It felt as an eternity to her. Sitting there in the middle of the desert waiting. What more could she do, though? Dheres was still unconscious. Her arm throbbed with every beat of her heart. Coatleque tried to keep herself calm if only to slow her heart to lessen the pain. Still propped against the bolder with eyes half lidded watching over her ward.
The conjuration finally began to fade and the boy's skin and clothes shed the calloused, grey stone for their natural look and feel. Coatleque took a deep breath and crawled the few paces back over to him. Again she shook him gently by the shoulder. "My lord Algincourt? Dheres, please, you must wake up." He twitched, head rolled to the side as he choked out something incoherent, then fell back to unconsciousness again.
She examined his wound again now that it was more visible. He was still bleeding. Fearing it may re-open under too much stress, she knew it would need immediate tending. Scooping her arm around him and pulling, she again tried in vain to lift him. Lifting dead weight with one arm is not easy, however, even for those in good health. She stumbled and he began to slip out of her arm causing her to instinctively reach with the other hand. While she did manage to set him down gently, the strain caused her to cry out again and she staggered away clutching her bad arm tightly to her.
Settling in by the boulder again, she rubbed a hand down her face in thought. It was the middle of the night, at the week's end in Thanalan. Where would the closest healer be and who would even be awake? Two realizations suddenly hit her. Firstly that there was a fighting tournament underway barely two bells away. They always had at least one medic present by necessity. But secondly... it would mean asking him for help. Coatleque groaned and looked to her ward.
Her relationship with Warren was nothing sordid, and certainly not hidden. They had parted over a cycle ago under much the same reasons as she and Jameson. He simply chose someone else. Someone better, she told herself. It seemed to be a repeating pattern in her life now. The fact that he was the only one in reach capable of helping only served to rub salt in an old wound. Her mouth twitched at the thought while her hand slowly raised to her ear to activate her pearl.
"Warren? Ser Castille, if you are listening... please respond. I - I know you may be busy..."
Her ears strained at the pause to follow; Her pulse echoing through her head.
"Hm?"
She cried out. A loud and joyous "HAH" that broke into stammered laughter. "Warren! I need a healer. Please, if you have any you can spare - I am on the road from Black Brush to Horizon and have a wounded man who will bleed out if he is not tended immediately! We are overlooking the expedition site."
"Sit tight." came the response.
"Thank the Twelve!" She sighed with immediate relief. "You are a godsend, Arbiter. I owe you."
It was nearly a full bell later when help did arrive in the form of Artemis Newton. Coatleque still sat propped against her rock, listing to the side and nodding occasionally as she jerked herself awake. Her arm had begun to numb in the cold night air and the bandage was soaked through. Artemis saw her first and approached only to be waved off to the side dumbly. "Neck wound," she mumbled. "I've done what I could."
The woman of many trades turned and knelt to see to Dheres's wounds. Aether flowing from her as if pouring water from a cistern. Coatleque may have been jealous of the ability were her mind not clouded from her own wound. Despite her protests of being 'fine', the tiny Eos worked its own magic to close the wound on either side of her arm.
She stood and unwrapped the bloody field bandage, letting it lie with the rest of her tattered cloak. She flexed her hand a few times to test her arm before joining the other woman next to Dheres. "Not responsive, sadly." Artemis looked up to her. "Not much I can do here. You take one shoulder and I will get the other. We'll make a nice procession to Black Brush."
Between the two women they managed to hoist the young lord to their shoulders. Half carrying and half dragging they stumbled their way the remaining few malms to the mine train station. Once there, Dheres was propped against the wall of the Stone Torch's office. Coatleque spoke to the men on duty about bandits along the road while Artemis saw to transportation. They met a few minutes later at the door.
"SoooOO. You want to maybe paint me a picture here about this?" Artemis began to press.
"It would take far too long." Coatleque shook her head. "I must stay with him. Is there anywhere else he could recover for the night?"
The pair conversed in hushed voices to avoid further unwanted attention. Of closest locations, the Coffer and Coffin was far too public. Black Brush was already alerted to her presence, and news of wounded travelers would spread like wildfire. They could not go north as that meant passing straight through his father's land. No, the only option was to press eastward. A few minutes later, Dheres was strapped tightly on the back of one Chocobo while Coatleque held two sets of reins atop a second.
Brief and mumbled farewells were said with the promise of not speaking of her passing through the area. The pair then set off eastward per the current plan. The remainder of the night passed in silence, and Coatleque had trouble staying awake as the birds plodded onward. Whether by luck or fate they did eventually reach Drybone as the sky began to glow the first signs of dawn breaking.
