The general sounds of the camp waking roused the group of seven slowly, each taking their time in coming around at their own pace.  Those beyond the interior of the tent were proficient and quiet while those within were watchful and attentive.  Marcus paid close attention when Leeteuk and Eleanara woke slowly, awareness stealing over them quickly.  The joy in their eyes at seeing the other person awake and alive was unveiled and pure, hands still lightly touching and completely accepting of that.  Politely, he cleared his throat to remind them he was there and hid a smile when Eleanara at least looked surprised.

           “Marcus?” she queried softly as she sat up, maintaining contact with Leeteuk’s hand as she did so.  “What…?  Where-?” she started to ask as confusion set in, a flash of fear crossing her face as she couldn’t pull the pieces together immediately.

           Leeteuk was quick to comfort her, squeezing her hand reassuringly and placing his other hand on her shoulder.  “It’s alright.  Marcus found us after the battle,” he reminded gently, giving her a point of reference he hoped wouldn’t be too overwhelming.

           The words slowly sunk in and he could see the remembrance in her eyes, followed by a brief moment of panic.  “Kyu!” she cried softly, immediately trying to get up as she recalled how badly he had been injured…and that she hadn’t been able to heal him.

           Reactively, Leeteuk grabbed her hand and pulled her back, “Wait!”  He did not use much force to pull her but she was off balance already and fell back against his chest.  Carefully, he held her to him as she went still and he could feel the rapid beat of her heart as he pressed her to him.  “He’s alright,” he murmured softly, glancing up at Marcus who had seemed about to move to stop her too.

           Eleanara paused and took a deep breath, able to remember now that she had stabilized him and that the rest had been okay as well.  “The others?” she asked quietly, holding tight to the front of his shirt, needing the assurance as much as he had last night.

           “They’re alright,” Marcus answered for the other man.  “You can see them soon,” he promised, reaching next to him for a tray of food that had been brought earlier this morning before they’d woken.  “You need to eat first though.  Don’t worry.  The others are being treated in much the same manner,” he assured them as he got up to deposit the tray next to Leeteuk, a waterskin hanging from his hand under it as he set the food down.

           Leeteuk nodded and helped Eleanara to sit down next to him before he pulled the tray onto their laps.  “Here,” he offered, giving her the waterskin first.  She took it with reluctant acceptance and then with greater need as her own hunger and thirst settled in.  He chuckled as he was beginning to feel the same effects.

           In the next tent over, Siwon woke up first, eyes opening to see the back of Eunhyuk’s head and the top of Kharin’s.  It was the same sight he’d fallen asleep too which was comforting but then he noticed the tent around them and he sat up, alarmed and confused as he noticed Vayna.

           She could see the list of questions running through his head, could empathize really as she had been in similar situations herself in her younger more foolish years.  Before he could get any of them out, she began, “You’re safe.  Let’s start there.”

           Whatever he might have been about to say was quickly cut off by the no-nonsense reassurance.  Still caught off-guard, he glanced around uncertainly a bit before focusing on the pair next to him.  A quick touch to Eunhyuk’s shoulder found him to be warm and not the near icicle he’d been the other day.  Well that was a welcome relief.  “Hyuk.  Kharin,” he spoke softly, trying to bring them to wakefulness slowly.  A gentle shake on Eunhyuk’s shoulder disturbed them both.

           Slowly, the pair unfolded, tired eyes opening slowly.  As green eyes met soft brown ones in the dim morning light, there was only relief and the haunting memories of the day before.  The realization that anything was different had not settled in yet and as one, they embraced each other fiercely, intensely grateful for the presence of the other.  Siwon shifted closer so that the side of his leg pressed against Eunhyuk’s back and laid a hand on both their arms, a steady comforting presence.  Kharin found one of his hands and gripped it tightly, as if by holding to him she could anchor herself to this moment and forget everything that had happened yesterday.

           The sound of someone nearby alerted them that they weren’t alone and the pair bolted upright, dislodging Siwon’s hands, a flash of fear banished instantly as they were ready to defend themselves, panicked for one instant that somehow one of the patrols was still in the area.  Relief flooded them immediately, leaving them breathless and shaking.  Siwon hurried behind them and grabbed them both in the circle of his arms, the embrace steadying instead of restricting.  “We’re safe,” he told them both, pressing their heads to his shoulders protectively.  “It’s over.”  He pressed his lips against the top of their heads and gently rocked them both as they relaxed further.

