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[Sintih]

Zi'da, 21st, 716th Arc
morning
Training ground, Warden Malcolm's camp, Eastern Campaign
Continued from here

The two squires walked back to the training area they had been working out in before with Sin in tow. Atashi was leading the group, slithering his way into the make shift arena. Due to the size of the camp and the multiple groups of people training, there wasn't a lot of space in their circle. The four of them would have enough space to move around in but it didn't allow for surrounding of the enemy and even pincering them would be hard to do. With Atashi's words still clear in his mind, Sin was trying to come up with a possible tactic to use here.

If he's not going to be the sword then how are we going to get through this? Sin thought as he stepped up to one of the many racks of training weapons standing around the area. He took one of the shorter swords he could find there, carved out of wood with some leather strips around the handle and a center made of iron to provide extra weight. It was lighter than a real sword but only by a little. Holding the weapon in his right hand, Sin swung it a few times, crossing an X in front of his chest with it. It had been a few trials since he'd had his hands on a weapon.

Once he was satisfied with the blade and the balance of it, Sin walked over to the side of the ring where he came face to face with Emily. His eyes widened in surprise, having forgotten about her presence since before. "We'll let major Warren judge us. She's the most experienced person here and will keep us all honest." Sin said as he turned towards the other three men. As he spoke, he started undoing his cloak as well, as it would most likely get in the way in such a small area. The chilling wind cut right through him and he shivered. Hanging his cloak over the wooden posts that marked the border of the training area, Sin drew a deep breath.

He noticed Emily's hand was resting on the handle of her weapon, ready to draw it and interfere against whoever broke the rules first. Her face told him that she would have something to say about this after this was all done. Sin gave her a quick nod as he stepped back into the ring. Dressed in a light leather armor from shoulder to toe, Sin was definitely equipped to his liking. A suit of armor that protected him while allowing him a lot of mobility and a weapon that required very little in the way of strength or stamina to wield. His Iron Hand tabard was noticeably missing from his outfit.

As the two squires went through some quick warm ups on their end, talking softly with each other, Sin stepped up close to Atashi, fumbling with his own armor as if having problems with it. When he spoke, it was softly, just loud enough for Atashi to hear. "I'm a horrible sword to have, just so you know. But they'll be just as 'dead' when they step out of the circle so just use that big shield of yours to launch them out when you see a chance." Sin waited a moment, looking at the Ithecal to see if he understood what Sin meant. "I'll make sure you get plenty of chances." Sin smiled at Atashi as he turned to face his opponents.

In a closed area like this it was best to get your opponents to move before they could coordinate and the angrier they were the better your chances of them making mistakes. As Sin started to take a few steps to the left, away from Atashi, he smiled at the two squires. "Since neither of you are the Warden, I won't even need to resort to any tricks to win this. I suggest you warm up a little more so as to hold off your humiliating defeat a little longer." Sin flipped the blade in his hand to a reverse grip, sacrificing reach for a more solid defense and cutting counter strike potential.

[Atashi]

Still unsure of his judgement, Atashi didn't know what to think as he lead the men to an unoccupied sparring-ring. They'd been arrogant and sinister by picking fights with a civilian, even if that civilian had once been a member of the Iron Hand. There were two of them, he pondered whether they intended for it to come across as only wanting to fight Sintih initially. Would they have challenged him and Sintih had they known Atashi would get involved? If so, they might be masochistic. Challenging the towering Eidisi seemed like a stupid enough move, but to also take on the mountain of an Ithecal made it seem that they were either dense or had some serious levels of skill. He would be careful of the latter.

Finally stepping into the ring, he let Sintih prepare. As for himself, he was ready - He wore his good chainmail beneath his black leather armour, his tower shield on his back. As for his green cloak, he'd left it with Lash and his other belongings. Drawing his Large Tower Shield, he planted it into the ground and leaned on it, crossing his arms. To some, the shield would be more comparable to the size of someones front door than to a typical shield, being large by even a tower shields standards. It was almost ridiculous to see him carry it so freely - That and intimidating. The scratches being scars of his past battles, lined its surface with some deeper than others. Staring the two squires down with his slitted blue eyes, he hoped his visage scared them a little, he wouldn't have blamed them if it had.

