Run Boy Run

[Zander Brogthamon]

[This thread takes place not long before the mystic riots in Terrona]

Zanders breathing came out in sharp painful wheezes. His legs were burning and sweat was stinging in his eyes as it ran down his face. His father was on a particularly nasty streak that day and while he was certain he'd be punished for running away from training he couldn't take the pain anymore. There was a lurch in his stomach before he tripped over a raised tree root and hit the ground hard. Blood came from gashes on his head, his left hip, and his right leg. 

The boy felt dizzy but he wasn't sure if it was from the adrenaline or the fact that he hadn't been allowed to eat yet. All he wanted to do was curl into a ball and fall asleep but as he heard footsteps coming towards him again Zander scrambled as best he could to his feet. His eyes darted around as rain suddenly began hitting the ground around him and the soft crackle of thunder echoed in the distance. While he feared it was his father coming after him he was more confused when he saw a patch of white hair not far off.

Feleti Eidothea

[Feleti Eidothea]

Feleti had been out 'collecting herbs' but really he was just exploring. He had been wandering about for a while already when he saw someone fall to the ground ahead of him.
He felt concern immediately and hurried over worry plastered on his face. The guy wasn't too much younger than himself but he looked pretty beat up. On top of that the weather suddenly took a turn for the worse and threatened to drench them both.

Feleti came to stand just in front of the redhead and held out his cloak to block the rain slightly.
"Are you....alright?" He asked his voice barely loud enough to be heard over the oncoming storm. He thought perhaps he had seen the boy around from a distance but they had certainly never spoken.

[Zander Brogthamon]

Zander quickly averted his eyes to the ground as he tried to catch his breath. "I..I'm f-fine." He managed to mutter out as he tried to stay up on his trembling legs. He barely noticed the rain starting to beat down on his head. The redhead couldn't bring himself to look at at the other in front of him as he pressed the palm of his hand to the gash on his head with a hiss.

"I-I'm not...I need to go." He tried to turn and leave but the sudden movement made the world around him spin far too quickly. He hit the ground again with a yelp. He looked up at the man finally as he tried to move backwards. While he was sure he might have seen him around town at some point he couldn't put his finger on a particular time.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Seeing the young man trembling and bleeding in the rain put a concerned frown on Leti's face. Perhaps he was just the skittish type but He knew he couldn't help the guy if he were running away the whole time.
He was about to reach out to the man when he tried to leave and instead ended up on the ground again.

Leti moved forward to gently place a hand on the man's upper arm. "You needn't be afraid. I won't hurt you, I'm a healer." He explained calmly as he eyes looked over the wound on the man's forehead. He had been traveling to Ethlund occasionally now that he had gotten Cain's approval to train as a field medic. It was a bit of a journey so he usually ended up staying at the Inn or sleeping in a barn. He felt he was actually starting to get to know a few of the villagers quite well.

He reached for the pouch at his side and nearly took a bandage out to begin working on the gash but realized that in the rain his work would be for nothing. "Why don't we get out of the rain, hm?" Leti asked as his eyes already seemed to be searching for cover.

[Zander Brogthamon]

He realized the man was trying to be reassuring but Zander couldn't think beyond the need to run away. Still, it didn't appear that running away was going to happen in his current state leaving him frozen and terrified. When the other reached out to place his hand on Zanders arm he flinched away with a whimper. Afraid the man was reaching out to hurt him. When he didn't the redhead felt a little embarrassed but more confused than anything.

He wasn't really sure why he was so concerned about him. No one else had been, except for his mother. The rain didn't bother him as much. It was actually nice to feel the sweat and dirt washing away. "Wh-Why do you care?" He managed out as he tried to stand again.

There was a cave near by that he knew about. One that he'd run to and hid plenty of times just to get away from his father for a few hours. Zander managed to stand and prop himself up with a tree as he eyed the other now suspiciously. "What do y-you want?"

[Feleti Eidothea]

Seeing the redhead flinch under his touch only made Feleti more concerned. The amount of terror on the guy's face made it seem like he was afraid of being caught by someone, or for doing something. Well he was pretty beat up, maybe he was afraid of being caught by whoever had caused the gashes.
"I'm a healer...it's what we do?" Though he had learned by now that sometimes it made people nervous if he offered his services for free.
"Um....I'm training to be a field medic. Patching you up would be good practice....and um..." He distractedly wiped rain out of his face "You could tell me about yourself, I need to learn about lots of different people. How's that?" Feleti explained with an unsure but gentle smile.

[Zander Brogthamon]

Zander was still unsure and nervous but the idea of getting healed did seem nice. For a moment he thought that if the other really wanted to hurt him he probably would have done it by now. "There's...a cave not far from here." Now to only hope he could make it there without passing out.

