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 Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 6:34 am
Can a Kalona ever truly be on the side of good?
Forget slowed down; while Antony's eyes were locked on Loveless', it was as if time had completely stopped. He could see the flurry of emotions race across her face before her jaw set and the horror and shock were replaced by something he hadn't seen on his lifemate for years: unbridled rage. It was a terrifying and reassuring look at the same time, and he found himself wondering what the fallout would be for her after this. To his knowledge, this was the first time she'd seen battle since the Dark Time, and he hoped it wouldn't loose any old demons...
Because Loveless would come out of this alive. She had to, she had to. Himself, however...
Time had resumed again, albeit at an agonizingly slow pace. He could see Loveless dig in and start to move towards him, but she was moving too slowly. Too slowly to get there before the hooves fell. He really ought to check out the progress of those hooves, now that he was thinking about it.
Tearing his gaze away from Loveless, he glanced back up at the attacking Kalona...just in time to witness Corsant slam into him, head down and horns up. Tony could see Cor's horns drive up into the Kalona's chest, and hear the rage and pain in the Kalona's voice as he was driven backwards. The hooves lashed out at Cor, no longer aiming at Tony, and the arrogant manner of the Kalona was gone. Now, it was his turn to fight for his life.
~~~
It was feeling, more than seeing; reflex, more than conscious thought. Corsant didn't exactly know how he'd crossed the distance between himself and his father; one second, he'd seen his father start to fall, the next, he was standing between him and his attacker, his horns buried up to the hilt in the offending Kalona's body. Yanking them back with enough force to rip even more flesh, he slammed back the stomping hooves with a snarled, "You're dead!"
How recently had it been that combat had been a game to him? To be sure, it was an all-important, all-consuming game, one that that he played at every day of his life since he was a foal. But never before had he intentionally drawn blood, never before had he killed. Never before had he had a reason to fight, rather than to train. Yet this was the reason that he had always trained, wasn't it?
Blood matted his long blond mane and tail, and ran down his horns. Small wounds of his own decorated his flanks and sides, with more blood bright against the darker red of his coat. Right now, he looked every bit the monster he had felt when he had last seen Mari. Thank goodness she couldn't see him now, even fighting against the invading herd.
Though right now, Mari was almost as far removed from his mind as it was possible to be. Right now, it wasn't his own life he was fighting for; it was his father's.
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Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 7:19 am
As much as Loveless wanted to cheer in relief when she saw her son come to the rescue, and as much as she wanted to jump to Antony's side for any relief to the pain he was in, the violence would not end there. She had to remain focused now for both of her boys.
Unfortunately for Corsant, who was busy destroying the atrocious stallion from earlier, another young Kalona was fresh on Corsant's trail. What was it with these Kalona? They were menaces for fighting dirty, and Loveless was not amused in the humility with those tactics. If that was the way she needed to fight to survive, she decided to join their party.
Without hesitation she shifted her course to Antony and fled forward on the young stallion, who was seconds away from ramming into her son. Loveless instead rammed her body into the young stallion and twisted her neck around his, and within seconds, lashed her teeth into his body. "I don't think so!" She finally yelled, half into his skin and out, and her weight was enough to drag him to the ground. She felt his snaps but he was too premature, too young and stupid. She used half of her lower body to keep him down, and once her front legs were free she bashed him repeatedly, until the movement stopped. Death.
A young Kalona stallion was dead. Usually Loveless would have been devastated for any kind of death, but it was either this creature, or her son. The only way she would survive this mentally was if this battle was no longer a battle. This was pure nature, and for survival if there ever was one. Family was everything, and these crazy Kalona would need to die.
Death. Her focus then turned to Antony, who lay limp on the ground. NO. Was she too late? She turned to Corsant who was handling himself like a pro. "Cover us." She yelled in dismay.
Now it was time to go to Antony, and she had to fight the tears that wanted to reveal themselves in her eyes.
