build this ship to wreck

[Elayne Ayres]

The weather had not been on their side, but there was no way in all the hells that Elayne was going to remain in Teronna. It was too much of a risk. She was wanted, accused of witchery and murder. She had to chance the upcoming storms if the ship was willing to take her away from this gods forsaken place.

She had to run to anywhere. Somewhere far, far away.

It wasn't until days into the journey did the storm really hit. At first it was bearable- the ship sailing across the choppy waves, straight through the pounding rain. Soon enough the waves had grown bigger, washing up and over the deck, dragging men back into the sea like a lover's awaiting arms. They couldn't see through the haze, the thick sheet of rain as the rolling clouds above flashed their anger down upon them. The crew were blind to the sea, unable to do anything but hold on and brace themselves, attempt to continue on in the right direction.
"Sir! Our destination is but some twenty miles north! We should be there in-" started a sailor, yelling over the storm to the captain before the cracking of thunder and lightening struck the sky; hitting the mast of the ship and igniting it slowly in flames despite the downpour.

Eyes open wide and stricken with horror as she fought to find her footing upon the slippery deck, Elayne turned towards the sound of shouted orders at the crew. It was the captain attempting to maintain a leveled head despite the chaos around them. "Gather anything salvageable and get in the boats! Now!" They would have no time to waste, and it would already be difficult in the darkness of the storm.

Helping the crew gather whatever they could, gathering what little belongings she had, one of the sailors was helping her into a rowboat. It was a difficult feat to fight against the storm, the overwhelming waves that threatened to dump them out of their only safety now. She tried to urge them on with hopeful words but the men were tiring...and yet, in the distance they would see, through the gloom and haze, the darker form that was slowly coming into view.

It was land.

Sounds of joy and relief- practically drowned out in the storm- helped the men row faster, desperate to get to land where it would be safer. Yet the closer they got to their destination, just miles before them, the more devastating the waves became, rising and dipping enough to begin filling the two boats with water. And they were sinking. The choice to abandon the small boats and leap into the sea was suddenly not a choice. With a thundering crash and a heavy wave, the rowboats were tipped, violently throwing out all that they had been carrying, and the men struggled to make it to shore. Right there, seeming so close...closer by the minute. Elayne could see nothing but dark shapes every now and then, hearing the deafening crashing of the water all around her before she was fully submerged. The soaked weight of her dress making it harder to swim, impossible to keep afloat.

Desperation led her to ripping at her garment and shedding it, leaving her with nothing against the harsh, cold waters besides her shift. Gasping from the shock of it, she swallowed a mouthful of sea water before crashing up through the surface, coughing, her lungs burning.

Her body already ached as she fought against the current, fighting and making her way towards the shore. She was relieved by the sudden calmer waves yet the rain was just as heavy. Violent shivers already took hold, the water ungodly frigid...and she heard nothing. No other voice, no other cries for help. Nothing but the sea as it continued to try and swallow her whole.

Closer and closer, she could see the beach in the darkness, feel the sting of tears in her eyes as she used every last ounce of her strength to keep going. When she finally felt the ground beneath her feet, she allowed herself to cry in relief; collapsing onto the wet sand where something painful and sharp shot through her leg. Her hand went to her thigh, feeling the warm blood through the torn shift and against her frigid skin. Something had sliced her pretty bad, but just when she was about to take care of it, the dizziness kicked in.

Suddenly, her world went black.

[ Cy Ogden ]

[Cy Ogden]

Cy had woken in the middle of the night drenched in sweat. He wasn't sure what he'd been dreaming about beforehand, but he knew it was bad--he'd woken with a feeling of dread that seemed to have sunk deep into his bones. He groaned and stretched, causing his dog Axel (who took up more of the bed than Cy did, somehow) to stir. The dog, realizing that he was awake, decided it must be playtime, and proceeded to pounce on his master's stomach.

"Oof--get off me, you dope!" Cy grumbled, ruffling the dog's ears before pushing him out of the way so he could get out of bed.

He was too awake, now, so there was no use in trying to go back to sleep. The sun wasn't even up yet, though, so it was a little early to milk the cows and get things going on the farm. Actually...he might have time for a walk. The beach was a ways out if he walked there himself, but if he took the horse, Tom, out on the way, he could wander the beach with Axel and give him a chance to wear himself out a bit. Perfect. The idea put a little more pep in his step as he got dressed, then turned to Axel. "You wanna go for a walk?"

