***Author's note: The following chapter contain extreme violence, gore and other sensitive topics. Please be forewarned.***
Shyvana dragged herself onto the shore, clawing at the sandy mud as she coughed up water, her chest heaving as she struggled, puking up a steady stream of water. She cast one long look over her shoulder towards the great steaming pile of rock across the river before she breathed a sigh of relief, flopping down onto her back as she coughed, clearing the last of the water from her lungs. She felt fire in her arms, chest, and legs as her chest rapidly rose and fall, her throat parched by the salty water. Both of her lungs felt as if they were burning as she greedily sucked in the cold air, the wing sweeping through the canyon and assaulting her body. She shivered as the wind chilled her to the bone, her chest continuing to burn, the cold air like needles on and inside her body.
"I hate water..." Shyvana muttered as she sat back, letting her body rest as she stared at the clouds above, the shades of gray getting swept over head. She took a deep breath and held it for a few moments, closing her eyes as she slowly exhaled, her body aching. "It's finally over..."
As Shyvana stared up at the sky, she felt the wind continue to caress her body, a shiver rapidly running up and down her body as she wrapped her arms around her shoulders. As the water continued to dry, what little body warmth she had was sapped by the wind as it continued to sweep over her. She rolled onto her side and pulled her legs up to her chest, shivering. She wrapped her arms around her legs and took a few deep breaths, her mind lost at the moment, numb with the shock of everything that had happened up until now.
"Jarvan..." She whispered quietly to herself as she watch the wind assault the surface of the river, white ripple cresting all across the dark waters. She felt the shivers stop, her body falling still as she continued deeply breathing, the breaths now ragged and pained as her lungs seemed to shrivel up.
Jarvan would know what to do... Was all she could think as her body ached. He always had an answer, he was always calm and capable... Shyvana felt the sting of tears in her eyes as she tried to blink them away, wiping weakly at them with her sand coated hand.
A sudden rumble of the ground under her body told her that she didn't have time to rest. Shyvana rolled onto her back and struggled to sit up, every muscle in her body screaming as she pushed herself into a sitting position. She clamped her eyes shut.
Please no... please no... anything but that...Shyvana shook her head and tried to clear her mind, looking back to across the river where the massive pile of rubble.
"No..." She murmured. "There's no way..." Shyvana was still winded as she struggled up onto her knees, shaking her head as she watched the rocks began to tumble down. Steam began to pour from beneath the rocks, seeping out and getting slowly carried away by the wind. "There's no way he survived that..." She told herself aloud, wishing she believed her own words. "That explosion... he couldn't... I..." She turned as the rocks started to tumble down, the center of the pile rising up, the steam growing thicker, billowing about as the rock started to shake and quake.
"ENOUGH!" The rocks exploded outwards as Kampf burst forth like a demon from the sea, not a fire breathing, flying monster. "I REFUSE!" He bellowed as he lay eyes on Shyvana where she sat on the bank of the far side of the river. "I REFUSE TO LOSE TO YOU!" Kampf lunged forth with blinding speed, his chest split open like a zipper from the bottom left of his body to the top right, black blood oozing from the great gash. Gaseous oil leaked from the wound and as he leaped through the air, his wings flapping wildly and raggedly, struggling to get into the air. He crashed down towards the ground, striking onto the surface of the river where he splashed and struggled, roaring and coughing up water as he struggled up to the surface, fighting to stay on top of the water. Shyvana grimaced as she rolled onto her stomach and pushed herself up onto all fours, scampering for traction on the sands of the beach.
Shyvana realized that she needed to run. Fast.
She conjured a ball of flames and threw it at him, turning and sprinting along the beach, gouts of sands rising up from behind her. Her human sprint turned into a gallop as her body expanded and contorted, her wings flapping and carrying her into the sky, her entire body screaming in protest. She glanced over her shoulder to search for her pursuer, when a pillar of orange flames drew her gaze back towards the canyon. She turned and hovered, watching as her ball of flames ignited the gas. She watched in horror as Kampf crashed into the ground, flames spewing from his chest in every direction like a great flaming demon. The impact only served to cause more of the gas to spew from his body, creating a rolling ball of flames that had soon consumed the entirety of the bottom of the canyon. He clawed the ground as he struggled to turn, crashing into the stone wall his entire body now cloaked in flames. Kampf bellowed, his roar equally hurt and malicious, the gaping wound in his chest more than enough to cause him such pain.
