Razz have no clear idea of where they are, exactly. The smell of earth, plants, and the chirping of birds seem to indicate a forest. Justin's arms are still wrapped around her, but he doesn't seem to be moving... at all. Reaching up, she felt for Justin's face. "Justin?" > > Justin is breathing. If you can call it breathing. So, he's alive. If you can call it living. He is not conscious, however. Just so much dead weight after all he's been through. Razz frowned when she didn't get a response. "Justin?" she asked again, and still nothing but silence. Shifting, she noticed a sticky, wet feeling as Justin's coat stuck to her bare skin before it's weight peeled itself off. Putting a hand over her wet front, she licked it, and confirmed her suspicion of the sticky substance being blood. Fresh blood. Running a hand over her body, she couldn't find a wound that seemed big enough to produce so much blood... unless... her attention was directed onto Justin's labored breathing. Frightened, she placed a hand over Justin's chest, and felt the blood seeping out of his gaping wound. Justin gasps, suddenly, as Razz lays a hand on the hole in his chest, and his eyes snap open. He rolls aside, curling almost into fetal position and uttering an untranscribable hiss of agony. Razz jerked her hand back when she heard the pained hiss, her heart pounding with fear at the knowledge that Justin is weak, in pain, and powerless. Crulath's words came back, haunting her... ::But he won't die. Not on my tree. Wonderful plant, the Tree of Pain... He is hanging around... to watch...:: Justin is now paying for the action he took to save Razz back at the tree... all that pain he ignored has been sitting there waiting for him to let up, and it's now dropped on him like a sixteen-ton weight. Razz acted quickly, realizing that Justin's well-being depends on her and her alone. Chanting, her hands worked frantically to free Justin of the buckles over his coat as she prepared the healing spell. Carefully, she opened his coat and placed her glowing hands over his chest, her eyes closing in concentration. Justin unclenches, fractionally, and returns to rationality. "...Razz. Where are... we're in the forest again, aren't we?" Razz took a deep breath before replying, in a forced whisper, her hands trembling slightly in effort. "I think so." > > Justin plants an arm and forces himself into a sitting position. He regrets the motion almost instantly, but there's nothing else for it. He waits for his vision to clear, and takes a look around. The same clearing they were snatched from, or one identical to it. Razz hissed again. "Don't move," she said, short, because she couldn't make herself say more. > > Justin hasn't heard /Razz/ command anyone to do anything before. He freezes. "...Right." Razz does not, at all, care what anyone, even Justin, think right now. Justin is seriously hurt, and it is, as far as she's concerned, entirely her fault. Therefore, if she couldn't undo what was done, she must at least fix it to the best of her ability... For how can she live with herself if something happened to Justin, because of her? Justin is rather studiously ignoring the fact that Razz hasn't a stitch on her, for the moment, but he can already feel the chill in the air starting. They'd better get in quick, or they're gonna freeze. Razz's head dropped, her hair forming a curtain around her face, but she kept her hands over Justin's wounds. In her mind, there was nothing but one plea, one simple prayer, repeated over and over... for the bleeding to stop, the wounds to close, for Justin to heal... Her hands shook as the light in them grew brighter, and Razz continued her silent prayer... Justin is getting better, he really is, but... it was the Tree of Pain that did this. Those wounds don't feel natural, and even with his stepped-up regeneration, they weren't repairing themselves. He's going to be living with these mistakes. Razz seems to realize this as well, for no matter how hard she tried, something just refused to be changed... refused to be healed... "I'm sorry," she choked, and her spell glowed in power, borrowing strength from her guilt. "I'm sorry!" she squeezed out in anguish, the shaking in her hands increased dramatically as she tripled her previous effort, knowing that she cannot undo the wrong that she had done, but feeling that maybe, just maybe, if she tried hard enough... the guilt weighing down her heart wouldn't be so painful... > > Justin takes Razz's hands with his own, gashed and bloodied. "Razz.... it's alright. Don't waste yourself on my behalf. Please. /Please/." Razz gasped once, choking, and fought back her tears. "I'm okay," she whispered harshly, not decreasing in her efforts. Justin keeps hold of her hands. "No, but... ...there may be more to be done than you can do." Sigh. And this talking isn't helping matters, and neither is the chill breeze that's building. Razz uttered a strangled cry. It's a cry of frustration, a cry of painful guilt, a cry of hatred, hating, hating her uselessness, hating her inability to help, and if it hadn't been for her, Justin wouldn't have been hurt like this... "I don't care," she whispered harshly, again. Justin hasn't the strength to argue the point any further. He barely has the strength to sit there in front of her and hold her hands. Night has fallen, and the temperature is still