           With consciousness came thought and the memories of the combat they had faced the day before.  Kharin could not block the images from her mind and she mentally reeled from the savage imagery.  The intense emotions she had felt washed over her anew and in an effort to block them out, she turned into Siwon’s chest and hugged him as tightly as she could, burying her face in the fabric of his shirt as she started sobbing, unable to stop herself. 

           “Kharin?” Eunhyuk asked uncertainly as she cried.  “It’s okay,” he assured her, not sure that it was but it was the only thing he could think to say just then.  “It’s alright,” he said again as he wrapped his arm around both her and Siwon before pressing his lips against the top her head, trying to offer what relief he could.  Unable to figure out what was wrong and with no idea how to fix it, Eunhyuk began to cry too as he gave voice to his own jumbled emotions.

           Vayna regarded the group for a moment before she shrugged and reached around for the two trays of food she had.  After the wreckage of the path she had seen yesterday, she figured they were entitled to a bit of time to come to terms with everything.  She noticed Siwon looking at her over the tops of their heads, a lost expression on his face as he seemed close to tears too.  Vayna nodded at him encouragingly.  When she brought the trays over and set them next to the three, she pressed a hand to Siwon’s shoulder.  No amount of words she had could explain that it was okay, so she offered him what quiet strength she could.  For now, it seemed as if it was enough as he pressed his cheek against the top of Eunhyuk’s head and took a deep breath.  Briefly, as he swallowed the lump in his throat, he had to wonder where they others were and how they were doing.

           A general sense of pain woke an otherwise resting Kyuhyun and he groaned as consciousness claimed him.  Swollen eyes opened slightly, mere slits in a face that hurt to move.  Motion at his side made him pause as he couldn’t be sure who was there and then nothing made sense as he saw Tierne hover over him.  “Huh?” he croaked, his voice a broken whisper that hurt when air passed through it for more than breathing.

           “Easy lad,” Tierne cautioned, touching his shoulder ever so slightly.  “Just take things nice and slow,” he encouraged, settling back to let the boy come to terms with how he was right now.

           Summer stirred at the sound of the strange voice and she released Kyuhyun’s hand when she saw his face pinched with pain.  “Kyu?” she asked softly, crawling closer to look over him, brushing her loose red hair back over her shoulder to keep it out of her and his faces.  Uncertainly, she traced the tip of his bangs back, just brushing her fingertips against his forehead and biting her lip when the action caused him to flinch.  Bravely, she smiled for him, though tears stung her eyes as she saw how badly he was burned.  It seemed like yesterday had been a bad dream before she was reminded very powerfully of the reality.  “Hey,” she started softly, pressing a hand lightly against the side of his head.

           Through the slits of his eyes, he could see Summer smiling down at him and while everything ached, he managed the semblance of a smile.  “Hey yourself,” he whispered hoarsely, a painful cough wracking his form, sending sharp bolts of pain through his body.

           “Easy.  Easy,” she cautioned, a trace of panic in her eyes.

           “Here,” Tierne offered, startling the young woman who hadn’t even realized he was there.

           She blinked a couple times and then focused on the waterskin he was holding out to her.  “Th-thank you,” she stammered, taking the container from him and settling back to assist Kyuhyun.  “I’m sorry,” she frowned as he winced when she helped to pick his head back up and into her lap so she could pour some water down his throat.

           Swallowing hurt.  He found that much out very quickly, but it felt better than the parchment dry feel that it had been.  Weakly, he smiled when she dabbed some on his lips to wet the broken skin there.  “Thanks,” he murmured, the sound not quite so hoarse this time.

           Tierne coughed softly and drew their focus for a moment.  “Just take things slow, Kyuhyun.  I don’t know if you remember how it came to be, but you’ve been badly burned,” he explained gently, an echo of understanding in his weathered eyes.  His whole right arm and shoulder were wrapped in light gauze and his head had some minor burning on it too, the hair singed off where something had recently burned him too.

           “The wyrm?” he asked, seeking the answer from Summer.

           She chewed her lip and nodded.  “We got it.”  The comment caught Tierne’s attention as he didn’t know the details either.

