Healer’s Inferno (Levy x SamVurai)

Levy

✿ crafty flavor ✿
Original poster
LURKER MEMBER
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per day
  2. One post per day
  3. 1-3 posts per week
Writing Levels
  1. Adept
  2. Advanced
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Primarily Prefer Female
Genres
Fantasy (high, low and anything in between), modern, medieval, anything that'll keep me at the edge of my seat. Romance is absolutely necessary. And fluff. Just a lil bit.
The Wisterian Capital was where people came to see magic. It didn’t matter who you were, what you did, or where you came from, but the moment you crossed those grand city gates, you could be anything you wanted to be. The Capital was where people came to experience The Land of Promise, City of Gold and Opportunity, where anything and everything was possible.

Wisteria lived and breathed just like its citizens. It flourished marketplaces with merchants stacked on top each other selling delicates from the Far East and contraptions from the Far West. It birthed idea, innovation, invention, philosophy and artistry all in the same day, seeping through the rest of the kingdom like lifeblood. And, of course, it housed the three obstinate clans of the north, east and west, all locked in a complex grid of power and influence, vying for the upper hand.

It wasn’t anywhere near perfect—corruption has sank its teeth deep into the heart of the city, and the harsh lines between the rich and poor were glaring. Poverty was an unkind reality to many. It wasn’t perfect, indeed, but to June, it was home. The headquarters of the Earth Clan was situated directly south of the Capital, just deep enough into the forest and rugged terrain that it was inconspicuous to most citizens.

The entire healing department was located in back of the base and heavily guarded, as they were the most valuable department in the clan. This was also where the short-tempered girl was supposed to be. Instead, June had wandered to the greenhouse to look at the new shipments of flowers, as she had grown tired of dealing with the egregious amount of paperwork that came with her title.

Of course, with her luck, the moment she stepped in to speak to one of the gardeners, an unbearable smoke filled the building, burning their lungs and sending them into fits of coughing and sputtering. The sentry lining the walls of the building were in a panic, scrambling to collect themselves. The chaos inside only grew as the source of the infiltration was identified.

They were under attack.

June was ushered out the back first, followed by the rest of the gardeners, while the greenhouse guards exited through the front, ready for battle. They were still recovering from the blasts, hacking and hustling as they braced themselves, assuming position as per the Commander's orders. Attacks came quick. The enemy wasted no time in taking advantage of the situation.

“What the hell?” June hacked into her sleeves, drawing up part of her clothing to cover her nose and mouth. Whoever it was, her first priority was to round up all of the gardeners and send them underground to spread news of the attack. They wouldn’t be able to hold their own in battle, so she quickly grabbed everyone she could and helped up anyone who had passed out from the fumes.
 
Infiltration wasn't difficult, not for him at least. Samael had been given direct orders, knowing what he needed to do and to leave behind as little casualties as possible. The man knew better than to cause unnecessary damage, that's not what they were here for.
The greenhouse was near the front of this base here, figuring this was as good a place as any to stage a distraction. Samael stood with his arms crossed over his chest, him and his men hidden from sight of the Earth Clansmen that resided in this area. His men waiting for his mark, wanting to get this over with so they could return to their respective homes until the next assigned mission. "Now-"

Smoke bombs had been launched from their hidden positions, crashing through the greenhouse windows as well as landing around the surrounding area. That's when they made their move-
A whip of flames launched from the shrouded darkness, wrapping around a guard and pulling them forward out of sight- anyone who knew of the Fire Clan's hounds would know that this was their doing. A burst of flames sprouted up from the ground, zigzagging across the surface of the earth and encircling the Green House.
That's when Samael made his move- crouching low as flames built up from below his foot and pushed him forward- flames licking up his arms as his hand enclosed around one of the guard's weapons. "Afternoon-" Samael grinned at him, the heat increasing in the air around him. He yanked the guard forward by the weapon, pulling him around in front of Samael's body- using the weapon to keep the guard in place, Samael's hand resting against the guard's lower back. "Where is she?"
The guard gave no answer, struggling against the other man's strength- suddenly crying out and getting shoved forward with a large burn taking up the majority of his back now. Samael's hand was fully engulfed in flames now, chaos erupting around him as his men went for the guards and began to take them down.
The imposing man stepped through the chaos, taking notice of the people hiding around the side of the Green house, however, he had not noticed the man rushing up behind him- stumbling forward as something heavy collided with the back of his head.
Samael's vision clouded, sparks dancing around the edge of his vision as he stumbled forward again and grabbed the back of his head- pulling his hand away and taking note of the blood that coated his fingers.

Once gathering his composure, the man swung again with what he could now see was a shovel- Samael whipped his body around in the crouched position, grabbing the shovel and yanking forward. The attacker stumbled forward, barely having time to register just what Samael was about to do-
The bottom of Samael's shoes were thin sheets of metal, now red and blazing from the heat of the fire he'd walked through- and before this man had time to register, he'd slammed his feet up and sent the man falling over him with the bottom of his shoes burned into his stomach.

"How bold-" Samael muttered, rolling over and pushing himself to stand up, though a little off balance due to the blow to the head.
 
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June finally rallied up all of the non-combatant clansmen she could find and had them all huddle around as they scuttled to the underground entrance. Before she could make it out, she saw the whole perimeter of the greenhouse engulfed in tall, searing red flames. June staggered back at its mass, and shielded her face as soot from the smoke worked its way into her lungs.

