Title: A New Team
Summary: A story of how and why Matt and Natalie started traveling together.
Rating: T
Warnings: Mild blood, very mild suggestive themes
Genre: Friendship
World: Pre-Battle Royale
Matt staggered through a forest by leaning against one tree for a few moments before pushing off to make his way to another one close by. His breath came in sharp gasps as he made his way towards a small village he knew was just on the other side of woods. He had heard there was a talented healer there, and after his latest tangle with a pack of wolfdogs, he really needed one. Blood-stained bandages had been hastily wrapped around a deep bite wound on his torso. Every tree he leaned against was left with a thick smear of blood. Matt paused while leaning against a tree as the world seemed to dip sideways. With a long and low groan, he pushed away from the trunk only to fall back against it and slide slowly to the ground. The clattering of his sword falling from his grip came to his ears. He blinked hazily as the sunlight seemed to dim.
"Sundown already, huh? I guess I'll just rest here until the morning," Matt thought. His eyes slid shut even as warning bells started ringing in the back of his mind. A sudden rustling roused him slightly to check what was there. He pried his eyelids open just a crack to see an orange blur at the end of a darkening tunnel before everything went black.
OOOOOO
Natalie stepped lightly through the undergrowth of the woods near her home village. She had a basket hooked over one arm half-filled with various herbs she had picked to make tonics and pastes, and a leather messenger bag of emergency supplies over her other shoulder. The sun was at its height and the birds sang in the trees while a lazy breeze wove through the foliage. All in all, it was a pleasant late summer day. The healer took a deep breath of the clean woodland air with a happy smile before she knelt down to pluck some Thyme leaves. She sighed as she sorted through the plants, looking for leaves that were not bug-eaten or wilted.
While she worked, Natalie thought back to her place in the village. She'd lived in the quiet hamlet, working as a healer, for almost as long as she could remember. Healing was her talent, but she wanted to get out and see the world beyond her village and the surrounding forest. "Besides," Natalie muttered, "ever since that guy, Daniel, showed up, people have been going to him—not me." She assumed it was because she was so young. People didn't like being told how to handle their health by a seventeen-year-old; never mind that she had been right each and every time.
With a sigh, Natalie stood up—her herb basket stuffed full—and began to make her way home. She had almost made it back to the village when she heard a groan come from nearby. Freezing, the healer glanced around, wondering if it was some monster hunting for food. As she stood there listening, she heard a dull scraping sound followed by a metallic clatter. "Probably not a monster, then," Natalie mused. She pushed through some bushes and started at the sight of a young man with long blond hair slumped against a tree with a bloodied sword lying next to him. A trail of blood was smeared on the trunk he was leaning against; and several other trunks as well, Natalie was shocked to note. The man stirred slightly at her appearance, but passed out, and fell sideways with a dull thud. Snapping into action, Natalie dashed forwards and fell to her knees next to the wounded swordsman. Setting her basket nearby, she reached out and set two fingers on his neck, feeling for a pulse. With a sigh of relief, she felt that his heart was still beating, albeit unsteadily.
The healer's face set in determination, and she rolled the young man to lie on his back. Opening the bag at her side, she pulled out a flask of a clear liquid, a clean rag, some bandages, a jar of antiseptic cream, and a small knife and spread them on a piece of cloth. Natalie set to work slicing off the shirt and the bloody bandages that had been haphazardly wrapped around her patient's torso. The healer let out a small hiss as the bloody bite mark was revealed. She uncorked the lid of the flask and poured some onto the rag. Carefully, she cleaned the congealed blood away from the wound. Fresh crimson liquid began to ooze from the deep punctures as Natalie swiftly applied a liberal amount of cream before pressing a pad of bandage against them. Next, she carefully applied a temporary adhesive strip to hold the bandages in place.
Sitting back, Natalie looked over the young man and wondered how the heck she would move him to her house. She definitely wasn't strong enough to lift him, and they couldn't stay here—monsters were likely to show up. Finally, Natalie resolved to run to the village and get some help from her neighbor to haul him back on a litter. Nodding, the healer stood up and glanced down at the unconscious swordsman. "I'll be right back," she promised him before racing down to the village.