           “Good,” he smirked bitterly, a look of disgust crossing his face.  “No thanks to me…”

           “No, no, no,” Summer immediately started.  “You did as much as the rest of us.”  He looked at her skeptically, a difficult feat when one lacked as much facial movement as he did.  “It was a combined effort,” she insisted stolidly.

           “You must have done something fierce to put you where you are now,” Tierne stated bluntly.  “A campfire doesn’t cause such damage…”

           Abruptly, Kyuhyun felt his pulse race and his breathing increased slightly as he remembered the last moment before he had lost all sense of what was going on.  A firestorm in front of him…the wyrm beyond still flailing…he couldn’t control it…  “Ahhh…” he cried weakly, attempting to ward off the imagined flames again.

           “Kyu.  Kyu,” Summer murmured, calming, soothing, combing the side of his head methodically.  “It’s alright.  There’s nothing there,” she urged.  “Nothing there.”

           Tierne caught hold of one of the flailing hands and held firmly.  The pain in his hand seemed to pull him back to the present and Tierne spoke softly, “There’s no shame in fearing the flame.  She is a fickle mistress,” he intoned, marking his head where he had been burned, wincing at the still tender skin.

           “I couldn’t control it,” Kyuhyun murmured, his voice strained and fearful.  “I couldn’t…”

           “And it burned you,” Tierne nodded, glancing at Summer for confirmation.  She agreed reluctantly and looked away.  The only reason he was alive was because she had managed to curtail the power he had called and even that had almost not been enough.  “When you work with fire as long as I have, you will learn that is going to happen, whether you want it to or not,” Tierne assured him solemnly.  “And you can’t always control how it’s going to affect you.”

           Still not quite convinced, Kyuhyun merely gave a nod and then focused on Summer.  He freed his hand from Tierne and reached up to Summer’s face, gently wiping the tear from her cheek.  “It’ll be okay,” he assured her, swallowing hard.

           “Of course it will,” she assured him, clasping the hand gently in hers.  “Just wait a bit longer.  Eleanara will fix you right up,” she promised him, wondering where the light elementalist was.  Was she awake yet?  Distracted by the thought, she noticed the amulet on Kyuhyun’s chest and blinked at it in confusion before she realized it looked odd because it was visible.  Unconsciously, she reached down for her amulet and wasn’t surprised when her fingers closed around it.  Carefully, she looked up at Tierne and he nodded in acceptance.

           “We found your party on our way to Fairwinter.  Moorhall was destroyed,” he explained seriously.  “You are known to us,” he assured them, “because only the Elementalists would be able to destroy the wyrm that attacked us.”

           They both froze at his explanation and then looked at each other.  “Is the village alright?” Summer asked, afraid of the answer.

           “Destroyed,” Tierne stated with a shake to his head.  “But most of us survived.  Some better than others,” he added with a very pointed look at Kyuhyun.  “But here.  Enough talk,” he stated, standing up and retrieving the tray of food that was still near the door.  “Eat first.  You will need it after the fight the other day.”  Summer nodded and reached for the first item on the tray, debating what would be easiest for Kyuhyun to handle.

           Outside, the rest of the village party moved about curiously.  They continued to cast covert glances at the three tents that held the elementalists they had found in the broken site just up the path.  None of them had known exactly what had happened but when they had seen the amulets around their necks, they could easily put two and two together.  It was likely that the large scale destruction had been caused by the elementalists, though there were signs of another massive force that had been present.  Nothing could be found other than the remains of the patrols and even those were mostly bits and pieces of what they had been.  They had found one man trapped in rock who had been babbling about powers and a giant wyrm.  He was clearly quite mad so they had put him out of his misery, but it was clear that the group they had sheltered were none other than the Elementalists reborn.

           Eventually, one of them emerged from the first tent; the smallest of the group and the one they had attributed to being the light elementalist.  She was followed quickly be the earth elementalist who hovered behind her protectively.  Marcus emerged last and watched them go, a thoughtful expression on his face.  When he caught them staring, he waved them on their way and then went to join them with the rest of the morning preparations.  They would be moving out when the elementalists were ready, but given the other day, none of them were sure about when that might be.

