Under The Full Moon

Tending Wounds

Toby met Gale as she burst through the trees and into the campsite, the older man frowning as he watched her, his eyes widening as he noticed she was carrying someone on her back. He called for Dillan, the young man running over to help him. Gale lowered down toward the ground, drooping her wings as Toby went to her side, gently wrapping an arm around Wysteria's shoulders and another tucking under her legs as he lifted her. Carrying her to one of the sleeping areas, Dillan followed. "Make sure she's not bleeding anymore from any of her cuts, and if she is, use this and put pressure on it," Toby spoke, handing a cloth to Dillan before he hurried to get a kit that had been put together by Wysteria herself. Gale followed Toby and Dillan, her ears back in concern. She peered over Dillan's shoulder as he checked over her wounds and placed the cloth over one of the deeper injuries in her side. Gale sat as she was, watching over Wysteria protectively until Toby returned with the kit. 

The dragon stepped aside as the older man passed her, watching as he set to doing as Wysteria had shown them to do in the event that something happened and she wasn't readily available to help. Broin ran to Dillan and Toby when he and the group of villagers finally reached the campsite, coming to a stop beside Gale. "How is she?" He puffed, his breath heavy from running. Gale briefly turned her gaze to Broin before she looked back to Wysteria. She was still and silent, and though there was a rise and fall of her chest that signaled she was still alive, it was shallow.

"Hard to say right now. She has a few really deep wounds and has lost a lot of blood," Toby mumbled as he checked over the cuts and scratches on Wysteria's skin. Gently, he moved aside the cloth that Dillan was holding over one of the injuries, placing some of the herbal paste that Wysteria had made over the cut. Once it was cleaned and packed, he wrapped a bandage around her body to cover the wound and keep it from getting dirty again. Toby sat back away from the young woman as he finished, wiping some of the herbal paste off his fingers and onto another cloth. "There. Let her rest and we'll keep an eye on her. Hopefully, she'll regain herself in a couple of days," He said, looking up to Gale and Broin from where he crouched beside the woman. Gale's eyes were locked on her friend, almost as though if she looked away she would vanish again. Toby gave Dillan a soft pat on the shoulder. "Let's go get cleaned up and let her rest," He spoke softly, getting up from where he was crouched so he could put away the herbal paste and the bandages. Dillan got up to follow after he gave Gale a brief, apologetic expression. 

"Gale," Broin spoke softly, setting the staff beside the dragon. "I'm leaving this with you... I don't want to run the risk of anyone trying to sneak in here and take it," He looked from the staff to the dragon again, her eyes having not so much as twitched away from Wysteria. His hand patted her shoulder gingerly before he moved to leave, giving Gale some space. The dragon didn't move for a few minutes before she finally laid down close to Wysteria, her head rested on her paws. She knew that the wolf creatures might have something to do with the Crone... how else would they have been able to get a hold on Wysteria? No one else could. Not wanting to think about it, Gale diverted her attention back to the young woman. She was just glad she was back and hoped that she recovered. Closing her eyes, Gale tried to relax. Try as she might, she was unable to keep her thoughts from straying too far. She found herself wondering if the man that she and Broin had seen might have something to do with the Crone as well. He had said that Wysteria was being dealt with... what else could it have been? 

Snorting, Gale opened her eyes and lifted her head, looking toward the woods. Her expression gave away that she was anything but thrilled. She was on the verge of going to look for the Crone herself, though she knew it wasn't a good idea. It didn't stop her from wanting to do it. She gave a low grumble, still very much annoyed. The villagers and her friends alike could see this, their wary gazes on her from a distance. They didn't want to get in her way. They had seen an increase in the anger in the dragon, and it wasn't something they wanted to provoke. She was getting sick of the fighting. They all were. However, they all knew that there was still one more obstacle to get through... 

The Crone. She was the last one alive that knew how to undo the curse put on Gale, at the very least enough that she could return home and be with her father again. Some of the villagers doubted that the fight was going to take place, some seeing the way that Gale was now as the Crone's way of punishing her for taking Grimora and Alerone out of the picture. With the two of them gone, the Crone couldn't easily make anymore dragons, though the idea had been Alerone's in the beginning. It was still an idea that suited the Crone and she had willingly gone along with it. The thoughts of what had happened to not only herself now, but the villagers that had been lost and now what had happened to Wysteria, made Gale angry. Baring her teeth at the forest, she gave a low, rumbling growl before she tried to force the thoughts out of her head. It wasn't going to do any good to dwell on something that she couldn't change. All they could do was try to make the future better. Gale needed to remind herself of this.

Trying again to rest in the event that something happened, Gale forced herself to lay her head down, her eyes closing once more. Her attempts of rest went on as nothing more than attempts for a while before the dragon finally fell into an exhausted sleep, her ears slowly dropping to the sides of her head, her wings lowering ever so slightly. Broin watched from a ways away before he finally braved standing beside Gale again. Tenderly, he reached out and set his hand between her antlers, rubbing the top of her head in a loving manner. "Things will be alright. I know it may not seem like it now, but it will be alright," he whispered, his fingers smoothing through her fur before he sat down beside her, studying Wysteria for a moment before he sighed and leaned back against Gale's side. 

The dragon was in such a state of sleep that she hadn't registered him touching her at all, or the comforting words that had been spoken to her. She was ready to be back in the world she knew, and to be away from the world that had a hold on her, and it was beginning to wear her out.