Margaret scrambled against the wall for a moment, trying to pull herself back up into a standing position without putting any weight on her injured ankle. It was throbbing again from being banged against a rock, and it was sending dull pain up her leg. Finally, she managed to get up onto her good foot and she hobbled out into the light and fresh air. She took a moment to enjoy the cool air outside of the cave, and then she started to really look around. Of course, she didn't have to look far.

She gasped and instinctively took a step back when she saw the...creature. She hadn't been expecting anything like him, and although she wasn't sure WHAT she expected, it hadn't been THAT. When she took that step back, it was onto her injured ankle, and it gave out from under her, sending her sprawling onto her backside again with a yelp. She scrambled backwards until her back hit the wall, never taking her eyes off of Er'end.

He turned towards her slowly, trying to make his movements as non-threatening as possible. Er'end wanted to try and coax her to relax, but that was more typical of trying to sooth a wounded animal, and with his instincts it was more like "attack now while prey is weak". Holding back the urge to bite, he tugged the previously caught Oleiger closer as a reminder he already had a meal.

"The more you scramble away, the more damage you do to your wound." He coiled his tail around him and watched her with careful eyes. His best bet was to state the facts, any attempts to use flowery language would only make the girl more defensive and less likely to trust. "With the application earlier, your wound was already relaxing. Now we must start from the beginning."

The naga slithered a bit closer, his freehand reaching up to check his antlers. As if being part reptile wasn't enough to terrify her, his horns probably added a level of absolute horror. She'd have to recover from it if she wished to survive. "Do you hunger? We can find you something."

Margaret tried to scoot backwards again, although she didn't get anywhere. She was completely backed up against the wall, and had nowhere else to go. She watched the creature with wide, terrified eyes, never once looking away. It was almost as if, the moment she dared to look elsewhere, something terrible would happen to her, and she didn't want to take the chance, as absurd as it was. She was trembling uncontrollably, from both fear and fatigue. Her ankle throbbed painfully as her heart beat wildly in her chest. Finally, she did what any rational creature would do when faced with that kind of mind-numbing fear.

She fainted.

She didn't fall over, mostly because she'd been up against the wall to begin with. Instead, she kind of slid sideways until she was lying on the ground, although the rough stone of the wall grabbed at her shirt as she slumped over. Luckily, she didn't hit anything vital on the rocks when she fainted, but she would have some impressive bruises to show for it later.

At the sight of her fainting, Er'end was unable to stop himself from heaving a sigh. Deciding she'd be alright for a couple moments, he dragged the Oleiger inside, and began a fire. After it began holding heat and became stable he went back outside and awkwardly maneuvered the girl into his arms so he could carry her inside. He placed her on a pile of animal skins and hides. He pulled a few over her in hopes it'd keep her warm once the storm arrived.

He placed a larger piece of wood on the fire and began the process of finally killing the Oleiger and prepping it for a meal. While he would normally place some of it outside to dry and make it into a more snack like meal. An Oleiger on its own would feed three of his kind if portioned right, and with the size of the one he captured, if he were to eat it whole (not that he could, his jaw didn't lower that much and his muscles and scales didn't stretch too well) he'd sleep for months to digest it. And at the moment he didn't have those months.

Finishing up, he placed what he could still use in a pile in the corner of the cave, just as the storm started up. Feeling the faint gusts of cooler air, Er'end recoiled back towards his pile of leaves, curling into it as much as possible to block the air. With a glance at the still running fire and the hides remaining still on the girl's form, he determined it was safe to nap now, and slipped into a light slumber.

Margaret woke with a start. She wasn't sure what had woken her, for a moment, and then she heard the rumble of thunder rolling closer. A storm, then. She could hear rain outside... closer than it should have been. A cool rush of air over her face brought her attention to her own body. She ached a little, and she seemed to be lying on some sort of hard surface... it felt kind of like the ground. It was strange, though... she was settled under some sort of... fur?

With a soft groan, she turned slightly and sat up, rubbing the grit from her eyes and looking around. Her breath hitched slightly when she realized she was back in the cave from before. This time, though, there was a low fire which gave her just enough light to see. She was far enough back from the entrance to the cave that she wasn't getting rained on, something she was grateful for. Carefully, she moved out from under the furs she'd been tucked under, wrinkling her nose a bit at them. Her attention was grabbed immediately when she moved her left leg. The pain in her left ankle flared to life, and she whimpered slightly, her hand going to it automatically. The joint was swollen under her hand, and she couldn't tell if it was any worse than just a sprain, but for the moment, she didn't care. It still hurt, and she couldn't walk on it the way it was.

She glanced around the cave, almost a little fearfully, as if afraid of what else she might find.

