Lirris watched as, or rather listened, as Benaret rode away, almost regretting the fact that she had told him to go. It would have been better to have died with him there than with him gone, as she undoubtly would, laying here all alone.
Talmur cheeped nervously and moved closer to her, sending her feelings of love and sadness. Well, at least she wasn't all alone. She had Talmur, dear little Talmur, who was so young. Barely two turns old. If she died, he would go with her. She couldn't let Talmur die.
As she lay there, trying her best to stay alive and to hang onto conciousness, Lirris had the odd sensation that the darkness above her had somehow gotten darker. But how could darkness get darker? She glanced over at the glows by her head. They were still glowing strong.
The darkness that was darker above her began to get lower. There was a flurry of wingbeats and then the darker darkness was very close to her. She opened her mouth to scream but it came out as a strangled moan.
Don't be afraid of us, a soothing voice told her inside her mind. We are going to help you.
"Who said that?" she demanded aloud, trying to put as much force into her voice as possible. Whoever it was, they shouldn't know how badly she was injured.
A smaller peice of darkness detached from the large peice and glowlight suddenly flared, illuminating the outline of a man. "My blue Siyeth did, I believe," the man said. "What are you doing in the middle of a forest at this time of night?"
"K-Keep away from me!" Lirris stuttered. Talmur bugled a warning and raised his wings protectively. "I have nothing for you to steal!"
The man only chuckled and stepped closer, apparently not afraid of Talmur. "Why would I want to steal anything? I just want to help you. Are you hurt?"
Lirris wished dearly for her belt-knife but it was packed away. Benaret had been carrying his. "A little," she said through clenched teeth.
Do not try to be brave, the soothing voice said again. You are very strong, but you can relax now. P'mir and I are here to help.
"Are you P'mir?" she demanded, putting a hand on Talmur's wings. It wouldn't do any good for him to attack a dragonrider.
The man stopped, suprised by the question. "Why, yes. How did you know?"
"Siyeth told me," Lirris replied. "That is who is talking to me, isn't it? Siyeth, your blue?"
"Yes, that's Siyeth," P'mir replied. "Is he bothering you?"
"Oh, no, of course not," Lirris replied, feeling a bit light-headed. "You wouldn't happen to be a healer, would you?"
"No," P'mir said. He quickly closed the distance between himself and Lirris and knelt beside her. "Your leg!" he exclaimed when his glows illuminated the blood-soaked shirt.
Lirris managed a wry smile. "Yes, my leg. That's why I need a healer. My husband Benaret went to find one. You didn't happen to see a man on a chestnut runner while you were looking for me, did you?"
P'mir hesitated for a moment. "We saw a big chestnut who had collapsed a few miles north of here, but I didn't see a man with him..."
Lirris bit her lip. If the chestnut had collapsed, where was Benaret? Was he wandering around in the forest, looking for here? Or was he injured somewhere?. "I have to find him!" she exclaimed and started to climb to her feet, only to topple back down to the ground, sobbing. "I have to!"
"You're not going to be able to find him in the shape you're in," P'mir told her. "Just let us fly you to Falas and the healers there. If they stitch you up tonight, you can probably go looking for him tommorow."
"But he could be dead by then!" she protested, slapping away P'mir's hands as he tried to help her stand and walk to his blue.
"He could be, but you will be if you don't get to a healer soon," P'mir insisted. "Just come with me now, everything will be alright tommorow."
The lost blood was starting to affect Lirris now, and she could barely walk, and resisting the bluerider's help was next to impossible. She was barely concious as she climbed onto Siyeth's back and, with the blue's first movement, slipped into the blackness of unconciousness.
When Lirris regained conciousness...