<strong>Eshalu - in the wilds of Dra Sirdu, in the aftermath of battle</strong><br/><br/>"Be sure that you can stand," Eshalu cautioned. She knelt, supporting Aeryn's lower back with one hand and the naturalist's forearm with the other, easing her to her feet with some trepidation. She had been taught the basics of how to tend to the wounded, but she feared this hunting band lacked a druid who would know how to darn flesh and set bones and administer narcotics. "I am unskilled in this - tell me if it hurts."<br/><br/>Eshalu raised Aeryn, still supporting much of her weight to allow the human woman to regain her balance and feel if she had the strength to stand alone. When she was satisfied that Aeryn had regained her breath, she set her to rest against a sturdy tree trunk.<br/><br/>"We may have let an opportunity slip in granting that foul creature escape. It could alert the rest of its kin - though I do not know how these beasts live. Perhaps those two were a mated pair. You and far-sister Reliyian are knowledgeable and know much lore, have you ever seen anything like these things? Look," Eshalu raised the blood-stained tip of her spear and drew a winding, circular logogram in dark blood on clear metal, observing the way in which the unnaturally dense fluid coalesced and flowed, dripping onto the mossy soil, "even their essence bodes ill."