New Member [closed][dated]

The day started like a usual day. Roulette was on some shoping trips, and Etulia helped her. After the two got everything they needed, they wanted to shorten the way back. Then it happened. A few griffons attacked them as they were in one of the back alleys. Everything was so fast. Etulia was hit by the griffons and was tossed a bit away. She saw something shiny, then heard a scream. As she made her way back to her mistress, there was blood. Etulia was panicked as she tried to help Roulette. Tears ran into her eyes. "Don´t die...please stay with me." She said to Roulette, while pressing a hoof on the wound.

Roulette winced slightly once she was shifted by Etulia, trying her best to keep her expression strong despite it.

"Looks like the dice didn't roll in our favor today... Huh?" She asked simply while keeping her breath steady to keep her strength up. A light tear pooled in the corner of her eye from the pain in her side, red slowly mixing with her black features before dropping to the ground. "This might be my final deal at the table... My cards aren't looking good..."

Etulia looked around, then back to Roulette. "Do´t say such things. I don´t let you die! Just wait here" Etulia said while tears dropped down from her chin. "I´ll search for help. I know someone will help us. and then you´ll get back on your hoofs soon." Etulia stood up and ran towarts the next bigger street. She normally didn´t left Roulettes side without her permission, but this time there was no other choice.

Roulette didn't do anything to stop the earth pony from leaving her side. Watching her companion run off, she slowly closed her eyes while holding her hoof over her wound in some attempt at making it better.

"Goodbye... It was fun sitting at the table... But I'm out of chips..." She said to herself, feeling as if she was living out her final moments while waiting for help to arrive.

Xarith needed to hurry. He wasn't exactly making good time here.

He'd left the shop with his siblings for a whole hour now. There was no doubt in his mind that they had blown the place up yet or burned it down. All he was looking for now was the smoke filling the skies.

Though, his attention was dragged away as he turned to see a pony running into the street with misty eyes and bloody hooves. That was more than enough to stop him for just a while longer.

He kicked his board to the side and powerslid to a stop in front of the pony.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." He said kicking his board up onto his back and pulling out a rag. Hoofing it over, he spoke again. "What's going on here?"

Etulia nearly crashed into the Zebtra. She didn´t knew him, but she hoped he would help. She tried to tell him what happened. "Griffons.....attack....Blood everywhere....My mistress." The fear and the stress made it impossible for her to form clear sentences. As she realized this, she tried pulling the zebra to the alleay. Her bloody hoofs were very slippery and so she lost grip on the zebra and fell backwards to the ground. "please...you have to help me" She said while standing up.

Xarith stood there as the pony made long streaks of blood across his cloak. He shook off as much as he could before quickly trotting over and moving to help there mare up. Stuffing the rag back into a pocket, looked around. He made sure that his spear was unlatched as well as he moved his hooves around in his bag.

"Just show me," he said calmly to her.

"Follow me" Etulia said quick as the zebra agrred to help. She walked quick into one of the alleys, while looking that the zebra follows her. "its right there" She pointed behind a corner.

As they arrived the place etulia ran to Roulette "I´ve found help mistress" She said while bowing down to her. "Now everything gets fine, didn´t it?" She hold one of roulettes forelegs.

Roulette glanced up to Etulia with dreary eyes, a weak smile slowly growing onto her muzzle as the sight of her prized pony came to her. Her eyes slowly shifted to the new face that appeared around the corner.

"Has fate possibly drawn a worse hoof than mine?" She asked simply, not seeming to truly aim the question at either of them in her slightly out of it state.

Quickly followed the pony around the corner, readying himself. Though, he dropped his tensed self as he say the figure of a wounded changeling covered in blood. He froze up for a bit at the sight, but firmed himself as he moved closer and bent down to the 'ling, beginning to take his rag and a few extras to make some dressings for the wounds.

"Don't worry just a bit, Miss. I believe in fate as a dealer not a player. I'm sure that there is more to go before we're all done here."

