[Flashback]Initial Bonds

[Jaeden Kincade]

Part 11...
"Owwwwwwwwwwww!" Jaeden yelled as Falkorn raised his right arm, looking over the wound. The pain of his wound revitalized after having dulled over the two days he had spent walking back. It turned out, it was harder to find Falkorn's cabin than Jaeden anticipated.

"Well, whattya expect? You got a hole in your arm. On top of the new wounds you acquired, you managed to aggravate the your previous wounds. They would have been fully healed by now had you just rested. " Falkorn said before dropping Jaeden's arm suddenly as it swung downward, going limp at his side. Jaeden hissed out in pain as his lips rolled back revealing clenched teeth. It was easier to deal with the pain when there was a cold rain numbing his skin.

"Your bedside manner has decreased over this past week," Jaeden commented to Falkorn as he saw him pulling out some bandages.

"Only to half wit hunters who go off and almost get themselves killed, a second time. Cheese and rice kid," Falkorn said as he began wrapping Jaeden's arm. "I thought after the fifth day you were actually dead."

"You were worried about me?" Jaeden said, raising an inquisitive brow in Falkorn's direction.

"No you petching shyke," Falkorn scorned, "I was worried about having to tell your friend in there."

Jaeden looked over towards the closed door for a moment as he fell silent. His gaze then dropped to the floor as a slow sigh of relief was released. "She's going to be okay then?" Jaeden asked before another hiss of pain slipped through his teeth as Falkorn bent his arm and pressed it up against Jaeden's body.

"Yeah, you were right when you said she would make it," Falkorn replied as he began tying Jaeden's arm to his body to immobilize it. "She pulled through the worst of it two days ago and woke up for the first time. She won't be doing leaps or climbing trees anytime soon, but if she follows my advice of rest where others didn't, she should be fully recovered in a month, give or take a week."

Jaeden nodded before looking to Falkorn. "Where'd you learn so much about medicine anyways?" Jaeden asked as he noticed the pain had slipped away from his arm after it had been immobilized.

"You're not the first injured person that I've had to care for from these woods you know?" Flakorn said as he began collecting the scraps of bandage from the table. "While I'm no Konti healer, I've had to patch up fools who've been gored by boar, mauled by bears and trampled by deers. I've even treated a nasty squirrel bite before. Now, you need to keep your arm immobile for at least two days so the muscle can knit back together effectively."

Jaeden nodded slightly as he stared down at his arm, admiring the old man's work. His focus was then interrupted when he felt Flakorn's weathered hand slap the back side of his head as he grunted slightly in surprise. He sneered at Falkorn who rose two fingers from his hand and shoved them an inch from Jaeden's face. "Two! Days!" Falkorn reiterated.

"I hear you, I hear you!" Jaeden said as he reached up with his left hand, rubbing the back of his head.

Falkorn just nodded as he began collecting the excess bandage from his healing kit and stowing them away in a nearby cabinet. When he turned back around, he noticed Jaeden slipping on his backpack. "Where the petch do you think you're going?" Falkorn said as he began almost stomping across the room.

"Well," Jaeden said as he shifted the weight of his pack over to his left shoulder, leaning forward slightly, "Helena's going recover, the slavers who attacked us are dealt with, taking care of any future threat from them. I should be on my way."

"What about Helena?" Falkorn said, an almost confused look on his face appearing.

Jaeden looked to the room one more time before a slow shake of his head was given. "She can do better than hanging around me," Jaeden said as he reached towards the cabin's door.

"So you're not even going to say goodbye to her then," Falkorn said, crossing his arms as a stern look crossed his features.

"Well, I am sort of a coward," Jaeden said as a slight smirk crossed his featuers.

"No," Falkorn said shaking his head. "No fella who goes and faces the odds you did is a coward. You're just a stupid shyke is all."

"That I am," Jaeden said with a chuckle before reaching out an opened left hand. "Thank you for your help Falkorn. If I'm ever in the area hunting again..."

"Do not come back to me all beaten up," Falkorn suddenly said grasping Jaeden's hand and shaking it firmly. "You tend to get injured to a high extent, and it costs me too much in medical supplies. You're just lucky you bagged that doe before coming here the first time, otherwise I'd be charging you gold mizas for the help."

