Paradox held the wounded man in her arms as the Crimson Knights and their medics, as well as other medical personnel from other factions, ran out onto the battlefield. She looked at the red cloaks and gave a soft smile as she was able to see the capeless one with them as they went up to her. An older elf came up to her and gestured to the man. She nodded and the wounded was magically lifted out of her arms by the medic, who then took over his care. She watched him check the man over and then summon a stretcher to carry him back to the camp. She watched them go for a moment, before turning her eyes back to the field, there were more wounded out there that needed to be brought back. Bodies too, they also needed to be brought back in order to be returned to their families and peers.

She was just about to turn back and head up the field when she saw the capeless one turn suddenly. His lack of a cape made his sudden movement stand out that much more over his peers. She followed his gaze and saw a group of insects running at them. There were many, likely the last big assault on their forces by the insects today. At least she hoped it was the last. She was getting worn down and she felt her hind leg was bleeding again. It ached with each step she took but tried to keep her limp as subtle as possible. If the insects saw her weakness, she would be the first to be attacked. She limped up next to the capeless Knight and drew her bardiche out of its sheath. She planted herself firmly at his flank, hissing as her muscles tightened under the large cut. She would deal with it later, now wasn't the time.

Just as she felt that they were about to attack, she saw a group of knights in wedge formation drive through the group of bugs. They drove them apart, separating them into two smaller groups. The ground shuddered as she felt the mounted knights follow behind them, their spears and swords cutting quickly through the insects that the foot soldiers had divided. It was a quick end, as the insects were not nearly as formalized in combat or formation tactics as the trained knights. She couldn't help but give a sigh and relaxed her body slightly. The beast inside of her was tiring and the urge to fight was draining out of her. She looked around, now that the attacking insects were all but demolished. She didn't see any other bugs coming out of the hole, several of which were fleeing back inside. The bloody cowards.

There was a roar and a woosh of air above them as the dragon skimmed through the sky. It appeared to have several small wounds, as red splotches could be seen against its gray hide, but it seemed to be alright overall, as it flew as easily and as swiftly as it did first thing this morning. It flew directly to the hole and again jetted out a terrifying column of flames. The screams of the burning insects inside could be heard, even at their relative distance from the entrance. She smiled up at it as it flew back over, signaling the end of the battle for the day. They would regroup and come back at it tomorrow. 

She sheathed her bardiche and walked painfully up towards the hole, surveying the rest of the battlefield. She checked the fallen bodies for any survivors. She found several wounded people and animals, the most severely wounded she picked up and slung across her back and returned quickly to camp. The less severely wounded, she summoned a small green ball of light over them that would keep them relatively warm as well as enable the medics to find them after night fell. The deceased, when found, she placed over them a red ball of light and said a quick prayer. She made several trips back and forth with the wounded before she felt her leg give out from under her.

She had just walked back to the base camp, a hurt elf with a crushed leg and a fox with a spear point lodge in its shoulder on her back. She felt her back leg falter under her weight after the wounded had been taken from her. She took a few steps toward the main fire and her weight shifted onto the weakest corner. Before she knew it, she felt herself fall onto her left flank into the packed snow. A few people stopped to look at her but she waved them away as she tried to carefully get to her knees. She pawed at the snow with her forelegs and tried to push herself up with her right leg, only to falter and fall back in the snow. She pinned her ears angrily as she stared at her wounded leg. She hated being helpless. 

Derek released his breath and felt on the verge of collapsing as he watched the knights finish off the insects that had been so close to overwhelming them. All across the battlefield the scene was repeated as the attackers beat back the insects, sparing none. Movement from the corner of his eye drew his attention away from the knights and towards the same centaur that had been catching his eye since the previous night. He opened his mouth to introduce himself, thinking that at this point they had been around each other enough to warrant an introduction, but the sight of the dragon swooping back overhead took the words from his mouth. Despite everything he had seen today, the sight of a dragon was still enough to leave him speechless. It did it's thing, filling the insect's hole with fire and then turned back towards the camp. He turned back to speak with the centaur, perhaps to comment on the majesty of the dragon or perhaps to say something idiotic, he would never know as she was already gone. Instead he attempted to return the sword in his hand to the sheathe at his side, but after a brief struggle he realized it wasn't going to fit as it wasn't the one that he had started the day with. With a little adjustment he was able to tuck it, somewhat safely, into his belt so that his hands were free. The battle might be over, but there was still work to be done.

