A Knight Needing Rescuing

[Walter Grace]

Slowly his eyebrows furrowed, reaching for his sword. Something out there?

Don't breath. The words echoed in his heads. His face went red, as he held his breath.
Though he knew he could not hold it for long. He just prayed that his demon powers kept the toxic out of his system long enough to get himself working.

But these sorts of things always attracted predators. Surely they would not be safe for long, even if he did happen to keep the toxins out.

Carefully but as quick as he could, he picked the woman up and ran back over to the river, keeping a sharp eye out. To risk flying might mean their death while he held her; a predator from above could attack, and they would be helpless. Or he would drop Elle.

If he dropped her on the ground, at least, she would only get a bruise.

As soon as they were close to the water's edge, he prayed that the air was safe and he too a deep breath in, laying her next to the water.

"Luella are you alright?" he panted, drawing out his sword with one hand and letting dark magic dance around the other. He turned to where they had come from, practically ready for anything

Though, Walter was of course cocky. And even he knew they were not in a good position at all.

[Luella Vaettir]

Elle blinked as Walter slipped his arms under her and lifted her, and her world went spinning and swirling as he turned and took her away from the flowers and their delirious scent. She felt like she was floating, or being hurled through the world as it tipped to the side and back. Frankly, it made her feel sick. But finally it stopped and Walter lowered her to the ground. She gazed at the water, hearing it rush by, though the sound grating against her ears, her mind translating the sound as crushing glass rather than the soothing sound of flowing water. She winced and turned her face away from it, towards the patch of flowers which Walter took her from. She couldn’t see them, the bush blocking them from view, but she knew they were there.

“I’m…okay…” Elle muttered in response to Walter. When did he ask that question? Ages ago? Did he even ask it at all? This plant toxic would get old real quick.

The bush rustled a bit, and the head of the dog thing popped out. It glared out at Walter and Elle, slowly stepping out into the light and showing itself fully. It growled at Walter, apparently unafraid of the demon in its bold move to show itself, though it made no move to approach the knight and the elf. A fin slowly lifted from along its spine, and it stood up, similar to a spiny fish dorsal fin. It flashed vibrant colors as the sunlight hit it in certain ways. Elle stared at it a while, trying to figure out if there was only one or not. Actually, that was a good question. Weren’t dogs pack hunters? This thing was dog-ish, so did it have a pack? She looked back over to the river, and felt her heart freeze as she saw three more of the dog creatures silently leaping from stone to stone, hoping to attack Walter from behind. Shit! She needed to warn him! But she felt so slow and sluggish, simply trying to think was proving difficult.

[Walter Grace]

He was relieved that she was okay; or at least she thought she was. But that did not matter so much now. Now, there was an enemy to defeat. His eyes went narrow as he spotted the dog-like beast. Slowly he tipped his sword towards the beast, ready to hack at the dog if it came any closer.

Slowly his eyes went even more narrow as the fin slowly extended out of the beasts back. He gripped the hilt of his sword tighter. This would be interesting.

A flash of realization went through Walter's head, however, when he finally processed that this was a dog-like beast. Usually they would hunt in packs.

Walter assumed that perhaps this was the only one. He looked back and forth, to see if there were any more. He spotted nothing. Except, he saw movement from the corner of his eyes.

Silently he cursed to himself, eyebrows furrowed as he turned his attention to... three more?! His eyes stayed focus on them, sword still pointed to the first one, while lifting his hand.

With that, he shot an arrange of dark magic balls towards the beasts. Being his non-dominant hand, he did not believe he would hit most, if not any of them. But perhaps if they were lucky, it would scare them away.

[Luella Vaettir]

Elle watched through bleary eyes as Walter remained fixated on the one creature, the other three unnoticed as they worked their way to them. The creature have its fin a shake, dazzling colors flashing in her eyes, making her want to forget about the current situation she was in and watch those colors shift all day. But no, they were in trouble. Fortunately Walter saw the dog creatures leaping their way to them. She lifted her head to see better as Walter produced his magic and fired it at the creatures that were working their way across the river.

