Dew - Gran 765

This was bad. This was bad, bad, very bad. And, even worse, I had to somehow, somehow, keep Febail and Patty quiet and thinking it was a game or something. While also carrying bunches of packs and Brigid's Yewfelle. Because of course we'd get ambushed while she and Jamke went hunting, and she didn't hunt with Yewfelle. Animals sensed its power and ran away or something. Or maybe it was that Brigid felt it was too easy. I had no idea. I was an idiot who didn't know anything! All I knew was that I had to make sure Febail and Patty remained safe! After all, that was my (self-appointed) job. Ever since Brigid and Jamke found me again, leaving the safety of Darna just to find me… ever since I met Febail and Patty… I promised to keep them safe. I just hoped it wouldn't be one more broken promise. There were so many…

I found a cave and ducked inside, tucking Febail and Patty way in the back with all the stuff before I rested against the wall, breathing heavily yet trying to keep quiet about it. I hoped they wouldn't have hunting dogs this time. Hunting dogs were a pain in the leg to avoid. Literally. Agh… I had thought that things would be okay when I reunited with them last year. But nope! Gods still hated us. Well, that was just fine because I hated them too. Used to be apathetic, but ever since the Belhalla Massacre (not battle because 'battle' implied that the other side could fight back and we couldn't when we had put up our weapons and relaxed), I had loathed them. Because the gods Aideen told me about shouldn't be so cruel. What did we do to deserve that sort of fate? Nothing. So, fuck them.

Once my breathing was under control, I ducked out to see if anyone had followed us. After all, I hadn't had the time to mask the trail. And, unfortunately, there was one scout following the broken twigs and disrupted rocks in the path. However, fortunately, they weren't really paying attention, so I snuck up on them and cut their throat, covering their mouth to make sure no sounds escaped. A trick Brigid had showed me, back in Silesse when I insisted on learning how to fight better. So that I could continue being useful to the army, the only 'home' and 'family' I had ever known. To help them as much as I could. Fat lot of good that did, with the meteors falling on us. So much chaos that I got turned around and pushed out of the city before I could think twice.

I dragged the body deep into the brush, this time careful to hide my path so that they wouldn't be discovered quickly. Or at all. Fresh meat in a forest filled with animals? I was sure at least one would like the east meal. Or carrion birds. They were around too. Point was, the body might be eaten before long and I didn't feel bad. Probably should, and I was sure that someone would bring up the grey morality of it all, but right now, I didn't care. I had to keep things simple while on the run. Once Febail and Patty were safe, I could be complicated and 'adult' again.

"Dew…?" Jamke's weak voice made me smile as I stepped out of the brush, but when I actually saw him, I had to fight to keep from screaming. He was drenched and not just with water either. He was bleeding bad, and dragged his… well, I'd call it shattered since I could see bone sticking out in at least five places… anyway, dragged his shattered leg behind him. And he was wearing a different shirt for some reason. "Dew, that you?" Jamke rasped. He coughed a bit and stumbled, probably because he was hopping on his good leg and using trees as crutches. "Everything is a bit blurry…"

"Please don't have a concussion," I begged, rushing over and slinging his arm over my shoulder to half-carry him. Jamke sighed in relief. "Seriously, we're going to have enough trouble with your leg. What the hell happened? No, never mind. Leg first."

I managed to get Jamke all the way to the camp, and did my best to try and tend to the leg. And I wasn't a healer. Not like Alicia or Claude or Aideen. I could easily see it too. I could hear their reactions. I could hear Alicia gasping and quickly getting some sort of pain medication for him before looking at the leg. I could hear Aideen fussing and making sure I was okay while assisting Alicia. I could hear Claude gently chiding, yet joking, while he checked Jamke for any other injuries. And within a minute, they'd have him all set up for the most efficient recovery. And then Lachesis or Lewyn or Tailtiu or Erinys would help out, and make the healing fun and relaxing. I could hear it. I could see it.

But there was nothing 'fun' about this. Just me trying to keep Jamke alive, and being more than a little certain that the leg would heal wrong. Because this was beyond the first aid I'd learned. Far beyond.

"We saw the soldiers and rushed back," Jamke explained softly. He looked and sounded tired, but smiled when Febail and Patty both crawled over to sit next to him. Febail tried to go around me so that Patty had the side to herself, but I stopped him. I needed that space for… whatever fix I came up with. "Saw that it was empty and figured you took the kids, so we focused on getting the soldiers. They chased us, and we ran, drawing their attention as much as possible."

"Wish I had left Yewfelle for Brigid," I mumbled, glancing over to where it gleamed among the dirty packs. Like it glowed with the light it used for its arrows. "So, what happened? Did you get caught and they decided to have fun torturing you?"

"No, that would make too much sense."

"So?"

"We were on a cliff. And it crumbled under our feet. So, all of us fell into the river. Brigid, me, the soldiers…" Jamke coughed then, one of those deep, rib-rattling coughs. Scared Patty and Febail, to the point that Patty teared up, though she was quickly placated by a hug and a kiss to the forehead. I just hoped he didn't get sick on top of this. "One of the soldiers was mangled. Put my clothes on him along with some items I had, so that I could hide better."

"And Brigid?"

"Didn't see her." Jamke smiled bitterly. The resigned sort of smile that I hated. I hated that the gods put that smile on him. Jamke deserved all the smiles, just like Aideen and Brigid and… and everyone in the army, really. "You mind…?"

"If she's near, I'll get her." The problem, though, was that the river here moved fast. So even if she had survived the impact (likely because I'd seen the Holy Blooded folks survive ridiculous things), she would've been washed downstream. "Let me finish with your leg, and then I'll be right back."

I used up everything we had in the basic first aid kits we'd kept, but eventually, I was certain Jamke at least wouldn't die, even if his leg might be messed up forever and a day. But since I was certain, I left to make my way to the river, using the trail Jamke left behind to find it. And covered up the trail along the way to make sure no one followed it back to us. Though, eventually, I could find the river simply by listening for it. It was roaring, the waters moving quickly over and around various rocks and the like. The body Jamke used as a decoy was right by the shore, and I was tempted to grab it and hide it a tiny bit more. Except I had a job, finding Brigid, and I could hear soldiers approaching, loud voices calling out a name. Probably the dead guy's. I didn't care, though. I had limited time, so I ran along the banks, looking for some sort of sign. But it was quickly apparent that there was nothing. A fat lot of nothing. Not even a piece of her clothes or jewelry or anything. Either she was further upstream, which meant the soldiers had her, or she was further down. And considering the rapids up ahead, I didn't think even she'd survived. I looked, though. I ran all the way to a waterfall before I gave up. There was no way to climb down, after all.

I made my slow way back to the cave, wishing that I'd hear her call my name or something. But, of course, the only noise was the soldiers, so I just… struggled to not cry. It was hard, especially when Jamke smiled sadly at seeing me coming back alone. Febail and Patty were fast asleep next to him, still too young to understand what all had happened. What all was going on. I pulled a blanket out of the packs and tucked it around them before silently sitting next to Jamke. He tried to pull me into a hug, but I refused and instead, hugged him instead. And, after a moment, he started crying. Because what other reaction was there? The only one was numbness because it seemed like we could never hold onto happiness for long.

Fuck you too, gods. I hoped you choked.

Author's notes: I promise that we'll get some sweet Brigid-Jamke moments at some point during this collection and Memoirs of the Destined, but given the recent Memoirs of the Holy War chapter, I figured it would be good to show this. And Dew's POV fit the most for it.