Saving Soul

(yay, I don't really have one lol)

The match had gone as Adair had suspected it would: horribly. Now they were back in the medical wing, half-drowned and half-electrocuted yet somehow not wholly dead. Voltaire lay in the neighboring bed steaming, both figuratively and literally.

"Goddammit it, what are we doing wrong?" the Hunter growled, glaring at the ceiling.

"They're water and we're fire, that's what's wrong," replied Adair flatly.

"But we've gotten stronger."

"So have they."

"Were you even trying?" asked Voltaire, now leering at him. "Or were you daydreaming about summoner girl or something instead?"

"Her name is Anja. And I don't want to hear that from you, ye who is infatuated with the opponent."

"I don't like Mikaela! I hate her!"

Adair sighed. He had been thinking about Anja some during the fight. Maybe that didn't help either. Not that he was about to admit to it while Voltaire was in his current mood. Well, now he had all the time he'd ever need to check on her now that they had flunked out of the tournament in their first round. They would have to leave the premises by tonight. So much for staying in safety for a decent amount of time.

Anja had been sitting in solitude for a while. She hadn't heard or seen hide or hare of any demons... Until nightfall.
A tall cloaked figure stepped into the cave. "Why are you sitting in the dark halfling?" It, obviously a he, asked.
Anja looked up at his shadowed face. "Who are you?" She asked, almost lifelessly.
"I am Killelgore, Friend. My name is unimportant."
"Killelgore?"
"It means friend, not enemy actually but close enough. I am a friend to halflings like yourself."
Anja scowled at him. "Why do you keep calling me that?"
"Because that is what we call half demon spawn."
Anja looked at him strangely.
The cloaked figure chuckled. "Don't worry. Yippureos halfling."
Anja suddenly couldn't keep her eyes open. She fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

(Don't worry, she's okay lol)

(note: if postings are stupid/weird it's because I am intoxicated. And yes I am of legal age)

They were allowed to stay until the dawn of the next day, but Adair was still restless. He couldn't stop worrying about Anja and her injured state, and felt guilty about it. Voltaire on the other hand slept soundly.

(lol I don't mind and I wasn't going to ask. Don't ask don't tell)

Anja woke with the sun again. Strangely, her ankle didn't hurt. When she turned her head to check why, she could see that someone had re-set it and bound it tightly to a thick piece of wood. it must have been the strange man from before.

(lol okay I just thought I might write something retarded :P)

The trio set out the next day after some brief chatting with some of the other contestants. The air was thick with morning mist.

"So should we just go, or do you want to check on your girl first?" asked Voltaire with slight annoyance. The deep sleep seemed to have mostly fixed his mood.

Adair, embarrassed, glanced away.

"She's not my girl. I...just want to check on her real quick. That's all."

Anja sat even farther up and noticed a crudely carved bowl, filled with fruit. She was hesitant, to touch it, but a note caught her eye.

Halfling,
I thought you might be hungry, so I left you some of my supplies. I also took the liberty of bandaging your leg. Be well Halfling. Don't give up. Your leg should finish healing within the next two moon cycles.

Anja needed no more bidding. She ate slowly, savouring it.

"Well, what are we waiting for then? Let's go check on her," said Voltaire, dismounting.

"We?" asked Adair, also dismounting. "Why are you coming?"

"In case she attempts to drown you with that summon of hers," answered Voltaire flatly. "And to make sure you aren't gone for forever so we can leave at a decent time."

The Hunter had a point. That didn't mean Adair didn't feel annoyed anyway.

"Should I come?" asked Ava.

"You would have a hard time getting through all the wooded parts, and I don't think you would fit into the cave," said Adair. "Me and 'Taire should be fine."

"Okay," replied the phoenix, though she didn't seem entirely happy with the deal. She settled down where she was. "Be back soon."

"We will," Adair answered automatically, as he and Voltaire went off into the forest.

Anja had moved on from food to trying to stand. She wasn't having much luck. Her foot wouldn't even support her weight anymore.

Aside from a instance where Voltaire tripped on a root and fell flat on his face, the trip through the woods went smoothly. Once they arrived at the cave Adair glanced in and saw Anja struggling to stand. Her foot looked worse than before. A hole opened up in his gut and he walked in.

"Hey, Anja?" he called, not sure what else to say. "Uh..."

"Wow, that looks bad," Voltaire remarked, also entering the cave. "What did you do to it?"

"Kicked a tree." Anja replied sharply. "Then Your friend dropped me, after I clearly told him not to touch me. Then I fell, trying to walk on it."

"If you hadn't started flailing like you did I wouldn't have dropped you," said Adair, an annoyed look on his face. "...Why did you kick a tree?"

Voltaire started to snicker. Adair glared at him.

Anja glared at the both of them, a light blush dusting her cheeks. "I was frustrated. Because I was lost."

"Next time kick something softer," Voltaire advised.

Adair noticed the food remains and how Anja's ankle had been properly bandaged and set. "Have you been using your summons to get things for you?"

"No. They're not nearly smart enough" Anja replied. She noticed what his gaze was focused on. "Some strang man just showed up last night. He called me a halfling and said a few things in a strange language and then I fell asleep"

"Halfing?" asked Voltaire.

"Strange man?" asked Adair.

They glanced at each other, trying to figure out this was a good thing or not.

"He said he was a friend." Anja shrugged. "Like hell if I know anything else."

Adair felt uneasy. It was good that someone was taking care of her, but he didn't really like the sound of this mysterious person.

"Did he say who he was, or anything like that?" asked Adair.

"No. Just that he was a friend. He called it a killelgore, I think" Anja stated.

"That mean anything to you?" asked the Hero to the Hunter.

"Nope," Voltaire replied. "Well, seems like Anja here has her own prince charming to take care of her now. We might as well go."

Adair knew this, but he didn't want to leave. He wanted to see this killelgore himself.

"He said another strange word... It made me sleepy." She mumbled. "I can't quite remember what it was though"

So a hypnotist then? Adair wondered, more and more unwilling to leave.

"Hey," said Voltaire, giving him a nudge on the shoulder. "We leaving or what?"

(augh, not sure what to do here XD)

(Have him either stay or take her with him)

Anja shrugged. "Have fun."

Adair sighed, plopped down on the cave floor, and leered up at Voltaire as if daring him to try to move him.

"The hell, Adair? We need to go soon," Voltaire growled. "If we don't get out of here ourselves, the tournament runners will kick our asses out for us. I'd rather just leave and find another tournament."

Adair still didn't budge. The two changelings glared at each other.

"The hell are you doing hero? Go. Shoo. Before you get in to trouble and drag me down with you." Anja snapped at Adair.

"I'm staying here," Adair insisted stubbornly.

Voltaire, annoyed, spit out some fire to the side and turned around.

"Fine then. Hope she drowns you," the Hunter growled, stomping off.