Febuwhump Day 3 -- "Bite Down on This"
tw: description of injury, burns
The battle was over. Four doubled over himself and braced his hands on his knees, panting open-mouthed, as the last of those cursed fire-breathing aeralfos were picked out of the sky by Wild and Twilight. The ambush had come upon them unexpectedly, and they’d been forced into a loose defensive circle as the flying monsters tried to pick them off one by one. Despite their surprise, it seems they’d escaped without any major injuries. Legend was nursing a shallow scratch on his shoulder that he’d earned when one of the flying beasts had tried to fly down and snatch Wind up from the ground, Sky’s hair had been singed at the tips, but other than that, everyone was whole and well besides a few burnt sleeves. Four straightened—his chest was still tight despite the battle being over, how odd—and he withdrew a cloth from his pocket to wipe away the black blood from his beloved Four Sword.
“Four!” someone shouted, their voice high and tight with worry. Four looked up with a start—was he in danger? Were all the monsters not actually gone? But it was only Warrior, who was running towards him, his face twisted into a look of panic. Four sent a glance behind himself—nothing was there.
“Captain,” he returned with a bit of confusion, “what’s the matter?”
“Nothing’s the matter,” Warrior said smoothly as he reached Four’s side, breathless from his burst of speed. “Can you sit down for me, Four?”
There was a specific tone to Warrior’s voice—one that he used on the younger heroes to calm them when dealing with injuries or bad nightmares—that put Four’s nerves on edge. “What’s wrong, Captain?” he asked again.
“Nothing, nothing. Just keep breathing, you’re fine.” Warrior took Four’s arms and forcefully pushed him down to sitting. Four was getting a bit irked—he shrugged him off, pulling away. “Legend, call Hyrule and Time, quick! And Sky, we’re going to need some help over here!”
“If nothing’s wrong, what are you doing? Hey!” Four tried to bat him away, but Warrior would not be deterred. Instead, he took Four’s sword out of his hand and placed it to the side, then dragged up the bottom of his shirt. “Hey! I was cleaning that!”
Warrior ducked down to glance under Four’s shirt, then looked into Four's eyes intently. He moved his hand to Four’s stomach as if to press down, but Four felt nothing. “How are you feeling right now? Any pain? Any discomfort or pressure at all?”
“No!” Four batted his hands away again. “What are you doing?”
Warrior sucked a breath in through his teeth. “Oh, that’s not good,” he muttered to himself. “Rulie! Get over here now! Don’t look down, Four, you’re all right.”
So of course, Four looked down. The whole front of his tunic was burnt away, crisped at the edges. The skin underneath Warrior’s hands was molted black and red. Oh. But even at the sight of the burn, he felt no pain. A flood of lightheadedness surged through his head, making him dizzy.
“Hylia, what did I say! I don’t know why I even try,” Warrior bemoaned in a forced joking voice that Four didn’t find funny at all. “Do you think that you can get your tunic off?”
“Oh Hylia,” Time swore underneath his breath as he appeared in Four’s field of view. “Oooooh, sweet Hylia.”
“Uh… probably,” Four managed to mutter, his mind stuttering at the sight of his own blackened flesh and Time’s reaction. Why… Why couldn’t he feel it? It was his own skin, wasn’t it?
Somehow, Four ended up on his back. Sky and Hyrule were both looming over him now, their faces pinched tight in panic. His tunic had gone… somewhere. Hyrule’s hands were on his stomach, glowing with pink magic. His whole body was hypersensitive—the grass tickled his bare skin, a little rock dug into his shoulder, the breeze tugged at his hair where he lay—and he still couldn’t feel Hyrule’s touch.
“I… I can’t heal this,” Hyrule murmured faintly. Beads of sweat shone on his forehead. “There’s… there’s just too much dead skin. We’re going to have to clear it all out first.”
“I feared that was what you’d say,” Warrior said. “Alright, Time, Twilight, get over here! We’re going to need you as well. Wild, do you have any medical training for dealing with burns?” A response rang in Four’s ears. “Good, then you get over here too then. Bring some sterile washcloths, if we’ve got any.”
“Tell us what to do, Warrior,” Sky said. Twilight was there too, hovering over his shoulder. His face was white.
“Hold him down,” Warrior answered, his expression grim. “We’re going to have to excise the wound before we can treat it, and he’s gonna fight once the pain starts to hit. I should know. But we can…”
“...have anything for pain management?” Time’s voice asked.
“...ot for this, it won’t touch it. Wouldn’t kick in in time any… have to be fast or he’ll…”
Four tipped his head back and stared up at the sky, feeling disconnected from his own body. He was starting to feel… bad. His side still didn't hurt, but something was wrong. “Warrior…” he managed to croak out. “What’s…?”
Warrior was at his head in an instant. He brushed Four’s sweaty bangs out of his eyes—where had his headband gone?—and smiled down at him thinly. “Hey, Smithy. Hanging in there?”
Four licked his lips. They were dry and numb. “What’re you…?”
“You’ve been burned, and we’ve got to deal with it, now,” Warrior answered, yanking his scarf from his neck. “I’m not going to lie, it’s going to hurt, but you’ll be okay. Can you bite down on this for me?”
Four’s eyes slowly focused in on the object held up before his face. It was Warrior’s blue scarf, folded and balled up into a makeshift gag. Somehow, he dredged up enough energy to nod, and the fabric was shoved between his teeth without further ceremony. The floral smell of it burned his nose and made his head swim.