Roulette closed her eyes while her smile stuck to her face, a tear slowly rolling down her cheek. A tear made up of pure relief and thankfulness. She didn't say anything else while simply laying in her spot as her wounds were dressed for her as to conserve her energy.

She wanted to stay alive. Not for herself...but for Etulia. She needed her.

Etulia simply sat besides the two. there were nothinh she was able to do except holding Roulettes hoof. Roulette was the only person she trusted, she didn´t want to loose her. "Will she be okay?" She asked the zebra with tears in her eyes. "please tell me she will be okay...please."

Xarith quickly looked over the dressed wounds, and while he was no medical professional, it was clear that the injuries were heavy. He rolled ideas over in his mind as he tried to come to something...

He knew that the 'ling had to be treated as soon as possible since the longer they were out here they ran a higher risk of infection among other things.

They needed to transport her quietly as well. Carrying around a wounded changeling like that would definitely draw some attention to them. Unwanted attention at that. And attracting unwanted attention to themselves was the last thing they needed if they wanted to make a quick journey back to his shop.

"She'll be fine," Xarith said moving over and applying some pressure to the dressing to ensure they were fitted correctly. "But we need to carry her to my shop quickly where we can treat her wounds. We have to hurry though. The more time we spend out here is less time to treat her."

Etulia fully understood the Zebra. "I can carry Her, since she´s my mistress. Its my assignment, and i wont dissapoint her." said Etulia. She knew its dangerous to walk trhough the city with a changeling on the back. it will cause much attention, but she had no other option to help her mistress in this situation. "And where is you shop?" she asked the Zebra.

Roulette didn't say a word as she listened to what the others were saying, gaining a faint smile from the concern showed by them. She slowly closed her eyes as her energy was sapped from her body, falling unconscious, but staying very much alive.

Xarith had already summoned up a detailed map of the city in his mind as he worked out a way to get from his shop from here. He recalled the streets he had passed through while making a run though the district. The route they would take would lead them through sidestreets and away from most prying eyes.

And speaking of his shop...

"My shop isn't too far from here," Xarith said looking back over to the two. "My shop is only a mile out. Just a couple city blocks." Moving back out towards the streets, the zebra looked around before waving them over.

"Alrighty then. We should get a move on while we have the time."

Etulia sighed. It was still a far distance, even it was just one mile." Okay, she said while carefully picking Roulette up. She placed her on her back and made sure she would lie comfortable before walking up to Xarith. "We can go." she simply said.

Xarith nodded as he looked through the streets, checking for any person that may be wandering the streets. Predictably enough, there were not many in the industrial district just milling about.

Waving over the two, Xarith quickly crossed the street to another alley way and gestured the them over.

"Alright, just follow me. I'll stay up ahead to check for anyone."

Etulia walked quick over to Xarith, but still slow enough to make sure Roulette wouldn´t feel any pain. The streets werent much filled in the industrial district so there were no one seing them. "I hope no one will see us..." Etulia said quiet.

The zebra just glanced around for a moment before moving over to the next abandoned alley way. He stopped for a moment as he saw a small group of ponies passing by the next street. Hushing himself and taking quick refuge behind some trash bins, he looked over to the two and gestured them to do the same.

"I don't think anyone will," Xarith said in a hushed voice as he looked over to see the group pass. "Not many need to be at the Industrial District at this time."

Etulia tried to hide as the Zebra signed, but it wasn´t this easy with a changeling on her back. "i hope you´re right" She said while looking after her mistress. "All will be ok again, we just have to follow this zebra.." She said to Roulette, knowing she was passed out. She more said it to calm herself down from all this stress.

Xarith threw open the door and looked up the flight of stairs that led up to the rooms. Calling up to his siblings to see if they were home where of no use as his words just echoed back to him in the shop. Moving aside to let the two in, he trot over to the flight of stairs.

"Let us make haste," he said lightly. "You can lay her in the rooms where she can rest. The Alchemy room isn't a place to stay in for long, so I suggest you hurry."