Axel was off like a shot after hearing the magic word.

It only took them about half an hour to make it to the beach, and the first stirrings of dawn were just starting to creep over the waves as it came into view. Axel had been practically running circles around the cart-horse despite the fact that Tom was a good deal faster than the leisurely pace Cy preferred for his walks, but once they hit the sand, he stopped, sniffed the air, and ran off, barking wildly.

"Ax! What the hell--?!" Cy yelped, dismounting awkwardly and stumbling in his hurry to follow the dog. "Axel. Axel! Get back here!" It was no use, the dog was completely ignoring him. He was far more interested in some strange heap he'd found near the surf.

Wait...was that a person?

Cy took off at a run, horrified to think that someone was out here in the freezing water. It may be spring now, but that didn't mean the sea would be any warmer yet, not in these parts. Had there been some kind of wreck?

His guess was confirmed when he saw the woman, drenched, dirty, and bleeding in the sand. He swore under his breath and dropped to his knees. Once at her side, he gently rolled her over, careful to support her head so he wouldn't hurt her any more than she already was. Axel watched, whining. Once she was face up, Cy pressed careful fingers to her throat, feeling for a pulse. He sighed in relief when he found it, even weak as it was. Thank goodness, she was alive. And of all the places to be near death, Sigferth was the safest. He'd have to get her to a healer and fast.

Axel was less considerate--he nudged the woman's hand once, twice, then tapped her hip with his paw, trying to wake her the same way he would wake Cy in the mornings. "Axel, quit." The dog whined and licked the woman's arm. "Yes, I'm worried too. Now hush."

Cy turned his attention back to the woman, and pushed some of her dark hair out of her face. "Miss...can you hear me...?"

[Elayne Ayres]

Darkness. It was all she could see. The cold was all she could feel. At one point, she had awoken to feel the violent shivers run up and down her spine. The blood against her hand was still warm but she knew she didn't have the strength to tend to the wound. Elayne tried desperately to move, but could only feel the time wear on, feel her body further ache as the tears continued to stream down her cheeks.

She must have blacked out again because she was slowly beginning to wake up when she felt something, a voice, broke through the silence. Was that a dog bark? For a moment, she wondered if she in her house, hearing the commotion on the streets outside. Victor insisted on living in the city, and she had despised every moment of it. There was little peace and quiet, but she had bitten her tongue. She remained quiet and didn't bother to argue. Because that's what you did when you loved someone, right? You compromised.

Or, in her husband's case, shrivel up in fear and throw her to the gallows.

That was when her panic set in, feeling hands shifting her onto her back. It was waking her up faster than she normally would have but it wasn't fast enough. Her mind was waking faster than her body could, those pale blues fluttering open to find a face looming over her. Elayne jolted in fear; bloodied hand rising to grip at his shirt. What did she expect to do, toss him aside? She couldn't even do that at full strength let alone near death.

It would take a moment, but eventually she was seeing a little clearer even in the gloom. It wasn't Victor, it wasn't anyone she recognized looking down at her. Now, almost fully awake, she was beginning to realize the pain and cold more. "I...I don't...know where I am..." she stammered out, her blue lips quivering. Elayne felt that lull of the darkness again, but she was struggling against it.

[Cy Ogden]

Cy flinched backward when the woman grabbed his collar as if she were planning to throttle him. Of all the reactions he'd considered, that was definitely not one of them. Her grip was vicelike for a moment before she seemed to come a bit more to her senses. He carefully tucked his arm behind her, helping her to sit up farther. "You're on Aldsage, in Sigferth territory. Lucky for you, we're the healing clan." He chuckled softly. Luck hardly began to cover it. Blessed was probably closer to the truth. Almost as soon as he answered, she was shivering, and he saw her eyes start to roll upwards. "Easy, easy...stay with me if you can."

"It's not going to be too comfortable, but I've got to get you onto my horse if we're going to get you to a healer. I won't be able to carry you all the way to the settlement myself." He told her, speaking to her in the same steady tone he used on skittish horses. "To do that, I'm going to need your help. Can you put your arms around my neck, and hold on?"