“Everyone ready?” Warrior asked, looking up at the heads surrounding him. There were nods all around. Four’s eyes fluttered shut, overcome by a sudden tiredness. “Alright, hold him down. Let’s get this done as quickly as possible. Hyrule, stand by.”
Four found his head in Sky’s lap, his arms trapped. At his feet, Time and Twilight each straddled a leg, pinning him to the forest floor. He groaned, laying his head back into Sky’s lap. Someone—was that Legend?—held one of his hands in between his own, rubbing his thumb over the back of his knuckles.
“You’re gonna be okay,” Legend said, squeezing his hand. His eyes were wet. “Just hang on, you’re gonna be okay. Hyrule, have you got enough magic for this?”
"Y...yes, I think so."
Oh, Four finally realized somewhere in the back of his mind. This is going to suck.
Warrior looked away. “Wild, let’s start. Wind, get a potion ready.”
Their hands moved to his stomach. For a moment, he felt nothing. Then pins and needles, accompanied by a sort of bone-deep cold, dove deep into his skin. That cold warmed into a sort of tingly heat, which then turned into hot, all-consuming pain.
Four screamed. He bucked against the grip holding him down, his back arching and his feet kicked uselessly against the forest floor as he tried to crawl away from the fire in his stomach. He begged them to let him go, just stop, just let him die, please. Eventually, just as Hyrule stepped in, his hands shining pink, darkness rose to save him from the pain, and he didn’t fight it.
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Who Heals the Healer? Day 21 – Unresponsive
Continuation of Day 7. Hyrule passes out from his injury. Legend takes care of him with Warrior’s help. He berates himself for not noticing.
TW: description of injury, discussion of death
“How did it get this bad?” Legend whispered in horror. Hyrule’s condition had grown no better over the hours since he’d fainted. The hole in his side, tinted green at the edges, had been stitched up and bandaged, but the sight of it still burned itself into Legend’s mind. “How did we let it get this bad, Warrior?”
“He… I don’t know, Legend,” Warrior answered quietly. Crickets chirped in the rustling grass, announcing the coming morning. In the east, light only just brushed the low hanging clouds. Legend hadn’t slept a wink that night, keeping a vigil beside Hyrule as he tossed and turned in his sleep, whimpering when his side caught with a flare of pain that he wasn’t conscious to feel. Warrior had taken it upon himself to stay up with him, no matter how much the vet fussed about being babysat. “It… it was a chaotic situation. He just wanted to make sure that Four was safe. We all did.”
“But someone should have noticed that he wasn’t well! I should have noticed. If he hadn’t spent all of his magic healing Four—we had potions, and once Four’s life wasn’t in danger—or even fairies, Time could’ve—Hyrule wouldn’t have to be this hurt,” Legend finished finally, dropping his head into his hands. He let out a small sniffle. “I can’t believe we let it get this bad.”
“There’s nothing to do but wait it out, now,” Warrior said. “He’ll be okay, I’m sure of it.”
“But what if he wasn’t?” Legend shot back tearily. “I saw that he was looking unsteady, but I didn’t even do anything about it until he was already collapsing and—I already knew that he has this stupid self-sacrificing tendency that we all do, but I went and let him heal Four without making sure that he wasn’t—!"
“Shhh, you’re going to wake the others,” Warrior hushed him. Indeed, he was sure that half of the camp was awake by now—Time’s breathing was too even to be natural, Twilight’s ear flicked irritably, and Wind grumbled out some sort of protest and turned over, pulling his pillow up over his head. Across camp, Wild sat up, made eye contact with Warrior, and slipped out of camp silently. Legend noticed none of it, and if he did, he didn’t care to mind his interruption. Warrior reached out and put a hand on Legend’s arm. ��I understand that you’re upset. But it’s no one’s fault. And Hyrule doesn’t blame you. None of us do.”
Legend shoved him off irritably. “I do! I blame myself!” he protested. “Christ, he could have died, and I just—!”
Hyrule’s face twisted. He squirmed where he lay with his head in Legend’s lap, turning towards the older boy’s voice even in sleep.
Legend ran a hand through Hyrule’s curly hair. “Rulie, are you awake?” he whispered, his voice so soft and gentle, so unlike his normal acrid jibes. It made Warrior… sad. “Rulie, can you hear me?”
“Link, can you open your eyes? Warrior found Hyrule’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “Can you squeeze my hand? Let us know you're in there, buddy.”
They both waited with bated breath, but there was no more response from Hyrule. He settled with a huff and fell back into an uneasy slumber. Legend sighed and dropped his hand back into Hyrule’s dark curls. Warrior sat back, frowning.
“He’ll be awake soon,” Warrior promised the empty air. “He just—just has to heal a bit.”
“It’s not just the injury, it’s magic exhaustion,” Legend said, his expression clouded. “It… It can be a lot more dangerous than just a simple injury. Both combined…” He trailed off and didn’t start again.
“I’m sure he’ll be alright,” Warrior repeated, as it felt he had dozens of times before. “He just has to get through this… this magic exhaustion thing.”
Legend gave no answer. By the look on his face, he didn’t believe him, either.
Read the whole story here! Who Heals the Healer
Or check out my Febuwhump Series here! HotCheetoHatred's Febuwhump 2024
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