“Hellhound! It’s the hot heads, boys, give ‘em a good fight!” Commander bellowed, his voice strong and deep. June whipped her head around as she heard this, scowling. The guards inside the greenhouse were deployed quickly. They erupted tall stone pillars from the earth where some of the hounds stood, and blasted the ground with smooth rock in the same zig zag pattern of the wall of fire in an attempt to put it out. For a second, the flames ceased, but then the rock cracked open, and even more flames burst up from underneath the stone.

The greenhouse guards fought valiantly, but in the end, they were still just guards, up against the fire clan’s top offense squad. They were quickly overwhelmed by the hounds’ sheer ferocity and brutality; they left no survivors in their fiery conquest—no one, not even the innocents, were safe.

“Fuck!” She yelled, throwing her hand against the side of the greenhouse. The hounds had already circled off the exit. There was no way to get the gardeners underground without forcing them through the flames. June ripped off pieces of her clothing to serve as make-shift masks, tying them around the mouths of the younger gardeners with weaker lungs. A curved brick wall was erupting in front of them to shield the gardeners from the battle.

She gave a nod to one of the other guards before she sprinted down the side of the building and spotted an earth clansmen with nasty third degree burns stretching across the entirety of his back. Quickly, she knelt beside him and turned him onto his belly, hovering each hand slightly above his lower back and shoulder blades. Most of his nerve endings there were probably fried, so she wouldn’t have to work around that. A soft, amber glow escaped from the space between the sloughed off skin and her hands. Epidermal tissue began knitting itself together from the singed edges of his skin, before the rough patchwork covered the whole of his back. She lifted her hands and took a deep breath.

“Get up, now!” She shouted, turning him over. “We’re outnumbered, and we need you to keep fighting!” As much as it pained her to throw him back on his feet seconds after recovering, she knew that it had to be done. He’d burn down along with the greenhouse if he stayed there.

“Y-yes ma’am.” The man said hoarsely.

She slithered her way through the narrow battlefield, healing the whoever she could find on the ground, and gauging how intensive the damage was. The hounds and the guards exchanged pyre for earth at a staggeringly quick pace, but each time it felt like they finally got the upper hand, they were struck back down again, flames licking at their heels. All the while, June felt a disconcerting gaze on her back.

She squinted her eyes through the dust and soot as she saw one of her own get the wind knocked out of him. “Arthur!” She practically screamed, throwing herself between the offender and the gardener. Just as quickly, she snapped off a round sphere that dangled from her neck and threw it on the ground in front of him. Instantaneously, a blinding light burst out of it. A flash bomb.

June shielded her eyes as she jumped back to create distance between them, and placed her hands onto the boy’s scorched stomach. “Lay off the innocents, Mutt.” She barked. “He’s a child. Barely turned fucking seventeen. Who the hell do think you are?” June spoke through gritted teeth, shutting her eyes as a familiar soft glow escaped from under her palms. Once finished, her head shot up, fiery green eyes shooting daggers at the Hellhound. Her face held no trace of fear—the only thing visible on her features was pure, unadulterated rage. “What is it that you want, parading your stupid dog show through our green house?”

A guard quickly scooped up the boy and took him to where the other gardeners were. June stood, now facing the man who was responsible for all this chaos, her blood boiling. She held her gaze, unyielding. Their men were falling fast—and she was standing before the top dog. If she could stall him here, less people would get hurt, and maybe they might have a better chance of fending them off.
 
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The man watched this small woman, brows knit together as she cleaned up the mess he had made. Watching her carefully, he knew who this woman was now- that glow emerging from her hands as she healed the fallen was a dead giveaway.
“Healer-”
The man quickly shield his eyes as she ran out in front of the young man he’d only just thrown over himself and threw down something that emitted a bright white light.
How troublesome
Samael thought to himself as he moved his arm from his line of site, bringing his gaze to match the woman’s. She was surely a frightening woman in her own accord, it’s not every day someone stood up to him and didn’t look terrified.
“I should be asking him the same question-“ The man cracked a little smile at her- “it’s not everyday someone gets one over on me.”

Samael lowered his hand to his side, flames beginning to lick around his fingers yet again and snaking down into a whip-like shape that coiled just at his feet. His smile thinned out into a taught line, brows furrowing as he thought for a moment..he needed to ensure nobody came to help her out of this situation. The man moved quickly, sliding his left foot out and kicking up a wall of flames that encircled them- ensuring her entrapment.

“tell me woman- are you the healer of this clan.” He stated it as a command for an answer, not a question. The man had less formalities for this woman than he should- even so..she was below him in status. He felt he could address her any way he wished.
“This is no parade of power, woman. We’re here for a reason- and I believe you are that reason.”

This woman seemed like the type to not go down without a fight. He shouldn’t underestimate her- and so he wouldn’t.
Samael took a defensive stance, spreading his feet to provide a better stance- one hand tucked behind his back and the other holding onto the whip he’d forged in flames.
Can’t do too much damage now.
 
June stared at him, stepping forward as he kicked up a wall of fire around them. All she could see was the blazing red pyre, licking at her feet, threatening to engulf her whole. That, and that mutt’s stupid, smug face. Her plan to keep him distracted in an attempt to save her fellow clansmen might’ve worked... a little too well. She clicked her tongue in annoyance as he assumed a defensive stance. She did the same, rolling her shoulders back.

“I’m the head of the healing department. I am the backbone of my clan. All you are is a scoundrel.” She glared at him. It was beginning to sound less like she was stalling for time and a lot more like she had marched right into a bear trap.

