"Why are...there three...of you?" Eskil's vision was blurry, and a trio of bright blue eyes widened at him as he collapsed back onto the ground. With a loud grunt, he fell onto his back, his head snapping and landing on the unforgiving soil. He groaned and coughed when Libelle knelt down by his head with a sigh of her own.
"You are a fool, you know that, right?"
"Cursed elf," he hissed when she ripped his cotton shirt open, her cool hand brushing against the dark bruises already forming across his ribs.
"Curse at me all you want, you man-beast."
He groaned and gritted his teeth, his long canines pinching his lower lip when her fingers rolled over his ribs. "What are you doing?"
"Your ribs are broken, I need to set them before healing your sorry ass."
Broken? My ribs are broken? How fragile you mortals are...how fragile I am.
Eskil was so frustrated. He wanted to curse but the pain was more than he had experienced in quite a long while. Such pain had only been experienced a handful of times before, the most recent had been a battle he and the slayer had just a year ago. Both had exhausted themselves, but both had failed to take the other's life.
The pain even then was perhaps less than this. His gold eyes shot open and widened with a sharp inhale when Libelle pushed his broken ribs back into place, and his fingers dug into the grass as he fought the growing urge to roar out in agony. One rib cracked, then a second, a third, and then a forth before Libelle's hand began to glow with the pale light of her healing magic. Her hand felt smooth across his chest as she healed his broken bones, magic causing the bones to reform and bond back together. Her magic worked not only to repair his broken bones, but to remove the sharp pain from his abdomen.
"Your face is a mess," she snickered. Despite the cold aura emitting from her, she had a playful expression as she teased him about his pitiful state.
"Curse you, she-elf. I would not be in this sorry state if it were not for you." He curled his lip when her magic began to sooth the ache in his head. Moments passed and as the throbbing pain began to fade, he sighed, unintentionally resting his head against her soft palm. He saw her cheeks darken and her eyes flutter and widen as she chewed on her lip.
He stared up at her the entire time she used her magic and strength to heal him, his eyes gazing into hers as he wondered what was crossing her mind. The dragon slayer, Libelle, was a wretched being, and the sight of her breathless body before him would do nothing but please him. Yet right now, as his pain was fading, he wanted nothing more than to rest and look at her.
She slowly soothed away his aches and pains, but he could see her exhaustion setting in. She was growing more and more tired and he knew she needed rest. "Libelle, you need to sleep." A surprising tone of concern laced his voice.
"Yes, you're right." She wiped away a droplet of blood from his brow, then another from his lip.
He silently stared at her for a short moment, his head still resting against her hand that was gently tangling into his hair. Why is it becoming harder for me to hate you? He stared at her face, tracing her features with his eyes but remaining silent as he did so. He saw her cheeks darken again and found himself wondering why they did that. She pulled her hand away from him and scooted backwards.
He sat up, taking his motions slowly as he did not feel like collapsing to the dirt again. She stood up, waiting for him to stand as well before motioning him towards the fire. He followed her and sat down near the fire while she looked down at the girls who were quietly whimpering.
"You three get some rest, I will stay awake tonight."
They nodded and she turned to look at Eskil. "You get some sleep too. I'll wake you when it's time to leave."
She needn't argue with him, he was already dozing off. He watched as she settled into another corner of the camp, her sword on her hip and her bow in her lap. She was waiting for another attack, another round of killing. The cruelty of the mortals never ceased to amaze him.