Thoma x Reader

Chapter 3

You rested briefly before getting back to the hunt, walking along the very base of the central mountain as the moon rose. Spotting berry bushes ahead and hearing rustling, you silently hurried forward, knees bent to keep lower. You hid behind a rock face before peering out.

It was him, you were certain of it. A sword was strapped to his back, which was facing you as he picked berries and placed them in a backpack that was resting over his sword in a way that would make it difficult to draw. Wow, it's like he's trying to set a record for stupid, you thought with amusement.

You cleanly slid both kama from your back. Their sheaths were made so you could quickly remove the hooked weapons in a semi-downward motion instead of reaching up.

Rushing forward like silent wind, you launched a kama that hit its mark right in the back of one of his shoulders. Before he could even scream, you jumped up, ripping it back out as you delivered a powerful kick to his temple. The force of your boot knocked him out, making him fall forward against the berry bushes as your feet touched the ground. You reached forward and picked a berry, crinkling your nose as you noticed its shriveled appearance. Yikes, probably doesn't get enough sunlight in this god forsaken place.

Sighing, you took out some cuffs you'd brought, chaining his hands behind his back with one pair, and his feet together with the other. You then used his own shirt to wrap his wound, and called it good there. Now the fun part: dragging his sorry ass back to the meeting point.

You hadn't gotten far when noises of combat cut through the silence. That's close, coming from ahead. You quickly stashed the target in some bushes before slinking forward and using both your kama to climb the pillar of rock in front of you. You reached the top and crouched, peering forward cautiously. The sight below made your eyes widen in shock.

On a little patch of sand with a couple trees but not much else, a man you instantly recognized was facing off against a pack of four rifthounds. Thoma?

One after another, the rifthounds were launching constant and coordinated attacks. Your escort had warned you about these vermin. They were vicious, and their claws could inflict some sort of mysterious effect that made it so your blood wouldn't clot at the wounds.

Thoma cried out in pain as he was struck, making you snap out of your thoughts as his blood hit the sand. Gritting your teeth, you rushed forward and plunged down with your feet tucked close. You managed to hit one hound at full force in the neck, keeping your balance as it went down, and stabbing a kama into each of its eyes from behind before ripping each upward for more damage.

It howled in pain and roughly shook you off, and you rolled with the momentum until you were back on your feet, weapons at the ready as you stood between Thoma and another of the creatures. The one you'd hit was down and out, but this was still bad. You'd never fought these before, and direct combat wasn't your strong suit.

No time for a plan—two of them lunged at once while the third stayed put to back them up. You ducked a slash and sliced one across the face, kicking the other straight in the nose. Its claws still managed to catch your leg, but you clenched your jaw against the explosion of pain and held your ground. Thoma used his polearm to deliver a series of hits that drove it back again.

Little by little, now that it was a fairer fight, you and Thoma were able to beat them. You watched the last hound get sucked into a whistling black vortex with jaws still snapping. Then you quickly ripped off a strip of your cloak and wrapped it securely around your leg wound, tucking away the end.

You heard a groan, making you remember that you weren't alone. You turned just as Thoma fell forward onto his knees, panting heavily. You tore off even more of your cloak and approached, holding it out to him.

"Can't..." he gasped. "My back."

You circled around him and found the wound, removing his torn red jacket and quickly winding the cloth around him. It would have to do for now. You couldn't stay out in the open like this. The fog was a bit lighter in this area, so you were able to spot a niche in the rock face just north. Grunting from the effort, you managed to sling his arm over your shoulder and help him stand back up. Your initial adrenaline was wearing off, so you could feel the pain in your injured leg. Nevertheless, you helped Thoma limp along toward the relative cover nearby. He was hardly conscious by the time you reached it.

You carefully laid him on his stomach and placed his jacket under his head so his face wasn't in the dirt. Then you took out the minimal amount of first aid supplies you carried on you, before gently removing your makeshift wrapping from earlier and shifting his shirt so it rested above the wound.

Thoma hissed in pain as you poured half of a small bottle of disinfectant over the gash, his arms folded under his head as he gripped his balled-up jacket tightly. You didn't speak, only threading a needle expertly through either side of his wound to suture it up. Once your handiwork was complete, you wrapped some gauze around his torso and tied the piece of cloak around that.

He glanced over his shoulder as you started to stand up, and began trying to push himself up as well. You quickly placed one hand on his shoulder to prevent it, shaking your head.

Thoma sighed but didn't resist, appearing exhausted. "I've been here a few times... usually I have more luck avoiding those things," he mumbled tiredly, somewhat muffled by his jacket. "I would've died if you hadn't been there. Thank you."

You only nodded hesitantly, glancing over your shoulder as you itched to be out of there. You couldn't leave your target in those bushes forever. He would wake up eventually.

"Hey, what's your name?" Thoma's question made your attention snap back to him, noticing that he was struggling to keep his eyes open.

You immediately shook your head, pulling your hood down further.

"Fair. I don't have any mora on me to repay you, and if you won't tell me your name, I guess you can have the bag of fluorescent fungi I was collecting."

You frowned. He wasn't making much sense to you, so you ignored his words and sat down next to his feet, tearing the bottom of your pant leg to expose your wound. It didn't look severe enough for stitches, so all you had to do was empty the rest of your disinfectant onto it and use the remainder of your gauze to wrap it firmly. You peeked at him again when the job was complete, only to see that he'd fallen unconscious. You got to your feet and tested your weight on your injured leg, before removing your cloak and laying it over him. You tossed a sealed parcel of dried meat at him and called it good, leaving the niche and Thoma behind, and returning to your captured target.

Thank the gods for cloaks and masks.