Etulia was exhausted as they arrived at the shop from carrying her mistress, but she was happy they made it. She walked in the door and followed the zebras advice. Slowly she managed to get to a room the Zebra advised. She layed Roulette down at a table so the Zebra could aid her. Etulias back was full od blood of her mistress. "What now, is there anything i can help to aid her?" Etulia asked, still worried if the Zebra really could help.

Xarith trot in to the room that the pony had picked and glanced around to notice that it was his own. He winced a little to see that she had laid the wounded changeling over his desk, but moved over quickly with new dressings and a bottle of disinfectant. He brushed some of his things aside and wiped a bit of the blood on his cloak before looking over to the pony.

"I can take care of her from here," Xarith said already redressing the wounds with the sterilized wrappings. "You can clean yourself up if you'd like. There is a place for you to wash yourself just down the hallway."

Ezulia shaked her head "No, thanks. I will stay aside my mistress, till i´m sure she´ll make it." Etulia said while sittinng in a corner of the room observing the Zebra. She wasn´t really sure if she caould trust him. But at the moment it was her only chance. "Aything i can help with? she asked.

Xarith took a clean rag and lay it over the chair that stood next to the table. He cleaned as much of the wounds as possible and made sure the dressings were nice and secure. Looking over to the pony, he shook his head.

"She should be fine for now," he said looking over to his sheets. Moving over and pulling the sheets back, he motioned to the pony. "You can lay her here for the time being while I arrange some things for you two."

Etulia carefully picked up Roulette and leayed her to the mentioned place. "Thanks" She said simply. She held Roulettes hoof and sat besides her. Slowly she peted her mane. "Exverything will be fine again. She still had bood on her back, but her primary was Roulette.The Zebra was very friendly, which made Etulia having hope for this cruel world, they lived in.

After a long few minutes of further rest, a quiet groan slowly left the injured changeling as consciousness slowly began to return to her. Roulette slowly opened her eyes halfway, not saying a word as her thoughts and senses tried to recover and reorganize.

All of her energy was drained away from her body's efforts at staying alive. Silently scanning the room with her somewhat clearer vision, one question slowly slipped into her mind.

Where am I?

The surroundings were completely unfamiliar to her, and she knew for a fact this wasn't where she was when she fell unconscious.

After not too long, she finally felt something upon her hoof. The 'ling's attention was slowly drawn to the side, seeing Etulia, her one and only companion right by there holding her hoof. The faintest of smiles slowly crept onto her muzzle. She couldn't speak out to her, but simply enjoyed her company nonetheless.

Xarith returned to his room with some cleaning rages as he washed and sanitized his desk for a moment as he let the two to their time. Setting the things to the side, he pulled out most of his papers out and lay them back on the desk as he sat in the chair that had been used earlier to get comfortable and scribble some notes down.

This was going to shakes things up just a little bit, and Xarith was going to make sure that he at least wrote down a little bit of what happened.

Etulia noticed Roulettes awakening. "hey, you´re awake." A smile formed on her face. "you´re save now. This Zebra over there brought us to his shop." She said while still petting Roulettes mane.

Roulette's eyes slowly scanned the room, eventually locking onto the zebra in question. He was a complete stranger to her, but she knew she could trust him if Etulia was able to. He did seem to be one of the main reasons she was still alive after all.

Still too weak to speak properly, she simply remained silent and looked back up to Etulia with her same weak smile. She was just happy to be able to live on another day after feeling her number had come up no more than an hour ago.

Xarith finished up a short bit of notes as he brushed the papers aside and placed his quill back into its well. Standing up from his chair and turning to the two, he offered a kind smile to them.

"Ah, I see you're awake," Xarith said trotting over. "Feeling any better?"

Roulette's attention slowly turned towards the zebra as he spoke to her, giving him a weak smile of thanks. After a few short moments, she attempted to speak once more, this time she was successful.

