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year 5, quarter 3
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Sorry it's not much to work with, but someone come save him! He's in the woods outside of the city.
... He’s your friend, and your brother. I swore I would always protect him. Noct? Noct!! I’ll always be here for you.
A young boy shook his outstretched hand, a happy smile on his face spreading from cheek to cheek. He felt his own heart warm with happiness and pride -- I’ll always protect you.
But the vision, it was fading. Splotches appeared, burning away the image that was planted in his mind. The colorful scenery around the child faded away into nothingness, and then the purple flames overtook the image of the young boy himself. Why? What was happening? He could feel his heart racing with pain and worry, his hands stretching out and desperately reaching for him, Noct! Don’t--!
Curled in the overgrown grass of the woods, Ignis awoke with a harsh gasp for air, his arms reaching forward and grabbing fistfulls of the tender, soft blades. He drew in breath after ragged breath, surrounded by darkness, his body stiff and pained. His mind spun quickly -- What was happening? Where was he? Adrenaline pumped through his veins like fire as he moved his arms, trying his best to see them in the dark, cursing as he failed to see anything. His fingers jammed into the sturdy, rough bark of a nearby tree; pain blossoming across his freshly scraped hand.
His mind was threatening to spin out into a full blown panic, and he had just enough of a mind to realize that was what was happening. His short breaths were making him light-headed, or was that the disorientation? It threatened to take him down into a spiral of nausea and near unconsciousness, until he shakily gave himself a command, “Stop it. Calm yourself. Panicking will get you nowhere, Scientia.”
Ignis took long, slow breaths to even himself out for a moment. He put his hands underneath his body, and pushed himself to all fours, before leaning back to sit in the grass. His body felt like it was rebooting, in a way. Things came to him slowly. His name was Ignis. Ignis lived in Insomnia. Ignis grew up with … Noct? The details were much too fuzzy to start at the beginning, and he quickly became distracted by the aches and pains in his body.
The patch of skin on his hand that had grazed some nearby tree was hot and inflamed; irritated by the minor scuff. His body felt sore, as if he’d been working himself to the bone day after day. Even as he moved his arms to feel around in the dark once again, he realized how exhausted and heavy his limbs felt. Ignis muttered to himself, squeezing his eyes shut in frustration and --
The man uttered a truly surprised gasp of horrid pain. Heat flared across his face, and the minor oddities began to make themselves known. There was something over his eyes, and his skin felt hot and wet. Ignis brought one hand to his face, hissing again in shock as his fingers brushed over a bandage just under his left eye. Despite the pain, he carefully traced the outline of the well wrapped bandages -- they stretched across both of his eyes, nearly up to his hairline, partially covering the tops of his cheek bones. That was why it seemed so dark. He attempted to open his eyes underneath the cloth, but found that he couldn’t. They were likely swollen shut, or perhaps crusted with blood.
One attempt to remove the bandage was all Ignis needed to know that it was a truly awful idea. His skin was either bleeding, or perhaps it was some sort of medicated rub, either way the bandaging was stuck to his wounded skin. As he sat in the quiet grass, the retainer attempted to take in what was going on. Right, no sense in making a fuss about it. He would make a mental list of his observations.
I am exhausted. It is painful to move. Something happened to my face, and I currently cannot see. I am outside, in tall grass. I don’t hear the sounds of civilization nearby. That means I’m likely out in the wilderness somewhere.
But why? And how? No matter how much he strained, Ignis couldn’t think of the last thing he remembered. The only name that came to mind, again and again, was Noct.
“Noct?” Ignis tempted the air with uncertainty, as he tepidly felt around the area for the tree he’d disagreed with earlier. No answer came in the wind, however, as his hands found the base of the rugged bark. Using the thin, but sturdy tree for support, Ignis managed to pull himself to his feet, despite the protest in his knees. His head swayed with pain, and Ignis placed a hand on the side of his head, feeling the locks of his hair plastered to his bandages with sweat. He wrapped the other arm around the tree for support, trying his best to ignore the wave of nausea that rocked in the pit of his stomach.
Sounds were beginning to make themselves known as he held himself up. Birds were tweeting, singing the occasional song. The wind was blowing, rustling leaves that sounded full, and not dry. In the distance, he could hear the snorting of an unknown creature.
Ignis swallowed the hard lump in his throat. His head was swimming, even though he’d grounded himself mentally as much as he could. It just wasn’t enough, he realized, as fear began to creep itself slowly up his spine. He had no idea where he was, or how he got there. He had no idea what he was doing last.
