[SEASONAL EVENT] Begging for Mercy

Emmett Daddy's supposed to put bread on the table Daddy's gone and your mama ain't able Emmett was lost somewhere between the Rathskeller and a much darker, nondescript place. Not the same dark as Longnight, but something imposed, forced; a dark he could not chase away with a lantern or avoid inside. It was in him, a part of him, threatening to become all of him if he did not fight. He heard voices, vaguely. Phoebe, his siblings, others he didn't recognise...the sounds of a door opening and closing and strange noises within his own body of movement and cutting. But they were like sounds going on in a room next door, not a part of his own life. Slowly though, they grew louder. His senses came back one by one; first smell. The distinct scent of alcohol, then sound: a general hum and the much clearer voice of Phoebe. Touch was the worst as it brought with it all the pain in his body which made him make his first noise since collapsing, a pained groan. Then he tasted the blood in his mouth and opened his aching eyes to see a blurry Phoebe above him asking...something. Spitting blood and with a pounding headache, Emmett tried to sit up; but with the wounds on his middle and the broken arm he didn't get very far before he fell back onto the table with a loud thump and yelled in pain.

Phoebe gasped and her head turned around at the speed of light. "Emmett!" she said, relief evident in her voice. She gently placed her hands on his shoulders to keep from trying to get up again. It was a relief to see him awake, but knowing he still needed his arm set...well that was going to be a painful experience. She smoothed her hands over his face, wiping the blood from it and pushing his hair off his forehead. ”Don’t move, Emmett. We’re safe now but you are really hurt.” she said gently, her worry still obvious in her expression as she looked down at him. But he was alive. That was more than she could have hoped for earlier. Phoebe looked up, eyes falling on Ronin. She knew from her brother that Northwind military personnel all had basic medical training – the sort that could get you back together long enough for a real medic to arrive. Setting an arm was probably in his repertoire of skills. ”I’ll be right back, just give me a minute.” she said quietly to Emmett before kissing his forehead and moving out of his easy line of sight. ”U-uhm…I’m sorry to bother you, Ronin…” she said as she approached the rather grumpy looking man, wiping her hands clean with a rag. He looked so much more intimidating than she remembered…had the poison made him more jovial than he was usually? ”I don’t know if you remember me I…My name is Phoebe, I helped Isla after you and Roana were attacked by the Spire Demon. I…I was hoping you might know how to set a broken arm?” she asked glancing between him and the very injured Emmett laying on the table. Then her eyes fell on the little baby in his arms. ”If…if you wouldn’t mind helping I can watch your baby? I’m a midwife I…” she glanced down at herself and realized what a mess she looked. Who would let her hold their child? ”I promise I’m more capable than I look now…I would really appreciate your help…” She was nervous and tired and pleading really. Ronin Phoebe I'll be your shoulder when you cry

Ronin had been sitting quietly by as the little group huddled around the unconscious man. He'd seen so much blood over the past few days, even without having been in the Storm Army he thought he'd probably have been used to it. Vervain worked swiftly, just as she had done with those who had arrived the day before, and she supplied the young woman with everything she needed to help stitch up their patient. He recognised Phoebe, vaguely, but the memory was too far out of reach for him to grasp it. As she - and Vervain - both looked in his direction, Ronin gazed pointedly at the fire in the hope that they would let him be. Unfortunately, it wasn't going to happen. Summoning some shred of will, the ex-captain managed a smile to Phoebe as she approached, though it far from reached his eyes. "Ah," he murmured as she explained, allowing him to put her face into context. "I don't think I ever had a chance to thank you properly for that..." Now was hardly the time, though, and Ronin was already carefully getting to his feet as Phoebe so eloquently laid out her request. "I'm no doctor," he warned, "but I can set the break. He'll want to go to the infirmary when he's strong enough." He froze at the prospect of her taking the baby, his eyes growing curiously flat as he glanced down at his sleeping daughter. She was still nestled close against him, a bundle of warmth and blankets that didn't look as though it would stir for anything. Hopefully that was correct. "A midwife? I didn't realise there were any here... I mean. Of course." Whenever Phoebe was ready, he would surrender Aoife to her arms, feeling suddenly cold and lost without her. Nonetheless, he approached Emmett so he could examine his arm. ronin the long and lonesome road

