#btw i will reuse the concept of 'void enby who likes teeth and bleeds black' in the future

[fightingtrim]

a vast and empty desert strings of human teeth, worn around the neck a deep abdominal wound, slowly oozing something thick and black they will continue walking for as long as they can they don’t have much longer                         ——— you wake suddenly. the dream you had struck you as profound, which was odd because you hardly ever dreamt, and even then never thought much of what you dreamt of. this time is different. that person wandering the desert was not looking for help, but they clearly needed it, and would be willing to repay the favor. it feels like it would be a good idea to earn the trust of someone wearing strings of teeth as necklaces. you recognized the sand dunes around them, they were maybe half an hours ride away from your camp, and headed in roughly your direction. mind made up, you get dressed, pack your camel’s bags with some bandages and water, and set out in the direction of the wounded traveler.

the desert is flat enough, making it relatively easy to find the stranger. the black and yellow colors they wear make them easy to spot against the sand and dirt. you spur your camel towards them. as you get closer, you can make out some details of their appearance. their hair is thick and dark, hanging in dreadlocks past their shoulders. they are wearing loose black pants and a large bright yellow shirt, their strange wound stark against it. they are visibly unsteady on their feet. once you’re close enough, you dismount and approach them carefully. they hardly seem to notice you, still trying to force their way through the pain and the heat. “Hey there, I don’t wanna hurt you. My camp isn’t far from here, come with me, and I can get that gash sorted out for you, yeah?” their feet come to a standstill, their head turns vaguely in your direction. they seem to pour what energy they have left into processing what you just said. “hngdhhh... that’d be... great... i have... stuff... i can give you... in... as...” you catch them as they start to collapse. you’re no doctor, but that wound looks bad. you try not to aggravate it too much as you hoist them onto the back of the camel and climb up behind them. you turn back toward your camp,  and gently set off, holding your extra passenger securely so they don’t fall and break something else. back at your camp, you lay them down on your bed, and get to work at tending their wound. you carefully peel their shirt off them, and toss it to the side to deal with later. their chest binder is trickier to remove, but you manage. you leave their necklaces within their reach, not wanting them to think you stole them. looking at the wound, you are again reminded of your distinct lack of experience in medical care. you’re a merchant, so you have bandages, but barely any knowledge on how to use them. you need to apply pressure, you’re pretty sure. and clean the wound so it doesn’t get infected. you wet a rag and try to wipe away the excess - blood? it doesn’t have the appearance or texture of blood, but it is coming from where blood is supposed to be, so you’re going to call it blood. there is a lot of it, and it’s thick enough that you can’t see any of their organs, despite the fact that this cut is definitely deep enough to have reached some. gods, this is intimidating. regardless, you soldier on. now that you’ve got someone bleeding out on your bed, you might as well do your best to help them. now that the wound is more or less clean, you squeeze the two sides of it closed as you wrap the bandages around it. gods, you hope you’re doing this right. eventually you decide that’s probably enough. you go get some water and a small healing potion, and leave them with their necklaces on the small table next to their head. you grab a book and settle down in the corner for your guest to wake up.                          ———

you wake up slowly. you aren’t... sure where you are, or how you got here. your head is fuzzy, and you’re in an awful lot of pain. tentatively, you bring a hand down to your torso. bandages. someone’s taken care of you. you weren’t expecting that. you turn your head to the right to see where you are. aw Fuck that made you dizzy. after a second or two, once the dizziness has passed, you focus again on the room around you. your teeth have been left on the bedside table, along with a bottle of water and a vial of something green and glowing. how considerate! whoever helped you, it doesn’t seem like they plan to be much of a threat. speaking of, there they are, sat in the corner. his face is darker than yours. his long blond hair is tied back. he’s wearing teal and white. he’s fallen asleep with a book in his lap. you smile to yourself. you’re safe here, it seems. gods are you tired. your thoughts are still slow and groggy, which isn’t fun. maybe you’ll just close your eyes for... a second...                         ——— you wake up to a clattering sound. the sound of teeth beads getting pulled across a table, as it turns out. they’re awake, or mostly at least. they do still seem rather out of it. “Hey there.” at the sound of your voice, they stopped trying to drag their necklaces closer, and shifted their gaze to look your way. “Um, hi. You weren’t, uh, doing so good, out there in the desert by yourself, so I brought you in here, and bandaged you up as best as I could. How are you, by the way?” “mmmmmsore. tired. confused.” “Oh! Uh, if we can get you sat up, I have a healing potion that would probably help with that first one.” “oh. thank you” it’s only a little bit awkward as you hoist them up into a seated position. they have to take a second for the dizziness to pass, but after that they’re fine to drink the potion on their own. “So, uh, how did you get here?” “huh?” “Yknow, grievously wounded, wandering through the desert?” “oh, uhm...” they have to take a long moment to think. “there was this witch lady... more powerful than i am... wealthy too... i pissed her off somehow... i think there was some sort of... competition? maybe a test... she got, like, really mad at me... magic attack... fucked up my memory and sent me out here...” “Why out here?” “oh... deserts are bright... my magics tied to darkness... not a good combo” “Doesn’t she know that deserts get, like, really dark at night?” “probably wasn’t gonna make it that long tbh. till you found me. how did you find me?” “Oh I uh... I had a dream...” “aw fuck. didn’t mean to do that. sorry.” “Don’t apologize! How else would I have found you?” “i dunno. thank you tho. you didn’t have to do all this. i can uhh pay you back. ive got some cool stuff” “Dude! I helped you cause I wanted to! ...but... what sort of cool stuff?” “magic trinkets and herbs, things I stole to trade for food and stuff” “Oh shoot that’d be incredible... I’m a merchant, I trade and sell stuff too - but wait, ‘trade for food’? Do you like... where do you live?” “mmmmmon the streets mostly, it’s fine tho, i have a void i sleep in” “I...” you pause for a moment, thinking. “Do you wanna travel with me? I have food and resources and shelter, and in a couple days we’ll reach a fairly big city, Kl’orma, and I’m gonna sell my stuff there. There’s a fairly lively wizard subculture there, I’m sure you could find people to talk to about, uh, magic and stuff...” “oh fuck that’d b incredible, actually, thank you so much! uh, here” they grab at their necklaces and arrange them in even concentric circles on the bed. they wave their hand over them and everything within the outer circle, bedsheets included, falls away, revealing a seemingly endless void. they reach in and pull out a couple trinkets; some weird herbs, a bottle of something thick and roiling and neon orange, what might be a cat’s skull, and some pretty rocks. you can’t help but stare at the casual display of power. “Wow I... don’t think I’ve ever seen someone with magic like that...” “haha me neither. maybe im the only one, or maybe void people just don’t like the spotlight. either way, i would like to go talk to those big city wizards” “Yeah! But, uh, I definitely want you to rest for a couple days before we leave.” “it shouldn’t take that long, i heal fairly quickly. oh btw i don’t think i got your name?” “Oh, sorry. Uh, don’t laugh, it’s Ozwald.” “that is a pretty weird name. im zachary.” “Nice to meet you, Zachary! I’m, uh, going to get breakfast, do you want anything?” “actually, uh, i think id rather nap. thank you tho, for everything” they pick up the outer necklace, and with it, the rest of them fall onto the bed and the portal closes. they move their stuff onto the bed side table, and settle down. you go into the other room of the tent, to make food for the two of you. you smile to yourself, thinking of your new friend.