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For decades, which had truly felt like centuries, a raging conflict between two neighboring territories has unfolded and persisted in worsening as time progressed. The rulers that governed each had often conversed about potential peace treaties, yet it was always to no avail; one would back out and taunt the other, claiming only a fool would surrender in such trivial and difficult times. Citizens and mere wanderers all secretly believed that the rulers simply needed to acknowledge that there was a limit and a line that should never be crossed when it came down to war and the methods/strategies used, but that line had been crossed and eradicated. There is no sense of morality or even respect when it comes to this war, the Great War as some refer to it as. If only power was not such a sought out and corruptive thing, perhaps maybe this very war would have ended by now.

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Polaris Astria, a High Fae that was once a royal now reduced to nothing more than a comon healer, was an unfortunate, haunted soul. Once upon a time, life had been blissful and exciting, warm and brimming with the joys of love and companionship. The war had taken everything from her, even if it were to be expected from her former position in the military itself; she had been involved in multiple killings and missions, accompanying her lover in all of them. He had been deceased for quite a while now, the memory of him stumbling across a mine imprinted within her memory and mind. It often haunted her dreams and thoughts, as if she could never have a respite from the pain and suffering that single event caused. She had resorted to helping wounded soldiers and citizens to avoid ever seeing such a scene again.

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Polaris was sauntering down the winding halls of the minature, makeshift hospital that resided miles upon miles from the primary warzone. Her hair was free from its usual confines of a bun, the curles bouncing slightly as her bright, blue eyes darted to and fro. There were multiple nurses wandering these very halls as well whilst numerous injured individuals lay in beds that lined the walls, constant beeping a result of the machines and a persistent reminder that they truly had no control over who survived and who died from their wounds. Life really was a cruel thing, yet every living being had to endure it and be positive despite all the negative.

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Unlike other nurses and doctors, Polaris was often assigned to the more severe and complicated cases, whether it be the wound itself or the individual. Some soldiers were aggressive and refused treatment, but her sweet talking was usually more than enough to get them to cooperate; it annoyed her deep down, especially when she would rather be quiet and simply do her job. Her eyes darted downwards to look over the clipboard and the papers she had been given, a frown crossing her features for a brief moment. Today was going to be yet another busy one, yet it was to be expected at this point; the war was worsening and, consequently, the numbers of people admitted would increase substantially as well. Polaris believed this whole war was stupid, which was precisely why she had separated herself from her parents all those years ago.

Sage woke in the middle of nowhere. His eyes fluttered open, as if waking from some kind of deep sleep. He would have felt well rested, except for the fact that the woods he had woken up in were currently full of the clashing of weapons. His senses woke before his brain, though the gunshots and yelling and a metallic scent of blood so heavy he could nearly taste it caused him to jerk awake and rise to his feet. His hand found the machine gun next to him, holding it up to point it wildly around, ears flattening against his head as the noises seemed to overwhelm him .

Where was he? What the hell was going on? He didn't even know which side to shoot at. It was rather pathetic really. He moved to his back was against a tree, doing his best to blend into his surroundings. A small metal clank bit against his gun, and he lifted the necklace he was wearing to where he could see them. Dog tags. His dog tags, apparently. Sage. That was his name. And he was supposed to be on the side of whatever group was listed on the tags. Well, that answered a few question, though he still had a gazillion more.

He was jerked out of his thoughts as bullets sprayed the tree next to him, and he automatically moved to raise the gun and shoot whoever it was that had attacked him. Well, at least he knew who to aim for. He wasn't sure how long the battle went on, but it was long enough for someone to land a decent hit, bullets spraying his side. He had passed out pretty quickly after that, but apparently someone had gotten him to a makeshift hospital, since that's where he woke again later, bandages wrapped around his torso and various wires and tubes attached to his body. He panicked, a little bit, though he wasn't quite sure why. He shot up, ignoring the immediate pain in his side, shoving the current nurse aside as he reached to pull the wires out of his arm. Before his sluggish, still half drugged brain could catch up though, she'd called for backup and four other nurses had run in, pinning him down and fixing the tubes he'd yanked out. He felt a small prick in his neck, and shot the nurse who's stuck him with the needle a glare. He could feel his body relaxing, though not because he was trying to relax. He fought against the power of the drug, every cell in his body screaming not to let them do anything. Not to let this drug, whatever it was, knock him out. But it was a loosing battle, no matter how much adrenaline his panicked brain pumped into his body.

An elongated sigh slipped past Polaris` lips as she finished skimming through the documents of the soldiers she had the honor of tending to today, a fragment of her already dreading the possibility of dealing with an uncooperative patient. She knew that it was understandable for them to act panicked and fiesty, but it never lessened the reality of how difficult it made everything. The moment she looked up from the papers she held was also the moment when one of her fellow nurses, Adeline, bounded towards her, panting and clearly dealing with a stressful situation. Polaris had been on the verge of asking what was troubling her before the woman beat her to it.

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``There are so many rowdy ones today,`` Adeline began as she crouched down to catch her breath, her brown hair concealing her features from Polaris` view. Out of all the nurses that worked here, Adeline was the most gentle and patient, so it was not a good sign at all that she was stressing and fretting this much; it was a bad omen, to be honest. ``Can you help us with one of the ones in Row Seven?``

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Without a word, Polaris nodded as she moved past Adeline and headed directly towards the row of beds she had mentioned. She had barely made a few steps forward when she heard the commotion that was unfolding, her heart clenching at the sounds of yelling and arguing. The thing that pained her the most about the whole situation was the undeniable fact that the soldiers were simply confused and disoriented, perhaps even misunderstood by the nurses that were tending them. She knew how hard it was to deal with them when they were like this, especially with her experience with her lover; he had always been a pain in the ass when she tried to bandage and tend to his wounds, telling her that he was fine over and over again although it was an obvious lie.

-

Polaris frowned when she saw the nurses struggling with a certain patient, wishing she could assist them. However, Adeline had told her to tend to an alternate one further down the row; he was sitting upright and clearly on the verge of losing his composure. For a brief moment, she had caught a glimpse of the one that was the main focus of all of the nurses, her heart clenching at the sight of the individual; he looked so familiar yet like a stranger all at once. She shook her head rapidly to clear the thought and the emotions it had evoked, continuing onwards until she reached the soldier`s bedside.

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(Incredibly sorry for the delay. Also, I apologize for the lack of quality; I have not written in a hot minute, xd. I will try my utmost best to be more active, <3)