The walk wasn't long but it felt like an eternity. A few times Zander had stumbled or hit the ground but he kept getting back up and moving. The mouth of the cave was empty and dark but further in were candles, most of them half melted, with a small stack of drawings to one side and a little makeshift cot. Further in the distance was the sound of rushing water not far off. The boy managed to light three of the candles before he sat on the cool cave floor with a groan.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti was no stranger to caves. He wanted to help the young man walk but the poor guy kept pushing ahead and falling over.
He was glad to be out of the rain once they made it to their destination.
He wiped away the last remnants of water from his face before coming forward to have a proper look at the boys wounds. They weren't too bad really, with good looking after they would likely heal without too much scarring but head wounds bled a lot.

Leti took out a bit of bandage from his satchel, luckily saved from getting soaked via the power of leather. He began to gingerly dab and wipe at the head wound to clean it up a bit.
"My name is Feleti,...what's yours?" He asked hoping a bit of conversation would calm the boys nerves.

[Zander Brogthamon]

As the other approached him again Zander flinched on instinct from his touch. Normally it was his mother that would patch him up once he got home but he hadn't planned on returning home for a while. He let out a low his as he began dabbing at the wound on his head but didn't move. The boy knew from experience cleaning out wounds caused less pain in the long run.

At the mention of his name Zander froze for a moment. After a quick thought he cleared his throat and spoke quietly. "Zander...m-my names Zander." Knowing the others name did help him feel a little bit better. It was oddly more of a comfort than just being strangers.

"You're not from Ethuland are you?" He asked curiously after a moment of silence. "I've seen you around a few times b-but you don't really seem like you're the farming type."

[Feleti Eidothea]

Feleti carried on cleaning out the wound and then retrieved a small clay jar from his satchel. As he opened it Zander introduced himself and Leti's grey eyes met his with a calm gentle stare.
"That's a nice name." He replied absentmindedly as he took a bit of the ointment from the jar and began to smear it over the wound. He was as light fingered as possible but the mixture of herbs would sting just a bit. A product of being away from the ideal workspace of his home.

He nodded in response to Zander's question. "I'm from a little ways beyond Greyshollow...ah, not in the forest mind you." He smiled a large friendly smile "no I guess not hmm? But I do like Ethuland. There are so many sheep! I like sheep." He replied in a casual light hearted way before wrapping a bandage about zander's head to keep the ointment and blood in for a while.

[Zander Brogthamon]

Zander let out a hiss of pain as the ointment was applied to the wound. It wasn't that it was a terrible pain but it was a surprise. Hearing him talk about how there were so many sheep in Ethuland made the boy let out a half hearted chuckle. There were plenty of far animals around. Though they did keep a lot of sheep for their wool. "The sheep are awful dumb." He meant that as a simple statement, he'd watched the creatures run in a panic in a perfect circle before. Just because they saw one of their heard start to.

"What's Greyshollow like?" Zander wasn't really allowed to travel much if at all. His father didn't want him getting far from their home, especially on his own. Not that he'd never been outside of his home but it was usually just to the main city to get supplies.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Feleti also gave a small laugh in response. Sheep certainly weren't the cleverest but he found them sweet all the same. He had wanted to keep some sheep of his own back home but it was too dangerous to keep them up the mountain. In the end he had always had to barter for wool.

"hmm, not too different really. People keep to themselves, sometimes there are traders. There are a bit more stories people tell to keep their kids from going into the forest.'' He replied as he continued patching zander up.
" I hear it used to be quite a bit grander but that was long before I was born.''

[Zander Brogthamon]

Zander had always felt more comfortable in the woods as opposed to in town. Though he could never really pinpoint why he felt that way. Things just felt calmer, more simple. He did like working on the farm though, even when he was sick. It was a chance to use his hands and move around. Better than laying miserable in a cot. The boy hissed or winced slightly any time he moved over one of his wounds but he didn't move.

Hearing him say there were stories to keep children out of the forest Zander tilted head slightly with a curious furrow of his brow. "What kind of stories?" There were older people in his hometown that also told scary stories to keep their children in line but he'd never really personally believed them. Though they were really fascinating.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti was glad to have the younger man talking. He knew that keeping the conversation going would distract Zander from the pain of Leti working on his injuries.
Still he found that question difficult to answer at first. "hmmm, well, Things like mystics that can change shape, or throw songs to lure children into the deep...." He put on a dramatic voice "and then eat them!~" He shrugged his shoulders.
"They're just tales to keep kids from wandering too deep into the forest and getting lost. " He knew from experience that the forest was thick and easy to get turned around in. It also held a strange feeling to it the further in you went.

He finished tending the wounds and now that the man was all patched up he sat back with a smile. "There we are, much better."

[Zander Brogthamon]

Zander wasn't too sure on there being Mystics that could change shape but he did know of one that could use her singing voice to put people to sleep or lure them towards her. Though it worked on more than just children. He also hadn't ever heard of one eating children before. Though he could understand why that would keep some children away from the woods. There were a few he could think of off the top of his head that that information would just be more fuel to go wandering in there.

Either way Mystics and magic weren't really something he wanted to think or talk about. Given that his father was so against magic. Fear of the unknown. Once he was patched up Zanders eyes turned down as he gingerly touched the areas then bit his bottom lip nervously. "Wh-what...what do you want in return?"