Chapter Text
Their group hadn’t meant to get surrounded by a bunch of zeugles on their way back to Cyslodia from Ganath Haros. They had passed the summit and were traversing down through the North Hiking Trail of the Forland Mountains. It was getting colder the farther they went, a sure sign that they were close. That thought was one of the only things keeping the group moving. The team was running on empty at this point, energy depleted and sleep deprived with no suitable campsite in view, but they were determined to arrive on the other side.
With thoughts of the Red Woman and the mysterious light beam now shooting out between Rena and Dahna, everyone was understandably distracted. The unspoken decision to bypass as many foes as possible was accepted without pause until a particularly steep decline near the end of the tunnel had Law tumbling into Alphen, who bumped into Shionne. The shock of her thorns setting off stalled the group in time for the Terrapin Fists and Killer Effigies following behind them and the Wild Boomies just ahead to congregate around them.
The battle was taking longer than usual, their weary bodies ill-prepared for the near dozen monsters they now faced. Alphen and Law took the brunt of the frontal assault, while Shionne focused on getting shots in between separate bouts of healing artes. From the corner of her eye, Rinwell caught Kisara and Dohalim jumping into the fray to defend Alphen and Law from the onslaught. As for her, Rinwell had her hands full dodging the swooping swipes of the Effigies while muttering as many incantations as possible.
She did her best to stay focused, but her vision blurred as the sweat on her temple dripped down her face. Trembling, damp fingers white-knuckled her spell book as she twirled roughly to the right to avoid another attack. Rinwell has been practicing a lot lately to more precisely time her defensive movements, inspired by Dohalim’s recount of his fighting style. Dodging at the exact moment and not a second sooner would give her more time to chant her aestral artes, therefore completing more spells and assisting more in battle.
Although she didn’t speak much on it, Rinwell hated being the weakest of the group. No one said it, but they didn’t have to. The mage knew she was the youngest, the least experienced, and was not as diverse on the battle field as some of the others. Dohalim and Shionne could both fight and heal with their artes. Kisara’s shield acted as both defense and offense, and Alphen was a force to reckon with both on ground and in air.
And then there was Law. Despite not being a physical fighter, Rinwell admired how much control of his body Law had. He didn’t punch through everything in his path just because he used his fists, unlike the way Alphen often over-relied on his sword. The Calaglian used his whole body, twisting and flipping in battle to get at enemies’ weak spots and using his powerful legs to kick foes as much as he swung his fists.
And this came from pure dedication and practice. While there was a lot that Rinwell knew she fussed about when it came to Law, there was nothing she could say at the sight of him night after night weight training before bed. It was inspiring.
The battle was almost finished. Rinwell saw that Shionne had transitioned to throwing her bombs, and the male duo were focused on the same couple of zeugles. Rinwell dodged again, still chanting a Holy Lance spell, and twirled around a flapping wing. A choked scream cut off her incantation prematurely as the floating gargoyle turned at the same moment she did, claws digging into and then slicing through her side. The brunt of the blow shoved the young mage to the ground, spell book falling a few feet away.
“Rinwell!” her team members shouted in unison.
The mage clutched her side, sticky warmth seeping through her blue coat. She could hear Hootle’s panicked chirps from within her hood as she tried to shuffle away from the zeugle’s attack range. Rinwell’s head spun, vision blurrier now, and she couldn’t make sense of anything outside the silhouette of Kisara’s shield in front of her and the frigid stone beneath her. For a second, she lied there on the floor staring up at the stone ceiling of the cave, the cold seeping into her bones a stark contrast to the spreading warmth near her belly.
Suddenly, sturdy arms picked her up from the unforgiving floor. Rinwell’s wound throbbed from the movement, and she whimpered.
“It’s okay. I’ve got you.” Law’s voice filtered through her lightheadedness as he sprinted away from the battle and toward the cave exit.
