With a trembling hand, she reached out to pull back the curtains around his bed. Somehow Yunjia managed to keep from reacting when she saw him. She had been informed of his injuries already, but it did not make the actual sight any easier to bear. She swallowed hard and reached for the small basin of water she was going to use to clean his wounds before bandaging them. Yunjia tried not to think about who it was this time lying before her as though dead. As she did every time she was called to care for someone sick or injured, she fought against her emotions, trying to shut them away so she could work more efficiently.

It was much harder to do this time.

It did help that he didn't appear to be in any pain serious enough to disturb him in his unconsciousness. However, Yunjia felt as thought she was in enough pain for the both of them. She wished for the hundredth time that there was something she could do to protect him, or at least to take some of the pain away.

He had come to her with injuries before, of course, but it had never been anything this serious. He had rarely even been brought to her unconscious – she could only remember two times. This was a much worse case than any of those.

Something had pierced him close to his heart. It had probably only barely missed that vital organ, but whatever the object was, it certainly had still caused a great deal of damage. Yunjia was thankful that it had at least made a clean cut. That way it would be easier to clean and would heal faster. The same could not be said for the wound in his side. Whatever had caused this wound had torn the skin and made such a mess that, at this point at least, it was impossible for her to tell exactly how bad the damage really was. Aside from these two wounds, he had blood still seeping out of the injury on his head that had rendered him unconscious and countless bruises and cuts all over his body.

It seemed to her to take forever to clean his wounds. It would have been much faster with help from someone else, but no one else could be spared. The recent attack on the village had left so many wounded that all the healers had their hands more than full. So she labored alone, leaving the wound on his head for last. She reasoned that she wanted to take care of the ones that looked more serious first. But deep down she knew the real reason she was putting off caring for his head wound.

His mask.

Yunjia had never seen him without his mask on, even in all the times she had patched him up before. He enver took it off and she never asked him to. She didn't know why he wore it, but whatever the reason, she felt it would be violating his privacy if she took it off while he was under her care – especially while he was unconscious and had no ability to grant permission. Or to not grant permission, whatever the case may have been.

Finally she could not avoid his head wound any longer. Still Yunjia put off pulling own his mask, mopping around it for the time being. As she reached toward his forehead, she realized that if he had been wearing his forehead protector, it would not have been possible for him to have this wound on his head – or at least not this badly. She frowned and paused. What had happened? Why had he not been wearing his forehead protector?

The mystery would have to be solved at a later time. While Yunjia hesitated, her patient moved his head slightly and another healer entered the room, both events that interrupted her thoughts. The healer who had just come in smiled faintly at her before turning his attention to the man on the bed. "How is he?" he asked quietly.

Despite the healer's soft tone of voice, Yunjia still jumped slightly. She hadn't heard another human voice since she had entered the room, and so it seemed strange to hear one now.

"Not too well," she replied. As she spoke, she realized how badly she needed a drink of water. "He did just move his head, though."

"Why don't you take a break," the healer suggested. "I can finish up for you here and you should get something to eat. You've been in here for hours and you look exhausted."

As much as she did not want to leave her patient's side, Yunjia could not deny that she desperately needed a break, no matter how short. With a slow nod, she stood and relinquished her basin of water and the cloth she had been using. "I'll be back in no more than an hour," Yunjia muttered, and turned toward the door.

"Take as long as you need," the other healer called after her.

Yunjia just waved one arm halfheartedly and exited the room. As she trudged down the hall, she caught sight of a couch a short distance from her. Yunjia headed for the couch; she just wanted to sit and relax for a few minutes before continuing on her quest for some food and water. She was so emotionally drained that it had begun to take a toll on her body and cause her to be physically tired as well.

With a soft sigh, Yunjia sank onto the couch and leaned her head on the back of it. Closing her eyes, Yunjia allowed her whole body to relax. She hadn't realized how tense she was until now. She breathed deeply and tried to clear her mind; whenever she needed a break from the emotional and physical toll that her job took, Yunjia would find a quiet spot and think of nothing. She could relax her body and her brain at the same time. She did that now.

Within moments, she was asleep.