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She had claws now, and needly pointed teeth, but had been taught by a swift swat that those were not to be used lightly. A'Hallei made certain of that. But, the fierce warrior was quickly overturned by the dark haired lady, and soon she was engulfed in many long strands. Peeping like a small bird, the cougar rolled about in delight to have so much attention paid to her. A'Hallei, while dilligent, was not usually so affectionate.

The raccoon crept into the clearing with intent, keeping distance from Nakshidil. He had never seen a human before, but it was bigger than him, and loud, so he wisely gave it wide berth. He was more interested in the food, and what could be stolen with as little conflict as possible.

Waddling quickly, the raccoon followed the scent of the food to the basket Nakshidil had brought, and began to rummage it, knocking over the plates with a clatter. The cub turned suddenly, golden eyes pinned to the source of the noise. Her excited peeping turned to a growl. The raccoon turned and bared it's teeth at the two, bristling. The cub was still much too small to even attempt taking down the raccoon.

A'Hallei heard the small clatter, but thought Nakshidil had done something, and so didn't respond to it, however when she started shouting for something to get out, A'Hallei walked out to the mouth of the cave, curious. He was a little suprised to see a dark furred raccoon face first in the goods Nakshidil had brought over, leaving the two rather flustered.
The raccoon snapped it's head up as she snapped, noticing for the first time the white wraith right behind him.

Chirring in alarm, the raccoon bolted, with A'Hallei hot on his heels. He could outpace the coon by leagues, and when he attempted to pounce the creature, he overshot it and landed in front of it, causing the bandit to switch directions and flee up the nearest tree.

Growling, A'Hallei leapt up after it, a move unwise for anyone not used to hunting such animals. The cub's eyes were trained on her father scaling the tree after the grey animal, now partially recognized as food. She watched as the two ran up the gnarled tree, keen eyes following the movement precicely. They vanished into the canopy for a moment, before the raccoon's shriek was heard.

A grey mass was hurling down at the two of them in record speed. Hitting the ground, the raccoon, already wounded, darted inches past Nakshidil's bare legs and tried to flee the clearing, but was ultimately cut short as a desicive blow to the back of it's neck from above ended this particular animal's struggle. It had leapt from the tree, having reached the highest point it could, and with A'Hallei beneath it.

But the white youth had followed suit, and, running across the bridge to another tree, landed just beside the raccoon and finished the chase with a cobra like strike. For a moment, A'Hallei seemed fine despite being whipped up from the tree branches and with his hand in an animal's neck, but a few moments later, his face was twisting up.

A'Hallei was breathing heavily, not suprising considering that stunt. He looked up at her, his eyes laughing somewhat. The cub was starting at him intently, held still and safe in Nakshidil's arms. But the girl dropped her and she plodded to the dead coon, sniffing at the carcass. A'Hallei pulled his hand free, and she decended on it, biting at it where A'Hallei had dispatched it.

Placing his hands on the ground, he swayed up to his feet, but one step on his left leg and he crumpled back to the earth. A'Hallei inhaled a shocked gasp at the sudden pain flaring up his leg. He hadn't even felt it before. "Nak-" he gasped, "Nakshidil!"

Underneath his armored boot, he had splintered his tibia, a wound not easily repaired, and he had no supplies.

Unknowing of the fate befalling her protector, the cub continued to gnaw the raccoon. It was like a furry plaything, and tasted delicious. The cub tried to drag it off for a while, but gave up and contenter herself with chewing on it.

A'Hallei turned to roll onto his back, eyes wide and slightly unfocused. His hands flew to his left leg below the knee, grasping at the armored plates there. He started to try to pull the boot off, but bit off a yelp of pain when he discovered that was not the wisest of plans. He turned to lay his white head in her lap, suddenly shutting his eyes against the searing sensations he felt.
"My leg!" He grunted, claws still holding the appendage, "My leg!"

This was not a good situation to be in, nor one he ever imagined he would experience. He'd dropped out of taller trees before, but he must have twisted it too when he landed. Damned coon, he should have just let it go, but noooo. A'Hallei berated himself over and over again mentally while he waited for some of the pain to ebb. It almost overcame him.
"Nakshidil." He said again, and wondered why. What could she do?

A'Hallei reached out and grabbed Nakshidil's hand tightly, keeping enough of his wits about him to avoid crushing her slender fingers in his own, but from the taut grip, it was obvious the amount of pain he was in. For the next few minutes, he lay silent, teeth clenched tightly as he fought to compose himself. Soon though, cool eyes opened, distant and emotionless. He was focusing himself on the task at hand, which was to get up and tend to his wound.

He had spent those few moments thinking, and knew that he would not be able to do the best job setting his own bone, he wouldn't delude himself like that. He'd have to seek professional medical help as suggested by Nakshidil.

The ghostly youth sat up and refastened his boot. The armor fitting would help keep his leg straight and relatively in the right position during the journey. His face flinched slightly as he pulled the straps taut back over his leg, and again as he stood, holding the wounded leg aloft.
"Nakshidil." He turned to look sideways at her, "We cannot leave cub, but..." He stopped, "They will not approve."

A'Hallei grabbed at the nearest tree and pulled himself over to it. The cougar, seeing he was moving, left the raccoon to follow him. "You can lead...?"

A'Hallei set his jaw as she essentially told him to strip. His armor had become an engraned part of his psyche, and one he was not so willing to abandon, let alone for a trip back into regular society. He'd only done that once, wearing a dress shirt and jeans, and he felt incredibly vulnerable, like a hermit crab without a shell.

"Carry cub, not A'Hallei." He answered her, "I will follow."

Being carried was NOT something he was too keen on experiencing either. Not just because Nakshidil was a teenaged girl, but because it meant prolonged bodily contact, that he was entrusting himself and relinquishing control to another, and it rather insinuated he was helpless. But the flare of agony in his limb did not lie, it would be a lot easier to allow himself to be carried out. But...If he wore it, and decided halfway out he needed it off, it would be best to leave it here in the quartz cave.

He moved to prove his point, and instead proved her, as he felt his energy draining for every moment he stood on one leg. He hopped back to the cave, and vanished inside. When he emerged, his gauntlets and extended chest plate had been shed, and he closed, and secured the gate. He was about thirty pounds lighter this way. Jaw set, lips pursed, he was not a happy camper in the least, but still understood the logic of her words.

If he had been a more talkative person, A'Hallei would have been grumbling the entire trip. However, only his heavier footsteps and occational hisses when he whacked it against something inadvertantly were the only noises that emerged from the wraith.

The cub protested at first, thinking Nakshidil was carrying her away from A'Hallei, but upon seeing he was following closely, calmed down and tried to enjoy the trip from a new height. She swatted at bugs and things that ventured too close to the two, and peered down at the growth from above from the first time, cradled easily in the teen's arms. She almost caught a dragonfly that whipped past the two of them, but only grazed the back end of it as it passed.

A'Hallei tried to keep the cold distance that allowed him to think rationally and block the pain from his mind as he walked, but between hopping on one leg and hefting himself over things with his hands, his flagging energy was wearing the barrier thin. Progress was slow compared with his usual pace, but he was able to keep up a good speed as he went, keeping with Nakshidil. Once, a single tear beaded at the corner of his eye and slid free unnoticed, dropping off his chin like a salted raindrop onto the forest floor.

The cub peeped at Nakshidil as the woods began to grow less dense.