose to think of it as armor, that it resembled flesh was too strange for her mind right now. She'd have much rather been home, but in the chase she'd gotten completely lost. Her parents must be worried, beyond worried! Curling up, she buried her face in her knees, and gave a shuddering sigh. She remained like this, her thoughts threatening to overwhelm her, for some minutes.
Eventually, her near-breakdown was interrupted by a noisy snap, and her eyes whisked open She looked up to see the Tenno standing in a shooting pose, bow held in front of them. They looked the weapon over once more, before shrugging and nodding, apparently satisfied, and returning the weapon to their back. Turning, they beckoned to her to follow.
"Where are we going?" she couldn't help asking, even as she rose to follow. In answer, he just shrugged, making his way toward some denser looking foliage, limping but somehow maintaining a purposeful pace. Clutching her Grineer weapon close, she maintained a short distance behind, her gaze constantly dancing this way and that, taking in every detail of the strange forest. The next time they stopped it was only so Excalibur could pull aside a tangle of bark encrusted vines, which he let fall back into place as soon as they had passed through. He'd held an arm close after that, covering one of the wounds in his side. Tashya felt herself growing tired, carrying the unfamiliar tool of death weighing her down more than she'd ever admit to her savior, who didn't seem to let a few bullets stop him, only slow him down a bit. Regardless of her efforts to keep up the pace without showing any weariness, eventually she failed to notice a root, and was sent stumbling. Excalibur whirled, extending an arm in front of her to catch her fall, though his body shook a bit from the irritation the sudden movements had likely caused. When she was back on her feet, he pointed to the base of a tree.
"I can keep going," she protested, though her involuntary gasping breath quickly gave lie to that. He shook his head and pointed again, before turning away, looking every which way. Giving in all too readily, she reclined at the indicated spot, while he paced back and forth, ever watchful. He seemed about to beckon her to follow again, when he froze, faceless gaze locked on a raggedy looking bush across from them. Approaching it slowly, he knelt, favoring his side, and went still again.
"What is it?" Something was amiss, and the silence was stoking her curiosity. He only indicated for her to stay where she was, which she was in no mood to do right now. Creeping up behind him, she made to look over his shoulder. Just a bit closer and-
"Papa!?"
The body couldn't have been a day old, and looking deeper into the brush, there were a few more, all shot in the back, apparently trying to flee.
'Unlucky hunting party?'
Tashya's distressed cry dispelled that idea.
'… Unlucky search party.'
The girl had dropped her weapon, and even now made to push past him, struggling to get at the corpse of her parent, vocally denying reality with ever fiber of her being until she had her father firmly embraced in arms that looked all the smaller next to the powerful limbs of the dead man. Excalibur fell back on his haunches, head falling towards his chest.
'I should have been here!'
A ridiculous notion of course, in his current state there wouldn't have been much he could have done, and there was no way of knowing where this was going to happen or when. Still, it cut worse then any of the wounds he bore even now. They remained for longer as he let the poor girl grieve, who knew when else they'd have the chance. Eventually her cries subsided, probably more from lack of energy than any desire to be quiet, and he laid a hand on her shoulder. It was long past time to be moving on again.
Giving the body a quick once-over, and failing to find anything resembling a map, he guided Tashya away, blind with tears as she was, only stooping to gather her weapon for her. As they walked, his mind raced. Initially, he'd planned to find this girl's home, but that was looking like a loosing proposition, at least for the near-term. Getting back in fighting shape would be essential, but without access to medical supplies he was limited to natural healing, however long that would take. He needed a way to place himself in the world, get more information, and the best way to do that would be a map. Since Tashya's people seemed to rely on sense of direction for navigation, the best chance for any information would be the Grineer, which meant finding an outpost. Unfortunately, finding an outpost to get a map, would be a whole lot easier, with a map.
'Alright then, survive first, map second…'