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Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 12:25 pm
At a later date, Corsant would reflect back to this moment and how surreal it all was. It was almost like he was a stranger to himself, as crazed as any one of the invading Kalona. Drawing back his horns with a fierce snarl, he lashed out once again at the large Kalona stallion. This time, his aim was true, and with a gurgle his enemy fell. It was only then that he heard his mother. That was wasn't supposed to be there only crossed his mind for a moment before he processed what she was doing and with a swift nod he crouched, snarling, between his parents and whoever else might be coming. Now that the immediate threat was gone, he had a moment to notice that the combatants seemed to be thinning.
Thinning, but not gone, he silently amended as he was charged by a bloody mare with hatred in her eyes. No stopping, not yet...
~~~
When had Corsant grown up, Antony wondered? When had their youngest son turned into a muscular adult, a stallion to be respected? When had he become the warrior Antony was now seeing? When had all of them grown up, all six of their little children? When had he gotten to be so old that he had such mature children?
So many thoughts, swimming along in the murk of his mind that had so recently been occupied with memories. A nice distraction from the pain that continued to wash over him. He maintained pressure on his neck wound, but the blood continued to seep past his spikes and he could feel a lovely sense of lightness start to creep through him. No, not lovely; it was bad. He knew it was bad, and he had to fight against it. Must focus, must focus...
Abruptly, Loveless was back in his field of vision. The look of rage he'd seen earlier was gone, replaced by a look of fear he didn't want to read too much into. She wasn't supposed to be afraid, not his Lessy. For that matter...
He forced as strong a smile as possible onto his face, hoping he didn't look as bad as he felt, before he rasped out, "You aren't supposed to be here, Lessy."
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Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 1:05 pm
Finally, she was next to him, and with gentle ease Loveless crouched beside Antony and noted every wound. His neck was most definitely worrisome. She replaced his holding spot with her own wing, and nuzzled against his face gently. "Hush hush. You know I can handle this."
She brought her attention upward to see Corsant handling his own and protecting them. What a relief that was.
"We have to get you out of here and somehow." She wished she could carry him. Or was there a healer near by? With so many hurt that effort seemed futile as well. The number one thing she knew she couldn't do was be weak or scared. She had to keep Antony with them. If he passed out, she knew the worst could happen.
"Besides, you are always saving me. Why not let myself and our children work a bit once in awhile." She forced as dear as a smile as she could, but her eyes diverted to his neck and the continuous bleeding. She felt like her options were thinning by the second. Perhaps Corsant cold carry him with her help? Her son had suffered enough wounds as is, but seemed to still be in the zone and with heavy adrenaline. If she could hold him out long enough and with that energy, perhaps they could escape...
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Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 1:40 pm
Antony attempted to snort at Loveless' comment about him doing the saving, but the action was too painful. How had he not noticed he'd been struck in the face? Or maybe he hadn't been struck in the face, it was just his soreness from everywhere else. Either way, no more snorting. Probably minimal talking, too, because his throat hurt something fierce. He could tell from Loveless' expression it had to look every bit as bad as it felt, and he rasped again, "Not looking too handsome at the moment, am I?"
Everything hurt. So much pain, so much bloodloss...had to stay awake.
~~~~
He had to be cautious...now was not a good time for him to get sucked into a fight.
High in the sky, Wyeth wheeled amidst the safety of a cloudbank, watching the battle below. He had healed himself well enough after his skirmish with the Kalona scout to continue his own scouting, checking for both the Summit's own infiltrators and trying to assess the pace of the Kalona herd's movements. He was no spy himself, being far too vibrantly colored to escape anyone's notice for long. For this reason, he hugged the clouds rather than trying to hide amongst the trees.
It looked like the battle was winding up, at any rate. As far as skirmishes went, this one was pretty typical of the last he'd observed: fast, fierce, and furious. Only a few fighters remained, and, if his conjecture was correct, it seemed the Kawani forces had won!
Cautiously, he began to wheel down towards the edge of the field of battle. It was still risky, he knew, but as an alicorn, he had a duty to assist as he could. He had survived his first combat, he would defend himself now if he needed to...but he had to help as he could.
~~~
He was starting to tire, Corsant realized. His reflexes were getting slower, and he wasn't noticing things quite as quickly. But things seemed to be winding down, he realized as he disposed of the Kalona mare with a well-placed kick to her neck. Later, he would have to come to terms with how easy it had all been. At the moment, though, he remained crouched and looked around the field with savage intensity for a few long moments. Was this really it? Was it all done?
