The North (Closed)

[KieranSoares]

Hess feigned an attack and feinted to the side, trying desperately to avoid being cornered. "I care not for crownless bloodlines. London may fall, child, but Royer has a steel grip on your fallen Queen's throne. You will not uproot him without destroying everything worth ruling."

Hess's form was impeccable. Despite being a spoiled king for twenty years, it seemed he'd continued to keep up his fighting skills like a proper military man. While he wasn't quite on par with a warrior like Kate, he would've still given her a challenge.

With a precise lunge, he managed to get his first hit on Shani. The point of his blade pierced her thigh with an expert fencing strike, causing a rush of blood to flow from the small nick to the artery.

 

[heartofcourage]

The hit to Shani wasn't without consequence as she drove her dagger into his upper shoulder, aiming for the junction where his decorative armor provided no protection. As the pair parted, each had inflicted a wound that would slow the other down. Shani's calmed her breathing, taking mental note of the blood that flowed over her dark armor. It was heavy, but not enough to bring her down just yet. She turned and took a low stance again, dagger in her left hand and sword in her right. It was a near mirror of Kell as she had trained with him extensively in the art of combat.

"If you lie your sword down now, I will take you in alive. You may keep your life for however long the North sees fit." Shani ordered again. "Or I have the order to put you down and make sure you never rise again. This choice is yours, Hess."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Oh, certainly, child. Why don't I become Edward's new nursemaid and give him my daughters to be his whores while I'm at it?" Hess sneered venemously. "You were too weak to keep England and so was the Empire! It is rightfully mine! And I will die its rightful king!" He lunged again and when his strike was deflected, he aimed for her arm and sliced into her wrist. Like a proper fencer, he was aiming to bleed her out. As he jumped back, he grabbed at his belt and withdrew a small clay sphere sealed with a plug and resin. He held it aloft, glaring insanity and death at her. "And most of all... I will take you with me. It is the greatest honor an abomination like you could ever hope for."

With that, he threw the sphere down with all his might. The instant the clay smashed, the liquid chemicals inside reacted to the air and a massive fireball exploded out from Hess's feet. Shani was far away enough that the chemicals didn't splash on her, but Hess was engulfed and screamed in both pain and seeming triumph, his form blackening in an instant and his clothes trapping him in fiery death. Shani's own clothes and leather armor caught, but mostly shielded her skin from the immediate blast. The entire room filled with flame and anything made of cloth caught, quickly spreading to wood and anything else that would hold a flame. Even the stone under Hess's feet was on fire, and he stumbled about til he collapsed in a heap. The fire was already catching on the doors and trying to spread through the old wood of the castle's decor, floors, ceilings, and furniture.

 

[heartofcourage]

Shani hissed and backed away as he sliced into her wrist. Before she could stop him, however, he was burning alive. She threw an arm over her head, shielding her eyes and face from the blast as the sounds of his death filled the room and flames threatened to take her along with him. When she didn't burn, she moved her arm and saw that the room was filled with flames.

"Fuck." She muttered, turning to find the doors already engulfed and moving to the halls beyond.

She crouched down low beneath the smoke, gulping in precious air as she quickly thought of a way out. The windows were shattering under the heat of the flames and she could hear the low groans of the beams threatening to give way. She had to move. Fire licked at her clothing and armor as she felt her way through the smoke and flames, retracing her steps to find the door that she had entered through. She was nearly blind from smoke, but she had to keep herself calm.

 

[KieranSoares]

As Shani pushed back out into the dark corridors, panic began in the castle as smoke and fire spread. Outside, distant explosions roared over the din of battle, dragons snarled and ripped into large weapons, and soldiers skirmished in the streets. It was absolute chaos all around despite the Northerners' best efforts to keep things clean and protect the civilians.

The wounds Hess had inflicted, minor on the surface, began to take their toll as Shani's heart raced and blood flowed faster and faster with the exertion of her flight from the castle. There was a checkpoint nearby where agents would be waiting to receive her and get her out, but it was far enough away that she might bleed out on the way.

 

[heartofcourage]

Against her better judgement, Shani found herself slowing. She had pushed through the worse of the fire, her singed appearance attesting to that, but the blood flowing from her thigh and her wrist was making things a bit more difficult. She forced herself back into the shadows, falling to her bottom with her back against the stone wall as servants ran past her in an effort to escape. There was a need for calm. If she was calm, she could slow her heart, slow the blood, think clearly. She reached up and pulled down her mask, gulping in air even if it was still tinged with smoke.

