(LORE) HEALING

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 7:04 pm

With Mizuki's direction--they didn't ask how she knew, this day had held too many events for them to want to comprehend all--They moved with the stealth they could manage through the devastated town. Mizuki lagged behind with her waning strength, but she still stayed with them enough to not get caught. It was odd, and a relief how swiftly they were moving through this town without trouble. Mizuki figured that the soldiers had left, believing all dead and gone.

For now, having that knowledge was better. They finally descended on Micha's home. It was ablaze and Mizuki cursed. How to get in easily? A window. Mizuki remembered them being on the bottom-most level of this home... there should be a window to that level somewhere.

They searched the perimiter of the house until they found one, small window. It would have to do.

"Break it." Mizuki ordered the men and watched as they proceeded to kick in the window like they were practiced thieves.

The window shattered.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 7:16 pm

The inside of the house was thoroughly ablaze. The ceiling moaned warningly; in a few seconds, the whole place was going to come down. There was almost no air to breathe in the street, because the fire had consumed most of the oxygen, and the line of sight was only 4 or 5 feet before the smoke blocked vision.

Soran didn't hear the window break. He could barely sense anything; the heat was too strong, and despite their silence, they had run out of air. Sid hadn't budged or tried to apologize to him in almost half an hour. He wondered if the man was dead; Sid's weight rested forward limply on his knees. Soran hadn't heard the house collapse above them yet; once it did, he knew their chances of leaving intact were nil. He decided to check on Sid, worried despite himself, but when he went to stand his legs went out from under him. Not enough air, so he crawled to Sid, coughing from the smoke, and called to him.

Sid made no response; Soran had landed on him when they fell out the window, and beaten the tar out of him immediately beforehand, so he was in bad shape. But if everything Sid had told him was true, then it truly wasn't his fault this had happened. What reason would he have to go on lying to Soran now, when he'd given Sid no hope of regaining his trust? He touched the human's neck for a pulse, but couldn't tell if it was there. Too much heat, too much throbbing in his own fingers. So he rested a hand on Sid's shoulder almost protectively and watched him with smoke-squinted eyes, not sure if he was still hoping or just waiting for death to come to him.

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 7:20 pm

Coughing and squinting their eyes through the blaze and heat that came out at them. One of them men called down into the room. The other began to shimmy his way through the small space after they cleared the broke glass. The window was just barely big enough. When he came in he had a hard time seeing through the some. He knew he had to find Soran fast before they all perished.

"Soran! Soran we're here for you!" he called out. "Mizuki's just outside!" he added it in case the rouge didn't believe him.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 7:26 pm

Soran dully heard voices shouting from upstairs. It sounded like his name...was someone here to try and get them out? No...it was too dangerous, how could they have gotten into the city? But if they were here...he had to meet them halfway.

"Down here!" he managed to shout, his voice hoarse in the dry heat. He took hold of Sid and tried to ease him upright, struggling to his feet. He wanted to bring Sid with him, not leave him here to die...if he was even alive. Despite his anger, he wasn't ready to abandon his former friend. It took everything he had to pull Sid over his shoulder and stand up, but the stairs became another matter. Using his arms to haul on the railing, he slowly took one step at a time, already starting to hyperventilate from lack of oxygen to serve his muscles.

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 7:29 pm

He heard a muffled noise to his left and he came to door. Now the other man had shimmied through the window, leaving Mizuki out by herself but that's how she wished it. Both men came to the door and opened it, coughing from the rise of smoke. Gods, if they made it all out alive....

"Soran!" They called and descended the stairs only to almost run into the rouge... with someone else. Without a question, they grabbed the rouge.

"Let's go!!"

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 7:36 pm

"Take him," Soran ordered without arrogance, turning to provide the man access to Sid's body. Soran looked at the men closer and in his blurry mind he realized he knew them from Rai's school, but that was all the thought he could afford for now. The building was burning fast; they had to cross through open flames to get out; all of them would have some pretty burns to nurse later. Once Sid was lifted off him, it was like all the strength drained from Soran's legs. He sank into the wall and had to be half dragged back to the window, his mind weaving in and out of reality as they went.

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 7:39 pm

With hurried care, the men proceeded to pushed Sid and the rouge through the window. Mizuki pulled from the other side, despite how weak as she was. When she saw Sid she repressed the growing anger within her. 'Not now, later. Save your strength.' she told herself. After she pulled Sid through, she reached in for Soran. The men hauled him up, arms first, through the window so Mizuki could grab his hands. She pulled as hard as she could while the men pushed.

"Soran," she said breathlessly, willing strength into her.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 7:45 pm

As soon as Soran was pulled out of the room, he went limp and fell into a coughing fit, unaware of his surroundings. "Soran," a weak voice called from above him...someone was holding him. He almost didn't recognize it. "Mizuki...I told you not till the fire dies," he protested numbly, the words running together like sand. The house moaned ominously, beams cracking and splitting into cinder, and half the roof suddenly collapsed. When the rest of the house came down, they had to be well out of the way.

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 7:52 pm

"If I had waited any longer, you'd be dead." she retorted. And then half the house collapsed. She panicked and almost screamed for the other men, but they were already out. Dazed and just as disoriented as Soran, Mizuki hadn't realized the time that had past since Soran came free. Shaking her head, she stood up with Soran. Two weak people leaning on each other weren't a good combination, and the two men knew that. One threw Sid over his shoulder and the other helped both Mizuki and Soran out of the town.