June did a mental check of all the weapons she had on her person. As long as she could keep her distance from him, she should be fine. And if not, there was always the dagger strapped to her right thigh. She swiped a hand into the small pouch that hung from her side, and in one swift motion, sent four throwing darts flying in his direction. Two aimed for his thighs, one for the chest, and one for the head.

Her entire back was slick with sweat, and her hands began clamming up from the heat. Wisps of pale hair stuck to her forehead, and her breathing was clearly beginning to get slightly ragged. It was hot. And the soot made it hard to breathe.

She couldn’t tell what was happening outside the ring of fire; all of it was obscured from view. But she could hear the battle, oh, she could hear it loud and clear. The shouts, the grunts, the crackle of new bursts of flame, the blast of stone erupting from the earth. She didn’t need to see it to know—her men were fighting hard.

“Where the hell is our healer?” Commander shouted.

But they were also falling, hard. She squared her eyes at the man in front of her. There was only one reason someone like him would have any business with someone like her. “Your clan’s been shaken down of all its healers, huh? No one wants to heal for the poor, injured hot-heads?” She mocked, her voice scathing. She was small, and she was practically one step left of heat stroke. She knew he could take her down in an instant if he wanted to, but she also knew she had value to him.

“Guess what, Hellhound? Your little fetch quest is right here, and she’s not going anywhere.”
 
"Ah, tell me how you really feel-" The man quipped back at her, his arrogance getting the better of him as he had paid no attention to her hand as she sent throwing darts flying in his direction. It caught him off guard, sure, but this was his playing field- a ring of fire led to endless possibilities battle wise. Samael swung his arm from behind his back- flames engulfing the space in front of him and dissipating just as quickly as they erupted. The man had managed to avoid the two heading for his thighs, sliding to the side to avoid the one headed for his head but ending up with one embedded into his shoulder.
"Crafty~" Samael practically purred, arching an eyebrow at her. "Tell me, Healer-" The man stood tall, squaring his shoulders as he took a step towards her. "Just how long can an Earth Clansmen survive in abnormally hot temperatures?"
The man raised his hand to the dart embedded in his shoulder and pulled it out, holding it between his fingers for a second- taking his gaze off of her for a moment to look over the dart. "Would be a shame for you to lose this, yeah?" A grin broke his stoic features as he sent it flying back in her direction- perhaps just a few wounds wouldn't hurt. Just as long as he didn't kill her, after all.
As soon as that dart left his hand- he ran at her, sending the whip of flames flying out at her ankles. His goal at this point was to knock her off her feet, get her on her back, and force her to submit.

However, what cut him off was a sudden line of stone rising across the width of the flame circle. He stumbled back, the whip of flames dissipating as his temper reached his boiling point. "Fuck-" The man seethed, cutting the flames to give him the view of whoever had interfered here- angered gaze locking onto a guard that had knowingly caught on to who was trapped inside the circle of flames.
Samael made a move towards the guard, stumbling as stones encased his foot and ankle- locking him into place and seemingly trapping him for the moment. He could hear the guard calling to the healer, telling her to move and get out of the general area; bad move on the guards part.
Taking the guards' distraction- he sent a wall of flames rushing at the man, the flames encircling him and gaining mass.
A minor stalemate- Either the guard would burn to death or he'd release him. His attention no longer resting on the healer but instead fully focused on this guard.
The stones climbed higher, pushing him forward and onto one knee- his wall of flames dissipating as his concentration broke. Oh, how his patience was being toyed with. He couldn't decimate this base- well he could but rather the man felt he shouldn't. He needed a last resort to convince this woman to come with him willingly..
Samael had both of his palms flat against the earth, gaze shifting between the guard holding him captive and the few more that had arrived to back him up..then over to his own men creating an ever-growing mass grave in front of the Green House. His eyebrow twitching in anger- flames licking at his fingers again and charring the grass beneath them.
They'll only force my hand, here.


 
“Long enough.” She shot back at him, pulling her hair back from her forehead.

June’s face soured as he pulled the small knife out of his shoulder with ease, completely unfazed by it. She was surprised he managed to deflect three of the four darts, but he seemed... amused at the fourth? Just how much pain tolerance did this man possess?

“Oh, no, you can keep that. Don’t think I’ll be—“ She blinked at he threw it back in her direction. There was literally no where to dodge. She was encased by a damn ring of fire. Hastily, though, she ducked, crouching down to her hands and feet, low to the ground. “...needing that.” She griped, looking at it as it passed through the fire.

When she stood back up again, she staggered a little to find the wall of stone being erupted from the center of the circle. She couldn’t see what was happening behind the wall, but she could hear the jingle of shackles coming from Hellhound. And what’s more, she heard the crackle of new fire and the cries of pain coming from one of the guards, probably the one that had tried to protect her. She winced.

“Stop! You’re burning him alive, aren’t you?” June moved closer to the stone wall, beginning to pound her fists on it in protest. “Guard, I don’t need protecting, take down the wall! I can handle myself!” She shouted, growing more frantic. The wall didn’t budge. None of the guards made a move to take it down either. It was their sworn duty to protect non-combatants.

She gave the wall a hard kick, beginning to seethe. From outside the fire, she could hear more and more of her men get smoked, shouting, kicking and fighting the whole way down. At this rate, all they would all die. And once they all died, that would leave the gardeners sitting ducks. Reinforcements wouldn’t be able to arrive in time. She just needed... more time.