He asked her, but he was already evaluating the situation himself. He had little faith in her ability to get to her feet, let alone stay on them, so that was out of the question. Sighing through his nose, he carefully slipped his other arm up under her knees, careful to avoid bumping her injury. He was going to have to get back to his feet, on the wet sand, with her in his arms, then get her up onto Old Tom without her falling off. Simple. He almost laughed at his own sarcastic joke. This was no time for messing around, though...this woman was in bad shape if she was that disoriented and barely conscious. He wondered how much blood she'd lost before she reached shore, but shook it off as a useless venture. Present action was a hell of a lot more valuable to both of them at the moment than the past. 

Whether or not she did as he asked, he shifted one foot onto the ground so he was only on one knee, pulled her to his chest, and rocked himself so that he could use part of the momentum to push himself up onto his feet. Miraculously, he didn't lose his balance, and she was lighter than he'd thought. (He didn't exactly go around carrying women in his arms, so he hadn't known what to expect.) He turned around to take her to the horse, and almost slammed his skull into Tom's. Oh. Apparently the horse hadn't been waiting as patiently as he'd thought--the old boy had come to check on them and make sure that they were alright. This time Cy did laugh. 

"Nice work, Tom. Now hold steady..." He directed the horse. 

"Good work. Now's the interesting part--I'm going to put you on the horse. Once you're there, I'll
need you to keep yourself on the horse if you can, while I get up behind you." He'd wait for some kind of acknowledgement from her, no matter how small, before he proceeded. Once he had it, he carefully pushed one of the woman's feet up over the horse's back, then tipped so that she slid out of his arms and onto the horse's back in a semi-normal riding position.

[Elayne Ayres]

Elayne was desperately trying not to panic, but knowing she was slowly bleeding out (she couldn't be sure for how long now) and she couldn't physically do anything about it was not settling well with her. She was the one who healed others...not the one who was injured. It both frightened and grated on her nerves, and she was struggling with this helpless feeling.

"Aldsage?" she echoed quietly. Elayne had heard of this place and its savage, warring clans. "By the fuckin' gods..." she murmured in concern, but with how she was drifting in and out of consciousness, it probably sounded more annoyed than anything. How in the world did she end up here, out of all places? The ship hadn't gone as far as she had thought then.

'Easy, easy...stay with me if you can.' She was trying. She was really trying, but as much as those tired eyes tried to focus on his face, it blurred every so often. Swallowing a lump in her throat as the dizziness was beginning to take hold again, she attempted to concentrate on his voice. He was speaking of a horse...and a healer.

Elayne slowly nodded. "A-alright..." Her arms were shaking and incredibly weak, but she slipped them around his neck as she tried to keep her eyes mostly open. Just concentrate, she told herself. Listen to the water, hear his voice, anything. But she was so very tired...

"Tom..." she heard herself say, finding it important to repeat the name for whatever reason. In the dim light and through the tiredness, she thought she could make out the face of a horse. And was she floating, flying? The cold sand was no longer at her back and she was curled against something warm. Oh, right, the stranger. On Aldsage. A stranger who, hopefully, wasn't really about to kill her.

Elayne actually smirked, nearly laughing at her inner thoughts. It wouldn't be the first time someone tried to kill her, now was it?

Suddenly she was moving again, half her mind understanding what Cy had just said. Yes, the horse. Stay awake. It wasn't really his fault since he had little choice, but as she was helped into the saddle, she hissed in pain. It stretched and strained that wound on her thigh, shooting needles down into the nerves. A gentle gasp, Elayne tried to calm her breathing...but she was certainly a little more awake now. At least she was able to sit upright, albeit hunched over, within the saddle.

Those pale eyes found him again, wanting to say this in case she forgot or didn't get the chance to. "Thank you..."

[Cy Ogden]

It was good to hear her talking, showing she was paying attention even if she looked much the worse for wear. Her reaction to being in Aldsage was to be expected, he supposed; most outsiders thought of the clans as mere savages. That was far from true, but he wasn't about to launch a campaign to teach them the truth. 

Once his new companion was up on the horse he waited for a moment with his hands hovering near her, watching to be sure that she was not going to slide off immediately. She seemed steady enough, and he was readying himself to mount the horse as well when she met his gaze with the most clarity he'd seen from her yet. Somehow gratitude was the last thing on his mind at the moment, and her intensity startled him. He stared at her in surprise for a moment before he had the presence of mind to smile. 