The dog creatures yelped in surprise as the balls of energy flew their way. They scattered quickly, leaping onto other stones or onto the shore itself. None of the magic struck any of them, but it managed to give the pack a little moment of chaos. The one that had stood in front of Walter let out a snarling bark and dropped its fin. It turned to face the knight and it leapt at him, maw gaping.

Elle struggled to sit up, her head spinning. Damn. She needed to help somehow! She felt stupid just lying here unable to help. Stupid flower. The dogs from the river managed to work their way to the bank and they too leapt at the knight, snarling.

[Walter Grace]

He heard the beasts yelp, and for a moment he was relieved. But he had not anticipated they would continue to attack.

As the one n front of him leapt, he swung his sword, sending a wave of magic down the blade. If it hit, the blade would both cut and perhaps paralyse the beast. Possibly.

While he swung his sword, he heard the other dog's paws lift from the ground. With no time to work with he extended his wings harshly. Perhaps they would latch on. But it was, in Walter's eyes, likely that one of them would get hit, and go flying back.

Walter braced himself for the worst.

[Luella Vaettir]

Fortune seemed to be on the knight's side, as his magic swiftly moved from blade to creature, striking true the strange animal and knocking it back. The wound wasn't deep or serious enough to kill it immediately, but the magic made the dog thing fall still. It twitched angrily on the ground, eyes rolling as it tried to comprehend why it was unable to move. Fortune further favored Walter, his wings batting two of the three leaping creatures away. One landed in the river and was swept a ways down by the curent. As it struggled to regain the ground, the other tumbled a few feet from where Elle lay. The third dog creature, however, managed to find a spot on Walter's shoulder to latch onto with its teeth. It dug its claws into his back as it struck him with what little weight it truly had, supplemented by its momentum.

Elle, her head beginning to feel a bit clearer now, dragged herself a bit further from Walter, fearing that she may trip him in a crucial moment of this battle. She scooted back a foot or two, and paused as she felt hot breath on her shoulder. Shit! She turned and raised an arm just as one of the dog creatures snapped, its teeth sinking into her arm, blood gushing forth. She let out a sharp cry of pain and it gnashed its fangs against her, tearing at the flesh there. She shut her eyes, finding the blurry, many images of the dog creature ripping at her dizzying. One good thing about it latching onto her though; she knew exactly where it was. She drew her dagger and plunged it into the thing's chest, hearing it give a grunt from the blow, though it made no move to release her, even as it bled to death.

[Walter Grace]

Walter yelled out in pain, rage filling his eyes. This was surely the true Walter Grace; the man whom grew red with rage in a matter of seconds. Only this time, it was excusable.

He just prayed the beast was not venomous.

The demon grabbed onto the beats head, ready to let out a blast of pure dark magic, when he heard a sharp cry. He turned wide eyed, fearing the worst, just to see Luella plunge her dagger into the beasts chest. Despite it not letting go, at the very least Walter knew she wasn't about to die. Not yet.

He needed to take out thing on his back first.

So he let out a blast of his magic onto the dog's head, fully intending to kill it. Then without even waiting to see if it did, let go and blasted at the stunned one.

perhaps if he and Luella were not in such a tight position he would be more hesitant in killing the beats. But he had to look out for the both of them. he would not be a knight if he didn't.

Besides, Luella had saved his own ass. Certainly he could not let anything happen to her, if he could help it.

[Luella Vaettir]

Elle twisted her dagger before sliding it from the creatures body, then stabbing it again. The creature slumped over onto its side, its iron jaws still locked together. She winced and pulled her dagger free. She tried tugging her arm free but was rewarded her efforts by a wave of pain. She stopped, deciding she’d have to pry the jaws open. Ugh, if only she could get her head straight!

Meanwhile, the creature Walter gripped was immediately killed by the demon knight’s magic blast, the body falling to the ground without so much as a twitch. The stunned creature too died quickly as Walter laid his magic upon it. The final dog had managed to drag itself from the river. It glared at Walter, baring its fangs, but made no attempt to go closer. It looked at its fallen pack mates before it let out another snarl and turned, running away.