Hastily, she double checked the dagger on her thigh to make sure it was still there. Her breathing grew more and more ragged, and she started coughing from the smoke inhalation. June furrowed her brows in vexation. She was getting weaker. There was no way she’d be able to defend herself in hand to hand combat with Hellhound, especially not in his domain.

“Mutt!” She shouted, her voice cracking. “Call off... call off your stupid fucking attack. What do you want? Tell me... what the fuck it is you want, exactly.” She pressed her palms against the wall, resting her forehead on it, the surface smooth and cool. “I’ll negotiate. Just stop hurting them,” she swallowed, her mouth feeling dry. “You damn hound.”

“Commander!” She called. “Take away the wall. I know this is your battlefield, but you’re walking your men into the jaws of death and you know it.”

After a few moments, the wall started to sink, leveling back down into the ground. The shackles that were on the man’s ankles dissipated into the air, blowing away. June stepped back, her heels tickling the edge of the fire, stumbling a little for balance. She had to squint to look at him, her vision beginning to get hazy.
 

He could hear her cries of protest from behind the wall, the soft pounding of her fists against the stone...or perhaps that was his heartbeat in his ears. Either way he had no time for this-
“Id take a note from her if I were you, earthworm.” He increased the ferocity of his flames...that was until the wall dropped.
The man eased his flames off of the earth clansmen as the shackles disappeared- casting his gaze over his shoulder at the woman that had done nothing but yell at him with that shrill voice of hers.
Samael pushed himself off of the ground, wobbling on his feet a bit as he turned himself fully to look at her- squaring his shoulders once more but taking no defensive stance. While he made no point to show it, his head and his shoulder were on fire (figuratively) from their respective blows of damage. This needed to be settled..now. Either she was coming with willingly or he’d burn this whole place to the ground.

A hound never gave up the hunt.

“Did I not make it fucking clear, woman.” he snapped, hands balled into fists at his side as he cast his splenetic gaze down upon her. “I’m here to retrieve you. Come with us and all this futile brawling can cease.” His words were hissed, aggravation lacing them as thick as the smoke that encamped the area.
A man of his word, Samael meant it. He wouldn’t needlessly demolish the guards and gardeners if she only complied. “You have my word as a man of the military. Come with us willingly and I’ll have my men stand down and snuff out their flames.”

He could feel eyes on him, those of the guards he had wounded and some of his fellow hounds that had stopped just long enough to listen to what he had said. A few of them already willingly ceasing their path of destruction- taking defensive stance should any guards get the wrong idea and attempt to attack Samael.

“An order directly from the head of the Fire Clan- come with us and heal those who require it and we will spare those remaining here. My men do not kill without purpose.”
his voice was clear, though a certain angry edge still etched deep into it.
“However-“ he spoke with authority, like he was addressing a group of soldiers rather than a simple woman.
“Should you Refuse and keep up your offensive stance...we will have no choice but to incinerate this place and all who reside in it. You included.”
Lying through his teeth. She held too much value to the Fire Clan right now, he couldn’t return without someone to heal the wounded and sick. He couldn’t...return a disappointment.

As he spoke to her, the wall of flames that had been erected to entrap her slowly began to die down until it remained nothing more than a charred line in the earth. The heat in the air reducing as the flames that were eating away at this small set up began to dissipate as well- perhaps proof of his word was enough to sway her.

A guard behind him took a step forward, weapon held at the ready- a hound following suit and using a simple melee attack to stun him and throw him to the ground. The same hound placing a foot on the mans back and holding him in place-
“No more fire, Healer. I’m a man of my word.”​
 
She panted, doubling down with her hands gripping her knees as the wall of fire came down slowly, leaving in its wake a charred line in the dirt. If she weren’t one wrong move left of getting a mass of people killed, she’d laugh at his ill temper. The rumors were true—he really was a damn hot head.

June was very clearly wearing far too many layers, and was still overheating because of it, her tunic sticking to her back like glue. “Man of your word, are you?” She scoffed, clearly more worse for wear than she wanted to admit. On top of the smoke inhalation and extreme temperature, she had exerted a lot of energy healing a lot of people who sustained a lot of severe wounds in a very short amount of time, that too without any of the crystals that enhanced her abilities. She was practically on the brink of collapse.

Once she was able to catch her breath, she stood, facing Hellhound with knitted eyebrows. She didn’t hold an offensive stance, and she didn’t reach for any of the various weapons strapped to her person. With eyes glazed over, she simply looked around her. At the guards that lay passed out on the dirt, the wide array of first to third degree burns that peppered her people, and at the few gardeners she could make out through the green house glass, their faces confused and terrified. The scowl was gone from her face, replaced with some unidentifiable mix of ambivalence.

“You’re despicable, you know that?” Her concentrated gaze was fixed on him for a few moments, as though she was searching his features for traces of deceit. Her mind swam—his very breath reeked of treachery. Was she was really going to trust that he’d lay off? The man known by the name Hellhound? She scrunched up her nose in exasperation, before huffing.

Goddamnit, she couldn’t lose any more people. She narrowed her eyes at him, stepping closer.

"I need your men to retreat first. I'm not going anywhere before they're out of sight. I'll call off Commander when and only when you do, and I’ll take a lap to heal my men. And then," June shoved a hand through her hair, clearly bothered by the agreement she was about to make. "I'll come with you. And you better not send back any of your attack dogs back here after I'm gone." She extended a hand to shake, begrudgingly. “Deal?”

There were a few shouts and groans of protest at her statement. Some even moved to attack, but the hounds held them all back, restraining them without wounding them. The Commander even stepped forward, raising his arm, before lowering his gaze.
 
