Draein kept his balance as best he could as he watched Vern put together the things she needed. He heard her respond quietly, and noticed she didn't say her own name or who she was. He thought it was strange, and would have been more suspicious if he felt better than he did. He barely acknowledged her looking at him, but nearly started as she walked over to him. He was never used to strangers being so close to him, and this was the first time he was vulnerable to such a stranger, much less someone who tried to kill him only a short time before. She was sitting beside him now, and he watched in unease as she took out a knife seemingly out of the blue. He managed to keep his focus on her, and tried to seem like he didn't need support to maintain his balance, which of course, he did.

He perked up when she asked if he wanted to lean on the log instead of sit on it. "I'm good right here." He replied quickly, not wanting to put himself in an even more vulnerable position. His unease increased as she shifted closer and took his hand from the cut. However, seeing as he wasn't in a position to argue, he simply looked straight ahead and said nothing as she wrapped the bandages around his injury. A few minutes of uncomfortable silence followed, and he sat still as she pulled the bandages off the injury.

Due to the fact that the injury was on his neck, he couldn't see what was happening, but his senses were alert enough for him to feel the bandages lifted off, and felt some of the sticky blood being wiped off of the wound. Once the stickiness was removed, he heard Vern telling him not to swallow, and heard something about stitches. He did his best to listen, knowing that if he moved at all, it could cause greater problems for him. Obviously, he did not like the fact that he had to sit still and not move while someone he didn't even know stitched up the cut with a needle that, if plunged into the right spot, could easily kill him. Unwillingly, he tried to remain motionless as Vern took off the bandage that was still being held on his cut and brought out a needle and some very thin thread.

He knew it was going to hurt, since he had heard from other dragon rustlers about how they had to do it, and had learned from listening to them that it was not the most pleasant thing in the world. He had stitches himself once before, but he had not been conscious then, so he didn't know firsthand what it felt like. He didn't have long to learn, for after Vern knelt down and steadied herself, she began stitching up the cut. The pain of it surprised him at first, but he managed to keep from moving as she continued to sew up the wound. After the first few seconds, Draein started to get used to it, and ignored the pain as much as he could. He didn't have to endure it long, for his acquaintance quickly finished up the last few stitches.

He watched in even greater surprise as he watched her take a much smaller knife from her shoe in order to cut the leftover length of thread. How many knives does this woman have? He thought in confusion, remembering how she had brought out a knife seemingly out of nowhere just a short time ago. He was interrupted in his thoughts when Vern asked him if he was alright. He merely nodded his head in response, completely forgetting that he had stitches on his neck. A sharp pain followed, but thankfully the stitches stayed put. He scolded himself inwardly at this as she wrapped the bandages around the newly stitched up wound, carefully measuring it with her fingers to make sure it fit well. As she brought her hand away to retrieve the needle and thread yet again, he noticed two of the fingers had been taped together with duct tape. Is that from an injury? He wondered while she sewed the two layers of bandages to each other.

Kayda thought for a second yeah ok, your right...for once.. now get going before I leave first. She ran to Amber's side and dragged her to a bush so she would be sheltered if anything happened.

Sage unsheathed his dagger and crept into the underbrush. He kept a wary eye out for more traps, and as he saw them, he ruined them. He followed the trail of traps until he came into a clearing a few minutes away from Amber and Kayda. I know they're here. But where? He suddenly felt the air behind him move and he whirled and ducked. There was a man behind him - about three times his weight. He launched himself at the man with a snarl, but another man grabbed him from behind, slipping a rope around his body, tying him up. He wriggled and snarled, but the ropes were tight and it was getting hard to breath since they were around his entire torso. He stilled once the ropes had dug into his arms tight enough to draw blood and lay there glaring at the men. One of them grabbed his face and frowned. "This boy is the dragon freer?" One of the other men nodded. Sage rolled his eyes and bit the man's had with a growl. The man cursed and tied a gag around Sage's mouth. By now, it took a good amount of effort just to breathe, and Sage's vision was beginning to blur.

Amber lay in the bushes still unconscious while Kayda kept an eye out, covering Amber with one wing.

Kayda heard murmurs and growling..and well she knew it was Sage go to Sage or stay here..argh! Wait its not even that hard to choose! I'm obviously gonna stay with Amber she thought to herself. Kayda then remembered that Amber would be mad if she left Sage to die but then Sage would be mad she left Amber why do these lovebirds make everything so difficult!?

Sage lay still, listening to the men talk while he pretended to be unconscious. It took every ounce of strength he had not to fight back. Finally, the men decided to bring him back to where they were camping and he bit back a grin. He moved his arm slightly so as they moved him through the forest he left a trail of blood Amber and Kayda could follow. He had a feeling these men wouldn't kill him - at least not right away. When they got to wherever the camp was, they threw him into a cave and put something over the entrance. As soon as they walked off, he opened his eyes and struggled to focus on his sorroundings. He saw a somewhat sharp rock and yanked the rope around his body against it until they fell away. His arms and torso were bleeding where the rope had rubbed against his skin, but it could be worse, he supposed. He took the gag out of his mouth and took a few deep breaths before trying to figure out why they had put him here.

Rivulet & Gang || Female || 17 & ¾ || M: Elijah & Gang

Serval’s eyes lit up in excitement at the outstretched hand. She eagerly pressed her head into his palm - chirping happily with closed eyes. Rivulet loses some tense at the sight - Permafrost as well - while Scorpion continues to growl and hiss. Permafrost’s growling ceases, but her gaze remains sharp - staring down the human with untrusting eyes.