Natalie skidded to a halt at her neighbor's door and pounded against it with her fist. A few seconds later the door swung open and Natalie was rapidly explaining what she needed. The man's face shifted from irritation to worry and he promised to be right over. Natalie thanked him before running to her house to snag the litter she kept there for emergencies. Soon she, her neighbor, and her neighbor's son were in the woods, loading the wounded blond onto the litter and hauling him back. The two men helped move Natalie's patient from the litter to a bed in her house. The healer thanked them profusely and promised to stop by later with some gold as payment. Shutting the door behind the two, Natalie turned to the young man lying on the bed. She washed her hands and changed the temporary bandage to more permanent bindings and washed her hands again. She then dragged a chair over, and sat down at her patient's bedside.
"At least he's resting peacefully," Natalie mused, "Although, I guess there's still a risk of infection. I don't know how long ago he got that wound." A few hours later and the healer temporarily broke her vigil to start some dinner. Digging through her supplies, Natalie decided soup would be good. Especially if the swordsman woke up; he'd need something healthy to eat. Ten minutes later saw her humming as she sliced vegetables and meat, throwing them into the broth. Soon the smell of cooking food filled the house and Natalie left the pot there to simmer. Knowing that it would take some time to cook, she checked in on the swordsman, before filling a small pouch with some gold and heading next door to pay her neighbors for their help.
The man smiled as Natalie thanked him again, but only took half of the money she offered, and only after she insisted. He asked about how the young man was doing and frowned sympathetically when he was informed that the swordsman was still out. She bid them good night and headed home.
Smiling, Natalie opened her front door only to have her smile face wiped clean when she saw the bed that the young man had been resting in was empty. A thud came from the hall leading to her kitchen. The healer shut the front door behind her and rushed into the hall the see the young blond collapsed on the floor. Natalie shut her eyes and released a small sigh of relief before reopening them and striding over to her fallen patient. "You shouldn't be up yet," she scolded, snorting as the blond flinched in surprise. She knelt down and pulled one of his arms over her shoulder, "C'mon, let's get you back in bed."
OOOOOO
Matt woke up lying in a soft bed in an unfamiliar house. He blinked up at the wooden ceiling for a few seconds before turning his head to look around. Bunches of drying, and already dried, herbs hung from the rafters, and there were shelves along the walls lined with bottles and jars of various contents and liquids. "Must be the healer's house," Matt mused aloud in relief. He glanced down at his bare chest and spotted the clean bandage wrapped firmly around the bite wound. A light sheet was pulled up to his waist. Thinking back, he remembered seeing an orange blur before passing out, and realized that someone had found him, and brought him here. Glancing around again, Matt frowned as he realized he couldn't see or hear anyone before shrugging, and assumed the healer had gone out briefly.
Suddenly, the swordsman became aware of the distinct smell of something delicious cooking, causing his mouth to water and his stomach to growl. Matt sat up slowly, mindful of the bandages around his torso, and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He hesitated for a few seconds, wondering if he should be trying to stand just yet. A strong waft of soup passing his nose made the decision for him. Matt pushed himself to his feet, and almost fell straight back down again. Bracing himself on the side table next to his bed, he steadied himself and slowly made his way over to the hallway with the delicious smell coming down it.
He was halfway down the hall when he was distracted by the sound of a door opening. That moment of lapse in concentration was all it took for his legs to give out, and he fell to the floor with a flash of pain flaring from the wound on his stomach. Matt heard a door close followed by light footsteps hurrying towards him. Not wanting to risk aggravating his wound, the swordsman lay there and listened as whoever was there—probably the healer—sighed in relief. A second later he started as a young woman scolded him for being up. Matt felt a small hand grab his arm and wrap it around a pair of thin shoulders. With surprising strength the girl helped heave him off of the floor and led him back to the bed.
Matt stared at the orange haired girl, recognizing her as the blur he had seen just before passing out. He stared all the way back to the bed and after he was laid down again. He stared at her she carefully checked the bandages wrapped around him and tsked. He kept staring until she gave him a weird look and asked him to stop gaping and sit up so she could change the wrappings. Matt closed his jaw with a snap and flushed a brilliant red. He did as she asked and watched in mute fascination as the young girl peeled away the old bandages, applied some kind of cream, and rewrapped the wound with swift efficiency.
