Zompania Draft - Draftees and Reinforcements, mid-day 4-early 7

[lucetimods]

Who: Draftees and Volunteers
What: The draftees and the reinforcements must hold against the Third Party army until rescue arrives
When: From May 23 through the wee hours of May 26 (days 4-7)
Where: Zompania
Summary: Draftee information and Volunteer information
Rating: Varies on thread, please mark explicit material.

This post is for the rest of the draft, beginning when the volunteer reinforcements arrive. Look up in the sky--your friends are parajumping in! Be sure to use the above info post for any plotting needs you might have. Enjoy!

Be sure to tag this post appropriately: [canon] character name

Comments

[ledbythewind]

You aren't injured, are you?

[Not that he could tell even if she were; asking is the only thing he can do. Asking and hoping that she'll actually be honest with him.

Which is debatable given that she doesn't really know him, and he's aware of this.]

[pendantry]

[Yes, yes she is. She's collected injuries for days, never sticking around healers long enough to get them dealt with properly. There's too much going on.]

I'll be fine.

[Which everybody knows is a 'yes' and Raven doesn't care.]

[ledbythewind]

[Richard knows quite well that's a 'yes.' He also knows that this is neither the time nor place to push the issue, not until they get somewhere safer and out of combat.]

Let's find someplace out of the way to rest and regroup.

[At this point, it's a command rather than a suggestion.]

[pendantry]

[Raven nods, transforming again quietly into her bird form.]

I can carry you more easily this way. Stand still.

[She'll have to pick him up with her talons despite the leg injury. There isn't space or wind to get enough lift for him to ride.]

[ledbythewind]

[That particular comment leaves him wondering just what he should be expecting to happen now. Although he's a little uncertain about the whole thing, being blind makes it difficult for him to object to anything that can help get him to a safe place.

He's completely reliant on her, much as he feels guilty about it. But he will stand still, just as she orders.]

[pendantry]

[With one big downbeat of her wings, Raven takes off, unable to grimace about the maneuvers she has to make in their small area to get enough speed. A few turns later she's in a dive, skimming just at the end of it to snatch Richard's arms near his shoulders, and working hard to get into the air again. Straight-up monstrous birds do this thing all the time to hunt; Raven has never practiced it for expertise, and Richard is heavier than Leon.

But his feet will leave the ground and, from above, he will hear a sharp voice.] Don't struggle or I'll drop you.

[She won't want to, but her injured leg won't hold on if he gets wiggly.]

[ledbythewind]

[His first reaction is, naturally, to start and struggle for a few seconds before he realizes what's going on. Once he hears her words and realizes that she's holding onto him, he's quick to go still and just make himself as limp as possible, figuring that a dead weight will be easier for her to carry than something that is moving around.

At least he isn't all that heavy as far as humans go. He's actually on the light side for a man.]

I'm sorry about that.

[pendantry]

It's fine.

[Contrary to expectations, she did not almost drop him while he wiggled. It takes her some time to get high enough to clear the buildings; once she does, catching a lucky waste of breeze, she rises a bit and then heads into a dive, aiming for a known secure area.

Enjoy your short flight, Richard.]

[ledbythewind]

[It's probably a very, very good thing that Richard can't see just how high they are or else there might be a lot more wiggling on his end. Instead, he just continues to hold still and quietly wonder just where they're going... but Raven seems to know where she's headed, so he won't question it.

Not a good idea to potentially anger the giant bird who is currently carrying you through the sky.]

[pendantry]

[It is a short flight indeed. Raven sets him down gently, without a verbal warning, then fly-hops a short distance away to land and just sink to the ground for a minute. She's very tired all at once, and though she knows she must wait quietly for it to go away, and that they're in a protected area, it's still bothersome.]

We're here.

[ledbythewind]

[No sooner do Richard's feet touch the ground than he's turning, making his uncertain way in the direction of her voice, reaching out one hand to start gathering energy to heal her.]

Hold still.

[Whether she protests or not, he's going to do this anyway out of gratitude for all of the help that she's given him.]

[pendantry]

[Raven has her eyes closed, so she is surprised to feel one hand run through the feathers of a wing. He must be trying to find her-

Hold still. There's not an ounce of sadistic command in it but the words make her bristle anyway.]

What are you doing?

[ledbythewind]

Healing you. You're no doubt exhausted after everything we've been through.

[Once he feels the feathers beneath his fingertips, he's satisfied that he found his target; in a moment she'll feel a gentle warmth envelop her as Nala's power begins to take effect.]

[pendantry]

Oh. [He starts before she gets the chance to say anything else, and for a little while she shuts up and almost leans into it. It feels good, it feels better and chases away some of the pain.

Then she realizes exactly what kind of magic that is and lifts her head to shake it.]

You'll call down more of those shift wolves with that.

[ledbythewind]

I won't use this for long. Tell me when you're feeling well enough.

[He too is aware of the risk, yet he also knows that leaving her here most likely injured is an even greater risk. Besides, he can't simply ignore someone who is in need of healing, even if it may mean drawing danger to himself.]

[pendantry]

[So he already knows. He's stupid for trying when it could get them both killed...but the pain is fading already. She waits long enough that it almost feels selfish; the next time she looks at him, she isn't even dizzy at the far edges, and she feels like she can move again.]

That's enough.

[ledbythewind]

[Stupid and selfless, but then when has Richard ever been anything but? That's just the way he operates.

So focused is he on his work that it takes him a moment to notice that she's speaking to him. Even though he'd like to keep going, he realizes the danger inherent in continuing to use magic, so it's with great reluctance that he lowers his hand, letting that green glow fade away.]

Are you all right now?

[pendantry]

It's better than it was.

[Even that is a lot to acknowledge. Raven shifts back a few inches, so she can transform without startling him too much.]

We should keep going.

[ledbythewind]

[He nods, in full agreement with that.]

I need to get back to my friends. They must be worried sick about me.

[Knowing Asbel and Isamu, he's sure they're probably beside themselves with worry right now.]

[pendantry]

I don't know where they are. [Or who to look for. It'll still be too hard to carry Richard around safely. Raven tries to conceal the persistent limp while she starts walking away.] But it's safer this way.

[ledbythewind]

We can search for them while we travel-- a man with reddish-brown hair and another man with black hair in a ponytail.

[It's definitely a good thing that Richard can't see that limp or else he'd be telling her to stop and let him risk a little more healing on her. As it is, he reaches out, trying to find some part of her to grasp so that he can keep from losing track of her or stumbling over something.]

[pendantry]

[The refined flail catches her attention; Raven stops, remembering he can't see, and takes his hand, raising it to her opposite arm at the elbow. If he wants, they can walk that way and no one will be able to tell at first that anything's wrong with him. She'll just have to set her jaw and walk straighter.]

Do they have names? ["A man with reddish-brown hair" could describe a few people in Luceti, let alone the MSF flunkies around.]

[ledbythewind]

Asbel and Isamu.

[He allows her to guide his hand, swallowing down the faint rising sense of embarrassment at needing this sort of assistance from a stranger. They've both been helping each other; there really is no reason to feel embarrassed about this.

He'll walk slowly, trusting her to lead him along a safe path through all of the debris.]