In a hurry }{ ~OPEN~ :)

[Kilaray]

When the boy started to walk off by himself, Jarrah was a little surprised. He hadn't expected Kit to try moving around so much on his own so soon - most folks would need at least some sort of support to lean on with a leg injury like that. He certainly had, back when he took the blow to his own leg that left him now with the occasional limp. But...well...if the lad felt he could handle it, then...more power to him, he supposed.

Then he realized Kit was headed the wrong way to reach the inn. The medic opened his mouth to point it out but then the kid got himself turned around in the right direction so he decided not to say anything. He watched in silence until Kit stepped past him. And - despite his best efforts - Jarrah couldn't help laughing out loud at the other's last remark. His laughter caused a fresh wave of pain to shoot through his injuries, but it was brief and quickly forgotten.

"Yes, I can see that." He was still chuckling as he stooped to gather his pair of daggers. Nearby he also happened to notice another blade that looked a little out of place. Picking it up and glancing it over, he saw it didn't have the same engravings as those the mercenaries carried. And it wasn't his. Must have been the boy's, then. But the handle was split. Maybe Jarrah could look into getting it fixed while the lad rested - since it was kind of his fault it was ruined in the first place.

For now, though, he slipped it into his bag with his own daggers and stood up again to catch up with Kit. His leg had loosened up by now so while his limp was still there it was mostly gone at this point. He made sure to stay close enough to be ready to support the lad if he felt he needed it during the walk, or in case Kit's injured leg gave out on him.

Jarrah did have his doubts about the boy being able to limp all the way to the inn on that leg - probably just his medic's instinct being cautious. Yes, the exercise would be good for that injury, but it could cause more harm than good if Kit overdid it. Either way, he had to ask, "You're sure you can make it there? You don't have to push it, you know."

[boomdeboom]

Panting softly under his breath, sweat dripping down his face, Kit tried to focus his attention away from the awkward pain which shot up each time his damaged leg stepped on the surface, so for most of the way he was limping towards the inn, trying not to let his leg come even close to the ground.

He wasn't sure what time it was, last time he checked it was around midday, and that was when he was just entered the tavern. It had been quite a while since then, but he guessed it was around 4 o clock, as the sun was still strong but it was getting lower gradually. Still, the heat from the sun wasn't helping his already body, it just made Kit wish more that he was already in the inn, in the shelter, where it would be cool.

Pausing for a moment, looking back at Jarrah, Kit let a wide grin come onto his lips as once again he said with utter confidence, pointing a finger towards a building which he assumed to be the inn in question.

"No problem, I'm fine. It's right over there, I'll be fine." Although he was lying somewhat, as he could feel that the pain in his leg was growing, he decided not to let on. He didn't want to cause more trouble for the already injured medic, plus he knew that after a good night's sleep he would be able to run a mile with no problem. With this thought, the sandy brown hair lad turned around and continued on his way, his limping turning into hops as he tried to keep his leg up as much as possible, only letting it down when he had to, wincing whenever he did.

At the back of his mind, he could feel like he forgot something. Something that he had before he was stricken down and all this mess happened. But, at that moment, he couldn't concentrate very well, and soon he lost the concern of his presumed lost object, more focused on making it to the inn which was a few meters in front of him.

[Kilaray]

The boy had a rather stubborn independent streak, it seemed. That was all well and good, but Jarrah could tell just by watching that Kit probably wasn't being completely truthful. If he had to guess by the transition from limping to hops, the lad was starting to really feel the pain in his leg again.

Rather than continue to argue the matter, though, he decided to just keep quiet. By now they were almost to the inn, anyway, so he wouldn't have to walk on that bum leg much longer.

Once there, Jarrah helped the lad get inside and stole a quick glance around. There weren't many folks around yet, and he hoped that word of the chaos at the tavern hadn't gotten here before they did. The elder gentleman he assumed to be in charge of the place looked like he could be a grumpy old fellow - and right now the medic didn't feel like putting up with any resistance.

