Girl At War

Before - 1

Then the boy was upon her again. She felt him raining blows down on her, and she left off her attack on the girl to defend from him. She realized her mistake the instant she saw the boy's eyes. She started to turn back, but the staff struck her across the head. She went down, rolling to take the momentum, then lay still, unable to move. She felt as though she couldn't breath, couldn't move. Darkness was over her, gone, then back. She suddenly caught her breath, and gasped. She started to get up, but the boy was upon her already. Dazed, she kicked at him, not doing too much damage. The girl was headed over also. Eloyse curled into a defensive position, realizing she wasn't clear-headed enough to fight yet. 

Suddenly the boy's pounding blows were gone. He let loose a yell of fright or pain. Eloyse rolled over and swiftly gained her feet, stumbling backwards a step or two to catch her balance. Then the girl was there again, her staff swinging. Eloyse ducked the first several blows. She let the quarterstaff slide off her arm once, but she was losing ground, stepping back and back. Knowing it, the girl pressed her. Inching backwards, Eloyse tripped over something at the same time the girl cracked down hard. She fell, instinctively letting the quarterstaff slam into her boots rather than her legs.

The girl abruptly left off the attack, spinning around to face someone from the other side. Eloyse stared, then closed her eyes, trying to make sense of what she'd seen. Who would be out here helping her?

When she opened her eyes again, a blond man was crouching over her, his blue eyes concerned. Her mind perfectly alert, Eloyse lay still. She calculated swiftly, wondering what her chances were to fight this one if he turned against her. As if he read her thoughts, he spoke.

"I'm not gonna hurt you. Can you get up?"

Eloyse narrowed her eyes at him. "Yes. I'm not broken!" she snapped.

"Fine, fine!" the man laughed quietly, stepping back. Eloyse stiffly sat up, shaking her head to put her thoughts in order. He offered a hand, pulling her to her feet.

"I'm Steve."

"Thanks." she muttered, brushing herself off slightly. Her eyes swept the area, then sought out the man again, asking a question without words. He smiled. He had a nice smile.

"I saw you needed some help and lent a hand. They're over there. Somewhere..." He vaguely gestured.

She nodded. "You got hurt?" her quick eyes took in the blood dripping from the hand he was unsuccessfully trying to hide.

"I was a little slow, and he was a bit fast." he sheepishly grinned. Eloyse went closer.

"Let me see."

"Naw, I'll be fine." he insisted. Eloyse glared at him. He stared back at her for a long, long moment, then slowly drew his hand from behind his back and offered it to her. Eloyse touched the blood, running her hand up to the wound. It was behind the wrist, and slightly above it. Eloyse flicked her eyes up at the man and saw his the surprise crossing his face. She understood the wonderful pain-free feeling that was spreading through his hand. She inspected the cut. It wasn't deep, and would be easy to heal without tiring her too much. She brought up her left hand, condensing her powers in her palm, then placed it over the wound. The blond man was staring at her in almost fear. Eloyse smiled a little. She kept her hand cupped over his as she raised her eyes to meet his.

"Thank you for your help." she removed her hand and walked over to her waiting horse. Mounting smoothly, she rode away without looking back.

Character switch ==Steve==

"Let me see."

"Naw, I'll be fine." I honestly didn't need this girl messing with my hand. She may have been able to fight decently, but she didn't even have any first aid supplies, for goodness sake! She glared at me, and there was something in her steely brown eyes that broke my will. I reluctantly showed her my hand, fully prepared for her to say sorry and ask if I needed help bandaging it. Instead she touched the tips of my fingers, which were covered in crimson. She ran her hand up my hand, over the blood, to the wound itself. The pain I'd previously felt was slipping away.

I stared at her, surprised. Where her hand had passed over, there was no blood. She must have cleaned it with her hand, I thought. I was totally unprepared for what she did next. She brought up her left hand, which she'd had by her side. I saw blue mist gathering over her palm, then she turned her hand over, placing it directly over my cut. Instantly, all the rest of the pain was gone. I swallowed. This was no ordinary girl who could just fight! She looked up at me, her dark eyes soft.

"Thank you for your help." She took away her hand and walked off. I gaped at my hand. There was no sign I'd been injured save for a small, diagonal scar, faintly visible. I closed and opened my hand. When I looked up toward her, she was on a horse, leaving. In a hurry. I involuntarily glanced at my hand again. Even though she'd wiped the blood off my hand, she hadn't had any on her hands. It had vanished.

"Everything alright down there?"

The voice in my earpiece jerked me back to reality. "Yea, I'm fine." I said. "Warn the team there's a girl here, dark hair, dark eyes. She's got powers, to what extent I don't know."

"What can she do?" a different one of my teammates queried.

"So far?" I smiled, flexing my wrist, "Heal."

**Top picture is of her saddle and gear for her archery stuff**