Lion Sin of Pride (Ban x OC)

Wounded

The trio arrived to where the group had set up camp shortly before sunset.

The sun was just beginning to dip behind the mountains, sending orange and red beams of light across the valley.

Leo would have stopped to appreciate how beautiful it all was if her shoulder hadn't been stinging like the Seven Hells.

Ban walked into camp ahead of them, having not spoken another word to Leo the whole journey back from the town. She couldn't help but feel exasperated with his childishness. He was being ridiculous about this whole thing.

Ban had already taken a seat by the fire when King and Leo approached, the captain standing to greet them both.

He glanced between the two of them, their faces streaked with dried werewolf blood, and then said quietly, "I take it everything has been taken care of?"

King nodded. "Yes, captain. No one will be bothering that town again."

Leo glanced past the captain at Ban, who now had a tankard of ale in his hand and was taking a long draught of the drink.

'"Leo?"

Leo snapped her attention back to the captain, realizing he had been addressing her. "Yes, captain?"

He motioned to her shoulder. "Do you want Elizabeth to take care of that for you?"
Leo shook her head and put a hand over her wounded shoulder, giving him a small smile to assure him she was fine. "No, captain. It was just a slip up on my part. We don't need to tire her for something so insignificant. I'll bandage it up and it'll be good as new. Elves are quick healers."

The captain watched her for a moment and then finally nodded. "All right. Well, get it taken care of. And wash up. You both look like hell." He turned to walk back to the fire, but stopped and said, "We're camping here for a few days. We're almost to Camelot so we can take some time now. Rest and heal up, both of you. We need everyone at top performance. We don't know what's waiting for us in Camelot."

They both nodded as he walked away, back to the fire to sit beside Elizabeth, who was talking with Diane. Ban was still drinking, ignoring them all. Howser and Gilthunder were nowhere to be seen, but that wasn't unusual. They didn't usually join the sins after dark.

"Well, I'm going to go wash up before I talk to Diane." King's voice broke through her thoughts.

"Why? Because you want to make a good impression on your girlfriend?" Even though Leo was tired, she couldn't resist teasing him a bit.

King glared at her and blushed crimson. "Shut up, Leo." He flew away from her toward the pub, and she could tell by his quick pace that he was embarrassed.

She grinned. It was always too easy with him.

Turning away from the others, she walked down the hill into the dark. She could hear a small stream around here somewhere. It had to be somewhere along the tree edge.

Locating the water, she crouched beside the stream, cupping her hands and scooping the cool water into her palms. She took a long drink and then splashed the remaining water on her face. She scrubbed away the dried blood from her skin and then rinsed her face again, wincing as she used her wounded shoulder a little too nonchalantly.

She submerged her hands into the water and scrubbed at her knuckles, the thin grooves of the joints still harboring lines of crimson blood. When she was satisfied with their cleanliness, she removed her hands from the water and wiped them on her pants.

Now she had to figure out how to clean her shoulder in the least painful way possible.

She peeled away some of the linen strands of her tunic that were embedded in the wound, her breath hissing through her teeth as she ground her jaw in pain.

"Damn werewolf." She swore under her breath as she pulled some more fabric away from her shoulder, cringing as the stitching pulled at her skin.

She was so busy with trying to clear the cloth and dried blood from her injury, and with trying to stop herself from making any noise aloud with the pain, that she didn't hear the footsteps approaching her.

"I'm impressed."
Leo startled, almost falling into the stream, but caught herself on her bad arm. She let out a yelp of pain, her shoulder searing with hot fire.

"Sorry! I'm sorry." Howser knelt down beside her, his gaze worried, as he watched her cradle her bad arm. "Damn, I'm an idiot." He said regretfully.

She couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "No, you're not. I just wasn't expecting anyone." She removed her hand from her shoulder, studying the now clear wound. She could clearly see the holes that were torn into her skin by the wolf's razor sharp teeth and powerful jaws. They were still slowly oozing droplets of fresh, bright red blood. She glanced up at Howser. "What were you impressed about?"

He gave her a small grin. "I'm impressed that whatever you faced today injured you. It must have been a pretty powerful beast to even get near enough to touch you."

"Beasts." She said without thinking. He gave her a confused look. "Beasts. Not beast. It was a pack of werewolves." She clarified, touching a gentle finger to her wound to see how badly she was injured. She winced and pulled her hand away, her finger covered in blood. She wiped it on her pants, frustration etching over her face. "Seven Hells. I'd like to go back and rip that beast in two again, just to make it pay."

"You and me both, my lady." Howser watched her carefully for a moment and then said, "How can I help?"

She reached down into the stream and gathered another handful of of water, bringing it up to her shoulder and letting the cool liquid slowly drip onto the wound. It stung at first, but the more she cleaned the wound, the more relief she felt from the pain. When she was satisfied that she had gotten it as clean as she could, she reached down with her good hand and ripped the edge off the bottom of her tunic. It was ruined anyway. No need to be gentle.

She held out the strip of fabric to Howser. "Know how to bandage, knight?"

He took the fabric from her fingers and came around to her wounded shoulder, reaching up gently to begin wrapping the fabric over her injury. His fingers brushed her bare skin, and there it was again, that tingling sensation of heat that spread through her body. She ignored it, focusing on trying not to wince every time the fabric touched her skin. Even though he was being gentle, the wrapping motion was irritating her wound.

After he had finished, he dropped his hands and met her gaze. "There. Not bad, if I do say so myself."

She smirked at him. "And you do say so."
He laughed and stood, offering her his hand. "You know me too well, Lady Leonora."

She took his outstretched hand and he pulled her to her feet. They stood there for a moment, staring at each other, and Leo realized that her hand was still in his. She quickly dropped their contact and brushed herself off, not wanting him to sense that she was uncomfortable.

He took a step closer to her. "Leonora...."

She looked up at him and tried to give him a small smile. "I'm pretty tired, Howser. Do you mind if we talk tomorrow?"

He looked disappointed, but stepped back from her and ducked his head to her. "Of course, my lady. Sleep well."

She watched as he walked back toward the others, and then let out a long sigh.

Heading into the trees, she found a place to sleep for the night. But it was a long time before her mind finally quieted enough for her to fall into a fitful slumber.