PART IV - TIGER DOWN
“No! No! No!” Callie cried out again as she ran. Her own feet got tangled in the mud and each other, and she sprawled forward with a splurch into the mud. Still, she never lost sight of her fallen friend. She tried to rise, tried to continue forward, only to slip and fall again. She was now fully covered in mud but she didn’t even notice. Or care.
“I’ve got you,” a voice said from behind Callie as Jesca’s furry arms reached around her. They lifted her up and tried to set her upright, but Callie barely even registered what happened and lunged again, escaping whoever’s grasp. Her feet kept slipping though and she did the only thing she could, she started to crawl. Started to crawl towards the sound of the one she had gotten hurt.
Kaisess had screamed.
“Healers only!” Celeste cried out, Flashstepping with a crackling whump sound in front of the rushing recruits, trying to block them.
“Move!” Koda snarled as he raced forward, having dropped to all fours, and Celeste made the wise decision to stand aside like a matador to a charging bull.
Xin’s Totem breathed to life, immediately seeming to thump like a single heartbeat as it sent out a Healing Pulse. The skill wasn’t designed for major wounds, just to help a little with pain and focus on smaller cuts and bruises, but Xin was at least able to call this power as she ran with minimal concentration. The Lizardkin dropped to the ground, making a controlled slide as she was first to arrive at the side of the Tigerkin. Xin suddenly couldn’t think, her brain trying to remember and failing. She didn’t know what to do next!
Cheena’s Totem formed next to Xin’s, and it too pulsed out its heartbeat of its Elemental life magic, washing over the fallen and all the others. But like Xin’s, the skill wasn’t designed for this, and at best it might dull the pain a bit more.
Koda somehow overtook Cheena, despite his size, bounding around her and forward on all four limbs like his feral ancestors. There was fear and worry and determination in his eyes and no force was going to slow him down. The Bearkin skidded to a stop, or tried to. He slipped in the mud, sliding past Kaisess, locking eyes for the briefest of moments with the terrified Ranger.
Lena wasn’t really sure what to do either, but saw the Major setting herself up as a roadblock and decided to do the same. She Flashstepped, arriving next to her trainer just as the first recruits tried to break through the line. She stopped the first person, whoever it was, only to be pushed roughly aside by the Rhinokin, Shirax, looking nearly as determined as Koda had been.
“Stay back!” Major Celeste yelled once again, sending out a Command Aura pulse. Shirax stumbled and tripped while the rush of other players suddenly stopped, two also stumbling forward to the soft ground as they tripped over their suddenly-sluggish feet. All but one, that was. All but a tiny mud-covered Gnome with terrified eyes. All but a Gnome that cared only about one thing, and it wasn’t whatever command the superior officer was trying to give.
Koda scrambled back towards Kaisess and Xin, the claws of his paws extended and digging into the dirt for traction, sending it flying behind him. With the practiced eye of an Officer of the Watch, he began to assess just as Cheena arrived as well. Kaisess’s leg was bent all wrong at the knee, with a bulge visible even under his pants leg. The Ranger yowled again, this time gritting his teeth, but it still sounded just as agonizing.
“Dislocated?” Koda asked, looking up at the Shaman Trainer for a second assessment.
“Um,” Cheena paused as she got her first look, “or a really bad break?” she said with a questioning inflection. “No blood, so no broken skin.”
There was a thump and the earth shook as a small, flying kitty morphed into an Ogre. He seemed to block the sky as he towered over them all, looking down from above, a wall of muscle and concern. “Must see first,” Tazrok growled.
“Knife?” Koda called out without thinking, looking around. Nothing seemed to appear, so he reached forward, intent on ripping the fabric off with his own clawed paws.
Xin roughly pushed the Paladin aside, extending a single dagger-length claw of her own, muddy wetness glinting off the end of it. Kaisess got a momentary look of panic as the Lizardkin slashed forward, almost enough for him to forget the pain for an instant. Xin had a lifetime of practice with her claws, though, and she expertly punched a hole in the fabric, before pulling her hand all the way to Kaisess's foot, leaving not a mark on his furry skin. His pants fell away, revealing a horrible sight.
“Dislocated, for sure,” Koda hissed, taking in the injury. “Maybe more. I don’t dare heal this before it’s back in place.”
“He’s moving too much,” Cheena grunted, trying to still Kaisess as he reeled in agony.
Koda frowned before instinctively calling out loudly, “Combat Healer!”
“That would be Tasi or Trainer Winnu, but I don’t think either is here,” Cheena snarled, still trying to calm her patient.
Callie had managed to find a patch of ground dry enough for her to get to her feet. She rushed forward, ignoring everything but her destination. Lena pointed at her, yelling ‘Stop Callie!’. Major Celeste reached for the Gnome, but Callie somehow sensed her coming and miraculously her Dodge kicked in. She twisted and slid through the officer’s legs, intent on getting to her classmate. She tried to get back to her feet again, but slipped, managing to only scramble forward on all fours once more. The Major turned and scooped the crawling Gnome up off the ground, holding Callie tightly to her chest as she squirmed in defiance.
