Lena woke from her dozing, and she started quietly, trying to remember where she was. Peering to her right, it came back. Krastos was laying next to her, and they were in Deadwind Pass, the shadows of Karazhan looming in the moonlight. Trying to shift without waking him, she gingerly checked on his wounds, frowning as she heard his still-rattling breathing. At least he had gotten to sleep, she reasoned.
She wasn’t quite sure why he had been there, but he managed to call to her telepathically, and she flew to him as quickly as she could, feeling the strain in his contact. She found him under a tree, coughing roughly and bleeding from several severe wounds. Isadori had been teaching her about field surgery and triage, which ended up proving thoroughly helpful in the battles at the Battlescar, but Lena wasn’t sure she was ready to fly solo on healing. She did the best she could, cauterizing the worst of the wounds with her own fire and bandaging the rest with what little supplies she had on hand. Only when she had finished her very unskilled work did she lean against the tree with him and breathe.
Krastos must have noticed how much seeing him in such a state shook her – quite literally, as she trembled by his side for a long while. He gathered her in his arms as well as he could, and Lena squirmed, trying not to injure him further, and he got her talking, and they shared stories back and forth until they both fell asleep under the tree.
Now, though, she was restless again. Sleep never came easy for her, and she finally got up and paced quietly in the grass a short distance away, weighing her options. Her mind made up, she whispered incantations, first creating a protective barrier around Krastos, then concentrating deeply and pulling at the threads of space and time, teleporting herself to Stormwind. Unsure of how long the barrier would last, she knew she needed to get in and get out of Stormwind quickly. The Sha’nash kept a stock of supplies in storage there, and she, being the Caretaker, had keys to it all.
Lena materialized within the city limits. She shook her head to regain her senses and quietly made her way toward the familiar space that held rations for her order. She nodded to the guards that stood watch, showing her Conclave of the Sha’nash insignia, offering what she hoped were encouraging smiles and unlocked the first bin. She counted and calculated, muttering to herself as she stuffed a bag with more supplies, a small amount of food, and a couple draws of the potions that she had seen Isadori use while performing her skilled healing on the battlefield.
Counting through the ample remainder and finding it a satisfactory amount to leave in the city, she closed the trunk and locked it, holding tight to the bag and concentrating once again, holding her breath and hoping that she would appear in the right place. It would not be the first time that her teleportation spell had gone awry. Even with the best intentions and best practice, the arcane could sometimes escape her and she would find herself in a place she didn’t want.
When she opened her eyes again, Lena relaxed and sighed in relief as she saw Krastos still asleep under the tree. The barrier was only just beginning to fade. Lena was still studying magical barriers, and wasn’t sure that they would hold if truly tested, but surely it was better than nothing. She wouldn’t have left if she couldn’t have created the barrier, and leave Krastos vulnerable out here.
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