LaF R1 - Sar vs Rin 6

Sar stood still, blue spots blooming in her vision. The ground felt unstable. She waited several moments before the dizziness settled to a tolerable amount before drunkenly staggering towards her opponent. Through a blurry haze she could see the slight motion of Rin's stomach as she breathed, and Sar let out a breath of relief. She stood there over the still body of the canid for a while, letting her mind and body settle.
"What are you doing? You've won, get over with the rest of 'em and wait by the door!" Cornix snapped. The grey-mottled crow landed a considerable distance away from her, his feathers drooping form the weight of the rain. Sar glared at him. "And leave her here?"
"We'll deal with the less fortunate of you later."
Sar gritted her teeth. She whipped around and slowly made her way back to the hotel, the pain in her back making her wince with every slippery step. The rain was beginning to lighten, and the worst of the clouds had dispersed.
A knot of competitors waited by the door. Some were laying on the ground, covered in nasty wounds and hardly moving, and others were pacing back and forth with glazed over eyes. It wasn't hard to tell a winner from a loser, and she noticed the number of creatures that had been trapped outside had been reduced. A wave of nausea, blood and sweat met Sar's nose as she waddled towards them.
Just as abruptly as it started, the rain stopped. Sar shook out her drenched fur, shivering as the chill of the crevice set in. She stared at Rin's barely moving body, and felt a surge of guilt. Her opponent's last words wouldn't leave her, and it felt wrong to leave her lying there alone.
A weak cough distracted her, and she looked over her shoulder at a small creature leaning against the wall of the hotel, his whole body shivering. He had a huge gash down his side, blood flowing freely from the wound. Sar felt her guilt transform into a fiery determination, and she set off towards the overhang in the cliff face where she'd hid with Rin.
"Stop! Where do you think you're going, fluffball?" Corvus's raspy voice shrieked as the raven swooped overhead.
"Rack off." Sar continued on, ignoring her worn muscles' protests. "I'm not going anywhere, mate. Just give me a fuckin' moment."
The bird didn't respond, but hovered overhead, watching her curiously.
After a slow and painful journey with several breaks and painful slips, Sar reached the overhang. In her teeth she grasped the roots of a clump of leafy tendrils hanging over the opening. With a tug they came free, and Sar turned back with a thick wad of plants in her jaws.
The way back seemed to take twice as long. She made her way slowly and carefully over to the injured creature, who was staring at her with wide eyes.
"I don't pretend to be some sorta healer, but..." She pulled a large, flat leaf out of the wad, and a long vine tendril that was thin but seemed strong. "Just stay still."
Some of the other creatures were watching her curiously. She pressed the glistening leaf against the small quadrupeds side, making him flinch, but he didn't resist. Then she levitated the vine to twist it around his midsection, holding the leaf in place so it was pressed against the wound. Carefully she looped the ends of the vine together as tightly as she could, her yellow eyes faintly glowing. The creature watched with huge eyes, not saying a word.
"There! Piece of piss. Not exactly a top-notch bandage, but I reckon it'll at least help stop the bleedin'."
The creature stared at her, and at last muttered a tiny 'thank you' before leaning back against the wall.
"C-can I use some of those?" A tentative feline asked, glancing over at the badly torn flesh of her haunches.
"Course." Sar scanned the crowd. "You two-legged blokes, get over here and 'elp! Some of us can't tie knots all by ourselves." She now had the attention of the majority of the creatures, who were observing what she'd done with the small quadruped. "I'd be happy to help." A tall bipedal stepped forward, looking ruffled but better off than most of the rest.
"G'donya." With that Sar set off towards her opponent. The pain lancing through her back was only increasing, and Sar felt tears well at the corners of her eyes.
Rin was still out cold. Sar stared at her paw, clueless. Umbra knew much more than she did about healing, and applying pressure to stop bleeding was about as far as Sar's knowledge went. Blood loss certainly wasn't the canid's problem, but the awkward way she'd been carrying her paw suggested the bones were likely fractured. She didn't think she could do anything to mitigate the damage, especially being equipped with only a bundle of foliage. She let out a frustrated grunt. She doubted the Thief would bother helping the losers with their injuries, and she knew a limp could be deadly in the wild.
"Everyone inside, now!" Sar flinched at the raven's unexpected screech. With a furious snarl she turned and followed the others back into the Thief's domain.