No one else approached, and he felt no desire to pursue. The direction of the forces was enough to tell him that their side appeared to have carried the day, this time, and that was enough.
He was still full of adrenaline, and it would take some time to calm down. Later, he'd also need to deal with his own wounds. But now that the immediate danger was over, he had one concern. Turning around, he dropped to his knees besides his parents. "Dad?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 2:04 pm
Didn't Antony realize? He was always handsome. Even in this moment right now, which was definitely taking a record as the worst they may have ever had, he was still hers, and her to him. They may not have looked their best but she would help him recover from this. As a family they would all need to recover from this together.
As much as she wanted to return to her sappy and happy place, she was focused on getting him out of there. She perked up at Corsant returning, and took a deep breath that he was ok. "Son. We need to get him help. His wounds are too serious." Loveless had neglected any of her own wounds and gashes, for as long as she could walk or fly, she knew survival was closer for her. She looked over her son and noted the same thing from him. "You were amazing out there, exactly as I would have expected."
But still, what were they going to do?
"Corsant, any ideas? It looks like the Kalona are falling back. I could try and lift your father, but I don't want us to get caught until we know the coast is clear..." She snorted and was mad at herself for not having more options. Perhaps it was her own tiredness, or her emotions and fear overtaking her, but she shuddered a bit at the thought of not having a plan out of there.
They had to save him. They had come this far! "We're so close." She stared at her love and continued to watch his eyes weaken.
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Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 2:44 pm
This time, Antony resisted the urge to snort at Loveless, though it was a lot harder to resist the urge to get dewy eyed himself at his mate's obvious pain. Why was it so much harder to deal with that than with his physical pain? It was easier to turn to Corsant and give his youngest a proud smile. "Well done, Corsant." Talking was getting harder, though, and he sighed painfully as he lowered his head back to the ground. Nice, soft, comfortable ground...
~~~
Old Corsant would have been basking in his mother's praise, but it would be a while before he would be able to laugh about such things. Even now, covered in blood, he was detached from everything that had just happened. He had to be, because there were only so many things he could process at one time.
Words couldn't describe his relief that Tony was still alive, but he didn't need Loveless to tell him that things were still pretty bad. Tight lipped, he nodded his agreement with Loveless, then stood up. "We shouldn't move him, not with that wound. Keep pressure on it to slow the blood, I'll look around for a healer. With so many Soquili in this fight, there has to be a unicorn, or an alicorn, or something, around here. You stay with Dad, and keep your eyes open."
Tossing back his mane, Corsant cast his gaze around the battlefield. Some of the pursuing Kawani Soquili were returning, others who had been wounded and fallen were now starting to rise...but what he needed was one with a horn. And he needed to be careful; even though he was obviously a half-breed, with everyone as skittish as they'd no doubt be after a battle, he needed to be careful not to have anyone think he was an aggressor.
There. Between the orange coat and the sparkles, there was no way to ignore the alicorn stallion who'd just alighted on the edge of the field. With quick precision, he took note of the minor wounds on the ali's body; he wasn't badly injured, so he should have plenty of healing energy available to give. Corsant just had to make sure it was the right stallion receiving.
Qith rapid steps, he made his way over to the stallion. "Hey, Orange Alicorn! Healer! Over here!"
~~~
He may have been a trained Summit border guard, but nothing had prepared Wyeth for the sight of his first battlefield. Though this was his second, he still felt nauseated by the sight of the carnage and had to steel himself with everything he had to avoid giving in to his upset stomach and his despair at the destruction. He had just started looking around for his first casualty when the red half-breed came running over.
Having not participated in the battle but rather observed it, he was less skittish than most. He also remembered this stallion, his blond hair and dark coat having made him stand out rather dramatically. So Wyeth knew he had fought on the side of the Kawani, and although he was still cautious, he was not combative. Hearing the additional call of "Healer" was enough, and he strode out to meet the other male. "Yes, I'm a healer. Are you badly injured?" Much as he wished he could heal everyone and everything, he was acutely aware that his energy had limits. He was an alicorn after all, not a unicorn, so he had to be careful that he didn't overextend himself. Only the most extreme wounds could be helped, so that he could help the most Soquili possible, and nothing he could see on the red stallion looked that serious. Painful, but marginal.
