((Yeah, I couldn't remember if water was brought with them either. ^__^" A good place to keep it would have been with Lyra, though! :D And not to worry! We'll get into the rhythm of posting again eventually. lol!))

"She'll be tired and sore," the elf said with a chuckle. "It will pass."

As they cleaned and bandaged Kiyoshi, Keji's white eyes flickered up to Esshy. Her words surprised him, but what surprised him even more was what he felt in return. This girl had done nothing but help them. She deserved more than gratitude and respect.

"You're kind to worry," Keji said, tying off the last bandage for the unconscious queen. "We'll do our best to stay out of harm's way, and to keep it from falling to you." With a friendly smile, the elf turned his attention to Lyra. He thanked her quietly for the water, and stood.

Esshy had already gone over to help the guardian. Her panicked words caught his attention, and Keji swiftly joined her.

Sephiroth was no longer fighting their aid. He just ... sat there. As Esshy swiftly began to clean his wounds, the guardian hissed a breath through his teeth. Alright, so they stung. A lot. Suddenly, Esshy's wrist was caught in a grip so tight, it caused her fingers to tingle from lack of blood flow immediately.

The unsteady look in his eyes was what frightened Keji the most. What was he thinking? What was he seeing? "Guardian," Keji said quietly, trying not to startle him. "You need aid. We're here to help you." His voice was soothing, as though comforting a wild creature. Slowly, he reached up and began to pull Sephiroth's hand away from Esshy. "At ease, Guardian."

Sephiroth's blue eyes stayed locked on Esshy's gaze for a long while before he finally released her. When she went back to her work, the male grit his teeth and struggled to keep himself from lashing out. At least he was awake now. Unsteady, but not fading. Or, for the first few moments, that's how it was. The cleaning process was the most difficult, as it actually caused pain. Keji was sure to keep Sephiroth's hands away from Esshy until she began bandaging him. That was when the guardian fell still.

Esshy's words seemed to finally get through to him. As Sephiroth closed his eyes, falling back against the wall once more, he huffed a weary breath. "Foolish woman had better live."

Keji was silent as they bandaged Sephiroth, finally backing away to give the guardian space. He didn't look better, exactly, but at least he wasn't bleeding out as quickly. His pupil-less eyes turned to Esshy once more. "You should rest. We all should." He shook dark hair from his face and used some of the remaining water to wash his hands clean. His kind was dying out. There were three of them now, and the guardian....

Keji shook his head, sitting beside Lyra. If the guardian fell, then Shara and himself would fade into nothing. There was no hope without a guardian.

Thoughts weighed heavily on him as the male reached out to finger a bit of Lyra's hair. Unsure of what to say, he stayed silent.

((Didn't we have someone coming to try and kill Kiyoshi? O__O We're going to have to get these guys healed up real quick here... hehe))