And he had little time to consider any of it, as it seemed he was lost outside of civilization. When darkness came, if it wasn’t already upon him, the dangers of the night would present themselves. Monsters. Daemons.
“Is anyone out there?” Ignis called out to the open air, holding himself steady against the tree. His voice felt weak, as if he’d been yelling for days on end, but he needed to try harder, “Anyone!?”
At this point, he couldn’t do much, but hope to the gods that someone had heard him. The longer he stood, the more sick and exhausted he felt. Hopefully, it was just weariness and worry. But he feared it was something more.
But its too late, to go back. I can see the darkness, through the cracks. Daylight fading, I curse the breaking. The day is gone.
Caius had just finished a job alongside the surprise appearance of Cissnei, and the duo were on their way back to town when the warm sun hit Caius’ face. It was a ginger, cool day but the sun had decided to bring about a sudden change in temperature by shining just a little brighter on this eve. Though it was getting dimmer, a bit cooler, and no doubt it would begin to get dark soon by what Caius knew.
But really, he was just looking forward to getting back to the city after that whole business with the tonberries. Little blighted buggers, looking all sweet and cute and innocent and then turning around and shanking you! It was inexcusable! They didn’t have the right to be this cute and cuddly looking but actually be all evil and stabby and stuff! The pre-existing trust issues of Caius continued to be aggravated as he was forced to accept that cute and cuddly wasn’t always safe. A damn shame, that.
But at the least, Caius at least seemed to be getting along fairly decently with Cissnei. To what extent, he wasn’t all that sure yet. But the fact they were walking back as a group at least indicated they were amenable. Whether that amenable was done well, or just barely holding on, he was sure he’d figure out in time.
Caius had leaned over to mention something of note to Cissnei when they would hear someone cry out. Caius’ eyes would widen, all senses on high alert as he perked up and looked around. Before long, he glimpsed someone laying on the ground. “Oi!” Caius called out to the prone figure as he would take off, sure that Cissnei wouldn’t be too far behind. Catching up to the figure and doing his best to help him to a kneeling position, Caius would attempt to support him with his shoulder in order to bring him to standing before long.
“Is everything alright? What happened?”
It was there that Caius realized something, as he scanned his face...
He knew this man from somewhere.
But from where?
That thought was dashed aside immediately when he saw the man’s eyes, his pupils shrinking in absolute horror. What act of torture had caused a man’s eyes to be like this? It couldn’t have just been a stray fireball, it would have singed his face as well... It was as if a burn had been specifically targeted at the areas around eyes for long periods of time. This looked like flat out torture and attempted mutilation.
He would be surprised if the man’s eyes ever worked again with this amount of damage, he realized as he looked him over for any other injuries.
He supposed “Is everything alright?” was a redundant question now. It quite clearly was not. The wound looked fresh too... But who or what in the world would do this kind of thing to a man?
Cissnei knew she did not want to stay in the forest at night again. She was glad they were making good progress to the city. She thought back to Caius’s tavern story and how his world was perpetual night with real boogeymen that went bump in the night. Certainly, the forest at night here was nothing compared to the nightmare he had lived. He was a brave man tempered by his experiences. It was certainly intriguing to Cissnei.
But the quiet woods trek was interrupted by a plea for assistance. Caius was on alert and already looking to assist. Cissnei studied him as he did so. He was kind. Did that make Cissnei heartless for not being as eager to help? It was mostly because the last couple times in the forest she had hallucinated things that were not here. People she was sure she knew. But they were just fragments of her memories given life, not tangible living, breathing people. When she tried to follow the hallucinations, it only led her into danger. She stood there hesitant, trying to decipher if this call for help was truly real. It was not a voice she recognized, which was a sign.
Before she could make up her mind, Caius had already bound up to the man and assisted him in standing. She slowly, and quietly made her way to the two men, trying not to startle the injured man. Did he wake up here like she did? “Hello, my name is Cissnei. The man assisting you right now is Caius.” She stated, giving a nod to Caius for a moment. She noticed the shock in his face, but she assumed it was Ignis’s eye injuries that provoked the emotion.
