He made it as far as the grove before he felt his body failing him. The Viking tried to force himself onward, to get himself at least a little bit further into the thickets before the exhaustion took over before he stumbled to fall onto his side. Wincing, an irritated snarl escaped him while Arkyn tried to lift himself up into a rather sloppy sitting position. Sides heaved as he glanced down at what wounds he could see, trying to take a peak at the gashes that were dangerously close to his manhood; oh what he would have done to that bitch if she had been able to get in her intended kick.

Ears would find themselves twisting so that they both were horizontal, the tops facing the canopy above. The aches and pains were becoming more apparent as his adrenaline was finally weaned from his system, causing Arkyn to feel his heartbeat with each throb of his wounds along with the headache he was now feeling. "Fuck," the word would be snarled out as he tried to reposition himself, lip peeling back with the movement as the wounds near his groin were disturbed.

injuries: gashes on lower chest, gashes on right hand side near his groin, bite marks on lower right jaw, general soreness from rough impact

@Csitri

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Hurried pawsteps followed after Arkyn, concern creasing the healer's brow. His steps had started off quick and left her stranded with only his scent trail to go off of. Csitri had taken this time to pluck herbs as they passed them, white weed and nibima mostly. The woman would gather clay once her friend had settled himself.

It seemed the striped beast had finally ran out of fuel as she heard a crashing of the undergrowth. A sound she assumed was him finally collapsing. She'd roll her blue-green eyes and finish harvesting the yellow and white-flowered plants, putting them in her pack before joining him.

Looking the man over, it seemed he'd had quite a number done on him after all. She'd not been able to assess him very well during their flight from the Summit. Blood oozed from this wound and that, one stemming from between his legs. The sentiment of how close to...something precious that was made her wince.

"Arkyn..." she'd start, uncertain of what to say. Did she thank him for maiming a woman in her own defense? That seemed like the right thing to do, but she didn't want to encourage him throwing himself into danger just because of her foolishness. So she'd lick her lips and pace to his side before plopping down and aiming to peer at his face.

"I'm sorry...that was stupid of me. And you got hurt because you were defending me." she'd chew on her lip, the guilt passing over her in waves. He could have been so much worse off, and it was more than pure luck that he wasn't. Tears sprung to her eyes at the thought. He was one of the only good friends she'd had outside of her family in a long time. The thought of something terrible happening to him wasn't one she liked to think on.

@Arkyn

Arkyn didn't have to wonder if @Cstri was trailing him for he would have been dumn to assume she wasn't. So when the arriving sounds of her paw steps hit his ears his skull would turn in the direction they were coming from. He'd watch her in silence as she neared, apologizing while also blaming herself. "Your fault?" The brute would echo, brow rising despite the pain radiating throughout his body. "You weren't the one who gets offended when another runs into them." He would have done the same for just about any lion he cared for.

Huh...
Funny how emotions shone through when one was uncertain of how they felt to begin with.

"I wasn't going to let that bitch harm you, Csitri." Although his voice was clipped and low, there was no annoyance or regret behind his words. What he meant was true, and if she wanted to argue with him about it, well, she would have to suffice to a 'I'm not listening' stance Arkyn was fully willing to take on.

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She works on blinking away the tears, a paw coming to rub at her eyes gently before a reluctant smile and laugh chases his words. He wasn't wrong, but she still felt bad for what had happened. If she had paid more attention, maybe such a thing wouldn't have had to occur.

"Thanks. I should've looked where I was going, though." it was a small, meager argument, but one she was willing to keep her stance on. Csitri had been taught better than to go bursting into the scene of a war without her wits about her. She'd had no way of knowing if she was running into enemy fire, and still lost her focus anyhow. It was a mistake that could've easily cost a life.

Her smile would turn a bit bashful at his last words. There it was again. Her needing to be protected because she was...weak? Not aggressive enough? "I know." Csitri replied with full confidence. Arkyn was quickly becoming someone she could always count on - be it for emotional support or protection from crazy strangers. It wasn't something she was used to counting on outside of the circle of her family.

How could she put into words how that made her feel? She didn't even quite know. It was warm, fuzzy, safe. Like Csitri could go wherever and he'd be there to catch her if she fell. While that wasn't exactly plausible, it seemed that way at this point. Arkyn had a way of finding her in the worst predicaments.

"Let me help you, my brave warrior." she'd purr, a playful twinkle in her gaze. She'd move to stand closer, paws gently pushing his shoulder in an effort to roll him on his back. "I collected some herbs, but I need to see where exactly she got you." it had been hard to see the places she'd scored her claws against or bitten from Csitri's angle, but she knew his underbelly and face got the brunt of it.

@Arkyn

She would press on about how she should've kept herself aware and Arkyn would keep himself quiet. He knew that topic of conversation would have been a losing battle, the two of them goin in circles on how he said it wasn't her fault and she repeating that she should have been more aware. So when she decides to attempt to start patching up his body, ears would twist forward at what she had called him: brave warrior. Her brave warrior.

The rush of emotion and the slight rise of temperature he felt in his cheeks would make the brute let out a grunt of sorts, and as she pressed on his aching shoulder he would resist the impulse of wanting to snap at her due to the soreness. Arkyn knew what she was trying to do, and with a heavy sigh and some more growls and grunts, he would position himself so that he were now laying on his back. His front legs folded inward toward his body and left hind leg would do the same. It would be his right rear leg that staggered and kept itself straightened out, not wanting to bother the injury he had any more than he already had.

"The bitch tried to take my balls." The livelihood for the majority of men in Amaryllis. Although he was very grateful his opponent was not successful, the pain she had inflicted didn't hurt any less and it brought with it the tears that threatened to be released when he was in battle. "I'm glad I'm my father's son." It was a muttered comment, one spoken mostly to himself; the Brynmawr were resilient and strong - unbreakable. If he didn't have the mindset his father helped him forge, Arkyn wasn't sure just how this pain would have been affecting him now. For all he knew, it might have been way more excruciating.

