He held firm while she swung the staff up first. He hadn't taken the time to see how deep the pit went, and now that he was trying to pull Amalia back and up he didn't dare shift his balance to check, but if it was too deep he understood that they didn't want to risk losing the antler. He would trade it in less than a heartbeat for her life, however, if it came to that, and his muscles tensed and strained to hold her steady until she was able to bring both her hands to bear and scramble up and over to safety.
Nor was she the only one panting as she lay upon the stone; her fellow Loreseeker was flush with the adrenaline and fear of almost losing her again, and he squeezed the hand still caught in his with a desperate sort of reassurance. He looked down at her to grin, but the expression froze at the scratches on her lovely face even as Isuma Reep!ed her unhappiness at the fright they'd all taken. "From now on, let's go more slowly," he cautioned, reaching out with his free hand to hover it over the bleeding marks with a worried frown. Only after giving her hand one last squeeze of reassurance did he release it, shrugging out of his pack to dig out his little emergency medical kit. "Stay still - this is probably going to sting," he warned as he arranged the lanterns to give him the most light. Wetting a bit of gauze with his waterskin he started to gently dab the worst of the blood and rock chips away, trying to determine the extent of the damage with worried blue fox's eyes.
Nor was she the only one panting as she lay upon the stone; her fellow Loreseeker was flush with the adrenaline and fear of almost losing her again, and he squeezed the hand still caught in his with a desperate sort of reassurance. He looked down at her to grin, but the expression froze at the scratches on her lovely face even as Isuma Reep!ed her unhappiness at the fright they'd all taken. "From now on, let's go more slowly," he cautioned, reaching out with his free hand to hover it over the bleeding marks with a worried frown. Only after giving her hand one last squeeze of reassurance did he release it, shrugging out of his pack to dig out his little emergency medical kit. "Stay still - this is probably going to sting," he warned as he arranged the lanterns to give him the most light. Wetting a bit of gauze with his waterskin he started to gently dab the worst of the blood and rock chips away, trying to determine the extent of the damage with worried blue fox's eyes.
