Welcome to Gaia! ::

Owwww...

Lessia had no idea how long she'd been unconscious; it could have been minutes or hours, given the continued throbbing in her head and certain other pains which barely registered at the moment. Peering through bleary eyes she looked about with her head still on the ground. Nothing there, other than a bloody sight she'd sooner rather avoid. Quickly, she raised her head to look away, only to wince again at the pain brought on by the swift motion. She was vaguely aware of the warm trickle of blood making it's way down the side of her head, and she almost unconsciously reached up to feel the source with one wing. That was another mistake, as the limb had been broken in at least one place during her last fight, and she had to fight the urge to cry out at the sudden onslaught of pain. Obviously there would be no cliff diving for a while...

Cliff diving!

Instantly, her eyes were wide and alert, her own pains and injuries shunted to the side for the time being. With only minimal winces, she drew herself to her feet, taking note of the large gashes at her flanks and neck as she did so. Her legs all seemed to be fine, if a bit throbby; she'd been kicked a time or two, and not always by Kalona. Well, it wasn't like she could blame anyone, she thought with a wry smile; she DID look like a pureblood Kalona. Was that why she was still alive, and not another fallen corpse on the battlefield? Had the Kalona assumed she was one of them and left her be? Or had she just managed to fool them into thinking she was dead by virtue of her unconsciousness and profusely bleeding head wound?

There would be time to sort that ought later. For now, she needed to find Seyx!

~~~

The day had started out so promising, originally. Lessia and Seyx had been having a merry round of waterstriding across the river, just on the edge of the forest and a massive clearing. Lessia had just skipped her way across, and turned with a laugh to encourage her friend when she was violently charged by what proved to be an enraged unicorn. His horn had been her first wound of the day, driving deeply into her shoulder before she'd had a chance to even register what was happening. And more to the point, he hadn't been alone; with him was what could only be described as a mob of Soquili, all charged with emotion and apparently, determined to do her in.

It was lucky for everyone that Seyx was with her, otherwise the situation would have gotten messy very fast. Before the alicorn had a chance to break through, Lessia had been forced to lash out at her attackers, drawing blood on more than one would-be hero and forcing them back just enough to allow Seyx to burst into the ring, his small body practically quivering with rage.

"What the hell is wrong with you all? Why are you attacking us, what did we ever do to you??" The appearance of an alicorn, and a small one to boot, ardently defending the Kalona mare, had not been what the herd expected, and the attack was halted. While everyone was busy healing up, Lessia and Seyx heard for the first time of the Massacre of the Kawani village and the surrounding territories, and learned of the murderous intentions of the Kalona herd. They also learned that Lessia's group of attackers was preparing to face down a large group of the Kalona invaders and drive them back; seeing Lessia, they had assumed her to be a member of the invading force.

In the end, forgiveness had been passed all around, and the unicorn who had originally attacked Lessia asked earnestly if she and Seyx wouldn't consider joining them. Numbers were important, and they both had natural advantages that could really mean a lot to the Kawani side.

The two had considered briefly, but Lessia would not consider Seyx going anywhere near the battle site; he was a peaceful creature by nature who knew practically nothing of fighting, and he was small to boot. For his part, Seyx felt it was suicidal for Lessia to join a large-scale fight against creatures who looked exactly like her; even if some of their allies knew her to be on their side, the Kawani herd was simply too large to all be alerted. She was in as much danger from 'friendly fire' as she was from any Kalonas fangs.

That had been the rational arguements, and both had agreed there was merit in their respective viewpoints. They had just begun to make their explanations when the Kalona had appeared...

~~~

Lessia had tried to drive Seyx back, but it was too late for them to make a break for it. Kalona were everywhere, on foot and on wing, and even the swiftest of winds would have had a hard time making a break for it. As they looked around, both mare and stallion realized what a dire situation they had walked into. Lowering his head, Seyx gave Lessia's shoulder a bump. "Take care of yourself, Lessia, and watch your rear. Don't let any of the regulars or unis take you down, and don't worry about defending anyone but yourself."