"I'm sure." He quipped at her calling him despicable. It wasn't the first time he'd heard it and he knew it wouldn't be the last. Not with a reputation like his. The man listened to her spout her own conditions to him, rolling his eyes with a little hum of indignance. How unfair that she would want his men to retreat and leave him surrounded by her own. After all, he wasn't 100% right now and damn, he'd say he wouldn't be able to take this amount on his own in his current condition if they swarmed him.
"Even the playing field then. My men will retreat as long as yours, that aren't severely wounded, do the same. Not just your commander."

Samael stared down at her, eyebrows arched ever so slightly as he took in her features up close. What a plain-looking thing. He noted to himself. He grimaced as he took her hand and shook it, not because he thought her dirty, but rather because the hand she chose to shake with left him using his injured shoulder to return it. Though, as quickly as he'd taken it, he'd let go and turned on his heels to face his men-
"You heard the conditions. Retreat to the pickup point, I will meet you once she's done."
His men made no move, giving him stares of uncertainty and doubt..they were to never leave a man behind. Even if it was their own commanding officer.
"NOW." The Hellhound snapped out, voice loud and commanding in nature- lip curled up in a snarl. How could his own men doubt him so much as to not listen?


As they slowly turned and retreated, he turned slightly to look down at the woman again- face easing back into a calm expression.
"I will make no move from this spot until you are finished. But do be quick- I would like to be back on the road to the Fire Clan's base before it's too late in the day to travel."
The man turned his back to her completely then, reaching with his current good arm to feel the back of his head where that young gardener had landed a blow with a shovel. How embarrassing to have such a thing happen to him- he was supposed to be better than that. Of course, it was still bleeding and had left most of the hair on the back of his head soaked- He could only hope this woman didn't take her sweet time. He wished to be able to sit and somewhat relax, if that was an option, on their trek back to their own territory.
They had come in three separate caravans, making sure the third one was fitted with iron bars to encase the Healer within. After all they couldn't have her escaping somehow and return empty-handed to their base.​
 
“Fine.” She huffed, turning around to look at Commander. He looked onward with shame glossing over his eyes, and she could tell he was already thinking of some grand rescue scheme to bust into the fire clan and bring her back. She simply shook her head solemnly.

“Well, you heard her, folks. Pack up. Let’s head back to base.” He turned and helped up some of the men that had fallen. They retreated slowly, with their heads hung, as you do after losing a battle, picking up shards of your pride as you leave.

She turned back and eyed the still-bleeding wound on the back of the hound’s head, and touched her hand, clearly annoyed at the fact that he was injured. His shoulders were obviously stiff, she could tell from the way he shook her hand, so she figured he’d also sustained blows there. There was no way for her to gauge how much pain he was in, mainly because he was probably too bullheaded to let it show on his features.

“With head trauma like that, you probably have a concussion. Go sit on a rock or something, and avoid looking towards the sun. I’ll come back and heal the back of your egotistical head once I’m done.” She grabbed a clean rag from the pack sitting on her left hip and tossed it to him. “For the blood.” As nonchalantly as she could without falling flat on her face, she turned on her heels and ran back to the greenhouse.

June went to work healing the guards with severe injuries, most of them were second to third degree burns. She knew she couldn’t give them the full scope of treatment that she would be able to back at the infirmary with all her magical torcs and medical equipment at her disposal, so she performed mostly patch up jobs. Some of them she healed to the point where they could carry themselves, but she didn’t want to heal too much all at once, so if she felt that they’d be in too much pain, she left them unconscious and called over someone to help carry them back.

Once she was done making rounds with the guards, she did a once over with all the gardeners, making sure they could all breath properly before letting them go. Close to thirty minutes had gone by before she walked back to where Hellhound was. She stopped before reaching him, letting herself pause to take a few deep breaths. Her entire body sprouted aches and pains, and she could hardly see straight. It was a miracle she could still walk on her own, let alone heal.

“Alright, Hellhound.” June lifted her hand to cover her eyes, letting them rest for a moment as she squatted down on the dirt. “Come here, let me see your skull. Did you injure yourself anywhere else?” She removed her hands and stood back up, shaking herself off. Just a little bit longer. She could endure it for just a little bit longer.
 
“Hm..?” He turned as she addressed him, just barely catching the rag, giving her a bewildered look. Who was she to command him and tell him what to do?
“Egotistical, you’re one to speak, healer.” The man mumbled under his breath, holding the cloth between his fingers for a moment before holding it to the back of his head.
Samael scanned the area for something to sit down on, making his way over to a boulder that jutted out of the earth and promptly plopped himself down on it.

The man leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and hanging his head forward while still pressing the rag against it.
The earth was practically spinning for him at this point- the feeling ebbing and flowing like the tides of an ocean. Even while he’s screwed his eyes shut in an attempt to stop it, it kept up its same rhythm.
After a few moments of wallowing in the dizziness, he’d opened his eyes again and brought his head up just enough to watch the woman from where he sat.
She was exhausting herself and for what? A few burns? Burns were nothing compared to what he could’ve done.

His gaze slid back to the grass below him- reaching up to run his finger over the bridge of his nose where the scar was etched in- thinking to himself. While he had been ordered to bring her back he wasn’t told what they’d be doing with her once they arrived. Where was this woman to stay? Were they going to supervise her in any way or would they trust she’d have enough fear not to try to leave on her own?

