#Sorry :'D | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

blueflyingturtleontheway · 1 year

Note

Okay, I’m torn between two prompts, so can I request either “feeling their pulse” or “bandaging/stitching up an injury” for Gabe and Stanislaw, please?

Too bad there’s no “feeling other’s mustache” prompt, it could be such a simple choice then…

I'll never live that typo down, will I...

The heavy clouds of dust slowly settled on the ground to the sound of the last stones rolling down from the slope. Stanislaw slowly rose to his feet, coughing and trying to pull clear air into his lungs again. He blinked rapidly and tried to look around.

"General Núñez!" He raised his hands to his mouth to strengthen his voice and quickly pulled them back down with a loud hiss.

"I'm here," Gabe coughed out from behind him.

"Are you alright?" Stanislaw asked, rolling back his shoulder.

"Yes, yes." Gabe looked over himself then nodded his head and Stanislaw. "What's with your arm?"

Stanislaw frowned.

"I think it's dislocated. Do you know how to set it right?"

Gabe nodded and went over to him.

"Alright, on three. One, two- gAAAAH!" Sharp scream escaped Stanislaw throat as Gabe pulled, followed by a few words Gabe didn't need to know Lachian to understand.

"Is this how they teach you first aid at the knight academies now?"

Gabe grinned a crooked smile.

"I wouldn't know. Anyway, we should probably look for another way out of here." He looked between the pile of rubble and the steep walls of the ravine.

Stanislaw hummed in agreement and followed his gaze.

"I'd say we go back to the - HOLY MOTHER OF-" Stanislaw gasped and slapped a hand against his mouth. "General, don't move." He said slowly.

"What? Why?" Gabe asked, but he complied, only turning his head to look at him.

Meanwhile Stanislaw threw his jacket to the ground, took off his shirt and started to rip it apart.

"Wha- King Stanislaw! What are you doing?!"

"I said, don't move!" Stanislaw snapped. "What? Did you take bandages with you when going on an afternoon stroll?"

Stanislaw walked over to Gabe and gestured him to sit down on a boulder, while he tied the fabric into makeshift bandages.

Gabe sat down, but he furrowed his brows and started "But why would I need..." before he finally understood Stanislaw's behavior.

"We don't have anything to actually clear the wound, so I'll just try to stop the blood loss... It might hurt a little." Gabe heard before a sharp pain in his back forced out a scream from his lungs. Suddenly the whole world got covered by dancing black spots and he felt himself fall forward. He tried to keep himself upright and not focus on the pain tearing his body apart.

"Everything's fine, it's just adrenaline wearing off," Stanislaw tried to sound encouraging and hide the tension in his own voice.

He wrapped the bandages a few times around Gabe's chest, making sure it wouldn't slide off when he stood up. Gabe took a deep breath. And another one. And one more.

"It doesn't seem to be deep, the beast merely scratched you," Stanislaw assured him.

Finally Gabe's breathing came back to normal. After a moment more he even stopped swaying and could focus his sight on his shoes. The pain was still there, but the panic disappeared.

"Are you sure? It sure felt like more than a scratch." He even attempted at a joke.

"Oh pff," Stanislaw scoffed and laughed. "What's a mere litre of blood for a knight."

Silence fell on the ravine again, as Stanislaw continued his work, and Gabe got lost in his thoughts. Surrounded by sharp slopes of the ravine and a pile of stones that had buried the monster underneath, and trying to steer his thoughts away from the pain, he couldn't help but try to remember when he could've gotten wounded. He scowled, remembering how paralyzed he was when the beast attacked and how he completely didn't know what to do...

"So..." Stanislaw picked up again, pulling him out of his thoughts. Catching Gabe's gaze, he continued. "What's bothering you?"

"You mean other than the gaping hole in my back?" Gabe chuckled.

Stanislaw chuckled lightly too, but immediately became serious again as he said: "I saw men wincing in pain before. It's a different kind of frown."

Gabe pursed his lips and looked away.

"You don't have to tell me," Stanislaw continued. "After all we don't know each other all that well. But I've learned that sometimes it's better to throw your words off on an objective listener than to keep them all inside. And who knows," He shrugged. "I've lived my fair share of experiences already, maybe I could even help you somehow."

Gabe remained silent. Stanislaw was right, they didn't know each other well, actually only the one week Gabe has been in Lachia so far, not counting the stories they've both heard about the other from sir Michał, but Gabe felt that he already had gotten a pretty good idea of what kind of person Stanislaw was. He was sure of one thing, if he didn't want to talk, Stanislaw wouldn't pressure him. But, well, maybe it wasn't such a bad idea... Before he could decide Stanislaw spoke up again.

"You're not holding a grudge against me, are you general?" Gabe snapped his head in his direction, his brows raised almost to his hairline. Stanislaw now seemed even more focused on the bandages than before and Gabe couldn't really read his expression. "I want you to know that I meant no insult by that. I have heard and seen more than enough to know that you could've handled it yourself, so..." he looked up at him, but even then his expression remained unreadable. "If I had somehow damaged your honor, I want to apologise."

Gabe looked at him with wide eyes for a moment as his brain tried to process Stanislaw words. Finally when he translated everything in his mind from Latin to Avaloran, from Avaloran to Gabe and back again, he realized that Stanislaw must've completely misunderstood his reaction.

