@A5G @Randomness @wierdw

The knight set the man down on the ground, “Sorry.” She said in a soft murmur. Dusting off the man’s shoulder, feeling embarrassed by her previous behaviour. “I have not found anything useful from these two, but I was about to speak to Reinhold about what he saw that day.” She turned towards Reinhold. Feeling annoyed when they mentioned they didn’t find anything, she was hopeful they could get something from Reinhold. “So what did you find, or see when you were investigating the commotion? Did you see the faces of their leader? Where is Gerhard?” She wondered if he and Brik, had seen the face of the one commanding the attack.

Waiting after asking her question, because the others might want to ask their own questions to Reinhold. Her eyes watched Reinhold like a hawk, studying the man’s reaction to the questions. Checking to see if he is telling the truth or not.

Cedar breathed a deep breath as Matilda put the man back down, hoping the situation was on the path to being diffused.

"Aright-- 'ats bedder. Now den.." he said, scanning the room quickly once more, this time looking for something sturdy enough to sit down on. He noted Reinhold's hastily packed bag in the process of the search. Coming up essentially empty for anything he could sit on, he grabbed two chairs from the dining table, and politely scooted them over to Ingmar and Bertolf, so that they could sit, then levered himself to the floor with a small thud as his back fell against the wall. Seated, he was closer to eye level, and he felt he would be a lot less imposing that way than being hunched over and looming over them. It was a lot more comfortable on his back that way as well. Having gotten all settled in the matter of only a few seconds, he continued. "I sees ya is packin', 'at means ya eit'er wanna skip town, or ya has some idear where them barstards is run off ta."

He chuckled, and made an almost mirthful smirk with surprisingly jovial eyes when motioning toward Reinhold, and his narcolepsy.

"An' if that fellar's so tired as he can fall asleep up'in th' air like 'at, ya's been at it awhile now. Anythung yas could tells us'd be mighty appreciated-- e'en if i's jus' where them dumbshits went through at. I's a purdy good tracker muhself.. mebbe I'd sniff out summat as you fellars as missed.'

He shrugged and raised one paw gently above his shoulder with the pad up in a shrug. "I's worth a shot a' least... say-- You fellars hungry? When we found that fellar 'Birk' in 'at ol' fort tow'r, he's practically skin & bones. I dun see much a hangin up ta dry in here neither. If'n you kids is hungry, 'at fellar o'er 'dere went an' paid a small fortune to fix me up-- 'em nice people at de farm down de road is a cookin' it up fer us. While I's can eats it all down no problem, it aint gunna happen all at once'd. If ya can get a bowl full daown yas faster an I can makes it disappear, ya welcome ta it. Jus' be social, an' tells us all ya does know, aright?"

[NPC Post]

"...just how many of you are there?" Reinhold's gaze shifted from Matilda to the talking bear and the unnerving old man before returning to Matilda. The amount of intruders seemed to increase every time and they're all very much interested in Birk's killer. "Wait, no. They did something at the royal forest, didn't they? And now you're looking for them."

Probably would've arrived at that conclusion earlier, had he not be completely sleep-deprived.

"Had no chance to get close. They're alert at all times. Think they've got a short prisoner. I've tracked them to... somewhere. A small village with a lord's fort overlooking it. Around northwest, two days on foot travel from here. Ain't know the name of the place, ne'er been that far out before. But I can make it back." He blinked twice at the mention of Gerhard. "Old Gerhard should be at his farm. He hardly ever leave anymore these days. Why?"

Meanwhile, Bertolf and Ingmar was completely taken by the offer of food. They glanced at each other, at Reinhold, before back to Cedar and nodded almost too eagerly. "Food? We could use some food, aye! Ain't gotten much ta eat this week. Prey's very poor, I tell ya! All dem' peat harvesters scarin' away the animals!"