Once Sintih had finally finished his preparations, Atashi pulled the edge of his shield from the earth, wearing it on his left arm. He'd announced that the female stood at the edge of the ring would be judge of the match and he sighed with relief. It was comforting to know that no blood would be shed in this fight... or that it was at least deterred. His heart sank as Sintih spoke to him, what did he mean he was a horrible sword to have? He'd landed a hit on Malcolm, the legendary swordsman! Oh wait, Atashi was partly to blame for that. That being said with their efforts combined, accident or not, they had taken on a much more dangerous foe than both of these squires combined. He kept his faith in Sintih, but was more than willing to 'launch' either of the squires should he get the chance.

"Have some more confidence in yourself, Sintih. You'll do just fine." He spoke, using no sword would be better than using his hammer, he stood by that. And as such, Sintih couldn't possibly disappoint the snake man, unless he somehow managed to murder one of the squires with a practise sword. Sintih taunted the men, earning a smirk from the mountain Ithecal, ready to begin, he raised his shield. It remained solid in his grip, as though it were being held by a stone. Looking to Sintih briefly, he gave him a nod - ready to proceed.

[Sintih]

Sin wondered where Atashi found the words to encourage him so. They knew next to nothing about each other and yet the snake man thought Sin could be better than what he was now. Some people could just do that, see the good in others no matter what. Sin couldn't afford to. Only as long as he considered nothing but the worst case scenario the best case scenario could he properly devise counter strategies for every possible event. Many an army had lost because of overconfidence. Even in Rynmere's own history, an example of this was present.

The two squires before them got ready as well and Sin could tell that his words had done at least a little bit of work. The wearing the Krome colors approached him with gritted teeth. His longsword was in both his hands and he held it in front of him. Despite his anger, he still stuck to the basic form. Sin angled himself a little so that his sword arm was closer to his enemy. The Warrick squire, wielding the same weapon, approached the solid wall of Atashi's defense, trying to spot a way past the door sized shield in front of him.

While the Warrick squire tried to find a weakspot in Atashi's form by circling to his left first, away from Sin and the other squire, Sin faced off against the Krome squire. "Well? Are you going to do something? Or are you slow as well as stupid? Not that it ma-.." The longsword swung right before him, cutting the space he had been in just a moment before. The attack had been wide and wild, allowing Sin to see it from a mile away. Yet, while his mind could see it and react to it, his body didn't follow at the same speed as his commands and he only barely managed the dodge. He could hear the whistling of air as the wood cut through it.

Before Sin could get an attack of from his side, the squire followed up with a direct stab to his opponent. With his sword in a reverse grip, Sin stepped left and redirected it to his right, stabbing the air next to his body, again barely managing the dodge. Despite barely touching the blade, his entire arm shivered from the clash. With a loud grunt, the squire pulled his sword up above his head, the air next to Sin's ear whooshing as the blade was pulled past him. As the blade raised above the squire's head, Sin couldn't help the smile. Two castles down.

In the mean time, the Warrick squire tried a quick misdirect by stepping further to Atashi's left and then suddenly stepping back and swinging from his right. While the idea was solid his own skill didn't allow for a flawless move, giving Atashi some time to react. After the strike, he started circling to Atashi's right, coming back up on their starting position. He tried another feint but stopped himself mid-attack seeing no way to get past the door yet. He glanced over to his friend's fight for a moment before returning to his circling. If he couldn't get him alone then he would just have to wait for his friend to win and then come help out.

