Left for dead [Bhae]

[Amonsef Mahiriah]

A figure in the sand that might as well have been a corpse suddenly stirred, partly silhouetted in the setting sun's light. He coughed, though there did not sound to be much air in his lungs with which to do so, as it came out hoarse like he really was a dehydrated corpse that hadn't breathed in a few days. Really, it had been a number of hours that Amonsef had been lying on his stomach in the sand and the heat, too far from the oasis for much of anyone to have noticed him.

When his coughing settled, his breath came in shallow wheezes, careful not to inhale anymore sand. His dark eyes stared emptily at the dwindling clusters of people in the distance. It felt like every muscle ached; and undoubtedly, moving would be stiff after lying near motionless all day. Regardless, the youth was happy the group of marauders who had kicked his not-so-sorry tail had at the least not alerted authorities as to where they had left him.

But they had taken just about everything he had on him. His stolen jewelry, his knife, his cloak, even his shoes... If I ever muster the strength to get the hell up, they'll fucking pay for this. But as it was, Amonsef couldn't bear to move. His body was bruised all over, and patches of sunburn were scattered about his tanned skin. A dried line of blood lay in one of the creases of his chapped lips, and one of his eyes was encircled not just in the usual dark rings but in a deep violet shiner.

His gaze refocused then, darting to movement he had caught just in front of his face. It took him a moment to notice a yellow scorpion that was camouflaged in the sand but for its gray back - a very venomous species called a deathstalker. Though not always lethal, its sting was infamous for being incredibly painful. The arachnid appeared to be staring right at him, though it didn't seem to see him as a threat just yet. The marauder did not panic in the least, but stared at the scorpion with utter indifference. It was a good thing his breathing wasn't much harder, or it might agitate the creature...

[Bhae]

She had visited the garden several times now--but she was feeling braver, and decided it was time to do a little more exploring. Bhae had headed out to the Oasis just to look, but after catching sight of how pretty it was, she had decided to stay. She wandered aimlessly between groups of people--almost all of them chattering away about something. She tried to listen in to see how much of it she could understand, and found herself pleasantly surprised when the majority of it made sense. Unfortunately, this was also how she found out about a certain straggling body that was apparently lying in the sand. One woman had said she was afraid to touch it--something about it being cursed. With white hair.

Bhae abruptly rolled her eyes, making an almost chiding cluck of her tongue against the roof of her mouth as she turned, following whispers toward the side of the Oasis where there was supposedly a man who'd had his rear-end handed to him by a group of others. When she finally caught sight of a familiar figure lying in the dirt, she paused, tensing briefly at the sight of a scorpion in the sand. She did not even know what to call it--but she knew it was dangerous. Others had made that much clear to her, at least. The foreigner back-tracked to retrieve a sharp stick, and then approached again with what almost appeared to be practiced patience...though truthfully this was the first time she'd done this.

She leaned forward, scratching the tip of the stick back and forth in the sand to draw the creatures attention, with surprising success. She'd been concerned at first that it would ignore her, but it turned, taking on an aggressive posture toward the unexpected noise of the twig in the sand. She even coaxed it forward several inches before she lifted the stick and speared it, immediately shuddering with what could only be described as a sever case of the willies. It was still moving--legs sprawling everywhere in a panic. She threw it off to the side, shuddering again just thinking about it.

"Ighk...I don't like that.." she muttered to herself before stepping forward again to kneel down next to Amonsef. The curly-haired woman frowned, resting her hands on her knees, "...you do not listen well. I said be careful...."

She waited, only long enough to see if he could muster a response, even if it was just moving his eyes or a finger, before she spoke again, "I will be right back with water...then we'll see about getting you out of the sun..."

Before he could respond to that, she was gone, but only for a moment as promised. What she came back with looked bizarre, though. It was a canteen of sorts, made of sheepskin, but wrapped in a wool fabric patterned with greens, blues, and yellow--some kind of plaid or tartan-esque markings. Nothing like what one would find in Egypt, especially with its shape and the feathers that were pinned to its side. But it was full of water nonetheless, and had a small neck and opening with a wood cork that she eased out with some twisting.

"Here we go. Got it," Bhae scooted closer, kneeling in the sand again. She knew he would probably need help, and she had one of her arms outstretched to steady him should he try to sit up enough on his own to take a drink, "...Jeez...is there anywhere that's not bruised?"

[Amonsef Mahiriah]

He thought he saw a someone approaching, but it very well could have been a hallucination. Only when the individual approached, and Amonsef could make out who it was, did he realize she was real. Are you serious..? His eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed a little, but that was about as much of a scowl as his face could manage at the moment, it would seem. His gaze quickly returned to the scorpion not without some alarm, however, as Bhae tried to distract it with a stick - for all she knew, she would just agitate the thing right onto his face, if not into stinging him. But soon enough, it was speared and hastily discarded.

