'…when's he gonna wake up? It's been ages, now.'

'I'm sure that it will be soon, Ser Robin is -'

'That's what you keep saying!' The dragon-born burst out, still petulant but also with an edge of warning that flared when her worry burnt too bright. Ser Robin's fever and his broken leg had weakened his body to the point he'd sleep through most of the day. There was improvement and he was getting stronger every time he woke, but the dragon-born was focused on the pain, his reddened cheeks, the mess of his hair.

Raimi did not know Ser Robin well but she had come to enough understanding of the man, that seeing him like this would be distressing to those who loved him. During his time here, Raimi had observed him to be a particular man who valued a sort of chaotic control and disorder organisation. He wasn't exactly prim nor proper but neither was Ser Robin someone she thought to see so vulnerable.

'You'll just have to be patient.' Raimi knows that she has to be stern with this as Ser Robin was quite sick and recovery will be gradual. Hopefully, since Ser Robin was young and resilient, he would not be one to succumb to the heat and the pain.

'I have been patient,' the dragon-born mutters into the sheets, bent over the cot as she was with her resting against the bedding and into Ser Robin's side. She'd rarely left Ser Robin and every time she did - whether to relieve herself, or to look out onto the battlements to try and spot their convoy returning home the dragon-born would always wait for Raimi to be visiting, to leave her in charge. Raimi wasn't sure if it was trust, or whether it was simply the better of two evils to the dragon-born.

(Any time before the the dragon-born would depart, it wouldn't be before giving Raimi a narrowed-eyed look. The dragon-born had not threatened anyone since she'd entered the gate but there was a certain amount of menace about the creature's aspect.)

'This isn't something that can be rushed,' Raimi responds as she lowers the tray of food onto the make shift table, created from an empty barrel of mead. The first time they'd attempted to get some solids into their allies, the dragon-born had treated the food suspiciously and hadn't allowed it near Ser Robin until she'd sniffed at it and taken a spoonful of the meal into her own mouth.

'I…know, that,' the dragon-born concedes grimly. Raimi can see in the corner of her eye how the creature delicately plays with some strands of Ser Robin's hair, tilting the three-legged stool perilously as she leans closer. 'Humans are so…'

Raimi stirs the stew as she waits for this mood to pass. Ser Robin was better off missing it so that he didn't worry. 'So?' she ends up prompting as she further mixes the thick broth with the hardy potatoes and lambs meat. With their tough climate, few things survived and vegetables were hard to grow, animals died easily and they ended up having to rely on trade more than their pride could handle.

'Humans are - are like…eggshells,' the dragon-born decides finally as she twirls a strand of Ser Robin's hair between her long fingers. Her face, seemingly so young shows her age in her melancholy. 'You step on them wrong and they…break.'

'…they can be hardy, too. You've picked strong people to align yourself with,' Raimi states because she'd fought with Prince Chrom and Ser Robin and their men. They were fighters of mettle. 'You shouldn't worry so much.'

'…they are very strong,' the dragon-born concedes quietly.

'Well, now that we're in agreement,' Raimi begins in a slightly louder tone as she lifts Robin's bowl and spoon into her hands. 'Why don't you wake Ser Robin up so we can get some food into him?'

The dragon-born blinks. She shifts so that all the stroll legs are balanced on the wooden floor boards, straightening in borrowed clothes that don't quite fit her. Raimi is prepared to hand her the bowl and the spoon as the dragon-born glances from the food back to Robin's face. She gently pokes his cheek with the sharp point of her nail. 'Robby? Wakey wakey,' she breathes into his ear. 'It's time to wake up.'

Ser Robin's eyebrows further burrows as the dragon-born continues to poke and plod him until the stimulus starts to rouse him. His eyes flicker open, hazy in pain and exhaustion. He breathes in sharply, acclimatising to the hurt that must be circulating through his veins. 'No-wi?' he asks haltingly as comprehension doesn't dawn right away.

The dragon-born's smile is strained but she keeps it in place anyway. 'Hiya Robby! We got some food for you,' she states as she takes the plate and cutlery. Between the two of them, the dragon-born shifts another pillow under him so that he was sat up, though that caused quite a bit of discomfort, it also wouldn't do for him to choke.

'Th-thank you,' he whispers with a tremble to his voice as the dragon-born sniffs at the meal and takes a tasting. Ser Robin doesn't even blink, whether it was because this had become routine or he was suffering from mind fog, Raimi wasn't sure.

Raimi shifts though it barely catches his intention. 'Since you're up I shall get you some pain medication.' Ferox didn't have many healers, they had other things to concentrate on but they did have a lot of brewers amongst their merchants. They were expensive and tended to only be used in emergencies, Ser Robin's condition though stable, was an emergency.