Yvonne was mostly content on listening. Aaron's there to kill them, and had always been planning to. She had suspected as much but it's nice to have confirmation. Kinda fucked up how the constable of the goddamn capital was involved in attempted assassination though. Aaron was kinda dull, but he's not completely dumb-

"Hold up, hold up, one second. Admiral? You talking about bloody Silas Delving?" The younger brother may had been a mediocre disappointment, but Silas was anything but. He was the perfect man in all aspect, loyalty included. Supposedly. Yvonne sighed. In a way, that made sense. Aaron was nowhere near bold or competent enough to even attempt this shit, even with the entire constabulary supporting him. "...man, this is why I hate politic." The implication was a rather bitter pill to swallow.

She had met Silas once before, when she was much younger. Still vice-admiral at the time. Yvonne may had developed some teeny tiny lil bit of crush on him despite the age gap. But hey, that's perfectly normal alright! Who wouldn't?!

Kaito removed the girl’s upper clothes and continued to apply bandages. The fox still had mixed feelings about this act of kindness. He had a hard time of letting her actions go and yet at the same time he kwown all too well that it was rather irrational to continue to feel this anger towards this girl. The kitsune sighed.He wasn’t sure if the girl could hear him but he spoke nonetheless. ” You should thank Jazdia, the elf you attacked so relentlessly for saving your life. I would have chosen to leave you here to die. I guess I’m just as emotional as you when it comes to seeing the people I care about getting hurt. I still feel a lot of anger and I am not capable of letting it go. At least not at this moment. I’ll try it again in the future. Maybe you can do that too.”

For a moment Kaito just looked at her. He had finished up applying the bandages and the girl was now lying half naked on the floor of the sewer. That was a good way to attract all kinds of germs and hypothermia. Not to mention that a lady of her age should not go half undressed in public. The fox removed his cloak and then his tunic, revealing his battered and bruised but apart from that rather unremarkable physique. He quickly pulled his tunic over the girl’s head before putting his cloak back on. At least that would keep her a bit warmer and covered for prying eyes.

As Jazdia was speaking with the soldier the fox turned one of his big fox ears towards them. He could perfectly follow their conversation. Kaito didn’t know much about the Delving family except for the fact that they played a big role in this country’s politics. But if the older brother was involved as well, then it would be safe to assume that whoever belonged to house Delving is atleast a suspect. Probably the entire noble family was in on the assassination attempt.

Kaito turned his head towards the elf and the soldier. ”I told you Chounan’s clothing style would attract too much attention” It was of course a little joke as the fox had already spent much of the operation not concealing his ears and tail. He tried to laugh but could quickly feel the pain in his ribcage from all the bruising.

”Anyway, I think it is a great idea to let the soldier carry the girl. I doubt she will be moving on her own anytime soon”

During the time from treating the blind girl, Chounan's hands were on her palms as a caring hands, kept his aura non hostile to her. Her dress made him thought of curiosity, he assume that she was also foreigner like him. The dress code seems to be fit from where the people dwells on the sand continent. Realizing how far she came from, he reminds him of himself. Same similarity between him and the girl and it is just her beginning. Thinking about his atonement, maybe he can do something to the blind girl.

Chounan has been sitting besides the recovering blind girl. Looking from distance, Chounan has recognized someone. The soldier who spared Kaito was actually one of his trainee back then. ”I told you Chounan’s clothing style would attract too much attention”

"Jokes on you, I've been here for years wearing this kind of outfit since the days I'd been training that soldier.

am I right Gordon?" Chounan replied. Reaching them with his voice.

Before they moved on. Chounan stood up and approached Yvonne. He offered his shoulder to lean on and speak with warm smile. "You need help? Is the potion already kicking in?"

Either the word was laced with beguiling magic or she somehow could feel the sincereness, the wounded slave of Gerrald stopped throwing hissy fits and stared at the ceiling with a blank expression. Then she started sobbing, heartbroken yet still determined, tears dripping again, and her spasming chest signaled a desire to cry but unable to do so.

"Master?" she reached her hand, but it was only Kaito, her finger touched his face and he let it until she completely succumbed to the anesthetic.

Jazdia approached them shortly after. The girl was sleeping.

"Her, breathing is normal. No heaving or wheezing," examining the bandage and placing her finger on her neck, she then continued. "No sign of bleeding... I think."