"No thanks needed. A Sigferth helps those who need care, no questions asked, and no expectation of reward." His words were quiet, but firm, carrying the weight of conviction. He truly believed in the Sigferth's code of honor. To let someone suffer needlessly, whether friend or foe, was unforgivable. He lingered a moment longer with concern in his eyes as he wondered again where this woman had come from and how she wound up on their shores, then seemed to shake himself back into motion. 

Swiftly he mounted the horse behind her, muttering an apology as he was forced closer to her than might be comfortable. He had to reach around her for the reins, then tapped his heel against Tom's body to cue him into motion. The horse seemed uneasy, taking a few hesitant steps before he was comfortable enough to start into a slow walk, then a faster one, nearing a canter as Cy urged him on. He didn't want to harm the woman by jostling her too much, but he could tell that she needed care as quickly as he could get her to it without doing more damage. The ride would take about twenty minutes, and he was prepared to sit them out in silence, before he realized that might not be best for his 'patient.'

"Let me know if the pace is too much," he said first, wanting to make sure she would speak up if needed. "Also, it's not the best time for a proper introduction, but...I'm Cy."

[Elayne Ayres]

No more savages than the people who followed that bloody Teronnian king. If she was more aware of things and not concentrating on trying to stay upright, Elayne may have cursed again at the thought of that kingdom, might have even spit on the ground in disgust. This was all in order to hide her fear. In truth, she was terrified to know she was on this island and was having to put all her faith in a stranger that happened to find her washed up on the beach. He seemed harmless enough, but she couldn't deny that worry. And if she wanted to survive this, she'd have to go along with this for however long it took.

Elayne swayed lightly in the saddle for a moment, but her hands gripped tightly to the horn to ensure she wasn't going to topple back off into the sand as she continued to focus on his face. It kept her grounded, and albeit being a stranger in a place she still deemed almost more dangerous than Teronna, he was the only thing she could easily visually cling to. He was real, he was helping her, she might survive this.

She was a survivor. The gods could go fuck themselves if they didn't believe it.

Barely hearing his apology as he climbed up into the saddle behind her, she tensed briefly before she eased, attempting to straighten herself up. The surrounding dark seemed to help keep her from getting dizzy as the horse started to move, but it was also threatening to lull her back to sleep. Fortunately, he was talking again.

Elayne blinked, feeling herself swaying again. "Just go," she answered, perhaps sounding a bit more annoyed than she should have. It wasn't necessarily directed towards him but she didn't expect him to know that. She was just not doing well, and she hated the fact that she was this vulnerable.

Sighing, her hand went to the wound on her thigh as she felt the blood soaking her skirt again. Now that she had moved, it was making the blood flow more freely. "Elayne," the woman told him in reply. Her tone was slightly more pleasant as she blindly fumbled at the skirt of her shift. Letting go of the saddle, assuming he'd keep her from falling if she started to slip, she used what strength she had to tear the wet fabric and give her a piece to work with. Panting, feeling nauseous, she blinked the tears away as she struggled to focus. Spotting the wound just about her knee, she slipped the strip of cloth under her leg and started to become frustrated with her lack of strength and being unable to tie a simple knot as the horse moved. "I'm...I'm going to need you to tie this..." Before she could pass out again, because Elayne could feel that darkness creeping back. "Right above the wound, right here."

[Cy Ogden]

Well fuck.

Cy had just been beginning to feel like he could handle the situation of having a bleeding stranger on his horse when she started moving, hoisting her skirt higher and higher on her leg and wiggling about. He could tell easily enough by the amount of blood that she was trying to find the cut, but it didn't make any sense to him why she was doing so, seeing as they were on a moving horse. Did it really matter that much where the wound was or what it looked like? That was what he was getting her to a healer for, after all. Distracted as he was, he almost missed her giving her name. Elayne. Hm. It wasn't one he recognized, but he liked it.

The sound of tearing fabric got his attention back to her leg and the wound there, and he swore under his breath when she told him she needed him to tie the fabric. How the hell was he supposed to do that without her falling off the damn horse? How was he supposed to do that without him falling off the damn horse?!

He took a breath through his nose and sighed. He was going to have to do it whether he liked it or not.

