Maleki:

I awoke fully bandaged. Sweat rolled down my head, colliding with dried, crusted blood that stuck my clothes to my body. I leaned forward, grunting deep in my chest from the pain. Exhaling, the wounds I had endured from that foul creature became more prevalent. Five gashes through my back, a scar that will start many a story in the future. A deep cut in my right chest, opening up my breast and slicing the top part of my upper right bicep, and a single scratch across my left arm. The worst of it seemed to be in my chest, but thankfully, on the opposite side of my heart. My lungs filled with air, meaning nothing had been punctured, but I placed my hand over the area and instantly recoiled from the pain. Sitting somewhat straight, I had fallen asleep on my knees. They were numb and hurt, but I was too afraid to move and put myself in more pain.

“Brother?” A familiar voice uttered.

Miko. Last I remember, he had screamed in a way I had never heard before. Everything in me turned inside out when I heard it, but that brute wouldn’t let me out of sight.

“Miko, what happened? How did you open the room and turn off the fire?” I asked, grabbing my side in pain.

He leaned forward. Bandages covered both his legs and arms, but they were thickest right above his knees in his lower thigh. Miko must have noticed me staring because he pulled his partly burned-up pants to his upper thigh to reveal some of the un-bandaged damage.

“First-degree burns in the best spots, third-degree in the worst.”

“I’m sorry, Miko...I should have beaten the Aeternae faster.” My voice let out in despair. “Do you feel better than you look?”

“I look better than you, dummy, and it’ll heal. Not sure I’ll ever get leg hair now, but I didn’t really want it anyways. My arms and legs are mostly just skin-level burns. The worst part is a ring around my left leg right about here.” He pointed to the meat of his thigh that was tightly bandaged several times over. “Nomen cleaned the wounds already. That was the worst part. Surprised you didn’t wake from those screams or that I didn’t wake something else up, too.”

“My scars will be way cooler than yours.” I joked, grabbing my shoulder to laugh through the pain.

He laughed, too, until his face settled to a more serious one. “You can’t do everything by yourself, ya know? I’m the sick one, not you.”

“You’re my brother. Protecting you is my job.” I responded.

“I can do things. That fire hurt so damn bad, but it proved to me that I belong here. That I deserve to make it to the end.”

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“You’re right, and I understand, but I won’t change. So long as I am breathing, I will step first into danger before you. This isn’t the place to prove yourself. There are real consequences.”

“You think I don’t know that? Do you think I want to be carried around? Let me help you when I can.”

“What you did today was enough, Miko. We just have to get you healed, and then you have all the time in the world to catch up to me.” That seemed to settle his mind, or perhaps he stayed quiet not to push the conversation further. Even brothers cannot tell sometimes.

Out of the corner of my eye came walking Nomen. “Enjoy my handiwork? To answer your previous question, that is one of the reasons why I am here.”

“I apologize for the rude comment. This was more than I deserved.”

“You might find a few of your bandages wrapped tighter as payment for your words.” He laughed oddly. “I jest. This, among a few other items, is what I am here to assist with. I will not, however, act in your immediate favour during combat or trials. Medical treatment posthaste excluded.”

“Thank you, Nomen. We owe you.”

“Null. Do not make such promises. There is naught but a few that ever live to complete them.”

“You might feel inclined to move, to begin your journey even. Might I recommend a single night’s rest before such efforts recommence?”

I looked over to Miko. He looked tired, weary with worry for my sake, and in pain from his burns. My wounds ached down to the bone. “We’ll sleep through tonight or today. Whatever it is. We have to get back at it after that.”

There were no arguments from Nomen as usual, and Miko certainly wasn’t in any shape to do so. We slept uncomfortably. Minus Nomen, we slept without blankets or bedding. The stone was plenty flat, and our bags made quick pillows, but the room was still warm despite the levels returning to normal. I’m not sure how long I was out, but the crick in my neck told me it must have been a while. I scratched my head, wincing in pain as I reached my hand up to the sky. I’m right-handed, so I did it without thinking. Until this heals, that might be difficult to get used to. There wouldn’t be any advanced climbing any time soon.

Miko was out cold, as usual. My body didn’t have the strength for patience, and we needed to get moving, or else some other creature finds us sleeping. “Wake up, Miko!” I said with a soft couple of taps at his ribs. He stirred, fighting my request, but a few less gentle taps to the ribs made the decision to wake up a little easier to make. Nomen practically sleeps with one eye open because as soon as I wake up, he moves along at my speed and swiftly packs up his bag and belongings. “So what is it, legs or arms today?”

“Just the legs today. Are you going to be able to carry me?”

“We don’t have a choice.”

“Couldn’t we only move on days when my legs work?”

“Nomen said this place makes us weaker. It drains our stamina so that we get exhausted quicker. Every extra day we stay here doing nothing is a waste. We risk the whole journey if we aren’t moving every waking minute.”

He didn’t argue back, probably didn’t have the energy to, but he certainly didn’t seem happy with the concluding results. What I said must anger him or make him feel useless, but If I rest for too long, I may not get back up.

I walked over to Miko and situated our bags, then placed one knee on the ground with my other leg bending down to support the rest of my weight over my foot. Miko grabbed my shoulders and pulled with all his strength to drag himself up my back. “Agh.” I ground my teeth together to fight the pain as I stood tall, bracing Miko up piggyback style. The weight was bearable, not as much as before, but carrying him was something I was used to, so there was no surprise there.