Pulling out what little bandaging she had, she pulled a tourniquet tight around her thigh, hissing at the pain as she desperately tried to staunch the blood. She did the same for her forearm, pulling the bandaging as tightly as she could with her teeth. With that done, she tilted her head back against the stone wall, letting her eyes close briefly. Just a moment's rest, she told herself. Then back on your feet...

 

[KieranSoares]

Across the city, Gia had carefully dropped Sam into Riley's saddle and the moment he was tied in with a temporary harness of rope, he nearly doubled over, holding his side. Gia's fast pickup had come with consequences. Sam's armor was dented heavily around his middle, and it seemed the speed had been enough to break a rib or two. Hissing a curse through his teeth, he opened his eyes just in time to see the gatehouse and wall blow. His horse and many other mounts and men around it were turned to red mist and ash, and Gia and Marth even had to weave out of the way of rubble sent skyward.

Sam's eyes were wide as he stared down at the massive trench that had once been London's west wall, and the devastation of corpses and fleeing wounded left behind. "Jesus Christ," she could barely hear him mutter over the wind. After a moment to gather his composure, he clapped a heavy hand on Riley's shoulder. "Love... keep me far away from your Ma. We can't have any key people close together right now. Put me down near Alex..." As much as he didn't want to walk away from the fight for treatment, he knew he needed to take care of himself for everyone's sake. Better to leave and come back than push on til he collapsed and end up bedridden even longer, as he was always telling Fiona when she was hurt or sick.

Gia swooped in close enough for Riley to hear Andre call out, his voice barely containing panic. "Riley! Avfairn's hit!" Sure enough, off to the northeast Riley could see Avfairn struggling to stay airborne as a long, gigantic bolt stuck out from his side. He was still strong enough to make a controlled emergency landing, until the same ballista crew saw their target getting slower and easier to hit. Another bolt shot out and skewered through his arm and into his chest, making him roar out in agony and his wings went limp. He began to fall. On his back, Jani's dark form braced flat against his back, holding on for dear life as Avfairn struggled not to crash. He managed to lock his wings out before he simply plummeted, but his glide still ended in a crash as he just managed to fall into a street without outright collapsing buildings. The moment he was out of sight, Andre and Gia reacted on instinct at the same moment, rocketing off to find Andre's dear stepmother and her beloved Avi.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona and Schaller had watched the carnage from high above the city and when she saw Jani and Avfairn struck, she knew that a choice had to be made. As Andre and Gia rushed to their side and Fiona watched as Riley and Sam sped off towards safety, Fiona gave Schaller his leave to scorch the earth.

"Burn them out." She called. "They leave us no choice."

 

[KieranSoares]

Schaller turned course toward the palace knowing that the sooner leadership was destroyed, the sooner the defense would crumble. A few attempts had been made to strike it, but no one had been able to get close enough without risking all the weapons atop the walls. But as Schaller focused, he saw smoke rising from the castle. "Shani may have burned them out for us..." he grunted, but took the risk anyway to start burning the anti-dragon weapons. If he was careful, he could avoid burning the city, and he was big enough to just claw some of the less hardy weapons as he passed.

Sadah came soaring in with them, following Schaller's lead and offering an additional target to draw some fire. Ezra, an expert crossbowman, was also firing off bolts at weapon crews in hopes to rout them.

Despite mounting losses, the smoke billowing up from the palace acted as a huge morale break for Hess's soldiers. Within the half-hour, bugles began to sound the retreat on the rebel English side. Thankfully despite property damage, civilians had been kept mostly out of the path of the battle.

When the anti-dragon weapons began to be abandoned, Schaller swooped in over the palace courtyard to see the last people fleeing from the fire, all posts abandoned. Scanning over the grounds, he watched for any sign of Hess being dragged out to safety by soldiers, or carried out by Shani. A few Rider agents also came in searching, telling Schaller and Fiona that Shani hadn't reported in yet and Kell likely didn't have Hess. Soon Northern soldiers began flooding into the palace grounds, guarding all exits to make sure Hess couldn't escape. But he never came.