Amonsef leered at the foreigner again when she leaned down to look into his face. His lips pursed to try saying something, but his voice was stubborn in starting. "Shh... Sh-..." Eventually he managed a hoarse whisper. "Shhut up..." While she moved off, he worked to put more effort into getting up - starting small. His gaze moved to his hand, which he tried to rouse, starting with flexing his fingers... which hurt. His knuckles were still sore from punching his attackers, and stiff from lying still all day. But eventually he managed movement through his whole arm, waking the stiff and bruised muscles to lift it until he could push against the ground. It was an unsuccessful endeavor; upon the attempted use of the muscles not only in his arm but in his shoulder and back, he found a terrible soreness in his shoulder, and the bruises in his ribs and torso made uproarious protest at his moving. Getting up on his own was not going to happen between his weariness and his wounds.

His gaze lifted to Bhae when she returned, though he eyed what appeared to be her canteen with another partial scowl. With some effort, he rolled over onto his side and then his back - wincing at his bruises and sunburn - and grabbing for the canteen to promptly guzzle it.

[Bhae]

Bhae let a faint frown cross her features, and then a scowl, as she actually pulled the canteen out of his reach before he could get a hold of it, "...just so you don't think I didn't hear you; please do not tell me to 'shut up.' I don't have to help your sorry ass. I am choosing to, because I feel like it. I don't care if you don't say 'thank you.' I do not care if you make snide remarks about my grasp--or lack of a grasp--on your language. I don't care if you hate me. But do not. Tell me to shut up....unless it's an emergency of course, that is an entirely different story."

She glowered at him for a moment more..though honestly the expression was so out of place on her face that it almost looked humorous...before offering the canteen again so he could at least attempt to bring a little life back into his limbs. Oddly enough, after her mini-rant, she seemed uninspired to speak again. Instead she only moved--either reaching forward to hold the canteen when it looked like he was having trouble lifting his arm, or shooing away flies. But she did not speak again. After a moment, though, she did reach forward to take the canteen away.

"Not too fast. You will make yourself sick," she muttered, but even then her words were short and quick. The last thing he needed to do was expel all the water he'd just managed to drink. She capped the canteen, sitting silently for a moment as the sun continued to sink. She'd give him a little time before she gave the water back to him--and then a little more time before she tried to move him. Baby steps.

[Amonsef Mahiriah]

The marauder only continued to cast her a faint scowl at her short speech. The look in his eyes suggested he had a retort, but it seemed he was too tired and his throat too dry to expend the effort voicing it. He only snatched the canteen once it was handed to him... and no sooner had he paused from drinking than Bhae snatched it back. He scowled a little more vehemently. "I live in a desert," he said, voice still hoarse and barely above a whisper. "You think I don't-" He sputtered a moment, coughing. ".. know that?" He glared at her when she capped and appeared to confiscate the canteen.

Again, he tried sitting up, but did not get far before collapsing back onto his back. Even the small impact of that made him wince, and he shut his eyes, breathing harder at the pain that tore through him for his efforts.

[Bhae]

"Ohh," she raised both eyebrows, glancing at him then. Though her expression was largely innocent, he of all people would have recognized there was something else behind her eyes, "Well, mister Amonsef, master of all things desert, are you going to try to tell me this is just a local's way of tanning, too?"

Bhae sat up straighter, mimicking him by dropping her voice in pitch just slightly, "I'm Amonsef, and I have everything figured out. I'm not sunburned, I live in a desert, and I would know by now how to avoid such a thing...Mugged? Please--I do the mugging here, because I think I'm a bad ass. You wouldn't know, you're a foreigner who can't pronounce anything!"

As she ranted, she had already stood up, and was actually glancing around to see if there was anyone else there who might give them trouble if she tried to help him move. Apparently with however annoyed she was by his attitude at the moment--which seemed odd, as it had not annoyed her before--she still intended to help get him to safety.

"Hey, maybe you can glare at the sand long enough that it will decide to carry you to safety, hm? Apparently you live in a desert. You must speak sand by now."

She then paused, scowling down at him, though she did lean down to set the canteen within his reach in case he wanted it again, "You are a terrible influence, I have not insulted anyone in months."

[Amonsef Mahiriah]

He glowered up at the foreigner with enough venom to suggest he might kill her - if he could only manage to rouse himself off of the ground. "It wasn't a mugging, they just wanted to kick the shit out of me," he hissed vehemently, voice still barely maintaining a presence. "Taking my stuff was just a bonus." His fingers dug into the sand as if he fully intended to choke it into carrying him to safety, when really it may just as likely have been practice for strangling Bhae. "Seems to work on you," he grumbled in answer to her suggestion. He swiped up the canteen once it was in range again to continue gulping down its contents. The marauder admitted he may have been drinking a bit hastily - but if he were to puke, he thought, he decided it would be on his so-called stalker.