Elle looked around, everything falling silent. Were the dog things gone? It appeared so. They were probably hunters of a bigger pack, since four of these things seemed too small a number. Hopefully the pack would come to search for them, but if they behaved like any other pack animal they’d cut their losses and call it quits. Elle sat up as best as she could with a dog creature locked onto her arm, rubbing her head.

“This flower of yours had better be worth it. Those servants better kiss your boots for the effort,” she said softly.

[Walter Grace]

He clenched his jaw tightly, closing his eyes as he tried to ignore the pain of the teeth marks, evidence of the teeth previously clenched into his back. It was a tad difficult. But, looking over at Elle, she seemed in a much worse position than he.

Walter was just thankful the last had run away. He did not know how much enerjy he had left.

As she sat up he made his way over to her, slipping down to one knee and examining the beast tightly grabbed onto her arm.

"I'll second that," he murmured, a slight irritated look on his face.
"You'd think that they would have at least warned me about those hallucinogenic plants."

Maybe they did not know; but Walter assumed they just forgot to mention it.

Carefully he grabbed onto the beasts upper and lower jaw, releasing Elle's arm from its clutches before throwing the body to the side. Even more gently he took her arm, removing any torn pieces of cloth so he could examine the wound.

"Are you alright? How are you feeling?"
His voice was a bit quiet, assuming she might have a headache. Or something else could hear them. His eyes jumped from clearing the wound from cloth, to her own eyes.

[Luella Vaettir]

“They might not have known. It was my fault really. I should have been more careful,” Elle said, wincing as Walter took hold of the dog’s jaws and pulled them open. The relief of having the sharp fangs out of her arm was tremendous, but so was the bleeding from the wounds now too. She withdrew her arm, wincing and gripping her arm tightly. She was certain her salve wouldn’t fix this. “Aerin says I can be careless sometimes. I suppose he’s right. My carelessness has given him a lot of grief over the years.”

Elle let Walter take her arm and examine the wound, picking away debris from the wounds. She rubbed at her temple, her head aching slightly but slowly she felt like she was coming to her senses. Only ever so slowly though.

“I’ll be alright. I bet I can sleep this off when I get home. Or Aerin might have some sort of bottled something to help me,” she said, before giving Walter an apologetic smile. “Guess we’re even now, huh?” She gave a small laughed before looking to her arm. They’d have to stop the bleeding. She dug into her pouch tied to her hip, hoping for something to help. She had no healing potions left though. But she did have some gauze as a back-up. She pulled it out, hating how little she had, before looking to Walter.

“Are you okay? I saw one of them get you too,” she said, looking the knight over before seeing the wound on his shoulder. It looked mean, so hopefully it wouldn’t be infected. She wondered if those creatures were poisonous. She looked to the dog creature Walter tossed away before shaking her head. No way would she be able to accurately examine the thing with her head in this state.

[Walter Grace]

"How was either of us to know there was such a plant around here? This isn't exactly deep forest, you don't suspect those sorts of things," he muttered, satisfied with how much he had cleared off her arm. But it was heavily bleeding...

He took the gauze from her hand and began to wrap her arm up carefully. Even if it was just to slow down the bleeding for now. After wrapping her arm in that, he began ripping the bottom of his shirt; extra padding was never bad, after all.

"Sure I'm fine," he spoke. Seemingly back to normal he smirked, "Hurts like a bitch but I'll be fine. I've suffered worse than this."
He pointed to the scar on his face, running from his eyebrow, over his eyelid, and onto the bottom of his jaw.

The scar had come from a tamed lion attacking him; just one of the many careless scars he had unintentionally placed upon himself.
"You should see the ones on my side though; I had flown into a dummy, who just happened to have spikes on it. Not fun."

Not caring if she minded or not, he wrapped the now ripped off bottom of his shirt around the gauze. At least now things in the forest might not smell that much blood.

"We should probably get you to the infirmary..." he said, looking in the direction of where the bandits were probably still laying. "I can come back for those guys later. Don't suppose you're afraid of heights, are you?"