Sin brought his right arm up as the squire slashed downward with his blade. Placing his left hand on the inside of his wrist, Sin supported his arm as the heavy longsword clashed with his own shortsword. The reverse grip made it so that the wooden blade was nothing more than another piece of armor along the outside of his right arm. The force of the blow brought Sin down to a knee and he had to put all his force into both hands to keep the squire from simply pushing through his defense. Focusing on the battle and the adrenaline from the strong clash helped to mask the pain in his right elbow and left knee.

"Where did all that bravado go, Eidisi scum! That'll teach you, assaulting women." The squire put his entire weight on his blade as he leaned towards Sin. Feeling his own defense crumbling by the trill, Sin pushed his entire defense forward, closer to the guard of the longsword where the weight would be less before removing his left hand support. What little muscles Sin had were straining all over his body. From his right hand and arm, across his shoulder and back down to his left right as he pushed against the squire's weight. His left hand quickly fell down to the ground of the training area. He only needed a handful.

While Sin and his opponent were clashing, the other squire kept trying to move to Atashi's right. When he noticed Sin being kept down by his friend, he lunged at Atashi's shield before quickly retreating and trying to get an attack in on Sin who had just dropped one hand from his guard and couldn't do anything against it. Three castles down.

[Atashi]

Having the Warrick squire square up to him was no surprise, he seemed to have the biggest ego of the two. Being circled like this, Atashi didn't have much more of a choice than to hold and pray that Sintih could handle the other on his own. Side stepping wasn't much of an option with a tail and slithering while holding the shield side-on would have left him open from his tail. His focus stayed on the warrick squire, he wouldn't give any ground, drop even a thread of his defence. He held strong, sparring or not he had something to prove to this punk of a squire. While he couldn't watch Sintih's fight, he listened with half an ear and pray he was doing well.

While holding strong, his shield met with the squire's sword. He'd nearly taken the bait, going as far as to follow the Warrick all the way to the left, but saw his feint at the last second as he shifted his weight, turning appropriately and clashing their equipment together. A nice try, but a sly one. He had half a mind to wallop the squire for trying something like that with a knight. Digressing, he held his defence. He held strong as the squire attempted another feint but stopped himself, knowing that Atashi anticipated it more than likely. It's for the best that he stopped himself, Atashi might not have been as merciful to let him continue standing after a second attempt. The squire looked away from him for a moment, why? He had eyes on Sintih, did he plan on jumping in? He could have struck the squire while he glanced, but felt it might have been cheap. He let the squire continue circling him.

The cry of aggression to his right confirmed his previous suspicions; this wasn't sparring. This was vengeance on Sintih for laying hands on a woman, typical two-leggers. What was so hard to understand about punishment for the footed-fellows? Surely, the slate is wiped clean after you've served penance for your actions? Sintih had paid for what he'd done a few trials ago, he saw no need to further punish him - why did so many others?

He hadn't paid much attention to Sintih's fight, but the Warrick squire had. As if on cue, he ran for Sintih, leaving his fight with Atashi. Having anticipated this while analysing his opponent earlier, Atashi turned and threw his body weight toward the squire, his tail followed through and connected with the squire's gut. His own strength and weight being far superior to the squire's, his momentum broke through him and sent him to the floor, winded. He finished his spin, exhausting his momentum before speaking "Keep your eyes on me next time, short-stuff." with a hint of arrogance in his tone. he looked to Sintih, seeing he was in trouble while the floored squire helped himself up, clenching his stomach.

As the other squire overpowered Sintih, he raised his shield and bolted forward with all of his weight as he had to Malcolm the night Sintih had made mistakes - if it worked on the warden while he was distracted with Kylar, it should just as well work on a squire while distracted with Sintih.

Note

Atashi is aiming to launch the squire that's pinning you, feel free to decide whether the attack connects or not, as for the other squire I don't think he's had enough yet but fighting is gonna be difficult for him while short of breath.