Kaito discarded his cloak and tunic but decided to have the girl wear his tunic instead. Done during that, he turned to Jazdia. ”I told you Chounan’s clothing style would attract too much attention”

She only smirked, while the soldier kept his guard after noticing the non-human attributes the man in front of him sported. But then, unarmed and bound by his contract, what he could do anyway?

"Jokes on you, I've been here for years wearing this kind of outfit since the days I'd been training that soldier. Am I right Gordon?" the man in question replied. Reaching them with his voice.

The soldier turned at him, squinting as he finally recognize his oriental face."Sir Chonan?"

The word 'Sir' was uttered with a certain degree of disappointment, but the man showed his respect by giving him a salute. "Long time no see, what are you doing with... them?"

There was an awkward silence. Then, before Chonan could answer, Kaito interjected.

”Anyway, I think it is a great idea to let the soldier carry the girl. I doubt she will be moving on her own anytime soon.”

So he nodded, and Kaito helped him to carry the girl on his back. "She is so small, like my daughter. Poor girl! You said she is not your friend. What happened to her?"

Nobody answered, but everyone had the same person in mind, and that person was now lying dead on the dusty floor not far from them. Had everything gone smoothly, they were bring him alive, so he could be questioned about his atrocities, about the king's assassination, and nothing else. But it didn't go smoothly. His allies wanted to protect him, and as they declared their deceitful intention, something sparked inside her; to think of a scum like him roaming free angered Jazdia and she wanted to see justice being served.

The man's corpse was now sprawled like a worthless rag, mangled, and desecrated. Jazdia did not regret it one bit.

"Let's get out of here."

Led by Jazdia, the group walked through the tunnels. Almost identical tunnels like the ones they passed before reaching that hall. The humidity remained the same, but the passage was grim with no lighting whatsoever. Jazdia reminded the group to keep up the pace and be careful with their step. Yvonne felt she was stepping over something and it cracked. The light from the torch Kaito brought revealed a half part of a human skeleton leaning against the wall. Had they not been guided by a map, they too might end up like that poor guy.

After another long walk that seemed to be heading straight and without any turnback, they then arrived at the room. Strangely the room was sufficiently lit with lanterns and candles. It was still a storage room, but large, and inside, thousands of newly forged weapons were stored. Shields, spears, swords, and bows. There was a collection of musket rifles too. Some were neatly placed in the racks, while most batches were packaged inside many crates. At the end of that room, close to the exit was another room with four blacksmith's forges. Several huge square pipes extended out from the ceiling, probably to supply the room with a sensible amount of fresh air. The furnaces however were extinguished.

Jazdia took some time to scribe about this room in her journal and looked around a bit for documents. Sadly she found nothing, except the iron ores were shipped in crates bearing the stamp of Anglodisto.

They pressed on, but with most members still suffering at least one injury per person the journey was long and arduous they had to make several stops to rest. On one of those brief stops, Jazdia checked for the girl's breathing and noticed that she was awake, but tried to look away after spatting a curse at her.

"Murderer!"

There's an unexpected offer from the normally quiet foreigner. Yvonne raised an eyebrow at the man before grinning, taking up his arm to help her stand and lean on. That's better. What pride? If you're injured you should act like it, yeah? Anyway.

"Just a sec, need to collect my sword."

It had fallen nearby when she faceplanted earlier. On inspection it's as sharp as ever - good craftmanship. Probably unnatural, too. She wouldn't know, she ain't a mage. But Yvonne certainly made a good use out of it.

The trip was mostly done in silence, the mercenary stepped on a random skeleton that crumbled and inwardly hoped that Sparky wouldn't get them lost. Cant really tell until it's too late, but at least their leader looked confident. They moved on, one step after the other, and at the sight of the makeshift armoury Yvonne let out a long whistle.

"Damn, that's some good shit they've got down here." Make one wonder why the dumbfuck they crushed at the entrance earlier this morning only had makeshift bludgeons when there's entire arsenal of military-grade weapons here. Enough to arm an entire army. "Dont mind if I do, heh."