It was obvious Ignis could not see. “If it is okay, we will help you. I am not a doctor, but I do have field medic experience.” Cissnei moved closer to Ignis’s other side, and gently touched a guiding hand to his elbow. “I can at least patch you and ease your pain enough until we can get you inside the city to see a real doctor. With your permission.” Cissnei’s voice was gentle and professional. Cissnei also gentle began questions to see his level of disorientation, "Do you know your name? Your birthday? Do you know where you are?" A slight pause between each to wait for an answer.
Ignis tried to keep his balance around the small tree that was holding up his weight, but found the world to be spinning too much despite his inability to see it. His pleas for help grew weaker as he slipped back to his knees, the mixture of pain and adrenaline all too much to process at once. His hands found grass and leaves as he leaned forward, sweat beading down his forehead as his arms trembled. Was he losing blood? Or was it simply the immense pain across his face that was causing him such trouble?
"Oi!"
A voice cried out in the darkness; sharp, vibrant, unknown. Ignis did his best to raise his head, rasping out a final, exhausted plea as the sounds of footsteps came crunching closer through the grass and dirt. A pair of hands wrapped around his arms, raising him off of the sodden ground, first kneeling, and then standing with support. The blonde lulled his head with a hiss, able to better attempt to ground himself with another person’s weight supporting him. However, it seemed whatever bandages had been clinging to his face had fallen loose, as Ignis began to feel the familiar sting of raw, aching skin exposed to the air. Hissing, he managed to murmur a quick, “Thank you,” as the sounds of another set of footsteps grew closer through the brush.
Through the confusion, through the pain, he could still say a silent prayer; that, at least, he wouldn’t be swallowed by a daemon in the dead of night.
“Is everything alright? What happened?”
Ignis opened his mouth, but quickly closed it. Clearly, everything was not alright -- unless it was simply in his head. Was such a thing possible? His trembling fingers reached up, just barely brushing the exposed, oozing wound on his face before he gnashed his teeth together in an instant snarl of pain. No, no, clearly his injury was very real. Unless this was some sort of nightmare, in which case, he simply couldn’t wait to wake up.
As for what happened … What had happened?
“I’m … not sure,” the young man quietly admitted, trying to breathe deeply in order to keep himself focused. Standing, surrounded by strange sounds and voices, the way his head hurt, it was too much to take in all at once. Just breathe, just breathe.
“Hello, my name is Cissnei. The man assisting you right now is Caius.”
A feminine voice joined the conversation, directed only toward him. Ignis wasn’t quite sure where she was -- on his left? Either way, it was simply exhausting to try and look toward the voice. He couldn’t see the owner of it anyway, though he hated to be rude even in his bedraggled state, merely giving a small nod to acknowledge that he’d heard the woman, Cissnei.
“If it is okay, we will help you. I am not a doctor, but I do have field medic experience,” she moved, he noticed, trying not to be startled when he felt her hand come to his elbow in a gentle touch, “I can at least patch you and ease your pain enough until we can get you inside the city to see a real doctor. With your permission.”
“I will gladly,” Ignis took a deep breath, releasing it in a steady hiss as he held his head up to what he assumed was a level position -- a sudden need to not seem as weak and helpless as he truly felt, “Accept that help, if you wouldn’t mind.”
What kind of blind knucklehead would say no? In his weariness, the blonde could almost seem to draw a name, someone that would indeed be so stubborn, but it was lost as soon as it came to him. However, his focus was drawn away from the pain and stings for a moment as he dissected Cissnei’s sentence. Inside the city, to see a real doctor. What city would that be? Where was he? Perhaps these two would know. Ignis grasped onto Caius’ arm a little tighter as a bout of disorientation washed over him, holding on in order to keep his balance best he could.
"Do you know your name? Your birthday? Do you know where you are?"
This woman, her tone conveyed the voice of someone who was a professional to her work. Was she in the medical field? Or, perhaps someone who went searching for lost hunters? Ignis blearily wondered as to the answers to his own questions, as he began to form the words to answer the testing questions Cissnei asked of him.
“My name is Ignis,” he answered slowly, trying his best not to move his eyebrows in any form of expression as he spoke, “My birthday, I … believe is in February. I have no idea at all where I am, nor how I got here.”
His voice turned raspy by the end of his sentence, as Ignis swallowed in an attempt to grasp his voice. It felt as though he’d been screaming, for a long time.
“Please, tell me where we are.”
But its too late, to go back. I can see the darkness, through the cracks. Daylight fading, I curse the breaking. The day is gone.