He expanded his wings, wincing a bit. He went a small shade of pink due to his wincing but attempted to ignore it as he flexed them a few times. Oh yeah, he could fly back like this.

[Luella Vaettir]

Elle giggled as Walter told her his little dummy mishap. She wouldn’t have thought him to make such mistakes, but he did because he was a person after all. She supposed it might be hard for many to remember that when he had such an intimidating presence. It was nice to see this side of Walter really. She liked this side a lot more than his normal self.

She flexed her arm a bit after Walter tended to it, satisfied with the bandage. She looked back towards where they left the bandits. She had completely forgotten about them honestly. Would leaving them be wise? What if some creatures attacked them? Walter probably didn’t care. Elle felt like she’d care more if it weren’t for the flowers or the damn dog things. She turned and picked up the real plant they had set out for. There was only the one but she supposed it was better than nothing.

“No, I’m fine. Heights don’t scare me too much,” Elle replied, moving to stand, falling back on her butt, before grunting and standing up. She wobbled in place a bit before managing to find her stability. She looked at Walter’s wings before reaching out to touch one. “I bet having wings is fun.”

[Walter Grace]

He extended an arm after she had fallen the first time, genuine concern falling on his face.
At the very least she kept her sense of humor, seeing as how she laughed at his small tale. Even Walter could not help but smile as she laughed. He did not want such an event to scar her or whatnot.

He let the woman touch his wings, and they twitched ever so slightly out of habit.

"It's more practical than fun," he spoke, before admitting, "But it is fun when you're flying with someone else."

Without meaning to he remembered his times flying with Denzel; his past lover, whom he had broken off their engagement with. The smile on his face dimmed ever so slightly, but he shooed the memories away.
We ended it. It's done. It's over. No more of this bullcrap.

"I don't suppose you would like to take any pit stops on the way to the infirmary?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. He hoped she would not mind him carrying her.

[Luella Vaettir]

Elle smiled, thinking how nice it’d be to be able to fly whenever you wanted. She supposed there would be spells that would allow her. Actually, she saw Aerin’s tutor, Valerian, summon wings that looked like an angel’s to fly about with before. Aerin himself could probably summon things like that, since summoning was his specialty. Maybe she’d peruse his spell books sometime and look for something she could do. That or fly with Meryl. Whichever.

“No, just take me to the infirmary. I imagine Aerin will have a fit once he finds out about this, but until then, I’d like to have my wounds tended to in peace,” she said softly, stepping up to Walter. Vlad would probably throw more of a fit than Aerin actually. Vlad was always quite protective of her. She wondered what he’d think when she told him she had a boyfriend who was half demon. That was a conversation she’d rather put off.

“Thank you for helping me, Walter. It’s very kind of you,” she added, smiling at the demon knight before bending to grab her dagger, which she nearly fell trying to do, then standing before him, waiting for him to grab her in whatever fashion he needed to.

[Walter Grace]

He was a bit relieved he would not have to fly her to see her brother first; for multiple reasons. One being he would probably be yelled at for bringing Elle home in this state. And Walter was not fond of yelling.

One thing he was also not used to was being thanked; he raised an eyebrow in surprise at the girl, rubbing at his sore shoulder slightly.
"It's...really not a problem. I wouldn't be a knight if I wasn't at least somewhat kind."

He smiled back, however, grateful for the thanks.

"Though really I should be thanking you. First you save my ass, then you find those damn herbs. Really, are you sure you're not a trained mercenary or something?" he asked, chuckling slightly. But he did not hesitate in picking the woman up.

She was, not surprisingly, relatively light, and he held her bridal-style. Really, the only way he could hold anyone comfortably.

It took mere seconds; first, a few pumps of his wings, and then they were higher than the trees. His shoulder stung from the constant motion of his back, but he ignored it. He really needed to get her to the infirmary.

"Do me a favour though, and don't mention my injury," he went a bit red as they moved forward towards the city.
"I'm not exactly a fan of infirmaries, not to mention I have to get those bandits back. And if they even notice my injury all of them will be on me, dragging me inside."