The back of the cave, where Er'end and Margaret currently 'rested' was smooth and almost slimy to the touch. Grooves in the walls formed shelves and mini-caverns to house multiple items. A larger of the caverns contained staffs and sticks to be used as weapons, while shells of different shapes and sizes housed harvested herbs, flowers and even odd shells and rocks for different uses. Other plants and herbs grew from small slivers in the ground, in the damp, dark areas, shells beside them for future harvest. The remains of the Oleiger from earlier that dark were stuck against the wall, held up on the shelves with rocks, while the bones sat more behind the curled Naga, and the bits that wouldn't be used piled closer to the exit of the cave, as if being trash ready to be taken out.

Er'end was curled in coils, his arms padding his head as he rested against his tail on the ground. Beside him rested the pile of kindle and firewood, which he added as the fire would dim to almost embers. However his senses were currently on high alert with the storm. If it became any colder, the Naga was going to probably freeze. He hissed slightly, snuggling more into his coils in hopes he'd have more heat.

Margaret heard the sound and glanced over. In the dim light of the glowing embers, she could just barely make out the creature from before curled up tightly against the back of the cave. When another damp, cold breeze came through the cave, it (he?) made the noise again and seemed to curl up tighter.

For some reason, that sparked Margaret's brain into gear again. The air in the cave was cold and damp from the weather, and the cold wind kept finding its way in despite the efforts of the fire to take the edge off of the chill. The logical part of her mind managed to manhandle the rest of her into submission and supplied the fact that if the creature in the cave with her was part reptile, as it seemed to be earlier, then the cold and damp was terrible for it (him?). She glanced down at the furs she was still sitting on, and then back over at the creature. Clearly, it was sentient; she distinctly recalled that it spoke to her before. After another moment of thought, Margaret carefully maneuvered herself off of the furs, taking care with her injured leg, and then grabbed a couple of the furs and threw them in the direction of the creature. They would keep him warmer than the fire would, at any rate.

Just as Er'end was thinking he was going to die from the cold and then the girl would have to figure out a way to survive on her own, a couple of animal skins landed on his scales with a soft 'thump' and startled him awake. The Naga peered in the direction of Margaret, shocked to see her up already.

He adjusted into a more upright position and placed another log on the fire as a large gust of cold air came sweeping through the cave. "How... is your wound? Do you need more herbs for it?" His eyes swept her form, trying to spot the heat flaring from the injury before reaching for the nearest shell filled with the leaves he used before.

Margaret was already trying to get her shoe and sock off so she could get a better look at her ankle when he spoke. She jumped, not expecting it, and she had to resist the urge to scoot backwards.

"I..." She hesitated, and then continued, "It still hurts... I think it's sprained, or bruised..." She shuddered and scooted a little closer to the fire when another cold, damp wind came from the entrance of the cave, and tried not to wince when she accidentally moved her foot. She couldn't help but glance over at him again. He looked a little better, at least... Not as cold as before. Briefly, she debated throwing another fur at him, but decided that if he wanted it, he could get it himself. A sudden flash of lightning and crack of thunder made her jump, but it didn't really scare her. She was more startled than anything.

At least he wasn't trying to hurt her at all, that was something.

The Naga nodded, wrapping the skins around him in such a manner they wouldn't fall off easily. "You were making it worse with all your movement. We should apply more herbs." He slipped closer, picking up the herbs nearby and placing them near Margaret. "You peel off the fuzzy part of the herb. It becomes..." He searched for the word to use. "...sticky? and will not move unless you make it."

He awkwardly retreated and peered towards the cave entrance, where lightning still lit up in inconsistent flashes, like a broken strobe light. The thunder was still loud and echoing, but Er'end could tell it was steadily passing over them. It would probably be another couple hours before it was gone, but the land needed its water.

Er'end took his nails and cut a strip of the animal skin, slithering towards the entrance. He stopped when he was within reaching distance of the nearest puddle of water and dipped the skin within. Afterwards he returned and placed that near Margaret as well. "Use that to wrap the wound and keep it cool. It will help the swelling."

Margaret vaguely remembered something similar from before, although she was terrified at the time. She still remembered something being stuck on her ankle, and the pain dulling, so she was willing to trust him about it this time. Reaching over with shaking hands, she picked up one of the leaves and did as he said, carefully sticking it to the most swollen part of her ankle. After a moment, the pain began to fade a bit and she sighed.

Gingerly, she reached over and picked up the strip of animal skin with two fingers. She didn't really like touching it, and set it back down after a moment, making a face. She couldn't make herself wrap it around her ankle. She wiped her fingers off on her pants, even though there really wasn't anything on them. It was just something about touching the skin that weirded her out. Call her squeamish, but she didn't like it at all. Once her ankle was pretty much numb from the herb on it, she scooted a bit closer to the fire. It took the edge off the chill, but it was still cool in the cave, and she wasn't wrapped in the furs anymore.