She had been about to respond with a snarky comment of her own and warn him to keep an eye on her rear for her when what he said finally clicked. "Don't you even think about-" She began in a warning undertone, before he cut her off with a shake of his head. "We both know you'll be fine on your own. And as for me...I may be small, but I'm fast. I'll be fine; you need to concentrate." Before Lessia could say anything else, Seyx had slipped off into the herd and vanished.

~~~~

She had lost track of him in moments, and it wasn't much longer before the Kalona had attacked. Just as they had predicted, Lessia was attacked on more than one occassion by a member of her own Alliance. She usually managed to extricate herself without having to cause too much damage, usually by wheeling and attacking one of the rampaging Kalona. At first, she had had a great deal of success taking on the Kalona; thinking she was one of them, they weren't expecting her to attack! But as the crowd of fighters thinned and the Kalona realized what was going on, she had finally lost her edge. Eventually, she had lost her fight.

But now it was all over; looking around the field of combat, she saw only a few scattered fights remaining. She was badly injured, bleeding, and broken, but first things first. She had to find her friend. Setting her mouth in a grim line, she began the painful process of hunting through the dead and wounded.

~~~

It was slow going, and after a time she began to hope and believe that he had managed to escape the field of combat entirely. But as she made her way back to the far edge of the field, near where they had first been pulled into this drama, a small patch of sky blue caught her eye. As quickly as she could, she made her way over to where a large Kalona mare lay dead, pierced through the neck by a horn. The mare lay draped over Seyx, who lay completely still.

Involtuntarily, Lessia's eyes widened. Her siblings had always teased her about her freakishly pale eyes, which at first glance appeared completely lacking in pupils. Because they were simply white, it wasn't often any true emotion could be read in them. But now was not one of those times.

Gashes and broken bones be damned.

Snarling, Lessia threw her shoulder into the body of the mare, attempting to dislodge it from on top of her friend. He was so small and the mare so large, he had to be in great pain. Because of course he was in pain. The only alternative...

No, he was in pain. And she would help him, darn it all! A few more body slams moved the body a bit, but only really served to worsen Lessia's injuries and accomplish nothing. On to plan B. Reaching up, she sank her teeth as far as she could into the mare's neck and slowly and painfully began to pull her off. She WOULD do this, she WOULD.

Lessia wasn't feeling particularly amenable to being ordered about at the moment, regardless of the reasoning behind it. Still, it was obvious she wasn't having much luck, and she was hardly going to look a gift horse in the mouth when it came to an offer for help. All that her latest effort had got her was a mouthful of blood and a slightly more mangled body to deal with, and her adrenaline rush would only last so long.

She had been so focused on her task that she hadn't noticed the stallion's approach until he was nearly within striking range, so she supposed she should be grateful he was an ally and not an enemy...regardless of which side he'd been on during the battle. She could only imagine what a tantalizing target she must present to the bloody minded; injured and distracted, what could be more appealing for one lusting for a kill?

Maintaining her mouthful of Kalona, she eyed the stallion for a moment before nodding as well as she could without releasing her grip. The dead mare was rather heavy, but it was much easier to try and keep her head up than move her entire body!

~~~~

Groan...

Seyx couldn't recall the last time he'd felt this terrible. His grace, perceptiveness, and natural sense of timing had usually allowed him to sidestep anything that might cause him serious harm, so he'd have to think back really hard to think of a time he'd felt even a fraction as poorly as he did right now. It was probably the first time he'd gone cliff-diving above solid ground instead of a body of water, in retrospect; he'd gotten cocky and failed to slow himself enough on the drop, causing him to smack the ground hard enough to crack a couple ribs and injure his wings.

He only wished he felt that good at the moment, upon further reflection.

As he slowly regained consciousness, pain coursed through his body. Even the act of breathing was immeasurably painful, and the act itself took incredible effort. He felt as though he was trapped in a giant vice, which was slowly crushing his lungs and forcing every bit of breath out of his body.

In another moment, he realized he couldn't move at all, and panic started to set in. All he could see was darkness, the mare's body (which he hadn't yet realized was there) having fallen so that her mane felt thick and dark over his face. He couldn't see, couldn't move...was this how it felt to die? Was he even now lying, blind and paralyzed and injured, among the dead and dying?

He was not denied all of his senses, though he didn't know if that was a good thing or not. The acrid taste of blood filled his mouth, and its smell assaulted his nostrils. He could also hear faint noises, like the sound of a fast moving river, or the falling of rain...nothing he could really make out or understand.

He tried one more time to raise himself, but the weight in his limbs held him fast. All he gained was a increase in the crushing pressure on his lungs, and he was struggling to breathe even more than he had been before. Perhaps he ought to just go back to sleep...

He was teetering on the edge, feeling the blackness and breathlessness push him closer to the sweet painlessness of unconsciousness when two things happened at once. First, a sharp, stabbing pain, as though a he had been slashed by a knife, ran through his body from neck to ankle. The stabbing pain was accompanied by the sensation of something trying to peel his skin off, which was not pleasant by any means. Involuntarily, he hissed with pain, then cried out as the sharpness increased.

However, as he cried out, almost completely overwhelmed by the pain, a thought registered somewhere in the back of his mind: he could breathe.

Although he was unable to keep himself silent, his conscious mind latched onto his breath as though to a lifeline in a storm. Each cry or groan or hiss was preceded with an expansion of his lungs, and the sweet taste of air. It wasn't perfect; the air tasted of blood, and one attempt at a deep breath was enough to make him cry out at a new kind of pain. But breath was breath, and shallow breaths were better than nothing.

