By the time Nix had woken up, it had already been a full day and a half. She awoke to the sun hanging high in the sky and Sheeva gently shaking her awake. It only took Nix a moment to realize where she'd been brought to before she wrapped her arms around the cub and rolled her onto the bed. Sheeva couldn't help but giggle in the sudden snuggle as she curled up into Nix's arms.
"Good morning Sheeva." Nix cooed softly after her soft giggles had ended, gently brushing the hair from Sheeva's eyes.
"M-morning Nix." Sheeva stuttered in a soft voice, nuzzling her head into the warm hand. She quickly noticed how much Nix had changed since before. Now she seemed softer, yet more determined.
Suddenly remembering something, Sheeva quickly sat up on her knees and looked down at Nix. "Wait, Jennifer needs you to come to the training hall. She wants you to make some more armor for her people."
"Ah yes, I assume she's showed it off well then?"
"Well, yesterday she decided to test out the stuff you gave her. There are...plenty in the medical hall now..." Sheeva shuddered as she remembered how Jennifer took on all of the guards at once, taking them all out in a matter of minutes.
Nix could only sigh and rub her face with one hand. She'd expected more finesse when testing out new equipment, not an all out brawl with your troops. As far as she knew, they didn't have a proper medical hall compared to her old world.
It was then that Nix was struck with a new idea. Suddenly sitting up, she grabbed Sheeva's shoulders and gently shook her. "That's it child, we need equipment."
"W-wait, Nix. Y-you aren't all-" Sheeva stuttered as she was shook a bit, worry written all over her face at Nix's extremity.
"Go get the Chief and Jennifer and tell them to meet me at the medical hall. If things go well, we can worry less about the sick and wounded." Nix said as she suddenly stood up and grabbed her rifle. Her old habits couldn't be tossed away so easily. Sheeva realized that even on the brink of exhaustion, Nix would always carry it around as if she didn't feel safe. This worried her much more than her sudden erratic plan to gather everyone. Though all she could do was watch as Nix rushed out of the house last some people to the Blacksmith's, making Sheeva sigh and shake her head.
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Both Drevid and Jennifer were none to happy about Nix suddenly running around just as she'd gotten out of bed. Of course, they couldn't blame the Fox-Kin for not stopping her, but they'd hoped that Nix would at least stop a bit to listen to the child. Both of them were thinking of ways to talk Nix down from her crazy ideas as they walked into the medical hall.
The building was only a bit smaller than the main hall, but seemed much more spacious. It held rows of beds lined up against the walls with shelves filled with various items used for medicinal purposes. On either side of the door, ten beds were lined up with enough room for two to walk between them comfortably, each lined in cotton with a pelt blanket and pillow each. It was clear this place held more importance than most places given the amount of supplies it held on its own.
Jennifer was the first to enter, turning her head quickly in search for the mad woman she was about to lay down. She'd wore the armor made for her a few days ago that caught the eyes of the various people that lay broken and bruised. Most of the people, were the ones she'd sent in herself. The only ones not paying attention to her was Nix and a Lion-Kin female that lay on the bed she was hunched over.
"Alright, with this, your wounds should heal faster. If you start to feel any pain, please let me know." Nix cooed as she tapped on the glass pad she'd brought from her workshop.
"Y-yes of cour- C-Commander?" The Lion-Kin suddenly froze upon seeing Jennifer stomping towards Nix in a fury. Everyone curled away as much as they could from the Va'Rish, who's anger matched her reddened face.
"NIX, I SWEAR TO THE GODS." Jennifer roared as she stomped over, clenching her fists. Not only had this mad-woman broken down her armor to make this, she'd been toying with her people like some sort of rats? She could forgive the armor, but this was far over the line she drew.
Nix gave a gentle smile as she stood and looked at Jennifer. Instead of showing fear, she held up the tablet and pointed to the image presented on it. "Before you say anything, take a look at this."
"This better be worth you ignoring everyone and...wait a second. Is this Lilly's body?" Jennifer was immediately stunned as she got a good look at the Lion-Kins body that was on the small screen. It showed each part of her body that as bruised, as well as the broken bones. The screen also told how the wounds were received and what level of a patient she was. What was more astonishing was that the bruises were disappearing one after another, as well as the bones slowly coming together once again. "Wait a second, did you use your syringe?"
"Well, yes and no. Drevid, remember that potion you gave me?" Nix asked as she took her screen back and walked around the bed to sit on the empty one. Her voice was loud and clear, making sure everyone in the hall could hear her.
"Yes, I believe so." Drevid was much calmer than Jennifer was, only worried about Nix overworking herself. Now, he was slowly piecing together what Nix's plan was. Like the armor, she'd invented something else foe them to use, but now she needed everyone here to hear about it.
"Well, you guys keep a stockpile of the stuff the potions are made from. After examining the contents of the vial itself, I was able to make an improved version with the stuff my own medical syringe was made from." Nix said as she reached to her waist. They hadn't realized it before, but Nix was wearing her own armor now. It looked almost like leather armor, sleek and trimmed with fur like Jennifer's own armor. Pulling a syringe out, she tossed it over to Jennifer with a soft smile. "This one's yours. They can be used by anyone, and have improved circulation and healing properties. The only issue is that, well, you can only use one at a time. And it doesn't replace lost limbs or repair the ones to far gone."
As Nix explained, she gestured to the Oracian laying on the right of Drevid. The man was worse off than the rest, apparently having fought Jennifer the longest during the sparring session they'd had. He couldn't even look at Jennifer as his pride was pretty hurt now. Understanding what Nix meant, Jennifer slipped her helmet back over her head to examine the syringe.
[ALERT: Emergency Syringe detected. User is warned to only use one every hour.]
