Aero the Bandit

~Chapter 1: Recovering ~

(Warning: This chapter is a 'little' on the graphic side)

I was soon discovered by a group of teenage bandits. Bleeding out on the forest floor, the group took pity and one attended to my wound. How I got into the predicament, I had no idea. All my memories were gone, leaving a hole to the reason for an arrow being in my torso's side. Full of pain, I stared at the tree tops, dreaming of birds flying from branch to branch despite the breeze. The images were hopeful excuses to avoid the agony. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough when a new amount came. One of the teens ripped the arrow out, I screamed from the new amount of despair that flooded through my body. "I-I don't want to die, please help me!" Tears were escaping my eyes both from the agony but also fearing the future. Lava, she must be putting lava into the wound. Acting on their own, my limbs tried attacking the healer but they were pinned down by other remorseful faces which made me wonder if this was all their fault. "Lava, you fools! She's killing me! Lava! It's everywhere!" I coughed, tasting blood in my mouth as I went completely limp and had trouble breathing. The burning liquid was everywhere now, putting everything on fire and sending tormented howls into the air. My right ear to the ground, I felt a stream of gore slip down my chin to the mossy floor. Attempting to avoid the agonizing future of catching on fire, I looked past the odd bandits and focused on some distant wild animal. It didn't help, the red coated fur continued to remind me of lava and my situation. Moments later, I fell unconscious from the amount of suffering.

When I woke up, the healer was beside me but we were in a different place. The bandits had brought me to a camp somewhere. Inside the tent were scented candles, most likely stolen from a recent carriage. I laid on a comfortable mattress, sinking slightly into it despite wishing I could run away after finding a new shirt. My last one was gone, probably thrown away from the large amount of blood on it. Yet, I continued to wonder about finding it and leaving. Of course, such decision was beyond me, my whole body was barely able to move an inch without every muscle crying in either pain or soreness.

The healer, a teen about my age, was just finishing an ointment. Her left side was facing me as she blew on whatever was inside a wooden bowl she was holding. She didn't turn to see if I was awake before speaking. "So, you got through. I guess I underestimated you." A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "They say this salve is a ruthless healing process, growing your skin back ten times faster than the normal healing rate. This is my first time using it, so I'll finally find out if the rumours are true." Before I could respond, the girl poured the bowl directly onto the cut.

Another cry escaped me, she might as well have thrown a sword that was resting in a fire onto the spot where the arrow had previously been implanted. Tears formed at the corners of my eyes as I tried to relax, my muscles only tensed up even more. There had been a hope no more pain would come if I fell unconscious. At that thought, my sight became to dim, I knew I was going to black out again.

The idea of fainting vanished when the girl sat down beside me and gently placed her hands along my jawbone. Her dark emerald irises closely studied my eyes as I looked anywhere but her. "Shit..." She muttered, bringing a finger to my right eye and leaning closer. "Look at me, idiot." She had to pinch my cheek before I dared to stare back. "Oh, shit... What the hell?" A panic came to her, she jumped off the mattress and rushed outside, leaving me to realize the ointment's effect was immense by quick. There was no more agony, just a lot of weak muscles refusing to move.

The girl returned with a man older than anybody else I'd seen. He sat on the bed and peered at my eyes as if one of them was broken. A moment passed before he nodded his head and turned his attention to the healer. "You're right, Atherca. It's him." After taking a look at the wound, the man stood up and headed for the door. "Get him to devote his life to you. Afterall, you did save him from dying. Whoever put that arrow through him was hoping he would completely die. Put an eyepatch around his right eye and change his hair style, add him to your crew of bandits."

"He wouldn't reject?"

The man shook his head with a hearty smile. "Does the lack of fighting show anything to you? The boy has no memories. It's so obvious that I'm actually spooked. Be glad you found him before anybody else... or worse..." Death, we were all thinking it. The man took a moment to stare at the wound on my torso before leaving the tent. As his footsteps became quieter, the healer began breathing normally.

Her focus went back to me. She swung a chair over to the bed and sat down on it. "Alright. My name is Atherca. What do people call you?" I tried ignoring the question by turning my head, but Atherca brought my attention to her green eyes by grabbing my chin. "Don't avoid me."

"You heard that man." I paused, caught off guard by how hoarse my voice was. "No name. No memories. Nothing." My snappy responses caused her to yank her arm back.

Atherca took a moment to study my expressions as if she didn't believe me. "You really don't remember your own name? What happened to you?" As I shook my head, Atherca sighed and continued talking. "I'm tempted to call you idiot but I guess we'll just go with Aero for now."

And that was how I came to be.