The Adventures of a Healer and a Viking: Pirates, Part II

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]
The smell of burned flesh hit her nose and lingered even after the bacta patch. "Oomph," exhausted form fell back completely against the curvature of the hard, rocky surface. Myrtle ellipses stared, almost in a daze, at the tops of the trees and vines and the sunlight filtering through.

Looked like the sun was about to set.

"Not so bad," she whispered, still looking up. A shiver went through her damp-clothed form. "I'll be okay," palms pressed flat against the rock. She'd lost a lot of blood and it would take awhile before the color returned fully to her tattooed cheeks.

"You did well."

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

Val was still sitting in front of her, but he slowly leaned over her and kissed her exposed tummy.

"I think you need to get some rest now." He told her quietly, smiling at the compliment. The wound had taken quite a bit out of her, and in truth he wasn't sure if he was okay with exploring more of the island. It was only mid-day now, but...well there were clearly things about this place they didn't quite understand. They still had enough rations for another few days, including water, and that meant they didn't have to explore more just yet.

"I can make you a bed in the pod." He could tear up the seat padding and get the blankets. "Get you nice and comfortable."

It was clear he was still concerned.

The compliment she gave him fell on deaf ears, if only because he was still worried.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

His beard tickled her skin. Eyes drifted down to his face. Maybe it just seemed later than it was. But she was definitely chilled. Probably from blood loss and maybe a little shock. She needed dry clothes. And as much as she hated to admit it - which she wouldn't, he was right for once.

"Okay, that's better than sleeping on the sand again," with no small amount of effort, trembling arms slowly pushed herself up to a seated position. "But I'm walking back," stubborn to the core. Even if there was no way she'd be able to do that.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

He kissed her shoulder in a half hearted attempt to keep her down. "No."

His voice was firm.

"You won't." It was very clear that Val meant business. He backed up just a bit, looking her in the eyes as fire and ice communicated a rather stern line of thought. There was no way she was making herself worse by trying to stumble over to the escape pod. "You will sit here and rest while I get the pod ready."

It would take him a few minutes to fashion the makeshift bed, especially since some of the upholstery was likely stapled down.

In the end though it would be more comfortable than sleeping on the floor, not to mention warmer. The Escape pod still had a functioning hatch, and that meant they could seal themselves inside. His head turned back towards the ocean, eyes wandering towards the sky as he saw rainclouds in the distance. He frowned and then looked back at Taheera, his stern gaze once again falling on her to make sure she understood how serious he was.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Eyes narrowed as she met his dueling orbs. Hand reached out, palm stroking gently across his bearded-face.

"Just go."

She made no promises and she wouldn't.

It had taken her about thirty minutes to hike out here and it would take him an hour or so to get back here, especially by the time he factored in the work on the pod. She didn't think the cat would come back but who knows what else was on this island. She drew back her hand and turned, reaching for her pack and tugging it up along the rock so it would be by her side. Her blaster was in there and her lightsaber.

She'd be able to defend herself.

And she might start walking anyway. Because stubborn.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"Stay. Here." He ordered her.

The displeasure that he showed for her moving at all was very much clear. "If you get more hurt trying to make it back to the pod things will only get worse. Both for you and me. We have no idea whats on this island, and the medical supplies we have will only last for so long."

She could heal him, sure, but if she ended up dead what good did that do.

"So stay here." He said once more. "I'll be back soon, unless you want me to carry you."

His muscles still hurt from pulling the pod onto the shore, not to mention the tussle with the saber-cat had taken it out of him too.

He'd be able to make it back easily enough, but...well he'd rather not have to carry Taheera and risk falling on his face like an idiot because his tired legs didn't act in time once he saw a rock or something else in their way.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

She could feel his emotions from there. Fingers scrounged in the pack and she didn't look up. A hand came up in a shooing motion.

"Just go," eyes looked up but not at him, at the horizon. "We'll get rain soon and I don't want to sit here like a drowned tusk-cat waiting for you. Go already." Another shooing hand gesture as her eyes finally settled back on his own.

"I promise I won't do anything stupid."

Vague enough to leave things open. Her attention went back to the pack as he finally turned and began trekking back. She could feel his glaring gaze on her a few times as he trudged away.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

Val began to head off towards the pod.