As far as battlefield medicine went, he didn't know any. He didn't have magic, he didn't have blessed items or healing herbs, potions or talismans. All he had was himself. He attached himself to one of the mercenary medics, following instructions. Fetch this, fetch that, move this one over there, leave that one there. The work was hard, manual labor but he wasn't facing spitting, biting giant insects, or inhuman soldiers bent on destroying him and his people any more. It was, in a way, nice to be able to shut off his brain and just do as he was told. It was with some surprise that the medic eventually sent him on his way back to the camp, telling him it was well past his time to return.

He had dropped the sword somewhere, but he was sure he would be able to find a replacement by tomorrow, when he assumed the combat would resume and the insect hole would be assaulted once more. He wondered if tomorrow they would make it inside, and if they did, what it would look like down there. There, up ahead, was the centaur once more. It seemed like fate that they kept running into each other. He was determined to introduce himself at least. Then she fell over. He froze in place but then regained his senses and rushed forwards, pushing past people to get to her. Upon reaching her, though, he suddenly realized there wasn't going to be a whole lot he could do.

"Erm… This is going to sound stupid but, can I help in any way?"

Paradox pinned her ears in frustration. Her leg hurt, yes, she'd have to take care of that soon and falling on it didn't help. She was more frustrated by the sheet of ice underneath her that made it impossible for her to get a grip with her right hind. It was hidden by the snow and likely was the reason she'd fallen initially. She brushed the snow away from her front legs with her hands and felt the smooth ice underneath the snow. The heat of the fire had melted the snow earlier in the day and it refroze after night fell and the temperatures dropped. She huffed and crossed her arms for a minute, looking at her predicament.

Her ears perked forward as she saw someone pushing their way through the crowd. She uncrossed her arms in surprise as the Capeless Knight came up to her. He offered to help her if he could. "I can't get a grip on the ground to push myself up," she told him. She scraped a hoof to remove the snow and expose the ice underneath. A person or small animal wouldn't be able to find it, as they wouldn't be heavy enough to get through the layer of snow on top. "There's ice here because we're so close to the fire. Can you get me some boards or hay or something, please? I need traction in order to get off the ground." She looked up at him as she laid on her chest, her forelegs folded underneath her body.

She waited patiently for his return. Some other people nearby assisted her, bringing her planking and other material. She directed their placement of the items and shortly had all the supplies in place. Carefully, she attempted to rise, making sure to position all four hooves on the planking secured in the snow. She tensed her muscles and prepared to push off from the ground. The wood helped and she found herself able to stand up again. Her leg ached, and she would tend to it shortly. She thanked the people that helped her and walked gingerly toward the Capeless One. "I really appreciate your help, I don't know how I would have gotten out that on my own."

 "The name's Paradox." She smiled at him. She walked slowly over toward the food station to get her evening meal. "You did well today. Very resourceful against the insects. They didn't stand a chance against the Crimson Knights." She grabbed a bowl of food and laid down a short distance from the fire to eat. The food was rich and warm, even if it was relatively tasteless. "I hope we're as lucky tomorrow as we were today. It trickled down from the main camp that we didn't have as many casualties as expected. The bugs were effectively exterminated on the surface. It's what's underneath that worries me. Rumor has it that we're to invade the nest and attack the Queens tomorrow. Informants said they are guarded by "higher" insects than what we fought today. Mantis, centipedes, dragonflies, scorpions, all dangerous predators in their own right. Nevermind more of those human insect things." She was silent for a moment. "What do you think about it?"

Derek rushed to comply, wanting to help the centaur as quickly as possible. She had saved him, earlier in the day, and he needed to find a way to repay her for that. He had a rough idea where he could get some hay from, but that would be back at the mercenary camp site with the horses for the mounted knights. He was sure that was a little too far out of the way, though, and inside the main camp he was a little lost. He took off into the camp, though, determined to do his best. As he reached a crossroads he spun in place, looking around, but there were no helpful signs that might lead him to stables, or anywhere else where there might be a stockpile of hay. Or wooden boards, for that matter. 

"Excuse me, sir, I can't help but notice you look a little lost." Derek turned to see an older man, with short cropped hair and a neat mustache standing a few feet away from him. The man stood stiffly, almost like he was used to being at attention, waiting for Derek to acknowledge him. Derek breathed a sigh of relief at there being someone who seemed to be friendly around. It also made him feel a little foolish about not stopping to ask someone for directions sooner.
"Yes, someone is in trouble, just back there," he gestured at the way he had come, "and they need hay, or boards, or something to get under them so that they can move." He didn't know if he was making any sense, but he barreled on anyway. "Is there anywhere around here that you think we could get some?"
The man seemed to consider this for a second, then nodded to himself. Derek noticed that at his side hung a strange looking sword, it looked almost like the stinger from a wasp. "This way." the man said, and began walking.