Shyvana raced along the canyon as Kampf crashed along the wall, struggling to so much as fly straight. He clawed at the walls, struggling to stay above the raging waters below. Shyvana rounded the last corner as he crashed to the shelf that the attack had all begun on. Shyvana touched down upon the rock strewn shelf, her hind legs dragging upon the stones as she took several steps towards the edge of the cliff. She stuck her head over the edge and watched below as the water turned from a deep, pristine blue to a white, frothing disaster. Kampf tumbled past into the rocks and river below, steam shooting up as he disappeared beneath the surface of the water, his single glowing red eye and the flames that burned from his chest disappearing beneath a rolling inferno that became the surface of the water. The water rolled and boiled like a cauldron over a fire, boiling over. Steam rose in great pillars, gouts getting swept away by the wind it crested the canyon walls.
Shyvana panted, gasping for breath, the pain in her body screaming at her to simply lie down and sleep, to revert to her human form and to rest, but Shyvana refused to let herself change back, the pain more than enough to make her want to scream and simply give up living, but her will was too strong. She remained in her dragon form, clawing towards the edge of the canyon, ready to flee if she needed, ready to put more distance between her and Kampf. She pulled herself along the ground, unsure if she would be able to get off the ground, much less continue the fight, where as her opponent seemed to possess boundless energy. She slid a claw over the edge of the cliff as she pulled herself the last few meters, sticking her head over the edge and looking down towards the river where she hoped she would see nothing more than a corpse.
Shyvana's heart froze in her throat and all the fire in her body turned to ice as Kampf's scarred black claw crashed down onto her claw, snapping the bones in her wing like twigs. Blood spewed from the deep wounds in her hand and she screamed in agony, shattering under the weight of his entire body hanging from the cliff. Kampf hauled himself up and over the edge of the cliff face, his claws digging deep into the stone as he clawed his way up, his back legs scrapping against the stone. Using his other arm to smash the rest of the bones in Shyvana's wing a second time, the sound of more bones snapping over his ragged breath, Kampf pulled his body all the way up onto the cliff.
"Now you... can't fly... away, you... little... whoress..." Kampf panted, his breath heavy as he raised one wing back and swatted Shyvana through the air, the dragoness tumbling end over end along the ground, her wing crumpled uselessly at her side. The wing flexed in ways it should have never even able to, and it soon became twisted into a bloody mess as fragments of bone, twisted about within her body were starting to cut through her skin like knives. She used her good wing to claw desperately at the ground as she screaming pain, her body barely able to respond but with anything but pure fear, her unconscious reaction to run.
"Even now... you try... to cower... and run..." He continued through his panting, the once mighty rumble only a weak wheeze now. "How... utterly... pathetic..." Shyvana was spread out on her back, one wing crumpled under her body and the other out to the side as she struggled to right herself, her legs clawing at the air. She struggled to find some sort of leverage, her screams now a constantly stream of violent panicking. The sound was base and savage, more wounded animal than woman. Kampf raised one claw up and brought it down upon her legs, grinning with cruel satisfaction as the sound of crunching bone echoed louder than ever. Tears ran down her snout as she screamed and writhed against his claw that was pressed down on her lower body. Kampf lowered his head towards her chest, a cruel grin on his face as he watched the continuing pain, her wounds only growing worse with all of her thrashing.
Her body seemed to suddenly give way, returning to that of a human female, her pale skin gleaming with the water she had been drenched in, the remains of her armor now cast about in ruins, the rags barely covering her body. Kampf coughed as a grin spread over his face, letting the smile grow as he watched Shyvana's pain now play across her human face, her red hair splayed out around her like a massive puddle of blood. Crimson leaked from her body as bone poked through the skin in her legs, sharp fragments having broken the surface. She lay on her arm, the limb twisted about her body like it had been made of jelly, wrapped around her like fabric.