“Let me go!” Callie snarled.
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The moment Kaisess had fallen, Reynard had instinctively started to rush forward, but after three or four steps his brain overrode those instincts and he stopped, knowing it was best left to the healers. He slowly stepped back to his spot under the awning.
“Interesting,” a voice next to the Foxkin said, and Reynard was startled to suddenly see Thorn had stepped up next to him.
“What’s that?”
The Master Trainer gestured towards a small, pink-haired figure, covered in mud, trying to scramble forward on her hands and knees. They watched as she struggled to her feet, before somehow managing to dodge through the legs of a Gold Tier Bladedancer, only to slip in the mud and get stopped.
“Huh. I thought she might make it for a moment,” Reynard said conversationally.
“Probably best she didn’t,” Thorn replied, paw scratching his furry chin.
“Probably.”
“How do you think she’ll react?”
“Not well.”
“She’s resilient. Maybe more so than you think?” Thorn suggested.
“Maybe.”
“Do you want to handle it? It might be better if the Major did it. They're closer.”
Reynard paused hard before he slowly, almost hesitantly, answered. “I’ll … I’ll do it.”
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“You will? Well, be gentle. Caring and empathy will go farther with her. That generally isn’t your style.”
“Understood.”
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Up in the stands, Ambria was standing with worry between Koka and Moka, watching the field like everyone else. She’d missed what had happened, having been distracted by something, she couldn’t even remember what, for the briefest of moments. She only knew it was bad and that whoever had gotten hurt, she was fairly sure it was the cute Tigerkin, was being swarmed by people likely much more competent than she was.
“Combat Healer!” a loud, low voice called out in the distance.
Ambria blinked slowly, and somewhere inside the Faun her training kicked in, those two words drawing her like a Siren’s call. On pure instinct, she sighted her far-off target and took a single step forward into mid-air, dissolving almost instantly into nothing…
… and reappearing just as almost-instantly two meters behind the Bearkin with a BAMF sound. “Combat Healer! Out of the way!” she commanded, taking command of the situation just like she’d been taught.
With unexpected strength, the petite Fae shoved both Koda and Xin aside, the Bearkin actually sent sprawling, before kneeling down next to Kaisess. It took less than a second for her to evaluate the dislocated knee, which would surely be accompanied by multiple other internal rips and tears. She looked up into the scared and hurting eyes of the Tigerkin - stars, he really was cute - and gave him the look that she had been taught as a Healer apprentice back home. It was a look that said a hundred things at once, the most important of which was ‘I’m here and I’m going to help you’.
“So,” Ambria said with obviously false brightness, “where does it hurt?”
Kaisess literally stopped mid-groan and looked at the crazy, freckled girl with antlers kneeling in front of him. Then, he promptly choked trying to hold down a giggle. Somehow, he couldn’t help it. It was such a stupid question, yet exactly the right one, too. “I … I think I bumped my leg,” he managed to eke out in response, trying to be funny in return, before sucking in a sharp, agonized breath.
“Oh, just a bump? What the hell do you need me for?,” Ambria teased as she reached for her patient’s thigh. With a moment of concentration, she pushed a spell into the Tigerkin’s leg to numb it. “That should help.”
In an instant, the most-excruciating parts of the pain simply vanished, leaving Kaisess gape-mouthed. There was still a little something there, like a quiet warning that things were still messed up, but from where the Faun had touched him down to his feet, he felt nothing for the moment. “Thanks,” was all he could say in response.
“Well, the good news is that you’re going to live,” Ambria said brightly. She then seemed to frown, adding a deadpan, “I think.”
“Oh yeah?”
“I’m just a recruit, so I’m still learning. But I’m mostly sure.” The Faun’s face took on an even more-exaggerated expression of concern. “Just to check, your leg is not supposed to look like that, right?”
“Not … Not really,” Kaisess said, trying to stifle another laugh, but then groaning once again.
Ambria looked up to Cheena and then back to Koda. Completely seriously, she said “We’re going to need to reduce this before we move him. We need a litter; he goes directly to medical after.”
“On it,” Cylanae said from behind Cheena, the Duelist trainer turning and running off to find what Ambria needed.
“Reduce? That doesn’t sound great,” Kaisess hissed.
“Don’t worry, if I screw this up, we’ll grow you a new leg. Do you want a different color?”
Kaisess somehow laughed again, he couldn’t understand why. “Sure,” he gasped, as a twinge of pain began to leak through the pain-blocking spell. “Maybe a blue one for variety?”
“A lovely color,” Ambria said soothingly, catching the Tigerkin’s eye and offering a comforting smile. Flipping to her medical voice, she added, “I’m going to put you to sleep now.”
The Beastkin nodded, sucking in his breath again as a fresh wave of breakthrough pain hit him. He didn’t know this girl, but he trusted her completely. “Okay. Will you be there when I wake up?”
“Would you like me to be?”
“Yeah…” Kaisess began, wincing yet again. “That … that would be nice.”