If she's in better condition Yvonne would've grabbed a whole bunch of the stuff, but as it stood she only nabbed a nice replacement mace for her old one. Hey, waste not want not. She'll get a nice good use out of it.

For a moment the Kaito thought back about when that girl called him master. It was a rather awkward situation but he figured that she was probably hallucinating. The fox would not be surprised that when she recovered, she would cling like a maniac to whomever was nice to her. She would be easy prey for whoever wanted to exploit her next.

Kaito paused a bit as he tried to imagine how twisted this Gerald and girl relationship had to be. The Kitsune was certainly not a saint when it came to past relationships and some of the less admirable myths about his kind certainly had applied to him in the past. However he had never fallen that low that he had locked people up and forced them to call him master.

The kitsune quickened his pace until he was next to Jazdia. ”So, what’s the plan with the girl? We can’t keep dragging her along if we’re going up against the Delving family. I doubt she will forgive you anytime soon for killing her…well, she keeps calling him master. That dynamic is even twisted in my book.”

Looking around the storeroom packed with weapons the fox could not help to wander if someone was planning to start some civil war. The amount of weapons stored in the was just too big for a criminal organization. Even if it was merchandise, it was still an awful lot. ”Looking at this you might start to think that the Delvings are planning some kind of revolution.”

Chounan was kept helping Yvonne on moving, he helped her retrieving her family blade.

"A family blade?

It surely lost a confident, pride and an identity if it get lost. Here, I help put on your scabbard safety." Chounan said to Yvonne, helping her to recover her family blade back to her possession.

Upon discovering the armory and found a vast amount of military assets. A candy stock for adults they say but Chounan is began to worry.

"With this much possession surely, he can able to have a private army or maybe it will be ship to outside Kinderance for the profits. If they choose for a rebellion during the war when opposition wanted to make a score. The kingdom of Kinderance surely will fall.

Say, Gordon. What brought you into Delving's unit anyway?" Chounan asked. While waiting the soldier's reply. The noblewoman Yvonne made a move dragging him along and picked up a new mace for the replacement just like a child getting new toy. He also picked up one of the shield for Yvonne. "Shield is good along with a mace, I'll going to take care of it until you recover." He said to her.

"Huh? Oh, it is a heirloom I guess. Probably enchanted for sharpness and durability but beside that it's just your standard sword. Er, thanks?" Yvonne wouldn't like losing the thing, it's the only thing she had ever got her hands on that was damn near indestructible even when abused with her insane strength. But it's not as important as Edgy implied. Well, he can think whatever he wanted.

Later, in the hidden armoury...

"Yeah, I wont be in this bad of a shape if I had one today. Suit yourself, but I'll not recover anytime soon." That being said, she's not shy enough to refuse a show of goodwill like that. Who knows, maybe it'll get useful earlier than expected. Pity they couldn't grab a couple of the polearm, but everyone's completely beat up already. No need to get more unnecessary weight.

"I didn't so much choose as I was assigned." Answered the soldier, a bit more relaxed that he wasn't in an immediate threat of violent death. "I mean, I could refuse an assignment but there's no merit to it. Well, it looked like there's no merit to it." He spoke with a hint of regret, thinking back to a number of squadmates that laid dead by the sewer. It was doubtful if their corpses would be collected soon, if at all.

…well, she keeps calling him master. That dynamic is even twisted in my book.”

Such an irony it was laughable. But Jazdia remained composed. "Master, you say?" she said, barely raising an eyebrow. Jazdia sipped from her thermos again and grimaced. A small trace of blood stained the metal container, and she wiped it with the dry part of her bandaged hand.

"As long as it can keep her calm..." She shrugged, adjusting the strap of her satchel bag and quiver, then walked like it was just a trivial matter. "Time to move."

The kitsune quickened his pace until he was next to Jazdia. ”Wait, there is more I want to ask! What’s the plan with the girl? We can’t keep dragging her along if we’re going up against the Delving family. I doubt she will forgive you anytime soon for killing her…well, she keeps calling him master. That dynamic is even twisted in my book.”