"This might get a little cozy, bear with me. He told her, not bothering to wait for an answer as he hooked one arm around her waist and tugged her a little tighter against him so he was holding one of the ends of the fabric tie with that hand. He used his other, slightly freer hand to tie the other end around the first, then yanked it tight with a slight grunt. He wanted the tourniquet to keep her from bleeding out, obviously, but he was a little concerned if he overdid it she could lose the limb. Wasn't that what his mother had said? He wished for the first time that he'd paid more attention to that part of her teachings. Farm work had just always suited him better.

"There," he declared, returning his hands to the reins and his arms to a looser hold around her. "Better?" They were getting closer now, not too much farther...

[Elayne Ayres]

She had definitely lost more blood than she thought, but at least it wasn't enough to make her lose consciousness. Yet. It was why she was so concerned now. Even if he told her they would be to a healer in five minutes, Elayne would still panic because she felt herself wavering in and out. In truth, she might have succumbed to the darkness and fallen right off that horse were it not for him.

Cy, was it? Is that what he said his name was? Focus, Elayne. Stay awake.

"Propriety is...the least of my concerns right now..." she murmured, trying not to flinch in discomfort as he attempted to get his arms around her enough to tie the fabric. It was difficult to tell how much that wound was bleeding in this dim light, so it was better to be safe than sorry. And he'd have to man up and just do it.

She should have been telling him not to tie it too tight but it also couldn't be very loose either, yet she was still struggling to focus enough. Fortunately, he seemed to know what he was doing, and she had enough strength within her to share her gratitude. "Yes. Thank you..." Elayne sighed, her body slightly swaying as it couldn't decide whether to slump forward or fall back against him. "I'm...so tired..." Her mind was drifting away, beginning to forget exactly what had happened or where she even was, how she had even gotten here in the first place. "The sea..." Okay, looked like she was just going to ramble now. "Rain and waves...sand everywhere. Oooh, a dog, there was...a dog." Finally, she fell back against him, her eyes drifting to the star-filled sky that was slowly beginning to brighten into morning. "Do you sing? You should...sing." Did she even remember who she was talking to? A stranger?

[Cy Ogden]

Cy wasn't worried in the least about propriety--no, he was more concerned with her comfort. He was a stranger, and a strange man, at that, and he knew that the average woman probably wouldn't appreciate having him invade their personal space like that. But if that's what she wanted, that's what he'd do. Especially if it kept her both alive and on his horse.

She started to drift and ramble, not long after, though, and Cy nearly swore in her ear. Shit! He needed her to stick with him as long as she could. From what he knew, passing out was not recommended. At least not until a healer said you could rest.

"Hey, Elayne, stay with me. Uh," He wasn't eager to sing her a song, but, fuck, hadn't he just been thinking he'd do whatever she asked if it kept her alive and on his horse? He wasn't going to have any choice. He sighed tersely. At least she'd fallen into him, and not forward. That was an adventure he would not have enjoyed. Not that he was particularly enjoying this one.

"I don't know a lot of songs," he grumbled, wracking his brain for some kind of song to sing. Did he know any songs? Finally, after a longer silence than he would have liked, he began to sing softly, almost under his breath, although once he got into the rhythm of the song, he wasn't as quiet anymore.

"I sat within the valley green
I sat me with my true love.
My sad heart strove the two between
The old love and the new love.
The old for her the new
That made me think on our land so dearly.
While the soft wind blew down the glade
and shook the golden barley."

'Twas hard the woeful words to frame
To break the ties that bound us.
But harder still to bear the shame
of foreign chains around us.
And so I said the mountain glen
I'll meet at morning early.
And I'll join the bold united men
While soft winds shook the barley.

Thankfully, by the time he finished the second verse, he could see the town growing nearer in the distance. "Almost there, Elayne, stay with me now."

[Elayne Ayres]

Were she not slowly bleeding out and half delusional, she might have been a bit more peeved about him invading her personal space. No, she wouldn't have let him into that space to begin with. But desperate times called for desperate measures, as they say, and she was stranded on a very dangerous island with no other choice but to trust this man. Cy, he called himself. She was clinging to that in case she couldn't remember anything else should she succumb to the blackness and wake up however long later. If she did.