Rivulet pears behind the polar dragon and spots the ice-cutter. A gasp rips through her throat at the sight of the poor wing. Nudging her closest companion, she alerts her to the injury. The polar dragon analyzes the broken wing, becoming uncertain. She looks between the human and his companion, debating on whether to help the dragon or chase off its companion. One last glance at Serval and the human is all it takes for her to make up her mind. She steps aside, allowing them to enter their makeshift camp - though, not without keeping Riv separate from them. All Scorpion can do is stare down at the larger dragon in disbelief, his jaw almost hitting the floor.

Draein had managed to endure the stitches, but he was still relieved it was finally done. He had never felt anything like a sewing needle through his neck before, and he hoped he would never be dumb enough to need it again. He faintly remembered how his younger brother talked about his recklessness, scolding him rather humorously. Although Draein was older than his brother, it was only by a few years, but his brother often tried to act older than him. It only caused him to laugh whenever this happened, since he was much stronger and more experienced than his younger sibling. Now, as he was getting patched up, he could almost hear his brother laughing at him. I know, alright? I didn't pay attention. But you can be a whole lot worse. He thought, half irritated, half amused as he recalled his brother's ridiculous antics. Suddenly, Vern's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and he turned towards her as she spoke. Should I tell her the position of my camp? If I do, then she might tell someone else. But what else can I do? It's not like I can keep her from following me. He thought about this for a bit, and finally answered, "It's near a stream close by, somewhere in that direction." He pointed in the direction of his campsite and added, "It isn't very far. A few minutes of walking, and you'd be there." He was still unsure about giving away the location, but knowing the circumstances, he decided that it was better to cooperate.

He noticed once more the duct tape on her fingers, and was about to ask about it when she spoke again, this time answering his unspoken question. He remembered that he had looked at it before, so he assumed she had noticed him looking at it as well. Listening to her words, his guess was confirmed. "At least you didn't use duct tape for me." He replied, unable to keep a smile from forming. This was very rare for him, since he almost never joked, even with his brother. He was confused by this also, but decided to go along with it. After Vern had finished measuring, he watched as she stood up and asked if the bandages were too loose or too tight. Moving his head a little bit, he noticed that not only was the pain slightly diminished, but the bandages fit almost perfectly. "It feels fine." He answered, catching the glance of concern in her eyes. As he moved his head, he noticed that the dizziness seemed to die down a little, and the light-headed feeling was less severe. Because of this, he concluded that he did not need to sit down anymore, and began to rise, still keeping his hand on the log for balance. The dizziness and light-headedness increased as he attempted to stand, but it did not hinder him from being able to stand up completely. Now that he could kind of stand up on his own, his feeling of vulnerability began to decrease. However, his balance was still off, so he didn't feel completely comfortable, but the fact that he could stand on his own reassured him in a way.

♧

Vern saw a look of distance in his face, as if he was remembering some lost thought, a memory of importance. She could only imagine what that thought could possibly be, but it seemed to comfort him a little.

She glared up at him slightly offset by the distance to his camp, but also by the lack of direction and his untrust for her. It's not like I have anyone to tell. "Your wound needs cleaned and you should drink. And you should probably lie down," She took a second to breathe, then she added. "it'll help your blood replenish faster.." Her voice seemed to trail off, like she passed off into another unspoken thought. But she was just figuring the bandages.

His response to her broken fingers brought a small smirk to her pinned lips. She tired to cover it but she couldn't help it. "I think you'd prefer it to my stitching job." She broke a smile. She knew her stitches hadn't been awful, it was just the pain, that rally didn't have a way to be helped. She was a little impressed that didn't waver to badly, she couldn't hardly stand stitches herself.

She leaned over to the log and picked up her stuff, neatly putting it back where it was before. "That's good to hear." She spoke softly and tossed the rest of the bandages in her bag. She rolled the rest up into a small mess, she would clean it out at the stream too, since these were not like gauze, they were a pale brown color and were soft fabric. So they were easily cleanable. She stuffed it in the bag too, but laying it so that the bloody side wasn't touching her other stuff.

She was startled by his attempt to stand. The pain must be less now. She quickly put a hand on his arm to keep him balanced. An electronic feeling pulsed through her arm, the warmth and firmness of his arm shocked her. She thought he was gonna fall and held onto his wrist till he stood taller and had his balance, then she let go. The pulsing faded quickly, it made her hand shake slightly. "You good?" She asked, stepping backwards. She had too look up to talk to him, he was quite the man. Like a handsome tower. We should probably get moving to his camp. I shouldn't rush, he could fall and get more hurt. She slowly twisted topics in her head and thought about that feeling she'd had when she touched his arm.

Kayda could smell the blood from Sage and feared the worst but it was faint so he wasn't bleeding that much. Amber still hadn't woken up so Kayda half started following the scent, she got a few steps away from Amber and turned around but she was gone. Kayda stood there in shock, darting her eyes around where she had left her.

Kayda turned around because she heard movement and Amber was standing in front Kayda with fear in her eyes. Kayda stepped closer to her but Amber backed away uhh? Hello?! It's moi! Kayda joked to herself but then realised something was wrong.

Amber stood there looking at this dragon that had appeared from nowhere. What the fu-!? She thought to herself. She started backing away when the dragon moved closer There's a dragon right there! A DRAGON?! Amber was just looking at the dragon with her mouth open in shock.