~~~
It was a relief not to have to explain himself, because there wasn't much time. At the healer's question, Corsant shook his head, already turning back towards where his parents sat. "Not me, my father. He took a pretty bad bite to the neck, has lost a lot of blood, and is getting pretty weak. This way, please, and hurry!" At a nod from the alicorn, the two hurried back the way Cor had come, trying not to think too much about what they were walking through.
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Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 4:37 pm
Loveless was so relieved to hear his plan. As she nodded to Corsant and watched him trot away for help, she looked down at Antony and took a deep breath. She used her other wing to streak his mane gently. He was so unresponsive. This was not her normal Antony. Were these the last seconds she had? Was time about to run out? Was the ultimate horror about to happen? Perhaps it was the silence that Antony needed to rest that spooked Loveless so much, but her eyes were heavy and tears finally fell down her face. "I can't lose you." the words shuddered as they came out.
She was over being brave. She had done her part. If someone attacked them right now, she wouldn't be able to do anything. This could have been her last moment with her mate, and she wasn't going to spend it being away from him.
"I remember the first time we met. I was so little and obnoxious, wasn't I? Her voice was a bit more stable but the tears continued down her cheeks. "I thought you were so cool. I would have never admitted that, though. You were so brave. And then when I finally got bigger and like you, I continued to be obnoxious. And then there you were, always having faith in me. I thought you were so handsome, I was so embarrassed." They had been through so much, it was ridiculous. It didn't even feel real. This fairy tale experience, and they had conquered so much. "And our children. They all look so much like you." She choked a bit. "I never thought we would get this far, did you? I never even thought I'd be lucky enough for this love... Antony you can't give up, you can't leave me right now."
He still wasn't moving. He was still a bit warm, but something was fading. s**t. It was bad. She couldn't help freaking out. "You don't want me to go crazy again, right? So don't leave me. Stay here, even if it hurts right now. Corsant is coming back, I know he will."
Her son was a valiant as Antony was. She knew he would do everything he could to make it right. Now it was up to Antony to stay with them. "We still need to grow old and grumpy together, and watch our children's children."
There was so much to look forward to. He knew that, right?
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Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2013 7:13 am
Yep, Antony was pretty sure Loveless was making him a bit more rosy in her memories than he deserved to be, but he wasn't about to argue details right now. Instead, he listened with a closed-eye smile as Loveless poured out her own reflections of their life together. It was kind, no, loving of her to give him so much credit. The truth was that he hadn't always had faith in her, not by a long shot. But she'd been able to bring him around to see that whatever she might have bee, whatever she might have done, she had seen the error of her ways and she wasn't that Soquili any more. She was a new Soquili, a better Soquili, with just enough of the old one to keep things interesting.
It was nice to just lie there and listen. She had such a nice soothing voice, and she said such nice things, and listening didn't cause anything to hurt. Yes, listening was the best things to do.
~~~
It felt like forever before Corsant and Wyeth made it back across to Antony and Loveless. This time, they hadn't been so fortunate and had had to deal with a few disruptions, but nothing the two couldn't have handled separately. Still, thinking of the amount of blood Antony had already lost was making Corsant antsier by the moment and they were barely within earshot before he was checking with his mother. "Mum, I found a healer."
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Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2013 6:09 pm
The moment of silence between them seemed to last an eternity. It was such an odd sensation. Silence. She and Antony were not known to be silent creatures. As a matter of fact the both of them were extremely vocal, more so to each other, and constantly. She was thankful now for any of the bickering or arguments they may have had in the past. There also was a lot of laughing between them. She realized she much preferred an Antony who talked all the time then... this.