Samael was pushed from his thought as she addressed him, tipping his head up to look at her. The edges of his mouth twitching upwards at her appearance...she was definitely not in the best shape at the moment.
“You don’t have to continue to call me that wicked nickname. My name is Samael.” That name was just as wicked in its own way...being named after an angel of death was no better than being called Hellhound.
The man pushed himself up then, holding the rag in his hand and no longer pressing it to his head.
“I’m afraid my only other injuries are to my shoulder...where you so kindly embedded your dart.”

The man stood in front of her, gazing down at her in question rather than despise this time.
“Bold of you to want to heal your captor. Here I was thinking you’d wait for me to bleed out and escape.”​
 
June looked up at him for a second, blinking as he told her his name, storing it away in her mind. A smile tugged at her lips as he referenced her handiwork on his shoulder. She almost considered simply leaving it there as a little keepsake, but she figured that might not blow over fantastically. Instead, she brought up her hand and placed it where a bit of blood soaked through his tunic, shutting her eyes. A warm light spilled from her hand, and it slowly began stitching through the wound to keep it closed. She opened her eyes again, glancing up at him as he questioned her.

“Oh, I definitely could.” She started, her features pulled into a glare. “I could paralyze you from the waist down with a dagger, if you’d rather that.” She managed to get out a snarky quip before she worked her way around him.

Balancing herself as best as she could, she climbed up on top of the boulder he had been seated on, having to steady herself with one hand on his shoulder blade. She turned her attention to his head wound, examining it carefully. He had... a lot of hair, way more than her, actually, so she had to part it to get a good view of the wound.

For a moment, she simply stared at it. He was wounded. He had his back turned to her. His hounds were all far out of sight, and so were her men. She could very easily do just what she said she could do—unsheathe the dagger from her thigh and in one quick swipe, slice into the space below the base of his neck, severing his spinal cord. She could paralyze him, kill him instantly, or leave him writhing in agony, depending on where she stabbed.

She shook her head, a frown crossing her face. How naïve of her. “If I let you die,” she started, “that still leaves a pack of your hounds waiting to sic us, whom we have no way of taking down until reinforcements arrive from around the state. And if your leader gets wind of your death, he’d no doubt cut us down like swine. An all out war would break out.” She sighed, bringing up her hands up to the back of his head. “Just because a cocky little healer wanted to play dirty.” She began the healing ritual, shutting her eyes. Since this wound was deeper and affected a more critical area, it required more concentration and she furrowed her brows as she worked.

Her eyes remained closed once she finished, the amber light dying out slowly. “Besides, you’re in charge of not.. getting me killed... on the way to the.. base.” Her words came out mumbled and slurred as her head reeled, knees giving away. She’d reached her limit a long time ago, but her stubborn ego wouldn’t let her collapse before she made sure everything was in order. And she’d just checked off the last thing on her to-do list.

So she fell from the boulder, her body slack, as she drifted off into the unconscious.
 
“Id burn you down before you got the chance.” The man hummed, staring at her hand as a light omitted from somewhere under her palm. They had healers at one point but..they weren’t as skilled as she was.

When she climbed on top of the boulder and stood behind him, he grew tense. Samaels instincts screaming that this wasn’t safe. The man never trusted people he didn’t personally know behind him. However, when she touched his head and began parting his hair- he felt a strange sense of familiarity. She used to love to play with his hair, loved to comb her fingers through it.
The thought of her made him..upset. Not angry...perhaps uncomfortable was the better word.
“You’re correct, Healer. My men would jump at the mere thought of the possibility I could be dead. But..Not because I’m their superior.”

It wasn’t too long before the pain in his head subsided as well as the ebbing and flowing dizziness. He had turned to mention something to her, watching her body fall backwards from loss of consciousness. Samael arched his eyebrows in surprise, moving quick to catch her with one arm before she hit the ground.
“Quick to exacerbate yourself, aren’t you?”

He lifted her over his shoulder, making his way to their caravans.
“she’ll ride with me.” He noted to his men as he climbed into the back of his caravan, carefully laying her on the floor of the caravan. He took his outer robe off, laying it over her before climbing into the front and signaling to his men that it was time they leave.


It was several hours before they had arrived to their clans territory. Samael waved a greeting to the men that patrolled the borders of their territory. As they approached the capital, he made it a point to head towards their leaders office building. They had to check in with him and show that they had the woman in their custody.
Samael would also like to know where it was they would be letting her stay.
When they pulled their caravan up, he climbed into the back again- seeing if she had woken up at all in their travel.​
 
Fire.

June dreamed of fire as she lay asleep on the wooden floor in the back of the caravan. Fire was destruction. That’s all she had known it to be. It was restless, squandering everything in its path and leaving nothing but dust and ash and misery in its wake. Simple. It was so simple.

She saw her village burning. The wide, terrified eyes of her mother as she scooped her up and led her outside through the back door. She could see the screaming faces of the villagers, glanced at the blood splatters, felt the reverberation in her chest of the rumbling caravans arriving. But it was all drowned out—she couldn’t hear a single thing. All that filled her senses was the fire. Demolishing. Consuming. Erasing. Great, big gusts of relentless pyre that leveled the buildings, struck down everyone she knew. Flickering, crackling with sparks, lighting up the night sky with its terrible, terrible flames.

And then she woke up. The rumbling of the caravan had come to a stop, and almost as suddenly, her eyes shot open as she scrambled upright. She had worked up a cold sweat. The robe that Samael had placed over her slid down to her lap as she rose, and she looked at it in confusion.

