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The first thing Tav noticed was the pain. It radiated from their ankle in sharp, vicious waves, each one worse than the last. The second thing they noticed was the blood trickling down the side of their face. The third was that they had absolutely no idea where they were.
"Shit." The words came out as little more than a breath.
Tav tried to sit up, immediately regretted it, and slumped back against the base of the tree. The world tilted sickeningly around them. For a few seconds, all they could do was close their eyes and breathe through the nausea. They remembered the ambush. The sudden shouting, the clash of steel, Karlach yelling something about getting behind her. They remembered turning to help Gale, seeing an enemy break through the trees, and running.
Then the ground had given way beneath their feet.
After that, everything was a blur of branches, rocks, and a terrible, sickening crack as their ankle twisted beneath them.
They'd managed to crawl far enough to find shelter beneath the enormous roots of an ancient tree. Their pack was somewhere back up the slope, along with most of their supplies.
And the party was nowhere in sight.
"Karlach?" they called, their voice sounded strange in the quiet forest.
No answer. Tav swallowed and tried again.
"Karlach!"
Nothing but the rustling of leaves. They stared into the trees, waiting for the familiar sound of her voice, the unmistakable thud of her footsteps.
Nothing.
"Okay," they whispered to themselves. "Okay. That's fine."
It wasn't fine. They knew it wasn't fine. But they had survived worse, hadn't they? They'd survived the nautiloid, the crash, goblins, the Underdark, a whole damn list of things that should have killed them. They could survive a night in the woods. All they had to do was find their way back.
Tav braced a hand against the tree and pushed themselves upright, but pain exploded through their ankle. A strangled cry escaped them, and they crumpled back to the ground.
"Fuck!"
Their eyes burned. They pressed the heels of their hands against them, furious with themselves for the tears that slipped free.
It was fine. They just needed a minute. Just a minute, then they'd get up, find the others. They needed to get back to Karlach.
By the time the sun began to dip below the trees, Karlach was getting worried. The shadows started to stretched across the trail, and by the time Shadowheart found Tav's abandoned pack lying beside a steep embankment, Karlach was terrified.
"That's theirs," Shadowheart said quietly.
Karlach stared at the pack.
It was unmistakable. Tav's bedroll was strapped to the side, and the little charm they'd insisted on tying to the buckle swung gently in the breeze.
"Where are they?" Karlach asked.
No one answered.
She stepped closer to the embankment, peering down into the tangle of trees and undergrowth below.
"Tav!"
Her voice echoed through the woods. Nothing.
"TAV!"
She turned to the others, panic beginning to claw its way up her throat.
"We have to find them."
"We will," Wyll assured her. "But we need to be methodical. If they're injured—"
"They're out there alone!" Karlach's voice cracked, swallowing hard and forcing herself to take a breath.
"Sorry. I just—" She dragged a hand over her face. "We need to find them. Now."
Gale stepped forward, his expression grave. "We'll split into pairs. Follow the trail down the embankment and look for signs of where they might have gone. If anyone finds anything, call out immediately."
Karlach was already moving. She barely heard the rest of the instructions. All she could think about was Tav.
Tav, who always complained when she walked too fast.
Tav, who stole the blankets from her bedroll even when they had their own.
Tav, who kissed the scarred side of her face every morning like it was the easiest thing in the world.
Tav, who had promised they would get through this together.
Karlach shoved through a curtain of branches. "Tav!" Her voice was getting hoarse. "Come on, soldier. Where are you?"
The forest swallowed the words but she kept going.
Tav had stopped trying to walk. It had taken them a humiliating amount of time to accept that they weren't going anywhere on their own. Their ankle had swollen so badly that even the slightest movement made them gasp. Their head throbbed with every heartbeat, and the cold was beginning to seep through their clothes.
They'd managed to tear a strip of fabric from their shirt and wrap it around the worst of the bleeding on their temple. It wasn't much, but it was something. They pulled their knees closer to their chest, wincing when the movement jarred their ankle.
The forest was getting darker. Tav hated the dark.
Not usually. They'd spent enough time traveling and camping that darkness was more familiar than frightening.
But there was something different about being alone in it. Every rustle of leaves sounded like footsteps, every distant howl made their heart leap into their throat.
They tried to think of something comforting: Karlach's laugh, the warmth of her hand wrapped around theirs, the way she always called them soldier when she was trying to make them smile.
Gods, they wanted to hear her voice.
"Karlach," they whispered, their throat tightened. "Please." The word disappeared into the trees.
Tav closed their eyes, they were so tired. Just for a moment, they told themselves.
Just a moment to rest then they'd get up, find their way home.
Karlach heard it just as she was beginning to lose hope. A sound so faint she almost mistook it for the wind.
She stopped.
"Hello?"
Nothing. Her heart hammered against her ribs.
"Tav?"
For a moment, there was only silence. Then—
"Karlach?"
It was barely audible, but it was them.
Karlach ran. Branches whipped against her arms and caught in her hair. She stumbled over roots, nearly went sprawling down a slope, and didn't even slow down.
"TAV!"
"I'm here!"
The voice came from somewhere ahead. Karlach rounded a massive tree, shoved aside a curtain of low-hanging branches, and stopped so abruptly her boots slid through the mud.
There, tucked beneath the enormous roots of an old tree, half-hidden by the undergrowth.
Tav.
For one terrible second, Karlach couldn't move.
They were slumped against the roots, their head tilted at an uncomfortable angle. Their face was pale beneath the dirt, and there was blood dried along their temple. One leg was stretched awkwardly in front of them, their ankle swollen and bruised.
They looked so small, so impossibly still.
Then Tav lifted their head.
