[Amanaduial the archer]

Coromswyth wiped her sword on the grass, then threw it directly down towards the ground so that it buried itself about halfway up, the soft earth yielding to it. Moving swiftly towards Caranbaith, who was beginning to stand painfully, she lifted his arm gently, slipping her head underneath and threading an arm around his waist to take his weight. The younger elf protested against her help, but she hushed him in a no-nonsense fashion, taking some of his weight and helping him to the side of the hollow where he lowered himself down against a tree. As he slid down, back against the tree and teeth gritted, the rough bark must have caught against his wound for he suddenly inhaled, looking sharply down at his side as his hand reached for it. With infinite gentleness, Coromswyth prised away his fingers, pushing his cloak out of the way, to take a look at the wound, eyes narrowed studiously.

Gently, she asked him to loosen his tunic and shirt, knowing that to do it herself would be to embarass him even more. He hesitated, glancing at his twin brother, then looked back at Coromswyth and complied wordlessly - his teeth were still gritted and he had made not a sound. Exposing the wounded area, at the side of Caranbaith's muscular torso, she wiped away some of the dirt, her long fingers caressing his skin only very lightly. With a brief nod, she looked up to his twin brother, who was standing beside them. "Megilaes, my horse's saddle is by the tree near which he is tethered. A the right hand side hangs a small pouch made of soft material - please could you bring it to me?"

Megilaes nodded silently and hurried to do so, reluctant to leave his brother's side but glad to be able to help. Despite all the training and solemness the brothers had so far demonstrated, she saw him gnawing his lip, his brow furrowed and lined with anxiety. Turning back, Coromswyth knelt on one knee in the mud and ripped a strip of material from her underskirt. Looking up at Caranbaith, who had looked down to meet her eyes at the sound of ripping, she grinned slightly, shaking her head at the protest she knew would have been there if he had not been concentrating so hard. "Believe me, I shan't miss a few inches of material when you are missing a few inches of skin and the subsequent flesh - rather puts it in context for both of us, hmm?" She smiled, then began to wipe at his wound, clearing it of the little dirt and bits of stone and splinters that had accumulated there, trying to assess his wounds. After a second Megilaes wordlessly handed her the soft animal skin pouch in which she kept practical bits and pieces- it had served her finely in the past, but was not much of a first aid kit when faced with Caranbaith's wound, the depth of which she was beginning to now realise fully.

Turning her head slightly over her shoulder but keeping her eyes and fingers on her work, she called towards the edge of the hollow. "Ambarturion! You may need to have a look at this..."

"I am here." His voice came from much closer than Coromswyth had expected and she whipped her head around in shock to see that he was standing just over her shoulder. His tread had been utterly silent, more so than she could have imagined. He knelt beside her and she quickly outlined the details as far as she could see them in the poor light. He listened intently, a sense of suppressed anger radiating from him, then clenched his jaw firmly, sighing. Reaching forward, he went to touch the wound, but Coromswyth stopped his hand, grabbing the wrist harder than she had meant to. "No, please! Ambarturion, there is still blood on your hands - I do not wish to add infection to the list of problems."

"Oh? Well what about the goblins' blades? They will have been poisoned-"

"They were no more poisoned than our own." She cut him off sharply, inwardly surprised at his pointed, uncharacteristically unreasonable tone. The rage of battle was still with him then. She carried on more sedately. "There is no trace of poison in the wound, as yet, although it is very open - I shall put a salve over it and bandage it, I have a few spare strips with me. Infection may be avoided, at least until we get to the Woodmen. But it may be hard to walk with."

"I will be fine." Caranbaith's voice was strained and harsh as he spoke through still-gritted teeth. His forehead gleamed with sweat as the moonlight returned and his jaw was clenched with such ferocity that Coromswyth thought his teeth may break, but he managed to stop his voice from shaking. "I will be fine," he repeated fiercely.

Coromswyth regarded him for a moment in the darkness, her eyes fixed on his face as her fingers sought by touch for a bandage in the pouch. "Bravery is not just seen in battle..." she murmured softly.

"He is not your study, my lady," Ambarturion snapped, his voice curt and cold, still unreasonable, as he stood. Coromswyth turned and sent him a vicious glare before retrieving the small pot of cooling, healing salve from her pouch, containing extracts of elanor and kingsfoil to make it incredibly effective. Without a word, she began to stir it in a business-like manner, before starting to spread it gently across Caranbaith's side.

"Will we be able to travel as quickly as before?"

"It is a pity we have no running water, I should have liked to clean it more thoroughly," Coromswyth muttered quietly, disregarding Ambarturion's question as she worked on Caranbaith's side, finishing up with the salve now.

"Lady?!" Ambarturion snapped, impatient. Coromswyth's head shot up and she glared at him once more, vemon radiating from her gaze. "I do not know, Ambarturion, but what I do know is that battle suits you very ill."

"Pardon, lady?" He sounded astonished. Coromswyth reprimanded herself inwardly, cursing as she wished she could take back that comment. How could she express now what she had felt when she saw him fighting, her admiration at how fast and fearless he was, how some aura had seemed to emit from him as if he was one of the Ancients? Rarely if ever had she seen anyone fight with such skill, but now it sounded as if she was attacking his skill.

"I did not mean-" she began.

"Battle has been my life, Lady Coromswyth. I merely inquired as to whether we should be able to travel at the same speed, as to whether we would reach the Woodmen-"

"I am no reader of the future, Ambarturion, I have no more idea than you, in truth and may wonder the same thing - although I would guess not, bearing in mind that the goblin's dispatched of my horse, presumably so it would not give them away," she interrupted scathingly. Ambarturion shook his head angrily.

"Coromswyth, it was not merely idle wondering, as you are inclined to," he interrupted fiercely, his voice icy and sharp. Coromswyth gasped at the insult and she rose in a swift movement to be equal with him. "Idle wondering, you say? Idle wondering? It is my 'idle wondering' that has sorted something out for your pupil's side, my 'idle wondering' that got me chosen for this mission-"

"And whether that is a good thing is yet to be decided-"

"-My 'idle wondering' that considered that maybe this place was not entirely sound if attacked!" she finished, her voice a little shrill and rising almost to a shout, nose to nose with Ambarturion. A silence descended between them as both remainded frozen, watched by the unmoving twins. Embarassed of the outburst, and of voicing her doubts hurtfully, Coromswyth flushed and looked away, kneeling down beside Caranbaith again and reaching for the bandage, trying to keep her hands steady. Ambarturion remained still, unspeaking, and Coromswyth was for once pleased that she could not see the elf's face. Fool, Coromswyth, fool! What, are you some drunken brawler in a low Inn in Edoras that you cannot speak civilly but must shout? You get carried away and jeopardise too much - fool, Coromswyth, hold your tongue! If he is not a forgiving sort...

She felt a warm, rough touch on her hand suddenly and looked across, expecting Megilaes...to see Ambarturion, taking one end of the bandage from her and holding it in the correct position so she would be able to concentrate more easily. Slightly surprised and infinitely grateful for the forgiving gesture, the female elf smiled hesitantly at the other, pausing in her work, then began to wrap the bandage around competantly and with more ease than she would have been able to. With this gesture, Ambarturion had probably swallowed a hefty measure of pride and had so patched up their travelling relationship better than any flimsy bandage could.

They worked in silence for a while, then, as Coromswyth was securing the end of the bandage, she glanced across at Ambarturion. "Look on the bright side," she said with a sheepish grin. "At least I won't be stealing any so-called moral high ground on that bloody horse any more."