Spring 41 124
From this very spot Sjal could see a multitude of wildlife. The vast outdoors outside of the city gathered more species than she could count and offered so much possibility for adventure. A place this beautiful deserved to be appreciated. The sweet shining suns caressed Sjal's hair as she perched on the branch of a large tree. Her clothing gave her a certain elegance, more than pronounced by the color of her eyes and wings. She sighed contentedly, feeling a deep connection to the natural world around her.
She had wings on her back, strangely enough. Though, in her dream she felt like she'd had them her whole life. They were an extension of her and what allowed her to fly to the top of the tallest tree she could see. She not only had wings, but she had feathers coming out of her skin as well. She felt like some kind of human-bird hybrid. She felt beautiful even if she didn't look it.
After yawning, she turned her eyes on the great expanse of green and glittering grass that waltzed beneath the gracious breeze that blew throughout the land. She then looked up and found that it was past noon by noting the movements of the suns. A sense of tranquility settled over her as she basked in the warmth of the day, grateful for the simple joys of nature.
After a brief walk, where she had the pleasure of greeting the various animals and admiring the many plants that came with the season, she arrived at a good spot that overlooked the surrounding areas. She could tell that people had been here recently due to the smoldering fire that she passed. Whoever these people were, were different. They carried a certain smell than those in the area. They were different enough for her to tell the difference though. Scanning the horizon, she noticed what had to be the campers. She flew in a hurry towards what looked like a small group of travelers. Her curiosity piqued, Sjal couldn't resist the urge to investigate further, her wings carrying her swiftly toward the unknown visitors.
Landing on a rocky mound, she tried to get a good look at what the travelers were doing. One of them stopped and searched in his pockets for a small glass monocle which was connected by a silver chain to his collar. A smile showed all the satisfaction he took in guiding his companions. He pointed to a landmark on the left and they turned in unison. Where was it that these people were going? It didn't seem to matter much because Sjal saw trouble in the distance. Beasts. Maybe these people would be able to handle things… she just had to wait and see. But as the beasts drew closer, her concern grew, and she knew she had to act fast.
Sjal felt obliged to warn them about the threat, but they were still so far away. She had only been able to see vague details up until this point. She shouted warnings, but the wind was quick to carry them in the wrong direction. She was left to watch in horror as the beast circled the group and attacked. The first to fall was a sickly looking man that wielded a short bow. He only got to loose one arrow before falling. As he fell his distress only increased and he looked to have a powerful sickness. With a sinking feeling, Sjal realized her warnings had fallen on deaf ears, and now she could only witness the tragic consequences.
Was he going to die there in the middle of nowhere, was it his time to leave this world without having accomplished all his objectives? It would seem the answer was no. The beast tore into him, but their instincts told them not to eat a sickly creature for fear of inheriting a disease. In the chaos, Sjal's heart raced with desperation, wishing she could have reached them sooner to prevent such a tragedy.
The rest of the travelers fought valiantly, even downing a couple of the beasts. The man with the monocle was the most adept of them all. He weaved in an out of their attacks all while dishing out a great deal of punishment. Sadly, by the time Sjal arrived, the damage had been done. The beast had dragged off a number of the bodies and all that was left was two people laying still on the ground. As Sjal surveyed the scene, a sense of sorrow washed over her; she wished she could have assisted sooner, perhaps preventing some of the losses they now mourned. She silently vowed to be more vigilant in the future, to ensure such tragedies were avoided if possible.
Sjal gave a cursory look to make sure the beasts were gone, then she descended to assess the damages. The two people consisted of one man and one woman. The man was the one who was sickly. He had bled out it seemed. Sjal was no expert in medicine, but she could tell just from the look of him that she couldn't help him. The woman however, she seemed much more save-able.
Sjal looked all over and tried to find what had injured her. She saw no blood until she flipped her over. Her back had a huge scratch mark on it but otherwise she looked okay. She was breathing, barely. Sjal went to work and stitched up her back. Sjal thought it necessary to do a very good job so she took her time. Sjal was pretty sure that beast killed for fun as much as they did for food.
Sjal wished she had a healing salve, but she couldn't tell if it would even do much other than creating a barrier between the wound and the air. After setting the girl aside in a comfortable resting position, Sjal went around and tried to piece together who these people were. Most of their belongings had gotten trashed in the attack and there was nothing notable to salvage. Even the food had gotten dug into by the beasts, leaving only a small amount of bread. Sjal checked up on the diseased man too and found that he was very much dead. She didn't spend too much time with him though, out of fear of contracting something herself.
She realized that she couldn't stay here forever. If the woman wasn't going to wake up then she was going to have to transport her. It would be difficult to say the least for her to carefully carry a fully grown human for any large distance so she was hoping for the bleeding to stop first.
The sun was getting low now and the woman still had not woken. Sjal had no choice but to hoist up the injured woman and fly her up into a tree. It was probably the safest place they could be from the more common predators. She took a break to patrol the area to make sure there was nothing else nearby that they had to worry about. When she came back, the woman she had saved was squirming around as best as she could. Sjal glided towards her and looked at her curiously. Sjal had expected her to get up, but it didn't look like that was going to happen.
"I'm having trouble moving," the lady said in a panic, "what's wrong with me?"
"You were attacked by some animals that I don't quite recognize. I was able to stitch you up… but apparently not well enough." Sjal had a frown on her face. Had she done something wrong? Yeah the lady's shoulders had gotten torn into but her spine had seemed to be okay. The lady struggled to get up so Sjal helped her by giving support. "Your back got scratched pretty badly. You're probably going to have some long lasting problems with moving. I can take you to the scene of the attack if you'd like… and I can escort you to the nearest city. I don't think anyone else survived but there may better assistance for you in the city."
The woman's eyes filled with uncertainty as she considered her options. She didn't think she had much of a choice. She could either accept the help or lay there till she died. She ultimately said "thank you. I don't know how to repay you."
Sjal nodded, noting the setting sun. "There's no need for repayment…" Her voice sounded more like chirps than words but the woman understood her well enough.
The woman's expression softened and she offered a weak smile in return. "Well, I'm grateful nonetheless… I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come along."
Sjal smiled, her wings rustling slightly as she adjusted her position. "Now, let's focus on getting you to safety. We can talk more once we're on our way." With a nod, the woman leaned on Sjal for support and then they were on their way.
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