††† Ryden †††

Ryden assessed the damage while already spreading his essence through the girl's body. The bulky warrior hadn't let go of her— seemed to be in a state of shock. But at least he didn't lash out when Ryden started working.

Kidney and large intestine shredded, high blood loss, no pulse. It looked grim. The organs were quickly growing back under his ministrations, so at least there was still life in this body. But it wouldn't last long.

When most of the wound was healed, the girl's companion came out of his trance. "What?" His voice was coarse and heavy with sorrow.

"This man is The Healer," Samuel's deep baritone sounded confident. "If anyone can help her, it's him."

"Healer?" the young man asked weakly. "There is nothing to heal anymore."

Ryden tuned their voices out. When the girl's body had been mended, he pushed his reserves to form a seal around her heart. He had only done this once, successfully, and it was with his master guiding him through the process. Ryden tightened the seal quickly, squeezing down at the delicate organ and let off before it would rip with utmost concentration. He tensed and relaxed the seal again and again.

After an endless minute, the patient's heart did its first beat without help. And then a second beat. Weak, and too much time in between, but she was alive.

††† Siegfried †††

Siegfried forgot to breathe— his mind not able to cope with what his eyes saw. Haylee's chest rose again. "Is she—" he dared not to hope. But he saw it with his own eyes. "She is alive?"

"She's breathing again but lost too much blood. Can't stabilise her," the blonde stranger muttered quickly, more talking to himself than anyone else. His gaze focused on Sieg. "She needs blood, but not any blood will do. Mine's too different, Samuel's too," he explained. "Give me your arm for a moment."

Siegfried didn't hesitate. It was a strange request, but he had seen the impossible miracle that 'The Healer' worked. He had revived Haylee.

The Healer closed his eyes in concentration again. The expression on his face changed from calm-but-focused to startled as he glanced at Sieg again.

"Is something wrong?" Siegfried asked, alarmed. "Will my blood not work?"

The young man shook his head, "I'm not sure. Your blood is… like all of our blood combined. I've never seen the like." It was almost a whisper— again more to himself than to Siegfried. But he caught himself quickly, reverting back to an emotionless, practical tone. "We have to risk it. She doesn't have much longer." The Healer moved Haylee's left arm outwards. "Lay down next to her, facing the ground."

Siegfried complied, and The Healer placed the warrior's arm atop Haylee's, vein against vein. Then he grabbed both their arms and shut his eyes once again.

Siegfried felt a sharp pain shooting up from the connection as his vein seemed to open from itself. But he didn't flinch— didn't dare to move a single muscle.

By the time he started to feel dizzy from the blood transfusion, Sieg felt the small cut closing up again. His gaze fixed on the cat-girls sleeping face, her breath even and strong now. "Did it work? Will she live?"

The Healer let out a deep, exhausted sigh, "her body accepted the blood just fine. She will recover."

A wave of euphoric feelings swept over Siegfried. He blinked away tears, his hand shaking from overwhelming relief as he gently cupped Haylee's face and rested his forehead against hers. "Never again, Haylee," he whispered against her lips. "I will never let anyone hurt you like this again. I will get stronger, and I will protect you. Like you protected me," he vowed quietly.

Siegfried sat up and faced The Healer again. The miraculous man seemed winded— his ice-blue eyes heavy. Despite the short, dark-blonde beard that covered his chin, the young features of his face let Sieg believe their age must be close. He bowed his head respectfully to The Healer. "You have my thanks, Healer. My name is Siegfried, and I owe you a debt of gratitude."

††† Ryden †††

Ryden was taken aback by the tall warrior's behaviour. Bowing one's head in deference was not something he expected from a man with such a fierce appearance. But that might just be a quirk of the city dwellers for all he knew. The words of gratitude, however, felt honest and spoken with genuine appreciation.

"Siegfried, is it?" Ryden spoke with weary amusement. "First of all, stand up, friend. We're not big on formalities in this part of The Wilds." He offered his hand instead, and the warrior took it in a firm grip. "The name's Ryden, and this," he nodded at the towering Nivetian, "is Samuel."

Siegfried turned to Samuel. "You have my thanks, warrior."

"Hunter," Samuel corrected. "And no need to thank me. I also have a debt to pay, and bringing Ryden here was an easy way out." He winked at Ryden with a grin.

"Anyway," Ryden caught their attention again, "we can talk later. For now, there are still five enforcers combing the forest, and we're not exactly safe here."

