'Can you help us?' Na'eem asked the travelling caravan, 'Please, she's injured and...'

  The woman shook her head, feigning sadness, 'We don't help your kind around here.'

  'I promise you we mean no harm, just till the nearest town' he tried, even though he already knew the answer. The woman shook her head and drew her cowl to cover her face. Na'eem felt the dawn sun burn against his skin.

  He clutched a knife against his waist. He could make this so much easier for them both. Then he let it go, sighing. Yuxi wouldn't have liked it.

  'Some country we're defending,' he spat.

  Na'eem fell to the ground, resting Yuxi against a willow tree. She took in soft, quiet breaths every now and again but her eyes remained shut. Her feathers had dulled, her skin had already begun to pale. Looking at her, his gaze softened.

  'Just hold on a little longer, I promise I'll save you.'

  His heart beat hard. He hated this uncertainty.

  'Why couldn't you just run away with me?' he said, though he didn't look at Yuxi.

  Na'eem spat again and stood up.

  'Next bastard that doesn't help us is getting it Yuxi, whether you like it or not.'

  And he wasn't sure of it (but maybe just a little), but he thought he saw Yuxi smile.

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  Na'eem continued a very lonely walk against the breeze. He felt Yuxi's discoloured hair run down his shoulders. He wondered if she was dreaming now. He wondered what she'd be dreaming about.

  When Na'eem was younger, he'd have wanted to be an artist. He'd spend hours, drawing in the dust and dirt till he was taken away by the military. From then on, he'd spend the rest of his life fighting. Who knew how many lives he'd taken by now, even if it was all indirectly.

  'Mhm, Sir, I-' Yuxi began to mumble in her sleep. Na'eem had always wondered about her, she never talked much about her past. Neither did he, so he supposed hers was just like all of them. Painful.

  'Look, look! It's the red eagle!' yelled one of the village children, snapping Na'eem out of his thoughts. He wasn't sure how long he'd been walking by now. Na'eem fell forward onto the floor, holding loosely onto Yuxi. He stood up, with his shoulders hung low and showed the palm of his hand to the gathering crowd. A spasm of fire burst out and dripped lazily onto the floor, he quickly extinguished it with his foot.

  'Help us.' he demanded.

  Someone that looked like the village medic stepped forward. He didn't look much older then Na'eem. His hands shook as he walked closer. Na'eem didn't extinguish the flame. 'Give her to me' the boy said cautiously, not getting any closer. Na'eem obliged, he let the boy take Yuxi.

  'She dies, you die' Na'eem whispered to the boy as he walked past him.

  They moved to the more secluded but equally flammable sterile house of the village medic. Na'eem tapped the floor irritably, he was barely awake.

  'She's barely stable' the medic said, 'Something crushed her left lung, it's a miracle she's gotten this far'. Na'eem felt his heart beat in between the beeps of the heart monitor.

  'Is there anything you can do?' Na'eem said it like a statement rather then a question. The answer had to be yes. He couldn't live with himself if it wasn't.

  'We-I...' the medic stammered, 'Without real equipment, she isn't making it past today...'

  Na'eem slammed his fist into the wall, a drop of blood fell down.

  His body heavy, he dug into his pockets and threw his money pouch. It was everything he had.

  'Here. Keep her safe.' he told the medic, 'I'll be back by noon'