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"Alright!" she chirps all too soon, her voice much more bright and cheery than should be legally allowed, "Everything appears to be in order, I've tightened it up a bit so with any luck it'll help you hold the joint steady. Just another short jaunt upwards--" and she gestures up with one wing, to the shelter Merlin had dived free of recently, "--and you'll be in the clear!"

The medic steps back, glancing over at Duskwater before she examines the tree a bit more thoroughly. This half of the journey will be a bit more trying, as the branches are thinner and further apart, and the wind is stronger at this height. "There, there, and there. Then we'll pause there, before the last leg. You'll need to pause between each leap to wait for the winds to die down, so that you are not blown off-course." Fortunately, Lichen is strong-Willed enough that she can try to deflect the worst of the elements from the Hunter if an emergency arises.. but the effort involved is exhausting, so she is saving that as an absolute last resort.

"Ready when you are!" And with that she hops ahead, leaving enough room for Merlin to follow once the winds allow.

Duskwater got the medic's glance and understood its meaning. He stayed as close to Merlin as he could without tripping the other sentinel up rather than helping him, staying even more vigilant to any dangers, unexpected gusts or signs of slipping on Merlin's behalf. He is more than half ready to reach out with his will to steady the injured sentinel if neccessary.

The thing about the missing aberrant bothered him still, but he knew where his focus should be and made sure to push all other concerns aside. For now, he was a medic's escort, and nothing else.

Merlin drew a shaky breath. Tensions were running high, as the last steps to the fir were…highly challenging at best. He wasn’t sure if he could make it without wings, but the Hunter knew better than to steady himself by flapping. The wind, too, seemed to conspire against the injured Sentinel, howling more menacingly on the last leg of the climb, threatening to unseat him from his precarious perch. It didn’t help that all Merlin could suddenly think of was the Aberrant female. He hoped she was all right. Perhaps the upper-ranks had sent more troupes of Medics and Elites out…but he knew with a sinking feeling that his escort would not be so anxious to leave to find the female if there was backup in the area.

He winced as his wing gave a painful twinge. Hadn’t he wanted to help Sentinel society? Why was he doing being a liability, a burden? A flight-impaired Sentinel was a useless one. For another moment of brief insanity, the Hunter debated telling them to leave him and search for the fallen lady…but that was ridiculous. No amount of righteousness could compete with the male’s raw instinct to survive, and besides, if he fell, all their efforts would have been in vain. No, the sooner he got to the fir, the sooner the Medic and the Elite would be able to offer their aid to others.

Merlin waited for the wind to abate slightly, before moving onwards at a slightly-quickened pace. He was almost there…so very nearly there… The shelter loomed close overhead, and Merlin briefly wondered whether Dawn had, too, left him.

The medic appears to be unabashedly relieved that they have made it to the shelter safely - she may go along with the Elites on various missions, but that doesn't stop something like this from being nerve-wracking - and while it's not the higher-up shelter that Merlin had originally departed from at least it's warm and dry. "Here we are! Now there's only room for one to be comfortable, so I'll need for you to get in and safe while we go find your friend."

Before she sets out to depart, Lichen gives Merlin's shoulder one last thorough inspection, frowning a little at the sloppy job she'd had to do. "Remind me to give you a proper examination once all this storm business is over with, Merlin. I'll have you right as rain in no time once I have all of my supplies at talon. Pardon the pun." She chuckles quietly around a beakful of feathers, as she works to get herself flight-ready. "I'll follow your lead, Duskwater, once you are ready."

Another little smile - perhaps slightly ironic - finds its way onto Duskwater's beak as he registers the painted Wildtype's admission of gratitude, and weakness, and he finds himself sympathising with the other male once more. Being put out of comission, no matter how temporarily, was never an enviable experience.

"Just doing our duty," he rumbles, giving the Hunter another nod, but more military and manly, this time. Then he looks over at Lichen, and this time it is his turn to size her up - as if it was the first time he really noticed her - but he seems satisfied with what he sees, because he spreads his wings, quickly preens some more moisture out of his feathers, and then looks up at her again.

"Good to go? All right then. We'll begin the search at the bottom of the tree. Notify me if you see anything worth interest on the way down."

With that, the large Ghost calmly launches himself into the howling storm.

The Elite leaves with a silent whoosh of air, calm and sure. The Medic follows, slower, more deliberate. Merlin watches the two depart, staring after them long after they are out of sight.

A burst of Will that he hadn't thought he could manage rids a great deal of water from his feathers; and a rush of warmth settles over his weary body. He glances down at his bandaged wing. A few days of rest and it would be right as rain! He chortled at his pun, feeling much like his old self again. Thanks to that Medic...

...what was her name again?

Ah...Lichen.

With renewed clarity in his orbs of blue, Merlin closes his eyes and smiles.

(( 3nodding I thought perhaps we could consider this RP closed and assume that he got treatments and whatnot and go to the timeskip?))