Dark Wind, Icy Snow - RyuTar, YinYuan [BL]

RTYY 51 - Two Little Hands to Help Him

Allowing himself to relax only made the pain grow stronger.

Taking a deep breath, his face already sweaty, ZaiWin forced himself to sit up.

The first thing he saw was blood everywhere, darkening the recently revolved dirt. No wonder he was starting to feel dizzy. From the knee down his left leg was beyond broken, it was completely shattered, his foot dangling listlessly to one side, twisted in a very unnatural way.

More tears flooded his eyes and he couldn't stop himself from sobbing, his shoulders shaking. There was no way that leg would ever heal properly again, he knew. He'd be more than lucky if he didn't end up loosing it altogether. ZenTar was going to kill him. And yet he really, really wanted ZenTar to be there, with him, even if he was going to scold him and smack him.

Forcing himself to take a deep breath, he wiped his tears and pushed all those fears away. ZenTar wasn't there. He was not going to magically appear out of nowhere just because he wanted.

He was on his own. And so he had to deal with his present situation the best way he could. Besides, even though ZenTar wasn't there his voice was always present in his mind, his many lessons engraved in his brain.

If you ever get hurt the first thing you must do is find a safe place where you can rest and maybe wait for help to come. Never stay outside, out in the open. Your enemies will have no trouble finding you like that. And wild animals are always attracted to weak prey.

Nodding as if the older man were standing right there, he studied his leg with a more clinical approach.

Be careful not to leave a trail if you are bleeding.

ZaiWin nodded again and started to undress his tunic. The blanket he'd given the small child would have really come in handy right now, but it was no use wishing for what he could not have.

FeiWan had told him that he would send someone to get him, but he didn't trust them at all. He clenched his teeth and frowned, holding his voice in, controlling his breathing, as he went through the excruciating task of wrapping his tunic around his shattered leg. He didn't trust that FeiWan would actually send someone back for him. But it was better if he didn't anyway. He trusted the Calzai's men even less.

Belonging to the Hao Province, to the El'Dai's Province, some of them could have easily been tasked with the mission to kill him if they got the chance. He had no doubts that at least the El'Dai truly wanted him dead, and he doubted that she would pass on this invaluable opportunity to catch him away from home and from ZenTar's protection. Finding him out there, all alone and injured, was clearly the most desirable scenario for any assassin.

No. He had to get out of that place. Find somewhere safe where he could spend the next few days. Now that he could no longer walk, much less run, he'd be left behind anyway. He would much rather stay somewhere where no one else knew where to find him. He would stay hidden until the end of the Gathering. The problem was ... how was he suppose to get out of there?

The soft sound of rustling leaves made his heart jump and he quickly turned towards it, focusing the rest of his energy into a single, deadly daitai. Using it right now would most likely render him unconscious. But whatever it might be, human or animal, he refused to go out without a fight!

The small head that popped out from behind a tree confused him for a moment. His vision was going dangerously blurry and he had to squint and blink in order to make sense of what was watching him.

As if it had deemed that in his current conditions ZaiWin did not posed a threat, the small thing moved out from behind the tree and cautiously approached him. It walked on two legs, so it was definitely human. But it was way too small to be any of the other boys. And then he recalled the small child he'd helped before!