They quickly came across what looked like a small paddock, though there were no horses inside. "Lost during the battle." the man explained, apparently taking note of the way he was looking at the empty space. "Nobody will miss anything. Now, let's help your friend, shall we?" Between the two of them they began pulling boards from the fence, and each of them grabbed handfuls of hay. They rushed back to where the centaur lay, a small crowd gathering around her. Others were already helping, and between the group of them they were able to get her back up and on her hooves. With a big grin on his face, Derek turned to thank the man but he was already gone.

The centaur introduced herself as Paradox, and Derek replied with his own name. She thanked him for his help leaving him feeling a little awkward. He had only done what anyone else would have, and true enough other people had done the same. On top of that, she had saved him. If not for her then he would have been crushed by a leaping spider. His meager bit of help right now was nothing compared to that. Her following compliment left him feeling even more awkward, but at the same time it filled him with a little pride to be complimented, as well as pride in the company he was beginning to think of himself as a real part of. He just smiled at her and got himself a bowl of food, following her over to where she lay, giving an evaluation of the next day's expected obstacles. What did he think about all that? He thought he was out of his league, but he wasn't about to admit that to Paradox. He knew very little of what was going to be expected of them  the next day. He would take his orders, though, and follow them through to the end.

"I think…" he trailed off as he tried to put together his thoughts on the subject, and try to think of something to say that wouldn't make him seem like a coward. "I think that, with all that we have working in our favor we stand a very good chance." he sighed, looking down at the bowl of food he hadn't touched yet. "I think that we have many powerful people willing to fight for us, and they'll do great." He didn't want to mention all the regular people who would also end up dying, possibly including himself. He looked up at her, trying on a smile. "I also think we both need some rest. Take care, Miss Paradox. Stay safe tomorrow." He felt like he was ending the conversation a little prematurely, and very weakly, but it had been a long day. He rose to his feet, dropping his bowl off before he walked back to his own camp.

When he got there he still had work to do before he could rest for the night. He spoke with the quartermaster, gathering fresh weapons and stripped his armor to clean it. His clothes were ruined, but he had spares. Laying everything out, ready for tomorrow, he crawled under his blankets and stared up at the ceiling of the tent. Despite how tired he felt, sleep didn't seem to be coming any time soon.

Paradox nodded as he introduced himself. "It's nice to meet you, Derek." She quietly ate while he explained his thoughts to her about the plan of attack tomorrow. She flicked an ear in his direction, sensing a small note in his voice change. He was lying through his teeth, but she wasn't going to call him on it. She didn't really blame him. She was nervous about the following day as well. They had lost more than enough people on their side today, fighting off the vile insects. Tomorrow they would lose more. She wasn't particularly looking forward to it, but she would fight to the best of her ability as long as she could.

She smiled back at him as he stood to go. "Good night, young Knight," she called after him. "Be careful." She watched him go and gave out a heavy sigh. So young, so fit and able, still so much life left, like a candle just recently lit. And yet, it wouldn't take much but a mere accident for it to be snuffed out completely. A young heart, so strong, would be stopped, to never beat again. The young warm body would grow as cold as the snow beneath her. She saw many lights go out today while she helped with the medics. It weighed heavy on her heart, but it wasn't a burden she could carry with her back, and that's what made the weight so heavy as it sat on the back of her mind. Silently as he walked away, she made a promise to herself to do whatever was needed to keep him from being snuffed out. 

Slowly she got up, mindful of more ice that she couldn't see, and headed back to her tent. It seemed emptier than normal, the four other persons she had shared the tent with, were now down to three. She ducked under the flap and stood still, looking at the empty bed for a long time. It was still unmade from the morning, where the young man had gotten up and left for the battle. He wasn't going to return from it. Did he know it was the last time he'd get up in the morning? The last meal he'd eat? The last time he'd get dressed and run out to fight? His last sunrise? 

Her ears flipped back in silence and she ducked her head as she walked through the tent toward her nest in the back. The other three cots were occupied and she heard their deep breaths. One or two of them were sleeping, but the rhythm of the third was wrong. He was crying himself to sleep. She went over to him quietly, dropping down on her knees before touching him carefully on his shoulder. He looked at her, her eyes large and sincere as she opened her arms to him. He fell into her embrace and she felt the sobs rack his frame. Each shake broke her heart but she remained silent, rubbing her hand over his back. It was such a change from the rallying energy that infected the camp the night before. Now, it was quiet and somber, like a funeral. She closed her eyes, dreading the day that was to come.