Her bright eyes were beginning to close as her body swayed with the motion of the horse, like it was rocking her to sleep. And it was all she wanted to do, even if the small voice at the back of her mind, the voice that was still her was screaming not to give in. But then, all of a sudden, Cy began to sing.

Leaning against him, she could feel the words reverberate within his chest, comforting her immediately even if the pull of sleep was still there. Yet it was her curiosity that kept her awake, and she grinned while she listened to him. He had a lovely voice, didn't he? This stranger from this scary land. He wasn't really scary at all. Not that the thought had actually occurred to her before. If anything, he was very compliant and kind...and hopefully she would remember that later.

'Almost there, Elayne, stay with me now.' "Hmm, where are we going?" she slowly and rather sluggishly spoke. Did she already forget? One of her arms lifted so that she could gently smack the side of his face affectionately, or what she thought was affectionately in her current state. "You should sing..." No, Elayne, you already asked him that.

[Cy Ogden]

"Fuck." This time he did swear right in her ear; although it was under his breath she was sure to hear it. Her confusion about where they were going made him nervous. She must have lost more blood than what he had seen, probably in the ocean. He needed her to stay coherent if she could, but she was clearly fading fast. Now that she had on a tourniquet, and they were that close, he urged the horse into a gallop. They were running out of time.

"Elayne, I swear to you, if you stay awake, I'll sing for you whenever you want. But I need you to stay awake. Why don't you try to sing, for me? Do you know Red is the Rose?"

The houses were growing closer, and he saw one of the Sigferth sisters recognize his horse. She looked confused, for a moment, then ran into the infirmary to shout for her sister. Good. Holly Sigferth was the one they'd need for this. She liked the dangerous things like this, and as much as he didn't appreciate her bedside manner, he knew she would be able to handle it.

Tom skidded to a stop outside the infirmary, knocking up a massive cloud of dirt with his hooves. Cy turned to Holly, who had rushed out to help them. Thank goddess, because he hadn't the faintest fucking clue how he was going to get her down from that horse alone.

"Alright, easy now, we're going to get you inside, for the healer," he explained to Elayne, his voice the same tone he'd use on a spooked horse. He didn't bother to hesitate on touching her, now, not with her getting as hazy as she was. He needed her inside the infirmary as fast as humanly possible. He lifted her injured leg up and over the horse's neck, forcing her body to turn sideways so she could slide down. Holly caught her by the waist as she came down, and he put his hands under her armpits to slow her descent to a manageable pace. Once Holly was propping her up, he hopped down. He moved to hook himself under one of her arms, but Holly shook her head.

"No good, you take her under the arms, I'll get her feet. Straight to the bed in there. Ainsley's got it ready."

He nodded and did as she asked, hurrying into the infirmary with the women. Once Elayne was on the bed, Holly was immediately in motion, getting a closer look at the wound and the makeshift tourniquet. "How long has she been bleeding?"

"Wish I knew. Found her on the beach and brought her straight here.

"Good thing, too, girl's half-drowned and half-dead," the blonde remarked dryly. She leaned down to Elayne, and was surprisingly gentle as she pushed some hair out of the other woman's face. "Can you tell me your name, miss?"

[Elayne Ayres]

Elayne didn't know why, but hearing the curse fall off this man's tongue made her smirk, and she even quietly giggled as though she were drunk. But no, she was more delusional and exhausted, and it was becoming a bad mix.

Suddenly, everything was moving by so quickly when he sent the horse into a gallop, and Cy was talking to her again. "Well, well...what a charmer..." Okay, not quite. The poor man was trying to bargain with a half-dead woman who clearly forgot what was going on. There was a small part of her mind that still clung to reality, but it was so small that she was swiftly losing it. "Rose?" she piped up when he mentioned some song. Indeed, she knew that one, but Elayne right now was not recalling it. "Roses aren't just red, you know..." she murmured tiredly. "They can be white...and pink, or...that beautiful blush color...did you know? Oh, roses are quite lovely..." Well, she wasn't singing, but she was at least rambling on foolishly. That was still something.

The halting of the horse seemed to jostle her a little more awake, and those bright eyes were blinking through the dust, attempting to figure out what was going on. Cy was mentioning a healer, and she didn't really remember much after that. There had been another- a woman who was supporting her before the two carried her inside somewhere. Elayne's vision was drifting in and out, and suddenly that sluggishness was disappearing to be replaced by worry. The pain was consuming her again and she was trying not to panic.