He motioned towards the nearest empty chair as he said to Kit, "Go ahead and sit for a minute. I'll get things taken care of."

[boomdeboom]

Almost letting out a yell of relief as Kit set his feet into the cool shade of the inn, when he felt once again Jarrah helping him, he could almost feel his body sag against the medic. It felt like he had run a mile, and not have to walk a bit. Perhaps it would take more then a day to be able to run like he had hoped.

Falling down onto the chair, sighing softly and closing his emerald eyes as he threw his arms over the handles of the chair. His long fringe fell over his eyes as he did so, which made him remember that he needed a haircut soon, his hair was beginning to get a bother.

As per usual, after a few moments, Kit got bored. With half open eyes, he lazily looked around under his fringe, but he spied nothing interesting. He should have been grateful that he was in a safe haven, for now, but he didn't want to wait for Jarrah to finish while he sat there like a child. So, even though his energy was low, Kit waved his hand slowly back and forth. As a familiar tingle ran up his arm, causing a soft smile to crack onto his dry lips, he summoned a small creature made up of water. Glancing down by his side, looking down towards the creature, which in turn looked back up at him with its wide clear eyes, it jumped onto his lap. Twirling around, droplets of water flying onto the wall, the summoning giggled as it danced all around, excited to see such an odd place. Seeing the water creature dance around reminded Kit of how dry his throat was. So, ignoring the protest of his summon, he threw it into his mouth, where it turned back into water. Closing his eyes once more, feeling weary after using some energy, he enjoyed the texture of the fresh water which ran down his throat, moistening it.

But, alas, he grew board again, but knowing that he didn't have much energy left, he decided against to summoning another thing. So, he passed the time by looking towards Jarrah as he talked towards the owner, whom looked like a right old grumpy geezer. His mind wandered onto what the medic had told him earlier. . .he had said he had a jealous brother and that was why he was being chased? Kit decided to ask him later, in a nice comfy bed, where he could talk without having to wince every few seconds from the pain which frequently shot up his body.

[Kilaray]

Once he was sure the boy was settled, Jarrah rearranged his bag in such a way that it would hide the wounds on his shoulder and side. The unwanted contact created a very painful sensation but he did his best to ignore it as he approached the inn keeper. He made sure not to let on that anything had happened as he casually leaned against the desk and flashed his usual smile. All the while he prayed this wouldn't somehow blow up in his face. "Excuse me, sir. Do you have any rooms available?"

The old man threw him a rather hard look, and Jarrah did his best to keep his demeanor unchanged as the man scrutinized his appearance. He knew he was a mess from all the fighting and that if word had gotten around about the tavern incident, the old man was probably suspicious and looking for some reason to turn them away. In fact, Jarrah almost expected the inn keeper to just flat-out say they were full, but he was surprised when instead the old man nodded and started sorting through the keys.

After a second or two the old geezer glanced up and nodded towards Kit. "The, eh, boy o'er there with you?"

Unsure what to make of the question, Jarrah nodded but didn't offer any explanation.

"Looks like you two 'ad a rough afternoon."

Crap. Gossip moved quickly in this village. The inn keeper was trying to figure out if they were involved over at the tavern. The tone in his words gave that much away.

Normally Jarrah didn't like to lie, but if he was going to keep from having to find somewhere else for Kit to rest, he was going to have to cover his tracks somehow. So, keeping his almost carefree facade in tact, he faked an embarrassed laugh. "Yeah...there was an accident just before we reached town. The boy got the worse of it, I'm afraid. Just need a place to stay so he can rest up."

He knew he was a terrible liar, and the old man didn't seem to be buying into his story. But apparently he didn't have enough to confirm his suspicions, so he handed over a key. "Down the 'all, last one on the left." In a hushed voice he added, "One night only. I want you both outta 'ere tomorrow."

Jarrah just flashed a goofy grin and a thumbs-up as he turned away, knowing it would irritate the old man. He was accustomed to this treatment by now to the point where it didn't really faze him anymore.