Schaller came to land in the courtyard, jogging to a halt and examining the palace for any sign of someone still inside, but there were no cries for help or anyone hanging out of windows. Schaller even stuck his flame-resistant claws and head into the fire to rip off the main doors and look inside once Fiona was safely on the ground. "I don't see any sign of them," Schaller grunted worriedly to Fiona as he pulled back and shook soot off himself.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona took in the news with a grave expression. As Schaller reported that he didn't see anyone within the burning great hall of the palace, she lowered her gaze to the ground and knew that there was likely very little hope that Shani might have made it out alive. The news would kill her parents. Straightening back up, Fiona turned to Ezra and Sadah, knowing that there was still work to be done.

"Find Jani. I want a report." She said to the both of them. "Schaller and I will hold the palace for now. As soon as I know anything...I'll send word."

She watched the two go as she ordered, a long sigh issuing from her lips as she turned to watch soldiers calling for water to attempt to put out the flames that threatened to spread to neighboring buildings. It was their task now to make sure that the great palace didn't burn down more of the city surrounding it.

Deep beneath the palace, where water from a spring fed the underground wells, Shani lay in the cool wetness of the sewers. It was through sheer luck that she had gathered her wits and found any form of escape, even if she was still technically inside of the palace walls. There had been a door inside the kitchens that led to where she was now, one that through the sheer grace of fortune had not been burning and had led her deep into the bowels of the palace. The flowing water felt good against her burned skin, soothing her as battered lungs fought to clear themselves of soot and debris.

She was dozing when she felt someone touch her shoulder and she responded viciously, thrusting upward with her dagger only to have her injured wrist caught and a pair of familiar golden eyes meeting her. It took forever for her to relax again, sinking back into the water as she realized that Kell had come back.

"He took his own life." She muttered, coughing with a retched sound. "I couldn't stop him..."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Then your mission was successful. Hess is no longer a problem." Kell's arms looped beneath her and he carefully lifted her from the water. In her hazy state, it brought back a memory of a day he'd scooped her up in a very similar way.

She was seven years old, playing and chasing with Brogan near the ledge of a steppe that dropped down into a creek far below. The distance wasn't a fatal drop, but it was certainly enough to maim. Brogan had been warned many times that he wasn't to go near the ledge and to make sure Shani didn't either. But as they often did, they ignored warnings and it ended in little Shani slipping off the cliff while trying to dodge Brogan. He'd nearly jumped after her, but froze at seeing the drop and Shani laying hurt in the shallow water. So instead, he'd called down for her to stay still, and ran to get help.

Only five minutes later, Kell dropped down beside her, scooping her with the utmost gentleness, and carried her out of the water to sit down and inspect a broken arm. Despite her pain and fear, he'd remained a steadfast rock and spoke to her as if everything was just fine. Such calm treatment of terrifying situations was a shared vein between all four parents, and had been absorbed by Shani much more than Brogan til she was able to stare a suicidal lunatic king in the face without flinching.

In this moment, Kell was much the same. He took a seat on a rock ledge, letting her sit in his lap as he calmly inspected her wounds. And like when she was a child, he spoke to her honestly but in a soothing tone. "You'll need Alex right away, little cub... but I don't know if I can get us out til the entryway is cleared. I barely managed to get back in. Until then..." He carefully sat her on the ledge and knelt beside her. He worked a hidden needle out of a dagger sheath and pulled a spool of thick thread from his belt. "I can at least make sure you don't bleed out or lose a limb." He did his best to clean the wound on her thigh with what limited medical supplies he carried, and began stitching it closed before covering it with a fresh bandage. The same treatment was given to her wrist before he pulled her in close again to keep her warm despite the cold water and bloodloss. Once settled, he stared up at the burning exit, unable to do anything but wait. "Just hold on for me, little heart," he whispered a nickname she'd not heard since she was small.

Above, word was spread that the palace was burning and Hess was likely dead and Shani with him. As Kate was back in Darkwood fielding communications on Soma's behalf, she and Rissa were among the first to hear. Word came to Sam and Soma, and was immediately dispersed among their clan and officers. Word spread among their enemies as well, and the last holdouts began to flee or surrender. By noon, London had fallen.

