Private rp with Wingfeather

[mainehorse]

"I'm sorry... if there was anything else I could have done, I would have." Cassidy says, slowly rising to her own feet. She retrieves a shovel and follows after him. They'd need a deep enough hole to make sure that no scavengers could get to the dog's body. She figured that they had time before the brigands would get back with the horse. At which point she would need to hitch it to the cart so that they could keep moving. They couldn't make camp in the middle of the road, and so they would need to find a suitable spot to erect the tent and get a fire going for the night. But until they came back, they could focus on trying to find a spot to lay the dog to rest. She couldn't remember having any pets of her own, but she could tell that Grettir had meant a lot to Lockian.

[wingfeather]

Lockian found a very peaceful spot not far from where they had left the wagon, it was beneath a young oak tree surrounded by ferns. Lockian thought this a very good place for it was just the sort of spot that Grettir would have liked to spend resting in the hotter parts of summer. After the hole was dug Lockian gently laid the dog down inside, he then pulled out one of his long arrows and snapped it in half against his knee and laid it the two pieces below the dog's paws. He began to cover the dog's body with the displaced dirt then stood. He looked at Cassidy, his eyes were wet but no tears were running down his face, ''he lived a good life and died a noble death.... we should continue our journey now,'' he said his voice getting stronger. He began walking back towards the wagon with his head held erect.

[mainehorse]

"We'll have to wait for those brigands to return with that horse first. You should tend to your wounds in the meantime. That one on your arm looks quite bad." Cassidy says, stowing the shovel back in the wagon. She would keep an eye out for the returning brigands in the meantime. Some of them were still here, so she knew the leader and his right hand mind would return with the horse in order to collect their men. Digging the hole when injured had been no easy task, but she had managed. But they would need to find a place to make camp for the night soon. After all that, they both could do with a rest. But that would need to wait for now. This was no place to make camp. It was too exposed to the elements and other groups of brigands that might be out at this time.

[wingfeather]

Lockian nodded, he had forgotten about them at this point but the motion brought on the searing pain back. ''You should to, you dont look much better than I,'' he said with a small grin. He glanced at his arm, ''ya I believe it may need a few stitches in some areas.'' He took off his cloak and put a very small amount of water on the corner and be began to try and clean it as best he could, his other wounds, thankfully, were not as sever as his arm was. After cleaning the blood off as best he could, Lockian threaded a needle and began the grim work of stitching. It did not help any that he did not have much experience in this area, but he had a basic amount of knowledge which would allow him to get by. And after much grunting and wincing he finally was able to cut the thread and painfully stretch his arm a bit.

[mainehorse]

"I will... don't you worry. It'll just need to wait until we can make camp for the night and have access to fresh water. I doubt we have enough water here to clean off all this blood and we need to save some for drinking until we can refill the waterskins." Cass says. Once she had gotten the blood washed off, she could better discern the severity of her own wounds. Most of them had seemingly stopped bleeding by now, but since she could still feel blood soaking into the fabric of her clothing and leather armor in some places, she knew some of them were still bleeding. She'd need to fix up her armor as well. Leather armor wasn't as effective as plate, but it had still done it's job. She didn't think any of the injuries she had sustained could be considered life threatening, or at the very least not by her consideration. She turns her mismatched gaze over to the leader of the group as he approached with the large dapple grey gelding. She takes the reins from him and gestures in the direction the brigands had been heading earlier. "Be gone with you. Quickly, before I change my mind about being merciful" she says lowly. The brigands would need to be patched up as well, but that was hardly her concern after they had attacked them.

[wingfeather]

Lockian nodded he felt rather gross with all the blood that was on his other wounds but there wasn't a very easy way of taking care of that at the moment. He looked up at they sky, they'd need to get moving soon but the horse would easily make up for lost time. Lockian was surprised at how well she held herself, during the skirmish she, in fact, was up against two men and was hurt more than he and still only said that she would look to herself after they found a camp sight. Lockian didn't know how good an idea it was for her to wait that long, especially with open wounds. At the approach of the brigands Lockian rested his hand on the hilt of his dirk. He eyed the horse as it was led forward. It looked strong and well-breed. He didn't exactly know how they'd hitch it up but they had a few ropes in the wagon they could use if need be. Unless Cassidy had a better plan.

[mainehorse]

Cassidy's gaze remains fixed on the brigands until they disappeared from her line of sight. At which point, she turned to lead the horse towards the wagon. She'd have to see what means they had to hitch the animal to the wagon since they didn't have a proper harness right now. "He's a strong horse from the looks of it... should serve you well. Though he'll need a little work to keep him from spooking first" she says as she lines the gelding up with the wagon. The first hint of the acrid scent of blood had sent the gelding galloping away. If he were to be a war mount, that would be something that needed to be worked on. A war horse that spooked at first blood could be dangerous. Though no doubt he could still smell the blood now. So perhaps there was hope for him to become accustomed to the sights and smells of battle.