“Then I will be there. Head back. Close your eyes.” Kaisess nodded and laid his head back in the mud as the Faun touched her hand to her patient’s forehead. There was a subtle tingle of power in the air, and Kaisess instantly went limp, the ball he was still clutching now rolling from his relaxed arms, landing in the mud with a light splash.
Ambria stood, turning completely serious now. “You and you,” she ordered, pointing to Koda and Xin. “Do exactly what I tell you.”
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Major Celeste held Callie tight as the Gnome squirmed and fought to get free. Lena was helping the Rhinokin to his feet and the rest of the recruits had halted their rush, those that had tripped pulling themselves up. They all slowly gathered around Celeste, keeping their distance from the scene but obviously worried. All of them were covered in mud, and all of them were trying to somehow process.
Celeste’s worry increased as Koda called for a Combat Healer. That meant it was serious, and something the seasoned Paladin or Cheena, or one of the Druids, wasn’t able to simply magically repair. There was a poof of cloudy gray as the little Faun teleported in, her green eyes intense and focused as she roughly pushed Koda and Xin aside.
Callie had started to slow her squirming, although Celeste could tell she’d run again if set down on the ground. The Major simply held on tight, like she was holding a child to prevent her from running into danger. “Lena!” Celeste said, getting her student’s attention.
“Major?”
“Take her, they’ll need a litter.”
Without a moment of hesitation, Lena accepted the Callie-shaped handoff. Sighting her destination and a clear path to get there, Celeste executed her Flashstep, arriving nearly instantly at the far end of the bleacher seating. She ran around the corner, to where a stretcher was hung for proximity to the training field, and heard footsteps rushing towards her from behind. Turning, she saw Cylanae had the same idea and was also coming to fetch it.
“I’ve got it,” Celeste said, lifting the litter from its hooks.
Cylanae did an about face and started to run back to the scene of the injury, clearing the path of two recruits who had moved into the way, the Major close behind. They both arrived just as there was a grunting sound from Koda and Xin, Cheena making a wincing face as she watched whatever they were doing. There was no sound from Kaisess, though. The Faun must have put a sleep spell on him.
“I’ve got a litter, what’s happened?” Celeste asked, standing back so as not to crowd the Healers’ work.
“We need to get him to medical,” Cheena said. “As soon as he can be moved.”
Behind them all, there was another BAMF sound, and Master Healer Tasi appeared in a familiar cloud of light gray smoke. She shook her head, as if in a momentary confusion, before seeing everyone gathered around an obviously-injured somebody. Next to the injured was the Faun, unexpectedly in charge for the moment, her bushy-ended tail swishing in intensity as she concentrated. “A Sprite called me. Report!”
Koda looked back, seeing the new Fairy arrival, and stood, Xin doing the same. “Dislocated knee. Bad,” the Paladin said flatly, his experience from years of making similar reports in the Watch showing in his calm, ordered demeanor.
“Treatment so far?”
“Painkiller at the thigh,” Ambria said, nearly all her attention still focused on the knee of her patient. “I used a sleep spell and we’ve just reduced it.” Her hand was glowing as she held it over Kaisess. She shook her head in concern, adding “I’m sensing lots of internal damage though. I’ve made no repair attempts.” She then yelled out, “We need a litter!” Apparently she hadn’t heard Celeste’s arrival.
“Also, Two Healing Pulses from a Totem,” Cheena amended to the Faun’s report. “One from me and one from Xin. She’s Bronze.” She gestured with her chin towards the Lizardkin.
“Don’t cast anything more,” Tasi ordered. “This will be a delicate repair. Probably would have been better without the Pulses.”
“We had no way to know the injury!” Xin snapped, a slight irritation in her voice.
Tasi looked at Xin, then put a comforting hand on her arm. “I know. It’s fine. We may just need to undo some of your work.”
“I … I think he’s stable,” Ambria added, rising out of the mud. “When the litter arrives, we’ll get him on it and take him to medical.”
“I’ve got it right here,” Celeste said, barging forward, pretending she hadn’t said the same already.
Tasi took a step back, giving space to the Faun so she could continue directing people. She’d step in if there was need, but so far, there was none. She observed as Ambria ordered the Major to set the stretcher down with one end at the head of the Tigerkin. Next she had Koda pull Kaises up onto the litter, so there were no sideways movements of the patient’s legs. That was good thinking, actually.
“You two,” Tasi said, gesturing to Koda and Xin, “carry him.” She turned to Ambria. “I’ve used my teleport to get here. Can you use yours to go get them ready?”
The Faun shook her head. “I used mine, too.”
“I’ll go!” Cheena said quickly. She ran, transforming into her bird form as she flew down the hill at high speed.
“We move. Just you two, the rest of you stay here,” Tasi ordered, motioning to Koda and Xin. She then paused and pointed to Ambria. “You come too. He’s your patient. Everyone be careful, the hill is slippery with mud.”
“I need to go get the Commandant,” Major Celeste said. “They’ll need to know what happened.”
And just like that, less than ninety seconds from Tasi’s arrival, Kaisess was gone. Carried down the hill and out of sight.