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"Okay. Just tell me how to help, and I'll do it."
The first bandit to stagger in had a bleeding head wound which he was determinedly blotting with his wadded up jacket. He sat down just before he lost his balance and laid on his good side rather abruptly, looking a little spaced out. Shiv winced. "Uh-oh. Sometimes people act funny after they been hit on the head."
Tanrial scrunched her nose up a little and then sighed, "First things first we need to clean the wound, could you fetch me some clean water… or as clean as you can find, please?" She asked, moving closer to the wounded male.
"Kay." Shiv squeezed past then and dashed outside, disappearing into the evening shadows. The man with the head wound eyed Tanrial dazedly, letting his hand drop limply from his head. "Doesn't hurt too bad," he mumbled. "You shoulda seen the other guy."
Tanrial sighed, "It doesn't matter how bad it hurts and you shouldn't compare your pain to other peoples. Head wounds bleed more then the rest of the body so hopefully yours isn't as bad is it looks."
"Yeah, okay, uh-huh," he agreed, although it wasn't entirely clear if he'd really registered what she'd said. "I unnerstand perfectly, Doc. Don't compare your blood to th' rest of your body, cuz it's just as bad as it looks."
Shiv returned, carrying a pail of water. "Here, I found some, and I can get more when you need it."
Tanrial nodded her thanks to Shiv. Picking up a small rag, she placed it into the water, ringing out the excess liquid before gently applying the cloth to the wound. Once the rag was bloodied she cleaned it as best she could in the bucket and repeating until she could see the injury.
Luckily, the wound turned out to be relatively small and shallow, although there were signs of very bad bruising and scraping all around the cut itself. Besides that injury, the bandit had several others on his face and forearms, but they were all minor in comparison.
Tanrial didn't think that small cut needed any magic to be used. It would be a waste to use it on something so small. She opted just for some stitches to seal the wound up, making sure to be careful around the bruising.
The man barely seemed to notice what she was doing. After a while of mumbling incoherently to himself, his eyes drifted shut and he finally lapsed into unconsciousness.
Shiv watched intently, chewing her nails. "What are you gonna do if he's acting weird when he wakes up?"
Tanrial sighed, scratching at her head, "Well… I'll give him something for it.. hopefully he's fine when he wakes up, the blood loss is probably just getting to him."
"Okay." Shiv nodded. "Um….where do we put him until he's better? There's not much room in here…."
"Is there a tree we can prop him up against outside, maybe? There's not enough space in here for everybody like you said…"
Shiv peeked out the door. "I think so, and there's lots of empty space right next to us that has really soft-looking grass on it." She noticed something else and flinched, quickly ducking back into the shed. "Uh….Boar-back's walking towards us. What if I get in trouble? Y'know, for…..hanging around when I wasn't s'posed to?"
Tanrial frowned slightly, "I don't see what it should be a problem but then again… he could do anything. I'll take he blame if he gets mad, you shouldn't get in trouble because I asked you to help."
Shiv practically jittered in place with nerves. "O-okay."
A moment later, Boar-back loomed in the doorway, as predicted. He had a slight cut on his arm and his hand looked like it had been bitten, but he was otherwise unscathed and seemed to barely notice the injuries. He crouched down to consider the unconscious bandit in front of Tanrial, not yet realizing that Shiv was present.
"Will he live?" he asked somewhat indifferently.
Tanrial nodded, leaning back on her hands, "It was only a small cut to the back of the head. He lost a lot of blood but it's nothing dangerous. So yes, he will live."
Boar-back grunted. "If he wakes up before I get to him, tell him he's been promoted. He risked his life to defend me today…..if you look at it from a certain angle and ignore the fact that I didn't need help at all." He was about to leave again when he spotted Shiv, who was way back in the corner, twisting and untwisting her fingers into the hem of her shirt.
The scarred man's eyes narrowed. "She's not supposed to be here. Did you really both forget that quickly?"
Tanrial rolled her eyes, "She's helping, not doing any harm. I can't deal with all these people by myself, I need at least one person and Shiv's been a real help."
Boar-back tilted his head, staring at Shiv silently for a moment. "This one? Helpful? I'm having a little trouble believing you. She can't even take a life, let alone save one."
"Yeah well she helped me stitch this guy up," She jerked a thumb towards the other bandit, "She's not as stupid as you're making her out to be."
He considered them both with little sympathy, then started to shake his head. But before he could say anything, a different voice broke in from outside.
"S'cuse me, chief…." One of the injured bandits stepped forward and attempted a pained, nervous smile. "Real sorry to interrupt, an' all, and I don't mean to rush you, acourse, but d'ya think maybe I could squeeze in there and get fixed up real quick? My, uh…..my leg reeeally hurts, see." He stepped back again, out of grabbing range.
Boar-back sighed. "Fine. Shiv can stay, if you really think you need her. But I don't need to bother telling you what happens if I catch you two plotting anything, do I?"
Tanrial raised her hands in defence, “We would never. Um… do me a favour and get this guy outta here? Just rest him out side. There’s not enough room in here for everyone.”
The bandit chief must have been in a good mood after the raid, because he shrugged and did as she asked. He could have been a lot more gentle about it, but at least he didn't bash the injured man's head against anything on the way out. "I'll be back later to check on your work."
The next bandit quickly slunk inside, putting very little weight on one leg. "Uhh, hey. How's it going? I have an arrow through my angle."
(Hey, sorry I've been so slow recently, it's nearing semester change over and I'm really busy so… yeah… sorry..)
Tanrial looked down at his ankle and scrunched up her face, "Alright, well, sit and I'll pull it out and patch it up." She rubbed her hands together, warming up her magic.
(It's okay fam! ^^ I miss you, but I totally understand and I don't want you to worry about me if you're already probably stressed about school stuff. I hope you're life's going as smoothly as can be expected during such busy times XD)
The man took a huge gulp of air and slowly lowered himself to the ground, cursing under his breath if his leg got jostled even slightly. Shiv scooted forward to get a better look, seeming not at all queasy at the sight. "What d'you want me to do?"