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runicloreLeast of All Evils
Author: Amber Michelle
Day/Theme: July 27 - Sharing pains and not joys
Series: Suikoden III
Character/Pairing: Sarah, Luc
Rating: K
Words: 590
Notes: not a story, so much as a moment/slice of life I guess.
.............................................
Sarah tended to Luc's injuries when they returned to camp. The command tent was large and afforded them a measure of privacy, as the other commanders were set up several yards away. The walls were plain canvas, but the ground was carpeted, and Luc was equipped with a bed, a table, and chairs. His coat, damp in patches where shards of ice had melted and the collar stained with blood, was draped over the foot of the bed to dry. The maps on the table were folded over and pushed aside to make room for a basin of water, towels, and an antiseptic paste she'd purchased in Caleria.
The wind picked up when they arrived and hadn't stopped since. She dabbed at his forehead with a wet cloth, dislodging hardened bits of blood to uncover the wound. The tent walls pounded like drums, pulled and then blasted with wind. A draft swirled over the floor, under her skirt, ruffling the hem and lifting it from the carpet. Luc sat with his shoulders hunched and his eyes closed.
If he had only waited for her help, she thought the Water-bearer could have been bested. Sarah knew the man he described; she'd watched him when their plan took them to Karaya, and noted his lack of power as she had with others. So few of the plainsmen had real talent she didn't think to pursue the matter; if she had, perhaps they would have discovered him sooner.
Did that make this incident her fault? If Sarah were more diligent, more dedicated, less interested in stretching their investigation as long as possible--
"We have no choice," he said, gaze averted to the tent flap. It was tied closed, but light flared when the canvas caught the wind and billowed in. "Sasarai will have to be the first."
"I don't think Lady Chris can stop you," Sarah said. "Why not target her first?"
"She'll be on her guard," Luc said. "Do you want to deal with a regiment of Zexen Knights?" He looked at her, and squeezed one eye closed when her cloth dripped. "And Geddoe-- that's impossible without another rune to draw from."
Sarah sighed and rinsed it, wrung the water out, and leaned over again to wipe the traces away. The jagged edge on his temple started bleeding. "If it's what you want--"
"It isn't what I want at all."
She applied pressure with the compress, holding his head still with her other hand. The Grasslanders were quite enough to have on one's plate in her opinion. By attacking Sasarai, they would be asking Crystal Valley to take notice of them. How long would they have, after word got back to the other bishops, before they were pursued from both sides?
"Hold still." She dipped her finger into the paste and spread it over the wound. "Try not to rub it off. The cut should heal well enough in a few days."
Luc took her hand as soon as she wiped it clean. "You can't--?"
"It would not be a good idea," Sarah said, letting the washcloth hang from her other hand. "Not if you want to take Sasarai first. I'll need every bit of energy to subdue him."
He laced their fingers together and probed at the cut with his other hand, but didn't touch it. "I see." The wind paused a moment, and then the walls strained against their ropes again. "Understood."
................................................
Author: Amber Michelle
Day/Theme: July 27 - Sharing pains and not joys
Series: Suikoden III
Character/Pairing: Sarah, Luc
Rating: K
Words: 590
Notes: not a story, so much as a moment/slice of life I guess.
.............................................
Sarah tended to Luc's injuries when they returned to camp. The command tent was large and afforded them a measure of privacy, as the other commanders were set up several yards away. The walls were plain canvas, but the ground was carpeted, and Luc was equipped with a bed, a table, and chairs. His coat, damp in patches where shards of ice had melted and the collar stained with blood, was draped over the foot of the bed to dry. The maps on the table were folded over and pushed aside to make room for a basin of water, towels, and an antiseptic paste she'd purchased in Caleria.
The wind picked up when they arrived and hadn't stopped since. She dabbed at his forehead with a wet cloth, dislodging hardened bits of blood to uncover the wound. The tent walls pounded like drums, pulled and then blasted with wind. A draft swirled over the floor, under her skirt, ruffling the hem and lifting it from the carpet. Luc sat with his shoulders hunched and his eyes closed.
If he had only waited for her help, she thought the Water-bearer could have been bested. Sarah knew the man he described; she'd watched him when their plan took them to Karaya, and noted his lack of power as she had with others. So few of the plainsmen had real talent she didn't think to pursue the matter; if she had, perhaps they would have discovered him sooner.
Did that make this incident her fault? If Sarah were more diligent, more dedicated, less interested in stretching their investigation as long as possible--
"We have no choice," he said, gaze averted to the tent flap. It was tied closed, but light flared when the canvas caught the wind and billowed in. "Sasarai will have to be the first."
"I don't think Lady Chris can stop you," Sarah said. "Why not target her first?"
"She'll be on her guard," Luc said. "Do you want to deal with a regiment of Zexen Knights?" He looked at her, and squeezed one eye closed when her cloth dripped. "And Geddoe-- that's impossible without another rune to draw from."
Sarah sighed and rinsed it, wrung the water out, and leaned over again to wipe the traces away. The jagged edge on his temple started bleeding. "If it's what you want--"
"It isn't what I want at all."
She applied pressure with the compress, holding his head still with her other hand. The Grasslanders were quite enough to have on one's plate in her opinion. By attacking Sasarai, they would be asking Crystal Valley to take notice of them. How long would they have, after word got back to the other bishops, before they were pursued from both sides?
"Hold still." She dipped her finger into the paste and spread it over the wound. "Try not to rub it off. The cut should heal well enough in a few days."
Luc took her hand as soon as she wiped it clean. "You can't--?"
"It would not be a good idea," Sarah said, letting the washcloth hang from her other hand. "Not if you want to take Sasarai first. I'll need every bit of energy to subdue him."
He laced their fingers together and probed at the cut with his other hand, but didn't touch it. "I see." The wind paused a moment, and then the walls strained against their ropes again. "Understood."
................................................