"Elayne..." she murmured to the blonde. "I was...shipwrecked..."

[Cy Ogden]

Holly smiled, and Cy sighed in relief when Elayne was able to give her name and say that she was shipwrecked. He’d been getting more and more concerned the more disconnected her rambling had been as they rode. The fact that she was still lucid enough to answer was a good sign.

The healer patted Elayne’s arm lightly. “Good job, Elayne. Not to worry, you’ve washed up in the safest place on the whole island. And with our boy Cypress here, who’s as gentle as his cows. We’ll take good care of you.” She slapped Cy on the back, laughing when he gave her a dirty look. “Oi, no complaints, Cypress Ogden. You brought her to me, so that means she’s your responsibility.”\

She wasn’t wrong. But what else was he going to do? Holly knew as well as he did that the Sigferth’s whole way of life was dedicated to that rule–that they help anyone who needed them, no matter the circumstances. He couldn’t have denied Elayne any more than he could stop his heart from beating. It was who he was. He sighed and ran a hand over his face. What had he gotten himself into?

Holly wasn’t bothered in the least by his existential crisis–she just bustled around the room grabbing bottled and tools here and there. She put a hand gently under Elayne’s chin, then pressed near the hinge of her jaw on either side with her thumb and middle finger to urge her mouth open so she could pour in a few drops of medication for the pain, mixed with a mild sedative. It was the same mix she used for labor, so it shouldn't addle the woman's mind any more than it already was. Next, she held up a thinly rolled bundle of cloth with what appeared to be mint inside. Holly may be abrasive with the average person, but she tried to make things pleasant as possible for her patients.

“You’ll want to bite down on this, so you don’t bite your tongue,” she explained to Elayne before tucking it into the woman’s mouth like a bridle. Next, she took Cy’s callused hand, dragged it to Elayne’s, and tucked them together. “And squeeze Cypress’s hand as hard as you need. He can take it.” Cy looked alarmed but didn’t protest.

“Right, then. Let’s get started.” Without further ado, Holly went to work.

[Elayne Ayres]

The pain was now making her focus more on it, causing that sort of delirious state of hers to drift away. Elayne struggled to stay awake, feeling the sting of tears in her eyes as breath hissed through clenched teeth. How long had she been on that beach, bleeding out onto the sand? Everything had been so dark, and she knew she had drifted off to sleep.

Where was she again?

She felt the touch to her arm, and watery eyes turned to the blonde woman beside her once more. Something told her not to be afraid, even if there was that slight worry still deep within her gut. She'd washed up on a strange island, the isle of clans, and she was quickly recalling all that had happened. The storm, the screaming crew, then nothing but the deep, dark abyss of the ocean before she felt sand beneath her fingers.

"Cows...?" Elayne didn't know why she felt the need to repeat that word out of everything else Holly had said. 'We'll take good care of you.' Those were the words she latched onto; dug her claws deep into, and hung on. Especially when the healer was urging the medicine into her mouth, and Elayne wasn't going to argue. Perhaps, were she thinking a little clearer and her thigh wasn't on fire, she might have questioned her. But she knew a fellow healer when she saw one...even if it was through glossy, blinking eyes.

Nodding, she clenched the rolled up cloth between her teeth. When her hand was placed within Cy's, listening to Holly's instructions, the half-drowned woman actually chuckled. It wasn't a light, airy sound, but something more akin to dark amusement. Elayne could handle pain, but right now she was roughly half-awake and had possibly lost a lot of blood. If anything, that laugh was a warning to the poor man. Maybe even an apology.

Even with drifting in and out, whatever Holly had given her was definitely beginning to help. She was so tired that she barely noticed when the wound was being cleaned, even if it stung like a son-of-a-bitch. Just when she thought she might pass out, to finally sleep again, she felt the sharpness of what she could only assume was a needle into the irritated flesh of her leg. Elayne knew better- she should have stayed awake and paid better attention, so it had taken her by surprised and made her jolt unexpectedly. Her fingers involuntarily tightened around Cy's, squeezing far tighter than necessary as nails began to dig into his skin. And, despite the cloth in her mouth, she most definitely growled out an unladylike "holy fuck" in an angry slur. Eventually, the sedative kicked in more and her eyes grew heavy.