"That looks... painful..." Kampf rumbled with laughter. He pressed his claw down onto her legs, and watched the pain play across her face with amusement dancing in his eyes like fire. "Now that all that fight is gone from your heart... you'll simply have to grin and bear it..." He chuckled a bit, silver gas pouring from his chest as he wheezed. "So beg... BEG!"
"I... Please..." She started to beg, he eyes clamped shut as fear and pain ran fleetingly across her face. "No... more..." Shyvana's voice was strained and hardly audible as she exhaled.
"Good... Good..." Kampf rumbled watching her squirm. "I'm going to enjoy watching you suffer.."
"You're evil!" Shyvana gasped, as tears of agony rolled down her face. She screamed, pushing futilely against his hand as he put more pressure on her lower body. Kampf looked affronted by her exclamation for a few seconds, snaking his head back as if he had been struck on the nose.
"Evil?" He said, the word rolling off his tongue as if it had been greased. "Perhaps..." He chuckled to himself as he lowered his face towards his body. His horn brushed lightly over her pale skin, much of it marred with her blood. He took a deep breath in and released it, the heat rolling over her body. "You smell sweet, girly... through that might just be the scent of spilled human blood." He roared with a strained laugh, struggling to sound imperious as he did. He slid his horn across her body again, the sharpened tip cutting into her, leaving a trail across her body.
"Please..." Shyvana gasped, as the world started to fade around her. "I... the pain... end it..."
"END IT?" Kampf laughed again. "So soon? The fun is only just beginning... Now suffer my embrace..." Kampf rumbled as he slid his horn up to her shoulder, the pressure starting to increase as Shyvana screamed in pain. Kampf laughed weakly as red blood began to well beneath the tip of his horn, just barely began to penetrate her body. "I WANT TO HEAR YOU BEG!" He roared, continually pressing harder, her thin human body barely able to stand up the razor sharp horn. "I SAID... TO BEG!" He bellowed, rage in his voice as he bore down on Shyvana with the entire weight of his body.
"STOP!" She screamed as the horn slowly pierced her flesh, only an inch at a time, driving deeper and deeper into her so as she could feel the pain to the fullest extent. "STOP, PLEASE! I BEG OF YOU!"
"YOU DON'T SOUND LIKE YOU WANT IT!" Kampf roared, a triumphant laugh echoing through the canyon as the horn came in contact with the inside of the bone in her shoulder. The sharpened tip scraping against the surface of the bone as she shrieked in pain, her body at the threshold of the pain it could take, her screams died as she writhed in agony. Her face contorted in a silent scream, the bone finally shattering under the force as the horn went clear through her shoulder.
"Please..." Shyvana moaned, her voice completely gone. "I beg of you... stop this... just be done with this..." She tried to scream, but as she tossed her head back her good arm trying to oppose the horn, she could only breathe out in a silent scream of pain.
"Death... Death would be too easy for the likes of you..." Kampf rumbled as he slid her along the ground, Shyvana's face contorting in pain as he lifted her into the air, a strained scream of pain echoing through the canyon. Her body was barely holding together, as she struggled to hold on, trying to ease the pain. "I'm going to enjoy watching you die..." He lifted her into the air and shook her watching with glee as she screamed and writhed, her legs and one arm hanging uselessly from her body as he watched her flail. She clenched at his horn with her one good arm, trying to hold herself up, but her arm had been worn down with the stress of flying as was barely able to even hold onto the horn now as he bounced her around.
"You're a bastard..." Shyvana wheezed, her body shuddering as Kampf dropped his head just a bit, letting her slide down towards the end of his horn before he yanked it up again, sliding her back down onto the horn as she screamed, her voice growing hoarse as blood poured down the horn, dribbling down her body and the horn.
"That, Missy, is the sound of victory..." He coughed again, causing Shyvana to bounce some more and she screamed in pain. "ALL YOUR FRIENDS ARE DEAD... YOU FATHER IS DEAD... AND NOW, EVEN YOUR HUMAN LOVER IS GONE FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH." Kampf raised her up and watched as blood drained from her body, her already pale skin now nearly as while as a sheet. He smiled as she drained of blood her face in anguish. "THIS... now this is JUST MARVELO-..."
"SHYVANA!"