With all anti-dragon weapons crewless or disabled and the streets clear of fighting, the Riders were able to land and take over sections of the city and secure everything. Smoke and ash rose into a clear, almost cheerful blue sky uncommon in England. And as the palace fires still stubbornly raged, some dragons volunteered to take up large brewing barrels filled with water to help put things out.

By this time, Fiona had been called to Avfairn's crash site, a greenhorn bringing a message from Ezra that he needed her.

Touching down with Schaller, Fiona could immediately see Avi's long, broad form collapsed into the narrow street between two rows of homes. His wings rested awkwardly against the walls and lower roofs, an arm outstretched and laying limp, the other tucked under him. His back still rose and fell with breath, but only barely. And posted up, trembling with exhaustion and rage among a blanket of bodies in the street, was Jani Halfborn. Her dark Icelandic armor was entirely crimson with blood that was just as much hers as Avfairn's and her enemies'. Her helmet was tossed aside to reveal her bloody face and smeared warpaint. She held her longsword in both hands, dazed and glaring ferociously at Ezra and a few soldiers before her. Blood streamed from her wounds, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Jani, it's Ezra," Ezra called gently. When he tried to step forward, Jani let out a berserker scream in Icelandic and swiped at him like she was trying to defend Avfairn and didn't recognize one of her dearest friends. Ezra stumbled back out of her reach, but she stayed where she stood, blocking the street. None of the dead men at her feet had crossed a certain point, piled before the imaginary line in the street.

 

[heartofcourage]

The situation that Fiona stepped into was incredibly dire. Avi was barely holding on and Jani was in a world of her own, broken with the prospect of losing one of the only things that she held dear in the world.

"Jani." Fiona called out to her. "Shani is missing."

Appealing to her sense of duty was about the only thing that she knew might snap her into action. Jani cared about the young cubs and kits as much as any of them did, perhaps even more so. She was the carefree protector, the one that was always game for a spot of trouble.

"And Avi needs help. As do you. None of these things we can help with unless you put your sword down." Fiona waited for any flicker of recognition on Jani's face for the words that she was saying. "If we can help Avi, we need to do it now. Otherwise, we need to make sure that he's not going to die alone. Put your sword down. He needs you."

When Jani didn't move, Fiona lost her temper. "Dammit, Jani, I'm commanding you as your Queen to put your fucking sword down! I have a child lost inside the burning palace and Avi dying here beside us. I need you to listen to me and let us help the both of you! Let Ezra and Sadah tend to him and let Andre tend to you."

 

[KieranSoares]

Jani startled suddenly when Fiona lost her temper and snapped. The point of Jani's sword dropped to the ground and Andre darted in to wrap his arms around her. It was as much to immobilize her arms as to ground her with physical touch. The sword fell from her hands as she stood there with eyes wide in shock.

The others charged past to tend to Avfairn and Sadah helped shift him on his side so they could tend to the bolt wounds. When Avfairn let out a pitiful groan of pain, Jani truly came back to herself and struggled away from Andre only to collapse to her hands and knees as blood loss set in. "Avi," she gasped for breath, half-crawling toward him with tears brimming. None of them had ever seen her so afraid and desperate, nor so weak as she fell into a heap and Gia came to scoop her up with Andre to rush to Alex.

Avfairn's eyes opened in time to see Jani being carried away, and his gaze fell to Fiona. "I may have to sit out Edinburgh," he wheezed quietly as Ezra led the effort to extract the bolts and seal up the wounds before Avfairn could drown in his own blood. "But I will be in fighting shape for Inverness... We promised."

 

[heartofcourage]

"A harpoon almost hit your heart and you crash landed on a city. You'll be damn lucky if you aren't permanently crippled." Fiona murmured as Ezra worked quickly, Sadah providing her expert care to ensure that the dragon wasn't going to perish there in the middle of London. "Schaller."

Fiona turned to look for her dragon, the only one large enough to carry Avfairn back to Darkwood. "Once they get him stable, I want you to take him to the manor. Sadah will care for him there until we can call in someone from the haven. I know you and Jani are damn stubborn, but the both of you are grounded until otherwise ordered."

She knew that Avfairn was in dire condition and still could slip away, but they were going to give him the fighting chance that Jani expected. "You can't leave her yet, Avi. Not yet." She placed her hand on his scales, giving him just a small amount of her strength before she turned towards Sadah and Ezra.

