A Clockwork War

[AiEnma]

Penelope slowly sat up and looked over to see where Ian was. As he was walking over to her, she saw that he had 2 injuries. One that even looked more serious than the other. He fell on his and it scared her for a moment. Then he hugged her. When he hugged her, she felt a little warmth since she was shivering from her wet clothing. He kissed warmed her even more. She smiled.


"I am fine Ian. Really I am. Some hurts though." She started to say. "It's my leg; feels tender to the touch." She explained. She smiled because they were together on this big island.


Her eyes started to wonder around and she noticed that the island had natural resources. They would be able to survive for awhile. She turned her attention towards Ian.


"My love, I need to help you. Your arm and leg needs medical attention." She said looking at him. She wanted to help him more than anything else in the world.

 

[Kazanna]

With a slight shake of his head, Ian looked around, "No, the first thing we need to do is dry off before either of us get sick. Then we can patch me up and cauterize these wounds. Which means we need fire." he said, logic kicking in rapidly.


He tugged his belt loose, and pulled a striking flint out of it. He spun the tiny wheel on it and the sparks erupted from it handily. He nodded, "At least this still works. Lets gather some wood, and we'll get me patched up. Then we'll address shelter." he began to go into his mode of working steadily, much like any other engineer might.


"Might be something to shed the wet clothes first though..." He thought out loud, almost tugging his clothing off. He glanced to Penelope, and a light blush creeped into his face, "Ah... You don't have to..."


Ian pushed himself painfully to his feet, pulling away from her regretfully, he had been enjoying the warmth of her. He began to slowly mill about, gathering wood enough for a fire, searching for the driest pieces he could find, as well as something to use for tinder. He had little idea about the fauna in the area, and the palm trees, and coconuts trees that towered overhead, were something entirely new to him. He moved to one, and tugged at the dead, dried out frond of one of the palms, making a face, he used his uninjured arm to wrench it free.


After examining it, he figured he could strip it apart for tinder, and finally sat down in the sand, only a few feet away from where he noted the high tide line was. He dug out a bowl there, and began to make trips, carrying a few pieces of dry wood to the bowl, filling it slowly. When he had enough, he began stripping down the frond to create his tinder nest.


He looked over to Penelope, "Ever think we'd end up stranded together darling?" He asked her with an odd look, somewhere near a smile. Despite how bad the situation was, he was slightly amused.

 

[AiEnma]

Penelope was more worried for Ian's wellbeing than her own. Instead of trying to get Ian to see her view of the situation, she just sighed and smiled at him. There was a low breeze from the Atlantic Ocean and she shivered a bit. Her dress was still soaking wet and she felt cold even from the warmth that Ian had given her. She would need to dry off her dress someway some how. It really was not one of her biggest concerns at the moment though.


Penelope stood up slowly so she would not fall over from the weight of her dress. She carefully looked over her surroundings and looked to find wood and anything else that Ian needed.


Ian started to take his clothing off and then for a moment his face turned a red which made her smile. "I never seen that look on your face before Ian" she started to say, "I like it though. The funny thing is you have seen me without clothing since you and I are husband and wife. Maybe because it is not nighttime which makes you blush." She smiled at him with a little laugh.


She went around gathering broken branches from the island and taking in its beauty. The sun was starting to show its rays and the clouds were clearing the skies. The ocean's roar was magnificent. The surface was extremely soft from in between her toes. Penelope took in all the beauty.


She was walking back to were Ian was, always keep a close eye on him because of his injuries. She smiled a little at him. "No my love, I'd never expect us to get stranded together but travel the unknown world yes." She said as she came closer to him.

 

[Kazanna]

Ian shook his head, it was hardly embarrassment due to the time of day. He just valued the woman. He wanted to do as little as he could to disrespect her, and to have her bare for an extended period of time was something he had been taught by his guild mates as negative. Even if she was your bride, it was your duty to uphold her honor, integrity, and dignity. So when he had suggested that she strip, his mind had been on autopilot, and when his sense of honor had caught up to him, he realized his own folly.


