A Bloody Mess

Gonyaul had finally slipped into an unconscious state while being protectively cradled in Voah’s arms. The blood loss and concussion having won against his constitution. He had not the tank-like size, muscle mass, or experience as one such as Tarmen to accommodate the beating he had just received. What they saw before them was the result of him trying his best; albeit if he had been willing to be offensive instead of defensive, it may have been a more favorable outcome for him.

He slightly came to when stirred by Alexis. His dilated eyes were not focusing on her and rolled backwards and to and fro. He seemed to recognize her presence from the sound of her voice, making what sounded like a happy hum; however, it could just have been the air being compressed out of his lungs when shifted into being carried.

His wounds dripped blood down Alexis’s carrying arms and body as the group made there escape. It unfortunately was leaving a sporadic spattering trail of the fleeing path they were taking. Occasionally his eyes would seem to creep open; however, the eyes never seemed to orient themselves with purpose. Later he would be able to recall the feeling of swiftly floating and the warm strength of Alexis’s hold.

When they arrived at Alexis’s hideout, the question became where to begin. He couldn’t immediately be placed on his back because it was riddled with nine wooden shard like splinters, one having fell out while jostled about, that would be further aggravated in that position. They would need to be attended to before being placed on his back.

In addition, his front was the largest bleeding wound, a dagger slice from the upper left pectoral diagonally running over the contours of his body to his right hip. It was obvious the cut had started at his upper body and finished southward by the increasing depth of the slice. By the time it was to his hip, one could see the hip bone peeking out from inside. Overall, it created a new corralled river of blood branching off from the mark of kagim and its river of calligraphy.

The front and the back were the most pressing concerns. After that, his body had a multitude of abrasions, bruising, and scrapes one would easily expect from sliding on the ground, falling debris, and struggling with others; especially while not having any protective covering. When they checked his lower body, his entire left thigh was black and blue; the color of the sea during a dark storm. His right hand was still bleeding as well, an arrow puncture and a knife slash along the palm. The puncture to his front right shoulder, not very serious, had stopped bleeding but still needed proper care.

Fortunately, Alexis would see that the large amount of blood painting his body, that wasn’t the wounds already inspected, was not his own. He must have collected that from some other person in close proximity.

When it came to his head, she would be able to feel the large knot from where the stone bounced off him, it would be the only way to notice it under his long black hair (mid back, stopping just past the bottom of his shoulder blades) due to being matted with blood. When the blood soaked and ruined meditation wrap on his face was removed, it started the cut there bleeding again. The whip slash across his face was the first wound he received and so parts of it had already started to dry.

Gonyaul had gone into shock by this point. His skin color looked deathly pale and colder to the touch than usual, with more heat radiating from the wounds due to the inflammation. He would luckily remain unconscious, almost like he was merely sleeping, for the entire treatment process. If he were awake, to add insult to injury, he would have felt awful that he was receiving so much medical attention when others were also very hurt as well.

When he would wake and if he was not too far gone, by the time Alexis put her first aid skills to the test, only time would tell.