It Started With a Spinny

A Love Spoken

She's being held. A warm, unsteady arm is around her shoulders, her tail limp across their lap.

"Mija! Wake up! Mija!"

Vee smiles weakly, "hi mami."

She opens her tired eyes, sees Camila looking down at her, breathing out a sob of relief: "Oh mija, you're okay!"

Vee breathes in, opens her mouth to reassure her, and cries out at the thrumming ache in her chest!

Camila looks down frantically, letting go of Vee's tail and making her cry out harder at the movement! Camila freezes, and for just one moment Vee see's the desperate confidence in her eyes falter. But it's only for a moment, before Camila touches the wet shirt tied around Vee's chest, tied so tightly it hurts! The colour is strange too, the grid of darker stripes looking like those of the brown shirt Camila was wearing earlier, but the fabric is strangely purple now.

"I," Camila swallows, "I've tried to stop the bleeding," she touches two hot fingers to Vee's neck, "and your pulse is," she swallows, "still there, so if I can just get you back to the car-"

She tries to lift Vee who cries out again, making Camila stop. Vee collapses back to Camila's lap, panting hard, her one heart straining to do the work of two. She blinks heavily, looks up to see Camilas's face, always so reassuring, so sure, so certain.

She's terrified.

Vee flinches as Amity leans closer, "I could try sealing it!" Her voice is high with panic, "I'm sorry I didn't study Healing Magic more I should have-"

"Shhhh," Vee soothes, reaching out so Amity can catch her limp green hand. Vee smiles unsteadily, "none of that."

Camilla bursts into tears. "I'm so sorry mija! I should have brought my first aid kit! I should have known there was something wrong and come sooner, I," she looks up, "Amity knew something was wrong, and Masha knew where this place was-"

Vee smiles with her eyes half closed, "Masha," of course they'd already know the location of a spooky old graveyard deep in the woods. Vee frowns, "are they here too?"

"I'm here!" an unsteady voice says nearby. Vee looks in that direction, blinks painfully in the warm golden glow, a closer shape resolving into a wide blurry shadow. A grey robed and haired Masha helps Hunter limp his way closer, one of his hands over their shoulders, the other cradling the small, red shape of-

"Flapjack!" Vee hoarsely exclaims, beaming up at the little cardinal held so protectively to Hunter's chest. One wing is badly cracked and leaking glowing green blood, but "he's okay! You're okay!"

Hunter half smiles, half winces as he limps up to her. The side of his face is a mess of dried blood, his maroon shirt darkened around multiple punctures, the tears in the bloody cloth revealing glimpses of strangely pink skin. He tries a reassuring smile, even tries to laugh: "More or, less." He tries to kneel, stumbles and nearly brings Masha down with him as he falls to his knees between Amity and Luz, cradling Flapjack protectively. The little cardinal opens his tired eye, chirping up at him reassuringly. Hunter smiles down at him so fondly, so gratefully, reaching out his other shaking hand to hold Vee's shoulder.

His hand feels strangely warm, hot even on her clammy skin.

She blinks, sees him smiling down at her through his tears. "We're alive! We're both alive, because of you!"

Vee half closes her tired eyes with a happy smile, "I'm, glad." Her heart slows – but stirs as she frowns, "but Luz, is she-"

"I'm here!" Luz leans forward beside Hunter, trying to wipe the green from her eyes with one hand while reaching for her with the other, remembering too late her hand is gone.