[Sintih]

Just as Sin's hand grasped up enough of the loose and cold dirt that made up the training ground, and every other part of the camp, Atashi came barreling down on top of the man. The door that he used as a shield, which Sin thought was quite a feat, connected with the heavy squire and Sin suddenly felt himself pushing forward and up as the man was thrown. If you just hold out long enough... Sin didn't finish the thought as he pushed himself up on his feet. His free hand was still wrapped around the dirt as he rolled his shoulder. Even adrenaline couldn't fully stop the feeling of pain spreading from his arm.

The Krome squire managed to stop himself on the edge of the field, he stared wild eyed towards the snake man who had just thrown him across the field as if he was a toy. He gripped his sword again, readying it to strike at Atashi when Sin stepped up to him. "He's just the shield. Don't look at him." Sin flipped his wooden short sword back into a normal grip as he stepped up to the squire with a slash at the side of his face. The smug look on the squire's face as his sword came up to block it was evident. "Is that all? Ha-" When he opened his mouth to laugh at Sintih, the Eidisi's hand shot forward and the dirt hit the squire in the eyes and the open mouth.

The sudden attack caused the squire to step back and out of the circle with a raging choking sound before trying to spit out the dirt. The whole scene would have been funny to Sin had he not been busy focusing on the other squire now. As the Krome squire behind him shouted something he couldn't make out, Sin started towards Atashi. In his anger, the Krome squire gripped his sword and stepped back into the circle, sword pulling above his head. He was about to swing it down on top of Sin's head when Emily stepped in, her live blade stabbing the air in front of the man and resting in front of his chest. "You're out, squire. Honor the rules and don't dishonor yourself."

Sin stepped up to Atashi and put a hand on the man's upper arm, his shoulder was too high. "Nice timing. I've got no tactic for this guy so let's just push him in a corner." The pulsing of energy from his asterism, and therefor the illusion of breathing, was more labored than it should have been after such a short exchange. Gripping his blade tighter, Sin tried to ignore the beginning of pain in his right arm. Having brought the fight down to two on one, the adrenaline had started leaving Sin's system already. In the time Sin and Atashi had pushed the other squire out of bounds, the Warrick squire had managed to get back on his feet, despite his obvious trouble breathing. His grip on his weapon, however, hadn't lessened and his eyes told Sin that the man had some anger issues of his own. As he saw his friend being kept out of the fight by the major, he focused his defense on the two in front of him.

Sin edged a little to the right, away from Atashi, trying to corner the man and pincer him at the same time. The squire brought his sword up in a basic defense, shifting back and forth to keep an eye on both his opponents. Sin flipped his sword back to a reverse grip, favoring slashing ability of the blade over the stabbing, despite his show of it against the warden. When he shifted back to face Atashi, Sin stepped forward and slashed but the squire turned back and blocked his strike with ease. He didn't even have the time to curse before the squire's armored knee hit him right below where the ribs should have been. The look on the man's face was one of smug victory.

Tiny specks of crystal cracked from his true form and dropped out of the illusion and into the dirt, most likely missed in the hectic nature of the fight and invisible to the naked eye once mixed with the dirt under their feet. Sin's mouth was open in what should have been a burst of air being pushed out of his lungs as he stumbled sideways, away from the squire, his hands clutching his side. His sword lay on the ground next to the Warrick squire as he turned to finish Sin off, leaving himself open to an attack from behind. Despite not requiring air or having blood or bones, the knee strike still hurt like a mothersarder. His final castle seemed to slip from his grasp. Despite knowing the limits of his own skills and not knowing Atashi's, Sin was still disappointed that he had only managed this much. Damn you, Father, for giving me this asterism.

[Atashi]

With his attack connecting as hoped, he stopped himself, satisfied with only getting the squire off of Sintih. The smaller man flew a little further than he'd anticipated and held off at the edge of the ring. Enraged, he singled out Atashi, aiming to slash him. He raised his shield, unphased by the fury in the smaller man's eyes. Sintih took this opportunity to strike the squire, only to have his attack blocked. Atashi raised an eyebrow, seeing Sintih's muddy fist. Was Sintih a dirty fighter? As the squire taunted, revealed, it was, that Sintih is indeed a dirty fighter. Throwing the hand full of dirt into the Squire's senses, he stumbled back, out of the ring. - half of the battle had been won.