"Indeed we can't." And she wouldn't ask for her forgiveness either. If one day, the girl still felt raw about it, she might come to her, and she will explain. If she won't listen, and still wanted to get even, Jazdia would return the sentiment.

"I can't just set her loose, and Kindeance government is out of the question. I know the place where she can live safely and comfortably."

She did not specify the place any further, but Kaito knew it had to be somewhere in Helvetia, one of the facilities owned by now-defunct CSA

”Looking at this you might start to think that the Delvings are planning some kind of revolution.” whistled Kaito, suddenly changing the topic. Jazdia did not share similar admiration and instead approached Yvonne and tapped... er her right shoulder.

"I am not against taking enemy weapons for a trophy or personal use, but make sure to report it Matilda when we get there. I Wouldn't want an unnecessary misunderstanding later on."

If there was a hint of playfulness in Jazdia's bearing, it was gone now. Her voice was cold and distant, and her face barely made any expression.

"Sure thing, boss." Replied Yvonne with a raised eyebrow. Yes, she felt it too... but didn't voice her thought. The elf had gone through a lot today, she'll get better after medical attention, some food, and rest. Yes, they all need a varying degree of that.

The march in silence continued on until they started to feel the tunnel begin to incline upward as they walked further. At the end of it was a ladder, and above it was a wooden trapdoor, barred from this side. Opening the door, a surge of fresh air could be felt, and It felt cold on Jazdia's long ears.

Climbing the short ladder, they soon found themselves in the middle of the forest. Jazdia opened her map and looked at the sky, and a moment later they already found their path

"This way."

Like an experienced ranger, the elf led them through a beaten path while sometimes looking at the shadow to determine their course. If the path ended. She would take another, if there was none, she would make a new one, be it by employing Chonan's sword technique or burning the overgrown that stood in their way. She still had a reservation about asking the samurai to do her bidding, owing to the previous accident, but right now, she only wanted to get to Hdur as soon as possible.

After passing a few more treelines, they could see the smoke of civilization. Still leading the group, Jazdia reached for her pocket watch and checked the actual time; 10:21 AM

Quickly they rerouted to the main road and cautiously marched in front of Farmer's vegetable stall. All seemed peaceful, and the patrolling guard was nowhere to be seen. Either the word had not reached Hdur yet, or Delving intended to keep the accident under wrap.

-

Kaito continued to walk closely behind the elf. He was kind of satisfied with her answers. The fox agreed on the fact that the girl should not be placed in the care of the court of Kindeance. Courts were always full of ambitious people ready to exploit any opportunity that was presented to them. Considering the powerful magical abilities she had, many of the king’s courties would certainly see an opportunity to use her as a tool. It was probably better to leave her in the care of some acquaintance of Jazdia or at least the kitsune thought that that was the elf’s plan.

For a moment he wondered if they should question the girl, just to see if she somehow had any relevant information regarding the assasination attempt. She was at least in her mind rather close to Gerald so he might have shared some information with her or she could have overheard him. It was a bit of a stretch but maybe it was worth a try. For a moment Kaito contemplated bringing it up with Jazdia but she was doing her cold and distant thing again so he decided to not bring it up at this moment. The elf seemed to need some personal space at this moment.

AS they finally left the tunnel system the fox could smell the fresh air again. A very welcome experience considering they have spent some hours walking through the sewers. ”It’s great to see the sunlight again and smell the fresh air. So much better than those tunnels and sewers. It’s gonna be a pain though to get that stench out of my clothes.” commented on the fox to no one really in particular.

After walking for some more hours the group reached the town of Hdur. A rather prosperous place with a strong iron industry. ”So, we’re going to lay low here for a bit?”

@A5G @Randomness @wierdw

There was a sense of relief washed over her when the hunter mentioned the short prisoner. At least the prince was alive and it seemed his capturers were intended to keep it that way. Matilda's mind then raced to the palace when the hunter mentioned a village surrounded by fortification, two days away from here by walking, northwest. She tried to remember, but soon cursed herself for her general apathy toward her master's political allies and supporter.

