The crackle of lightning.
A clash of steel.
Yelling "RUN!"
Stamp of feet and thunder.
Darkness.
Spyder woke up with a start feeling cold and soaked to the bone. She first hears the sound of heavy rain against rock, then the far off booming of thunder. Her legs felt sore and the entirety of her body seemed to tingle for a moment. Looking herself over she was indeed soaked from the rain but otherwise uninjured as far as she could tell. Scanning the area around her the only person with her in this small cave structure was the back of Ral, who seemed to be keeping his attention on the entrance.
Whether it was the sound of her movement or some other perception he turned his head to her, "You ok? I didn't know how long it would take for you to wake up." Nodding to him she could feel fragments of memory coming back to her but still felt unsure of herself, "Ya, I think I'm fine." She hesitated on her next words, "What happened? I remember parts but not everything."
Ral watched her for a moment, the glint of concern in his eyes, before turning back to the cave entrance, "We were walking through the mountains when a storm hit us. Robyn didn't see it coming, we went on guard knowing something was off. I heard stomping and a boulder slammed onto the road in front of us. Once we heard the roar and watched the giant come charging at us. The fight wasn't going well and we got separated when Aurus told us all to run. We ran and you passed out, it got a few shots on you beforehand. I picked you up and found this cave. I'm thinking we stay here until the storm passes then go out and find the rest."
Spyder nodded feeling the memories pop back into place and realized that the tingling feeling was probably from the giants lightning. She stood up and walked over beside Ral, finding a flat bit of stone to sit on, and find a comfortable sitting position.
Ral can easily still feel the pain coursing through his back and the throbbing of his legs from the retreat. He knew they were lucky to find this cave and so far even luckier to have avoided detection from the giant. The cold wetness was a close second to the pain in his body but still wanted to be sure Spyder was alright. As she sat next to him he could hear the shivering of her body and knew that if they were going to stay here for any amount of time she needed to get warmer. "I don't want you to get a cold, take off your armor and clothes for now. I have a blanket in my pack."
He reached to the side and started to pull out the said blanket before handing it to her. She took the blanket but glanced from him to the blanket looking unsure. It took a moment but he realized the source of her hesitation, "I won't look, I promise." He turned back to the mouth of the cave making sure that Spyder felt safe enough to trust his words. There was a small part of him that was excited by the situation but the pain and concern for his friend drowned that aspect for the moment.
After about a minute he began to hear sounds of buckles and buttons being pulled apart along with the gentle squeak of wet leather. Spyder's groans and grunts shared the difficulty she was having getting the armor off her. For a brief moment after hearing her shift uncomfortably he slightly turned to offer assistance but stopped when he saw her naked bare chest while she was pulling off the leather trousers. Ral quickly turned back away from her hoping she didn't notice him seeing her naked breast.
He felt his pulse quicken and attempted to meditate on the rain and keep his thoughts away from the girl getting naked behind him. After a few minutes he heard the cloth of the blanket unfold and brush against stone under them. "Feeling better?" Not willing to look at her for the moment, he thought he heard her shrug under the blanket. "I would feel better if we had a campfire going." Ral shook his head, "The cave is too shallow, something outside might see the light and be drawn here."
Spyder nodded realizing the cave was maybe fifteen feet deep, enough to keep out of the rain but not much more. She was trying to keep her mind off an earlier thought after Ral said he wouldn't peak at her and she could feel a part of her be disappointed. She remembered a few times in the past half year where she has looked at him as more than a friend but quickly shook herself from vision.
A strong powerful build that always seemed to treat her with care, what more could she want? Again she shook away the thoughts that left her with a much more pleasant tingle that was uncommon for her. Glancing back at him she saw that he was still dripping rain water from his armor and though she knew he was tough, it was still bad to keep him that wet. "Ral, you should get out of your armor and clothes too. I don't know if you can catch a cold but I don't want you to risk it." She watched him stiffen but didn't seem to give way.
After waiting a moment with him still not moving she sighed, "I promise I won't stare ok?" She heard him groan but finally relent and began to pull off his armor piece by piece. A few moments she watched him struggle with a piece or two and reached forward to help him. Once she noticed him look down at her exposed shoulders and neck before returning his attention to the armor. She felt the tingling return and a heat build slowly inside her, before doing her best to push the feeling away.
Once she refocused on helping Ral take his armor off they were finally able to get his breastplate off and the leathers underneath she watched him place the bundle to the side. He still wore his undershirt and trousers seeing as they were much drier than the rest of the armor. As he sat back to his self imposed guard station she noticed his movements to be a tad stiff and before he could press his back against the wall of the cave she caught the sight of red against the cloth of the shirt. "Hey, wait, what's that on your back?"
She watched him stiffen shoulders and continue to look out into the rain. "Ral, what the hells are you hiding from me?" The faintest of growls could be heard from him, "I'm fine. Just keep warm." Her glare bore into his side and without warning she pushed his shoulder forward showing her his crimson stained backside.
She could see that what hit him struck almost the exact center of his back as there was a torn hole in the shirt. Spyder looked back up at Ral's face with a fierce glare though she could help but sympathize with his pain. Ral didn't elect to look back into her gaze, instead focusing on the cave entrance. She could feel a scolding yell about to burst but instead let it out with an aggravated sigh and wrapped the blanket around herself tighter as she walked over to her pack. After a few moments of shuffling through her gear she found the small round container she was looking for and brought it back over to Ral. "Take off your shirt."
She made sure her tone didn't prompt him to question her and began to open the container in her hands. After a short pause and a sigh Ral began to pull off his shirt with the slightest painful grunt. Spyder saw the damage to his back and felt the sympathy for him rise. She could see deep burns and openings where his blood had seeped out. As she dipped her fingers in the container and brought out a pale gray paste she shook her head, "What happened to you?"
Ral shook his head and knew that it was stupid of him to keep it from her. "As we were running I saw the giant throw a bolt of lightning at you and..." Again he sighed feeling something he hasn't felt for some time, embarrassment. "I jumped infront of it. I got thrown and slammed into you, I think that's when you got knocked out. I picked you up and ran in here, It's been painful but I can manage." He heard Spyder grunt, "Ya well, this should help deflate your tough guy routine."
Ral was about to question her when he felt her fingers press against the wound driving a sharp pain through his system that almost immediately was dulled to a warm tingle. He turned back to her, "What the hell is that?" She held up the container to him and he could smell earthy herbs and other medicinal ingredients. Whatever it was he could already feel the pain of where she applied the balm soothing most of his pain. "Thank you." He turned to give her access to the rest of his back trying to focus on the rain outside.