The walk wasn't all that grueling, at least not anymore. He had spent most of his way here barreling through the jungle, and that meant he'd left quite a few broken branches, torn vines, and...well an open walkway to run back on. He moved as quickly as he could, his muscles protesting the entire way.

Eventually he got to the pod though.

He did exactly what he had told Taheera he would do, setting to work almost immediately with rearranging the inside of the escape pod. The upholstery was torn off the seats, individual cushions laid out in a shape that vaguely resembled a bed. He frowned slightly, shifting things around and then moving them to the side so that everything eventually looked the way that he wanted to. When he was finished he moved some of the supplies to the now bare benches, giving them a table of sorts.

"There." Val said as he backed up out of the pod.

Now he just hoped she hadn't done anything foolish.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

When she was sure he was gone, she flexed her leg. There was a dull-throbbing. The anti-pain shots before getting it cauterized were still working. Good.

Scooching down the rock, she eased onto her feet. One hand remained on the rock as she teetered, then took a baby step forward. Then another. She winced once but kept going. There was something behind the rock she wanted to check out. A flash of something in the grass and vines. It would take her about twice as long to go ten yards but whatever it was she was seeing prodded too much at her restlessness to remain seated there. Doing nothing and acting like the damsel in distress.

This wasn't exactly foolish, right? Plus, he'd never know. She'd be back on that rock before he got there.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

The journey back was about as quick as one would expect.

Val had faced a day full of activity, stringent activity at that.

Though he had more endurance than any two men put together, at a certain point even he ran out of fuel. To stave off passing out at least for a little while longer he ate another one of the rations as he wandered back towards Taheera, munching on a piece of...steak as he thought about how could it would have been to eat that saber-cat. He frowned for a second, his head swiveling as he realized that the creatures likely meant there were other, smaller critters running around the island.

That was a good sign. "Just have to make some traps."

He commented to himself.

Meat was pretty much the only way for him to stay alive long-term, and thought Taheera had seemed rather averse to killing the saber-cat, even she had to admit that eating would eventually be the foremost important thing they had to look towards. Besides rescue of course.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Kneeling down as best she could, she moved the dirt and grass aside. Eyes widened in surprise. Looked like a buried and crashed star fighter. There was an odd, red symbol, half gone on the metal shining that she'd seen from the rock. She couldn't get inside. And it was too far gone.

But there was something. She dug in the dirt a bit.

Green hands reached inside and knocked an old comms device from the mostly buried cockpit. They might be able to use it, eventually. Especially if they got good signal. Maybe up the cliff she'd seen earlier.

The injured Mirialan quickly stuffed it in the bag, then staggered to a stand, limping very slowly back to the rock. She still had to beat Val back. She'd lost track of time.

The dizziness was hitting her again. The pain meds were definitely wearing off. And to top off the pie, thunder rumbled in the distance.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

He could already hear the rain in the distance. The storm was coming, and it was coming quickly. Islands like these were particularly susceptible to weather patterns unfortunately, and although the rain would be warm...it certainly wouldn't be pleasant.

Val knew this, so he picked up the pace.

He didn't quite run, he wasn't even really capable of running anymore, but he did move across the path a bit faster. By now the way he had taken through the jungle was turning into an actual walkway, plants being crushed and leaves being pressed into a well worn pathway that would likely remain there for a few days at least. He frowned slightly as he heard rustling in the distance, his eyes quickly passing through the jungle as he finally reached the clearing.

"I told you not to move." Val said plainly as he found Taheera limping back towards the rock.

At least she hadn't tried to walk back to the pod.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

She heard him before she saw him. Not his voice but his lumbering footsteps through the jungle. He'd never be a spy.

But curse him for being so fast!

She overstepped, still trying to beat...then she heard his voice. Banthapoodoo. She staggered. Pain lanced across her tattooed face. Palm came out just in time to catch herself on the rock before she fell to the side. "And I told you," she huffed. "That I wouldn't do anything foolish."

Teeth grit.

"Everything is fine. Let's go before it...," a splatter of rain dropped on the tip of her nose. Then another on her cheek and another on her hair.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"Come on." He decided that it was best not to scold her. She wasn't a child, and at the very least she hadn't tried to head back towards the camp on her own. Slowly Val wandered over to her, his hands sliding around her, and then quickly under her.

With one great swoop he picked her up off the ground.

"No walking." Rain fell on the both of them. "Doctors orders."

