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And the wolf stood and stared as more unfolded around her. Everything was a haze in her mind, clouded not by rage or confusion. If anything, it was mental fatigue. Her body, too, struggled to stay upright as her eyes distantly observed the battle before her. Dull noises tumbled in her ears, shouts reduced to muffled grumbles. She both understood what was happening and also did not entirely comprehend it.

Ed felt her chest constrict and her breath leave as a shock wave blasted through. She folded her ears, braced against the force as the surge rattled through her fur and nearly sent her to the ground again. She felt her instincts fire to flee, for she knew she was weak, and this phenomenon was simply a frightening one at best.

Then all went quiet. She opened her eyes to runes trickling through the earth, emanating a benevolent energy. Ed was terribly confused. Had Rei not been the enemy just a moment ago? What happened? Who took him out? Had he done it himself? The signs were pointing that way.

And her friend was on the ground, barely a carcass...

If she had considered leaving tear ducts in her eyes, she would have felt tears. But wolves cannot cry and so, with her vision clear but her heart in turmoil, her numbness succumbed to a girl's sorrow. Ed rushed over to Rei, whining, crying loudly, her muzzle quivering in tearless sobs. She hadn't meant to kill him just those few minutes ago, and she couldn't remember that he had meant to kill her...

Don't...go...

Unable to understand that he had a good chance of surviving, the wolf stood there, head bowed and lip trembling.

"Oomf!"

Amelia hadn't taken into account the facts that 1) she was wearing heavy armor, meaning that a tight hug from her made Rhys' lungs' job difficult and 2) Rhys was sick anyway.

Still, as he wriggled a bit out of her grasp, allowing himself a bit more breathing room, he paused. He wasn't sure if Rei was DEAD, but...

Will we all be okay? I--I don't know. With times like this, I... I know I thought these days were just more days "in Paradise", but with one thing after another... I wonder if the grass truly was greener on the other side.

Getting his arms free, he wrapped them around Amelia, bringing her close in silence.
Where do you find the right words?

For a brief moment, he remembered how Ike and Mist had acted, following the death of Greil at the hands of the Black Knight. That moment, Rhys felt, had been the darkest hour of the mercenary band--their future seemed uncertain, their leader was dead, and nobody--not even Mia--was able to find a smile. But Ike and Mist suffered worst of all. Ike had been unable to sleep for days, and Mist... she cried quite a bit. But what enabled her to keep going, to do what she did was...

"I'm... we're not going anywhere, Amelia. We'll be fine. I promise."

It sounded extremely cheesy, like something out of those old stories Rhys' uncle would tell him, epic bardsong and saga from across the continent. But sometimes... well, saying something extremely cheesy was the right thing to do. At least, that's what he imagined Ike would do. Ike was all Mist had at the time--what could he say? "I don't know whether we'll live or not"? No way. Optimism was a much better way to cling to life than pragmatism or pessimism.

Rhys gave a small smile in return. Hey, Siegell got Nils, and... it sounds like Rei will be okay after all. At the very least, we've won on this end. At least, Siegell should... where is he, anyway? If he got Nils, shouldn't he be back by now or something?

"I don't think I can move much, either," Rhys said, lying back down again. "I just feel sick after all that's happened. I just want to find a nice, warm bed and not move."

Rhys grimaced. He HATED being sick. He wouldn't be able to move around much, and there was always so much to be done in a day, plus there was all the devastation going around. We he honestly going to be stuck in a bed for days on end? The next few days would SUCK!

Amelia frowned at Rhys' condition; had he been sick before Rei pulled her into that negative space? She knelt down next to him, brushing his hair tenderly off of his forehead. "Sue," she called over to the Nomadic Trooper without looking up, keeping her voice low, "would there be any way for you to carry Rhys, too?"

She paused as she felt the distinct sensation of something above her head. Her eyes went up, and immediately took in Shastah's massive white belly above as he circled again and again, eventually landing on the dirt. The way he stretched vaguely reminded Amelia of a cat; long, relaxing, moving to get all the muscles stretched and remove tension. Amelia stayed kneeling next to Rhys as Siegell turned around in his saddle, not finding a good reason to stand just yet.

At the sight of him untying Nils, however, Amelia was on her feet in an instant. "Is he all right?" she demanded, more concerned than anything else, as she rushed over.

"He's okay. Just concussed. Wasn't really any trouble at all."

Amelia let out a long breath, one hand pressing to her breastplate in the general location of her heart. "Goodness, scare a girl... arrive with a limp, unconscious Nils after Rei's knocked himself clean out, nearly killed himself, and you practically gave me a heart attack." She smiled, though, grateful once again.

"Thank you, though. Really." Amelia nodded slightly to him. One hand reached up to her face, rubbing at a dot of perspiration under her chin, and her thoughts flashed back to Christmas. An uncomfortable feeling prickled in the arches of her feet, but she kept it off of her face, giving him another small smile before kneeling next to Nils, looking him over carefully. "Could... you be so kind as to carry Nils back to Fefga's for me? Ninian's dead asleep, I'm already carrying Rei back, and Rhys could use a move back, too... he's gotten a little ill from the strain."

Rhys nodded. He was feeling a little off, but the worst of it probably wouldn't arrive until they came back to the house. Besides, he wouldn't get better by lying around here. Leaning heavily on Kishuna, Rhys slowly walked back in the direction of FEFGA's, beginning to shake as chills ran through his body.

Siegell smiled and nodded. "Sure, I'll get Ninian and Nils," he murmured. "Shastah can carry the two of them with me, no problem." Shastah was large, even for a Wyvern Lord's mount. He had, after all, carried an entire tent stuffed with food like a sack! He glanced up as Ninian began to awaken, and he jogged over to kneel on the other side of Nils, reaching out gently to brush his fingers over the light bruise on the young-looking boy's forehead, then looked up as Ninian addressed him.

"It was the least I could do, Ninian. I just hope we can help him... I hope you don't mind, I used this to... well, distract him, I guess," he murmured, reaching into his cloak with one ungloved hand and pulling the locket out.

"You left it on the floor in my room the other night... I was gonna give it back, but didn't get a chance, and I walked out with it in the morning when I left." He had to remember to force a blush onto his face, but years of acting and imitating emotions to deceive and confuse made it easy.

Once he'd turned over the bracelet, the Wyvern Lord gently slid his hands under Nils' knees and back and lifted him up. "Come on, there's room for two on Shastah's saddle. You both need rest, I'll take you back."

Ninian stared at the locket when he pulled it out, silently accepting it from him. She'd almost forgotten about it, what with everything else that had happened. She slipped it around her neck while Siegell picked up Nils.

"Come on, there's room for two on Shastah's saddle," he told her. "You both need rest, I'll take you back."

The dancer nodded, rising shakily. She needed a hot bath and a good long sleep in a soft bed, and then she'd be alright physically. Mentally, she was tired, but happy. She followed Siegell over to Shastah, greeting the wyvern with a smile of gratitude.