(Alright!)
Unseen by the guards, Kade staggered through the gate, into the massive courtyard. He clutched his side, where a deep wound stood out against his skin, now pale from blood loss. He groaned and managed to limp into the castle through one of his secret passages that only he knew about. He really didn't want anyone to see him like this, weak and hurt.
The passage came out into his room, and he collapsed onto the chair near the door, which was all he had energy for.
After he had regained his sanity and turned back into his real form, he had discovered the commander laying next to him, impaled through his own spear. And Kade had been wounded on his side, which was strange. His scales shouldn't have been broken through… who was this commander?
He had travelled back, carefully, binding his wound with a piece of the commander's robes.
And now he was here, deathly wounded.
Jack had been waiting. And waiting. For Kade to come back. He'd been pacing in his room. He didn't know why he was so worried, but he was and had resorted to pacing to try and get out all his nervous energy.
When he couldn't take it anymore, he'd grabbed a medical kit and rushed to Kade's chambers. The possibility of being kicked out was high but he didn't care. He made it to his room, knocked and without a real invitation to come in, opened the door and did so. The sight of him so badly injured had him almost in tears as he rushed over.
Kade managed a faint smile at the sight if Jack. "What's all the rush? Were you really that desperate to see me without a shirt on?" Even injured, he still managed to crack jokes. For some reason, the sight of Jack soothed him, making his wound hurt a bit less. A surge if affection shot through him.
Jack didn't even glare like he probably normally would have, "I just want to patch you up and prevent you from dying." he mumbled, kneeling in front of him once he'd found a bowl of warm water. He grabbed a pair of scissors, cutting Kade's shirt open so he had better access to the wound.
"Who says I'm going to die?" Kade asked, voice faint, but amused. It felt good. It was weird. He normally hated other people trying to help patch him up, but there was something peaceful about Jack.
"Kade please, for once in your life take this seriously." Jack was more worried then he was letting on, but the way his voice very nearly cracked gave it all away. He grabbed a cloth, dunking it in the warm water and draining the excess liquid before he pressed it gently against the wound.
"Why? Does my making jokes bother you?" He hissed through his teeth as the water was applied to his wound. "It's called a defense mechanism." It hurt. A lot. But the only sign of pain he would allow himself to show was the clenching of his jaw.
Jack bit down on his bottom lip to stop it from trembling. It scared him how much he cared. How he didn't want to lose Kade. He worked on cleaning the wound, making sure there wasn't any dirt or extra blood before he whispered a soft, "I'm sorry."
It hurt. A lot. It felt a little bit like there was a hot iron digging deep into his flesh, any moment about to stab completely through him and end his life. But Jack was here. So it was okay. Kade shrugged, the movement sending a blaze of pain through him. He heard Jack;s words and raised an eyebrow. "About what?" He asked, trying to act normal.
"This. You…" A sigh left his hips as he placed the cloth down, "You shouldn't have been injured. There shouldn't have been a battle to begin with." He grabbed some creams, making sure they were cold before he gently placed them on the cut.
"It's part of life," he murmured. "Especially the life of a warrior. Battles, war, sacrifice, that's what most of it is. It hurts, I know, but that's just life."
"Well it's wrong. No one should have to be in this much pain." He rubbed his hands together once he felt how hot the wound was, warming up his magic. He gently placed his hands above the cut, letting the cold wash over Kade.
Kade sucked in a breath, but made no other noise. "You're right. They shouldn't. But that's what happens. So all we can do is protect others, to bear the brunt of it so they don't have to."
The small male nodded a little in agreement, though his attention was now fully focused on the wound so he didn’t reply. Once he was happy the wound had cooled, he grabbed a needle and thread, beginning to stitch up the wound.
Kade looked down at his wound, the simple motion of his head sending shooting pains through him. Jack had made the wound cool, to numb the pain, but it didn't help the inside. It was feeling better than if he had done it himself.
There wasn’t much else Jack could do for the pain. Apart from trying to find some painkillers or something to help ward off infection. He made sure the wound was probably stitched up before he grabbed the bandage, slowly starting to wrap it round Kade’s middle to secure it.
"You should have been a healer," Kade chuckled. "Where did you learn to do things like this?"
Jack opened is mouth to reply before he shut it, “I.. If I wanted to live then I had to learn. Practice and lots of reading.”
"Reading? You read? How ever did you manage to find the time for that?" Kade shook his head. "I haven't read in years."
“When you have books shoved in your face it’s kind of hard not to.” Jack sat back on his heels.
"Books shoved in my face? Yeah, I've never had that happen to me." Kade shook his head. The wound felt better, although every move he made still sent a burst of pain through him. "You should sleep."
Jack shook his head slightly, “No. I’m fine. If anyone needs sleep it’s you.” He said, packing up his things.
"I'll be fine," Kade said, shaking his head. "You've probably been awake longer than I have."
“Kade you’ve been badly injured, you need just as much rest as I do,” He looked up at him, almost pleading, “Please.”
"Fine. Only if you sleep, too," he said, relenting. Only Jack could make him do something like that. Plus, a few hours of rest didn't sound so bad, now that he thought about it.
