It was as if a weight sunk deep into Nagan's gut as they prepared to land in the town's square. Rows of people were laid out on makeshift stretchers, some receiving treatment while a few others were carried away, their spots quick to be taken by another.
"Are all those people..." Az began to ask, but the words died in his throat.
"There were fewer casualties than you think, but yes. All these people were injured during the attack," Professor Fai answered softly.
As Chenshui descended, a few gathered around, ready to receive the next injured victim. To say Nagan, Carthadeus, and Az were relieved to see this was an understatement. All three teens were exhausted, their adrenaline wearing off after their first taste of fighting for their lives, and all their cuts and bruises were gradually becoming less ignorable.
The soldiers carefully lifted Blaine off their laps once Chenshui landed, and one by one they followed, sliding off and wincing as they stood on stiff legs. Az carefully supported Carthadeus after realizing the latter had sustained a knee injury. Having not been told to do anything else, the teens followed behind Professor Fai who quietly conversed with the soldiers as they looked for a spot for Blaine.
"Do we have a final count?" Professor Fai asked.
"We won't know for sure, but so far only about a dozen." A pause. "Lieutenant Larksong is amongst those numbers, I'm afraid, Captain."
Professor Fai's steps faltered for a moment, and he remained silent until Blaine had been lowered onto a low cot. A medic was ushered over before Professor Fai let out a heavy sigh.
"His poor wife," he muttered, shaking his head. "Good men were lost today. What of Sergeant Paroda?"
"Alive. He's taken charge of cremation of the dragons."
So that's what they do with the dragons, Nagan thought grimly.
"Tell him he's been promoted to lieutenant the next you see him. Also, lead me to the nearest messenger. I need to inform the Totaris of this occurrence. I doubt the prince is safe with us after being targeted so severely, so it's best if they escort him from here."
"Yes, sir. Right this way."
Nagan watched as Professor Fai was led away and nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt someone put their hand on his back.
"Sorry, just me," Az said, beginning the process of realigning his circuits. "You might want to sit down."
Nagan winced as a tender circuit snapped into place. "I guess I should."
They sat in silence after that. There was a moment where Blaine began to stir awake, but the medic chanted an incantation Nagan didn't recognize. Blaine stilled once more. It was an incantation of rest, Az whispered to Nagan when he asked what it was.
"The wound was open enough to develop an infection," the medic explained when Az asked why he did that, "so it's best to let him rest as much as possible, and when he's able to, to get lots of fluids."
Once the medic deemed Blaine stable enough to move, soldiers came to collect him once again, moving him to another area. The medic then set to work looking after the boys. All had scrapes and bruises that only needed washing and wrapping, and Carthadeus' knee wasn't as bad as they initially thought. Only a sprain and the medic made sure to show them how to keep it wrapped, giving him instructions to keep it off it as much as possible.
"Lucky you. That means you get a horse for the next few weeks," Az commented.
"Fantastic," Carthadeus replied sarcastically before looking at the medic. "Can you realign our friend's circuits before you go? One of his barriers was broken."
"That's not necessary—"
"Of course." The medic ignored Az's protests. "That can't be comfortable as you're realigning others."
Az made a noise of discomfort as the medic set to work, and he laid a hand on Nagan's shoulder to brace himself. As a medic himself, Az wasn't as accustomed to the feeling of realignment as the rest of them were.
"It never gets any better, does it," Az said to Nagan with a grimace once the medic was done and moved on to the next patient.
"It's usually not that bad, but in this case, we had a barrier shattered."
"Still. I don't know how dwarns do it." Az chuckled to himself. "It really puts into perspective what Gath and Milora have to go through all the time."
"Speaking of Gath," Carthadeus jumped in, "I think I see them over there."
Nagan and Az looked to where Carthadeus was pointing, and sure enough, the rest of their squadron was there. Gath gave them a little wave from where he stood with Aitor behind him. In Aitor's arms was Georgivus, and by the look of it, the young prince was asleep. Nagan couldn't blame him for being exhausted. No matter how rude and demanding he was to Blaine, it must have been traumatic to see his caretaker in that state.
Blaine must really care for Georgivus as well to continue running after being stabbed, Nagan thought idly. The statue weighed heavily in his pocket as a reminder, but he would have to examine it later.
Az supported Carthadeus as they made their way over to rejoin the others, Carthadeus' arm slung over his shoulders, while Nagan walked in front to clear the way. Gath met them halfway after realizing the older teen was injured while Aitor and Georgivus stayed behind.
"Hey," Gath said with a half-hearted smile. "Glad you guys got here ok."
"You say that as if we've been separated for weeks," Carthadeus grunted after Gath went to support his other side. "And I don't need two crutches."
Gath snorted. "A thank you would've been good, too."
"Did you get your circuits realigned, yet?" Az asked.
"Not yet."
"I'll do it when we get back to Aitor, then."
No one mentioned Aitor's red eyes when they got there. Instead, Nagan moved to block the sight of the injured as subtly as he could while the rest set Carthadeus down on an empty crate. Aitor made a small motion with his head—one that he would've done with his hands if they weren't full—to silently ask what happened.