Then, some memory sprung like a wellspring.
“I have heard of that fort before, there could be many guards patrolling the area. Assuming there is something important for them to guard.” It could help to check anyway just in case. “Let us head to Gerhand's farm, and hopefully he has some useful information.”

And so she followed Cedar back to the farm to discuss the plan more elaborately. Then again she was hungry anyway.

Then, some memory sprung like a wellspring.
“I have heard of that fort before, there could be many guards patrolling the area. Assuming there is something important for them to guard.” It could help to check anyway just in case. “Let us head to Gerhand's farm, and hopefully he has some useful information.”

And so she followed Cedar back to the farm to discuss the plan more elaborately. Then again she was hungry anyway.

[GM Post]

The reunion of the investigation crews was... really, not all that grand. No fanfare, no lightshow, only muddy ground under the beautiful midmorning sun. Both halves had swelled in size despite the departure of one particular individual, but the more apparent difference since their last meeting was the various state of injuries on Jazdia's team while Matilda's crew was more or less unscratched. There's... more than a few words that needed exchanging, it looked like.

Probably not here though. The size of the group was attracting the eyes of the farmhand that Cedar and Solomon made a deal with earlier, currently starting some fire in a newly dug pit while two other farmhand and a young woman was busy peeling and chopping various ingredients into huge buckets next to them. The first farmhand waved at them.

"Whoa, there's a lot of ya! An' 'ere I thought mistah' bear would be eating all this 'imself. Ah! I see ya've gotten acquintances wif' our hunter neighbors."

A few bouts of pleasantries later, the party left the farm and gathered into the local inn which thankfully was empty for the day. The dining area was big enough for them to be seated, and after a generous helping of coins was exchanged the previously sleepy innkeeper went off the back to prepare for food and drinks.

Now would be a good time to exchange reports.

"So, Explain tuh me ageen how it was that ya got's yaselves all fucked up like is?" asked Cedar, while gently running an ungloved claw down Yvonne's back and shoulder. A subtle blue glow emanated from the claw tips in the dull gloom of the inn's common area, which had been immediately transformed from a site of immense boredom into a flurry of sudden spontaneous activity.

He was trying to diagnose the severity of the damage before deciding on a patient to treat first, while Solomon conducted his own investigations, focusing on the blonde elf woman's hand.

"Ya gots a torn shoulder, all the muscles in ya arms an thighs is all chewed up from da inside like you tried ta lif' a boulder a couple dozen times, and ya gots 4 broken ribs. Ya is bleedin on the inside a lil tuh. ... Who were it ageen as been beatin' on yas?"

He was not at all happy about having dinner swept out from underneath his nose, and the tone had impacted his normally jovial banter. He was hungry enough to consider eating the lot of them, but that would not do at all with the current situation. Taken together, the frustration he was feeling was thick enough be spread on toast. The hunters from the cabin had gone from excitement to stark confusion, and were milling about the common room looking at the spectacle with poorly concealed interest, and a great degree of disbelief and shock, as dinner had been snatched out from under their noses too.

"An' what about the girl o'er 'ere?" he asked, as he and Solomon glided past each other, moving from patient to patient, each doing their own examination in their own way. Cedar pointed at the white faced girl hunched over the back of a stern and extremely confused Rascade police or military official of some kind-- All these extra people.. "What's er name?"

He ran his clawed finger down her back, and once more the subtle pinprick of blue light glistened on its, and the rest of his fingers, as he momentarily seemed to be looking 'elsewhere' or perhaps 'distracted', making his list of diagnoses.

"What da hell...." he muttered under his breath, while examining her. "..Some dumbfuck dun put a pin through is here lil girl's chest! Got 'er in da lung!" he gruffed, but continued his assessment "Shit job healin' it... salvagable-- Ain't all though... Malnourished... Ain't seen da sun in years, bones is weak.. Eyes is goin bad.. .. Ears feels like 'eys heard lots o loud boomin... and.... aw no.. which one a yas?... Wit' a lil girl? What's wrong wit' the lot a ya, doin' sommat like at?"