Golden light pooled over the area as Kampf was slammed into the ground with such force than an arena exploded up from the stone, shards of rock jutting up violently from the ground. They cut through the earth like knives, trapping Kampf within its walls, great rocky spires twisting into the air and arcing up to form the jagged top of the arena.
Kampf grunted as his head dropped towards the ground, slamming into rock and rebounding upwards. Shyvana tried to scream but nothing emerged but a pained gasp of breath as she was jerked about on tip of the horn. Shyvana was tossed into the air, sliding off the end with a sickening sucking sound as the horn exited her body. Shyvana watched as she saw the world turn white, realizing after a few moments that it was only the sky, her vision blurry. A bleak, small smile pulled at the corner of her mouth at her own foolishness.
I'm coming my prince... I won't be far behind you...
She let her eyes flutter closed as she tumbled through the air, the cold hard surface of the ground racing up to meet her.
…
Shyvana waited for the impact to come, but where she expected pain from the impact, she was met with a warm sensation. She blinked a few times, her eyes fluttering open as she looked up to the sky, a dark shape flailing above her. Kampf roared in anguish as he screamed and gagged in pain, struggling to suck in a breath, coughing raggedly as he tried to breathe desperately, something bright and shining sticking directly through his neck, a few feet of the shining material protruding from one side. Shyvana recognized the ball and triangle shape on the end of the thin bar.
Jarvan's lance? How...
"Righteous retribution." The voice was strong and pronounced, stirring something deep within Shyvana's heart as she opened her eyes, not sure if she could believe her ears.
Shyvana's eyes grew wide as the sky was eclipsed by a head, long black hair billowing beyond the silhouette of a man, the sharp, onyx black talons on his crown cutting a sharp outline. Shyvana reached weakly up with her good arm, running a hand across the stubble coated chin.
"Hey there, love."
"Jarvan..." Shyvana said weakly, blood running down her chin as she coughed. "...how did you..." She coughed, her entire body shuddering as pain shot through her. "I thought you..."
"Easy now..." Jarvan paused as he looked up and watched as Kampf backed away, blood pouring from his neck. "We shall rest when we are dead, and you shall not be long for this world. I suggest you run, now." Jarvan growled as the dragon looked down at him, his eye wide, unable to believe what he was seeing. Jarvan's lance was lodged in his throat, and when he tried to speak, he merely made a gurgling cough sound. "It would be wise to be far from here if she does not make it, scum." Jarvan hissed, clenching one fist, golden power glowing around it. "Just know... that no matter how far you run, you shall never truly escape my wrath for what you have done here."
Kampf's throat bobbed as he tried to speak, only a choked bark escaping his voice as he turned and started to limp, spreading his wings as he flapped and lifted into the air. Jarvan watched as the dragon fled, disappearing over the walls of the arena before he rose up and disappeared into the clouds in the distance. Jarvan growled again as his prey fled, but the sound of Shyvana's pained whimper drew his glare from the sky.
"Shyvana?" Jarvan exclaimed as she coughed, splattering blood down her chest. "Shyvana, stay with me..."
Jarvan's voice was growing quick, his voice urgent and panicked as Shyvana stared blankly up into the sky. Her eyes were empty and glassed over as tears welled in her eyes. Her eyelids fluttered slightly and the tears started to run down her cheeks. Though everything she could see was blurry and distant, she could just barely make out the face of her beloved amid the blank and empty world she stared into. Jarvan lowered her to the ground as gently as possible. The sky was a gorgeous shade of white as Shyvana felt a smile spread on her lips. She felt Jarvan's hand against her check as she stared up towards the sky, her head starting to roll on its own, her body completely spend and supine. Jarvan was shouting now, his face contorted with a fear and horror that must have mirrored her own, but to Shyvana it fell on deaf ears.
Her eyes fluttered shut and she could hear a beautiful ringing, like the chiming of bells in the distance.
I'm sorry... my prince... I guess I shall be first after all...
Shyvana felt the breath leave her body, the icy claw of death starting to wrap its fist around her heart.
She opened her mouth and tried to utter the words she had been too afraid to speak before she was no longer able.
"I... lov..." She had no more breath, no energy to finish the utterance.