He made sure to keep his attitude light as he wandered back over to Kit to help him up again. "All right, it's all set. Let's get you settled in, huh?"

[boomdeboom]

Finding, although he hadn't noticed it, that he was playing with the elements as after a while of staring into a random space he found that a constant amount of moved air was going around in a circle. Only when he looked down at his fingers did he realize that it was his fault for the disturbance of air. But, because he had grown bored once more, he found that he didn't stop, even though he was growing weary.

Then, after catching an obvious lie that Jarrah caught, Kit was sure they'd be thrown out. So sure that he was already half way out of his seat, but hearing the inn owner's reply, he found himself flush with embarrassment and to try and cover himself he pretended he was scratching his back, and was soon back on his seat, trying to have a blank face but knowing that his blush was remaining stubbornly on his cheeks.

Scratching his sandy brown hair, he tried to avoid any unwanted attention by staring out through the window on the opposite side of the inn. Soon, he became entranced by watching the people walk by, all with something to do. All with somewhere to return to. This made his heart wrench a bit with loneliness at the thought that he had no home. He had no family or no one who cared for him. Still, he had survived this long without the love of someone, so he was sure he could continue to rest of his life as a traveler whom cared only for himself. Yet, he could feel him contradicting himself as he thought about his relationship with Jarrah.

This thought soon flew away as he saw Jarrah back off from the old geezer, with a pair of keys in his hand. Also grinning, using the help in which the medic offered, Kit warily placed both of his legs on the ground, but soon brought up his injured one as pain shot through it. Limping slightly, trying not to make it so obvious as he felt the gaze of the inn keeper on the both of them, he said with a bright and cheerful voice as he limped towards a hallway which he presumed to be the area in which the rooms were.

"So, where are we staying?" Staying close to the wall, pausing every so often to try and catch his breath, although he made it out to be that he was scratching the back of his leg, he gazed towards Jarrah. As he stared at the blonde, the thought from earlier poped up in his head, even though he tried to ignore it, it repeated itself in a confused voice.

"What is Jarrah to you? He did save your life, yet you said you didn't want to be in debt with anyone? You are, after all, a loner." This repeated itself many times, each time in doing so leaving Kit more confused.

[Kilaray]

This time Jarrah didn't wait for the okay. As the boy headed down the hallway, he caught up and offered a support for Kit to shift his weight to. His uninjured leg had to be good and sore by now from supporting his entire weight, and the bad leg sure as heck couldn't do its share. Yes, it was good that Kit was trying to handle it himself - but everyone had their limits. And the boy was clearly becoming weary.

Jarrah double-checked the number on the key to make sure he had the right room. Returning the smile he said to Kit, "Must be this one."

Once inside he helped the boy over to the bed and took a quick look around. It wasn't all that big, with just the bed, a table, and a cushioned chair near the door. Jarrah would probably crash on the floor later rather than use the chair - he was more accustomed to sleeping on the ground, anyway.

He wandered over to the table and dropped his bag, turning back to face Kit as a hand strayed to the injury on his shoulder. A constant ache was beginning to settle in - he'd have to start tending to himself here in a minute. But for now he offered a smile to the boy to try to hid his own weariness. "Get some sleep, son. We'll talk more once you've rested."

[boomdeboom]

[OOC: Ah sorry for the late reply, homework was such a bummer this past few weeks!]

Although he didn't like the help, he still didn't protest as Jarrah lended him a helping hand, and so leaned against him, feeling the pain of his leg grow from the amount of walking he had done in the last half hour. It was quite easy to notice how tired he was, since his face was shining from the sweat and his cheeks red, something which was easily spotted against his rather fair skin.

Inside the room, he began to protest about him taking the bed but as he sat on it he heaved a sigh as his body slumped onto it. The comfy matress and fresh covers, needless to say it seemed like years since he had last laid on something so comfterable, even though it had been a few weeks ago since he was at a hostel.

