I Don't Need Your Pity, But I Do Need Your Help

Kotori could have called for one of the pack healers to come and help but instead, here he was soaking up and wiping away the blood so that the area above her eye was once again a soft clean white instead of sticky red.  Kotori wasn’t normally the gentle sort but there was something about cleaning up a lady's wounds that seemed to bring out the softer side of him.

He hadn’t missed the fact she had been sitting or that she had pulled the sword to her before lying down when he came up.  A good warrior should protect their weapon, especially if weakened and so that’s what Kotori imagined for her reason to prioritize keeping it close.  A sword was never a weapon Kotori would choose, he preferred to get his teeth into an opponent but, he could respect her for not forgetting it even in her current situation.

“How do you feel?” It wasn’t a meaningless polite question but trying to assess if she would need a real healer.  “Anything feels broken or any type of damage that needs more than to just control the bleeding?  My pack is near here if there is something seriously wrong.  I could allow you entry for emergency treatment.”

There were other questions Kotori had in his mind, ones that nagged at him more but if she died from unknown injuries then any other curiosities really wouldn’t matter.  Still, with the priority asked first he could follow up with other curiosities, “What’s your name, and why were you out at sea?”  He had plenty more questions than that but one thing at a time.  If she was too weak to answer or simply had no desire to talk then asking her questions was pointless.

The earth-toned male really didn’t care much about the lives of most strangers he met but she was different.  He didn’t tend to run into wolves half drowned by the ocean or end up helping any of them with wounds.  Was it the situation then or her looks?  Cleaning a face is one way to get a good look into her bright blue eye or notice the fine lines around the contours of her face.  When the gash over her head was cleaned of the stickier blood Kotori moved to wipe off the granules of sand and salt on her face as well.  A less necessary task but he imagined she’d feel better with all the salt and gritty sand out of her coat, at least off her face.  

"Kotori Fatalis"