Jarvan felt something he hadn't felt since he was a boy. He had hardened his heart to steal, holding everyone out and keeping anyone from getting close for so long, afraid of what would happen if he were to let anyone get in.
"Shyvana!" He shouted, as her chest fell still, the rise and fall of her bosom finally coming to eternal rest. "Shyvana!" He shook his head ever so slightly, as if he was denying what he was seeing. "No... no way..." He grunted absently as he laid her head back and opened her mouth, putting his lips over hers and holding her nose closed, blowing air into her lungs till her chest inflated. He raised himself up and placing his hands on top of one another, he began compressions. His actions were sloppy at best, but he was desperate. "Damnit Shyvana, don't go towards the light!" He started to yell, grunting with every compression. A pool of blood had now formed around her, the deep wound in her chest, the streaks of blood on her arm and legs, each leaking a stream of blood. "Shyvana! SHYVANA!"
Jarvan paused, lowering his ear to her chest as he felt the warmth of tears on his cheeks, the biting sting of the wind satiated by the pain he felt.
Thump-thump... thump... thump-thump...
"My lord?" Jarvan looked over his shoulder, the voice surprising him. Quinn was supporting an injured Forsythe, the man battered and beaten, a new set of bandages covering his body as they clambered through the shards of stone of the walls of the arena. "My lord!" Quinn looked surprised that he was alive. "Shyvana said you were..."
"Please..." Jarvan gasped, realizing he had been holding his breath. "Please... help me... help Shyvana..." Be said, his voice strained. Quinn, looked at Forsythe, the man nodding as she lowered him to the ground. Quinn rushed to Jarvan's side. As she drew closer, Quinn's stomach turned upside down and threatened to turn inside out; the injuries were brutal and deep. She gasped, clasping her hands over her mouth as she looked down at the dragoness.
"This is..." She stammered, shaking her head. "This is far more than I..." Shyvana was pale, as if all the blood had already drained from her body.
"Please... you have to help her!" Jarvan said, his voice catching in his throat. Quinn was frozen in her tracks as she looked down at the body that lay upon the ground.
I've seen this before... Quinn shivered, her hand still covering her mouth as an image of her brother flashed past his eyes. He had been the same way, laying on the ground, pale and lifeless. Not again...
"Help her!" Jarvan shouted, anger lacing his voice. Quinn looked from the body to the face of the man she thought unshakable, unbreakable. Jarvan had always had an iron will, unable to so much as flinch under the harshest of situations. But now... now there was a basest of fears, something unnatural in his eyes that caused Quinn's nerves to completely drain away.
Quinn gulped, her mouth completely dry.
"Move, I need some space." Quinn said, shaking the shock out of her mind. Jarvan sat back, the despair he felt in his body clear in his shoulders. "I said MOVE!" Quinn shouted. Jarvan looked shocked but did as she said, dragging himself back along the ground. "How long has she been out?" Quinn said, checking Shyvana's wrist, holding several fingers over the artery in her uninjured arm, looking for a pulse. "JARVAN!" She shouted getting his attention. "How long has she been out!?"
"Barely a minute... maybe two?" Jarvan said shaking his head. "I don't... I don't know..." Quinn held several fingers to her neck.
"Weak and thready... but she's got a pulse..." Quinn said, turning Shyvana's head to the side. Blood began to drip from her mouth as Quinn examined the wound in her shoulder. "She's lost a lot of blood..." Her gaze turned to the ruined arms and legs. "She's probably suffering from some internal hemorrhaging in her limbs as well..." She moved towards the right arm, the limb misshapen and purple as bruises formed. "It doesn't look like the hemorrhaging is too bad yet. She's badly hurt, but if we can plug the wound in her shoulder, we can stop the bleeding..."
Quinn started digging in her shoulder bag, pulling out a few medical supplies. She set out several rolls of bandages, gauze pads, a few plugs of standard issue painkiller and a few other small things.
"I don't have the tools... or knowledge for something like this..." She said, looking down at the two small roles of bandages she had. She shook her head and started unrolling them, pulling her cloak from around her shoulders and laying it over Shyvana. "Jarvan..." She looked up at the prince watching him for a brief second as he stared down at the dragoness. "Jarvan!" She said louder, snapping him out of the trance.
