sam was enjoying his walk, gazing up at the canopy of old and intertwining trees. he walked on the dusty path a little while longer until he came to a large, clear lake. he breathed in sharply, taking in the glorious view. then he sat on the shore and gazed, thoughtless, at the calm watter. it was a hot day, and he bagan to feel sleepy. he let his head fall on some fallen leaves and thought-just or a few minutes. before he knew it he was falling into dreams of gnarled oak trees and lakes as flat as glass. When he woke he started at how dark it was. the sun had just gone down and he only had about half an hour of daylight left! picked his stuff up and raced down the track, hoping nero was ok. he should be fine he thought. I gave him lots of hay and plenty of water. but still he raced, stumbling on fallen twigs and taking the wrong rout more than once. he finally skided back into the yard, his golden hair tousled, his body covered in cuts. before patching himself up, he limped slightly over to neros stall, where he nickered happily, grabbing a mouthful of hay. Sam collapsed from exaustio on a bit of grass.

Ellie watched the sky as the golden sun slowly turned into the moon, a small smile present on her face. She always loved the night- It was cooler than that of the day and sometimes, fireflies would storm out of the trees and dance around like little starts. It reminded her of when she was ever so young, and she would catch them in jars with her father, and he'd tell her, "Let them go, you wouldn't like to be in a jar now, would you?" And like that, she let them fly again. One of those memories everyone seemed to have and treasure. She swiftly reminded herself that she should head off to bed so that she could wake up and a decent time tomorrow, and started to get up when she heard a very light thump. She instantly knew it was Sam, but she wen't to investigate anyway. She found him on a small patch of grass, looking very tired. She looked at him curiously for a moment before speaking up softly, "Sam? You alright?" She questioned, her voice coming out softly, like she was trying not to frighten him away.

Sam groaned. a large cut that a root had given him on his side started to bleed through his T-shirt. "not...really." he panted, screwing his face up in pain as he moved and the cut opened further. "medical...kit...in..tackroom." he said. closing his eyes and trying to envision the pain leaving his body. Sam had no idea how a walk could have turned into this, and was for once grateful that ellie was there to help him.

Ellie looked him over once, then a wave of concern started flood her features. She didn't ask any questions, not until she had returned from the tackroom, already going through the med kit. She found some cotton balls, a few plasters, big and small, and a bottle of wound cleanser. She keeled down next to him and sorted everything out, "Just... Stay still. This might hurt, but stay still." She wan't really paying attention to his answer. He was going to do what he was told if he wanted her help. She was a little squeamish when it came to blood so she tried to hold her breath while she sorted him out. "Hold your shirt up for a moment, " She ordered simply before getting ready with cotton balls and a little water from a water bottle. Ellie gently tried to clean his wound up and clear the blood without hurting him any further, she then put the cleanser on and dressed the cut accordingly, all done as quickly as she could, just so that the wound wouldn't be left open and bleeding for too long. "Tell me," She murmured as she worked "What on earth have you been doing?" She questioned, her voice light, telling him that he wasn't being scolded.

Sam sucked his teeth when Ellie put on the antibacterial alchohol but didnt utter a word. he shifted his shirt to the wound,sticky with blood was revealed. after pulling some more painful expressions he said, shikily "i just went on a walk, and i found this lake. i fell asleep and by the time i woke up it was almost dark. i needed to be backbefore darkness fell completely, and i was worried about Nero." he said. pausing for a minute. "i fell and a root just caught my side." he said, his words quivering. he gave her a weak but grateful smile as she finished dressing the wound. His side felt like it was on fire, but it should soon get better, at least that was what he hoped.

Ellie tried to return his smile, but he looked to be in so much pain, and she couldn't seem to manage it, so she wasn't sure how he did. "Only you would manage to turn a walk into something so..." She paused, "Bloody."Ellie really couldn't understand how it he could go into the woods looking... Fine... And then come out of the wood looking like a zombie, and he had just explained it to her. She went silent for a moment before speaking up once more, "Do you think that you can stand up?" She questioned softly, offering her hands, "I can help you get back, if you want. Then I can come back and check on Nero if you didn't manage it. I'm sure he won't mind waiting," She added with a soft chuckle, in an attempt to lighten things up.

Sam grimaced and tried to stand up, grabbing onto a fence for support. as he wobbled his torso bnt, creasing the skin around the cut. Sam yelled in pain and grabbed ellie's shoulder, instinctively holding onto something forsupport. he wobbled, then fell to the ground. "sorry.." he murmured.he really didnt see how he would be able to get up. he said as much to Ellie.

Ellie struggled to keep herself standing when he grabbed onto her, but she managed it and took a quiet breath. "It's fine... " She promised, looking thoughtful for a moment before speaking up again. "Just... Try again. If you can't do it, we can think of something else. I know it hurts, but you'll feel better once you can relax." She said, decided determined to get him up and moving. "You wont be able to stay out here, it gets cold and if you're inured, it won't make things any easier." She informed him, offering her hands to help him up again.

Sam took Ellies hand, trying to keep his torso as upright as possible. he grabbed onto the fence and managed to hoist himself along to the accomodation. he half-crawled onto the little porch of the cabin, and collapseon the wooden boards, just breathing for a minute. he took Ellies hand again and lifted himself up and through the door, where he limped over to his bed and collapsed once more.

Ellie tried to be as helpful as she could, letting herself take as much of his weight as possible, though her small frame couldn't really take very much of it. She helped him to his room before taking a step back and letting him make his own way to bed. "Do you need anything to eat? Or anything? If not, I can just go." She offered steadily, along with a friendly smile. She herself was getting tired, so didn't want to hang around for too long.