Day Two: Early Morning

[Orion]

The sharp stabbing pains in Koola's side and left arm were starting to fade into a dull throbbing. That was a far more tolerable type of discomfort for the prince, as he examined his wounds delicately with his other hand. Bullets were imbedded into his skin, and dried blood caked around them, but despite the sting, he wasn't badly injured. Everything was still intact, and the inserted metal wouldn't prevent him too much from battle. All in all, the outcome of that skirmish could've been much worse.

"Son of a bitch!"

That's when Koola noticed the damage sustained by his father.

"Oh snap!" the prince cried out, seeing the huge chunk blown out of King Cold's shoulder. The emperor was gritting his teeth, wondering whether to leave his disabled arm attached or to rip the dead weight off. Koola looked over his dad a little more thoroughly; the considerable shotgun attack was the only scar that the king took away from the fight.

"Are you all right?" Koola inquired.

"Am I all right?!" Cold roared. "Am I all right? Do I look all right to you?!" His angry outburst was interrupted by a loud groan as pain spasmed through his torso.

"Are you gonna keep that?" the prince asked, referring to the dangling arm.

"Let's look around and see if we can find something --" Cold paused and moaned at the pain, "--to bandage it up or whatever."

"OK," Koola responded. "But just... take it easy. I'll lead."

The emperor didn't argue. "Let's go."

Unrolling his map, Koola inspected the landscape for possible locations. Running his finger on the paper, he stopped and pointed at a position.

"There?"

"No."

Koola reevaluated. "How about here?"

"Try again."

The changeling prince rolled up his map and threw it into his bag. "Let's just go for a walk then, shall we?"

The two began on their aimless journey to search for medical supplies. Although the battle had resulted in Cold's unfortunate situation, it snapped some of the mental chains that were so tightly affixed to him before. Now that they actually experienced two more people on the island, it seemed improbable that this was a trap set up to bring Cold and Koola into confrontation. A lot of the prince's suspicion slipped away from that point.

Not only that, but the battle forced the two blood relations to work in tandem to achieve a common goal; survival. Surprisingly, they bonded well in the heat of conflict, despite their lengthy absences from each other. Simple commands were barked, and the other knew exactly what to do. If they could find some supplies to fix Cold's arm, or at the very least bandage the wound, the Icer duo could prove to be a formidable force in this competition. The prince had no doubt.

"And so we begin our trek," Koola narrated. "We look for equipment to suture father's wound. As we continue our journey on this island, I know..."

Koola decided to narrate the next part in his mind, lest Cold hear it; as long as dad and I stick together, everything will be all right.