Located within an old, abandoned town, a woman with wolf-like features, and grayish brown hair and fur could be seen traversing the broken street. While she did look human for the most part, her forearms were covered in hur, ending in paw-like hands.
Thanks to her Lupine-like lower legs the woman was able to traverse the rubble strewn road with little discomfort. Stepping over rusted metal and broken glass as if they didn't exist.
"I'm surprised by how abandoned this place feels, wasn't there a fight just yesterday nearby?" The wolf woman said to herself with mild amusement as she glanced inside an abandoned storefront.
She was located in one of the red zones, areas abandoned by the previous residence long ago. These areas are where most of the fighting between the five great factions of Veroso took place. Evidently not many have visited this town in some time, leaving this place untouched and to be claimed by nature.
The wolf woman's clear brown eyes scanned the empty street, looking for anything she could possibly eat. She did have provisions, but she always found hunting her food herself was much more satisfying, especially in the red zones where food was scarce. If she wanted, she could head over to the Zari Legion territories, where there wasn't a wasteland, but where was the fun in that?
She continued to walk along the empty street, occasionally looking into old shop windows if something caught her interest when she heard a noise.
"Uhhn…."
It sounded like a person. Listening closely, her wolf ears twitching at the slightest of sounds, she could just make out the labored breathing of an injured person. Turning her head to an abandoned vehicle near her, she carefully and quietly made her way over to it. Poking her head into the back door of the abandoned car, she looked for the source of the noise. Her eyes widened in surprise upon landing on someone unexpected.
Curled up on the torn cloth seat in the back of a rusted car was the War Lord Zenesha Heart.
The woman's clothing was shredded and bloody, with a large wound located on her abdomen, hastily bandaged in what are now fully bloodied bandages. Her beautiful face was covered in dirt and grim, with a single nasty cut going over her right eye.
Zenesha's long straight black hair, which was different from the wolf woman's long bushy hair, was matted with dirt and blood. She had fox ears and a fox tail, but the rest of her was undoubtedly human. She also appeared to be fairly tall for a fox woman, but it was hard for the wolf to tell with them being curled up.
"Wow you're cute." The wolf woman murmured, as if she wasn't staring at a dying woman. "I guess I can offer you some assistance."
========
Zenesha Heart slowly opened her sky-blue eyes, her mind heavy with fog. After a few seconds she sat up quickly, realizing she didn't know where she was, before wincing as she grabbed her side and fell back down on the bed. She felt awful and could barely move. She glanced around the room from where she laid, trying to figure out if she was in danger or not.
The room was mostly empty, with only a single dresser to her left against the wall, and a bedside table on either side. There was a closet located on the right wall, but the door was shut so she couldn't see inside. She did however notice the medical supplies on the right bedside table, along with discarded blooded bandages.
"What's going on here?" She muttered to herself, touching her right eye with a frown. "Part of my vision is blurry, I hope this isn't permanent."
"Oh, you're awake, perfect." A wolf woman seemingly appeared from thin air beside Zenesha without a hint of warning. In her hands was a tray of what smelled like soup.
Zenesha jumped in surprise from the unexpected intrusion, but winced in pain at the sudden movement.
The woman wore a heavy sturdy gray jacket with an orange inside. It had multiple pockets located on its surface, most likely holding essential items. She also wore military fatigues pants; its color slightly faded after years of use. Overall, she looked like someone that traversed the wastelands often. The only thing missing were proper footwear.
"How are you feeling?" The wolf woman asked with a smile acting as if nothing happened.
"... Who are you?" Zenesha asked, her voice full of suspicion.
"Sorry about that, I forgot to introduce myself." She said setting down the tray with a bowl of soup and some salted crackers. "My name is… Laura? Yeah, Laura Underwood."
"Sounds fake." The fox woman responded dryly.
"That's kind of rude; I picked it myself, you know." Laura said, looking offended. "It's a very nice name I must say."
"Right… what do you plan to do with me now?"