Atashi looked to the lower rank disapprovingly as he tried to step back in, raising his shield to strike. Thankfully, the female from before had stopped him, saving him from another shield-bashing. Atashi looked to Sintih, quite pleased with himself "No no, thank you for giving me the opening! You're quite the strategic fighter." he spoke, unaware that Sintih might not have planned for his strike. The term 'strategic' was also used to cover up his distaste for the man's foul play - It almost felt dishonourable to call that a win, a fight should be won as fairly as possible. But that was just his view, and he was an Ithecal, fighting humans was rarely fair. To each their own. "Pushing him into the corner sounds like a tactic to me." he spoke, unsure. It felt unfair to fight the last squire in a two on one fight, but rules are rules.

To make matters worse for the squire, he still hadn't recovered from Atashi's gut-crunching blow. To face off this opponent was pitiful - It didn't feel right. As they closed in, Atashi spoke "Surrender is an option, we won't force you to fight." But the squire had other plans, the look in his eye and raised weapon told him that much. He was like a cornered animal, seeing no escape, he had to fight. Sintih stepped in for a slash while the squire turned to Atashi for a moment, a lesson gone unlearned from Atashi, foolish to not learn from your past mis- Oh. The Squire had indeed learned from his past mistakes and turned to block Sintih then strike his side with his knee. The blow connected and Sintih's leather armour held out well - or so it appeared, there was no give to his chest and so he assumed his bones stayed intact. An impressive feat against the squires armoured knee.

He cringed a little at the blow, the Eidisi's reaction certainly made it look as though it hurt. Grimacing, he held his position, raising his shield. He expected the squire to turn and continue his previously forgotten fight with Atashi, but no. He approaching the Injured Sintih, what? Why? He was clearly in no fit state to fight! What's wrong with this squire!? In a state of urgency, he slithered up behind the man and raised his shield, ready to strike. With the desire to protect his friend burning in his chest, he tapped the squire on the shoulder with his free hand. As he had anticipated, the squire turned and slashed wildly for Atashi - all too late. He pushed forward with his shield, first colliding with the squires training sword and crumpling his momentum as his own force travelled through and moulded with the squires form for a moment. The impact carried through, almost lifting the man's feet from the ground as he was launched from the edge of the ring and flat on his back on the outside of the ring, dropping his weapon mid-flight.

Having used all his strength in that blow, adrenaline danced in his blood. He dropped his shield immediately and slithered over to Sintih, supporting him as he looked to be struggling to stand, he lowered his form a couple of feet to look him in the white eyes and ask "Are you all right, Sintih? Do you need medical attention?" In a fluster, clearly very concerned for the man's well-being.

[Sintih]

As he stumbled sideways, the energy from the knee hitting him pushed back the energy provided by the asterism, its weak push not enough to keep the energy in place. The lack of energy from the asterism on his side was not unlike the lack of blood for a human. As his illusion gasped for air that didn't come, Sin's body demanded energy that didn't come. He could feel the asterism pulsing to keep up with the demand as he sank to his knees in the dirt. Underneath the armor and his illusion, light spread out over the cracked crystals as Sin placed both hands on his side.

In the time that it took Sin to drop to his knees and regain his 'breath', Atashi dealt with the second squire. Sin missed every glorious moment of it as his forehead was pressing down against the ground, bent over on his knees. With a single forcefull push that exhausted Sin more than the entire fight together, the asterism pulsed out with warmth and energy and finally reached the area. His illusion followed suit as Sin pulled in a breath of air, coughing and sucking in another raspy breath. When he put a hand on the ground and pushed himself to look up at the fight, he saw the Warrick squire lying outside the ring with Emily checking his breathing. His eyes went to Atashi as he leaned back, kneeling down on the dirt.

