Fortunes of war (OPEN)

Cora was too fast for him now and she helt the knife against his stomach, "Dead!", she simply stated.
"You know what you can do if someone attacks you with a knife? You only have that tactic but...you see. On the one hand the instructor didn't give each person one knife...USE it goddammit. On the other hand: If I come at you like this-", Cora made the same move as before, "dodge it and just give me a tiny pat on my head, if I'm really fast I will lose my balance and fall down. To make sure I fall just hold out a foot so I can trip over it. Understood?"

Connor was a watchful student, making sure every combat lesson sunk in. "Understood." If they were to try it again, he would do it as Cora told him, only with his own creative touch to it where instead of smacking her upside the head as she came by to force her to lose balance, he jabbed her head lightly with the wooden knife.

Cora grinned as she felt the wooden knife, "You learn quick. I like that!", she turned her back to him and coughed again. It was more than before but she quickly wiped it away that he couldn't see it.
She looked at the position of the sun, "Training's over soon, Connor. I think the instructor will say it any minute now.", she looked at the instructor. He was ready for shouting at the trainee that they should finish but he didn't do it yet.
"Oh come on...then in the next ten minutes or so.", she stated and looked at Connor, "Want me to attack you again?"

Connor shook his head. "I'd like to make an attempt, are you ready?" He rose the dagger, his feet shuffling as he sought to keep his movements as unpredictable as possible, knowing he wouldn't be able to best her in terms of speed.

It was a move meant more for a short sword, but could still be effective with a dagger assuming he didn't miss the first attack. He attempted to swing his dagger to her armed hand to smack the blade aside, much like a fencer, and follow through with a jab to her ribs under her arm pit if he was successful.

Cora fell for his trick and suddenly found herself with a dagger under her arm pit. She grinned, "You are good! Keep it on Connor!", she said.
"Training's over guys...go eat something!", the instructor shouted. Cora threw her wooden knife to where the others placed theirs and looked at Connor, "I don't want to eat anything. Do you want?"
Cora was feeling sick and eating something now would only make it worse. She put her hand in front of her mouth and coughed again. "You really got me Connor...", she whispered wiping the blood of her hand of.

Connor exhaled slightly, glad that something in his short sword training applied to daggers. As they returned their daggers, Connor shook his head. "Eh...don't think I could eat after making you swallow a bellyful of your own blood." He looked at her, keeping a neutral face as to judge her reaction. It still would have seemed a waste to him if she ended up bleeding to death, but at least there was no animosity between them for it as far as he knew.

Cora didn't quite understand him. Why was he unable to eat after SHE had swallowed it? She just nodded and stretched herself. Cora went to her 3DMG still laying on the side and picked it up, "I think I will first bring mine back and then...I don't know. I can't sleep yet."

Nec started talking about the coughing but Cora didn't listen.

Connor nodded and picked up his gear, keeping it off but strapping his machete back on his belt. "It's hard to sleep in those bunks they put us in. They're way too soft for me..." He smirked as he watched the trainees go back into the mess hall. "Well...at least the food's good. It's something different from beans and barley that we always had back in Zeus Squad..."

Cora nodded. She didn't remember the food she had eaten. It was strange. As they came closer to the cantine you could smell the food. Cora let her 3DMG drop on the floor and coughed. This time it was a convulsive cough, she held her stomach. She coughed alot of blood. As she didn't feel the urge to get the blood out anymore she raised her torso again. Her body was trembling and she was pale in her face.
"Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit!", she whispered, blood still running out of her mouth.

Connor, out of sheer impulse, knelt beside Cora, holding onto her shoulders and slapping her back firmly to make sure it was all out of her system. He believed in her strength but he was still terrified of having someone die on his watch. "GOD DAMN IT, WOMAN, DO I NEED TO GET YOU A MEDIC!?" He shouted, trying to get an immediate response from her. "IT'S NOT WORTH DYING JUST TO LOOK STRONG!!!" ((This is part of his fear of someone dying because of his mistakes, much like what it says in his app.))

(thanks for reminding me :) )
Cora startled by Connor's sudden reaction didn't immediatly answer. She was never trying to look strong, she had been tought to never show that something was wrong.
"Connor...Connor. It's okay. Calm down everything is ok, you hear me? Everything is okay. I won't die and I won't cough again. I will be well again. ", she said calm and carefully freed herself, "You see I'm okay. If you want to take me to a medic, feel free to do so."
Cora hoped that he would calm down for now. Her body was still trembling but she tried to hide everything that could make him worry.

Connor panted softly as he caught his breath, that flushed look on his face had come back as he shouted, the same pale look that came to him on the wall when the cannons were being fired. He slowly let go of her, looking a bit sullen. "Look...I won't force you to get a medic...I'll trust that you know your own limits....but you have to promise me that your speaking the truth when you say that your sure this injury isn't lethal. If you died just because i hit a little harder than I should have then...then..." He couldn't finish it, raising a fist as though he wanted to just hit himself in the head before throwing it back down. "Nevermind...forget it." He put both hands in his jacket pockets, looking away shamefully.

Cora looked at him for a second. He was more fucked up than she was and that meant something. She shook her head, "It's not your fault...ok?", Cora didn't really know what to do. She was bad at comforting people, she always made it worse.
"I will go see the medic now and you will come with me. Then you can see that I'm ok."
She made her way to the medic.
"Hey medic? Anyone there?", a woman appeared and looked at her.
"What is it?"
"I cough blood."
"What?"
"I cough blood!"
"Sit down immediatly!", she ordered and Cora did as she said. Cora told her the story how it happened. Cora took her trainee jacket off and shoved her sweater up. A huge bruise was on the right side of her torso. The woman inspected it but then nodded, "It's okay. One of your rips is broken and it pierced the lung but it's back in its normal position. Just don't do any training the next week or two weeks. Also you will stay here for the night."
Cora nodded and put her sweater back down.