[Bhae]

She paused, blinking, as if she was taking his words into very deep consideration, "...what is it called if it is not a 'mugging' then? I'm confused," she frowned, but did not wait long enough to hear his answer. Instead she cracked a faint smile at the response she got to her suggestion--barely able to choke back a laugh. It was an awkward time to have a sense of humor, but she really could not help herself.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry...I'll shut up now, you probably feel enough like hell as it is. Just let me know when you're ready and I'll help you up. I'm pretty sure we can get back to my house without being stopped. It's getting late, so not many people should be out. You can rest there until you're back up to snuff."

[Amonsef Mahiriah]

"It's called a bunch of lowlife scum with too much time on their hands deciding to kick the shit out of me," he snapped. But an inhale later and either the water he was drinking went down wrong or he choked on some airborne sand, as he fell into a coughing fit, dropping his head back against the ground.

He glared at her, some sharp retort clearly on the tip of his tongue. But his gaze drifted past Bhae toward the few clustered figures in the distance, and then to the horizon where the sun was setting. ".... Whatever..." Even with the water having rejuvenated him a bit, Amonsef still only barely managed to sit up, wincing as he did so and clenching his teeth against his agitated bruises. "Let's go..." He muttered. Though it appeared he was accepting her help for now, it was obvious the marauder didn't look forward to it.

[Bhae]

Bhae only nodded—keeping her apparent promise to stay silent. She rejected her impulse to apologize in advance, as she was fairly certain she’d cause some degree of pain just in helping him to his feet…but he must have expected that to be the case. It was impossible to help him up without touching him, after all, and pretty much everywhere she looked there was either sunburn or bruise alike.

The foreigner moved at a slow pace, judging when to speed up or slow down more by how he was fairing than any sense of urgency she may have felt to get home. She had time, as far as she was concerned, and would only hurry it along if he started to get anxious, and proved he was capable of moving faster without collapsing.

Those at the oasis that had lingered into sunset cast them a strange look, but even in his beat-up state, it seemed that Amonsef carried enough of a threatening reputation that they did not want to mess with him even then, or stop him long enough to ask questions. She was somewhat thankful for that.

It was only when they got back into the streets of town and were weaving through an alleyway that someone stepped in front to bar their path. Bhae frowned, eying the stranger, who seemed intent on taking up as much space ahead of them as possible.

“…excuse me,” she started, lifting an eyebrow to see if he would move, but all he did was grin, gaze flickering toward the white-haired marauder. The foreigner frowned, raising her voice only slightly, and speaking slowly to make sure she was understood, “I recommend you let us pass.”

He only grinned, shaking his head. Bhae could not hear the response clearly enough to know what he had said, but she understood the implications enough, and sighed, side-stepping toward a window. She then instructed Amonsef to hold onto the wall for support for a moment, without really giving him much of an opportunity to protest, and moved briskly forward toward the hooligan in her way.

“Again. I recommend you let us pass. I have somewhere to be, and so does my cargo,” but the man argued, stepping forward while cracking his knuckles. Compared to her, he was a good five inches taller—but he was also seriously undermining her polite requests with a snarky grin, and that was not going to sit very well even with someone generally patient like Bhae.

When he moved forward as if to push her aside, she dropped down, swinging an elbow for the front of his knee, which buckled and sent him tumbling forward. No sooner had he started to lean toward the floor had she swung her elbow up under his chin in her twisting to rise back to her feet, and step back three or four steps. Bhae rarely hit with her fists, if only because she had to sew, and any awkwardly landing punches would damage her fingers…but this method proved effective enough as he tumbled backward to fall smartly on his hind-end.

“Will you kindly let us pass now?” she raised an eyebrow, setting one hand on her hip in a brief show of impatience.

Whether it was due to embarrassment, or shock, he teetered to his feet and turned to run off with one hand holding his jaw.

[Amonsef Mahiriah]

The marauder could not repress erratic breath and hitched cries of pain as he was picked up. Every new movement clarified just how stiff he was, and his bruises and sunburn didn't help. His breathing was hard for awhile, but he managed to keep up alright, and after his body seemed to resign to the idea of moving his breath started to settle somewhat. His eyes glazed as he appeared to tune out for most of the walk, either focused on walking or trying to distance himself from the pain.

