She tied you to a kitchen chair...

[lockpick]

[The shifting of the continents had done a number on the landscape. Paths that had been clear were prone to landslides, stable caves more likely to collapse unexpectedly. Locke knew that, and he was always careful to pick the path of least resistance when he was traveling. Unfortunately, there were never any guarantees.]

[He came to slowly. Locke couldn't remember all of it, but he didn't need to open his eyes to know what had happened. His head was killing him. Distantly, he could feel himself bleeding at the temple. Worse, it was strangely hard to move. He took a careful breath. Celes would-]

[Celes. That was enough to shock him into action. He took another breath, deeper this time and thinking more clearly, and attempted valiantly to open his eyes.]

Comments

[lockpick]

[Anyone with half a brain would know that. It's just...not all that accurate anymore. He pushes himself off the mouth of the cave and gives her a small, sad, sympathetic sort of smile.]

Yes, but while I do- [As he speaks, he shrugs off his bag again and drops it to the ground. There isn't a lot of daylight left, and here is as good a place to stay as any, as long as they stayed clear of anything that might collapse again. And both of them could probably stand to sit still for a while.]

D'you mind if I have a look at that?

[With an abbreviated gesture toward the cut on her temple. It was hard to tell how deep it was through the blood in her hair.]

[aria_di_celes]

[She reached up, touching the wound on her head tenderly before nodding and walking over to take a seat on a grassy spot not too far from where Locke had dropped the bag. The blood loss or just the confusion of what was going on was setting in and sitting down sounded like a good idea right now.]

I tried to patch it up but without my magic... and there wasn't much to work with down there.

randomly, two months later

[lockpick]

[He drops down in front of her, close and crosslegged. Hesitates a moment, then reaches up carefully to pull her blood-stiffened hair away from the wound.]

I would have helped if you didn't tie me up.

[There isn't any real heat in it, but the humor is weak as well.]