"What?" His eyes were red as he met her gaze.
"I need you to lift Shyvana's torso up." He nodded and shuffled forwards on his knees. "Careful of the arms..." He nodded and slid his hands under Shyvana's shoulders and lifted her up gingerly. Quinn scooted around and then examined the open wound on her back, grimacing as blood still dripped from the wound. She grabbed one of the gauze patches and laid it over the wound. "Hold this here." Quinn said as Jarvan lowered his hand to hold the patch in place. Quinn placed the other patch of gauze on her chest and then took the role of bandages and started wrapping it around her chest. She wound it around and across her shoulder and chest, quickly going through both rolls. Quinn checked Shyvana's pulse again, and sighed, sitting back. She went to wipe the sweat from her forehead, but caught her self in the action and looked at the blood that coated her hand. Her hands shook violently and she opened and closed her fist a few times. She shook her head and grabbed the cuff of her sleeve and pulled it down onto her hand, wiping the sweat from her brow.
"Is she..." Jarvan said hesitantly. Quinn smiled weakly and nodded.
"She's fine... stabilized..." She looked down at the ground though. "I don't have any idea what to do about her arms and legs... they're broken in so many places." She shook her head. "The wound in her shoulder is bad, but as long as she stays still the wounds won't worsen... though... I think they are extensive enough that they won't get any worse. "She shrugged, breathing in and out of her nose in a sigh. "We can't move her any time soon though, not like this, not with her body in this state. We're going to need a doctor... an actual doctor... or at very least a crate full of health potions."
Health potions! Jarvan's hand snuck to his belt, struggling to keep his surprise of his face. He groped his belt, but the pouch of potions was gone. Gone? How! I was sure I tied them to my belt! Quinn pushed her self shakily to her feet, breaking Jarvan's line of thought about the health potions, snapping him back to the present. He tried to hide the anger and emotion that he felt at the loss of the health potions, but he noticed Quinn was just as nervous as he was. She hid her nervousness by tugging on the front tail of her tunic.
"That's fine." Jarvan said, inhaling sharply. "As long as she'll be alright..." His voice trailed off as he sank down to the ground, his shoulders rising and falling slowly as he caught the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding.
"She will." Quinn said, smiling as she patted Jarvan on the shoulder. She kneeled down and took a quick pulse reading from her neck. "Her pulse is growing stronger as I speak." She pushed herself back to her feet. "How she's this resilient... I don't even know."
"Human resilience and Draconian strength." Jarvan said with a heavy sigh of relief, leaning back against the stone. "She's stronger than anyone I've ever met... she has the strength of a pure blood dragon but the resilience and tenacity of a human, a combination that the world has not known in hundreds of years." Jarvan shook his head and and leaned upon his arms, letting his head hang back, staring into the empty, gray sky. "I... I'm glad she alright." He closed his eyes as he struggled to find the words to express the relief he felt. Quinn glanced at Shyvana and then back at Jarvan, a mixed sense of dread and relief flooding her gut as the memories of her fights with the Dragoness echoed in her mind.
"We should try and keep her warm." Quinn said, drawing a blanket from the supplies she carried upon her back. She unfolded it and laid it out next to Shyvana. Jarvan had a thin lipped smile as he leaned over and did his best to gently help Quinn get the blanket under the dragoness. "That should help." Quinn nodded to herself as she wrapped the blanket over the dragoness. She spread the cloak over her body and nodded, satisfied that she had done all that she could.
Jarvan nodded and smiled at the young woman who had become more medic than tracker. "Where did you learn about medicine?" Jarvan said, gently stroking Shyvana's hair as he leaned forward, resting his arms upon his knees.
"My mother... Nice and steady." She said, smiling as she checked Shyvana's pulse again. She nodded and sitting back, sighing and wiping her forehead. She had been sweating despite the chill in the air, her nerves and the tense situation getting to her. She sat back and breathed a sigh of relief, stretching her neck and arms, letting her arm stretch out above her and then rotate back. "She had a number of books on medicine." Quinn shrugged. "My mother was a simple town doctor and my father was a farmer from the rural outskirts of Demacia. When my brother and I weren't busy daydreaming or helping with the farm work, I would read. We didn't have many books so I read my mother's medical texts. They weren't the best... my father couldn't afford that sort of thing after we were born, but he would surprise her with a new one once a year." Quinn smiled sadly, a bout of homesickness washing over her.