Samuel averted his gaze. "I'm ashamed I cannot offer you shelter, but my people would be easy prey for that bunch. Our scouts got a glimpse at the squad, and they are no pushovers." He raised his furred arm to the northeast. "If you follow that direction for an hour or two, you'll find a small rock formation. It's honeycombed with cavities and tunnels too small for bigger predators. Even if the red piss-heads find you there, the narrow space would be defendable."

Siegfried chuckled at the phrase. "Thanks, then that's our best bet."

"I'll go with you," Ryden offered. "There are some things I'd like to ask, and north-east is as good a direction as any to me right now. What's the name of the beautiful feline here?" he asked Siegfried.

"Feline?"

"That's what we call humanoid beings with cat-like features around here," Samuel chipped in.

"Her name is Haylee," Sieg answered in a soft voice as he directed his attention back to the cat-girl.

"A lovely name," Ryden commented. "Haylee will likely sleep for a while longer. And afterwards, she needs to eat. You'll have to carry her and stay close. I should be able to get us through the forest without disturbing any of its nastier inhabitants."

Sieg nodded. "We still have some food in her rucksack— should be back in the cave, together with my sword. I'll be right back."

In high spirits once again, Siegfried gathered their belongings, and after wishing Samuel farewell, they were on their way. Carrying Haylee in his arms, the warrior stayed on high alert. Even so, he could not deny the exotic charm of the greenery around him. Ryden set a quick pace, but there was hardly any noise to his steps. He wasn't as noiseless as Haylee could be but still a good deal quieter than a certain big brute behind him.

Even while walking, Sieg felt like a liability now. But wallowing in self-pity would not do him any good. Getting Haylee to safety — and focusing on becoming stronger — would. He suppressed his self-hatred and concentrated on the ground, trying to avoid any dry branches or rotten roots. At least he was getting better at it by the hour and was still able to keep up with Ryden.

They reached a widespread glade, and it wasn't hard to tell they had reached their destination. Behind a large patch of open grassland, bright-grey rocks shot skywards, slightly higher than the most significant trees, and spanning the clearing's whole length. Instead of a mountain, those rock-formations looked as if several giant boulders fell out of the sky and broke into smaller pieces. It was a wild, unruly landscape of jutted rock, crevices, sheer walls and isolated peaks. And true to Samuels word— cavern-tunnels. The clearing must have been even more extensive than Siegfried estimated, as it took them close to five minutes to traverse the grassland and reach their new shelter.

"Alright," Ryden said and turned to Sieg. "If something can hear us from here, it can also see us. I'd say we climb the low plateau with the cavern over there," he pointed at an elevation to his right. The ledge was a bit higher than Siegfried was tall, and the wall behind it nearly vertical. A small hole was visible from below. "If the tunnel is one-way, nothing can sneak up to us there."

"Agreed. Would be a dream if we could get a good night's sleep without having to constantly watch our backs."

Ryden nodded and made for the plateau. Sieg lifted Haylee up as she was still out of it. The cavern entrance was well illuminated by the afternoon sun and proved to be precisely what they had hoped for. It was a short, narrow tunnel, low enough that Sieg had to keep his head down until the walls spread out into a small cave. There were several small, dark holes in the back, but nothing big enough for a human to crawl through.

"Let's get some bigger stones and dirt to close that up," Ryden suggested. "Don't know what kind of critters live in there— don't wanna find out either." Siegfried pulled out the single blanket from their rucksack, so Haylee wouldn't sleep on hard rock and got to work. After another half an hour, they were both even more exhausted but happy with the results. "That'll work. I still have a myriad of questions, and I guess the same goes for you, Siegfried, but I can tell you can hardly stand on your own legs anymore. Go, get some sleep, and I'll keep watch. We will talk in the morning."

Sleep sounded heavenly to Siegfried's ears. He'd been awake and on the run for over a day now. "Thanks, Ryden, but are you sure you're going to be okay? What you did today for Haylee, that… miracle must have taken something out of you, right?" he assumed.

"Don't worry about me. I can keep myself awake for several days the same way I can heal myself. I just need to have someone watch my back when I go to sleep afterwards, as I'll be out like a light then."

"Then I'll gladly take you up on that," Sieg replied and lay down next to the cat-girl. As soon as he closed his eyes, sleep overwhelmed him. But with it emerged a memory from the dark depths of his subconsciousness. One that he had hoped to never relive again…