Stumbling into the inn with an unconscious man over her shoulder, Coatleque somehow reached for her coin purse and managed to spill gil over the counter and floor. Mumbling incoherently to the staff on duty about a room for the night, the last thing she remembered was her world spinning as she collapsed hopefully over a bed.
The conjuration finally began to fade and the boy's skin and clothes shed the calloused, grey stone for their natural look and feel. Coatleque took a deep breath and crawled the few paces back over to him. Again she shook him gently by the shoulder. "My lord Algincourt? Dheres, please, you must wake up." He twitched, head rolled to the side as he choked out something incoherent, then fell back to unconsciousness again.
She examined his wound again now that it was more visible. He was still bleeding. Fearing it may re-open under too much stress, she knew it would need immediate tending. Scooping her arm around him and pulling, she again tried in vain to lift him. Lifting dead weight with one arm is not easy, however, even for those in good health. She stumbled and he began to slip out of her arm causing her to instinctively reach with the other hand. While she did manage to set him down gently, the strain caused her to cry out again and she staggered away clutching her bad arm tightly to her.
Settling in by the boulder again, she rubbed a hand down her face in thought. It was the middle of the night, at the week's end in Thanalan. Where would the closest healer be and who would even be awake? Two realizations suddenly hit her. Firstly that there was a fighting tournament underway barely two bells away. They always had at least one medic present by necessity. But secondly... it would mean asking him for help. Coatleque groaned and looked to her ward.
Her relationship with Warren was nothing sordid, and certainly not hidden. They had parted over a cycle ago under much the same reasons as she and Jameson. He simply chose someone else. Someone better, she told herself. It seemed to be a repeating pattern in her life now. The fact that he was the only one in reach capable of helping only served to rub salt in an old wound. Her mouth twitched at the thought while her hand slowly raised to her ear to activate her pearl.
"Warren? Ser Castille, if you are listening... please respond. I - I know you may be busy..."
Her ears strained at the pause to follow; Her pulse echoing through her head.
"Hm?"
She cried out. A loud and joyous "HAH" that broke into stammered laughter. "Warren! I need a healer. Please, if you have any you can spare - I am on the road from Black Brush to Horizon and have a wounded man who will bleed out if he is not tended immediately! We are overlooking the expedition site."
"Sit tight." came the response.
"Thank the Twelve!" She sighed with immediate relief. "You are a godsend, Arbiter. I owe you."
It was nearly a full bell later when help did arrive in the form of Artemis Newton. Coatleque still sat propped against her rock, listing to the side and nodding occasionally as she jerked herself awake. Her arm had begun to numb in the cold night air and the bandage was soaked through. Artemis saw her first and approached only to be waved off to the side dumbly. "Neck wound," she mumbled. "I've done what I could."
The woman of many trades turned and knelt to see to Dheres's wounds. Aether flowing from her as if pouring water from a cistern. Coatleque may have been jealous of the ability were her mind not clouded from her own wound. Despite her protests of being 'fine', the tiny Eos worked its own magic to close the wound on either side of her arm.
She stood and unwrapped the bloody field bandage, letting it lie with the rest of her tattered cloak. She flexed her hand a few times to test her arm before joining the other woman next to Dheres. "Not responsive, sadly." Artemis looked up to her. "Not much I can do here. You take one shoulder and I will get the other. We'll make a nice procession to Black Brush."
Between the two women they managed to hoist the young lord to their shoulders. Half carrying and half dragging they stumbled their way the remaining few malms to the mine train station. Once there, Dheres was propped against the wall of the Stone Torch's office. Coatleque spoke to the men on duty about bandits along the road while Artemis saw to transportation. They met a few minutes later at the door.
"SoooOO. You want to maybe paint me a picture here about this?" Artemis began to press.
"It would take far too long." Coatleque shook her head. "I must stay with him. Is there anywhere else he could recover for the night?"
The pair conversed in hushed voices to avoid further unwanted attention. Of closest locations, the Coffer and Coffin was far too public. Black Brush was already alerted to her presence, and news of wounded travelers would spread like wildfire. They could not go north as that meant passing straight through his father's land. No, the only option was to press eastward. A few minutes later, Dheres was strapped tightly on the back of one Chocobo while Coatleque held two sets of reins atop a second.
Brief and mumbled farewells were said with the promise of not speaking of her passing through the area. The pair then set off eastward per the current plan. The remainder of the night passed in silence, and Coatleque had trouble staying awake as the birds plodded onward. Whether by luck or fate they did eventually reach Drybone as the sky began to glow the first signs of dawn breaking.
Stumbling into the inn with an unconscious man over her shoulder, Coatleque somehow reached for her coin purse and managed to spill gil over the counter and floor. Mumbling incoherently to the staff on duty about a room for the night, the last thing she remembered was her world spinning as she collapsed hopefully over a bed.