"Karlach?"
The sound of their voice broke something inside her.
"Oh, fuck.” Karlach dropped to her knees. "Oh, soldier. Oh, gods."
Her hands hovered helplessly over Tav's body. She wanted to pull them close, to wrap them in her arms and never let go, but she was terrified of hurting them.
"Hey. Hey, look at me."
Tav blinked slowly. "Hi.”
Karlach let out a sound that was halfway between a laugh and a sob.
"Hi?" she repeated. "That's all I get? I spend the better part of the evening tearing this bloody forest apart looking for you, and all you have to say is hi?"
Tav tried to smile, it came out crooked.
"Sorry."
"No. No, don't you dare apologize,” Karlach's voice cracked. She swallowed hard and reached for Tav's hand instead, curling her fingers around theirs. "Gods, soldier. You scared the ever-loving hells out of me."
Tav's fingers tightened weakly around hers. "I couldn't find the trail."
"Shh. It's okay. I've got you now."
"I tried to get back."
"I know."
"I really tried."
Karlach's face crumpled. "I know, love."
Tav looked at her for a long moment, their eyes glassy and unfocused. Then they whispered, "I thought you weren't coming."
Karlach went completely still. The words hit harder than any blade ever could.
"Oh, sweetheart." She leaned forward, resting her forehead gently against Tav's. "Of course I came."
Tav's breath hitched and Karlach closed her eyes.
"I was always going to come."
For a moment, neither of them spoke, then Tav shivered making Karlach pulled back immediately.
"Okay. Right. Let's get you warm."
She shrugged off her cloak and draped it carefully over Tav's shoulders, tucking it around them as best she could.
"Can you tell me what hurts?"
"My ankle."
"Anything else?"
"My head."
Karlach's gaze flicked to the blood on Tav's temple.
"Yeah. I can see that."
Tav winced as Karlach gently brushed a strand of hair away from their face.
"Sorry," Karlach murmured. "I know. I'm sorry."
"It's okay."
"No, it's not,” her voice was quieter now. "It's really not."
Tav looked at her.
Karlach took a shaky breath. "But you're here. That's what matters. You're here, and I'm here, and we're going to get you home."
Tav's eyes drifted shut. "Home sounds nice."
"Yeah," Karlach whispered. "It does."
She squeezed their hand.
"Stay with me, yeah? Just a little longer."
By the time the others arrived, Karlach had managed to get Tav sitting a little more comfortably against the tree. Shadowheart immediately knelt beside them, assessing their injuries while Gale illuminated the area with a soft orb of magic.
Wyll crouched nearby, his expression tight with concern. "Gods," he murmured. "Tav."
Tav managed a faint wave. "Hey."
Shadowheart gave them a pointed look. "Don't move."
"Wasn't planning on it."
"Good."
Karlach remained beside Tav, one hand wrapped around theirs. She watched every movement Shadowheart made, her jaw clenched so tightly it hurt.
"How bad?" she asked.
"An injured ankle, a head wound, and likely a concussion. I need to get them somewhere safe where I can treat them properly."
"Can I carry them?"
Shadowheart glanced at Tav. "Not until I know the extent of the injury. We need to stabilize the ankle first."
Karlach nodded, swallowing hard. "Right. Yeah. Of course." She looked down at Tav. "Hey, soldier. We're going to get you back to camp."
Tav's eyes fluttered open. "You're coming?"
Karlach stared at them. "Am I coming?"
Tav nodded faintly.
Karlach leaned closer, brushing her thumb over their knuckles. "Sweetheart, I'm not going anywhere."
The journey back to camp felt endless. Shadowheart insisted on stabilizing Tav's ankle before they moved them. Gale helped create a makeshift stretcher, and Wyll took the lead to clear the path.
Karlach walked beside Tav the entire way. Every time the stretcher shifted, her heart leaped into her throat. Every time Tav winced, she had to fight the urge to stop everyone and demand they move more carefully.
She kept talking instead. Pointless things. Anything to keep Tav's attention.
"You're going to have to tell me how you managed to get lost in the same patch of woods we walked through this morning."
Tav made a faint sound that might have been a laugh. "I didn't get lost."
"Oh, no?"
"I was... temporarily misplaced."
"Temporarily misplaced. Right. I'll remember that the next time I can't find my bloody boots." Karlach snorted.
Tav's smile faded as another wave of pain crossed their face and Karlach immediately reached for their hand.
"Hey. Hey, look at me."
Tav's eyes found hers.
"Almost there," Karlach promised.
"Okay."
"Just keep looking at me, yeah?"
Tav nodded as Karlach squeezed their hand.
"That's it. I've got you."
By the time they reached camp, Tav was barely awake.
Shadowheart took over immediately, ordering everyone out of the way as she settled Tav onto a bedroll and began tending to their injuries.
Karlach tried to stay out of the way, she really did. But every time Shadowheart asked Tav a question, Karlach found herself leaning forward, desperate to hear the answer. Every time Tav closed their eyes, she wanted to shake them gently and tell them to stay awake.
And when Shadowheart finally looked up and said, "They need rest. The ankle is badly sprained, but I don't believe it's broken. I'll need to monitor the head injury overnight," Karlach felt her knees nearly give out.
"Okay," she whispered.
Shadowheart's expression softened. "They're going to be all right, Karlach."
Karlach nodded quickly. "Yeah. Yeah, I know." But she didn't move.
Not until Tav reached for her. "Kar?"
She was at their side in an instant. "Hey, sweetheart."
Tav's fingers curled around hers. "Stay?"
Karlach's heart broke all over again. "Always." She eased herself down beside them, careful not to jostle their injured leg.