Despite his labored breathing and light coughing still, Sintih smiled at Atashi as the Ithecal checked on him. "Ah... I see you managed to prevent the loss." His white eyes revealed none of the haze that normal humans would have shown after such a hit but his voice was obviously a little out of it. Clearing his throat and blinking a few times, Sin seemed to recover as he nodded and grabbed Atashi's forearm before being lifted on his feet by the man's strength. He didn't let go once he was on his feet again. Major Warren called the Krome squire over to look after his friend as she stood up. She turned to the various pairs of eyes that had been drawn to their fight and held out a hand towards Atashi and Sintih. "Victory to the challenged!" The lack of an audible response didn't do much to lessen Sin's pained but exhilarated state. Like he cared about the thoughts of these knights. Thank you, Father. Finally some good use of chaos, right?

"Let's go before someone else decides to challenge us. I only have so many tactics to exhaust..." Sin's smile was much weaker now as he pushed himself off of Atashi's arm and onto his own two feet. Despite his wobbly state, Sin still walked himself over to the weapon rack and placed the shortsword where he had taken it from. Behind him he could hear Emily ordering the two squires to clean up the mess they had made and how she would have a word with their superiors. Before Sin had managed a proper step outside of the training grounds, Emily's steps where behind them once more. "I don't approve. But well fought." Her voice was soft, just enough for Sin and Atashi to hear.

After a few steps, Sin turned to Atashi, still smiling although the pain was obvious on his illusion face. "That was fun, right? A good exercise." Unlike before, Sin walked pretty close to Atashi, often shaking a little and stumbling more than before. He still had one hand on his side, grimacing whenever he suddenly put weight on his left leg. He listened to anything Atashi had to say regarding the fight but didn't respond to any questions until he felt like they were far away enough. His breathing still labored and a little wheezy, he grabbed Atashi's lower arm again and stopped the Ithecal. "Can you still see the training grounds from here?" Already knowing they were out of sight, Sin remained upright until the Ithecal answered. "Four castles..." He muttered before collapsing forward against him. What little weight he had suddenly pushed against Atashi as he started to slide down along the man's front.

If Atashi reacted quickly enough he could prevent Sin from flopping to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Emily reacted just a little too late, not expecting Sin to collapse like that despite having kept a sharp eye on him since the end of the fight. Somewhere in her mind, she had been trying to retrace the fight to determine when exactly the victory had happened and this slowed her reaction in the present. She rushed over and checked Sin's vitals, relief on her face when she looked at Atashi and nodded, letting him know the Eidisi was still alive. "Can you carry him to the medics?"

[Atashi]

A sigh of relief escaped his lungs after Sintih had finished speaking. It was a relief to know that he was responsive at least! Sort of? He hadn't replied to his question, but he'd settle for any sort of reply at this point. He gladly let the Eidisi lean on him, he'd probably been winded and as such would be best off being supported while walking. The major dubbed them the victors of the battle, no one cheered. Of course, was this prejudice or had they not put on a good show? "Forget them." He scoffed to Sintih, regarding the soldiers.

"Are you sure you're in a-" He asked in response to Sintih's words, cut short as the Eidisi let go of his arm and stumbled over to the weapon stand - Atashi watched carefully as he put the sword back to the rack. Emily then approached him from behind and congratulated him. He grinned, happy to see his friend receive at least some praise for his efforts. he then collected his shield and re-mounted it before they started walking. As they walked from the grounds, Atashi reclaimed his dropped hammer and put it back on his belt. Sintih still had some trouble with breathing, was that normal? His head started to worry, had he broken a rib? Regardless, he kept a keen eye on his friend as they continued their walk. He replied "They need more training, I think." sarcastically as he maintained his forward view. "That or their heads were more orientated around hurting you than actually winning... In which case, they won." he spoke, raising an eyebrow to his injured friend.