~

"Sar! SAR!" Umbra rushed towards the battered devil, her heart leaping with joy. She'd spent the last few minutes restlessly pacing around the room and gnawing on a bedpost, almost in hysteria and trying her hardest to hold back tears. The magpie's unexpected show of kindness had reduced her worry for a while, but the idea of Sar dying alone in the dark made her feel nauseated. No reassuring words could completely quench that feeling; her only relief would be to see Sar alive.
Sar sank onto the soft carpet, her waterlogged body feeling unbearably heavy. She was equally happy to see the tiger, but didn't have the energy to do much else.
"You're okay! Oh my god I thought you'd be dead, oh my god I thought you wouldn't be okay and I'd be all alone!" Umbra wrapped the smaller creature between her thick white arms, brushing against Sar's injured back as she did so. Sar let out a gagging sound and wriggled away from the tiger's embrace. "Oh, your back! I didn't even notice that, are you alright?!"
"Just a few scratches, I'm fine." She lied, her warbling voice betraying her.
"No, you're not fine! These are deep!" She hissed, worriedly observing Sar's back.
"Now don't you worry, my dears! You'll all be as good as new soon enough. I have plenty of supplies to do the trick."
Sar whipped up her head and scowled at the thylacine, perched on the clock as usual. He looked more chipper than he had that morning, his oddly cheerful edge returned.  
"All the winners will proceed to the next level." He announced, as the elevator door to the right of the room slid open with a whoosh. "As for the losers..." the elevator door to the left slid open. "You're free to go. All you have to do is go back to the exact same location where you arrived, and viola, you'll be on your way home!...Oh, and you'll need these, of course." He nodded to his three corvid helpers, and they flew off, cackling as usual, into a vent left askew. Seconds later they returned, dropping familiar maps among the contestants.
An outburst occurred in some of the defeated, some of the stronger ones charging towards their opponent with a sudden last spark of hope. But it didn't last long; they were all in terrible condition, and the victors fought them back before congregating towards the elevator. The Thief shook his head and took flight, swooping down towards a few stubborn competitors who still limped towards the elevator even as their adversaries pushed them back again and again. In a blaze of orange light the Thief's feathers ignited, waves of flame blossoming off of his back. He swooped in front of the defeated creatures, blocking their path by leaving a trail of scorching heat in his wake.
"A pheonix?" Umbra breathed as Sar simply stared, dumbfounded.
"I believe I have made myself clear that you are not to push me. It's either you can leave or you can perish." He chuckled, his thylacine form resuming with a flash.
The unlucky contestants scrambled back hastily, reeking of terror and rage. Sar cast a nervous glance at Rin, but she was still out cold, slumped on the carpet. The Thief had carried her in in the form of what Umbra identified to be a 'horse' and had said smoothly she'd wake up when she was ready - if at all.
"C-come on." Umbra nudged Sar. She crouched down so the devil could scramble hastily onto her back, and they hurried towards the elevator behind the rest of the thirty-two victors. Before the doors banged shut Sar cast one look back to find Rin had awoken at last, hunched over in an unstable position and looking ill.  Her green eyes bored into Sar's from across the room, wide with shock and confusion. Sar's heart tightened. The canid opened her mouth in an attempt to say something, but the doors closed and Sar was left with the silence of the elevator.
As they ascended she heard some of the losers beginning to throw themselves desperately against the door, along with several muffled cries of anguish that she tried to shut out.