Er'end watched her apply the herbs and then cringe at the feeling of the skin. Undoubtedly it was something she was unused to and would dislike it. However if she wished to survive longer, or even stay warm, it was something she would have to get used to.

As she scooted closer to the fire, he placed another log within, causing the flames to curl and hiss at the new addition. "We recommend using at least one of the skins. You need more cover on your skin. Just being close to the fire will not keep you alive and warm."

He moved about the cave, glancing at the strip of skin he had handed her for her ankle. "Wrap it around your wound. If you want to be able to leave when the storm is over, do so."

The Naga rummaged through his dried meats, the ones he would use when he had to change caves and didn't have time to hunt. Grabbing a small strip of it, he held it out towards Margaret; if she didn't take it, that was her issue. He was only trying to help. He could have been like his nest mates and preferred the taste of human, but he couldn't even handle the smell when he was younger.

Margaret hesitated, reaching for the strip of skin again. "I..." She bit her lip a little, and then shook her head. "I can't. I can't make myself touch it again." Okay, she was squeamish. Hell, she barely wanted to touch the furs she was still sitting on, and she had to try to ignore what they were. She huddled a little closer to the fire, staying just far enough away that she didn't catch on fire herself. That would be bad.

Carefully, very carefully, she took her other shoe off and tucked her feet underneath her, between her body and the furs under her. She made sure that her feet were only tucked under her and not actually being sat on, so as not to aggravate her ankle. After a moment, she reluctantly pulled up one of the furs and wrapped it around her shoulders as well, when the wind from outside blew in again, right over her back.

She looked over when he held something out to her, and she just kind of looked at it blankly. It looked like some sort of jerky, but she had no idea what it really might be, and didn't make any move to take it.

"What is it?" she asked after a moment.

"Its a piece of deer meat. Dried out a bit to make it last longer, but you shouldn't have any issues with it. You might have trouble chewing it, as your teeth aren't as sharp as ours, but it's something to eat." He grabbed a couple more pieces, placing them within reaching distance of Margaret, but not getting so close that she'd freak out again.

The Naga took back the cut piece of skin, still dripping water slightly, and placed it as close to the flame as he could to dry it. Afterwards he drifted towards the cave entrance, peering out to try and predict the end of the storm. "We still have a while before the storm is up, and we can't have you starving or becoming sick. Eat up, you'll be stuck with us for a while."

Margaret hesitated, but reached out for the piece of meat once it was set down next to her. Her hand was trembling, but it was just as much from lingering fear as it was from hunger. The dried meat was stiff, but still a little flexible, and it seemed to smell alright. Indeed, it was hard for her to take a bite from it, but she eventually managed to and worked on chewing it. It had a bit of a smoky flavor, from being dried, she assumed, and the meat underneath that flavor didn't taste bad at all. She'd never had deer meat before, but it was good.

"Thank you," she said softly once she'd finished the piece. She didn't touch the others quite yet, giving her jaw a chance to rest, but she would get to them. Moving a little, she leaned back against the wall of the cave, still as close to the fire as she could get. The storm still raged outside, although the thunder and lightning were getting more and more infrequent. The rain was still pouring down, though, and that seemed like it would last a while. Carefully, she pulled another one of the furs over her legs, and winced when it moved her injured ankle unpleasantly.

Er'end himself was quite famished, but he knew if he ate as much as he needed to, the girl would be left with a slumbering Naga. That would not do her any good, nor make his job any easier. He found some of the less dried meat, the kind that was still fresh but not so much, he hoped, that it would make the girl sick. He grabbed it between two of his claws and lifted it to his mouth, opening wide enough for him to swallow it whole. Once swallowed, he turned his attention to Margaret's ankle.

The Naga grabbed the pile of healing herbs, gesturing to the hurt area. "If you cannot do it, let us help you. We have no issues with these herbs or the skins needed to help you."

He blinked slightly, pondering over what her name could be, he couldn't keep calling her the girl the whole time she remained with him. "Would you tell us your word?" He questioned. "The word your kind gave you, will you tell us it?"

Margaret watched, wide-eyed, as he seemed to unhinge his jaw and swallow a chunk of meat whole. Up until about that point, she'd been able to pretend the world was relatively normal, and now she couldn't. She hesitated a little, and then moved a little closer, within reach so that he would be able to help her. She winced a bit when she bumped her ankle on something. The numbing helped, but it didn't take away the pain completely.

"My... word?" she asked, confused. She wasn't sure what he meant and had to think about it for a second before it dawned on her. "Oh, my name... Margaret. My parents call me Maggie, though." She was quiet for a moment, and then something occurred to her. "Why do you keep saying 'us' and 'we'? Is there someone else here besides you?" It hadn't been important earlier, and to be honest, she'd only just noticed it, but now that she had noticed it, it was bothering her.