He was probably the furthest thing from a doctor that anyone could imagine, but at this point the running joke was a little bit too good not to tell. He began to step quickly, heading down the same path that he'd now used thrice. His muscles ached, but the food he'd eaten had been enough to keep him going for now, and oddly enough the warm splatter of rain helped liven him up a bit. It was almost...nice. He smiled as they headed back towards the beach.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"What are yo-oomph," he always did that. Picked her up like she weighed less than half a mynock. Arms latched around his neck as she bounced against his chest as they went.

"Oh no, mister. You are the patient," she tutted and noted how careful he was when they got to narrower places in the path so that her shin wouldn't bump against the trees or fines. This he was feeling warm, the rain only made her shiver.

She never got warm from her dip in the fresh water from earlier. Hands tightened around the back of his neck as her body trembled against him. Through the rain, she saw the pod ahead. Head rested against his shoulder even though she tried to fight it. Keeping her head lifted was becoming too difficult; she was about to pass out.

Teeth clenched on the inside of her cheek, to keep herself awake.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"Almost there." Val said quietly as they wandered through the jungle. The pod was almost entirely off the beach, though the tail end of it was still sticking out of the jungle. Luckily enough it looked like a rather large boulder until you actually got close to it, providing them with a rather nice natural camouflage.

Something they wouldn't have to worry about.

"It'll be alright." He told her as they reached the pod, one arm sliding out further just for a second so he could pull open the hatch. There was a hiss as the air depressurized, and then slight wave of warmth as the air within escaped. Val gently ducked inside, taking Taheera and placing her on one of the now cushionless benches. Within the center of the pod she would see the makeshift bed, blankets already pulled over it as though it were simply waiting for her. "Do you need help getting out of your clothes?"

The tone of his voice denoted that his thoughts were not where one might typically thing Val would go.

Instead his voice was filled with concern.

Getting into a warm bed meant nothing at all if you were still laying in dripping wet clothing.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

As soon as she got inside, she felt a hair better. The warmer, dry air was a welcome change. In fact, the whole place almost seemed cheery. Chin bobbed down on her chest for a sec, before she snapped back to attention.

"Look at our beach bungalow. Some folks would pay millions of creds for this and we get it all for free," she cracked a tired and fleeting smile. She was a healer, so she knew the importance of getting dry to fight off hypothermia.

Fingers fumbled and began tugging off the makeshift tank top. "I'll be okay," muffled voice came from inside the shirt. With one final tug, she got free. Then she started wiggling out of the flight suit capris bottoms.

Of course the hot pink undergarments would remain on. Because. Hot pink.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

Val smiled at her, watching for a moment as she pulled off her makeshift clothes.

Eventually he looked away, stepping to the side to pull off his own garments and then to shut the hatch. By the time he closed the Escape pod rain was coming down in torrents. The waves of the ocean were growing taller and the wind was beginning to pick up. He frowned slightly as he sealed the hatch, another hiss of air pulling through the cabin. Val wasn't a meteorologist, nor did he know this world, but the storm didn't seem like it was going to be a pleasant one.

Good thing the pod was heavy.

"Now get into bed." Val told her as he turned back towards her, finding her sitting there in naught but her pink panties, goosebumps already rolling over her skin as she cold rushed over. His fingers gently pressed on her hip, and without further argument Taheera scrambled towards the blankets.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Green-form trembled. She didn't need any urging to slip down and beneath those blankets. Felt like heaven after their past few days at sea and the one last night on the ground. She couldn't help the small sigh of relief that left her lips.

She curled onto her side, hugging the blankets close. Damp chestnut hair pressed against her cheeks. Sleepy-eyes followed Val's form for a moment before they closed completely, the thrashing of the rain outside lulling her into a fast sleep.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

For a time Val didn’t follow after her.

Instead he sat on the uncomfortable bench, eyes on the beach just outside of the viewport. The rain came down in torrential slashes, wind bucked against the shore, waves crashed over the beach and threatened to take half of it. He tried to see into the distance, tried to find the end of the storm, but all he saw were black clouds.

Eventually he came to understand that the storm wouldn’t be stopping any time soon.

Slowly Val followed after Taheera. He hung up both of their clothes as best as he could, then crawled into place on the bed behind her. He slipped the blankets over himself, then slowly slid his arm around her stomach.

Almost instinctively she pressed herself against him, as if desperate for the warmth he would provide.