When Destiny Burns, Ep. 1: A Halo and Inheritance Cycle Crossover

Chapter 9. 1 Physician, heal thyself

"Alright you dogs, listen up! We've had reports of a group of strangely clothed men and women traveling south, through the empire without being apprehended. So far, they have managed to avoid our patrols –but not anymore. Saddle your horses up! We are going to hunt them down and capture them, for the king!"

Unidentified group of empire cavalry-men, approximately eleven to twelve days after incursion of UNSC asset 2S-007

Aeraleth hissed through her bloodied teeth when her rider reached out to touch her wounded, heaving chest. The mere thought of anyone near her wound hurt her body even more than it already did and even though it concerned the only person she trusted with the task, she did not want to have him near her. The wound itself was gruesome enough, but her very instinct rebelled against someone touching it.

She had been stupid. So very stupid. Her rider had warned her away multiple times, but she hadn't listened. She had been too stupid to listen...and she had ended up paying the price for it. When the Urgals had gone and surrounded her rider, she had feared for his life. He had been capable of easily killing half a hundred of them single-handedly and unarmed but had still thought that he would end up hurting himself. She simply hadn't wanted to leave him. So she touched down once again, refused to leave his side and fought alongside him –not realizing that her combat-prowess was not enough for her to stay her ground in such an overwhelming group of enemies.

The dragon whimpered and slowly lowered her body to the ground, her limbs starting to lose the energy they needed to keep her upright. She hurt so much. It was as if her chest was on fire, her innards filled with frost and her brain working against herself in an attempt to lull her into sleep. Never in her life had she felt so much pain and she instantly knew that this had to be what death felt like. Not just the burning agony of pain, or the searing pain that she had felt when the wolves had torn at their wings. This felt worse...this felt like death seeping into her marrows, draining her energy out until there remained no more.

She had been too blind to notice the group of urgals approaching her rear and without Maine there to defend her, the monstrosities had been able to hack at her legs, crippling her in her fight against the overwhelming waves of enemies.

"Stay with me," Her rider told her. He sounded like he was stuck underneath a waterfall...his voice was weak and distant.

Or that could be her having difficulties concentrating. She knew that she had made a mistake and she was paying for it. She had ignored the words of her rider, who had more experience in combat than she had. He was her superior in the hunt and she had gone and ignored him, thinking that he was still a child. But she had been wrong...her impatient sense of superiority had merely ended with her dying of a stab-wound to her chest.

"Aeraleth, focus!" Maine snapped at her as he stood next to her, his arms hanging limb next to his body and his black helmet staring at her bleeding frame. She had been stabbed in her chest by a long, thin sword that had penetrated through her sturdy ribs and she couldn't help but try to comfort her rider. He looked so helpless...

Aeraleth didn't want to die. She was barely a few weeks old and there were so many things to look forward to for her. But...she also knew when to stop struggling in vain. Her mistake had killed her. She had failed to protect her rider from the shade.

Her tongue flicked against her teeth and she exhaled painfully, trying to find some way to ease the raging pain in her side.

There was none.

Blood was dripping to the ground as she tried to get up again, but her limbs had no strength left. Her life's blood was slowly sipping away and there was nothing that she or her rider could do to help her, or even ease her pain.