Jaeden let out a short laugh as Falkorn smiled in return. "Fair enough," Jaeden simply replied.

Jaeden then opened the door, giving one last nod as he stepped outside and began walking east in the forest. He go no more than ten yards before he heard Falkorn yelling something about no one taking his advice. He slowly turned to see Helena up on her feet and walking slowly towards him. The upper half of her body save for her right arm which swung slightly at her side as she walked. Jaeden just released a sigh as he stepped towards her as well, shortening the distance she had to walk.

Both of them stopped about a foot from each other and simultaneously asked, "Are you alright?"

A momentary silence passed between them as a smile crossed both their features. "You know, your breasts seem almost smaller wrapped up like that?" Jaeden suddenly commented.

"What?" Helena asked, as if to confirm what she had just heard.

"What?" Jaeden repeated as if saying nothing previously. "Oh, never mind."

Helena just laughed slightly as she looked up into Jaeden's eyes. Jaeden simply reached up, brushing a lock of her hair out of her eyes before giving a slow nod. "I'm glad you're alright," Jaeden simply said before his hand fell back to it's side.

"Then why are you leaving?" Helena asked as a serious look appeared on her face.

Jaeden's gaze lowered to the ground as he remained silent for a long moment. "Helena," Jaeden simply said, his tone soft and comforting, "I'm not sure what you may have been looking for in me, but I'm sure you likely wouldn't have found it. You almost got killed taking a hit for me. You've done what you said you would when you started following me and saved my life. You don't need to hang around me anymore now."

"But what if I want to?" Helena asked, curious to hear Jaeden's response.

"I don't want what happened to you to become a repeated occurrence. It would make me just cry, to be honest. Besides," Jaeden said, resting his hand along Helena's shoulder. "You already have someone who could be phenomenally better company than me."

"Who?" Helena asked, almost confused.

"Falkorn over there," Jaeden said, nodding his head towards the old man. "He was actually the smart one. He stayed by your bedside every night making sure you got better. I, on the other hand, rushed out into the woods like a dumb shyke and killed a bunch of slavers. Trust me when I say, it's better to have someone who'll stay by your side to make sure you're okay then someone who will leave your bedside when you're almost dead trying to avenge you."

Helena looked over to Falkorn for a moment as a soft smile began to curl her lips. Finally she looked back to Jaeden, giving a slow nod. "I'll come by and visit every once in a while," Jaeden then said.

"I'll hold you to that," Helena replied. Jaeden's eyes then suddenly widened as Helena wrapped her arm around the back of his neck and pulled him in for a hug.

A long moment of silence passed before Jaeden finally whispered, "Helena?"

"Yes," she replied softly into his ear.

"You're hurting my arm," Jaeden then said in almost a whimper as his eyes began to water up slightly.

"Oh," Helena said as she suddenly drew away. Jaeden winced slightly as his left hand grasped his right arm for a moment. "Sorry," Helena then said.

"Don't worry about it, Falkorn said it'll be fine," Jaeden said looking up at him to see him rolling his eyes at him. "I'll be seeing you."

Helena responded with a simple nod as she began stepping back towards the cabin. Jaeden gave a simple smile before looking to Falkorn and giving a wave goodbye. He then turned, standing strait as he walked away feeling somewhat proud. A slow inhale of air was taken as his eyes closed and his head tipped back. Opening his eyes, he saw thick white clouds floating along the skies above. "Ahhhhhhh, the clouds sure are nice," Jaeden said.

He then felt something run into him and a man's voice yell out with an "Oof" shortly after. Jaeden slowly looked down seeing a short man with long brown hair and dark green eyes staring up at him from the ground. His belt had several small game hanging from it as he frowned at Jaeden with an upset look on his face. "Hey, watch where you're walking you petching tree trunk!" the short man yelled.

Jaeden looked down at the short hunter as a reflection over the events of last week blazed through his mind. "Oops," Jaeden said walking around the short hunter. "I've got to stop doing that."

~Fin

[Gossamer]

Jaeden Experience: Tracking +3, Sword + 5 , Cooking +1, Hunting + 2, Stealth + 2, Battle Tactics + 2 Lore : Kevlic Shapeshifting, Syliran Slave Trade Additional Notes: I felt you took on too many NPCs and healed too quickly, but otherwise it was a great read.