He nodded at her name, 'Margaret' was a decent word and the Naga bet she carried it well. "Pleasure, Margaret." He gestured to himself, "We are called Er'end." He settled in, watching her shift carefully around her wound. Her question was reasonable, as there was a definite difference in speech.

"We say 'we' as that is what 'we' are. Er'end is nothing but our self, and we speak as so. No one else is here but you and us." The Naga paused. "Does this solitude worry you... Margaret?" He peered at the fire, watching the most recently added log finally catch aflame.

"Er'end..." Margaret rolled the name around on her tongue for a moment. It wasn't difficult to pronounce, but she did have to flip the 'r' in the name to get it as close as she could to the way he had said it. A bright flash of lightning lit up the cave, almost immediately followed by thunder and Margaret jumped. She hadn't expected it to still be so close, she thought the storm was farther away than that. She huddled under the fur that was over her shoulders, and then looked at Er'end again.

"No, it doesn't bother me..." she replied softly. It didn't bother her at the moment, but it might later. Humans were social creatures, after all.

The Naga sensed her lingering uncertainty and nodded. Humans were different than the solitary creatures of Naga, but Er'end was sure if he could adjust his habits and natural instincts to house a human, however temporary, he was sure Margaret could adjust as well. "The sooner your wound is gone, the sooner you can leave." He lowered himself slight and leaned forward, peering into her face. "As long as you don't tell them about us, we mean. If you do, we cannot stop ourselves from retaliation. It is a natural response."

He nodded sharply and pulled away, handing her another piece of meat and gestured for her to lay down. "Sleep more, the storm will continue for a bit. We'll keep you safe."

Margaret unconsciously leaned back a bit when Er'end leaned closer to her. Her heart rate sped up again out of a jolt of fear. She'd calmed down remarkably from earlier, but it seemed to be a tenuous calm, and the sudden invasion of her personal space pushed her back towards fear.

"I won't tell anyone," she promised quickly. She completely believed him when he said he would retaliate, and she knew there wouldn't be anything she could do about it, so it was best for them both if she kept her mouth shut. She could do that. She relaxed marginally when he pulled away from her again. Slowly, being careful of her ankle, she curled up on the furs again and nibbled on the piece of meat he handed her. The storm outside sounded like it would last a while longer, and she wasn't about to go anywhere on her bad ankle, anyways, so she settled in to wait.

Er'end allowed himself to slip into a minor dose as he waited calmly for the storm to pass and the sun to rise. He kept his focus on the outdoors and any possible critters that would make their way towards his cavern in hopes of finding shelter through the remainder of the storm.

The night passed, and soon the storm was gone. In the distance, a faint sliver of light shown, revealing the upcoming sunrise. The naga slithered towards the entrance and took note of all the moisture in the area, trying to determine if the moisture would affect any chance of hunting for the rest of the week, or if it would interfere and cause an issue with Margaret's wound.

He peered back at Margaret, searching for a sign of her still being awake before asking the question. "Are you hungry? Would you like something other than the meat from before? We could go searching for more if you like." He appeared thoughtful, wondering if that observation of humans eating eggs was true, as he had an idea on where to obtain some.

Margaret was barely awake when she was spoken to, and she blinked dumbly for a second before it registered in her brain. She shook herself a bit to try to wake up more, and whimpered involuntarily when she accidentally moved her injured foot. The jolt of pain woke her up much faster, but it was overruled when food was mentioned and brought her attention to the fact that she was hungry.

"I could probably eat," she said, albeit a little uncertainly. The meat from before was okay, and she really had no idea what else he would be able to get his hands on, so she didn't specify anything. No sense in making herself even more of a nuisance than she already was.

Er'end stared at her, sensing her uncertainty. But if Margaret wouldn't eat, then what was she going to do? Her ankle still appeared swollen, and she couldn't move about on her own. And then, an idea came to the naga. Er'end returned his gaze outdoors and took a tasty of the air. The weather was definitely going to be more calm and relaxed this day, so it would be possible. The question was whether or not Er'end wanted to chance it.

"It may be possible for us to take you closer to town." He admitted slowly. "However I'm unsure whether or not to risk the exposure."

Margaret bit her lip slightly and hesitated. On the one hand, home sounded wonderful and the thought of being able to eat real cooked food and put an Ace bandage on her ankle was hugely tempting. On the other hand, she could understand Er'end's own hesitation. She could understand him not wanting to risk his own safety to take her back. So, for the moment, she didn't say anything. Silence seemed to be the best course of action, although it was an uneasy silence.