Loveless snapped out of her moment when she heard Corsant's voice. Finally! He had come back, and safe and sound! It seemed something was finally in their favor. She looked to see the Alicorn standing ready next to him and gave a huge sigh of relief. "Thank you. Please, his neck won't stop bleeding and I feel like we are losing him." She pulled herself together as best as she could and and stood up, leaving her wing holding Antony's neck.
"Tell me what we should do. Will do anything to make him feel better."
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Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2013 7:13 pm
It was a bit unnerving, if Wyeth was being honest. The carnage of a battlefield was enough to unsettle his stomach to begin with, but when accompanied by not one, not two, but THREE bloody kalona-ish Soquilis it was enough to make one feel positively panicked. Still, he maintained both his composure and his focus; the Soquili would surely have attacked him already if such was their intention.
As they approached the pair who were evidently his escort's parents, Wyeth's keen gaze began making assessments. It was difficult to say how badly the mare was hurt, as her coat was darker than even Sylph's. Her expression as they approached had been something else; somber and afraid. It was obvious there was strong attachment between her and the stallion.
The stallion, now, was another story. His white coat was liberally stained with blood, the largest concentrations in the vicinity of the neck wound. He was still breathing, fortunately, but he didn't look good. Involuntarily, Wyeth pursed his lips as he considered the attitude of the fallen stallion; shallow breathing, closed eyes, downed on the ground...they would have to move quickly. And this would take a lot.
He nodded at the mare, stepping close as she stepped aside. With her out of the way, he could see better just how much blood the downed stallion had lost and he once again twisted his mouth. This needed to be done very quickly and very carefully...
"I hope I can help, Ma'am. What I need you to do is as quickly as you can, pull back your wing. I need full access to the wound, and with how much blood he seems to have lost we shouldn't waste any more time. This shouldn't hurt, but the wound itself has to hurt like the dickens and the healing process can be lengthy. I'd like it if you could keep talking to him, keep him distracted.
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Posted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 7:27 pm
Loveless nodded at the stallion's request. As much as it scared her to move her wing, she knew it had to be done. As she slowly lifted it, she looked away and couldn't focus on the blood. Staring at his wounds made her more worrisome, and that wasn't helping the situation. So instead, she moved over to where Antony's head lay and sat next to it. She hoped her position was well out of the way so the stallion could focus on healing. It was probably better she wasn't amidst that action anyhow.
In a soft voice she focused on her poor Antony. "We're getting you healed." It had to work. This was the only hope they had left. "Then we'll get out of here. Find the rest of our kiddos. Make sure everyone is ok." Her heart hurt at the thought of more bad news with her children. She had hoped some of them were hiding, or even unaware of the battling... but that didn't seem possible.
"It looks like this area is finally resuming peace." For anyone that wasn't getting injured, it seemed allies surrounded them or fallen enemies. It was remarkable that most angry Kalona had left. She wondered what had caused everything to end finally. "I wish you had seen your son today, he was so skilled and brave. Thank goodness you taught him to be so strong..." She hoped her rambling was enough while the stallion was busy working. Everything she spoke of was true and from her heart.
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Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2013 7:23 am
The moment Loveless' wing lifted, the blood began to flow faster. However, no sooner had she moved than Wyeth was there, his horn resting gently on the nasty injury. This would take a lot of energy, and he needed to focus. Closing his eyes, he begin the draining but hopefully life-preserving process of healing...
~~~
The battle over, the healer found, nothing to do now but wait. Corsant had never been good at waiting, not as a child and certainly not now when such important matters hung in the balance. His naturally optimistic nature told him yes, of course they had been in time and of course Antony would be fine. However, the more pragmatic, brooding part of him which had manifested at the beginning of this mad state of affairs couldn't rest so easily. He almost wished there was still fighting to do; at least in fighting, he didn't have to think about anything beyond the moment.
He refrained from looking at the wound, though he had to admit this was a prime opportunity to see just how a unicorn's horn worked. Perhaps if it was someone a little less dear, he would be a little more detached. Instead, he simply paced around the area, ostensibly making sure no stragglers thought this was the perfect moment to attack but really as an outlet for his own nervous energy and worry. Now that the fighting was over, he was glad his mother was there; she knew what sort of soothing noises to make to his father. She was probably a lot more calming than he himself would be serving the same office.