After a few moments of staring at the white ceiling, feeling so tired that no thoughts really came into his head, and so he really had no reason to talk. He just concentrated on the ceiling, his mind going blank as the effects of him walking took its tole on him. Soon he was having trouble keeping his eyelids up. Of course you couldn't really tell, as his hair covered his eyes, although he tried to blow up his locks, but gave up after around two minutes of attemtping to.

Turning his gaze over towards the medic, he gave a small smile as he nodded. He was surprised as to how tired he actually was, since just moments ago he was awake, and yet here he was falling asleep. In a matter of minutes, he was fast asleep, his breathing becoming slow as he fell into a deep slumber.


"Kit. . . .Kit. . . ." A unknown voice called him, echoing as if in a huge hall. Opening his eyes, he found himself in a church. On the alter, a woman with long blonde hair stood, wearing a loose white dress which blew from an uknown wind. Holding out her hands, she continued to call his name. But, even though he felt the urge to walk to her, he hesistated. Staring at her, licking his dry lips, he then asked as loudly as he could, even though he knew the answer.

"Who are you?"

WHOOSH.

A loud and strong gust of wind came and as the woman continued to smile began to fade away in a burst of leaves which along with the wind blew away, leaving Kit alone. Feeling tears in his eyes for an unknown reason, he began to wipe at his eyes. Why was he crying? He didn't like this dream, he wanted to wake up. He felt vulnerable.

[Kilaray]

[ooc – heh, it’s okay. i know how that goes. ]

Once the boy was asleep, Jarrah made quick work of tending to his own injuries. It was awkward trying to bind the one on his shoulder, but he was loath to admit he was starting to get the hang of doing things one handed – though it did take much longer than the one on his side. After he was finished, he grabbed his bag and started to leave the room.

He stopped when he reached the door and glanced back at Kit. The thought had just occurred to him that, if the boy awoke while he was gone, he might think the medic had ditched out on him. Better leave the bag here to assure him that wasn’t the case – he was coming right back, anyway.

To hide the tears and bloodstains on his shirt, Jarrah tossed on his coat, then slipped the dagger with the broken handle on his belt and his bag of money in an interior pocket. Then he headed out to see if he could find someone to fix the weapon. By the time he got back, the sun was pretty well gone.

He had been told the dagger wouldn’t be ready until the next morning, but that was all right. It wasn’t like he was going anywhere. Jarrah grabbed a bucket of water from the well out back to wash the blood off his shirt and tossed the garment on the back of the chair to dry. He’d worry about mending it once he got some rest himself.

A quick check on the boy showed he was still sleeping, and quite soundly. Pulling his ponytail out, the medic tossed his bag on the floor to use as a pillow. It was tricky trying to get comfortable thanks to his injuries, but eventually he was settled in and pulled his coat up to cover himself.

At some point during the night – an hour or so before sunrise, he guessed – Jarrah was awakened by some sound in the room. A moaning, maybe? Or was it…crying?

As he sat up, it took a moment to figure out where the noise was coming from. He tossed on his coat and stretched as he wandered over to the boy. It was difficult to tell in the darkness whether Kit was awake. So, having rested enough for most of his energy to have returned, the medic held up his hand and generated a little bit of light, enough to get a clear view of the boy’s face.

It was immediately apparent Kit was having a bad dream. Jarrah took a seat on the edge of the mattress and set his hand on the other’s shoulder, shaking it carefully to try to bring him out of his sleep. “Kit? … Kit. … Hey, come on, son. Wake up.”

[boomdeboom]

Left alone in his strange dream, Kit looked around through his blurred vision. Why were these tears so persistent? Rubbing at his eyes once more, satisfied as his vision became clear, he looked around once more. Now in a field, where many colourful summer flowers were in bloom, it felt familiar. This whole place, it was as if he was here before. Bending down, picking up a lone red poppy, he gazed at it. Red. Blood was red.