"Just...just knowing that I...get to play another day...is enough to make me feel better than...anything else..." She replied weakly, slowly turning her gaze towards the pony next to her. "B-but...not for myself... B-because I know that...I still get to play for...my family..."

Etulia blushed as Roulette spoke of 'family' . Etulia saw herself not this close to her mistress, more as a worker, which she doesn´t disliked at all.... Her smile brightened up. She felt very close to roulette in this moment. "thanks" was all she was able to say in this moment and then huggled roulette tight. after that she turned to the Zebra "When she will be back on her hoofd again?"

The zebra just rolled over his thoughts as he tried to answer the pony's question. He looked over to the bandaged 'ling, taking careful note of the wounds he saw earlier as well as the amount of blood that had been spilled.

"Well," he began, "I think that the recovery shouldn't be too long." Moving over to take a closer look at the dressings, he nodded lightly.

"The only think I'm concerned about is the amount of blood that she has lost. She may have to rest a bit and wait until she gets all of that back. In the mean time, she should be given a lot of liquids and be carefully monitored for any other bad signs." Xarith just offered a friendly smile afterwards as he moved back to his desk.

"Like I said: You two are welcome to stay here as long as you need."

Roulette's eyes followed the zebra back to his desk, closing her eyes slowly afterwords as the fatigue within her began to catch up to her.

"I...I must repay you s-somehow..." She replied quietly while laying her head back once more. "The d-dealer was about to win...but you placed an ace into my hoof... I have to give you...my thanks..."

"Thank you" Etulia said about the offer of the Zebra. She was slightly happy. "Since my mistress has to rest at the moment, i could repay you instead." Etulia looked over to Roulette. "of course only if you allows it, mistress." Etulia wouldn´t dare to do anything for others without Roulettes Permission, but in this case she was pretty sure Roulette would allow it. "I could help this Zebra with anything he needs, while I look after you besides this, and you can rest and cure your wounds."

Xarith offered the pony a warm smile as he looked out the window and down mainstreet. Lightly trotting over and peering out, he spotted his siblings cantering back to the shop from quite a distance. Then moving back over, Xarith nodded.

"I thank you for your kind offer, miss...-" Xarith said before trailing off. "Say, what may I call you and your friend here by? I just need to know for I was going to tell my siblings."

Roulette gave the two a faint smile, a quiet chuckle escaping her. "Of course you can help them in my place until I'm feeling well enough to get back to the table again." She replied, glancing towards Etulia.

Placing her attention back onto the zebra, she gave him a slight nod. "I'm Roulette, and she is Etulia. We're traveling partners. Arrived here not too long ago."

" So whatever you need, I´m at your command....... as long as Roulette don´t need me." Etulia said to the Zebra. She would repay With her help for the help The Zebra gave Roulette.

Moving over, Xarith just nodded sagely as he offered the two another smile of his.

"Thank you for such a kind offer, Etulia," the Alchemist began, "I'll be sure to keep this in mind. Though, I do have my siblings to aid me here at the shop, so I assure you that you won't have to do too much." Then moving his light gaze towards Roulette with the same friendly smile of his, he placed a small roll of gauze and a clip or two to the beside stand.

"You two should keep an eye on each other as that seems to be the most important thing here, no?"

Roulette kept her gaze upon Xarith, giving the zebra a light nod of understanding.

"I will still do what I can in be of aid to the kind zebra who helped let me roll the dice once more." She replied in the same drained tone of voice she had since she woke up. She glanced towards the offered gauze, not having to ask since she knew it would be for redressing the wounds later when needed.

"But for now, I will watch over Etulia while she watches over me. Just as we always have."

Etulia peted Roulettes mane. "if you need something, just say it." Etulia said as she looked to the Zebra. Then she looked to roulette "You don´t have to look after me.... i´m happy as long as i can serve you, mistress." She lied down to the ground next to roulette. She was a bit tired from this thrilling day, but she still tryed to stay awake to watch over her mistress.