"I have to go back. If Shani is truly gone, I have to head Kate off. She's surely heard the news by now." Fiona explained, her duty now shifting with Sam injured and Edward not yet in the city. "I need to be at the palace if..."

She couldn't finish that thought as she took Sadah's dragon, leaving Schaller in their command. It was chaos at the palace as they fought the flames that were still spreading. It didn't seem like much had been done in the time that she was gone, but riders were now fighting the fire from above with large cauldrons of water.

Beneath the palace, Shani faded in and out. Each time she snapped herself back into reality, a cold fear settling in her chest that she might be dying. Kell was holding her tightly, silently watching for his moment to leave. It just never seemed to come. Her skin ached as blisters started to form on the worse of her burns. The wounds that he had tended throbbed. Her chest felt as if someone were sitting on it, crushing her lungs and ribs beneath immense pressure. She was so cold and tired that she could have wept, but she kept her tears at bay...barely.

"If I die...where will you take me?" She asked softly, her head heavy on his shoulder. "Can I go back home?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"You won't be going anywhere today, cub," Kell murmured softly even as his ears strained for some sign of help coming over the roaring flames at the exit. "If you tried, your mothers would drag you back by the ear even beyond death itself." Looking down at her, he lifted a hand to her cheek, letting her lay limp in his arms to conserve her energy and stay warm. "But I promise you, if it ever did come to that... I would see you home no matter what."

Nuzzling against Shani's forehead gently, he could only support her and keep her focused on surviving. "I'm looking forward to seeing how well Bo cares for you when you're down. I imagine he'll wait on you hand and foot and still be a worried mess for you when you're better."

 

[heartofcourage]

Shani squeezed her eyes shut as he mentioned Kate and her Ma and Bo. At that point, she never thought that she would see any of them again. Even as he tried his hardest to distract her, promising that she wasn't going to die, she found it very hard to believe.

Fiona paced the length of the courtyard, watching the soldiers work as quickly as they could. As soon as an area was put out, they would begin their search. So far, there was no word. It was frustratingly slow and when Kate and Qira both showed up, she knew that it was about to get worse.

"The both of you should have stayed where you were." Fiona said, walking to greet them as they dismounted borrowed horses, Kate looking devastated by the scope of the palace fire. "We don't know anything yet."

"Bullshit." Kate muttered. "We know that this isn't good."

Kate clenched her jaw tightly, glancing up at Qira as he took in the same scene before him. She had left Rissa behind, telling her that they would send word as soon as they knew something. If Shani was truly gone, it would shatter their love. She didn't want her there if that was the case.

"I have soldiers searching for any sign of Hess or Shani. So far, nothing. As you can see, it's still burning out of our control." Fiona said, gesturing towards the inferno that was ever so slowly getting under control. "Kate...Qira...I'm sorry..."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Until there is proof, no one is going to doubt her," Qira murmured in his usual quiet, calm tone. But Kate and Fiona knew him well enough to hear the small quiver to his voice, to see his eyes slightly widened in terror, and to recognize the tension of an anxious father.

As soldiers and dragons worked their way through the fires, medics entered to identify bodies. There weren't many found, but eventually one came running, yelling, "Hess is dead!"


Below, Kell's attention was caught by a trickle of water coming in through the burning door, as well as steam and a quiet hiss. "Nearly there," he encouraged Shani softly. "Just a little longer." He looked down at her for a long moment before laying her on the rock ledge. "Don't move. And stay awake."

Heading up to the burning doors, Kell kicked at them til he managed to break an ashy hole of embers. He couldn't dig them out of the rubble, but he could at least signal to someone that there were survivors.

Kate knew her husband's voice in an instant as a long, low howl sounded from within the half-collapsed castle. While he'd rarely howled in all their years of marriage, he sounded precisely like Brogan who loved to howl along with his friends at celebrations and often used it to communicate with his friends from a distance while herding on the steppes.

Medics and soldiers rushed to focus where they'd heard the voice, soaking the area with dragon help before beginning to dig down into what was once a kitchen.

 

[heartofcourage]

It seemed that everyone came running to the sound of the howl. Kate and Fiona helped with the digging where they could, both of them entering into smaller places that the soldiers couldn't reach. It was painstaking, but the moment that Kate saw Kell's familiar amber eyes staring out at her from the charred wooden door, she nearly sobbed in relief.

