Word count: 521 // +5 points
Sorry for the slight delay. Lost my muse and somehow got sucked into a weekend with the parents x.x
Alduin’s ears perked up at the words that left the stranger’s lips. He found it odd that the man thought he needed to seem brave in front of him despite the numerous cuts and bleeding wounds carved into his body. The tundra wolf shook his head and wondered where such foolishness came from. Still, the stranger wasn’t turning away his help, and Alduin could do nothing less than make sure the black canine made it back on his feet. After all, he couldn’t leave the man alone in such a wretched condition.
“You seem to be fond of understating things,” he said jokingly as he moved closer to him.
He took a moment to assess the other male’s injuries, then took the pair of shorts in his mouth and carefully ripped it into long, thick strips. He laid the strips across the creature’s cleaner leg and bade him to stay where he was. Alduin stood and took the remaining section of his shorts to the edge of the river, dunking them into the cool water so that they became heavy with the liquid. He returned swiftly and dabbed the cloth onto the wounds to remove the last bits of blood, then took a strip of cloth into his hands.
“If you will excuse my being so close to you for a while,” he said kindly as he moved closer to the man. “My inexperience might make this longer than anticipated.”
After a quick bow of his head, he gently began to wrap the wound on his leg. He took care to mind how tightly he bandaged him, not wanting to inflict any more pain than he was probably already causing. Despite how long it took him—something to the tune of five minutes so he got it right—Alduin was certain the wrappings would stay long enough for the other to find a proper healer.
“I don’t believe I introduced myself,” he said. “My name is Alduin, and the darling beside me is my companion Amelia. Despite the circumstances under which we’ve met, it is still a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
A grin spread across his lips as he finished tying the last knot in the other’s bandage. Amelia was quick to scurry onto Alduin’s arm before he pulled it away from the wrapping, though, so she could ensure he did indeed do a fine job. After a few quiet moments, she loosed an approving chirp before leaping off of his hand and back onto the ground so she could get closer to the stranger. Curiously, she bounded up to him and stared at his face. She couldn’t quite figure out what he was. He looked like a wolf, but there was something off about him that had kept her interested in him.
“What you are?” she demanded in broken high speech. “Not like Aldee. What you are?”
Alduin couldn’t help but chuckle at her words as he moved to sit beside the stranger, preparing to attend to the gash in his chest.
“I do apologize for her behavior,” he said. “She doesn’t quite understand the concept of manners yet.”
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