The scenery changed once more, and where he was now, well it was so shocking that it made the flower which was in his hand fall out. His breathing now became heavy, and he could feel the tears from before come back. Why was he reacting like this? Well, in the middle of the room in which he was in, the bloody corpses of his parents laid. Then, as if it was a flashback, his child self entered the room, only to burst into tears as he saw his parents dead. Running up to them, the child cried, calling his parents over and over, hoping that they would awaken from their slumber, only to realize that it was no use. They were dead. Scared at this place, Kit searched for a way out. The door. Without hesitation, he left his crying self and dashed out the door, not wanting to remain in that room anymore. So much blood. Death. Blood.

Again, the scene changed. Out of breath, he looked around once more. In a white area once more, he noticed two figures in front of him. Taking a step towards them, since he couldn't see their faces, he gasped and covered his face with his hands. His parents, still blood, were standing in that room. Looking at him. And in the split second that he met their gaze, he was scared. A scream erupted from him as he could feel his parents hands go on his shoulder. He didn't want them to touch him. They left him. They could have fought back. But they died, leaving him behind.

Bang!

His eyes poped open, and he jumped up from his sleeping position. His hands began to pat around his body, almost as if he still feel his parents, but after a few seconds he realized that he was now awake. Taking deep breathes, placing his hand on his forehead, Kit gazed towards the hand which was on his shoulder. Blinking, his emerald orbs confused as to who the man was, but remembering what happened the day before. His name was Jarrah.

Feeling the pain from his sudden movement, he felt back onto the bed. Forcing his breathing to slow down, he closed his eyes, his hand falling onto them. What a strange dream, the strangest he had had in a while. Usually dreams didn't affect him like this, but this dream was different.

[Kilaray]

Though he was prepared for a sudden movement or outburst, Jarrah was startled as the boy bolted upright. He kept his hand firmly on Kit's shoulder to prevent him from tumbling over or flailing around, lest he hurt himself again. Though he thought it a bit odd to see the kid patting himself down like he was, the medic waited to remove his hand until he lay back down.

In the meantime he watched the boy's face closely - he could have sworn Kit was white as a sheet. Whatever he just experienced had definitely unnerved him, possibly even scared him.

Must have been a hell of an nightmare.

Allowing the other a chance to catch his breath, Jarrah headed over to the table for the lamp. He held the hand that was generating the light next to the glass, and the glow left his palm as if it had lit the wick. This way they could both see and he could keep his hands free.

On his way back to Kit, he scooped up his bag and held it in his lap as he sat down again. He knew that, after jerking himself around so much, the boy was going to be sore. But he was undecided whether to give Kit a medicine for that pain or if he should just finish tending to the injuries now. Jarrah would figure that one out once he better understood what was going on.

Setting the lamp on the mattress, the medic turned his full attention to Kit. Though he offered his usual easy smile in hopes of helping the boy calm down, there was a hint of concern in his tone. "Everything all right?"

A foolish question - anyone with half a brain could see the answer. But he wasn't going to force Kit to talk if it was going to bother him. Some folks were open, others preferred to clam up. And for all Jarrah knew, even though it was just a nightmare, it may have been something that was none of his business.

[boomdeboom]

In his mind's eye, the dream replayed itself many a time. As if it were figuring out why he had dreamed of his parents, whom he had blocked from his mind to avoid hurt, were appearing now, after many years. It was odd, and he was confused. But, not as much as he was afraid. Because of this, his breath didn't settle, it was still heavy and quick.

Following the movements of the medic, in order to break free from his thoughts which always strayed back to his parents, he once again could feel the tears suddenly stray up into his eyes, causing them to sting. But, in order to hide any unwanted attention, he was quick to rub them away with his sleeves, although he tried to make it look like he were merely rubbing his eyes because they were sore from the lack of sleep, not that he was secretly crying.