"I twisted it towards the end of the fight." Carthadeus waved his hand in dismissal. "Don't worry, it's probably just gonna be sore for the next few days."
Aitor gave him a thoughtful look before shuffling closer to Nagan, nodding his head down to Georgivus.
"...You want me to hold him?"
Aitor nodded.
With a shrug, Nagan worked with Aitor to carefully transfer the child without waking him up. He had done it before with Az and Florine. Back at the villa, there was a small village nearby that he, Az, Florine, and another guard would commonly visit. It was when Florine became too tired were they forced to carry her back. She didn't like the feel of the guard's armor and would complain until one of her brothers carried her instead. Now that he thought about it, Georgivus and Florine weren't that far in age, but the prince may have been older.
Once they successfully moved Georgivus, Aitor knelt before Cathadeus and carefully straightened his injured leg, glancing up at Az to check if he was doing something wrong. Az only nodded in encouragement. Aitor sat in silence for a second, staring at the knee with a grimace before muttering something under his breath. With a glowing hand, vines slowly began wrapping around Carthadues' knee. Sometimes Aitor used his free hand to help guide the vines. Az, realizing what Aitor was doing, soon joined him crouched on the ground while pointing out parts where the vines should be thicker or thinner. In the end, there was an odd contraption wrapped around Carthadeus' knee, both sturdy and flexible enough to allow some mobility.
Curious, Gath asked, "What's it for?"
"It's almost like a splint, but it's still bendy enough for Carthadeus to walk somewhat normally," Az explained. "The smaller vines keep it in place while the thicker ones prevent it from bending too much. How does it feel?"
Realizing that the question was directed at him, Carthadeus bent his knee a bit before straightening it again. "It's fine. It doesn't feel too tight or anything."
Aitor nodded in satisfaction and stood, Az doing the same, before shuffling back next to Nagan. Silence followed. None of them really knew what to say after all that had happened, all too tired to truly acknowledge it. However, Nagan noticed a silent conversation going on in front of him, Carthadeus, Gath, and Az glancing back and forth between him and Aitor while giving pointed looks at each other. Az seemed to step out of the "conversation" halfway, pulling Aitor aside to realign his circuits. After about a minute, it was Carthadeus who spoke first, clearing his throat.
"Nagan, how old are you?"
Nagan blinked, trying to wrap his mind around why on earth he was asking. "Almost fourteen."
Carthadeus sucked air through his teeth before turning to Aitor. "And you?"
"F—fourt-t-teen."
There was one more shared look between the older teens.
"I'm sending both of you back to the host home."
"What? Carth—"
"I'm saying that as an order, Nagan."
Nagan huffed, careful to keep his voice down to not wake the prince. "We all knew what we were getting into, you can't just shelter us away!"
Carthadeus scoffed. "I can't shelter you from anything after what we saw today."
"What we mean is, that it doesn't feel...right, to keep you here," Gath tried to remedy. "Besides, someone needs to take care of the prince until we figure out where he's supposed to be. It's just...yeah. I don't like how you two are here in the first place."
"Mil-l-lora is—s f-fourt-t-t-teen a-as well—ll..."
"Well, at least we were promised scouting missions when we get to our actual assigned location, so we shouldn't..." Gath trailed off with a grimace. "We shouldn't encounter anything like this again. Not yet."
"Either way, that has nothing to do with the current situation," Carthadeus cut in. "Honestly, I'd send Icarion back with you as well, but the medics need all the help they can get."
Nagan opened his mouth to say something, but Carthadeus cut him off again.
"I said it was an order." Carthadeus sighed roughly. "I'm saying these things with the best intentions. You two did well today. I mean it. For being the only ones who actually engaged with the enemy up close, you both did things I wouldn't dare attempt yet. But that doesn't mean you need to keep going. Just...do as I say and take a break. Go ahead and be mad at me, but my decision is final. We'll talk later tonight."
Nagan was about to object some more until he felt someone tug on his arm. Aitor gave him a helpless shrug but silently pleaded for him to go along with it. So with a heavy sigh, Nagan relented, sending one last glance at the older teens. Carthadeus raised his eyebrow in a challenge, Gath gave him an apologetic smile, and Az didn't look at him at all.
Fine, then. Nagan knew he wouldn't be angry with them in a couple hours, but that didn't mean he was frustrated with the outcome.
From the corner of his eye he could see Aitor next to him, his shoulders hunched more than usual, and he had his eyes glued to the ground. The sight made Nagan's anger ebb away. It was clear Aitor was struggling the most with the events prior, so...perhaps this was for the best if it meant he could help his friend.
•_____________________•
I definitely messed up Nagan's age at some point—what's new—but I've actually created a timeline a few months go to keep up with it, and apparently Nagan is still 13. Granted, he's like one month away from turning 14, but I could've sworn I said he was 14 somewhere.
Then again, I said Carthadeus was an only child in the first first book until I forgot and said otherwise. There's a lot of inconsistencies that I'm gonna have fun picking through in the future.
Anyway, have a good day, and may you be sprinkled with compliments and wealth XD
(Maybe leave a vote? Idk, I see people ask for them all the time, so maybe I should start doing it, too XD)