"Wha- apologize? For what?" He sputtered out. "No, no, your highness, if anything I should be the one to apologise, after being absolutely useless in the fight."

"Useless? That's not how I remember it." Stanislaw's voice suddenly sounded much softer.

Gabe frowned and felt the feelings that have been accumulating for the past few days, finally come to surface.

"Yeah? Because I remember that I lost my sword in the first 5 minutes of the fight and then couldn't even keep the monster away from the others - not to mention that apparently I let myself get wounded and didn't even notice!"

Stansislaw shook his head.

"No, what I saw, was a young knight, in a foreign land, facing an unknown beast, who despite loosing his weapon still tried his best to protect those around him. Those are all virtues for a..."

"A knight?" Gabe's voice sounded sharper than he intended it but he only gritted his teeth harder. If anything he can blame the irritation on blood loss. "Well here's the problem, I'm not a knight, I'm just a soldier. Everyone here talks so much about knighthood and honor and glorious deeds and it's just-!" He hissed, his sudden movement causing him pain. "And it's all true. All the stories I've heard from sir Michał about Lachian knights, about you... They're all true. Even better than what I've heard." He cast his eyes aside, not wanting to look at Stanislaw anymore, but he only chuckled.

"Are you sure? Michał does like to color his stories up."

Gabe was already shaking his head.

"You have defeated a beast the size of 3 horses, with claws to match, in less than 20 minutes, without even pulling your sabre out. And before that, when one of Mateo's spells went rampant, you immediately knew what to do - and you said so yourself that you've never dealt with Avaloran magic before! And you have defeated two dragons in your life! And probably a countless of other weird monsters and just- you're literally called Lachia's first knight!" Gabe threw out one sentence after the other, gesturing wildly, until finally he found his tongue empty of more arguments. "...and I've never even went to a military school, much less a knight academy."

A heavy silence fell onto the ravine after Gabe's words. Stanislaw continued to patch him up, but neither of the men looked the other in the eye. Finally he tied the end of the makeshift bandage. Gabe took a few deep breaths to check how it would hold, while Stanislaw turned away to put his jacket back on. And when they were still not facing each other, he broke the thickening silence.

"Neither did I."

Gabe turned around in place. Stanislaw didn't rise his eyes from the buttons of his jacket, his voice sounded nonchalantly, but Gabe couldn't tell if the tone was sincere.

"I haven't even held a sword in hand until I was what? 20? And I can't really beat Michał to this day, when it comes to it. Now tell me something general," he said turning around. "How long have you been a guard?"

"Uh, 6 years?" Gabe answered, unsure where Stanislaw was going with this.

"Mhm, so that's over five times less than I've been called a knight." Stanislaw nodded slowly, his face taking on a thoughtful expression. "And before that? Since you said you didn't learn to be a guard, what did you plan to do? Who were your parents?"

Gabe frowned.

"I was supposed to take over my dad's bakery."

"And I was a shoe maker." Stanislaw smiled gently. "Okay, one last question, general - how many knights are there in Avalor?"

Gabe opened his mouth to answer and immediately closed it. How many knights are there in Avalor? He never really thought about it before coming to Lachia. Any knights he knew personally, were foreigners or at least have studied at one of the Enchancian or Brazendellian academies. He was also pretty sure there were a few old nobles who had their titles brought back by Elena, after Shuriki nullified them. Although according to her, there used to be knights under her father's reign, and according to all those books he used to read...

Apparently the silence was enough of an answer for Stanislaw. His smile became wider and he continued.

"So you see, general, you may not be called a knight, but in those 6 years you've been a guard, you've defeated countless foes and monsters, helped defeat ancient spirits and revolutionized the Avaloran military system. If it was up to me I'd make you a knight ten times sooner than half of the overenthused morons that graduate the academy every year." He walked over to Gabe and put his hands on his shoulders, serious, but not trying to hide his smile. "It's not the title that makes the knight, but the noble deeds that you've already been commiting for your whole life. After all, it's not the title that tells of the virtues, but the virtues that make for the title. Never forget that."

Gabe felt his throat tighten and turned his head to hide the tears coming to his eyes.

"Thank you," he only managed to squeak out, before Stanislaw pulled him into a strong hug.

Gabe chuckled as they let go.

"You know, your highness, Elena actually taught me a similar lesson way back when I became captain." He discreetly wiped the tears out if the corners of his eyes. "Although I'm glad this time I didn't need to get cursed to remember that."

"Oh?" Stanislaw's eyes lit up with curiosity. He walked over to Gabe and helped him stand up, letting him lean on his shoulders. "Now that sounds like a story I need to hear. But first -" he extender his hand towards him. "Let's drop the titles. Stanislaw."

Gabe shook his hand with a wide smile.

"Gabe."

They turned towards the other path leading out of the ravine.

"So Gabe," Stanislaw wasn't even trying to hide his curiosity anymore. "How did you get cursed becoming a captain?"

Gabe laughed.

"Well, it's a bit embarrassing, actually. You see, there was this contest..."

Okay so this came out a bit longer than the rest, uuuuuh... But it's because of Stanislaw alright, he has OC privileges.

Prompt lists