Tsadi steps back a few times and immediately takes out his spear, glaring at the soldier. “Leave me alone.”
Resh follows after the wolf, catching it before it can fall. “Hey- careful.” Please don’t die-
(Hrgh sleepy response)
The soldier puts away their spear and raises their hands. They can guess, if he’s here, the other soldiers lost the fight. “I’m not an enemy. Your friend is safe.”
The wolf growls at Resh, but they don’t try to escape him. Instead, they halfway lean against him for support. They were too weak to walk on their own, and soon they may not be in shape to walk at all.
Tsadi narrows his eyes, studying the soldier for a moment. He huffs and pushes past them, then continues running.
Resh growls back at the wolf. “Stop being so stubborn.” He looks around again, his breathing shallow from both panic and exhaustion.
(Soldier: r u d e-)
The soldier winces as Tsadi pushes past them. They watch him leave and then continue back to where Resh and the wolf are.
Resh looks up and sees the soldier headed towards him and the wolf. Shit- I don’t have the energy for this. He pulls out one of his knives and points it at them, his hand shaking slightly. “Stay back.”
The wolf sees the soldier also and snarls, showing their teeth. They still had the factor of intimidation on their side despite their injury.
The soldier stops a fair distance away from them. They glance at the bodies of the two dead soldiers. They were right, the fight was lost. But Cyrus and one of the other soldiers escaped. They take a breath and look at Resh. “I’m not going to hurt you. I… I’d like to help, if you’d let me.”
Resh narrows his eyes at them. He stares at them for a few moments before speaking again. “And why should I trust you?”
The soldier goes silent for a few moments. “Your friend said you only wanted to keep the queen safe. So do I. But that won’t happen if Cyrus finds you.” They look down slightly before looking back up at Resh. “Just let me help. I know a place here where you and your wolf can be healed.”
Resh tilts his head. “That girl is the queen?” What the fuck? She’s only a teenager! He shakes his head and closes his eyes for a moment. “…Fine. But don’t try anything.” He knew perfectly well he wasn’t in any condition to fight, but intimidation was worth a shot.
(Hey don’t ask us ask the idiots in the royal court idk)
(Look at the other choices)
(Pfftt)
The soldier sighs and speaks mostly to themselves. “Yeah, a lot of people had that reaction.” They move closer to Resh and the wolf, but stop just a few feet away when the wolf starts growling at them again. They crouch down and bow their head, showing their hands. That seems to do just enough to calm the wolf down from aggression.
Resh puts his knife away and looks at the wolf, letting out a low growl. He speaks to it in a hushed voice. “Calm down. They’re helping.”
(My words aren’t wording aaaaa)
The wolf looks at Resh, and back at the soldier. They weren’t calm, but they weren’t actively trying to attack the soldier either.
The soldier quickly looks up at Resh when he growls. That sounds like… no, it probably isn’t. Just ignore it for now. They stand and look up at Resh. “Follow me.”
Resh blinks a few times and tilts his head. He looks back over at the soldier and nods, then takes a deep breath and follows them.
The wolf follows as well, albeit slowly and still dependent on Resh. The soldier slows their pace so they can keep up easily. They’re tense, looking around through the side-streets often and frequently back at Resh.
Resh keeps holding on to the wolf, equally as tense as the soldier and glancing around. He occasionally looks behind himself, still growling a bit.
The soldier leads them to a small building not too far from where they were. It has a more distinct look to it, with colored and patterned cloth decorating the outside. The soldier knocks on the wooden door a few times, and a voice answers back.
“One moment!”
Resh tilts his head and blinks a few times, then takes a deep breath and looks over at the wolf. He gently pats the wolf on the head a few times.
The wolf closes their eyes when Resh pats their head. They weren’t in the position to deny them. The soldier looks over at Resh and the wolf, watching them for a moment. “Don’t worry. She’ll know what to do.”
Right after they say that, a woman opens the door. She immediately notices the wolf and their open wound. “Oh, Megabird… come inside. Quickly.” She holds the door open for them.
Resh nods and takes another deep breath, clearly needing to focus hard on breathing in order to actually do it properly. He helps the wolf inside, glancing at the woman anxiously before turning his focus back to the wolf.
The soldier follows them in and closes the door behind them. They look around, taking a deep breath.
The inside of the building is warm, a small fireplace going and plenty of chairs and blankets. There are shelves lined with crystals and trinkets around the place.
The wolf’s legs give out soon after they get inside. They’re collapsed on the floor, eyeing everyone. They seem to know everyone’s trying to help.
The woman grabs a few of the crystals from the shelves, each of them glowing when she touches them. She sits down next to Resh and the wolf, stroking the wolf’s fur lightly and saying something in Manta to them. She looks up at Resh. “What happened?”
Resh kneels down next to the wolf, then looks at the woman again. “…It’s a long story.” He pauses for a moment, then explains what happened, leaving nothing out.
(I don’t feel like writing it all so shhh)
(Wonderful)
(Sigh)
( 😂 )
The soldier listens to Resh’s story along with the woman. They only seem to get more pissed off as the story continues. They pace around the room, halfway lost in thought.
The woman takes in what he said, half in disbelief. “…I see. This won’t take long.”
She hovers a hand over the glowing crystals, and glowing sparks and patterns fill the air around them.
Resh sighs and looks around, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes. What the fuck-
The patterns swarm around both the wolf and Resh's wounds before disappearing. The woman checks the wolf's stab wound before standing up and moving to a water tap.