The pressed onward a bit before Sintih asked his question, seemingly well now. Atashi turned to face the training the direction they'd come from "Errr, no. Why do you ask?" he asked, somewhat puzzled. He turned back to the Eidisi just in time to see him fall into him, panic taking hold of his body he reached out and caught him before he hit the ground, holding him there for a moment. "Sin? Sintih!? Can you hear me!? he quizzed frantically as he held the unconscious Eidisi. The woman that had been keeping an eye on Sintih reacted with delay, checking him over moments after he'd collapsed. She nodded, he sighed with relief "Y-yes. I'll get him there as fast as I can." he declared in response to the woman's request. He picked up the smaller man with ease, carrying him in both of his arms. He leant forward, the weight of his shield on his back and the forward weight of Sintih's body giving him momentum as he slithered.

Moving his tail as fast as he could, he soon reached the medic's tent in camp, whether the major followed or didn't. He entered, carrying the limp Eidisi. "Somebody please help me!" He cried out as he tried to recover his breath, a couple of healers immediately lead him to a bed. He laid him out on the clean sheets and explained "He was injured while sparring, struck in the side by a plated knee. He collapsed shortly after walking from the scene - he was struggling to breathe!" with a tense voice. He waited in the tent while the healers worked on him, he sat in his coils as to take up less room, though the tip of his tail fidgeted uncomfortably. He waited, not willing to leave his friend's side.

[Sintih]

Half a break after having been brought in Sintih opened his eyes and stared up at the tent fabric that made up the ceiling. He was happily unaware of all the poking and prodding that had gone on during that time. When Atashi had brought him in, Emily had been right on his heels and shouted for a doctor together with Atashi, making a chaotic entry into the tent. The healers directed Atashi to a bed and once Sin was put down they checked his vitals. They found that his heart was beating too fast and that his breathing was shallow and quick. While this was natural for Sin and was the basis for being restful, he had never mentioned it before.

Under his father, Sin never had to and after they had left for Uleuda, he had never put himself in a position where he would have to. Anger, frustration or simply a need to vent had put Sin into the fight and in this current situation. As the healers started by taking off his armor and cloak, Sin didn't react to anything they did. When they removed his armor and shirt, his thin body was revealed to carry many of the same scars that his face did. Most of them were just randomly applied cutting shapes, lines and crosses everywhere on his body but some of them were long lines that came from his face down to his neck and along his arms and chest. The twin scars on each of his hands were connected to the pattern on his face via long scars curling around his upper arm and down his lower arms.

There was an obvious mark on his side where the knee had hit him. It was a darker spot roughly the size of the armored knee but when the healer touched him there they couldn't feel anything that resembled broken bones or damaged organs. His chest was moving rapidly up and down with his breathing. His state was a bit of a mystery to them. If he was truly out, his breathing should have spread out more evenly to a restful state and if he had suffered some actual damage, they should have found something by now. Not really knowing what to do, the healers explained to Major Warren and Atashi that they were going to keep him here until he woke up or until something changed but that they were welcome to stay if they didn't have any other tasks to get to.

Emily nodded and turned to Atashi after the explanation. "I have to check on my unit and make sure things are getting done. I can't stay but I can't leave him alone either. Knight Atashi, when he wakes up and is capable of walking, you'll bring him straight back to the skyrider tents. That is an order." She looked up at the tall snake man, her voice full of authority. Once she got an affirmation from the knight before her, she left to check up on Elyna's unit. For the rest of the time, healers kept coming to check on Sintih, finding no change in his state until half a break had passed when he opened his eyes.

It took a moment for Sin to realize what had happened and where he was. He pushed himself up to a seated position. The blanket slid off of him and the cold Zi'da air brought shivers down his naked spine before he could wrap himself back in it. "Where is my stuff?" He demanded, looking around to see Atashi. A healer quickly come over to check on him, asking questions while poking and prodding Sin once more. "Will you stop that. I'm fine. Where is my armor?" He spotted his belongings on a pile next to him and he leaned over to it. The illusion grimaced as he leaned into the wounded side but Sin seemed to power through the pain with little problem to get his stuff. "I said I was fine. Go help someone who needs it." Sin blocked another attempt at checking his pulse and breathing before the healer stood up and left. Sin could imagine the angry things that went through the man's mind.

