Destiny No More

Chapter 41

Ironwood entered the medical bay as quietly as he could, hoping to avoid any undue noise in the event that its occupants were still asleep. Pyrrha was still asleep, her friends from Beacon sitting next to her bed. The Doctors had managed to deal with the venom as well as patch up the numerous cuts across her body, but she had yet to properly wake up.

From what he had been told by Taiyang she had earned the rest. Such a massive display of magical power was rare to see, especially from a junior maiden such as herself. It was difficult to tell what the damage might be, adding on the fact that her aura had been completely depleted, and it was a miracle she was able to run as long as she had.

It was an awe inspiring feat of determination that he would have given a medal for if she were one of his soldiers, sadly the best he could do was see that she was properly taken care of. While he would have liked to speak with her, she wasn't the reason he was here.

Scanning the medical bay, it didn't take him long to find the real reason he was here. Winter sat next to a bed tucked away in the corner of the room, her arm in a sling wrapped over her shoulder and with numerous bandages covering her body as well. She had been lucky that the majority of the venom in her system had come after her initial dose of anti-venom, though where exactly they had found it, her report hadn't specified. It was only because of that medication that she wasn't currently bedridden.

She had been told to stay in bed of course, the doctors had said that she needed the rest so that her body could properly expel the toxins from her system, but that hadn't stopped her.

The man on the bed she sat next to was a different matter. Qrow had been spared the venom, but that was the extent of his good fortune. Nearly every bone in his left arm had been broken, his face was badly bruised, and there were a dozen other spots on his body that had been bruised or at the very least sprained.

The doctors said that the venom might have actually helped to numb the pain, if Winter and Pyrrha's reaction to it was anything to go off of, it might have caused him to fall unconscious. In the end he had suffered more pain as a result, and if what the report said was true, he had done it for a fairly selfless reason. He planned to thank him once he woke up, though he very much doubted Qrow would accept it; hence why he'd sent word for an order of Atlesian Whiskey, that he was sure Qrow would accept.

His approach had gone ignored, a surprising detail considering how aware of her surroundings Winter usually was. Clearing his throat slightly, Ironwood hoped to get her attention. She jumped slightly, looking back over her shoulder to see him standing there before quickly moving towards her feet.

"General, my apologies Sir, I didn't hear you come in." Winter made to salute, before realizing her arm was currently unavailable. The grimace that crossed her face made Ironwood smile but he managed to hold back his laughter.

"You can relax, Winter." Ironwood gestured back towards her seat, waiting for her to sit before continuing. It took a moment for her to realise that, the two standing in silence before she sat down with a slight huff. "Aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

"I'm fine, sir." Winter said, notably dodging the question. In truth he wasn't surprised to see her where she was, it was where he had seen her the last time he had stopped by. In fact, she had been sitting beside Qrow almost constantly since he had been treated waiting for him to wake up.

"And how is Qrow?" He switched the topic away from her own health, as he knew that if he wanted an honest report on her status, he would have to ask the Doctors once he was done speaking with her.

"He'll live." Winter sagged a little bit in her chair, her carefully kept posture slipping for a brief moment. "With his Aura and the doctor's Semblance, he should be up and moving around in a couple days; he'll be back to full strength in a couple weeks."