Shattered (Sequel to Shadowfax)

Back-up

Sphinx slapped at her arm as another mosquito nipped at it. Yet another unfortunate aspect of Wakanda- the enormous mosquitos.

Sphinx hated Wakanda. The jungle air was hot and muggy and constantly at odds with her hair. She was permanently grounded unless she wanted her wings to get tangled in low-hanging vines, or snag her tail. Not to mention the howler monkeys in the treetops were living up to their name and refused to shut up. The sound only added to her pounding headache. Wakanda sucked. Period.

Sphinx cursed as she tripped on a tree root and adjusted Jax's arms around her neck when he began to slide off. She froze when he groaned weakly, her eyes darting to his injured side. Crap. The bandage was soaked with blood.

Gently placing her injured partner down on the jungle floor, she inspected his wounds.

The swelling on Jax's bruised face had gone down a bit (that was a plus). Most of his smaller cuts were scabbed over (also good). Unfortunately, the open gash on his side and the larger cuts on his torso were starting to fester (yikes). Sphinx wrinkled her nose at the smell while removing the soiled bandages.

Taking her t-shirt off and leaving herself in only her ratty tank-top, Sphinx began tearing it into strips. Taking the largest ones, she tied them together and wrapped them around Jax's side. As she set about tending to his other injuries, Sphinx felt Jax lightly brush her wrist.

"Hey," he said, flashing a weak grin. Sphinx's heart fluttered a bit, but she beat the feeling down into the pit of her stomach. 'Focus,' she chided herself.

Sphinx avoided his eyes and instructed, "Don't talk. You need to conserve energy."

"What energy? I can barely move my bloody arms." Jax flopped an arm uselessly for emphasis. Sighing dramatically, he told Sphinx, "Just go on without me."

"Drama queen." Sphinx slapped his arm lightly, heaving Jax to his feet before draping the battered Scotty across her shoulders again. He protested a bit at being carried, but fell silent again as he wobbled and nearly toppled over.

"Here we go," Sphinx huffed. They began again at an agonizingly slow pace. Jax started humming a very off-key version of 'The Ants Go Marching' in her ear, matching the tune to the beat of her steps. Sphinx just smirked, glad Jax was doing anything in his condition.

They kept walking for another three miles before Sphinx's sharp ears picked up a new sound: footsteps. She dove behind a copse of trees.

They were Wakandan soldiers, no doubt. Soldiers that were moving fast, too. With the pace they were going at, Sphinx and Jax would be surrounded in seconds.

With no way of escaping with Jax in his current condition, Sphinx swiftly lay Jax back down and moved between him and the footsteps. Initially confused at the sudden halt in their progress, Jax's features molded into a scowl as he picked up on their pursuers.

Grunting, he forced himself to sit up. "Sphinx?" he asked warily.

"Maybe they're friendly?" Sphinx responded without turning around. As if in answer, a bullet suddenly whizzed past her head. Following close behind was a heavily armed Wakandan task force, 'guns ablaze'n.'

That was all the reason Sphinx needed to erupt into her griffin form. Screeching, she took a protective stance over Jax, wings flared and tail lashing.

The Wakandans circled her, guns raised. There was a low, electric whine in the air as Jax retaliated, using the last of his strength to create a barrier between they and the soldiers. Electricity crackled and snapped at the closest one, and he jumped back in surprise.