"Please tell me you have her." Kate called out as orders went out for ropes and axes to help break down the door and get the Lord Protector out.

 

[KieranSoares]

Kell pushed against the half-burned doors til enough rubble was dug out that he could push them fully open. His black fur streaked with ash, he gave a final heave and ended up breaking one door off it's hinges. Hands reached out to help him up, but he didn't take them. Instead, he reached for Kate's hand.

"She's alive, but only just," he said quickly to allay her worst fears, but also let her know that the situation was dire. Letting go of her hand, he slipped back down into the darkness while calling back, "Get a dragon ready to transport! She needs Alex and Yasmine immediately!"

Two medics rushed down after him and an agent's dragon was called in, landing just as Kell carried out a burned, wounded and bruised Shani. Exposed to the midday sun, it was clear her armor had taken the brunt of the fire and been ruined. It had done its job to preserve most of her skin and hair, thankfully. Kate could immediately see the bloody bandages over strategic arteries, hunting at what had really happened.

Seeing Kell struggling, exhausted and possibly mildly wounded himself, Qira was there in an instant to take Shani and rush her out of the rubble to the dragon's hands. All the while, he muttered to his little girl calmly, "Well done, cub. Stay awake a little longer for me. Your mother is waiting for you."

As she was placed into the dragon's care, Qira looked back toward Kate and Kell. Kell was just barely standing as adrenaline began to give out, but he met Qira's gaze with absolute confidence. "Go with your girl," Kell ordered him away from his post as Kate's guardian.

Qira wanted to resist out of duty, but his paternal instincts said otherwise and he climbed up into the dragon's saddle. With a careful takeoff, the dragon circled back toward Darkwood to deliver them to Alex. And that was when Kell had to lean on Kate til he could sit down on the ground away from the ash and embers. Medics began to look him over, cleaning and binding minor wounds but finding his major condition was really exhaustion. He pulled Kate down beside him and clutched her close, taking deep, steadying breaths. "Hess killed himself in the duel with Shani, and that was the start of the fire... She's the reason we knew the western wall was rigged. And Myr of House Monaghan is dead. This is where he's been."

 

[heartofcourage]

Shani was nearly lifeless by the time Kell and the healers returned back to her. She had tried her hardest to remain awake, but it was difficult and she had passed out before he had returned. They revived her with smelling salts, the pungent aroma waking her with a groan as Kell lifted her from the sewers and into the sunlight.

Kate saw horrible things as Kell carried the young girl into the sunlight, but she kept herself composed as they carefully escorted her towards a waiting dragon. The fact that Shani was still alive after all of that was nothing short of a miracle. "Hold on for us, Shani girl." Kate murmured, as Qira met them in the debris and finally got his first look at his daughter.

"I'm so tired." Shani muttered as she was passed to her father, her protests cut short by Qira soft and calm words that he needed her to stay awake. "Da..."

Her fingers instantly found the strength to curl into his vest and threatened to never let go. By the time she was placed into the dragon's claws for evacuation, she was senseless again. As much as she wanted to stay awake for them all, it was increasingly difficult. Soon enough, she passed out again for good shortly before they took off from the palace grounds.

Kate sat quietly next to her husband, letting him hold her tightly after everything that had passed. She had dealt with Rissa's sheer panic and sorrow and watched as Qira was torn between protecting her and going to his wife in her time of need. Of course, they had taken care of Rissa in the moments after the first erroneous report that Shani was dead. The horrified wail would always be burned into her memory.

"A coward's death for a cowardly king." Kate murmured, pressing her head against Kell's. "Your agents stopped a caravan heading south of the city that contained Hess's wife and daughters. I've ordered them held for now at Arundel Castle, barring any information they might give us. Ashleigh has insisted on meeting them herself, but we have put that off for the time being. As far as Myr...they'll be devastated, but at least they'll know he didn't leave willingly."

Kate glanced up as they heard voices and she saw Fiona, standing atop debris in the midday sun, streaked with soot still giving orders to the soldiers. "I'm convinced she's a faerie. A white witch in the least. I don't know how she does it otherwise."

 

[KieranSoares]

Looking toward Fiona, Kell murmured, "She may as well be. A long line of dragon blood makes her different... I don't pretend to understand it."