Bleary red eyes look to her. Ser Robin had been admirable with controlling his pain though it was more than evident he relied on the potions he was given, even if he took as a weakness. Raimi had seen warriors double of Ser Robin be broken by his type of injury and she knew that many at the Longfort found his tolerance commendable.

'…that would be appreciated,' he admits through his teeth. That he'd been Cursed to be unable to lie also made some of their conversations awkward, as few of them they'd had. Raimi was half-certain that that was why the dragon-born was so strict in who saw him. Having to bare your soul to anyone who speaks to you was a disquieting thing, though Ser Robin seemed to be fighting it.

Raimi inclines her head and leaves the dragon-born to aid in helping Ser Robin with his meal. Giving them some privacy that had been missing since they arrived, though Raimi had made sure none of the boarder patrol had passed the door. The dragon-born was a bundle of energy, distrustful and wary and she only truly settled when left to get own her own with Ser Robin.

'See ya later, Lady!' the dragon-born called after her as if it was the last thing on her mind when Raimi knew that the dragon-born was demanding her return. The one time that her other duties had gotten in the way of retrieving Ser Robin the potion - well, it didn't bear thinking about. One of their healers had had to be called away from their post and Ser Robin was sedated.

Raimi had no intention of a repeat performance and had gotten strict with doing only what she must before delegating what she could not to others. It had caused complaints and a raise in tensions to an already very stressful post, however there was little Raimi could do. They had three healers in the area, all of which had their own roles to fulfil. They could not be running potions to and front Longfort, their time was simply too valuable.

Ser Robin was also an honoured guest; a commander of an allied army and on good terms with both their khans. If anything were to happen to him under their supervision…there'd be hellfire to pay. So, Raimi would do her part to ensure his recovery and that things keep moving smoothly here until their coalition returned.

If that meant dealing with ignorance and dastardly natures then so be it. At the Longfort into Ferox it was half a days ride to the closet apothecary and Raimi had already let Ser Robin's personal supply dwindle, but she still had to throw about the idea of retrieving more in her head. A lot of the warriors manning the Longfort - though strong - did not have the strongest moral fibre and there'd already been two incidents too many, where Raimi had to stop or fight one of the guards from going after the dragon-born.

Dragon-borns were valuable, after all. A Bandit could make a lot of money from selling one and as youthful and pretty so this Nowi was worth even more coin. That the dragon-born was protecting a Plegian and Raimi had a headache twice the size as the beast that had appeared at their wall. A headache because not everyone welcomed Ser Robin's presence here, and doubly so with the company he kept.

Ser Robin was also at greater risk, not just as immobile as he is but that he wasn't always lucid. That sharpness of mind dulled under the weight of his body, pushed further through the humiliation he felt in needing to be taken care in such intimate ways. So tired, every few hours he was falling asleep and there was little Ser Robin could do to fend for himself.

That Curse also seemed to be weakening him, fighting it as he was. Not all the time, sometimes Ser Robin was resigned to speaking the truth but others he'd all but bite through his lip to stop himself. It drove the dragon-born into fits of anxiety and it was unpleasant for herself as well. It made her start looking for triggers to avoid the subjects Ser Robin did not wish to speak about. He did not have the energy to waste on it and it seemed to hurt him - to go against the magic placed on him.

Raimi just hoped Prince Chrom and his sister returned soon, the princess especially for her healing talents. Or any of their number or took focus in the art. Raimi was not a maid even if she was doing quite the good impression of one, and she was worried about making a mistake and putting her Khans into an uncomfortable position.

This was - after all - the first venture their Khans had aided another nation in for a number of years, and with how isolated they were and the constant badgering they received from the Plegians, even if their focus was mainly in manufacturing an incident between Ferox and Ylisse…

Raimi needed ser Robin to be well - or as well as he could be when his companions got here and it was not easy. When the Ylisseans got here, then at least, Ser Robin would at least be safer from…outside antagonism.

Not long now, Raimi had to tell herself and decided that even if it weren't long, there was no telling what sort of provisions they would bring with them. If Raimi left it and they had no pain medicines or anything to supplement it. Well, they were on Ferox soil, they were the providers in this instant.

Raimi nodded, and set out to leave for the stables on the North side of the wall. She would go to the apothecary, buy as much pain medicines as she could carry - without clearing them out, and bring it back in preparation. After, that is, getting one of the phials that had yet to be used to Ser Robin before leaving, to avoid the remedy burning out of him while she was gone.

Another instance, however accidental the first, of Ser Robin left without medicine and the dragon-born was likely to carry through with her promise. It had upset her greatly, the state Ser Robin had been in before the healer had arrived and sedated him and Raimi cannot fully blame her for that.

The dragon-born, after all, had kept up a strong front for him and Raimi knew that she would continue to do so.

Uploaded: 27/07/2018

Oz