It would take him a fair few minutes to gather the small fuels he would need to create a nest for flame. Using his flint striker, he spun the wheel on it and set the sparks to the tinder. It took him only a few moments to create enough heat and spark to ignite a small flame within the tiny nest. It would take him just a fair few moments to create a small fire, and a few more moments to bring it to the rest of the fuel he had ready for it. After a few more minutes, he had a burning flame, large enough to warm him. He sat down beside it for a moment, letting his body warm from the chill of the ocean air. He pulled his shirt off, carefully removing it so that he did not disturb the wound on his arm. He grimaced as he stared at the injury, dropping his shirt close to the fire to let it dry. The injury was a piece of timber lodged deep in his arm, he had no clue how deeply, only that it stung bitterly.


Turning to Penelope, he made a pained face, "It's going to need to be cauterized, or else infection might spread." He explained, "I've done it before to one of my squad mates... I've had it done once for a blade scar on my back, took the injury in the field. But... I've very little steel by which to create a proper cauterizing brand. I've heard tell you can use wood, but it risks infection..." He shuddered slightly.


The last thing he wanted to do was endanger the use of his hands. Those he needed more then anything else. The wound on his leg was just a deep cut, nothing horrible, but the lodged wood in his arm was another matter. If he didn't clean it properly, he could lose use of his entire arm, and an engineer with one arm was crippled in means of things until they relearned to only rely on one limb.

 

[AiEnma]

Penelope sat and watched Ian create the fire. The color was a beautiful amber and danced with the wind. Penelope watched inside the fire, looking for an answer something that would help her.


Penelope moved her leg and remembered she had a blade, a knife under her dress. It was there for so long, she forgot she even had it. She reached under and grabbed it see if it was still there. A good warrior always comes prepared for anything. Her master taught her that. Penelope smiled and turned toward Ian. "Will this do?" She asked.


Penelope started to sneeze and cough. Her dress was still wet and the fire did little warm her. She began to shiver. "I need to get these wet clothes off soon. I'm going to get sick out here." She said. Her body felt ice cold and she began to cough more.

 

[Kazanna]

Nodding to her, he took the knife gingerly, and looked it over for a moment before turning to Penelope with a slight frown, "Then disrobe and come by the fire as it rises. There's a time for modesty, and one for survival. Today is the latter of the pair. If you feel up to it, you can help me with my arm. I don't have the angle necessary, nor the pain threshold to hold the blade steady when preforming the task. Being stabbed and beaten is one thing, holding burning hot iron to your flesh is an entirely different animal." He prattled on for a moment.


Ian was nervous about cauterizing the injury, he didn't know if it was entirely necessary, but he had no desire to find out if he would lose his arm or not to infection. He set the knife down beside the fire so that the metal could warm slowly. He grit his teeth, and pulled the chunk of wood out of his arm with a yank that created a squelching sound as his flesh pulled away from it. The pain was bearable, but it rendered a grunt from his lips.


"Bloody Hells, that hurt. My god." He cursed, "Excuse me, but, it really does." He said, looking the wound over with his teeth grit.


The injury was deep, but luckily few blood vessels had been broken, so very little blood was welling from the injury compared to how much was possible. Ian winced as he tugged a few splinters loose from the gaping hole in his arm, his hands shaking slightly from the slight amount of shock the severe pain was causing his body to experience.


"Let the knife warm up slowly, so the metal doesn't warp and so that the heat is deep inside it and doesn't cease to cauterize halfway through. I'll keep an eye on it while you warm up a bit darling." he says, placing his hand over the injury, applying pressure to slow the bleeding.


He was in no danger for the time being, the blood flow was very minimal, and as cold as his body was, it was slowed even more. Ian sighed, another scar to add to his already damaged form.