~~~

He had no idea how long the painful dragging and stabbing sensations lasted; for all he knew, it could have been hours. But with as much suddenness as it started, it stopped, and he was left to the throbbing pain of before which, upon reflection, wasn't really that bad now that he'd experienced the raking pain. At least his skin wasn't being ripped off any more...

It was only after the end of the dragging pain he realized his eyes were closed. With monumental effort, he cracked on eye, the eye that seemed to be facing 'up'. The daylight was almost dazzling in its brilliance, and his first reaction was to close his eye. But then he opened it again, aware that he was being regarded with a great deal of concern by a face he knew very well, although it normally didn't look that bad...

His facial muscles was numb, so he couldn't tell if he managed the half-smile he was attempting as he croaked out in a whispering, painful rasp, "You...look...lie...hell."

~~~

It had taken all of Lessia's strength to keep her grip on the mare's neck. The blue stallion's arrival had been beyond timely, and as she strained to assist with the rescue process she was acutely aware that, without his help, she would have had no chance of rescuing Seyx. Adrenaline coursed through her blood, but her own injuries and the seemingly hopeless tangle of the kalona mare made the task Herculean at best, insurmountable at worst.

However, the blue stallion had taken point on the rescue and managing what she had not: moving the corpse. Together, they dragged the body off of Seyx's, Lessia wincing as wing spikes, horns, and hooves were raked over whatever injuries Seyx already had. It must have hurt like hell. And if Seyx's noises were any indication, it did.

But the first cry, for all that it twisted Lessia's heart like a knife, was a balm as well: if he could cry, then he was alive! And each new expression of pain added strength to her body and her spirit.

Finally, the corpse was off of him, and she could release her bloody burden. If she'd looked bad before, she looked even worse now; the bloody head wound was oozing down the side of her fact, and her muzzle was dripping with blood from her death grip on the mare. One wing was broken and dragging, and more blood oozed from numerous bites and lacerations on her torso, flanks, and neck. The sight of her, bloody and battered amidst the carnage of battles, was probably enough to fuel the nightmares of a normal Soquili for years to come.

But she didn't even wipe her mouth before turning anxiously to Seyx, peering down at him with undisguised anxiety. He looked terrible; one of his legs was bent at a funny angle, and the wing on his upward sides was pitfully crumped. He had blood everywhere, what looked to be a horn puncture in his neck, some unsettling lumps around his ribcage, and he looked like he'd been flattened...but he was alive. And after a heart-pounding moment of silence, he was even able to crack a joke about HER appearance!

Making a strangled sound halfway between a cough, a gasp, and laughter, she managed to give her friend a wide smile, her gleaming fangs only adding to the disturbance of her appearance. "Like you're one to talk...but don't even try, Seyx. You're in pretty bad shape, so you should save your throat, and your breath. But you're going to be ok."

The last was said with such fierce determination that fire practically blazed from Lessia's ghostly eyes. He was alive, and he WOULD be ok. They both would!

But now that the adrenaline was wearing off, she was starting to feel very unwell herself. Throbbing pain in her limbs and head was making itself known, and she was acutely aware of a lightheadedness she'd intended to shake off. "Maybe I'll just lie down, too..." She said, before more or less collapsing onto the ground beside her friend. "But no sleep. No sleep..."

((I'll let you bring in one of yours wink ))

"Damn, you've made your point." Lessia's tone at being prodded was gruff, but it was more a reaction to everything else going on than any real upset at what could only be a good thing. Her focus latched onto the 'no sleep' edict, realizing that she could not let herself lapse off any more than she could let Seyx. It was wonderful her friend was alive, and almost more than she could have hoped after that first horrible glance. But how long could he stay that way without help? Once again, she blessed her lucky stars that the blue..whatever sort of stallion he was had been around to help, because she herself was no healer. That was usually Seyx's job, but she doubted he had the energy to heal a bug, let alone the most minor of his own wounds. He needed help, and she probably needed help herself. But she couldn't leave him alone...

So she nodded after the blue stallion to acknowledge she both heard and understood. He had helped them so far, in spite of having perfect opportunities to attack. She had no reason to do anything less than trust him, so she would focus on the task at hand: Keeping them both awake.

She gave Seyx a critical look, then gently nudged his face with her nose. "I mean it now, you; no talking of any kind, but no sleeping, either. It's your fault we're stuck here for now, so you're going to stay awake and take responsibility for it!"

