Shealtiel

It was revitalizing to walk in the woods. The late afternoon sun shone through the leaves, giving the forest a beautiful golden green glow as a cool breeze stirred the forest.

I shifted the bag I was carrying to my other hand, and quickened my pace slightly. I had just finished a trip to a nearby town, and was heading back to the old abandoned building in which I and my friend Maura had taken up residence after escaping from the Scourges.

After another five or so minutes of walking at a brisk pace, the dilapidated old building came into view. I entered through the broken double doors at the front of the building. From the appearance and general size of the place, we had guessed it to be an old warehouse. There was a small upstairs place that probably used to be an office of some sort. It was there that we had spent most of our time.

I took the steps up to the rather small room two at a time and entered to find Maura changing the bandage on her foot.

"Hey," I greeted her.

She looked up upon my entrance, "Hi. How was town?"

I shrugged as I set down the bag, "Oh, you know. Town."

She smiled, "Good." And returned to her foot. I rifled through the contents of the bag, and withdrew the thing I was looking for. A .44 Magnum pistol. It wasn't brand new, but it was a gun. I had traded my tranquilizer gun for it, and I definitely felt I had gotten the better end of the deal.

"What's that?" I heard Maura ask.

My back was turned to her, so I turned slightly to give her a better view of the gun.

Her eyes widened slightly, "Where did you get that?"

"I traded for it," I replied simply.

"Did you get ammo for it?" She voiced the question.

All of a sudden, my mind went blank. "Oh," I mumbled. I moistened my lips, trying to formulate an answer. Suddenly, I didn't feel I got the better end of the deal. "I may have forgotten that one detail," I said as I smiled sheepishly.

Mauralie

I stifled a grin that threatened to make an appearance. "So... we've got a gun, but no way to use it?" I clarified.

"Uh... yeah."

"Wonderful. Excellent job, Sheal," I retorted, finally giving up my attempts at remaining solemn. I cracked a smile.

He grinned sheepishly, a hint of red blooming on his cheeks. "Sorry..."

I laughed and shook my head, "Whatever. We don't need it at the moment anyway. We can get some ammo later."

He nodded, turning solemn, "So... how are you feeling?"

I shrugged, "Better. Not perfect, but definitely better." I figured it made more sense to just be honest than try and cover up the fact that I wasn't one hundred percent, and I didn't think I would ever be. I knew for sure that my ear would never heal fully. I mean, the wound healed so now it's mostly just a scab, but the hearing never returned fully, and it has proven to be a bit annoying. I never realized just how much I needed both ears until one was almost gone.

Sheal gestured to the bandage that I was unwrapping from my foot. "Want me to help?"

"I think I've got it. Thanks." I returned my attention to the dirty cloth and continued to peel it away from my foot. The cloth was halfway off, when it got stuck. The blood and whatever else made up a wound had dried and glued the bandage to my foot.

I swallowed, and before I had the chance to worry or think through anything, I yanked.

It ripped right off, but not before taking part of my foot with it. I bit my lip and leaned forward, trying not to cry. Tears pooled in my eyes and I forced them back.

"Hey, are you okay? What happened?" Sheal asked, kneeling down beside me.

"Ugh... my foot..." I mumbled, trying to keep it together. "I just shouldn't... have done that."

Sheal used his arm to support my back and I leaned into it gratefully. Once I had calmed down enough to think rationally, I looked down at my foot. Apparently I had ripped the scab open when I took the bandage off and now it was bleeding again.

Without me even saying anything, Sheal picked up the clean and unused bandages I had set out and began to press them against my foot.

"Thank you," I said quietly.