Hearing the question, Kit brought his sleeves away and stared at Jarrah, his eyes red from both the tears and the fact that they had just gotten irritated from his sleeves. Mimicking his smile, he gave a low laugh, and bending his head forward, his shaggy locks hiding his face away like a curtain, he nodded, saying in a raspy tone, as if he hadn't spoken in a few years, like his tongue was heavy and his voice not used to this odd function.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine, just a bad dream, hah." Faking a small laugh at the end, trying to get his usual self back to life, he let his head drop back onto the pillow, heaving a heavy sigh as he stared blankly at the ceiling, as if he was in a dream once more. But, he winced as once more his dream began to replay itself in his mind, and a shiver ran down his back as he once again could almost feel his parents hands on his shoulder.

[Kilaray]

Try as he might to hide it, Kit couldn't fool the medic. He wasn't fine - that nightmare really shook him up.

Curious though he may have been, Jarrah wasn’t going to ask for any details. If Kit wanted to talk about it, he would in due time. The medic understood more than most how irritating it could get to be asked questions one didn't want to answer.

So in the meantime, he tried to think of something to get the other's mind off the nightmare. He doubted Kit would be going back to sleep so soon after something like that. Setting his bag aside, he turned back to the younger and brightened his smile. “Tell ya what. How about I quick finish healing those injuries? Might help make it so you’re not so restless.”

Besides that, Jarrah was sure the lad would prefer to be getting around on his own again as soon as possible, rather than having to rely on a stranger’s help. And the sooner Kit was healed up, the sooner the medic would be able to leave.

[boomdeboom]

Continuing to stare up at the ceiling, lost in his own mind which was muddled which mixed feelings, as the medic once more began to speak, his eyes trailed over to the figure. His words confused his mind. Injuries? He had gotten injuries?

As if to test if these words were false or the truth, Kit slowly began to raise himself from his bed, but soon regretted so as the pain shot through his body, as if someone were stabbing him a thousand times over and over. Gazing down to where the most pain was coming from, he was surprised to find a thick bandage wrapped around his stomach, and a very familiar colour of red on it. So, he had gotten injured. Since when?

Raising his hand, he placed the tips of his fingers over the wound, straining to remember what happened to him, but alas his mind was a blank. He remembered being in the tavern, and meeting the medic, but from then on it was blank, only remembering stumbling down the hallway to their room in this inn. Was his mind blocking something away from him.

However, not wanting any awkward questions, Kit nodded to Jarrah, wiping off his confused wondering expression with a friendly one. He didn't want to appear crazy. So, wincing while doing so, he leant back on the bed, although his fingers still remained on his painful wound, as if by doing so it would refresh his memory. This sense of vulnerability made his heart pound faster, as if it wanted him to because well again so he could run once more into a place where he would be safe and alone, so even though he was taking quicker breathes, he tried to conceal them as well as he could.

[Kilaray]

He didn't think Kit's confusion at his condition to be out of place. Considering how quickly the boy awoke, Jarrah would have been surprised if he hadn't been disoriented or confused in some way.

The medic grabbed a cloth from his bag before reaching down to loosen the bandages on Kit's stomach, enough that he could pull them down and out of the way. He could see that the bleeding had started again due to all these sudden movements. But that would soon cease to be a problem.

Being as careful as he could, he pressed the cloth to the boy's injury. At the same time a faint white light shone from his hand as the deep gash began to heal from the inside out.

After a moment his gaze wandered up to the boy's face. It was difficult to be certain in the faint glow of the lantern, but it looked like Kit might be starting to panic again. Whether it was due to his confusion or because he was still reeling from the nightmare, Jarrah couldn't be sure.

He turned his attention back to the wound. Keeping his tone as calm and reassuring he said, "Try to relax, Kit. You'll be fine in a minute." A short while later the light faded and Jarrah pulled the cloth away. Aside from the tear in the boy's shirt, the only hint he'd ever been hurt was a faint scar that would fade in time.

Jarrah reached into his bag for a dagger but then thought better of it. Considering his current mindset, the sight of a blade might startle Kit. So instead the medic tore the bandages so he could remove them without having to make the kid sit up.

"There. See?" He flashed a bright smile as he wadded up the bandages and tossed them aside. "You might ache for a little while yet, but the worst is past." He began to unwrap the bandages on Kit's leg to do the same with that injury.