FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Pain brought the hybrid back to consciousness. It felt like needles piercing every fiber of her being. Nyx had never had to use her ability so frivolously in such a short amount of time, and the repercussion was awful.

She groaned, opening her eyes to see a high ceiling made of grey stone. She was laying on some sort of cot, a thin white blanket covering her body and a lumpy pillow under her head. Her tail spilled off the cot and onto the floor, bandages wrapped around it.

Her armor and most of her clothes had been removed, leaving her in her undergarments. Dried blood and mud were still caked on her fur, but she had been cleaned in areas that needed bandaging.

The moans and cries of the dying caused her head to ache, and she sat up with a groan, much to the protest of her body.

She was in what appeared to be a hospital wing of sorts. It was long, with a tall arching ceiling and paintings of a species-less female figure made of light hanging on the walls. The floors were overflowing with wounded beastmen, some laying on cots, but the majority placed haphazardly on the floor.

On the cot to her left was a canine beastmen with a missing ear, a bloodied bandage wrapped around his head to staunch the bleeding. On her right was a female ursine, a blood soaked bandage wrapped around her torso, taking shallow breaths.

Female beastmen in white gowns with medic crosses hurried back and forth along the room, doing their best to care for the injured, but being very understaffed for it. Nyx looked down the room towards the doors to see that the wounded were spilling out into the hall.

They had to have won, or else there probably wouldn't be this many survivors. But looking around at the conditions everyone was in, it certainly didn't feel like winning.

She carefully lifted the white sheet off herself, slowly swinging her legs off the cot and placing her paws on the cold stone floor. Nyx grimaced as a fresh wave of pain flared up her body. She did her best to ignore it, she had to find Arc.

A flustered nurse hurried over to her, carefully stepping over or around injured beastmen as she did so. When she got close, the nurse, a plump calico, gently placed a hand on Nyx's shoulder.

"You shouldn't be moving," the nurse said. "Not until we're sure you're alright. You broke a few ribs and we don't want them shifting out of place."

With the pain Nyx was feeling everywhere, she honestly hadn't noticed anything specific like a broken bone.

She pushed the nurse's hand off her shoulder. "Where's Arc," She said simply.

"I don't know who that is," the nurse said, putting her hand back on Nyx and attempted to gently push her back down on the cot. "Please lay back down."

Nyx smacked the nurses hand away, anger rising. "Arc Redwood. An albino fox with purple tattoos dyed on her fur, a feathered earring in her right ear, where is she?"

"Ma'am, please lay down, you're not..."

"Where is my wife!?" She roared standing to her full height, glaring at the nurse with fury in her eyes. Her legs threatened to buckle under the sudden movement, but she forced herself to stay standing.

The nurse cowered with a squeak, eyes growing wide. Many of the room's occupants turned to look at the two of them, a couple of the nurses making their way over to see what was going on.

The nurse pointed to the other end of the room with a shaky finger. "T-there was a beastman like that near the far wall." She said. "They had horrible burns on the front of their body. She hasn't woken up yet as far as I know."

Nyx was already moving before the nurse had finished, making her way to the other end of the room. Her body ached, wishing it had stayed in bed, but her determination pushed her forward.

Her eyes darted across the beastmen in the cots and on the floor, trying to find her spouse. In her rush her paw tripped over the leg of a soldier, causing Nyx to stumble forward. She caught herself before she fell over, and straightened. Something caught eye as she did, and glancing over showed it to be the lavender and turquoise colored feathers of Arc's earring.

Arc lay in a cot backed up parallel against the wall, two nurses looking over her. As Nyx drew closer, she saw that Arc was wrapped in white linen bandages from the neck down except her left arm.

Her left arm was furless, the flesh colored an angry reddish black. One of the nurses was applying a cream to the discolored skin, a roll of fresh bandages at her side, and the other nurse had her hands hovering next to Arcs temples, a pale green light glowing from her fingertips.

Nyx's legs finally gave out when she reached the edge of the bed.

"How is she?" She asked quietly.

The nurse with the glowing fingers glanced at Nyx before looking back down at Arc. "She's hanging on. I don't know how she got the burns she did, but I'm doing my best to keep her stable."

Nyx reached up and laced her fingers in Arcs bandaged hand, pressing it against her cheek. Tears tickled the edges of her vision, but she fought them back.

Arc, what did you do to yourself?