“Where the hell—“ She hissed, her body suddenly remembering all of the torture she had put it through only hours before. Aches and pains burgeoned all throughout her body, particularly in her arms and legs. “Fucking hell...” June groaned, bringing up a hand to cover her eyes. She was... not an easy riser, to say the least, especially not when she had just collapsed from exhaustion prior to her sleep.

Once she replayed through the order of events that led her to her present situation, she looked up around what seemed to be a caravan. The floors were made of hardwood, maple or oak if she had to guess, and connected up to structured pillars of bowed wood that supported the canvass top. The back of the wagon had two doors that opened out, and were also covered by flaps of canvass. She turned to the front of the wagon, and then spotted that damned Mutt’s face looking at her.

“Oh, shut your stupid face.” June grumbled, despite the fact that he didn’t say anything. “How long was I asleep? Are we at your base?” She peered out from the opening in the front, where could see various guards and a number of large buildings that came into view. Looking down, she scrunched up her nose at the robe that lay in a pile in her lap. It smelled of smoke and soot.

She huffed, realizing that she’d probably slept with it on top of her the whole time, and so she probably smelled like smoke as well. Balling it up, she threw it to the front of the caravan, aiming for the man’s face. It was a pointless gesture. She was a captive, not a guest.
 
He let the garment hit him in the face, caught off guard by her throwing it at him. His nose wrinkled at her, giving her quite the annoyed scowl.
“It’s been a few hours. And yes.” The man curtly replied, getting off the caravan from the front, grabbing his robe as he went and slinging it over his shoulder.
Samael walked around to the other side, opening the doors and giving her the most sour of looks.
“Let’s go. We have a meeting with Igneous, my clan’s leader.”

He leaned away then, turning on his heels and moving to greet his men. Samael hadn’t had time to speak to them, to ensure they had made it out unscathed.
of course a few of them left with bruises, minor scrapes and cuts from the rush of battle but it wasn't anything that required any real medical attention. He was speaking to them, back turned to the caravan as he waited for the woman to exit so he could head inside to meet his leader.

Samael, though as much as he would never admit it, always looked forward to speaking with Igneous. The man was somewhat of a father figure to him- which was strange for him to think about seeing as how they were both adults. However, adult as he may be, Samael was only twenty-four and therefore still young at heart.
He was also relieved to be back in his territory- back in his home. This place didn’t have as much green nature as the Earth Clans territory..it was more cityscape and buildings than anything. A true city..a place with innovation. Nothing like the soggy mud and immense foliage of the Earth clan or the loud rivers and smelly banks of the Water Clan’s territory.
This place was all cobblestone walkways and streets, metal and stone buildings, small factories and it all circled off into the capital, where the large office of the clans leader resided, as well as their military base.

The man glanced over his shoulder at the caravans back doors, then peered up at the sun that was sitting low in the sky now- realizing just how physically exhausted he was.​
 
June moved over closer to the back of the caravan, patting herself down to make sure everything was just as she left it, and no torcs or weapons or first aid items were missing. She looked up at Samael as he opened the back doors, and she swung her legs over the edge as he walked away.

The sight put a knot in her stomach. It was nothing but city. Tall glassy buildings permeated the landscape, broad warehouses in the distance, cold stone pavement beneath her feet and people hustling and bustling left and right. The few bits of nature poking out through the urban hellscape were few and far between, something like precariously planted trees lining a road or artificial looking bushes around the perimeter of a building.

June ran an antsy hand through her hair. She wasn’t just out of her comfort zone, or a fish out of water—she was a dangly piece of shrimp in a shark tank. For a moment, she contemplated jumping into the driver’s seat of the caravan, grabbing the reins, and high tailing it back home.

Sighing, though, she jumped down and walked up to Samael as he chatted with his men. She stared at the entrance of the building, before glancing up at him, and then away again. Hopefully she didn’t come off as jumpy.

As they began walking into the building, a few of the hounds hung back and waited for June to move forward before they followed, leaving her caged in and surrounded by hounds. Of course, they towered over her as she walked. Unease sunk into her stomach at the feeling of the hounds staring at her back, breathing down her neck. Waiting to pounce the second she made one wrong move.

The moment they entered the building, the scent of smoke and coal filled her lungs. She took shallow breaths. The entrance they came in through led to a series of winding corridors lit by torches and an eerie red light that June couldn’t figure out the source of. The hallways themselves were dark and stuffy, and narrow enough to where they screamed that she was not welcome. Every cell in her body was practically screaming at her to find an opening and get the hell out of there.

Her hand twitched a little as she felt one of the hounds accidentally step on the back of her shoe, making it slip off her heel. She took in a sharp breath of air, cutting the tension in the air.

“Okay!” Her feet came to a halt in the middle of the hallway, and she whipped around suddenly on her heels. “Back! Off! Clearly I’m not fucking going anywhere, so you don’t have to follow so closely behind me like a pack of hungry dogs. Haven’t you mouth breathers ever heard of personal space?” She stared at all of them incredulously for good measure, until they slowly took a few steps back.

Huffing, she turned back around, following behind Samael as they continued down the dark corridor. She was uneasy. Everyone and their moms could tell she was uneasy. And why shouldn’t she be? She was walking herself right into the belly of the beast.
 
Samael chuckled quietly at her snapping. “Easy boys- she’s more of a cactus than a flower, hm?” The man took a deep breath, gaze locked ahead as he continued on.
For several minutes the hallways were dark and quiet, the only noise the sound of their combined footsteps.
The farther in they got, the more ambient the lighting and atmosphere became. At some point they had reached a point where the lighting became visible- grandiose chandeliers that hung from the ceilings with red glass bent around it that gave it the red hue. The floor became lush carpet beneath their feet and soon the hallways opened up to other rooms.

