[center][h2][color=orange]Cicero Bladewalker[/color] & [color=teal]Gwyneria Elfreda[/color][/h2][/center]

Once back at the cubicle and his room, Gwyn quickly hobbled her patient over to bed and sat him down. His wounds were going to need to be treated soon. His sword arm was practically dislocated. His knee was seriously bleeding. No telling how many other cuts and bruises there were under that armor. Oh, if only she’d moved quicker to prove the foul play. No time for that now.  First thing was to gather a clean cloth and a bowl of water for cleansing the wounds.  Fortunately, such things were available in the room and were prepared in under a minute. Second thing was to get a better look at the damage. She paused and looked at Cicero’s eyes. [color=teal] “I’m going to need to remove your armor and possibly your gambason. Your wounds are too serious for me to just treat like I did the gash from earlier. I need to have a better look.”[/color]

Cicero nodded. Doctor’s orders right? The adrenaline had worn off and he was starting to really feel the pain. He began to take off the various pieces of armor he could with his left arm. He had done it many times before, but it was much more difficult without a second hand. Cicero looked at the healer and cocked his head slightly, [color=orange]”I..owe you. I couldn’t force myself to call him out on his cheating. That could have gotten me killed..”[/color] He looked away somewhat ashamed of his stupid pride. Cicero continued to take off what he could revealing his upper gambison and head. He used his good arm to begin unfastening his left leg armor. It revealed a deep wound that bled profusely. Cicero grimaced in pain.
Gwyn grimaced with him upon seeing the injury.  She used heal to stop the bleeding through repairing the veins, then dipped the cloth into the water as she finished healing the rest of it. [color=teal] “While that was stupid of you, I can imagine how it could have been a feather in your cap to have defeated Frostmay even though he was cheating.  The pleasure of achieving something that turned out to be unexpectedly dangerous is thrilling. You weren’t the only stupid one though.”[/color]  She paused, making sure the knee was healing right before continuing her cleaning, grimacing as a minor headache started to form. [color=teal]“I ought to have acted sooner. I realized what was happening but didn’t immediately call it out since I wanted to make sure there was enough proof.  I was worried that speaking too soon would make it seem like I was lying or make my proof be insufficient to prove guilt for either party or actually show that I was completely wrong in what I thought.”[/color] 

Cicero began to wave off Gwyn’s words about her being stupid with his arm, but it happened to be the injured one. He grimaced again and stated, [color=orange]”If you called it off too early they may have ejected [i]you[/i] instead of him. You did the right thing..”[/color] He unbuttoned his gambison the best he could with one hand. It looked awkward as he did it. He looked at her expectantly, [color=orange]”A little help?”[/color]

Gwyn smiled. [color=teal]“Of course.”[/color] Then she pulled off the rest of the gambison and inspected the right arm. It wasn’t bleeding like the other one at least, but still bad. She repeated the process she’d used for the knee injury while also making sure the arm was aligned right so it healed properly. She sighed. [color=teal] “This does reflect badly on my ability as a coach. Though I have gotten a look at your next competitor.”[/color]


Cicero watched her work with fascination. Despite the pain, feeling your wounds heal was exhilarating.  He didn't expect to walk well on that leg or use his right arm well in combat today. However, under her care he felt he would make a full recovery. As an afterthought he asked, [color=orange]”My next opponent you say?”[/color] He raised an eyebrow curiously.

[color=teal]”Yeah,”[/color] she said distractedly.  The wounds were healed, but Gwyn wanted to see if she could get them good as new.  The bruises needed some care however.  She continued talking as she prepared her heal spell to handle them all at once. [color=teal] “He’s bigger than you but also heavily armored and uses a giant blade. His goal will probably be to knock you out with hard enough hits.  As much as I hate to say it, you are probably going to have to take a bit after Frostmay’s example to win. Dodge the hits and aim for the weak spots. His armor had the same ones you did.”[/color] As she pulsed the heal throughout his body, dark spots appeared in her vision. The headache she’d been ignoring became a full on migraine. She raised a hand to relieve it and started to straighten herself out when a dizzy spell hit. [color=teal]”Rats!”[/color] She exclaimed as she fell forward.

