Entanglement

[Flamebird]

That… was interesting.

Apparently, the plant was not the only thing up in flames over the fae. Felicity watched, speechless, as the odd looking dwarf thing spat venom at the fire fae, disgusted over the use of magic. As she passed, oh, as she passed Felicity she looked her square in the eye. Silver eyes were dilated back in rapid panic. Her copper skin was coated with sweat brought on not by the blasted humidity – but by fear.

Yet, in a bold attempt to keep an appearance, she kept her head up. The creature strode right past.

Felicity turned her head over. She watched as the small humanoid stomped into the forest. Shocked, jaded, slightly offended as a magic user, the redhead snorted. She turned her head back to the crime scene, hoping to thank the fire fae for saving her life, yet – the Dheathian native had vanished. Absolutely zero evidence of the trickster species was there. Suddenly, Felicity was alone in the jungle again.

The ferns hid the girl’s frame. Her own panic died down as her heavy breaths slowed. She needed to move on. Yet, as she stood up, a light hiss escaped her. Oh right, her ankle had been sprained.

How splendid.

In a foul enough mood as was, Felicity tried to limp over to her sword. Her body was resilient, sturdy; yet even her incredible skeletal structure was not happy with the state of her physicality. The teen was exhausted, sweating, and probably dehydrated. While Felicity had several canisters of water, it was lukewarm, when ice cold was preferred against Dheathian’s wet heat. As the girl fell to the muddy ground, her tangled hair covering her face, she realized that she was in no position for set backs. It would take time and energy to fix her ankle. She could not run, leap, or even walk straight with her lower leg unnaturally twisted. In the middle of a dense rain forest, Felicity was in a danger zone. Another map was in her bag, although finding her way was not the problem. Surviving Dheathian’s wilderness with a sprained ankle was.

She became more aware of her surroundings again. The edges of the tropical plant life, ferns and palms, shook as smaller wildlife rummaged through it. That familiar scent of water in the air annoyed and tormented the daughter of Eiskalt. Flies flew around her as she eyed the unfamiliar plants at her feet and hands. Hopefully, they were not poisonous. As the calls of jungle parakeets echoed through the trees, Felicity’s eyes darted from plant to plant. She shook, paranoid of predators. Felicity turned to see several rodents and reptiles already scavenging her bags.

“H-hey!” Felicity erupted, throwing her arms. She pulled herself up, making it several feet towards the bag before crashing down again. The thud caused the animals to scurry and scatter. In the borderline unbearable moister, however, Felicity let out a rather pathetic cry.

She needed help.

Luckily, she had recently met some folk.

Her sword still lay across the forest floor. As long as she was unable to move freely, she was in danger. Whether it be from predatory beasts or poisonous plants, Felicity was vulnerable. She disliked being vulnerable. By chance, one of the travelers was still close enough as she, reluctantly, shouted for help. The weakness of a child was heard in the cries, as well as the humiliation of a warrior.

[Yvonne]

I warned him. I did. "I'm terrified of magic," I said, "I've nothing against ya or any other fae. Fae be an extraordinary people," I said. "I'm afraid of what it can do and tha consequences of its misuse. Please do not use it near me," I said. So what does he do? Practically uses it ON me! Am I a wee bit mad over this turn of events? Ya bet yer granites I be. Was I too harsh on the wee fella? Mayhap. I don't know.

Yvonne had stomped her way into the rain forest, thoughtless to the noise each tread taken was making. At least the vibrations would keep the snakes at bay, especially out here where the snakes might have been bigger than she was. The ebony-skinned woman had read many books during her childhood and one of them described reptiles in detail, basilisks among them frightening her the most. Dragons, leviathans, medusae and naga were well respected runners-up, all considerably concerning snake types. Was Dheathain's warm climate and overgrown underbrush the perfect home for any of those lethal creatures?

Best not think about it.

Creating distance between the sorcerer and herself helped to calm her mind however time would need to calm her ego. Yvonne's breathing was back in the realm of control, nice deep breath in, long soothing breath out. The whisper of the air passing her lips was relaxing to hear, the lush scents of the jungle pleasing to smell. Everything looked foreign, every shrub, every blade of grass and that was worrying. Something to use as a landmark, to set the foundation of her way... that would have been really useful, to gather her wits on where she was.

Hmm, if I be a mischievous flock of rascals where would I build my city? The grey dwarf recalled her memory of the city she was familiar, the dwarven mine-shaft metropolis of Kachuck. Home. Even the word itself made one feel safe. Yvonne felt better. It was a highly unlikely place to build a city, excavated deep within a mountain - some of the tunnels were dwarfcraft, others were carved naturally by underground rivers that had eroded away at the rock for millenia. Food was scarce in the winters if her people hadn't stored enough in time, and water... if it wasn't for the freely flowing underground river Kachuck would have never become a city at all.

Was that the secret to finding the fae? Follow the water...

A shout caught up to her on the wind. Chasers of cries for help came to her pointed ears, from whence she had come. Yvonne knew immediately who it was. The voice matched with a shout she remembered from their encounter with the fly-trap. The grey dwarf knew even from here that the fiery red-headed warrior hadn't moved much since she'd left her. Something is wrong. Guilt stabbed her stomach like a vicious dagger strike, twisting in her guts. The warrior had risked their life to protect her from certain death and how had they been repaid? A skimpy apology and a cold shoulder. I have to go back for her.

Yvonne turned on her boot-heel again, hurrying back through the rain forest. She ran as fast as she could go - carrying a bulky backpack and a crossbow weighing her down - which was not fast at all, mind you, with her runty little legs. She remembered where the fly-trap nest was though, and the warrior's humiliated cries straightened her course every time she heard them. She knew that state of being well... and wouldn't have wished it on anyone, not for all the jewels and gemstones of the dwarves.

Pushing the last ferns aside Yvonne uttered, "Don't worry. It be me. I've come back," so that she wouldn't confuse her with an ambushing wildcat. She'd found the poor lass, prone upon the grass. It seemed the human woman had not even retrieved her sword, instead struggling helplessly with her leg. The grey dwarf placed her crossbow near the blade so that she'd have use of her hands, and knelt down next to her to get a better look at the injury. Grimacing, she offered, "I'm sorry I left ye like this. I didn't know it be this bad."

She may have been looking at a dislocation here. Her leg just didn't look quite right, twisted out of shape somewhat. Yvonne wasn't entirely certain of the physiology of humans, but she was fairly confident human legs weren't supposed to look quite like that.

"Listen, I'm very good with my hands. I know, I know, we haven't been acquainted for long, but--" Yvonne went with it. Better to ask forgiveness than permission. She began to massage the red-head's leg above the injury at first, and carefully eased her finger-tips downward toward the ankle. Not too close. She was feeling for any completely broken bones and there didn't seem to be any, but fractures were basically impossible for Yvonne to detect and there could still have been one of those. Closer and away, nearer and away, the pressure would have been building in her ankle as her dark hands soothed her pain.

"Ya know, usually I like ta get ta know someone before I be this nice ta them. Yvonne Mythrilmantle, at yer service. What be your name, lass?" Time was up. Yvonne popped the warrior-woman's dislocated ankle back into place. Ooh, that'll smart.