Cissnei had taken charge of the situation. Caius supposed he shouldn't be surprised, she had done the same thing back in their Tonberry adventure. She had taken charge in ways that Caius couldn't have thought of, or perhaps even imagined and the orange-haired woman had proven to be an incredibly valuable asset on that job as a result -- and Caius couldn't have succeeded to the level they had done without her. So Caius had every reason to trust Cissnei's judgement right now, and to let her move forward and offer to patch the man up -- he had every confidence she would be just fine to do so, after all.
The man, though disoriented, seemed to be able to at least accept Cissnei's help and Caius kept him steady as Cissnei examined him and continued to question him. Perhaps a few too many questions all at once, and Caius did question whether she was crowding him with so many at once instead of being patient and asking slowly as they went, but he decided to wait until he could see the results pan out before he said anything. It was very possible that this man had some kind of severe head injury anyway, considering his condition and how it seemed to be focused quite a bit on his face -- especially his eyes.
The man was able to answer them, sort of. He knew his name, though his birthday was a bit cloudy to him, but at least he seemed to somewhat know. To be fair though, Caius could barely remember his own either. It hadn't been important nor relevant since he was a child. Predictably, he didn't know where they were and Caius guessed he was an off-worlder just as they were, likely freshly arrived.
"You're in the lands of Serentesra" Caius decided to answer, though he squinted a bit as he studied his face. He knew him from somewhere, though it wasn't the exact same face he remembered... Yet at the same time he felt he knew it. A face he knew he had worked with, at least in passing. But he didn't know where.
But that name. Ignis. He supposed it was a long shot, but...
"Any chance your name would be Ignis Scienta?" Caius inquired, then. The man seemed disoriented, but he couldn't help his curiosity despite the situation. But it wasn't like Ignis hadn't already been peppered with questions by now, on account of Cissnei.
Cissnei heard out his acceptance and began to assist him immediately. She took note of his answers. He was understandably disoriented, but his response was satisfiable. Especially since she gave him a few questions in rapid succession. However, she felt the small jolt she caused him and realized the extent of his blindness. Some just saw through a fog. It was possible he was completely blind. She lowered the pack she was carrying and removed a first aid kit, as well as some other supplies to assist her. Once she had set them neatly next to her she began to work. “I’m sorry, Ignis. Where your injury is located, this is going to hurt a bit.” She gave Ignis a fair warning as she removed her gloves and began washing her hands with one of her fresh bottles of water followed by some hand sanitizer.
A small bottle of pills was extracted from the kit and she found her canteen. She gently took Ignis’s hands and placed the water canteen in one and a few tablets in the other. As she did so, she quickly checked his nails to make sure blood was circulating correctly. “Take this. It will help ease the discomfort.”
Caius was answering Ignis’s question before she could. Instead, she decided to focus on the task at hand. The fact he was breathing and talking let her know that he did not have any inhalation burns. But he was obviously in pain. Second-degree burns were a little more difficult to treat, and more painful in healing. “I am going to remove the bandages and clean the injury now.” She waited a moment for him to steal himself. Knowing the wounded area would be tender, she tried to gently remove the soiled and falling bandages from his face. The used bandages littered the ground as she then reached for the bottled water again. She tested it on her wrist to make sure it was the proper lukewarm temperature. She opened a small pouch with a sterile cloth. Wetting the cloth, she began to clean the injury again.
“Don’t worry if you do not recognize the location.” Cissnei offered up as Caius seemed to leave that answer hanging. She also thought the banter would also help Ignis try not to think about the pain. She gave soft gentle blots to try to clean up the injury. When the cloth turned red and greasy, it was discarded on top of the soiled bandages. She found another and continued. “A lot of the inhabitants here are in similar situations. I woke up in the forest too, dazed and confused. Maybe not as injured though.” She tried to make a dry jest. “Many of us are being pulled out of our worlds into Serentesra.”
She finished cleaning up his face, she moved dropped the cloth again, and this time found some antibiotic ointment, silver sulfadiazine. “This is some ointment to protect the injury.” She did not want to surprise him. She placed some on her finger tips and began to smooth it over the burn to protect it from infection. In the back of her mind, she wondered what caused this injury. However, that was a question for a time when he was settled and healing.
There were the sounds of shuffling, loud over the other ambient noises of the woods, that Ignis became vaguely aware of. Someone was shuffling through a bag -- Cissnei, as Caius was still dutifully holding him steady. If he hadn’t been so weary, perhaps he would have noticed the strange difference in volume that he wasn’t accustomed to. It was as disorienting as simply standing and breathing had been so far, the sound so loud in his ears, yet clearly taking place at least a few feet away on the ground.