"I didn't mean to bring back painful memories..." Jarvan said. She must be thinking of her brother...
"No..." Quinn said, "These were fond memories." Quinn smiled nervously, wiping at a tear Jarvan hadn't seen before, her gaze getting drawn away from where Shyvana lay on the ground to something beyond Jarvan. The sound of a set of boots crunching towards him drew his attention from the sky. The boots stopped short, but after a few moments the crunching continued for several more steps before grinding to a halt. The sound of sweeping fabric and the thump of a fist on chest told Jarvan of owner's salute.
"Prince Jarvan..." Forsythe said with a grim look as he cast a glance over Shyvana. Jarvan gave him a relaxed salute, something the hadn't done in a long time. He and his men had long abandoned the pomp and circumstance that came with the traditions. It was used as a touchstone, a link back to their lives in the past, their time as true members of the Demacian military. If Forsythe is using it like this, his thoughts must very much be on returning to Demacia.
"Forsythe?" Jarvan said quietly, acknowledging the wounded man's approach and salute. Forsythe had collected more than his fair share of wounds and bandages to cover them, and yet he soldiered on. "Any news of Isaacs?"
"No, sire." Forsythe muttered, his voice shaky. Jarvan grunted an inaudible response that was neither yes nor no, casting his gaze back towards the ground. "I... Permission to go and search for Isaacs, sir."
"Granted." Jarvan said, nodding his head just barely. Forsythe hesitated, standing stock still, as if he was waiting for something else. Jarvan noticed this quickly and raised an eyebrow, finally meeting the trooper's gaze. "What is it, Forsythe?"
"Aren't you worried about Isaacs, sir?" Forsythe asked, his hands clenching into fists. Jarvan met his gaze, and opened his mouth to speak but he was cut off.
"I'll go with you." Quinn said, pushing herself up off her knees. "I can't do anything more for Shyvana at this point. The best we can do for her now is to let her get some rest, and Jarvan can keep watch over her from here." She put her fingers to her lips and whistled a call, summoning the blue feathered Demacian eagle to his perch upon the Tracker's glove. "Come on, Valor." Valor swooped down and landed upon her arm, shaking his head and shifting from claw to claw, looking from Forsythe to Jarvan to Quinn before giving off a quiet squawk. Quinn met Jarvan's gaze briefly and the man nodded his thanks with a tired smile. He sighed as he turned his gaze back to the pale sky.
"Sir..." Forsythe saluted quietly, slightly stiffer than before, turning away, only the crunch of his boots signaling his retreat. The crunching stopped as he paused, the swish of clothes as he turned back and crunching resumed. Only one pair of boots left though.
"What?" Jarvan grunted, looking over his shoulder. Quinn stood back a ways, watching him with bloodshot eyes, her eyelids puffy.
"Don't you want to come and look with us?" Quinn asked, "What if he's still alive?"
"He'll be fine... He lost his damn leg and he decided he needed to take on a dragon." Jarvan said, smiling ironically. "I'd be surprised if he didn't come strolling around the corner any minute now."
"Tch..." Forsythe said angrily, waving a hand and stomped off.
"Forsythe..." Quinn said, a worried look on her face as he limped off, disappearing through the gap in the ruined arena that still surrounded it.
"Don't worry about him..." Jarvan said sighing, brushing some hair from Shyvana's face. He paused, crossing his arms over his chest as he sighed. "He's just worried... as soon as Isaacs shows up he'll be back to normal." Quinn nodded, but she couldn't shake the sinking feeling that she had set in her stomach.
"And you're really not worried?" Quinn said after a few moments.
"Of course I'm worried." Jarvan said, staring at the ground. "Any good leader is always worried about his men... but Isaacs... he's never let me down, not once." Jarvan shook his head, raking a hand through his hair as he covered half of his face with his hand, grinning crookedly. "He's gotten swallowed by the worst the world has to offer and the world spit him back out, literally." Quinn didn't seem convinced by his words but nodded.
