Uneasy Alliance (A Roleslaying with Roman story)

The Recovery

Noise hissed quietly and twisted his left hand into the sheets of his cot as Lynn bandaged his legs for the umpteenth time.  He could tell that Roman was trying to be a strong support, letting Noise squeezes his hand with his right hand, but Noise could tell that he was in almost as much pain from it as he was.

Aside from the initial pain of being re-bandaged every day, his legs were actually healing very well. He was able to walk quicker, and for longer periods of time, but he often had to stop to rest before he could get any substantial distance.

Roman and Youngblood had resigned to getting themselves jobs as a result of the guilt of being allowed to live in the town with no money. None of the villagers had been pressuring them for payment, as word had gotten out of Noise's situation, but the two of them felt the need to help nonetheless. Youngblood had been going out at every opportunity he could to hunt, or to find extra food to get the villagers through the winter. He was gone nearly all the time, and Noise was starting to think that he was avoiding him on purpose. Roman seemed very unnerved by the state of the town, with its limited resources and all of the people who were getting sick, and he had told Noise and Youngblood privately that he had never seen such struggle during the winter months.

Roman had taken to helping Lynn with the sick and injured people that came in and out of the cabin every day. He seemed to have a bit of experience with the illnesses and minor injuries, and he quickly caught on to the things that Lynn taught him. Lynn had praised Roman many times for making that winter the first one where he hadn't been completely swamped with work, as the only person still stuck in the cottage was Noise.

Between his shifts, Roman would sit by Noise's cot and read a black leather-bound book that Noise had never seen before. He read it every chance he got, but whenever Noise asked him about it, he was either distracted by something else or too enamored in the book to notice. Over the course of the next month, Noise healed almost completely and managed to make multiple treks around the entire town before stopping to rest. Roman and Youngblood had already presented him with his boots, and he was, of course, overjoyed by the gesture. There was still a dull ache in his legs at all times, but he was able to tolerate it for much longer. Roman and Youngblood restocked their supplies, and at the start of the new year, the boys left the town to start planning their coup against the Bard King.