           “Slow down,” Leeteuk stated before Eleanara ducked into the first tent.  He almost bumped into her when she stopped suddenly, confused by the teary eyed, huddling group and not understanding what was wrong.

           “Are you hurt?” she asked, suddenly afraid that she had missed something major the other day and that they were suffering for it now.  Urgently, she moved to kneel in front of them, scanning them desperately with her eyes.

           Leeteuk hurried next to her and caught her shoulders, gently restraining.  “They’re not hurt,” he explained softly, looking over the group.  He had made sure of that last night or he might well have been as concerned as her.

           Vayna stood up and helped the pair to stand.  “Just give them time.  It’s alright,” she assured the younger woman with a firm hand on her shoulder.  Carefully, she forced the young woman to look her in the eyes.  “You can’t heal this,” she stated softly, seeing the need there.  “Go help your other friend,” she urged instead, remembering the fire elementalist.  “He needs you now.”  Vayna looked at Leeteuk and waited for him to guide the other woman out, still plagued by doubt that she was missing something here.

           “Come on,” Leeteuk guided her, knowing Vayna was right and just as uncertain as Eleanara.

           As the words sank in, Eleanara firmly took hold of herself and shook her head.  “Kyu.”  Without Leeteuk’s assistance, she moved to the other tent and stepped in softly, glancing around and taking in the presence of Summer and Tierne on either side of Kyuhyun.  She did not miss the hope in Kyuhyun’s eyes that she would be able to make the pain go away.

           Summer felt a leap of joy that Eleanara had finally arrived and then a flash of resentment that she hadn’t come sooner.  With an effort, she banished the unkind thought, acknowledging that none of them were in great condition after yesterday.  She accepted the other woman’s hand as she hurried to kneel beside them, reaching for Kyuhyun’s hand with her other free one.

           “I’m sorry,” Eleanara apologized profusely, tears already starting to sting her eyes.  “I’m sorry.”  She hated that he had been in pain this whole time because she had not been able to heal him yesterday.  Tenderly, she held his hand to her chest and closed her eyes, feeling what she had missed the other day and fighting the urge to cry.  Still holding both their hands, she reached for her power and felt it answer, tendrils seeking the damage still present in Kyuhyun’s body.

           Immediately, Kyuhyun felt the power of her healing ability as it flowed through him slowly, mending the hurts that were there and alleviating the pain that had plagued him since he woke.  Before their eyes, the red flesh returned to the pale complexion it had been as lips healed over and his eyes opened fully, free of pain.  He sighed in relief and gripped Eleanara’s hand in gratitude.  He felt a strong hand pat his healed shoulder and he looked up at Tierne who smiled at him knowingly.

           “Just remember what I told you, lad,” he nodded, glancing at the light elementalist with a certain reverence.

           He was about to leave when Kyuhyun sat up and stalled him.  “Wait.”  He looked over at Eleanara and pushed her hand towards the blacksmith.  “Him too,” he stated simply, meeting her gaze evenly.

           Eleanara met that gaze and blinked slowly.  She nodded once, a small smile on her face before she stood up, using Kyuhyun’s support.  She looked askance at Tierne who regarded her evenly.  Not distracted by the greater need of her friends, she could see that he had been injured in the attack on Moorhall as well.  Another pang of guilt struck her and she reached out to place her tiny hand on his massive arm.

           Tierne was pleasantly surprised by the slow spread of gentle warmth that came from the spot where she was touching him.  It traveled up his arm and then blossomed across his chest and through the rest of his body, mending the hurts that he had been carrying since Moorhall.  The smithy had caught fire when the wyrm had destroyed his home and while he had been able to hide in the cellar nearly all of them had, it had been a struggle to get out before that door had burned through too.  As they had all seen, he did not escape unscathed.

           She removed her hand slowly, taking note of the extent of his injuries and wondering idly if the others were as hurt.  Tierne surprised her when he placed his hand on top of her head and smiled warmly.  “Thank you.”  Without another word, he stepped out of the tent, already unwinding the gauze on his arm and touching the mended bald spot on his head.  A pity his hair didn’t regrow there too.

           Leeteuk moved an arm around Eleanara’s shoulders and pulled her close before smiling down at the other two.  “Good morning,” he stated simply, at which they all started laughing nervously.  If it was slightly hysterical, no one was there to tell them otherwise.