”O-oh there is no need, I was more than happy to help.” Phoebe assured quickly when he mentioned he hadn’t thanked her. He was literally dying and she had come looking for Roana. How could she not help Isla keep them both from succumbing to their injuries? She didn’t have that sort of negligence built in her. If someone needed help, and there was something she could do, she was going to help. Phoebe nodded when he noted he wasn’t a doctor. Briefly she wondered if they would be better off searching for Isla, but Ronin was plainly willing to help. Not to mention it would be terribly difficult to get Emmett up there. As it was, standing was a struggle for the young midwife, much less trying to carry Emmett any further than she already had. Despite the not quite full smile Ronin had given, she didn’t think she could ask for more than she already had from him. ”Of course. Thank you so much.” she said, truly grateful for his help. For all of their help. She was going to owe a tremendous amount of favors after Long Night passed. ”Ah, yes, I think I am the only one at present.” Phoebe admitted. The midwife in her wanted to ask after the child’s mother. Was she resting? Did she need assistance? Was there something she could use her skills for to return his help with Emmett? For now she would just watch his child as he set Emmett’s arm and ask questions later. If would could take a child with great skill, Phoebe certainly did as she took the…very obviously newborn. Now she really had a lot of questions but stayed silent as she tucked the sleeping babe secure to her chest, following Ronin as close as she dared. Emmett was undoubtedly going to yell so she didn’t want to be too close so as to startle the child. Instead she found a chair further down the bar, watching and stroking the child’s head gently. Phoebe I'll be your shoulder when you cry

The baby settled in Phoebe's arms without much trouble at all, squirming a bit before nuzzling into the warmth of her chest, remaining fast asleep. Ronin watched as the midwife moved to sit down, waiting to make sure that Aoife was alright before moving to Emmett's side. He took a deep breath and let it out again, the soldier in him taking over as he examined the young man. The break was a bad one, and it would certainly need some assistance from the infirmary - sooner, rather than later. But Ronin thought he could stop it from healing wrong. He gathered together some bandages from the supplies in the Rathskeller, along with a thin length of wood from a broken crate that he could use for a splint. "This will hurt," he warned, giving Emmett only that small snippet of preparation before reaching forward to set the arm in quick, smooth movements. ronin the long and lonesome road

Emmett Daddy's supposed to put bread on the table Daddy's gone and your mama ain't able Phoebe left his vision and Emmett, in the state he was in, felt the loss of a familiar face like a punch to the gut. He let out a panicked and desperate whine as she wandered away, confused about what was happening. He could tell he was alive (he would have liked to think that the afterlife would not contain so much pain) but beyond that...he didn't know. Until then he had managed to forget how he had arrived here, but all of a sudden visions of his family returned. Their blood on the snow, strewn limbs and once-hearty faces cut open or smeared with blood...tears began to roll down his cheeks and fall onto the table beneath. When Ronin appeared and spoke to him he barely heard it, only nodding out of an automatic instinct. Then his whole world set alight with pain as Ronin reached over and set his arm. Emmett screamed and rose up from the table in protest, but then all of his body objected and he slammed back down. Following the scream were several loud sobs and breaths, then quieter whimpers. Any actual words were beyond him for the moment, all he could focus on the fuzzy bit of ceiling he could see and the desire to faint again.

"I'm right here Emmett, don't worry!" Phoebe said in a soothing voice, loud enough for him to hear but not enough to disturb the baby. Newborns could be hard to rouse when they were really sleeping like this though. Again her mind wandered to where the child's mother was. She felt badly for not being closer so he could see her but she didn't want to crowd Ronin, and knew it wouldn't be good for the baby to be that close when he undoubtedly yelled. And when he did she clutched the baby protecticely, brows furrowing in concern and empathy for Emmett. Chris and Milly looked at her in alarm and she was quick to soothe them as well. That seemed the role she had quickly taken on, soothing everyone else's hurts and struggles except her own. Once Ronin had Emmett's arm set, she asked for his help moving him off the table and somewhere more out of the way, which ended up being the floor in a corner near a fireplace. Phoebe gingerly gave the baby back to him, as happily asleep as she had been before. Then the midwife sourced some blankets and pillows for the Palmers, as well as a blanket she wrapped around her waist as a skirt, and some food for the little ones. With full tummies Chris and Milly snuggled together to get some fitful sleep. Phoebe sat with Emmett, having long since lulled him back to sleep with gentle words, his head on her lap, before falling asleep herself, overcome with exhaustion. Phoebe I'll be your shoulder when you cry