Darkness held Azad, cold and suffocating, but somewhere in the haze, he felt warmth—Choco's wet nose nudging his hand, a gentle lick brushing against his skin. He forced his eyes open just enough to glimpse Choco's familiar eyes, shimmering with worry and pain. Ellie's figure loomed beyond, her face drawn and bloodied, her movements shaky as she dragged herself toward him. Her hands glowed faintly, her body streaked with cuts and scrapes, her clothes torn and bloodstained, yet she pushed forward, fighting against her body's limits, her focus solely on him.
"Ellie…" he tried to speak, but the darkness pressed down harder, and he felt himself slipping. The last thing he saw was Ellie's desperate reach before the world vanished completely.
Azad jolted awake with a gasp, pain lancing through every inch of his body. His limbs were heavy, bound with thick, rough bandages that stretched over fresh wounds. He tried to sit up, but his muscles screamed, the effort causing a red stain to seep through the wrappings. Breathing heavily, he whispered, "Where… where am I?"
His voice was barely a rasp, his throat raw as if he hadn't spoken in days. The room around him was dim, the walls rough-hewn stone and lined with dark, heavy shadows that twisted in the flickering light of a single candle. The faint scent of herbs and smoke lingered in the air, a sharp, earthy smell that stung his nose.
"You're lucky to have survived." The voice was smooth yet edged with something darker. A figure moved from the shadows toward him, and Azad's bleary eyes made out the sharp, familiar face of Lorn. The healer's eyes were cold, a touch of disdain buried in their depths.
"Lorn…" Azad's voice barely rose above a whisper, the strain evident in his hoarse tone. He swallowed painfully, his mouth dry, and managed, "Where's Ellie? Is she… is she alright?"
Lorn's face remained expressionless, his gaze distant. Before he could answer, Azad felt a wave of exhaustion crash over him, and he sank back into the pillow, the world fading to black once more.
When he awoke again, he felt a soft touch on his shoulder. The dim candlelight cast shadows across the room, but this time the room's scents—herbs, smoke, and faint bitterness—were sharper. Lorn stood over him, gently applying fresh herbs to his wounds, his movements efficient, almost mechanical.
"Thank… you," Azad murmured, wincing as he tried to shift, his whole body aching with each small movement. His voice was stronger now, but his worry was immediate. "But please, Lorn… where is Ellie and Choco?"
Lorn's eyes, an icy shade of gray, flicked to him briefly, then returned to his work without a word. The silence stretched, filled only by the occasional rustle of cloth and clink of glass jars as Lorn finished bandaging Azad's wounds.
Azad swallowed, forcing down the anxiety clawing up his throat. "She was fighting… when I… When I lost consciousness." He breathed heavily, feeling the ache radiate through his chest. "Lorn, just tell me if they made it."
Lorn's hand froze for the briefest moment, then resumed its work, a tightness to his movements. Finally, he set down the bandages and straightened, his voice low. "Focus on healing yourself," he said, each word a cold command. "Questions can wait until you're stronger."
Azad tried to sit up, frustration mingling with the pain coursing through his limbs. "How long have I been like this?"
Lorn's gaze darkened as he moved to a shelf, taking a jar of dried herbs and grinding them with deliberate slowness. "It's been five days," he replied, his tone as cold as the stone walls surrounding them. "You were unconscious, barely alive when I brought you here."
Azad's mind reeled, guilt twisting his insides. Five days. The last memory of Ellie's desperate reach clawed at him, hauntingly vivid. He clenched his fists, feeling the cuts reopen slightly beneath the bandages.
"Lorn," he rasped, trying to keep his voice steady. "I need to know what happened out there. I need to know if Ellie and Choco are safe."
Lorn's face remained impassive, his eyes narrowed in the dim light. "When the time comes, I'll tell you what you need to know. For now," he said, his tone icy, "you'd best conserve what little strength you have left."
Azad swallowed his frustration, watching Lorn's figure blend into the shadows as he turned away, gathering more herbs from the shelves. The silence grew heavy, broken only by Azad's labored breaths. He tried to calm his racing thoughts, muttering under his breath, "This is torture… not knowing if they made it."
He looked at Lorn's back, wondering why he was being so evasive. "Why won't he just tell me?" he thought, frustration mingling with a sliver of fear. The healer's presence felt colder than he remembered, the shadows clinging to him as if drawn by his silence.
His own exhaustion was starting to overtake him, each breath painful as his body throbbed with fatigue. He closed his eyes, trying to find some comfort in the darkness, but his mind remained fixed on Ellie and the haunting image of her bloodied face.