The nurse applying the cream started to wrap the exposed arm carefully, and while she did, the second nurse lowered her hands.

She reached over and placed a comforting hand on Nyx's arm. "I've done all I can for now. My ability expedites the body's natural healing process, boosting it so it can heal better and with less chance of scarring, but the rest is up to her. There are nurses that can legitimately heal, but they're busy tending to those who may not make it otherwise."

"You need to bring them here." Nyx said weakly, wanting to pull away from the nurse's touch. She intended to shout it, but her body refused to put in any more effort.

"We can't," the nurse said sternly, standing up. "Not until those with a higher risk of dying have been cared for. She just needs to hold on for as long as it takes so they can get to her."

Nyx blinked back tears, one escaping and slowly dripped down her muzzle and off onto Arcs bandaged hand.

//////////////////////////////////

It was a few days before the healers got to Arc. In that time, Nyx refused to leave her wife's side, going as far as bringing her cot over and setting it up next to Arcs.

She would spend her waking moments holding Arcs hand, gently stroking it with her thumb and watching Arcs chest rise and fall with slow, shallow breaths. She refused to sleep, fearing that Arc would pass in the night. She trusted Arcs strength and her ability to hold on, but should it happen, Nyx wanted to witness her spouse's passing.

Every day the hospital wing became less and less cramped as soldiers and Bounty Hunters were healed and sent on their way, or unexpectedly passed before the healers could get to them.

Both Arc's and Nyx's weapons and armor were returned to them, having been recovered from the battlefield. Their travel packs were also returned, a large bag of money inside both of their bags as per the king's reward for the bounty.

Nyx would give every coin in her bag if it meant Arc waking up sooner.

On the second day, one of the generals of the king's army came by to personally thank every one of the Bounty Hunters still remaining in the hospital wing.

He was a colt with a graying salt and pepper mane and kind eyes. When he reached Arc and Nyx, Nyx gave him no more than a glance, keeping her eyes on Arc.

The general crouched down next to the two. "You have done this kingdom a great service, and I've come to thank you on behalf of King Jared," he said in a soft voice. "Without you Bounty Hunters to hold the line, we wouldn't have had a chance to pull our troops and trade out the soldiers in the front with fresh ones from the back. Not only that, but you all took care of a large portion of the enemy Alchemicals that otherwise would have decimated our forces."

Nyx stayed quiet, not trusting herself to say anything. If King Jared truly cared, he could come here himself.

The general sighed, standing up. "I saw her on the battlefield." He said, and Nyx looked over to see him gesturing at Arc. The general met her eyes. "When we had regrouped and charged forward, I saw her vaporize dozens of Dravern soldiers in a flash of light before she collapsed. She was beautiful, like Iridescence herself." He started to walk away, his hooves scrapping lightly against the stone floor. "She's lucky to have you." He added over his shoulder.

The sound of his hooves grew distant as he clopped away, and Nyx turned to face Arc again, reaching up to touch the fox's face and stroking it in gentle admiration.

The next morning a healer finally came, much to Nyx's relief. She was a tall lynx of sorts who walked with purpose. They unwrapped the bandages to expose the burns underneath and clicked their tongue in disappointment.

"They should've brought me to her sooner." The healer said. "Dying doesn't always entail copious amounts of blood."

She placed her hands on the sides of Arc's now exposed midriff. Almost immediately, the discoloration of Arcs skin started to fade as the burns smoothed themselves out, returning to their original brilliant white pigment.

Nyx watched in fascination, the fears that had been festering inside her dissipating. It wasn't long before the burns disappeared entirely, leaving Arc with large patches of missing fur on her front, but otherwise injury-free.

When the healer was done, she pulled her hands away, breathing heavily, sweat dripping down her forehead. "Her fur will need to grow back on its own, and she may still take a while before waking up, but she'll live." She said.

"Thank you." Nyx said, relief flooding her like a drug.

"It's my pleasure," the healer said, putting a hand on Nyx's back.

Nyx flinched a little at the contact, but inhaled sharply when the pain started leaving her body. She had grown numb to the constant ache, and when it left, it was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

With nothing holding her back, the dam broke, and she burst out in tears. Heavy tears fell from her muzzle as Nyx sobbed in relief. Wrapping her arms around Arcs stomach, Nyx pulled the unconscious fox towards her. She cradled Arc's body, laying down next to her wife on the small cot and finally allowing her exhaustion to put her to sleep.