Andre brought his eyes to a gentle close as his head remained tilted slightly upwards to face the canopies. The various beams of light that broke free through the maze of branches and leaves above warmed his face, a soothing feeling and one that he welcomed with open arms following his exertions.
("....sit down....that tree")
He heard that female voice from before call out to him again. Without the distraction of battle, he now furrowed his brow slightly in confusion.
("Strange") he thought. ("That sounded so... real?").
"...?"
Opening his eyes again, Andre turned to face a young hyur girl standing next to him, a serious expression carried through her beautiful, jade eyes which remained fixated on him with intent, mixed with what seemed to be worry. His own changed suddenly in surprise, up until now he thought that that final push of encouragement from when he was kneeling before the Ixal, staring death in the face, had come from himself, but in actual fact... it had been this young conjurer? Was she also the one who assisted in fending the beast off? Andre stared blankly at her for a moment, almost forgetting to respond.
"..oh... no.. no" Andre responded at last, offering the girl a modest smile.
"It's really nothing, I'll get it cleaned up when I get ba-.."
Andre tried to continue, taking a brief step past the girl, only to lurch forward unexpectedly, nearly collapsing to his knees once again. He let out a gasp in pain as he struggled to keep himself standing. No, he was not okay. His adrenaline was still coursing through his veins, numbing most of the agony he would otherwise be experiencing, but even so, he could not make it back to Gridania in his current state. His bleeding refused to cease, pumping out various, continual channels through his crimson-soaked fingers which just barely succeeded in slowing down his draining vital fluid. His head continued to pound from the force of the headbutt he had endured earlier. Though that wound had stopped bleeding, it left him in no better comfort as his dizziness returned and disappeared in short spells repeatedly.
"Agh.." he struggled to catch his breath. The pain was slowly becoming more real, burning and searing through his chest with each second that passed.
"Then again... that tree does look rather comfy.." he jested, nodding towards the moss-covered, tree truck that the girl had previously indicated.
With the assistance of the conjurer, they made their way over to the nearby oak tree. Falling down into a seated position against it, Andre rested his back against the bark under the sheltering shade of the Twelveswood's giant, allowing his unusual guardian to examine his wounds. He observed the girl in silence, her expression eternally focused and serious. Even had he the strength to walk, he wondered if she'd have allowed him to leave. He continued watching her in puzzlement, she carried a mysterious aura about her. One would expect a different reaction from a civilian, particularly one of her age, after having gone through such an ordeal. Though all seemed well now, was she not afraid of endangering herself? Was she no stranger to violence? As for her willingness to assist, she didn't seem reserved or even doubtful. Not even squeamish? She was intriguing, to say the least.
Andre parted his lips to speak to the girl who was still seemingly unaware of his watchful gaze.
"Were you also the one... who helped fend of the Ixal?"
His voice cracked slightly in places as pain slowly returned to him in pulsing jolts of agonizing distress. Albeit, he retained his composure. If at least for the young girl, he should act as though she needn't worry too much about her success or failure with tending to his wounds.
("....sit down....that tree")
He heard that female voice from before call out to him again. Without the distraction of battle, he now furrowed his brow slightly in confusion.
("Strange") he thought. ("That sounded so... real?").
"...?"
Opening his eyes again, Andre turned to face a young hyur girl standing next to him, a serious expression carried through her beautiful, jade eyes which remained fixated on him with intent, mixed with what seemed to be worry. His own changed suddenly in surprise, up until now he thought that that final push of encouragement from when he was kneeling before the Ixal, staring death in the face, had come from himself, but in actual fact... it had been this young conjurer? Was she also the one who assisted in fending the beast off? Andre stared blankly at her for a moment, almost forgetting to respond.
"..oh... no.. no" Andre responded at last, offering the girl a modest smile.
"It's really nothing, I'll get it cleaned up when I get ba-.."
Andre tried to continue, taking a brief step past the girl, only to lurch forward unexpectedly, nearly collapsing to his knees once again. He let out a gasp in pain as he struggled to keep himself standing. No, he was not okay. His adrenaline was still coursing through his veins, numbing most of the agony he would otherwise be experiencing, but even so, he could not make it back to Gridania in his current state. His bleeding refused to cease, pumping out various, continual channels through his crimson-soaked fingers which just barely succeeded in slowing down his draining vital fluid. His head continued to pound from the force of the headbutt he had endured earlier. Though that wound had stopped bleeding, it left him in no better comfort as his dizziness returned and disappeared in short spells repeatedly.
"Agh.." he struggled to catch his breath. The pain was slowly becoming more real, burning and searing through his chest with each second that passed.
"Then again... that tree does look rather comfy.." he jested, nodding towards the moss-covered, tree truck that the girl had previously indicated.
With the assistance of the conjurer, they made their way over to the nearby oak tree. Falling down into a seated position against it, Andre rested his back against the bark under the sheltering shade of the Twelveswood's giant, allowing his unusual guardian to examine his wounds. He observed the girl in silence, her expression eternally focused and serious. Even had he the strength to walk, he wondered if she'd have allowed him to leave. He continued watching her in puzzlement, she carried a mysterious aura about her. One would expect a different reaction from a civilian, particularly one of her age, after having gone through such an ordeal. Though all seemed well now, was she not afraid of endangering herself? Was she no stranger to violence? As for her willingness to assist, she didn't seem reserved or even doubtful. Not even squeamish? She was intriguing, to say the least.
Andre parted his lips to speak to the girl who was still seemingly unaware of his watchful gaze.
"Were you also the one... who helped fend of the Ixal?"
His voice cracked slightly in places as pain slowly returned to him in pulsing jolts of agonizing distress. Albeit, he retained his composure. If at least for the young girl, he should act as though she needn't worry too much about her success or failure with tending to his wounds.
![[Image: ecec20e41f.png]](https://puu.sh/xvMxb/ecec20e41f.png)
Characters: Andre Winter (Hy'ur) / K'nahli Yohko (Miqo'te)
