Do you believe in Ice or Fire
Joe
06-07-2021, 05:16 PM
Lost in the empty black void of unconsciousness, Kumiho didn't feel a thing that was being done to him by either of the two healers. His brain had mercifully shut down in a desperate last ditch effort to protect him from the agonizing and blinding pain his body had been in following Kitsune's unceremonious and crude method of removing the driftwood impaling his leg. He wasn't even aware enough to notice the sound of the ocean, or the way his body was being moved and manipulated as he was cleaned of blood and ichor. He didn't feel the cold water or the warm sun. For all intents and purposes, Kumiho was dead to the world.
When he did finally start to come to again, he was aware of being moved. A quiet, hoarse murmur came from the young man, eyes barely able to flicker open to peer into blinding light. He squinted and tried to look around, but he was being jostled too much and he was far too weak from the ordeal he'd been through. Darkness took him again for a short while. When the veil of unconsciousness did finally peel away in its entirety, Kumiho was aware of lying on grass instead of sand. He groaned and tried to stretch his legs to relieve the ache in his muscles, feeling sore and tired like never before. A throbbing ache in his hind leg reminded him of what had happened just before he was knocked out. Wary blue eyes peered down the length of his body, seeing the bandages wound tightly where the driftwood shrapnel had been. He breathed a sigh of relief and flopped back to the ground. Kitsune and the other woman had gotten it out.
He didn't see either of them, but he heard the voice of the older woman nearby speaking to Kitsune, so he knew he wasn't alone. Kumi's mind began to run as it rebooted back to function again. He still had no idea where he was in relation to anything he knew, and now he was handicapped and injured. How was he going to survive out here on his own? He would need food, water, shelter, and a plan on what to do next. Quite literally, Iho was starting at absolute zero. Nothing from his raft had survived. Not his supplies, not his map, not even the vessel itself. For now, all the boy could do was lie on the soft grass and rest, waiting for either Kitsune to come back, or to find the strength to get up, or for some other predator to come along and decide he would make an easy meal.