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Quanyii was busy trying to get their sweet little pup Gwain to go play outside when Caroline bust through the door. Gwain immediately turned around to greet her, reversing the hard work that Quanyii had been putting in up until that point, but her mild irritation faded when she saw that Caroline was leaning against the wall just on the inside of the door, clearly in some sort of pain. She immediately ran over to Caroline, nudging Gwain out of the way gently. He seemed to get the message and backed off a little bit, but could feel the emotions in the air and stayed nearby. “Sweets, are you okay? What’s wrong? Where are you hurt?” She set a hand against Caroline’s side and immediately she winced.
“It’s…. Nothing I haven’t dealt with before,” she said through her teeth.
“That doesn’t mean that it’s okay, honey. Sit down, sit down.”
“I…. Will need your help, there’s something wrong with my knee and it hurts a lot.” Caroline seemed as though she was near tears while she said this, that very fact showing Quanyii just how bad it really must be. She tried not to think just how far her sweet Caroline had to walk in so much pain just to get home.
Quanyii got under Caroline’s arm, careful about where she was making contact. “Lean on me, I’ve got you, come on. Once we get you to the couch I can help the pain alright? Just a few steps over to the couch okay? You can do this you’re so strong, I believe you can do it, Sweets.”
Once Quanyii managed to get Caroline over to the couch, she went to the bathroom to get the box of medical supplies they kept on hand. Rilla was as tired of Caroline constantly coming to her hut for things as Caroline was of having to go there, and so they both agreed that it would simply be easier for Caroline to keep a supply of things that would help, and reduce the number of trips. This was also convenient because oftentimes the knight’s injuries were minor enough that Quanyii could heal them simply enough with her magic, and no further questions would be asked by other knights. But sometimes there were injuries that Quanyii would try to take care of that Caroline would say no to, simply because if she were always fit and free of injury, it would invite criticism from the other knights as well as questions on if she ever actually did anything. So Caroline would let Quanyii help it a little, but would endure the pain simply for the authenticity and to keep any questions off her back.
When she returned to the couch, Gwain was sitting on the floor next to Caroline while she pet his head with the hand that wasn’t clutching at her side. Quanyii stopped for a moment, watching her two loves, until something made Caroline wince and curl towards her side, snapping Quanyii out of it, reminding her that Caroline was in a lot of pain.
She rushed over and knelt down next to the couch, setting the box down on the other side of her from Gwain. “Gwain, baby, go outside, let me take care of your Mama.” Gwain whined for just a second before he turned around and went towards the back door, nudging it open and going outside to wander. Quanyii scooted over to where Gwain had been sitting and held Caroline’s hand with one hand and brought the other up to Caroline’s face. She closed her eyes for a second as she focused on taking away some of Caroline’s pain. When she opened her eyes, it was clear that Caroline was feeling better already, a small smile spreading across her face. “That better, sweets?”
“Much.”
“Good.” She pressed a light kiss to Caroline’s forehead. “Now, lemme see your side.”
As Quanyii patched up her knight, she got the story of what had happened. It was a regular patrol just outside of the Citadel’s walls when she heard singing coming from somewhere just a little further into the forest. She thought that it could be a trap, but her feet were moving towards it before she could decide otherwise. She tried to stop, but her feet kept moving, no matter how much she willed them to stop. At one point she had tripped over a rock, slamming forward into the rough ground, but no matter how much she didn’t want to get up, her body was moving before she knew it, pain not even slowing her movements. There was a small ravine that she had to leap across, one she shouldn’t have made it across had she been in control of her own actions, but she made it across. She didn’t have the option of landing perfectly though, which was what happened to her knee. When her body was finally released from the grasp of whatever had been controlling her, she was in a small clearing, staring at a dark lake that was moving far more than it should have been in the still air. Suddenly from behind her there was a crack, and she turned around to see some sort of creature opening its mouth, catching her side with some of its flames. Eventually she managed to get the creature into the lake, ruining it’s fire breath before making sure that no other knights would be lured into its trap. The issue seemed to be returning to the Citadel, but once she was able to figure out from which direction she had come, her trail of messy footsteps lead her back easily, but it had to be at least three miles from where she had been patrolling, which was not pleasant with the burns on her side and the pain in her knee.
When Caroline was finished with the story, Quanyii had finished with the bandages and had a fire going in the fireplace, helping to both warm the two of them as well as allowing Quanyii to boil some water for some sort of tea that was in the box that would help to reduce the swelling and redness of the burn. Caroline was able to sit up, and Quanyii sat next to her on the couch. Gwain had returned from outside and decided to curl up on their laps for a nap. Caroline was beginning to drift off, a side effect of the tea, but before she did that she leaned over to Quanyii. “I know that spell takes a lot out of you. You can let it go, I can take the pain now.”
“Oh sweets, that’s easier said than done.”
“....What?”
Quanyii just smiled, kissing Caroline’s cheek as her eyes closed. “It’s about keeping my attention focused on you, honey. And I’m pretty much always focused on you. Sweet dreams, my sweet.”