As they approached a large steel door that could only be the entrance to the clan leaders office, another room came into view. Inside lay plush lounge seating, an open bar and soothing piano music floated from inside the room and flooded the surrounding hallway.
Samael stopped in front of the doors, lifting an arm and waving his men on. “Go ahead, men. You’ve earned it.” He watched them as they excitedly trailed inside- the man glanced down at June then, humming as he began walking again.“Come now- they’ll be busy for awhile.”

The man knocked gently on the door, pushing it open slightly and standing just in the doorway. “Sir, we’ve returned and...as you can see-“ He offered a small proud smile, gesturing down to the smaller woman that had trailed behind him. “We were very successful.”



The man in the office had been reading something at his desk, glancing up when he heard the familiar voice of his top lieutenant.
Igneous‘ mouth twitched upward in a smile as he began to speak.
“Good work, Samael. Might I say I’m proud of your efficiency-“ He turned his gaze to June, settling his hands on his desk and folding them together, his light tone not changing and his small smile still remaining. This man had an air about him that demanded respect but from first glance he wasn’t as pompous and arrogant as Samael. The man was much older, wiser...more experienced and more somber than his younger subordinates.
“You must be the Earth Clan healer- I do apologize for whisking you away the way we did. You can imagine we knew you wouldn’t come willingly. I do hope My hounds weren’t too rough with you, though.”
He made no move to stand to get closer, still sitting in his chair with his gaze locked onto the smaller woman.​
 
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June stood for a moment as the hounds all pattered off to the large open space across from them. If she was being honest, the fact that they had a recreational lounge to begin with was startling, but their almost welcoming display of camaraderie—the high ceilings, ambient lighting, distant sounds of chatter and laughter and playful howling, the jazzy piano for god’s sake—it all sank into her stomach uneasily.

This wasn’t the fire clan she knew. This was a far cry from brutality, from the devouring walls of pyre and from the dark, narrow hallways that closed in on her just minutes ago. Still, she swallowed the knot in her throat and continued walking, attempting to keep her composure.

When they walked into the office, the aura surrounding Igneous was one that commanded respect; he was everything a controlled, authoritarian clan leader should be and more. She had known of him only by word of mouth, never before encountering him in the flesh, so she was... slightly high strung.

As she studied his unassuming confident posture, courteous smile, and polite hands resting atop his desk, she imagined a big damn stick behind his back. His demeanor said one thing, but the fact of the matter was she was a hostage and he was the one who ordered her kidnapping. She rubbed the nape of her neck as she began to speak.

“Thankfully, I was left mostly unharmed, but your men did quite a number on our greenhouse guards.” She gave a compulsory dirty glance to Samael. “But yes, I understand. That’s how these things go.” She looked at him as he opened his mouth to speak, her gaze concentrated and her shoulders rigid. Quietly, she thanked him for not moving closer to her.

“Yes, I suppose it is. Please dear, have a seat. You must be tired from your travels.” The man stood and poured refreshments from the table behind him, setting them on the other side of his desk. He motioned to the chair in front of him cordially.

Hesitantly, she glanced slightly at the man who stood next to her, who, comparatively, seemed less of a threat, and back to the leader of his clan. Taking a deep breath, she nodded and sat down across from him, her legs crossed, suspicion mounted. If he wanted her to sit, he meant to negotiate.
 
Igneous nodded as he listened, eyes locked onto the woman as she moved to sit in front of him.
“My dear, I’ve reached a point where too many of my men and civilians are getting wounded...and aren’t recovering. Why our hounds numbers have dwindled significantly...How many have passed, Samael?”
“At least twelve of my men.” Something about Samaels voice suggested that the thought hurt him.
The fire clan appeared some well oiled machine that could easily replace its parts but that was far from the truth. Each of these men put under Samael’s care held onto a dear spot in his heart. They were like his brothers and the fact that HE was careless enough to let them fall in raids and battles..well he held onto it and did his best to keep his men in line and safe.

Igneous swept a hand over his slicked back hair- “Twelve. I’ve regretted losing all of them. You see we need healers as we’re running quite short and my men and civilians lives are of great value to me. My conditions are simple..you are free to roam our city with an escort, free to do whatever you wish in our city...as long as you heal our men. They have families that want them back...as I’m sure you have a family as well. Unfortunately while I have no time frame for how long you’ll be here- I can permit visits to your home clan every so often. As long as you have an escort.” He reached to grab one of the drinks- holding it by the brim and sloshing the liquid around the inside.
“Though I do suppose you’ll have to stay somewhere...again most of these men have families and Fire clan women and men are quite territorial over their spouses...however-“ his voiced trailed off in thought as his gaze slid over to Samael. “Samael. You live alone on the barracks, yes?”
“I do.”
Oh no. Samael knee where this was headed.
“I want you to allow our esteemed guest to stay with you. I’m sure you have the space to spare-“

“but sir-“ Samael started to object, a slight red rings tinting his nose and cheeks. “I live alone for a reason!”
“Samael.” The mans voice came out stern, yet soft. It was enough to silence Samaels objections quickly. “I’m sure it won’t be a problem. After all..if I recall your home in the barracks is among the few of the nicest. Make her feel at home-“ his gaze landed back on June as a small smile pulled at his mouth again. “You don’t mind, do you..Miss uh-“ he laughed a little. “Well aren’t I rude. I didn’t quite catch your name-“