"I'm going to get some water from the river while we search..." Quinn said, drawing her canteen from behind her hip, holding it up to her ear and listening to the half full canteen slosh when she shook it. "Can I see your canteen, Prince Jarvan?" Jarvan looked up and nodded slightly absently, fumbling with the clasp on his belt as he pulled the leather pouch out. He shook it slightly, the pouch still swollen with water.
"I've barely touched it..." He said, chuckling softly, holding it in front of him.
"Here..." Quinn said, taking it from his hand and prying to cork out of it. She pried the cork of her own bottle with her teeth and then awkwardly did her best to top off Jarvan canteen bottle, stopping it up again and then handing it back to him. "In case she wakes up." Quinn smiled at him as Jarvan nodded slowly. "She's lost a lot of blood, she needs to get some fluids into her system."
"Yeah..." Jarvan said, staring at his water bottle and then looked up to Quinn, watching as she turned on her heel, checking that her crossbow was still on her hip. She had only taken a few steps. "Quinn?"
She paused mid tread, turning her body slightly as she looked over her shoulder. "Yes?"
"Thank you." Jarvan said quietly, glancing at her briefly before he inhaled and then exhaled slowly, as if he were suddenly very haggard. Quinn merely nodded and then turned and took off, bounding after Forsythe, her canteen bouncing along her back and the rest of her gear as she disappeared beyond the arena wall.
Jarvan sat back, leaning against a jagged knife of stone that had erupt along the arena wall, letting the stress flow out of his body, his shoulders drooping and him breathing slowing. He exhaled heavily, letting the motion drag on until the only thing he could hear was his heart thundering in his ears. He sucked in a breath greedily and then shook his head. He slid his hand under the edge of the blanket and slid his hand into Shyvana's, her hand surprisingly cold. He frowned and leaned over, sliding his hand onto her forehead. He let out a breath he realized he had been holding, her forehead warm to the touch. He chuckled nervously.
Who am I kidding? Jarvan tipped his canteen back and gulped some water. I'm worried sick about Isaacs and Shy...
"Shyvana..." Jarvan felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth as he laid an arm over his face, interlacing his fingers with Shyvana's. He glanced over to the side, gazing upon Shyvana as she rested. She looked peaceful as the gentle rise and fall of her breast gave Jarvan the comfort to breath easy. She may have been injured, but injuries could be healed. He hid from the sky with his arm lain over his head, letting a deep breath of cold air in and out of his body.
"It feels like a lifetime since we met.." Jarvan said, a smile spreading onto his face as the memories flashed through his mind. "When I first met you, Shyvana, you were standing guard over your father's body as if he was simply wounded. You attacked me, violently, savagely... as if your life depended on it." Jarvan paused, biting at the tip of the glove covering his thumb as he inhaled and exhaled sharply. "I had never seen someone so loyal... so loving... so strong that you would rather starve than abandon your father. I never told you this... but we had been hunting you." He chuckled softly, though the sound was choked and it came out as an unintelligible grunt. "It just occurred to me that from that point... the first moment when I saw the fire in your eyes, I never would have seen myself sitting here next to you in an unguarded moment... at that moment you had become someone to be protected... to be saved... loved..." His voiced trailed off for a moment as he took a shaky deep breath, letting it out slowly as he gathered his nerves. Saying it aloud had a cathartic affect on Jarvan, as the exhaustion he felt started to overwhelm him. He shook his head. "No longer was were you an animal I hunted." Jarvan's voice wavered off as he wiped the tears from his face. "When we finally return home... I feel like I'll be able to swallow every horrible thing I have ever done and then simply smile when I am with you."
Jarvan coughed and took a swig of water from his bottle before he corked it and set it aside. He wiped his lips, blood coming away as he shook his hand free of water and some of the residual grime. "The saddest part is... It takes something as drastic as this for me to tell you all of this but I was afraid that you'd leave us... me..." He paused, raking his hand through his hair nervously, thinking what he would say to Shyvana when she woke up. "What am I doing..." He shook his head, sighing. "You can't even hear me..."
Shyvana squeezed his hand gently.
"You'd be surprised..." Shyvana said weakly, her eyes fluttering open.