"Heal you and send you on your way of course." The wolf said without hesitation.
"Why would you do that? There has to be something in it for you." Zenesha responded warily.
Laura hummed with obvious amusement. "Yes, that's normally how these things go." She then looked into Zenesha's eyes before speaking again. "You mo- people are so conscious of free help."
"What's your point?"
"Nothing really." She said with a sigh. "Fine. If you really can't accept this, how about treating me to some nice food as a thank you?"
"I can arrange that."
"Perfect, now before we have you eat; drink this." Reaching into one of her pockets, she produced a small vial with a blue liquid inside. "It should help with the recovery.
Placing a hand on Zenesha's back, Laura with a surprising amount of care lifted the woman up before placing the open vial on her lips. She then tilted the glass letting the contents pour into the other woman's mouth, watching as Zenesha slowly drank the liquid. Once finished, the wolf woman adjusted the fox, so her back was against the backboard of the bed.
Zenesha wasn't unfamiliar with what was given to her. It was an essence compound. It would help replenish her energy and speed up the healing process. She could already feel her body charge with mystical energy, clearing her head of any remaining fog. Even her right eye's vision cleared up much to her relief.
"You might feel like you can move right now, but you shouldn't. You'll just injure yourself again." Laura warned, holding the bowl of soup in her hands. "Now say ahhh."
Zenesha did not do as told and coldly looked at Laura. The spoon hovered in front of Zenesha, the tantalizing aroma from the liquid making her stomach turn in anticipation. She couldn't trust it however.
People have tried poisoning her in the past, and this wolf woman was extremely suspicious.
'Then again, she also didn't have to treat my wounds. If she wanted me dead, I would already be dead.'
With that thought she finally took the spoon into her mouth. The warmth and flavor from the simple soup filled her insides with delight. It had a rich taste to it with just a hint of spice. It was much better tasting than one would expect from a wanderer like her.
"This is good." Zenesha said with surprise, licking her lips. "What's in it?"
"Nothing special, just canned provisions with some extra seasoning. Including Venasha tree leaves."
"I didn't know you could use them as seasoning, aren't they extremely bitter?" Zenesha asked, mildly impressed.
"Normally, but there's a way to fix that." Laura explained, presenting another spoonful of soup.
"Mhm." The fox woman responded by eating the soup.
For the next few minutes, they continued in silence. The only sound being of Zenesha eating and the spoon occasionally hitting the side of the bowl. Once finished Laura grabbed the empty bowl and placed it on the tray, before picking both up and walking towards the door. The blue-eyed woman watched her leave with curiosity, wondering what her true goal really was.
========
Two days later Zenesha was capable of moving by herself, if not barely. Standing in front of the bathroom mirror she checked her body. Most of her wounds were cuts, but nothing serious. One of her ribs broke, but there wasn't much she could do about that here, and the large hole that was in her side was properly cleaned by Laura.
"I need to get into contact with my people soon." Zenesha said, before turning attention to the bathroom door where Laura appeared from nowhere again.
Laura watched the fox woman in her care with interest. Despite how cold she acted towards her, the black-haired woman was extremely cooperative. She may resist her help or some of her directions for a few seconds, but she never fully refuses and in the end listens to her obediently. If Laura was honest, she expected it to be more difficult. This was a pleasant surprise.
"You didn't have a communicator on you when I picked you up." Laura said, stepping into the room. "How do you plan to contact them?"
"I'll probably have to find one of our outposts then. Or if I can get to a radio station, I can send out a signal to them."
"A radio station huh?" One of Laura's arms folded while the other's finger tapped her bottom lip. "I think I saw one not that far from here."
Zenesha's ears perked up as her tail started to sway back and forth upon hearing this. 'Cute.' Thought the wolf woman.
"Can you show me where?" The fox requested calmly despite her body language.
"I can, but only after you heal a bit more." Laura responded by handing her another Vial of Essence. "Drink, we'll head out in a few more days."