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Chapter X: Threat From Afar

Not long after, they had a visitor. It was the white fox, Val. She didn't say anything. She had brought some rags and a bowl of water. She soaked them and ringed them out, and began treating Shadow's wounds. Afterwards, she began grinding up some plants, likely herbs, trying to make remedies that would help the wolf heal, rubbing the wounded areas once it was ready.

"I didn't know you were a healer." Shadow stated.

"I was a shaman back in my tribe," she finally said,"when it was still alive, that is." Leinheart looked at them curiously, wondering how they knew each other. Shadow looked at him and answered.

"We met in the holding cells. She was the only company I had." The fox looked at him and smiled.

"You must be Leinheart. I've heard a lot about you, especially from Shadow. Your aunt even shared a bit about you. I never would've guessed you'd be a royal." The wolf looked at him curiously. He immediately took notice.

"I'll tell you about it when you're feeling better," he quickly answered.

"My name's Val," the fox greeted,"It's a pleasure to finally meet you." She returned her attention to Shadow's wounds, then spoke again without looking directly at him,"You don't have to hang around. She's in good hands." He nodded, and headed out. Shadow quickly spoke up and stopped him.

"Where are you going?"

"For a walk. I need some time to think." When he left, Shadow turned his attention to Val.

"Can I ask a favor of you?"

"What is it?" Shadow choked for a moment, and had a difficult time finding the words.

"C..could you teach me.. to heal?"

"You wanna be a healer?" The wolf nodded vigorously.

"It's always been my dream. So, would you? Please?" Val stared at her for a moment, then finally smiled.

"Sure."

He traveled a short distance outside the village, into the forest. It was quiet, and peaceful. He heard rumbling above, and not long after, it began to rain. He had an annoyed expression, and a sigh. He quickly sensed something in the distance, but before he could act, he was suddenly tackled and knocked on his back. He shook the stars out of his head and looked up at his attacker, and felt his heart skip several beats as he began to back up in fear. A dragon with light brown skin stood before him. He wore a chromatic helm that covered everything but his lower jaw, and his eyes were not visible. His only torso piece was the chest plate, also chrome, and he had leg braces. He was wielding two sharp, straight blades that seemed to stick out like very long claws. Their grip was a glove he wore, and in his hand was some kind of switch he would squeeze to extend the blade further, releasing to retract it.

"Not you," Leinheart stuttered in fear. The other dragon pointed one of the blades towards him and thrusted. He quickly rolled out of the way and got to his feet. He had no way of defending himself, as he had left his blade back at the village. He suddenly found himself dodging a series of quick slashes, overhead, down low, and to the side. The attacks were coming aggressively non-stop. He had his back to a tree, and quickly ducked down when another slash came at him. The attacker's blade cut right through the tree behind him, and the plant soon toppled over.

Another swing came, and the soldier had swung a bit to hard over Leinheart, but quickly recovered and smacked him in the face with his elbow. Leinheart found himself trying to crawl away, but was stopped when he felt one of the sharp blades stabbed him in the back of his left leg. He screamed in pain, and was pulled back towards his attacker. The other dragon retracted the blade from his victim's leg, and stabbed him in the shoulder. Leinheart shrieked again, and was left immobile. He felt the cold metal of the other blade's sharp end touch the right side of his neck. He knew what was about to happen. He was about to be decapitated. The soldier's blade raised overhead to prepare the swing. But as he was about to proceed, he was suddenly hit in the eye by an arrow. He held his eye with the arrow between the fingers. The blades retracted, and he stepped off Leinheart. He looked around for the sniper, and saw a figure in a tree. In too much pain to make it out, he decided to back off and flee the scene.

Leinheart was in pain, and crawled near a tree, grabbing hold of it so he could sit himself up. It was the same tree that housed his savior, who jumped down in front of him. The features made it easy to tell it was an avian male, with eyes and feathers of blue, and a black bill. He carried the bow around his shoulder like a strap. He kneeled down to the dragon's level and placed his arm around his shoulder, slowly helping him up to limit the pain he felt in his leg.

"Thank you," Leinheart struggled to get the words out, then asked,"Who are you?" The avian gave no answer."Can't you speak?" He shook his head no. It seemed to bum him out, but he didn't fuss about it.