Out of the whole group, and despite everything, those two men had more strength than all of them. Later Mizuki would have to thank them generously. The group moved on silently, not risking being found, though the blazing streets were deserted. They went back the way they had come, periodically stopping to let Soran and Mizuki catch a breath in oxygen lacking air. Those breaks only lasted so long, they had to get out quickly.

It had been hours after they left, now they returned and the fresh air on the edge of the forest practically knocked Mizuki out completely. She collapsed and gasped for the clean air.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 8:03 pm

Soran had lapsed in and out of consciousness, and when he was awake he wasn't alert enough to speak or think except to keep his legs moving. He felt like they'd walked for hours, or maybe they were walking for hours...were they lost? Nothing quite felt like sense in his head. and when they finally escaped to fresh air and out of sight of the soldiers, he followed suit with Mizuki and sank to the ground. Whenever he found air to cough, he did so vehemently, and then struggled again to catch his breath until he could cough again. He and Sid were literally grey from soot, ash caked into the cuts on their bare torsos. Sid still seemed to be unconscious. The man carrying him brought him a bit further into the forest and set him down also. Though he was unhurt, the man was tired from hauling the tall man through the blaze. The man who'd helped Soran and Mizuki brought out a canteen from his side. After wiping his hands on the grass, he smeared a few cooling palmfuls of water onto Mizuki's face, gently smudging the soot away from her eyes and patting cool moisture onto her neck. He turned and did the same thing for Soran, stunned by how incapacitated the notorious rogue looked, but when his hand was reflexively batted away by the rogue, he sighed and gave tending to him.

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 8:09 pm

Mizuki was grateful, more than that. If she wasn't coughing so hard she'd tell them how much she owed the two men. But now wasn't a time for words. Mizuki glanced over at Soran when her coughing died down. So many things went through her mind... She missed him.

Crawling over to him, Mizuki hugged the rouge, and shook with his coughs that still echoed through their silence. The coughs felt as if they were threatening to rip apart Soran's frame. She felt his sweat and the soot that mingled on his body, she knew that he really needed space right now but she just loved him too much. This was the second time she almost had come to loosing him.

"Damnit," she cursed tiredly, "Stop almost-dying on me." She clung to him and rested her chin on his shoulder, her eyes half-closed because she didn't want to sleep just yet.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 9:12 pm

Soran's swimming thoughts filled with the awareness of a cool body embracing him (everything felt cold to him right now in comparison to his still-hot body). When he realized it was Mizuki, he rested a sooty hand on her head gently and pulled her close against his neck. "You crazy, wonderful woman," he praised between fits of coughing. It would be a while before his lungs were clean enough to breathe deeply, but that didn't keep him from a sense of jubilation. She was alive. He was alive. That was all he needed to know right now.

In the woods behind them, Sid's deliverer was at work with a slightly more complicated situation. Sid's heartrate was weak, and he'd stopped breathing. After wiping Sid's face with a cloth, he'd resorted to CPR. After about a minute, Sid finally came to with a jerk, coughing dryly while his rescuer helped him sit up. "Rhen-" he said urgently, choking on his own voice. "Where's...Soran?" His dulled eyes flashed around their vicinity for signs of the elf.

"Calm it down there, brother, you've been through a big shock," the man next to him urged, but Sid seemed unfazed by the man's arms that tried to get him to stay still, trying instead to get to his feet. "You didn't -cough- leave him there?" he demanded, alarmed as he allowed the arms to restrain him to his seated position.

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 9:18 pm

The man frowned as if Sid had suggested something blasphemy. "Of course not. He's with his wife right now. You both should take it easy." He gave Sid a suspicious look. He remembered this man from the Parent's Day event, he had seemed odd then too. Friendly man but, he called Soran 'Rhen' at first. There was definatly something about this guy but... it wasn't his place.

The other father stayed with Soran and Mizuki, but gave them the room to be private. He itched to get back to the others though.

Mizuki hugged Soran tighter, then reluctantly let him go. He needed air, she had to give him time on his own to breath. She kissed his forehead in her bleary state, then leaned back and watched him as if she was trying to remember his every detail.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 9:26 pm

"Heh," Soran made a sound between a laugh and a cough, "If you stare at me like that, I might get self conscious," he tried to joke, well aware that he probably looked like shit right now. Another thought finally came to him. "Is Sid--

Before he could finish his question, footsteps and a rush of urgent protests behind them drew his attention to where Sid was half-dragging his rescuer, who clung to his arms, in their direction. It was a rather rowdy scene, with Sid shouting insistent assurances that he'd be fine while the man struggled to convince him to sit down. A rather amusing spectacle, actually. Sid stopped when he saw Soran seated on the grass, and then suddenly obeyed his captor, sitting down so suddenly the other man rather tumbled with him onto the ground. Apparently now that he'd seen Soran with his own eyes, Sid was content to play patient, coughing good-naturedly and patting his frazzled nurse heartily on the back.

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 9:30 pm

Mizuki jerked her head to the direction where Sid was once unconscious. She narrowed her eyes. He was giving on the demeanor of a man who was concerned for a loved one, Mizuki had a hard time buying that. She unconsciously inched closer to Soran like a huntress protecting what was hers.

"I should've let him die," she said without really thinking it through. She was just so angry, and tired, and relieved. She didn't want anything to take Soran from her again.