Rinwell jostled a bit in his arms, stomach turning at the motion. Lifting her arm to weakly grasp at his tense shoulder, she buried her face into the warm space under his neck as the air around them dropped in temperature. Behind her eyelids, all the young Dahnan girl could see was white light as Law finally got them outside. Law tucked Rinwell tighter into his arms as she shivered from the cold. In front of them was a drawn-up drawbridge that led to Cysloden. Law knelt down to prop her up. The mage hissed at the movement.
“Shhh. It’s okay, Rinwell. Shionne’s coming. Stay awake, okay.” Law said quietly. He gently rocked the mage in his arms as he glanced between her pain-laced face and the mouth of the cave. Where were they? Did they get overwhelmed? Did he need to go back and help? But he couldn’t leave Rinwell alone like this.
“Law! Rinwell!” Finally, the group came scrambling out of the cave, Alphen jogging ahead and calling out to them.
“Oh my goodness, Rinwell,” Kisara gasped as they drew near.
Both Shionne and Dohalim dropped beside the youngest members and immediately started healing the young mage. At this point, Rinwell’s face was ghostly pale, eyes half lidded, and Law finally noticed that he could feel her blood seeping into the knees of his pants.
“She’s going to be okay, right? Right?!” The healers’ faces remained grim as they worked. The teen from Calaglia looked up to get Kisara’s reassurance, but her and Alphen were up ahead pulling the drawbridge down. Law looked at the girl in his arms again, her eyes now shut, and took a deep breath. It wasn’t too long ago that he was staring down at his father like this; Pale and eyes closed, body stiff and cold. Law needed to focus on Rinwell right now rather than panic. Be in the moment. Take care of her. He could hear his dad’s voice saying those words, the same thing he told Law all those years ago when his mom had gotten sick and all he could do was lay in bed with her and cry. But Law wasn’t a scared, helpless child anymore. He could stay calm and help his friend. Taking a deep breath, Law asked, “What can I do?”
“Hold her steady.” Shionne said, eyebrows still furrowed in concentration as her and the former lord kept up the healing artes. So, Law did just that. He cradled Rinwell as firmly yet gently as possible. He cooed at the mage when she unconsciously winced at the feeling of her wound finally closing. After what felt like hours, both Renans stopped, utterly exhausted. The wound had been severe, so while they had closed the gash, Rinwell was still fatigued and would need days to recover.
Alphen had run ahead to secure some rooms at the local inn, and Kisara explained the situation to Breon, who had been waiting for them on the other side of the bridge. Healing done, Law readjusted Rinwell into his arms again and lifted her up to start the trek to the inn. Night was descending with sub-zero temperatures. They all looked worse for wear. Sweaty, panting, clothes in disarray. The fact that they had all made it out alive was hitting Law hard as he glanced around at his team.
“You did great, Law.” Kisara praised as she walked beside him. The matron of the group, it was like she could read all his insecurities before he could even process them himself.
“You sprang into action, got her out of harm as quickly as possible. Things could have been much more dire if you hadn’t.”
“Yeah…well, it didn’t stop her from getting hurt, did it? I mean, I should have…check on her, you know? I could hear her, but I was so focused on the zeugles, I—”
“We were all overwhelmed, Law.” Shionne bluntly cut in from behind him.
“Yes, and diligence is not solely your responsibility to bare. As a collective, we are all aware of the risks of zeugle attacks. We should have been better prepared.” Dohalim reminded him.
“We will definitely be taking more breaks in the future.” Kisara stated firmly.
Law hummed in agreement, his gaze stuck on Rinwell’s resting face as he trudged through the snow toward the gates of Cysloden. Hootle, now on her chest, bumped her chin gently and stared sorrowfully at his owner.
“She’s going to be okay now, Hootle.” Law whispered at their small companion. The owl hooted back softly from his perch. Law couldn’t help but think that this surely wasn’t what Alphen meant when he encouraged Law to bond with the small bird. As they neared the inn, Law shifted Rinwell’s head against his shoulder before placing his head on hers.
Take care of her.
He’d make sure he did it right.