He nearly shuddered; of course, it had happened before. Not even the strength of a panicking demon could push past a bunch of mages and nurses determined to strap him down and heal his wounds.

[Luella Vaettir]

Elle giggled again as Walter asked if she were a trained mercenary or anything of the like. The idea was silly. Elle was a hunter, but the idea of hunting people was just horrible to her. She’d fight for loved ones though. She knew that. Her head swam as the knight picked her up, and she let her injured arm rest on her, the other around his neck, careful not to hit his sore spot.

“Nothing of the sort. I’m just a hunter. I can be deadly with a bow and arrow,” she said, looking down as they launched into the air, watching the ground shrink away from her. She smiled, seeing the trees grow small and the sky open up wide to them.

Elle looked at Walter as he asked his favor, and she tilted her head. Not mention his injury? Was he afraid of doctors? She supposed it was possible. She knew Aerin had a certain disdain for doctors, only because he had been to so many and treated by many, yielding in the end only his small ability to walk.

“I won’t say anything. But only if you promise to have someone look at it and patch you up properly,” Elle said. She didn’t want him to ignore the wound or not treat it.

[Walter Grace]

He raised an eyebrow once more, and his face scrunched up slightly. Oh boy did he hate infirmaries.
"As soon as I inform someone of those bandits and get those herbs to the castle, I will. Knights honor."

Though he did not exactly want to promise, at least going willingly was better than being forced. How Namari did it when she had her arm cut off, he still had no idea.

For a moment it was silent, only the chirp of the occasional bird and the beat of his wings. The city was close now, much easier to get to when flying of course. No trees to weave through. Relieve flooded through him; his shoulder was getting more sore the more he flew.

It was just to the infirmary now, and then the castle. Then doctors. He almost shuddered once more.

"Apologies for my attitude towards you earlier, by the way," he stated, having to admit to himself he was rather rude. Even he had to admit that if she were not the type of person she was, he might have been sold to a slave trader or something.

[Luella Vaettir]

Elle shut her eyes as the world seemed to fly past her. Ugh, she didn’t think it’d cause her head this much trouble. At least she felt better than before. It was like the further she got from the flowers, the better she felt. Good thing Walter had decided to help her find the herb he needed.

She opened her eyes and looked up at Walter as he made his apology to her. She thought it over a moment, almost unsure of what he was talking about, before remembering his more rough attitude towards her.

“Oh, it’s alright. I’m actually quite used to being treated like that,” she said, shrugging a little before looking down again, seeing the city beginning to pass below them now. Any minute they’d be at the infirmary. Well then, there she’d get patched up and go on about her day.

[Walter Grace]

He raised an eyebrow at her response; used to it? That did not sound pleasant. And in the presence of her brother, he was astounded to know Aerin never caught that. After all, Walter assumed Aerin would be the type to say a thing or two to someone being rude to his sister without warrant.

But he decided not to pry. Perhaps she was thinking of a specific event, perhaps she just felt that people in Avaleur just spoke that way. He did not know which one he would prefer.

The two flew in silence until they were above Avaleur, slowly flying to the ground as they approached the infirmary.
"Hopefully they don't keep you too long. And if it turns out to be venomous, you have my permission to tell them to hunt me down. I'd rather not randomly drop dead," he smirked, though he wasn't kidding.

It would be another hour at least to get things settled with the bandits and such. After he would get treatment, but that wouldn't exactly do him any good if he were poisoned.

He gently landed on the ground, wings folding in as they stood right outside of the infirmary.
"Can you walk?" he asked, unsure if he should walk her in or head right to the castle.

[Luella Vaettir]

Elle was glad to see the ground come close. She enjoyed flying, but she was bleeding through the make shift bandages now and she really wanted to get this over with.

“I don’t think they were venomous. If they were I don’t think they’d need hallucinogenic flowers to help them hunt,” Elle replied, smiling as they landed and she slipped out of his arms to stand on her own two feet. She wobbled in place a moment before catching herself.

“I’ll be fine. I can walk a few feet I think,” she said, smiling appreciatively at Walter before she leaned forward to give him a hug. “Thanks again Walter.”