"It's not your fault...okay?"

'Of course it is.' Connor's own demon of doubt once again whispered in his head.

Her agreeing to see the medic dealt a great bit of relief for Connor though. "Okay...thank you." He followed closely, watching her as he tensed up, ready to come to her aid if she so much as blinked in a weird way. He stood outside to let her speak to the medic, staying within earshot. He leaned his head back against the wall dejectedly as she recounted how the wound had happened, holding his breath until he could hear the verdict from the medic. He let the breath loose and slid down to sit on the ground after hearing the diagnosis, though still felt a bit guilty for making her go without training by the doctor's.
Now he kind of hoped Cora would scold him for having her miss two weeks worth of training. For some reason he just wanted her to be angry with him...or did he expect her to and just accepted it? Either way, it was better than her being dead.

Unless a superior officer found him and commanded him to go back to the bunkers, Connor would sleep in that spot for the night.

Cora waited until the medic disappeared to get her something and went outside.
"Dammit Connor! I nearly tripped over you!", she whispered and sat next to him.
"Your mental condition is worse than mine and that means something! I'm mean I'm fucked up enough but you...", she grinned, "Just kidding, noone has a worse than mine."
She looked up in the sky. You could see some stars already. She had never cared for them all her life, some people found it the stars pretty but Cora just thought of them as a little source of light in the night.
"I guess having some problems comes with being a mercenary, doesn't it?", she said, "When have you been recruited? I mean how old were you? Oh one thing left, you don't have to sleep here, you know that? You can come in to the medic, she will maybe allow you to stay here, too. I mean it shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Cora said it to comfort him, for him it was probably better if he stayed somewhere else. That if her condition worsend he wouldn't know it.

Connor jumped back into the waking world as Cora spoke, smirking as she went on about his mental condition. "Yes...I'm sure I got passed the psychiatric evaluation much harder than you did." He looked at the stars too. He found them to be like art, albeit a large, scattered and strange one, the glistening from each sparkle of light in the sky made him seem lost in thought of them.

'I guess having some problems comes with being a mercenary, doesn't it?'
Connor nodded. "Only the foolish claim to endure war without any scars. It molds and damages everyone in some way."

'When have you been recruited? I mean how old were you?'

Connor shrugged. "I don't remember...the Zeus' took me in as a babe. They say that they take one infant to raise to be a warrior, and that once that warrior becomes an adult, they find another babe to raise. It's a tradition sort of thing...but its said that those babes are destined to become the next captain of Zeus Squad once they become of age." He sighed. "I wasn't old or wise enough to lead them when my captain was killed..."

'Oh one thing left, you don't have to sleep here, you know that? You can come in to the medic, she will maybe allow you to stay here, too. I mean it shouldn't be a problem, right?'

Connor nodded. "I know that...it just felt nice to lay in the open air, with the cooled ground beneath me. I'm better at sleeping in the hard and cold than in the soft and warm. Does that make sense?"

He already seemed fairly content, not nearly looking as worked up as he did earlier.

Cora looked down on eht ground and started picking up stones only to throw them away.
"They got me when I was three years old I think. I'm not so sure...", she remembered the day excactly,"the pack decides who the next Captain can at the ceremony once you become a real wolf...you know most of the mercenary groups all have their signs to signal that you've already been in a group. I got three. I've been in three groups. What I wanted to say is...the pack's sign is different. Most use branding irons and you've got that thing for the rest of your life on your back. The pack slices your back from the right shoulder down to your left side of your hip. The longer and deeper it is the more you are honored. If they are able to slice your whole back in the maximum depth without you passing out or showing any sign of pain. You are quailified to be the next leader of the pack."
Cora didn't say anything more. Her scar showed the others that she was qualified to be the next one. But she didn't want him to know that.
Suddenly the medic ran out, "Hey! Miss come back in! I need to watch over you! Do you want to die?", she grabbed Cora's arm and pulled her inside.
As they were inside the woman pressed her down on the bed and got a bucket.
"It's very likely that you will start coughing again or puke some blood. Use that bucket and try to get as much sleep as you can."
Cora took the bucket and placed it next to her bed.
"I will...I will..."

Connor nodded through her explanation and smirked. "Heh...so that's how you toughed through that broken rib for so long." He would have spoken more if not for the medic, sighing as he stood up to follow them inside. "I'm definitely glad not to be in your shoes right now...I can't imagine going two weeks without training..." He remarked as he leaned a shoulder on the doorway.

Cora looked at him, "Oh shit, you're right! Nooo two weeks without training?! I can't stand that I-", Cora started coughing again and the medic gave her the bucket. She ended up vomiting a lot of blood into the bucket, her head started to ache and she was dizzy.
"No training for you!", said the medic and gave her a glass of water. "Drink that and eat that!", she handed her some herbs.
"Oh please, don't! I hate them, they make you feel sleepy and taste aweful! Okay okay, I will eat it...", Cora ate the herbs and layed down.

Connor stepped back and started to leave. "Guess it's time to rest then..." He left with confidence that Cora was in good hands, though he still couldn't help but feel he may have hindered her training efforts. He could only hope that once those two weeks were over, she wouldn't be physically stagnant.

'If she is a warrior...she won't be...' Said a strange thought in Connor's head. It had been awhile since his thoughts actually had something reassuring to say.

Cora layed on her bed and started to get sleepy. The following night was a nightmare, literally. She had alot of nightmares and she woke up every half an hour and started coughing and vomiting blood.
The medic was exhausted by the end of the night and Cora wasn't so well.
The only good thing now was that she had stopped coughing and all the blood was finally out of her lungs. Cora just turned around in her bed and started sleeping again.