He huffed a deep breath, then cast dour, vaguely accusative look around the room, before very gently taking the girl from the soldier, and muttering to her almost inaudibly while he cradled her against his chest to move her to a table.

"... There naow... I'l be aright... Come on o'er here, an lay daown o'er dis here table fer a minute.. Don' try ta breathe or talk jus' yet... Ya'll start bleedin ageen.. Thassit... Righ' o'er here hon.. Relax..."

He pulled the common room table's bench out away from the table about a third of a meter, then levered his ample bottom on top of it, causing the wood to creak and bend under the weight. It was thankfully a sturdy bench, but it still protested under who was seated. The look of "Distraction" returned to his face as he gently leaned over the table, with the full paw of his ungloved hand placed over the drugged girl's back. The tiny pinpricks of blue light had swelled to an odd but dazzling blue incandescence resembling St Elmo's fire flickering from the claw tips, while the bridge of his nose furrowed, and the girl made plaintive shallow coughs while he worked.

"... Easy naow... Breathe in..... An' out..... .. In.... an' out.... 'at feel better, now dun it?.... In.... An' out....."

The injury had been hastily and improperly healed in a ham-fisted way that would leave complications if left untreated. He had intended to treat Yvonne first, but this crappy patch job could come unraveled with just a good strong cough, sending the poor girl on a fast carriage to hell from a bleed out, and required his immediate attention, despite the seemingly less severe outward presentation.

The girl had a severely weakened constitution. Her body showed all the signs of having been brought up poor and neglected, from thin and fragile bones to wiry and taught muscle stretched between them, to skin that had clearly never seen the sun. Some disgusting pervert had been "Wifeing" her as well. Lots of people called his dad a pervert for sleeping with a bear, but the real and true perverts almost always seemed to get a pass from society, as long as "things kept quiet." And it looked here, like things had "Been kept quiet" for a very, very long time. His dad was a lot of things, but at least the relationship between him and his mother was a thing of love, and not cruelty, like this was-- and his dad would NEVER do something like... this.

His mind wandered into a memory of when he was a much younger cub, and he asked his dad what a pervert was, and why some of the village kids called him that. His dad had been so calm, and collected-- loving and earnest with his explanations of what kinds of things some people did, and why society looked down on it, before elaborating more about he and his mom's relationship, and how it was only perverted to people who didn't, wouldn't, or couldn't understand.

He very much hoped, for this girl's sake, that there was something here that he just didn't understand, but he could not for the life of him, fathom how such a thing could come to pass without some kind of predatory bullshit happening. This little girl wasn't even fully grown yet, and her... Parts... weren't fully mature. The odds of her being a willing and enthusiastic participant did not seem particularly high, and he raged a little inside, thinking about some lout doing something like this to one of his little sisters.

He revised the injury, healing carefully from the center of the lung outward, and very carefully controlling the process to only peak on the girl's weak inhalations. Slowly, the very fragile tissue regenerated a small patch of scar where the wound was, but at least the two sides of it weren't "Stuck together". She wasn't in danger of coughing and suddenly bleeding to death any longer, but she wouldn't be running any marathons any time soon, and he would need to give her additional treatments to further refine and guide the scar tissue back into something that more or less resembled lung over the next couple of days. She was breathing easier at least.

"'ere naow..." he gruffed softly at the girl, his rumbling baritone voice vibrating the table with his stooped posture over the top of it, as he planted his weight on the free hand beside her. ".. At'll do fer naow... Jus' res' easy hon--- Breathe in, an' feel it-- It'll be a lil tight now an' 'en-- but ya'll live. I'll keep workin' on it, as ya can handle it-- but it'll take time now, ya hear? Fer naow-- just lay 'ere an' rest... don' try ta move. Just lay 'ere an' rest."

He straightened back up, then heaved in a deep breath, taking a moment to clear his head.