The conversation Loveless was having with Antony was both one-sided and private, at least as far as Corsant was concerned, so he tried not to listen as he paced around. Still, he couldn't help but hear her concern for his siblings, her pride in him..." At that, he allowed himself a small smile. Today, when it really mattered, he had proved his parents and their training proud. Were his brothers and sisters out there somewhere doing the same? The thought made his gut tighten as he remembered what had originally motivated their scouting-turned-combat: was Azelle somewhere on this battlefield?
Abruptly, he stopped his pacing and nosed at his mother, tersely stating, "I'm going to go check the fallen and see if there is anyone..." He stopped himself before he could say "we know," instead finishing with "who needs help. I'll be back soonish."
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Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2013 5:44 pm
Loveless nodded at Corsant and before he left she gently mentioned, "Just be careful, please." He was always so helpful to any situation. She imagined there was some heart ache in walking around and seeing the aftermath of the destruction, but at least he would be helping as much as he could. It was probably best that he also stay busy right now. She wondered if his adrenaline had faded from before. She wasn't sure how she too still had energy, but whatever was keeping them all so alert despite their injuries, she was grateful for it. They all needed to hang strong right now until arriving back home.
She brought her gaze back on the alicorn who was busy at work. Antony was still quiet, but he was warm. That was all that mattered. He was still with her, and hopefully on the road to recovery.
"Just be patient dear, you are getting healed now as I speak." At this point she had been used to talking to herself, so she may have even been soothing herself to make time go faster. "Soon you'll get your energy back and be yourself again." She kept watching the alicorn and wondering how the healing was even possible. That was a good distraction as well.
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Posted: Thu Nov 21, 2013 9:43 am
Anyone watching Corsant now would be stunned to know that he was the same stallion who had been such a beast in combat. Gone was the lighting speed, the powerful strikes, the flashing eyes and the furious snarl. Anyone present during the fight would have seen what Corsant was capable of, and at the head of that laundry list would be causing fear. But with the battle had gone the blood lust and the need to fight. What remained was a stallion who, until this morning, had still been an innocent to the darker things in life.
He walked with care through the battlefield, avoiding those wounded who had picked themselves up and moved off. He tried not to look too closely at the slain, but sometimes he had to look under one fallen form to see what, or who, was beneath it. He tried to remain detached, but now that the adrenaline rush had faded it was hard to stay composed in the face of so much death and carnage.
Corsant himself would win no beauty pageants for a while; multiple wounds, most of them slight but a few of them deeper, crossed his chest and flanks. He had been bit by more than one set of teeth, kicked by more than one hoof. But he had come off lightly, in spite of the oozing blood. Both wings were sound, as were all four legs. There was no limping, no dragging. But all over his body, around his mouth, and matted in his long mane and tail was blood, blood, and more blood, a silent, rank testament to what had happened this day.
But as he made his way across the field, he began to breathe easier. No one yet had been familiar....
~~~~
Pain pain pain pain...so much pain. It had been a much pleasanter thought to drift off to sleep, a place where the pain couldn't reach him. This wasn't the first major injury he'd ever had, but Antony doubted he'd ever had one that hurt even one iota as much. It had been so pleasant to slip into sleep...or at least to start to.
He hadn't realized he'd been fading until he realized he had to have missed a few things. One moment, Corsant had been standing there besides Loveless; now he was gone. Lessy herself had moved and was standing to the side instead of kneeling with his head on her lap...but she still looked awful. Poor girl. this had been a lot for her. Antony found himself wondering how she and her nerves were holding up; he'd never forgive himself if his mate suffered any kind of long lasting trauma as a result of her return to battle.
Oddly enough, as he thought about Loveless and mused over her cares, he found himself noticing that the pain seemed to be diminishing. Indeed, it wasn't nearly as bad as he was positive it had been only minutes before. He still felt exhausted, but there was no longer the throbbing ache at his chest. He wanted to take a look, but a pressure at his neck told him he'd better lie still until he sorted out what's what. So he remained lying as he was before asking, carefully, "Do I get to stand up any time soon, or what?"
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