He took one breath in, and one out. Simply focus on standing, for now. We will figure the rest out, later.
“I’m sorry, Ignis. Where your injury is located, this is going to hurt a bit.”
Hidden in the tone of her professionalism was the tiniest hint of pity, something likely to go unnoticed by anyone who wasn’t trained to pick up on such insignificant inflections. Though he could not see what was occuring, the smell of disinfectant was all too easy to pick up. It mingled unnaturally with the smell of grass and trees, offensive but reassuring. Cissnei was, indeed, a professional.
Of what, he wasn’t sure.
The woman shifted in the grass and hands gently touched his own, pressing different items into them. In one hand he felt the familiar shape of pills, small and chalk-like in texture. In the other was something solid, covered in fabric, that slushed when he barely moved. Ah, a canteen. There was a pressure against his nails as she squeezed, vaguely realizing she was checking his circulation, “Take this. It will help ease the discomfort.”
Ignis did as he was instructed, biting back a hiss of discomfort as he tilted his head upward to drink the water. He felt foolish, searching for the top of the canteen with his lips, unable to know exactly where it was. Even in his injured, exhausted state, he couldn’t help but feel as if he should be … perfect, somehow. Still able to perfectly execute everything he was to do, even disabled. It was a strange feeling, to have in the fog of his pained mind. What exactly was he to do in this situation? Why did leaning on others feel like such a burden? Hadn’t he gotten over such a thing?
The pills were down the hatch as the canteen was removed from his gloved hand, set aside for the time being. The man who was holding him steady cleared his voice and spoke, "You're in the lands of Serentesra."
The injured blonde furrowed his brows in confusion, immediately paying for such an action as pain seared across his eyes. Serentesra? He’d never heard of such a place, and hadn’t he studied map after map growing up? Learning the history, borders, former names of now defunct empires … This one wasn’t familiar.
However, he hardly had the time to ponder the situation further as Cissnei announced, “I am going to remove the bandages and clean the injury now.”
Ignis swallowed and steeled his tired nerves, to the best of his ability. As he felt the pressure of Cissnei’s fingers gently touch the side of his face, he naturally flinched, gritting his teeth. The bandages were pulled away slowly, agonizingly sticking to the wound on his face. The blonde breathed heavily through his nose, intent on not making himself appear weaker than he already did. His hands were balled into pained fists, teeth sinking into his bottom lip as he urged himself to not make a sound. It seemed to happen so slowly, and yet, they were finally gone. The muggy air touched at his sensitive, exposed under-layer of skin, wet and oozing.
There was a wet pressure against his face as Cissnei began to clean the wound, lighting his nerves ablaze. Ignis unsteadily reached forward, grasping her shoulder tightly, to have some silent way of communicating when the pain was too much. Thankfully, he was left alone with his own thoughts and immense pain for only a few, unbearable moments before the young woman continued the conversation, “Don’t worry if you do not recognize the location.”
That was easier said than done, Ignis realized as the thoughts slowly trickled across his mind. Wasn’t he supposed to know everything about Insomnia? The history of the land, the borders, the alliances, the now defunct kingdoms. As to why he was supposed to be this well informed, he couldn’t quite recall -- but he certainly knew he was supposed to know it all.
“A lot of the inhabitants here are in similar situations. I woke up in the forest too, dazed and confused. Maybe not as injured though. Many of us are being pulled out of our worlds into Serentesra.”
“I seem to be the rare, extremely injured exception, it seems,” Ignis played into her dry jesting as best he could with his own sarcastic retort. There was a part of her statement, however, that bothered him. Other … worlds? Worlds? As in, planets? That seemed to be a fairly strange statement to make. There was no such thing as other inhabitable worlds that he knew of.
And yet, he had no idea where or what Serentesra was. He would have been further deluded into believing this were a dream, were it not for the amount of crippling pain he was in.
“This is some ointment to protect the injury.”
Cissnei moved her fingers gently over his gory wounds once more, and Ignis was unable to resist the pained and tired hiss that made its way through his teeth. He was truly grateful for her help, and he would be sure to tell her so when his mind wasn’t mired by an intense headache and searing skin. Again, he felt somewhat nauseated and disoriented as he tilted his head just slightly, wincing his closed eyes. Even with the young woman having cleaned his face, he still didn’t dare attempt to open his eyes, for the moment. It felt much too painful, and he was having trouble even feeling one of them. The injury was still too fresh.