"A'right 'vonnie, yur next-- C'mon o'er 'ere---"

"Seems that we've got the shorter end of the stick, eh?" Yvonne cackled for two short seconds before chest pain stopped her in her track. "Well, whole story I'll just leave it for boss to tell. Part by part I can explain better." Her eyes flickered curiously as Cedar did his whatever magic, figuring out the extent of the injuries without even touching. Huh, cool stuff. Better than most healers she had ever worked with.

"Me, it was mostly a different bear-man. Bit bigger and older than you, if I reckon? Not a great experience, I tell you." Her entire equipment was geared to deal with humans, not oversized behemoth. "Shoulder was that girl over there. She's done in Sparky too. Ain't even sure why we've got her along." She would've shrug here, but it's kinda hard with a busted shoulder. "Dunno her name."

The innkeeper came with hurried stride from the back room, carrying trays of various bread, cheese, and cold cuts. It was deposited on the tables before disappearing just as fast, some echo of orders to start baking more breads could be heard. Yvonne casually nabbed a bread, which turned out much softer than expected.

She bit into it with relish.

"Just fix the shoulder and ribs if you can." She tapped the clavicle with her bread, swollen and quite obviously broken to a trained eye. "The rest will heal by tomorrow or so." Juuust gotta eat a lot.

"I cuud do 'at.." Cedar drawled with a chuckle "Bu' why? Ya WANTS ta ache fer the next couple days or summat?"

He was thankful he had snatched his hood back from the short interlude at the farm before the whole lot of them had scurried off across town to the inn. He offered it to Yvonne earnestly.

"Ere-- Bite daown on 'dis. 'Is is gunna hurt som'in fierce."

Without much further elaboration, he collected her wounded arm, held it by the wrist then straightened it out, before placing it flat against her side while holding it gently taught.

"Naow-- wass-is about 'NOTHER bear-man?"

He started pulling the taught arm out, and away from her body, slowly raising it up to the side while the other hand blared with that vibrant blue corona on top of her shoulder as she bit down and made nasty faces.

"What'd I tell ya 'bout pickin' fights wit' sommat like me?" he chuckled with an ornery tone. "Ya's lucky ya in one piece."

Slowly, he raised her outstretched arm equal to her shoulder, paused a moment, before gently making a small circle with her outstretched wrist, then turning the wrist in and out, then slowly moving the arm up. Yvonne made a baleful glare, and sucked air, but did not fight him. This was clearly not her first time. That was good. There were several trouble spots-- Torn and healed several times, and not always well tended. If she'd let him, he'd try to help iron those out for her more later, but while he had her in his claws, he would do what he could right now.

"...'An whaddya mean-- at lil' girl o'er dere? Beat up at tall, strong woman o'er dere? Ya been rollin' round in jimson weed or summat? Ya gots to be foolin' me."

Carefully, he extended the arm just slightly behind her head, while continuing his administrations-- guiding the tissue to grow, refining the scar tissue that was already present to be more supple and smoother, and ensuring that nothing was getting 'stuck' during the process by keeping the arm in motion, while taking it through its complete cycle and range of motion. He changed the exercise to a forward extension, and began slowly letting the arm down.

Yvonne spat out the hood and shot him a dirty look.

"It'll heal by tomorrow. You should look after the others first at least." Sparky's hand got some nasty wound, for one. A crippling one as far as fighting was concerned. That need fixing over just about anything else, her firepower was insane.

Yvonne looked impassively at the hood for a few seconds before relenting and bit down. A correct decision, considering what happened next. It hurt like a motherfucker, but she resisted the urge to yank the limb back. Cedar moved with purpose, and whatever he's doing it felt right. And also way too long, but eh. Still shorter than natural healing. She'd take a bout of hurt if it returned her to the field at tip top shape immediately.

"Do I look like I've got a choice? Didn't even bring the right set of arms." Would've dragged a nice wide spear otherwise. Testing the shoulder for a bit, it was a pleasant surprise to find it actually slightly limber than before. Or maybe it's just her feelings, but the healing was done well. "Thanks for the patch up. Anyway, that girl? Born to be a mage. Wave a hand and toss me like a tumbleweed, throws explosion all over the place. Good thing she's inexperienced, if she's got combat training at all we'd be dead."