chikaidestroyer | ∞ 53: Those in the dark [action/accidental sound]

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∞ 53: Those in the dark [action/accidental sound]

[A bedraggled figure slowly drags himself towards the edge of the village, swaying dangerously every few steps and having to stop to recover. Spatters of blood mar the normally white portions of his coat and darken the deep gray sections. Bloody strips of material hang loosely around his neck in place of his scarf, pulled loose after nearly suffocating on too tightly-wrapped bandages.

On Albert's forehead is a mark, dark against his pale skin. He finally kneels after swaying just a little too much, nearly collapsing as his head aches.

His journal drops from somewhere above, and the hooting of a small owl can be heard.]

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Don't give me that look. You've worn yourself out by coming this close to the village as it is.

First aid.

[She continues checking him over for any other injuries, though her gaze lingers over that mark on his forehead for more than a moment]

[Thankfully, the only other wounds he has are various bumps and bruises from trying to navigate his way through the forest; his injured neck is the most serious visible wound.

He shouldn't be surprised that coughing hurts. A lot. But he also wants to get moving; he can't fall asleep out here.]

First aid.

[Once satisfied that his other wounds aren't going to hinder them, Raine nods.]

All right. If you're ready, Yuri and I will help you up now.

[He nods stiffly, again looking at the quiet Yuri Lowell. He winces lightly as the damnable, but highly useful, little elf owl perches on his head.]

[~~After brushing off whatever dust was gathering on him from his epic adventures in Standing Around (tm),~~ Yuri nods and makes his way over to Albert's side, kneeling down. He figures the ol' "help them stand and walk them from point A to point B" method is the obvious way to go here, so he'll start that when Raine gets on the other side of Albert and is ready to go.]

Thank you, Yuri. On three then.

[A time for more talking will come later, after all. For now, Raine moves to Albert's other side and gets herself into position.]

Careful, now... one, two... three.

[And on three, he helps lift Albert to a standing position. The guy's taller than Yuri, but thankfully not by too much, so this isn't too difficult.]

... Let's go.

[Albert's legs complain as they are forced to move from their stiff positioning. Albert winces and curls his hands into what he can grab-- clothing, stray strands of hair--as he stumbles and tries to adjust his sense of balance. He ends up leaning more heavily on Yuri than Raine.]

[Regardless, Raine supports him as best as she can, and waits until the three of them have balanced themselves and started those first few steps before speaking again]

We're going to our house, Yuri.

[Silly Raine, you speak as if he remembers where that is. Not the time to say that though, so he'll just nod and watch where Raine's going very carefully.]

Right.

[Just let the tiny professor and the injured guy lead the way, Yuri. You've been through stranger situations before.]

[Oh, Yuri. At least the way is fairly straightforward, and it's easier for Raine to take the lead since Yuri's doing more of the supporting. She's also keeping an eye on Albert's condition in case this does prove to be too much exertion for him.]

[Albert can't exactly complain about the exertion, and he's too focused on keeping his footsteps fairly steady on the way back. The healing helped with his breathing, which was really what had been crippling him on his way back to the village. And if he closes his eyes, his head doesn't hurt as much...

Trying to be optimistic is a pain.]

[As long as he doesn't show any signs of stumbling... in any case, they seem to be making reasonable time. Slow, but careful enough. That doesn't keep her from worrying, though.]

... Albert, are you all right, or do you need a break?

[There's that vaguely annoyed look again. He shoots Raine an impatient glance before shutting his eyes again.]

[He caught that one. He'd tell Albert off for glaring when Raine's trying her best, but he'll just chalk it up to the fact that he's in pain.]

I guess that means we keep going.

... Indeed. [She sighs a little]

It shouldn't be too much longer, in any case. It's the farthest house to the right, with the stable outside of it.

[Farthest house to the right ... yep, he sees it. Yay for knowing where he's going now!]

Alright, I see it.

Good.

[Directions are your friend, Yuri. Now that that's taken care of, Raine goes back to monitoring Albert's progress anyway, mentally running over how to make him more comfortable once they arrive at the house.]

[Albert's breathing is growing increasingly labored, but he simply clenches his jaw and continues walking. He can feel a slight slap of wind in the face as Rune takes off, and he opens his eyes to see the owl disappear somewhere. They're soon at the door of the house.]

[Mission mostly complete. Awesome. Yuri makes sure his grip on Albert is good enough before glancing over at Raine.]

I've got him. Go ahead and open the door.

[Raine frowns at Albert's declining stamina and the change in his breathing, but at least they're at the door now. She'll take care of him in just a few moments -- nodding to Yuri, she slowly detaches herself and steps to the front door, turning the knob and holding it open for the men.]

Easy now. This way... his room is down at the end of the next hall.

[So close now. For a moment, Albert grumbles to himself about having the room farthest from the front door, but ... whatever. Lead the way, folks.]

[Righto. Double-checking his grip first, Yuri leads Albert inside the house, glances around quickly, and starts to steer Albert in the direction of the room Raine indicated.]

[The house itself is fairly straightforward; through the living room, then turning the corner to the hallway, heading down...]

At the end here. [She moves ahead to open his door for the two of them; whatever scuffle had been in the room has been straightened up by now.] Almost there, now.

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