“Thank you, Miss Cissnei,” Ignis managed quietly, “I greatly appreciate the help. More than the both of you could ever know.”
The other man had remained somewhat quiet during most of the wound cleaning process, yet he finally spoke once more, thoughtful and curious, "Any chance your name would be Ignis Scienta?"
At that, the injured man perked up. Still shaky on his feet, he slightly turned his head toward the sound of Caius’ voice, feeling his heart begin to unexpectedly speed. Surely he would have shown more curiosity and concern on his face, if it weren’t for the injury. Instead, he opened his mouth once, and closed it as he briefly considered his answer. For whatever reason, his gut told him that it was both important and dangerous for anyone to know his name. Why, though? What costs outweighed the benefits, here?
Ignis cleared his throat, finally managing out, “Y-yes … That is my name. How is it that you know that?”
His hands tensed, breath stuck in his chest. He was utterly defenseless, blinded, and without a weapon. If this man was an enemy, there was …
There was nothing he could do. Other than potentially, rudely, vomit on Caius’ shoes.
But its too late, to go back. I can see the darkness, through the cracks. Daylight fading, I curse the breaking. The day is gone.
"You're in good hands. She's one of the most capable people I've ever met."
It was all that Caius could do. Cissnei had this handled, but the notion that with his injuries, which looked especially nasty, were going to be grievous in pain thresholds with what needed to be done... All he could think to do was comfort him best he could. Not that he was lying, of course. He thought highly of Cissnei. Very highly.
Though he was a little surprised when his guess on Ignis' identity was correct. Ignis shifted up a bit and Caius shook his head. "Don't strain yourself too much. I'm a friend" He promised, trying to get Ignis to settle down so Cissnei could continue to work on the injury. "My proper name is Caius Dragelion, I was a Kingsglaive for His Highness before I was brought here. I don't know you well, so it's fine if you don't remember me. I mainly know you by reputation."
He went a bit longer on the explanation than intended, but it would keep Ignis occupied while Cissnei worked, and it would likely calm Ignis down immediately if Caius explained how he knew the name and that he was of the Kingsglaive. He needed to be calm right now, or they wouldn't get anywhere in all of this.
Cissnei finished and gave him some ointment to do what could be done. Caius wasn't sure where to go from here. It was nice, he supposed, to meet someone else from his own world. But he was horrified to see the wounds that he had suffered. What had caused them? He didn't have them when he was recruited...
And yet...
"It might be the injuries, but..." He spoke up, deciding to speak his mind in some measure to at least alleviate the tension. "You actually seem a fair bit younger than when I saw you in person all those years ago. Guess you've aged pretty well in the time since I've been in this world."
Cissnei smiled at his small, dry jesting. If he could manage humor, then he would more than likely be fine. He would only need to adjust to his new conditions in time. But humor made that process just a little easier. “No need to thank me.” Cissnei said gently as she was finishing up with the ointment. “Let’s just say, you remind me of someone I used to know. A partner I used to work with. He was a brother, of sorts.” Cissnei did not typically open up, but Ignis’s humor, build, hair style, and even facial scar…it all reminded her of her old partner, Balto. Balto would incessantly tease her when she got too serious.
She tried to shake her thoughts. But alas, Ignis was not Balto. However, Caius seemed to know him. He shocked the poor man and she gave Caius the glare of a nurse for disturbing her patient. She cleaned her hands with a cloth and some water. Then, she moved to rub Ignis’s back or upper arm to help him recover from his shock. Part of her understood the power of a name. Only a select few new Cissnei’s true name, and if anyone she didn’t trust knew it, then she’d be in a nasty shock too. “Easy. I am sure there is a rationale behind it.” She tried to speak calmly.
“I’m almost done. Just some more bandages.” She waited for Ignis to recover just a bit. Cissnei stood up on her toes to try to neatly wrap the bandages over Ignis’s eyes and head. She checked they were not too tight. She didn’t need him getting more of headache or light headed. “Is that too tight?” She asked him as she put the final pin into the bandages. She found a plastic bag in her pack to put the used supplies in and clean up after herself. “If its okay, we should probably start heading in the direction of town. It’s a bit of a trek. Do you want to sit and rest instead?” Despite Caius’s monologue, she was more than willing to keep things moving.