@Csitri

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Arkyn follows instruction, although with some protest due to the pain. A wince is given when her touch elicits this and she retreats her paw from his shoulder immediately. Once he's on his back, she's able to see all of the damage the woman had done, and her heart aches for him. His skin is ravaged and aggravated from the trauma.

Looking to his face, her worried expression softens when she notes the tears present. A soft hum is given, a delicate paw travelling the planes of his face to sweep them gently away. "Everything will be okay, I'll soothe all of the hurts." Csitri promises, a tender smile tugging at her maw.

She then reaches into her pack to gather the herbs she'd collected both before today and on the way after Arkyn. They're stuffed into her mouth and chewed into a fine paste before she transfers it to her paw and begins smoothing it over the wounds. A song spills from her lips as she does this, an attempt to soothe the beast as she tends to the hurt areas.

"♪♫ Tumtesz o wäke ku pitasz belső.
Feel the strength you hold inside.

Hiszasz sívadet. Én olenam gæidnod.
Trust your heart. I'll be your guide.

Sas csecsemõm, kuńasz.
Hush my baby, close your eyes.

Rauho joŋe ted.
Peace will come to you.

Tumtesz o sívdobbanás ku olen lamt3ad belső.
Feel the rhythm deep inside.

Gond-kumpadek ku kim te.
Waves of love that cover you.

Pesänak te, asti o jüti, kidüsz.
Protect, until the night, you rise. ♪♫"

It's a lullaby she often heard during her childhood, one that had soothed her many a times when she had found herself injured or upset. She mixes in the common tongue so he knows what she's singing - he gets irritated when he doesn't understand her, after all. Csitri pauses once she reaches his groin, glancing at him for permission before she continues.

@Arkyn

He hadn't truly realized that some tears had escaped him, trailing down his face. At first he thought he was just imagining the soft wetness, chalking up the bleariness of his eyesight due to such pain. But as he feels her tenderly brush the tears away and croons to him that it would be okay, Arkyn doesn't know if he should feel embarrassed or relieved. He'd never cried in front of anyone, and with this realization made him wonder if he had ever cried at all, aside from when he was a very young. But he knows she will help soothe his pains, just like she had done before.

Eyes would close as she began her work, the soft lullaby she were singing something that began to calm his nerves. His body was beginning to relax, albeit slowly, wincing every now and again as she pressed the paste on them to ensure it would stay in place. It would be when he doesn't feel her paws against his body that makes his eyes open, glancing toward her and seeing why she had stopped. "Oh," the word would slip out before he fell silent again. 'Well it ain't gonna paste itself' So with a nod to allow @Csitri to tend to the more delicate wounds, Arkyn would find his body tensing up a bit, but not by pain or trauma. No, this was something else entirely that he was trying hard to ignore.

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They made eye contact, and Csitri would feel heat crawling up from her paws to her face. She'd chuckle nervously, when he gave his consent to continue, and move to position herself accordingly. Once between his hind legs, she'd begin to carefully place the herb mixture to the wounds.

They were awfully close to his...family jewels. A place Csitri hadn't quite imagined herself being acquainted with. But such a thing was part of being a healer, she supposed. Still. It was a bit too awkward to maintain eye contact in this moment.

"Tell me if it hurts, I'll be gentle." she promised, voice coming out a bit odd and husky. But she'd do her work diligently, avoiding touching anything that wasn't necessary. Boy, was this a story to tell. The women of her family would surely tease her endlessly when she retold this one to them later.

Or perhaps this was one thing she might keep to herself.

"She...uh..really did get close." Csitri remarked awkwardly, trying to keep the conversation going to avoid stewing in the silence that fell over them.

@Arkyn

Arkyn made sure to stay painfully still while she worked, tensing up when he felt her begin to press the paste onto the wounds. Embarrassment wasn't a common emotion he felt, but he was feeling a little too vulnerable while he laid on his back with her working near such a delicate area. But he knew he it needed done, and he would rather @Csitri do it for him than some random lion; but then again, maybe he wouldn't feel the way he was feeling right now if it were a stranger patching it up?

Her comment breaks him from his thoughts, a low growl finding its way from his throat. "I'll be giving her a matching scar if I ever see her again." To give that woman a little taste of her own medicine might be the place to start making him feel a bit better. "Almost done?" His right hind leg was starting to get stiff from having to hold itself straight, and having to have your underbelly exposed while your body was already sore was starting to cause Arkyn's muscles to tense even more.

art by e86, table by gunner

Putting the last smear of the herb mixture in place, that patched tabby would step back with a proud smile on her maw. Although she'd avoid looking directly at him, a roll of her eyes were in order when he spoke of giving the woman a matching scar.

"Only once you're better." Cissy rumbled firmly, glancing over the rest of him with concern etched on her face. It had been a hard and bloody battle. One that had made her worried for his safety. While it was kind and heroic of him to jump to her defense, she couldn't help but worry that this caveman of a lion would end up getting himself killed doing such reckless things.

Her heart ached at the thought. Arkyn had proven to be a really good friend - one she intended to keep seeing as often as she wanted for a long time to come. Head cocked to the side as she regarded him. His ginger pelt and intricate markings were rather handsome. He wasn't bad looking, and his attitude wasn't that horrific. Csitri wondered how the beast could've managed to keep the women off him thus far.

Settling onto her belly in the plush grass, leaning into his side, she'd set her head on her paws drowsily. "Best medicine is getting plenty of sleep. Wanna take a nap with me?"

@Arkyn

-exit via nap-