A Reunion Amidst the Mire (closed to Karuka)

[Karuka]

Karuka cringed at Storm's screams, each one cutting through her like a knife. If it were within her power to alleviate his pain, she would have, even if it meant taking it for herself. But though he cried for mercy, she didn't stop the magic. She couldn't. If the magic stopped - at least for the first two applications - he would die.

It was as much a relief to her as to him when he went unconscious.

She cast the spell five times, as powerfully as she could manage. Each time, energy flowed out from her core, down her arms, and into his chest. It radiated out, flooding damaged tissues and bringing them back together so that they would heal better, stronger, healthier. The treatment from the night before had been a favor for an old lover, almost selfish in the doing. He was one of a few people she'd traverse the globe for, if they needed. His was one of the few voices she'd charge into Hel behind. His was a heart she wanted to keep beating.

This time he'd appeared from nowhere and nearly died for her safety and that of her daughter. He'd been an idiot, charging up a dragon like that, but a magnificent idiot. This time... this time, she owed him this much. Because as transigent as his love was, it was steadfast where it was real. And her affections, though brief by their nature, were not fickle.

She stopped pumping magic into him when she was all but drained. Sweat soaked her hair and dripped off her nose, and not just from Dheathain's sweltering environment. Her vision swam a little, and despite sitting with her hands planted in front of her, her body felt like it was tilting oddly to the right. But she wasn't done yet.

Already vultures swarmed the scene of battle, converging on the feast of corpses. They wouldn't hesitate to add the unconscious mage to their feast if they had a chance, and she didn't want Taische to linger longer than necessary on the field of the dead. She needed Taische to be able to accept the inevitability of death, but she didn't want her to be traumatized by it.

Carefully, the redhead pushed herself to her feet, taking a deep breath to help her head stop swimming. It was a breath she regretted; between fire, lightning, old gases getting pushed up from the softened ground, and bloody corpses, the air was noxious.

Where's th' boar?

~*~*~

Less than an hour later, Taische helped her exhausted mother move Storm into the sheltered thicket where they'd be spending the night. Her camp duties were simply fire and water that night, since her uncle wasn't awake and her mother was too tired to be hungry. She wasn't hungry, either. That was death, up close and brutal. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair. She didn't like it.

Inside the quick shelter, Karuka wiped Storm's face with a clean cloth. He was already looking better, though he'd still need a day or two to recover. He was cold to the touch, but after that much trauma she wasn't surprised. She'd stay with him and keep him warm.

She ran a gentle hand through the unconscious man's hair, noting the silver that had started to streak through it and the lines that had started to appear on the sharp-featured face. A bit of a smile touched her lips, and she settled in to rest. "D' you have any idea just how much I love you?"