~~~

Seyx had to admit that sleep sounded good, but he was coherent enough to know that he couldn't allow himself to drift off. The crushing pressure was off his lungs and he could breath again, but now that he no longer had that distraction he was much more aware how badly he was injured. His whole body throbbed, ached, and grated, and he was aware of the steady oozing of body out of a few choice body parts. Not the throat, thank goodness, but there were definitely a few wounds that needed the soonest possible attention.

He conceded the logic of not speaking, but gave gave his friend a smile for her efforts to keep him amused. It was pretty hard to find amusement in the current situation, but it was totally a Lessia thing to try and do.

Emboldened by the smile, Lessia continued to carry on the in the same vein. Seyx had always taken her jibes and humor with an air of dignified patience, often thwarting her attempts at humor by giving her what could only be called a "Look." Consequently, she wasn't too worried about causing him to cause further injury to himself by laughing. A smile seemed a positive thing, and had the benefit of being simple and subtle. Badly injured as he was, she doubted there were any muscles he's tweaked do badly he couldn't show any expression!

"That's right, Seyx, you heard me. I hold you accountable for this mess, because it was your idea to go waterstriding today." This comment earned her an ever-so-slightly raised eyebrow, so she was quick to elaborate. "After all, you didn't want to go cliff diving, or mountain climbing, or flying to the waterfall to ride it down. Really, after being so obstinate about everything else, is it any wonder we ended up waterstriding? And if we hadn't been in this general area, we never would have ended up in this fight, and if we hadn't ended up in this fight, we'd both look a lot more attractive right now."

This comment earned her what verged on a snort, other than the fact Seyx simply couldn't muster enough wind to pull off the vocalization. Even the attempt had her frowning at him, a snort could cause him additional pain he didn't need. Still, she had to concede his point. "I realize that we're not the most glamerous pair on a good day, but surely even you, Mister Fastidious, can concede there is a difference between dirt and dishevelment, and your own blood! My hunting doesn't count because one, I am a tidy eater, two, I always wash thoroughly afterward, and three, that's never my own blood. I realize not all of this is my blood, but enough of it is to make a girl self-conscious."

Another 'look' made her grin, and she continued the incredibly one-sided conversation with ease. "Hey, don't you take that tone with me, boy. I AM a girl, and just as capable of being self-conscious as anyone. The fact I usually choose not to be has little to no bearing on the subject as it currently stands." She was particularly proud of that little gem, so getting no response at all was a bit nonplussing. "Seyx?" Frowning, she scooted a little closer and gave him a light nudge. "Seyx, don't you dare start acting like that again, we both have to stay awake and alert!" No response, another nudge. "Come on, Seyx, you're going to make me emotional again, and we both know how much we hate that..."