Carefully, Matt lay back again and watched as the girl gathered up the dirty bandages and headed down the hall. There was a splashing sound followed by some clattering, and the girl came back with two bowls of steaming soup. Matt accepted one of the bowls and mumbled a thank you. He stuffed a spoonful in his mouth and yelped as the liquid burned his tongue.
"Careful! Blow on it before you eat it," the orange haired girl sitting next to him commanded.
Matt nodded and did as she had suggested, feeling slightly stupid for not thinking of how hot fresh soup is. The pair ate quietly, and for the next few minutes the only sounds were the scraping of spoons on bowls and slurping. Matt handed his empty bowl over and settled back against the headboard to watch as the girl stacked the two bowls neatly and began stringing fresh herbs for drying. Still, nothing was said.
"So, you're the healer here?" Matt finally asked, unable to take the silence any longer. He watched in confusion as the girl paused in her work briefly before continuing with a nod. The swordsman frowned at the silence and tried to spark conversation a different way, "Huh, you aren't exactly what I was expecting." He flinched as the girl dropped the herbs and spun around to glare at him.
"Figures, you're just like everyone else around here. It's always the same," she spat. Matt shrank back and stared as she started imitating various people, "'You should be at the soup kitchen, dear' or, 'where's the real healer?' or, 'what does some little girl know about healing?' If my being a healer is such a problem to you, then you can go! I'm sure the other doctor down the street would be happy to see you." She pointed to her door, blue eyes snapping with anger.
"Obviously, that was the wrong thing to say," Matt thought, eyeing her warily. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to make you mad. I was just looking for something to talk about," he mumbled. "I'll go now, if want. I can probably make it to the next town alright." The swordsman started sliding to the edge of the bed. He swayed slightly as he stood up and pulled out his money, "Thanks for saving me in the woods. How much do I owe you?"
OOOOOO
Natalie blinked in surprise before flushing in shame. This stranger was the first person to apologize to her in months, and right after she had yelled at him. Now he was looking ready to collapse with a bag of gold in his hand and thanking her after she had potentially sent him to his death. "Why go to the next town? There is another healer here who's older and supposedly more qualified," she asked in confusion.
The young man's face was pale as he shrugged, "Obviously, you've been treated pretty badly here. I don't want to go see somebody who lets that kind of thing go on. So, how much is it?"
Natalie blinked and shook her head in amazement, "By the heavens, he looks serious about that." Stepping forward, she gently pushed the wounded man to lie back down, "No, stay and recover. I'm sorry; I shouldn't have taken my frustrations out on you." She pulled the blanket back up over his legs. Going back to her abandoned herbs, she continued threading them for drying. "I live alone here so I forget how quiet it is," she said, glancing over at the blond who had returned to staring at her. "What's your name, if you don't mind my asking?"
"It's alright," he replied hesitantly. "My name's Matt, What's yours?"
Natalie finished stringing the herbs and pulled a stool over to stand on to hang them from the rafters. Hopping back down, she sat in the chair next to the bed, "My name is Natalie. How'd you get that bite on your stomach?"
"Got on the wrong end of a seven strong wolfdog pack," Matt said with a shrug. He blinked at her stunned expression, "What?"
Natalie shook her head in amazement, "You fought seven wolfdogs alone and only got one bite? That's amazing! I can probably only get two, tops, with my magic, and it wouldn't be with only one injury."
Matt grinned, "Well, to be fair, it was a pretty bad bite. I wouldn't recommend tackling any more than three monsters alone, and that depends on the monster." He gestured at his torso and the various herbs around the room, "I'm impressed with how much you know about herbs and how quickly you redid my bandages. That's way too much for me to remember." He blinked, "Wait, you can use magic, but you heal with herbs? Why?"
The healer shrugged, "I haven't had enough practice with healing magic, but I've been learning plants and their effects for years. I had only just started learning to heal with magic when the new doctor moved into town. All my usual customers started seeing him, and now I only deal with emergency cases I come across, like yours; not exactly the best times to be fooling around with spells." Natalie sighed, "I'm going to have change professions—I don't make enough money like this anymore." She shuddered, "Or get a rich boyfriend. Gods know there are enough of those lined up wanting me for my boobs."
