Querencia (Rewrite)

S2 Postlude Episode 1: Mizpah

(n.) The deep emotional bond between people, especially those seperated by distance or death

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"Malum," [M/n] called, pressing a hand to his stomach where the wound was already opening. Within seconds the fox appeared, glancing around for a second before hurrying to [M/n]'s side. 

Lloyd steppes forward, panic flashing through his eyes, "Wait!" Malum stopped, tails curling around [M/n]'s arms and legs to support him. "Where are you taking him?"

"And how long is he going to be gone for?" Zane asked. 

"A place you cannot follow, and as long as it takes for him to heal." The ninja all looked agitated by his evasive answers, but seemed to relent. 

Lloyd stepped forward to cup [M/n]'s cheek, pressing their foreheads together, as his throat failed to work. The others all gave the ninja worried looks as Lloyd pulled away, and Malum prepared to dissappear. 

"Good luck," Cole stated, dipping his head. Before [M/n] could respond, Malum teleported them away. 

It was an odd feeling, being so light, like he had never existed in the first place. When his feet hit the grass he nearly collapsed at the white-hot pain that nearly blacked out his vision. It was only Malum's tails curled around his form that kept him from collapsing. 

His training kicked in and he immediatley scanned the area they were in. A small grassy clearing, surrounded by large trees, with a cabin tucked against the edge. 

"Healer Aed!" Malum called, guiding [M/n] towards the cabin. The door was practically flung open, and a person wearing the soft blue cloak of a healer came rushing out. They hurried over, pulling [M/n]'s arm over their shoulder to help support him into the house. 

"I see the amulet worked," Aed commented dryly, glancing to the pale blue stone that had a large crack through it. 

"It did, but he continued to fight."

"I specifically said that the amulet was not a fix-all. It only stops the spread for a short time and helps with pain, and fighting reduces the amulets effectiveness."

"I couldn't let Lloyd face the Overlord alone," [M/n] snapped tiredly. Aed's eyes went wide, and they turned to Malum who nodded grimly. The three fell silent as they guided [M/n] to the bed, and carefully guides him onto it. 

"I'm going to have to take off your top and armor," Aed warned. A nod, and the healer began unbuckling the chest piece before setting it aside. 

Next they carefully undid the top of [M/n]'s blood splattered GI, and set it to the side as well. They then realized the cut dipped down past his waist, towards his thigh, and they used a small knife to cut away that part of the GI so he could retain some of his modesty. 

Now that his clothes were out of the way, Aed began observing the wound to see what they needed to do. They were horrified at what they saw. 

The cut itself started just below his right armpit and continued jaggedly down his chest and stomach, just barely missing any important organs, and stopped a couple of inches above his knee.

What worried the healer was the smell of decaying flesh that immediately assaulted their nose once all of [M/n]'s clothes were off. The wound itself had opened up once again, and the burnt edges had turned black, as a strange oily black substance and blood oozed from it. 

"Malum: bandages, rags, hot water, moss, cowslip, ground ivy, madder, mint, and meadowsweet," Aed ordered, peeling the side of [M/n]'s underwear from the wound making the ninja hiss. Malum was quick, reappearing within a couple of minutes with all of the supplies in his tails.