 

[AiEnma]

Penelope shivered as her teeth chattered. The delicate breeze was making her feel cold but she was trying to get used to the cold feeling. She turned her gaze from the sea toward Ian as she caught his frown. She thought for a moment. "Ian, I will be fine. I'm not a little fragile girl anymore" she said, "We need to worry about getting your wounds treated at the moment. You need your arms and hands more than anything else, my love"


Penelope reached over and took the blade and slowly held it over the fire heating it just right. It would take a moment for the blade to be the right temperature. She sat there quietly thinking. Penelope was thinking of a way to change out of her clothing without bothering Ian. She could feel that he wasn't comfortable about her being in bare skin, especially out in the open. She smiled a little. He was so caring, so respectful. She admired as much.

 

[Kazanna]

Test

 

[AiEnma]

Huh?

 

[AiEnma]

Oooo I can still reply lol

 

[AiEnma]

A Month Later…. Kingsport, Tennessee



Her eyes flinched as she was woken by the sunlight directly above her. She groaned as she slowly crawled out of bed and looked for her slippers. “And why did Ian think it was such a great idea to put the bed right below the window?” she said, thinking out loud. She then realized how much she loved that window because she could stargaze in her own bed, with Ian. Every night she had fallen asleep listening to the sounds of the creek next to them and the quiet noise of the wind in the branches of the trees. Living in the middle of the forest instead of the city of Kingsport was much better. It was peaceful but at the same time lonesome. Ian had been really busy with his projects, since they had gotten of the island. He had been cooped up in his shop, only coming to bed when late at night and gone by the time Penelope had woke. She bring him his breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She did not want to bother him because she knew her husband. He was an extremely focused person.


Penelope bath and gotten dressed. A simple but elegant dress for her to walk to town. The townspeople would look at her with the looks of wonder. She could sometimes hear their whispers. Where is that young lady from? Where’s her husband? She comes from the woods alone. Penelope yawned as she would shake those thoughts from her head as she closed the door to the house. She left a note for Ian just in case he came looking for her. As she walked through the thick woods she took in the beauty of the world around her. The grass was as soft as bedding. The trees were as talls the sky. She yawned as she continued on her stroll. For a couple of weeks now, she has been extremely fatigued. This morning she did not want to even get of bed.


Looking ahead of her, she finally found the path towards the town. She walked as the the forest became less, and paved with streets and houses. It was still morning but the town had come of life with people walking to run errands and children running to the school house. Penelope passed by people and the whispers started to begin. She held her head and wore a smile on her face. The whispers were not anything bad, they were more of curiosity. People would smile back at her and even say hello. The small conversations made her happy. It had been awhile since she had someone to talk. As she continued to walk, the smell of bread being baked filled the air. “I think Ian would love some fresh bread with his lunch and dinner tonight.” she said to herself. She smiled as she entered the market section of the town. She saw the baker and smiled towards him. “Good morning sir. Could I trouble you for some fresh bread please?” she said so sweetly. The man smiled at her and nodded. “Of course you could ma’am. The prettiest, most talked about woman could get whatever she like at my shop.” he said so kindly.


Penelope smiled as she gave the man some money for the exchange of bread. “You are so kind sir.” she said back to him. The man laughed as he handed her the bread. “Tis, true though ma’am. Everyone talks of how you appear and disappear back into the forest.” he informed her. She smiled more.


“Tis where I live with my husband, the engineer.” she said to him. He nodded at her.


“Ay, he’s a lucky fellow. All the men in the town are going to be jealous when they find out you are married.” he snickers. Penelope smiles and thanks him for the bread.


She walked away, back towards the forest. She began humming towards herself as looked up at the clear sky. It seemed like it was yesterday when they where was washed up on the shore of that island. The sky was gray, still clearing from the clouds. The two of them were lucky to have survived that storm. Penelope was gratiful that Ian’s injuries did not grow into something worse.


A mother passes by her with her baby in the carriage. The baby began to cry.


She stopped in her tracks. She turned around to look at the baby. The cry brought her back to reality. She was reminded. Penelope did not want to be reminded. She put her hand up on her stomach and the down again. She had to get away as fast she could.