It was as if nothing had happened to to Eidisi as he put on his shirt and armor before wrapping himself back in his cloak before slipping out from the warm blanket. "Where's Emily, well, Major Warren?" He asked Atashi as he stood up on his feet. Sin seemed much stabler than after the fight, despite the fact that his chest kept moving at the quick rhythm of his breaths. "I can imagine you have some questions, Atashi. Let's step out and I can maybe answer some of them." Sin smiled at Atashi, knowing fully well how people usually reacted to seeing him at his worst. He wasn't sure if Atashi had seen him half naked but if he had, the amount of questions would probably double. Non-Eidisi were like that when they saw the scars.

[Atashi]

Atashi stood by the Major as the medics did their work and looked away as the medics opened up his clothing, at first wanting to respect his friends privacy. But later decided he's best see the wound at the least. His eyes widened as he saw the scars that covered Sintih's body, shocked by the sudden revelation of crosses and shapes carved into his skin. Had Sintih been a slave before? A captive perhaps? How did he survive? So many questions that he would have to consider asking once the Eidisi awoke. His condition baffled the healers for reasons unknown to Atashi, though his feverish breathing while unconscious might have been the symptom that caused the confusion, especially since he didn't show any other symptoms of a fever.

In the end, they decided to keep him and wait. Atashi wouldn't have left him even if the Major hadn't said anything, regardless he followed orders and saluted with a "Yes, Ma'am!" to herald his compliance before she left. As instructed, he would take the Eidisi back to the tents. It sucked to have to drag him back to being a shadow after this experience, but orders were orders. He watched and waited as healers occasionally checked on him - his breathing showing no signs of normalising. He'd been sitting in his coils for roughly 30 bits before Sintih opened his eyes.

Before Atashi could even react, the Eidisi immediately sat up and asked for his belongings. Atashi stared in awe, he was asking for his stuff? Was he completely aware that he'd just collapsed? Why was he so casual about the whole ordeal!? A healer approached him and tried to check his vitals, but Sintih was having none of it. He couldn't help but look at him with a slack jaw. The poor man eventually got up and walked off, looking rather displeased - No fault of Sintih's, surely.

He turned away as the Eidisi dressed, feeling no need to observe him for 'that'. Sin then spoke, signalling that he was dressed, so he turned back to face him and replied "She's at the sky-rider tents. Are you feeling Okay? Take it easy." expressing concern. Regardless, Sintih dropped himself from the bed and to his feet. "Questions I have, But whether they should be answered or even asked is a different matter entirely..." He confessed, was it appropriate to ask people questions about their apparently tragic pasts? He could at least ask why he was so calm with suddenly collapsing. Regardless, he was ordered to bring him back to the tents, and that's just what he would do - sore or not.

He led Sintih from the tent and presumably walked with him. "I have to take you back to the sky-rider tents, Major Warren has instructed me... You know how it is." he started, almost apologising for having to follow orders. He waited a moment for Sintih to respond before asking his first question "I uhh... I saw your scars... You don't have to explain them to me if you don't want to." he spoke, maintaining his forward view as they walked for the designated tent. He prayed he hadn't dug up any unpleasant memories in asking, it was unlikely that he hadn't, not with scars like the ones he'd seen at least.

"Also, are you prone to fainting? You seem kinda... Uhh... Comfortable with the whole thing?" He asked in addition to his previous question, giving only a second to spare between sentences. Adding the lighter question to the end of his previous one somehow made him feel a bit better about asking in the first place. Sintih now had the choice to ignore his first question completely if he didn't want to linger there, he wouldn't push him for answers either way. The view of the tent came into view as they continued their walk and talk.