As Kell was collected for treatment of his own wounds and Kate with him, the panic in London finally died down and the Northern soldiers shifted focus from attack to defense. Crews spread out over the city with discovered plans of where bombs had been buried, digging them up and taking them to be repurposed. Building materials were dispersed for repairs of homes and businesses. Civilians were slowly being released from mustering areas to go home. Those who'd lost homes were given free shelter elsewhere with the assurance that they would not be left homeless.

Back at Darkwood, wounded came pouring in, with Alex focused on key figures and family. When Shani arrived to him, the calm healer was deeply disturbed to see one of their children laid so low. But that only drove him on further. Once Alex had Shani stabilized, Qira finally tore himself from her side to go to his wife who still thought her daughter was dead.

"Rissa?" Qira called out as he stepped into their shared parlor with Kell and Kate. Leaving her side when she was grief-stricken had nearly killed him, but he'd sworn to her that he wasn't going to accept Shani's death til he saw her for himself, and he'd return as soon as he could to let her know the truth.

 

[heartofcourage]

Rissa was in the darkened room, more broken than she had ever been in her life. She had left her duties to a trusted aide and retreated to mourn her daughter; the only blood relative that she had. Rissa turned at the sound of Qira's voice, grief etched deeply on her face as he returned.

"I assume you found her." Rissa said softly, knowing that the only reason Qira would return was if he had brought Shani home. "I...I, um, I started to think about what to do... We'll take her back to the Khan. I think she'd like that..."

Rissa shook as she thought about taking her daughter so far away when they were just steps from being back in Scotland. It would have been what Shani wanted though. Shani was born on the steppes and grew there, free to do as she wished. Shani would forever be free if Rissa had her choice.

 

[KieranSoares]

Qira came to kneel before Rissa, taking both her hands in his own. "She'll be free to visit the clan anytime the mood strikes her," he assured his wife softly in Erygonian. "Alex has her and she's in bad condition, but he's confident she's stable." Tears filled his eyes suddenly, an immensely rare sight for the stoic Panther. "I told them all not to doubt her... She got out alive, and Kell found her and kept her going long enough to get help."

Qira had never been an easy man to overwhelm. But between nearly losing his daughter, being too weak still to help, and knowing that if Kell hadn't found her they likely would've lost her anyway... it was all too much for him. The only thing holding him together was dedication to Rissa, needing to make sure she was okay before he fell apart.

"Our little cub is alive," Qira whispered. "And she won England back."

 

[heartofcourage]

Rissa nearly buckled at the news that Kell had found Shani alive and gotten her to safety. She gripped Qira's hands tightly as he told her that Shani was badly injured, but there at Darkwood. Rissa clenched her eyes closed tightly as she pressed her forehead against Qira's, sobbing in relief that the news had been wrong. Shani was alive...and a hero.

"I have to go to her." Rissa said softly, her duty as a mother overriding everything else. "Can I see her?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"I won't let anyone tell you no," Qira promised her, looping an arm around her both to steady her and guide her to where Shani was resting.

In the same room Qira had been in while initially recovering, Shani had been placed in clean sheets and a loose nightgown with plenty of blankets. Waterskins full of hot water had been placed under her and a fire was going in the hearth to help keep her warm after losing so much blood and being soaked in a damp, cold cavern. When Qira opened the door for Rissa, they found a medic monitoring her constantly. She was in bad enough condition that Alex had ordered she be watched over til he was certain she wasn't going to slip away. The medic looked up to see Shani's parents and gave them a nod and a gentle motion to come forward.

"She's doing better than anyone could've hoped," the medic murmured. "Lord Aleister's stitching job saved her for certain and Dr. Irons is optimistic that she will come out of this with only scars." Stepping back, he let them be alone with Shani. "I'll be right outside just in case," he promised, and slipped out.

Qira pulled a chair over to the bedside for Rissa, letting her sit with Shani and hold her hand if she wanted. He remained standing, silently battling with his own emotions and worries and still acting as the sentinel for his family. He had never seen his daughter so frail, her skin devoid of color. He took a deep, shaky breath and turned his gaze back to Rissa. His entire focus was on them at the moment, no thought spared for his job or the war outside. It was perhaps one of only a handful of times he'd left his post willingly, and it had always been for Shani and Rissa.