[wingfeather]

Lockian walked back to the wagon with her, ''I was thinking the same,'' he said looking over the horse once more. He should not be too difficult to train, the horse seemed intelligent, he just had a dislike for blood, which though understandable, was not a very good weakness for a warhorse to have. ''How do you think we should hitch him to the cart,'' Lockian asked walking towards the back of the wagon where he knew the had a couple lengths of rope stored, ''do you think rope would work?'' He was glad that they were doing something at the moment and not just sitting around, this helped get his mind off Grettir for the time being.

[mainehorse]

"It'll have to do for now. Once we reach the city we can see about getting a proper harness, but until then we should be able to fashion a makeshift one from rope." Cass says as she finishes lining the horse up with the wagon. He was surprisingly cooperative despite having been handed over to two strangers. That boded well for being able to train him. The sooner they could get him hitched to the wagon, the sooner they could get moving again and find a place to make camp for the night. She could hear a river in the distance, and where there was a river they could likely make camp. And now they wouldn't have to worry about pulling the wagon themselves, especially injured as they were.

[wingfeather]

Lockian brought up the rope from where it was buried inside the wagon. He first took the saddle off the horse, the extra weight and restriction wouldn't be necessary, then began attempting to fasten the rope in attempt to make the makeshift harness, though it was very difficult to do it in such a way so that it wouldn't be too uncomfortable for the horse. ''Cassidy, do you think it would be better if I tied the end here, or should I do it more like this,'' he asked showing her what he meant. He had never had to make a harness before and without buckles and clips the process just became harder. ''Hopefully he's used to doing things like this,'' Lockian said referring to the horse.

[mainehorse]

"I think the former will probably work best." Cassidy says pausing. "He's probably more used to being ridden... but I think he'll handle it okay. Until he gets used to it though, we should probably walk on either side of him to keep in check" she says, placing the saddle into the wagon. They could hang onto it since Lockian would need a saddle for the gelding eventually. Once the horse was hitched to the wagon, they could start moving again and follow the sound of the river until they found a place to make camp. They would need a rest after all that. And a chance to wash off all the blood from the skirmish. After the tent was set up and all that, she'd have to tend to her own wounds as well.

[wingfeather]

Lockian nodded and adjusted the harness. He stood to one side of the horse and was just about to call out for Grettir to come but checked himself in time, he still needed to get used to the fact that never again would he see the wolfhound bounding towards him with only the sheer joy of seeing his master fueling his seemingly boundless energy. Lockian sighed and tried to turn his thoughts to other things as he and Cassidy led the horse along. The horse seemed to be doing well pulling the cart so far, but it was after all tired out, maybe its reaction would be different on the morrow when he was fresh and had had a good nights rest. He looked across at Cassidy, her wounds didn't seem to be bothering her but then again she really wasn't one to show much emotion, he hoped they would make camp before they got infected.

[mainehorse]

Cass shakes her head slightly to ward off the first hint of lightheadedness. It seemed that she had been steadily losing a fair amount of blood from the deeper wounds that didn't seem to want to clot. "River is up ahead. We can probably make camp there for tonight" she says, straightening up again. It was pitch black by now, they'd need to get the tent up, bedrolls set up and a fire going to provide some light. Thankfully they had enough provisions to last the couple of days they'd be on the road and they were covering ground faster with the horse pulling the wagon.

[wingfeather]

Lockian walked beside the horse before looking up and listening when Cassidy mentioned the river, ''thats a good idea,'' he responded. They were lucky to find a river though, no doubt it would be swollen and the current stronger than normal due to the recent rainfall. He had hardly even realized how dark it had gotten so fast, but setting up camp shouldn't take too long, he knew how to stake a tent and how to build a good sized blaze. And he had no doubt whatsoever that Cassidy did as well. Any wolves and coyotes in the area would of course be kept at bay if the fire was kept alive through the night so they didn't really have to worry to much on that, unless the animals were hungry and desperate then they'd have a fight on their hands.

[mainehorse]

"Whoa boy," Cass says, giving a gentle but firm tug on the gelding's reins to slow him to a stop as they reached the river. "This should do... it's out of the way enough that we shouldn't be disturbed tonight" she says as she begins to untie the horse from the cart. He'd need to be tethered to ensure he wouldn't wander off in the night, but loosely enough that he could graze since they didn't have any hay or grain to feed him tonight. Camp needed to be set up as well. As she worked, the occasional stifled pained grunt or sharp intake of breath could be heard in the stillness of the night. But still she soldiered on without complaint as she finished securing the horse to a tree. She straightens up afterwards and makes her way back towards the cart to remove the heavy box containing the different components needed to erect the tent. What kept her going at this point, she wasn't entirely certain. Stubbornness? Sheer spite at the world? Or perhaps some combination therein. She wasn't sure, but she figured it didn't really matter. Either way, she was still standing if a bit light-headed from the blood she had lost. But getting camp set up for the night had to be the priority right now. The river would still be there afterwards. She could use the river water to clean up and then get a feel for just how badly injured she might be. Most of her injuries were shallow enough that they had stopped bleeding hours earlier.