"Why not move to another town?" Matt asked her with a frown, and doing his best to avoid suddenly staring at Natalie's chest.
"Money, mostly," the healer said with a shrug. "Plus, I doubt other towns would be any more receptive to a seventeen year old healer then this place is." She smiled wistfully, "I want to become an adventurer, and travel around, but my magic isn't nearly good enough, and I'm horrible with all manners of blades." Her smile faded with a sigh, "Oh, well; maybe when I get better with magic."
By this point, Matt was slowly nodding off, but he mumbled, "You should travel with me. I could use some company when…"
Natalie smiled as Matt's half-awake offer trailed off into light snoring. She stood and pulled the blanket at his waist up to his chin. The healer then headed for her own bedroom with a yawn. Crawling under her own blanket, she wondered what traveling around and fighting monsters all the time would really be like. It seemed like it was exciting, if dangerous work, but she doubted that Matt would even remember offering that when he woke up the next day. "It was sweet of him to say that, though," Natalie mused with a small smile before she fell asleep.
OOOOOO
Over the next few days, Matt recovered in leaps and bounds. During that time, he never mentioned his half-awake offer to have Natalie join him in his adventures. The healer tried not to be disappointed by that, telling herself that it was what she had expected. She realized she was going to miss having Matt around all the time. The swordsman was cheery, always smiling, and always wanting to talk. It was a nice change, having somebody around who didn't disparage her work based on her gender or age. Plus, he was very cute; although, the healer would never tell him that.
Finally though, Natalie announced that the swordsman was good to travel. She spent the rest of the day getting a little food together for the start of his journey. She packed a spare blanket for Matt along with the food and a box of matches for fires. She also packed a small jar of healing ointment for any minor scrapes and a roll of bandages. Handing the bag over to Matt, Natalie tried not to cry as she told him goodbye.
"I'm going to miss you. Be careful, okay?" She said, giving the swordsman a quick hug. She pulled away to see a confused look on the blonde's face.
"Why would you miss me?" Matt asked her in confusion. His face suddenly fell, "You mean you don't want to adventure with me?" he blinked at Natalie's suddenly shocked face and waved his hands in front of him, "I-I mean, it's okay; you don't have to come along! I just thought that since you seemed so unhappy here and wanted to travel-"
Natalie cut him off with a peal of bright and surprised laughter, "I thought you weren't serious about that! I'd love to travel with you!" Her face fell slightly, as doubt reared its ugly head, "Maybe I shouldn't, though. I think I'd just get in the way. After all, my magic isn't that good."
Matt grinned widely, "You can already take down two monsters on your own, right? That's pretty good, you just need more practice! Besides, I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities to learn better healing along the way." His smile took on a hopeful look as he held out his hand, "So… teammates?"
The mage stared at Matt for a few seconds before her face split into a beaming smile. She grabbed the proffered hand and shook it as she replied, "Teammates. Although, I don't know what I'm going to do with my house on such short notice."
"Eh, just post a 'free house' sign on the lawn. I'm sure they'll figure it out," Matt said with a shrug.
Natalie rolled her eyes with a grin, "I don't think it works like that, Matt. I'll give it to my neighbor and tell him he can do what he wants with it and all the stuff inside."
An hour later and Natalie was packed for travel. The pair headed next door and told the healer's neighbor of her offer. The man was surprised, but when Natalie explained why, he gave her a huge smile, thanked her profusely, and wished her the best of luck on her adventures. He gave Matt a stern look and told him to take care of Natalie before wishing him luck as well. The man watched the pair walk down the road and out of sight with a slightly sad smile. Natalie had been an excellent healer and always so polite to her patients; he would miss her a lot now that she was gone. Matt the swordsman had become a popular guest to the village with his cheerful, if sometimes slightly clueless demeanor.
OOOOOO
"So, where to now?" Natalie asked Matt with a bright smile.
The swordsman sent a grin back at his new teammate, "I hear there are a lot of monsters to the west so let's go there. Lots of monsters means lots of loot, after all!"
And so the first of their many epic quests began.