falling. The rain worsens, and its becoming a bad storm. Razz doesn't know how much time had passed before she could no longer uphold her hands, the muscles in her arms throbbed like crazy. Her arms feel dead, as if they are no longer a part of her body that is for her to control. Sucking the last of her mana dry, Razz finally accepted the fact that there is nothing else that she can do... and allowed herself to collapse, breathing harshly through clenched teeth. Justin is not going to say he told her so; that sort of evil he is not. "...come on. We have to get back." Now that it's no longer literally passing through him, the chill wind, icy rain isn't bothering him much. He shrugs off his overcoat-- stiff with dried blood, but better than nothing-- and drapes it over Razz's shoulders. Razz nodded, feeling more miserable than she had in - well, perhaps not a long time, what with all the things that's been happening lately. But this - is definitely one of the worst times. She stood up, a bit shaky, but is fine otherwise. > > Justin isn't looking forward to achieving verticality. There's that knife wound in his leg that is just now clamoring for his attention, and probably cracked bones throughout, but all that can wait. He thrusts himself upright, wrenchingly abrupt, sways a moment, and catches at Razz's shoulder to steady himself. "O..okay. Tower's just that way." Razz blinked, and her face twisted, at yet another reminder of her uselessness. Abandoning her fatigue, she holstered one of Justin's arm over her small shoulders and wrapped one arm around him, concentrating on keeping him steady. "Which way?" she asked, quietly. > > Justin paces out a short arc, until they're facing along the path. "This way. More or less a straight path." Razz nodded again, and started the task of supporting Justin and dragging the two of them on to the path he had directed. Blades Tower - Grand Hall You stand just within the entrance of the tower of the Blades of the Red Heart. The first level of the tower is taken up in a single Grand Hall, used by the Blades for everything from an assembly ground to a mess hall. Currently, about half the hall is layed out with long tables, and a few Blades trainees sit at them, or stand near them. The rest is empty, swept clean to the red sandstone flooring. In the center of the room is a narrow spiral staircase leading to the upper levels. Justin cares, right at the moment, /even less/ what the Blades think of him and his actions. If that's possible. Fortunately for all concerned, there are always a few who've seen him come in half-dead before, and one such student dashes off for the medics as he and Razz make their way into the hall. Razz felt lost, hearing the clamor around her, voices that she's supposedly familiar with. But that didn't really matter... perhaps they can help Justin... Then again... she wasn't sure that she feels comfortable, knowing she's the center of the attention, right now. Luckily, she's also far too tired to care. > > Justin is... pleased, oddly, to note that the medics already rushing down the stairs look at least as appalled at his condition as he is. He attempts to straighten a bit, to stop making Razz bear his weight, and tries, quite futilely, to direct their attentions to Razz first. Razz doesn't know why, but as soon as Justin's survival was no longer in question, a overwhelming fear came over her. She doesn't know why she's afraid, she just is. Wishing that she could hide behind Justin, she turned her head back and forth, trying to decipher exactly how many people there are, and where they are. The medics started coming towards her and Justin, and two of them attempted to take the load that is Justin off of her shoulders. Frozen with fear, the elf girl suddenly fought, refusing to release her grip on Justin. Surpised, one medic took her by the arm and tried to talk reason into her, but it all fell on deaf ears as Razz only threw his hand off hastily, her expression filled with fright as she clung tighter to Justin. At loss, the medics looked to Justin for help. Justin is no more certain how to get her to understand that they're here to help her than he was the first time. They're already, in their agitation, all set to haul the both of them off to the infirmary; He can think of nowhere he'd rather be taken, right now. Razz shows no sign of changing her mind as she continue to huddle against Justin, refusing anyone's assistance. Luckily, one of the teachers had reached the grand hall, and, upon understanding the situation, took immediate and decisive action. Signalling to the medics, she murmured quickly under her breath, sneaked up behind Razz, and hit her with a paralyzing spell before she could react. The two medics rushed forward to catch Justin while the teacher caught Razz herself. Justin is going to have /words/ with that instructor, yes indeed. There's nothing he can do now, though; the medics judged, correctly, that he wasn't even going to be able to stand by himself. He curses them, silently, to the depths of their beings as they held him half-upright and waited to follow the teacher bearing Razz. Razz fell like a ton of bricks into the instructor's arms, her head slumped and her body completely lax. Adjusting her hold on the unconscious elf girl, the instructor hurried them all into the infirmy, where they will receive proper treatment.