Daughters of Necros: The Awakening

Chapter 13: I may not be an angel, but at least I have both of my arms

My first real dance, and this decently good-looking (and let's face it, he was probably going to be my only dance partner for the night, anyway) man is in a life-and-death struggle to stay alive due to some catastrophic wounds received from a runty griffin chick.

..No wonder Lady Luck has abandoned me long ago. She's probably given up all hope of finding love for me.

I hate my life.

I'm back inside, listening to Lupe whine childishly as a gray-haired man attempts to raise his head from the floor. "No, I don't want to..!" My (former) dance partner complains feverishly, swatting the man away. "Go 'way! Leave me alone!"

I snort. At least I know that I have some rudimentary healing spells at my disposal that actually work.

I contemplatively tickle the sleepily peeping baby griffin underneath its chin as I watch the two men struggle with each other. The Stormbird reflexively squeezes its talons open and closed with pleasure, kneading me like a tiny cat, and bunches up the fabric from where it has now decided to survey everything: My shoulder.

Way to maintain a low profile, Griff.

No, that's a terrible name. How about..?

"..Why don't I call you Anzu?" I ask it. The griffin chick clings to my shoulder as it half-lifts off, flapping its tiny wings with delight, cheeping madly. I smile at it indulgently. "Alright, Anzu it is, then." Anzu nuzzles the side of my face blissfully, now switching into a rather throaty purr, like liquid velvet. I laugh. "I'm glad that you like it."

"If you're not too busy, Miss, then I could certainly use your help with this buffoon!" The Healer grunts, trying to pin Lupe down so that he can administer some more powerful healing spells. Lupe cries out in pain, his eyes rolling, but he's so out of it that he can't really fight back.

He's trying, though.

"The bloody nuisance won't sit still!" The Healer grimaces sympathetically as Lupe moans in agony, still weakly continuing to fight against him. "He's reopening all of the wounds that your magic had started to close up, the fool! Why are so many of today's young men like this?!!"

I sigh. "Let me take care of the idiot." I walk over to him. "What do I need to do?"

The Healer conjures a pillow and hands it to me. "Put this underneath his head, first of all. He needs to keep his lungs clear of any blood collected therein. If we don't do that, then it will pool in his chest cavity and could quite easily kill him."

I nod. "I'll see what I can do." The fool does have a nice chest, after all. It'd be a shame to waste it.

What? I'm just making an observation, it doesn't mean that I like him. Ugh, I can do better than that circus clown.

Lupe suddenly stops struggling when I approach him, and he reaches towards me wonderingly as I lift his head slightly, sliding the pillow that the Healer gave me underneath him with comparative ease. "Y- you're a vision of absolute loveliness. Are you.. An angel?" He mutters, clearly disconcerted.

So of course, I tell him the truth: ..Yes.

I'm a very singed and slightly muddy angel.

A look of pure adoration crosses his face. I shiver with some small amount of delight as he caresses my cheek with the palm of one hand, and then he falls back onto his pillow with a tired sigh.

No, he wasn't being delusional, after all. It's quite true. I am an angel.

"Bravo, young Miss, that was some quick thinking! He obviously trusts you a great deal." The Healer checks Lupe's pulse, then gives a satisfied nod. He twirls his finger, and a small cup of water appears in the air next to me. He urges me to drink it, so I comply, sipping from the cut glass vessel daintily. Because I can do that, thank you very much. "You did well, young Miss. Your beau should be right as a Spring rain soon enough, he just needs to endure a few more healing spells first."