>Shipwrecked< -- The Beach

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Date Posted: 23:44:19 03/19/05 Sat
Author: Liandro; Marja
Subject: >Shipwrecked<

On a deserted stretch of rocky beach, the broken remnants of a raft are scattered around two prone forms on the sand. They're soaked with saltwater, though the morning sun is slowly drying them, leaving their skin and clothes lightly crusted with salt. The darker, slightly larger figure moves first, stirring fitfully into wakefullness. Sitting up a bit too fast, Liandro winces and grabs his side, blinking and squinting against the harsh glare of the sun in his eyes. His head throbs painfully with every breath he takes, and from the dampness on his fingers and the shooting pain in his side, his head isn't the only part of him struck by the boards of the raft when it abruptly broke up on them. Seeing Marja still lying motionless beside him, the tall, broad-shouldered young man bends over her, the pained expression on his brown-black face shifting into one of deep concern. He'd tried to shield her with his body when he'd realized that the mighty wave was flinging them straight at an outcropping of rocks, but he's not as strong as he could be, and he'd lost his grip on her when the second wave battered them into the rocks they were on. "Healer Marja?" he murmurs, his breathy tenor naturally quiet. "Are you all right?" His agile fingers gently touch against her neck, feeling for a pulse, and then probe the back of her skull in search of any signs of injury.

His chivalrous action had been more successful than he realized, and while Marja is sore where she'd struck rock, there's no real pain as she wakes up, only the itchy feeling of drying seawater on her skin and someone's hands in her long, wavy black hair. She tenses, then relaxes at the sound of a familiar voice, and slowly opens her eyes to see an anxious Liandro hovering over her. The boy has been with her for almost a Turn now, making himself into a self-appointed bodyguard for the gentle Healer, and she feels no unease at his proximity. The mere thought of doing anything improper would probably send Liandro into a horrified swoon, and she has to fight to hold back laughter at the mental image her mind provides. Smiling at him, Marja sits up and gently pushes his hands away. "I'm fine, Liandro," she assures him, and then the smile vanishes as she sees the hand he holds against his right side, and then the blood seeping from between his fingers. "But YOU," she continues sternly, "are not. Take your hand away and pull up your shirt- don't argue now," she adds before he can even finish opening his mouth to protest, "and let me take a look at that. I'm the Healer here, remember. Can you see my bag?" The woman looks around, then remembers seeing it fly into the ocean when the first big wave jolted their makeshift raft. With a sigh, she begins tearing strips of cloth from the hem of her tunic. "Never mind." And over Liandro's soft-spoken protests, she wipes as much blood and saltwater from the wound as she can, wishing she had fresh water and numbweed, and begins fashioning a makeshift wrapping. "I'll redo that properly later, when I can find fresh water and numbweed plants, but right now I just want to stop the bleeding."

Eventually, the Healer is satisfied with her dressing, and hauls Liandro to his feet. "There should probably be a stream of some kind emptying into the ocean, with all this vegetation about," he volunteers, knowing that while she can identify just about any dangerous or beneficial plant on the Northern Continent, Marja's never learned anything else about the wilderness, especially here in the warmer equatorial area where he spent most of his life. So he'd spent a great deal of it on boats, true, but any good fishercraftsman knew a bit about islands, in case of shipwreck. Reluctantly allowing Marja to drag his arm over her shoulders, though he does his best not to lean on her since he knows he weighs a good deal more, the teenager nods to the right. "If we walk along the shoreline, we can find it, and where there's a stream-"

"-there's more likely to be numbweed and fellis," Marja finishes with a smile. "And even if there isn't, we could use some fresh water. I know. Come on." Doing her best to support Liandro, though she knows the silly boy will be trying not to lean on her, she lets him lead them off along the beach.

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