His gaze cleared, however, as a man deliberately stepped in their way. Newfound venom billowed into his dark eyes so he stared daggers up at the stranger with much more vigor than he had mustered earlier for Bhae; he looked about ready to rear up and punch the man himself, but when his companion set him against the wall it was obvious he would be doing no such thing, as he slumped, clutching for the windowsill just to hold himself up. Still, Amonsef continued to cast an arresting glare at the man confronting them with more vehemence than anyone in his state should have been able to manage.

His eyes quickly settled back into weariness once the stranger was successfully deterred. His head even dropped as if just the effort of glaring had cost him.

[Bhae]

"Tch," she walked back to him, helping him away from the window, "you ask people to do something politely, and they still don't listen..."

Bhae fell silent again once she got him walking. They did not run into anyone else on their way, though she did worry that the stranger might return. She doubted he would be quick to tell anyone that a short foreign woman had elbowed him in the face, but he could have blamed it on someone else.

Once she saw her house, she eased open the door to bring Amonsef inside, moving him to a mat to lay on. She tried to be careful, but considering it was more or less impossible to help him with anything without grabbing bruise or sunburn, she finally just settled for getting him settled now and apologizing for it later. Though for all her snapping at him earlier, she did seem to maintain a faintly concerned look until he was finally lying down.

"Do you need me to get anything for you?"

[Amonsef Mahiriah]

He winced when picked up again, having not braced himself quite enough to be touched and moved. He walked in silence, and his steps grew steadily wearier; he rarely tripped or stumbled, but only continued to gradually slump forward until Bhae was dragging him more than he was walking. His lids felt heavy, and he grew so fatigued his constant pain was a secondary thought to sleep - or more accurately, staying awake.

As such, the marauder put no thought to lying down gently when Bhae finally lowered him to a mat in her home; he let himself drop onto his back, though even the small impact roused him from drowsiness with a fresh burst of pain. His breath hitched and he cringed, curling inward reflexively, though he soon lay back to breathe hard as the pain settled.

He gazed up at the ceiling wearily for a minute at her question. It was difficult to tell if he was thinking or not, but eventually he answered. "... Water," he muttered. He was more tired than anything now, but he knew he should drink some more before falling asleep - or passing out.

[Bhae]

She proved to be surprisingly strong for her size—short and sturdy, to say the least, as she did not even seem to slow as she moved from merely helping, to dragging him the rest of the way. In fact, it was fairly common back home for her to hear ‘way to be strong.’ There were numerous occasions where her brothers had crashed into, or fallen onto her, without having her budge in the slightest. One had even remarked he was pretty sure she was an oak tree and had roots growing out of her feet…when in fact, she just had very good balance and a well-rooted stance that let her support sudden or greater weight.

Bhae nodded, shuffling off to refill a small dish with water, which she then brought back for him to drink. She knew of ways to prevent sunburn—such as jasmine, or castor seed paste—but there was only one way she had seen to help treat it. Well, only one way that was even remotely effective. Seeing as she fried like bacon on the mildest of summer days, she had a shallow bowl filled with sandy dirt, and an almost jagged, green plant growing out of it. She retrieved a knife to cut off one of the stalks, and walked back over to sit on the floor next to the mat. It had some kind of gel like substance inside the stem, which she squeezed out onto one of the more obvious burns at his shoulder, only rubbing it around half-heartedly as she did not really want to hurt him.

If he did not know what it was, he might have been wary at first, but the Aloe plant was effective in bringing almost immediate relief—however short lived it might prove to be. It had a strange smell to it as well, and was sometimes used to show wealth, or during burials…but she had managed to find a few growing, and had taken one back home with her for just such an occasion. Though honestly she had expected the fool to be sunburned would have been herself.

“I wish this stuff grew everywhere, it fixes everything, I swear,” she muttered, sounding not unlike she was speaking to herself…though she may have been at that point. He had looked about ready to crash when she brought him the water.

[Amonsef Mahiriah]

After dropping onto the mat, Amonsef did not watch the foreigner move about in the least. A minute of staring at the ceiling, and he had shut his eyes, lying still enough that by the time Bhae returned to set the dish of water beside him, he very well may have been asleep - especially considering he did not initially move to retrieve it. But before she had returned a second time with the plant stalk, he had picked up the dish to start drinking, an effort that cast a slightly pained look on his face apparently just at having to lift his arms. The dish was finished and set down just as Bhae began spreading a cooling substance on his shoulder. The marauder flinched at the contact if only out of reflex at first, but quickly noticed the stuff's effect, and after a moment of monitoring where the aloe was spread, shut his eyes again.

Though the cooling feeling at his shoulder felt good, it did little to cover the pain still permeating the rest of him. The odor didn't appear to bother him, at least; Amonsef had never smelled it before, but it wasn't especially pleasant nor unpleasant. The youth's breathing had calmed again, and with his eyes closed it was difficult to gauge if he was asleep or not.