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Satisfied, Ganon returned to Blossom and Aidan. He paused to pick up his broken mandolin and, with a sigh, he listened to the soft hum of its strings when he lifted it close to his ear. It still knew its master, and a little smile broke out on his face. It would be fine, with some repairs. He slipped into a still-standing shop and laid money on the counter to pay for a messenger bag he found on a shelf. The mandolin was placed into it once he strung it over his shoulder, and then he jogged back to the fallen mercenary.

"Oh," he murmured under his breath. "Don't try to get up... just relax, I can carry you..." He paused to look at Aidan and added, "If he doesn't mind, that is."


Chickenwire groaned. Even with a punctured lung, he had managed to scream in agony, and now he felt healing light rush over his body. Slowly, he pushed himself up to sit, squinting at the light and holding his head. "O-ohhh... goddess... I... Ugh, Large? Clang?" Rubble shifted as Clang pushed the fallen rocks off of himself. With his large constitution and his armor, breaking his bones had proved harder, and his minor fractures had been healed handily by Fortify.

"Oy," he groaned, waving tiredly and trying to drag himself out. Large, too, slowly got to his feet and nodded, dusting off his bloodied uniform.

Steely Dan's eyes opened and he grunted, peeling himself out of his leg armor and chain mail, wearing his undershirt and uniform leggings underneath. It was all quite hot after that fire, and he wheezed, his shirt largely burned away to reveal the middle-aged general's muscular, battle-scarred chest. "Urgh," he murmured, staring around at the carnage. "Ghis...? Ghis?" He scoured the battlefield, tearing off the burnt remains of his shirt, wearing only his uniform pants now under the hot sun.

Blossom looked up at the sound of a familiar voice, looming much too high over her head. Don't try to get up... just relax, I can carry you... If he doesn't mind, that is."

Blossom nodded once, struggling again nevertheless with her right arm to prop up her upper body from the street. It would be easier to keep herself awake if she didn't stay horizontal, it would just make her body think she was laying in bed -- a very hard, pillow-less bed, granted -- and Blossom still didn't want to sleep unless she knew everyone else had made it through okay.

And Abel... is he all right now? Is he back? He's not here; at least, I can't see him... Blossom thought to that look on his face, an evil smirk as that other Abel slammed her right into that wall, and he didn't even seem to care about whether or not she died. Is he back to himself...? I don't... I don't know if I want to find out for myself...

Blossom looked over to Aidan, who still looked tired, and then to Ganon, a sheepish look on her face. She loved him, but she just didn't feel right making him carry her, not with the way he looked at the moment. She didn't want him to push himself, and Ganon was so big, he had to be strong, it wouldn't be any trouble for him to carry such a small person... "...Please...?" she asked, a weak laugh leaving her lips. She let herself fall back to the ground; she was stubborn, but not stupid. Her body was just not cooperating right now. If only this street wasn't so cold...

Chad's eyes slowly creeped open, taking on the view of carnage that the battle had ended in. Head still pounding he decided to rub it again, pulling his hand back this time revealed no blood. Strange... He had a quick look at his side wound as well, again, almost completely healed. Must be a healer about. Head still a bit fuzzy, he had slammed into a tree after all, Chad proped himself up against said tree a bit more, surveying the situation. Most people were unconscious, others were staggering around and he saw the massive lizard guy carrying some small girl in the direction of Fefga's.

Slowly and using the tree to lean on Chad picked himself up. Collecting the vulnery and killing edge, he began using the sword as a walking stick. It was a bit awkward but it worked. He began following Ephraim back to the manor. He really needed a rest.

Blossom slowly exhaled as Ganon lifted her up, not seeming to have any trouble with her weight, just as she had expected. She closed her eyes for a moment, just a short moment, leaning against his chest (So nice and warm, that's nice, stay comfortable until I can get to a bed) and she slipped into a halfway point between consciousness and sleep, breathing slowly and evenly. She was relaxed against him, asleep, but not truly asleep, forcing herself to stay at least semi-alert until she could return to the house and at least hear from someone there "Yes, everyone is fine. No one is mortally wounded. No one is crippled. We're all okay."

Blossom voice was quiet when she spoke up a little while later, but still audible. "Are you going to leave?" she asked, opening her eyes to look up at Ganon's reptilian face in a childlike curiosity that further reinforced her young appearance. "Or are you going to stay? It'd be nice if you stayed..."

Blossom smiled, shifting a little against Ganon's torso, cradling her left wrist delicately against her chest as he spoke. She had to hold back the giggle as he spoke; the rumbling of his chest against her shoulder tickled a little, as did the feeling of his scaly tail against her forehead. "That's good... it's not fun when friends leave suddenly like that." Blossom did end up giggling as he proceeded to muss up her hair with his tail, using it like one might a third arm.

"Do you think the others are all right?" she asked, her voice sobering a little as she thought about their situation. If they had been this badly injured, then who knew how the others had fared? "I mean... they were probably smart enough to bring a healer with them, but... they're all bound to be all right." Blossom paused, then looked up at him with wide eyes, waiting for a response. "...Right?"

Chickenwire, Clang, and Large were known for their ferocity, for being completely insane, terrible fighters. Even they were unprepared for the sight of Katherine's crumpled body when they arrived by their captain's side.

Clang, formally known as Corporal Devon Ondas, held his shield in both hands in front of his chest, standing between his two companions. "I... never woulda wanted this," he said softly. "Her like tha', I mean. On the groun' an' all, d--" Chickenwire slapped him sharply in the back of the head to shut him up while Large slowly, finally sheathed his sword.

"We... we'll have to see it's a nice funeral," Sergeant Alric Matsu murmured. "First. We need to... to fix things, but this needs to come first. People'll understand."

Steely Dan nodded slowly. "Aye. Time to all hang up our weapons an' take some hammers. For a bit. Then we need to sit down an' talk, Ghis. About... about trust, an', well." It didn't need to be said. These two men had grown up in gangs and lived by the sword. The only way to be sure war wouldn't happen again was to eliminate borders. It happened with gangs all the time; they'd fight until someone bigger came along, and then they'd just become one gang and beat up the new guy.

Someone bigger was here.

As Clang and Large wandered away to start checking the dead, Sergeant Sean Wake, more commonly known as Chickenwire, stayed by Katherine's body for a while. He bit his lip for a moment to stop its quivering, then heaved a long, deep sigh to compose himself.

He couldn't help thinking she'd saved more than just Captain Ghis' life. Who knew? Maybe her death would mean something a little more than that.

He turned to face the road. The sun was still well up, but slowly making its lazy way across the afternoon, shining warm on his face. He felt cool wind whistle down from the mountains and smiled.

Maybe things were looking up.

It would be nice to think so.