[ALERT: Russle is heavily wounded. Immediate administration of Syringe advised.]
The system went off immediately upon inspection of the syringe. Once more, Jennifer couldn't even find the will to be amazed at Nix's inventions anymore. Following the instructions given to her, the Va'Rish popped the cap off of the syringe before jamming the small needle into Russle's thigh. He gave a small groan, but immediately sighed as he found the liquid that poured into his veins to be very relaxing.
Jennifer's system then began to tell her about his improving condition before looking back at Nix. At first, she'd wanted to cuss the woman out, but her sense of duty and her position could only make her drop her head and sigh. "How many can you make Nix?"
"If you give me the medical personnel, I can train them on the new equipment and medical procedures after the items needed are made." Nix said as she suddenly swiped the screen she'd held.
As Nix's hand moved, a projection began to display in Jennifer's visor. The walls and beds were covered in thin blue lines, other lines making up equipment that hadn't been made yet, as well as a new arrangement for how the medical hall should be laid out. Jennifer quickly looked over the display before turning to Drevid and pointing to her visor. Understanding immediately, he pulled his visor from his pocket and eyed the projection Nix made as well.
It took several minutes before they both looked at each other. Drevid's lips moved silently before rubbing the bridge of his nose and shaking his head. The two had gotten used to the equipment quickly thanks to Nix's tutorial, allowing them to speak with eachother without Nix hearing. Nix was impressed at how fast everyone was learning, a sudden excitement welling up in her chest that filled her with pride.
"Nix, we have some rules we wish to lay out." Drevid spoke up as he crossed his arms over his chest and stared Nix down. Jennifer did the same after taking her helmet off and setting it on the table.
The two bearing down on them made Nix suddenly fall back onto the bed and clutch her tablet with one hand. Her other hand took the helmet off to let them see her arched brow and frown. "And these are?"
"First, you are not allowed to work overnight unless necessary." Drevid spoke first, walking next to Jennifer and wrapping his arm around her waist. The Va'Rish spoke after, holding one hand up to point at Nix. "Second, you need to notify us of any other ideas you have. We need to have meetings about these things and figure out how to go about them in a more productive manner."
"Lastly, you need to play with Sheeva more. She's your family now after all." Drevid finished up the rules as he turned to Sheeva and nodded. The Fox-Kin immediately trotted over to Nix and sat next to her with a small huff.
Nix knew what they meant, and found no flaws in their rules. Before, she would've simply stated she needed to keep a close eye on things, but everyone in the village had made it clear they were to be trusted. Not only in the constant worry they had for her, but also the small interactions she'd noticed along the way to try and distract her from her work.
A sigh left her lips as she wrapped her arm around the Fox-Kin's shoulders. "Alright alright. I'll do my best to let you know. As for Sheeva, she's going to be my assistant. Everything I know about this equipment will be rested on her shoulders as well."
The sudden news shocked not only Sheeva, but also the 26 people in the hall. They'd only thought Nix kept Sheeva close because she was family, but an apprentice? This changed everything. Family was one thing, but an apprentice was much closer to the person raising them. Not only did they have to learn all the secrets their master had, but they would also need to prove themselves by mastering all the techniques and rising past their master. And Nix had decided to rest this burden on such a young child?
"I can already tell what you are thinking, but let me explain. Sheeva has not only proven her worth to me, but has already figured out things I wouldn't be able to. For instance, the idea of the guide for all the equipment was her idea." Nix spoke proudly of the cub as she shook her. Sheeva could only look down and blush with her tail swaying quickly against the bed.
Everyone could only take in this information and think on it. Without the guidelines, they would've had to give Nix more work by pestering her constantly on how things worked. This would be worse in the future as well if Nix kept making things for them.
Before anyone could say anything else, Nix's and Jennifer's helmets lit up suddenly and began to beep, Drevids own visor lighting up as well and making him tap the side.
"Ju'Shal, what's wrong?" He asked as he nodded to Jennifer before running out of the hall.
The woman quickly slipped their helmets on and followed Drevid, barely catching the back-end of the report.
"--lage. A rank 6 beast is coming."
"Rank 6? Who confirmed this?" Drevid asked as he rang the bell in the middle of the town. The signal caused everyone to scramble around. Jennifer rushed the gate as she drew her pistol and sword, calling out to the other peopled that were arming themselves.
"I did, it just started rushing us. It's being followed by a horde. I think it's a territory rush."
"How's everyone else doing?"
"Three have died to the ambush. Two more stayed behind to stall for time while the rest of us escaped. We don't have much time." Ju'Shal suddenly grunted, sounds of whimpering from a beast could be heard quickly fading away in the distance as the Wolf-kin's breath got more ragged. "Get everyone ready, it's a big one."
Nix looked around before spotting Sheeva stumbling out of the medicine hall. Though plenty of the soldiers were still wounded, they all grit their teeth and ran towards the barracks to grab their armor and weapons past Sheeva. Nix then ran over to Sheeva and knelt by her to help her back onto her feet.
"Sheeva, go find Vela and start distributing the weapons and visors I made." Nix said before pressing the side of her helmet. "Chief, get someone to help Vela and Sheeva grab the rifles from my shop. There should be around seven in there. The most wounded should be using them for now."
"What about the guidance system? I doubt they will be effective in batfle." Drevid replied back as he rushed towards the blacksmiths hall. Sheeva ran towards him as she spotted the running figure. Vela, who had been listening in, also ran opposite of the crowd towards the shop as she heard the order.
"Trial by fire, Jennifer and I will rescue the remaining hunters. Get everyone on the wall and aimed at the forest." Nix said before she rushed towards the gate to follow Jennifer.