Cicero's eyes widened and he instinctively reached out and caught her with his good arm. She was light, comparatively to the 190 pound knight. He exclaimed out loud, [color=orange]”Hey! Don't overdo it now!”[/color] She remained motionless as he pulled her close so that she would not fall. She was still breathing, he noticed. Cicero laid her on the the bed next to him. His wounds were much better though a little stiff. Cicero felt a little guilty that he was the one who taxed her energy so much. He spoke to her, [color=orange]”Hey...are you alright?”[/color] She did not respond but continued breathing. Those spells must have [i]really[/i] taken a lot out of her. He reached for his water flask nearby and attempted to wake her up by pouring some on her forehead. Cicero was no medic, but he did his best with what he knew.

The splash of water brought Gwyn to shocking wakefulness. She rose up before feeling the headache and remembering what had happened. She groaned as she rubbed her head. [color=teal]”Sorry. I guess I overdid a bit there.”[/color] Internally, she was fuming. She ought to know her limits by now. Her instructors had constantly chidded her to remember them, and would she listen? No!! She tried to push herself up to a standing position.

Cicero did his best to push her upright. Getting some good drink in her would bring her back to full capacity. He replied, [color=orange]”Magic seems to come with a high cost..the greater the effect the more strain. Would you agree?”[/color] He began to take his sword and shield, laying them against the wall. Cicero was tired after that last battle and needed to rest for a few hours before the next bout. He placed the upper portion of his armor on the floor after struggling to unfasten his left side. Then he sat down on his bed again with a sigh.

Gwyn stood and drank from her waterskin, pondering. How to best answer the question? [color=teal]“There may be a cost to magic,”[/color] she responded.[color=teal] “But magic is worth it!”[/color] She set down her waterskin and her persona seemed to light up.  [color=teal] “I know there is bad that comes from magic and costs, but when it's used properly, for the sake of others or for magic’s sake itself, it’s wondrous and beautiful in all its forms!  The shape of ice sculptures, the shimmering of light in its visible spell forms, the flames of fire in its resplendent colors of red, gold, and blue, all natural wonders shaped through magic to become more splendid.  Masters of magic are able to cause water to fall where its dry, those near the doors of death to be brought back to life, plants to grow and become a forest or a farm or meadow where there was none before.”[/color] She had to restrain herself from showing off some light illusions to illustrate that aspect given the circumstances, but promised herself she was going to show him later. [color=teal]“In short, magic is worth the struggle and costs that it incurs and I shall do so even after I have completely mastered its use.”[/color]

Cicero listened thoughtfully as Gwyn poured out her feelings about magic and its uses. Most of his life, Cicero had been so focused on martial combat that he knew very little about the magic in the world. Gwyn seemed like the person that had a lot of wisdom on the topic. He was sure that she was on her way to becoming one of the lead scholars in her field of healing. At least as far as Cicero could speculate. When she mentioned, [i]”ice”[/i], Cicero chuckled aloud. Only minutes before he had been dealing with [i]that[/i] little gift from Frostmay. When she was finished Cicero nodded respectfully and smiled, [color=orange]”You have a great [i]passion[/i] for magic. So much so that I can almost say the same for myself!”[/color] He laughed aloud and continued, [color=orange]”I can see its benefits as well as its negatives. But it seems to me, like any weapon or tool,”[/color] he glanced at his sword, [color=orange]”they can be used for both good and ill. It is not so much the [i]tool[/i] being the problem, but the [i]individual[/i] using it.”[/color] Cicero took a long swig from his waterskin and sighed contentedly, [color=orange]”I appreciate all your help. I'm going to rest now. You should probably do the same. I will see you in two hours before the next fight.”[/color] He gave her a thumbs up with his formerly injured arm.

Gwyn awkwardly returned the thumbs up and smiled.  Well, he hadn’t outright mocked her dream or anything, may as well be polite.  [color=teal]”Right, see you then.”[/color]  Then she went to the healer rest area for a good hour and a half nap.