Normally, by the 11th roleplay, we're either at the end of roleplaying or very close to it. This time, we're just getting to the first appearance of Sebastian Dash, who's normally one of or the first ones to hit the board. (He's mine, so that's no surprise, since AiL was my doing in the first place.)

He was ambushed from behind by Raw Hide in Rollover, but it isn't until we get to this piece, set not long after Rollover, that we find out exactly how bad it was.

Note: This particular story falls very shortly after the initial Rollover, as you'll see...

 
"His breathing's shallow," a guard commented. "And you can see the damage to the back of his skull. I don't think he's going to make it."

Sebastian Dash had come here not long ago to confront Catrina, who flat out ignored him. While Dash puzzled over her seemingly random answers, he was left totally unguarded when Raw Hide struck him from behind, cracking Dash's skull. Unsurprisingly, unconscious overtook Dash. It was hardly the best spot to have an aggravated head wound, as soot, ashes and dirt were heavy in the air from the earlier fire.

"We need to get him to a medic!" The first guard insisted. He was younger than the other by several years, although more plump.

"Too late for that," the other guard answered. He was more battle weary and grizzled than the other one. "We need to finish him off and dispose of the body."

"Are you insane?!" The younger guard asked in a confused voice. "He's still alive. We have to try to save him. Besides, do you know who this is?"

"I do," the guard answered. "And that's exactly the problem. Can you imagine the kind of havoc Sebastian Dash would raise as a zombie? To put this as clearly as possible, you and I probably won't survive his first minute. There's no healers around, and I'm not sure who would be powerful enough to pull this off. No, better to burn the body."

The other guard started to respond. "You might be right, but.."

Lapine slipped into the suite; she looked like she just fought a war by herself. Her clothing and fur were completely covered in dirt, dust and some blood. She had several wounds on her body, one slash on her stomach, several cuts and scrapes on her arms and legs. Telling that the healer hadn't bothered to use her magic on her own minor wounds? She panted for a second, taking note of the thick, dark pool of blood near the wound. "I can heal Dash... and If I can't I'll do what has to be done myself."

"Are you kidding?!" the older guard asked. "If this backfires.."

"It won't backfire, I have a lucky rabbits foot.. two of them actually." Lapine said, smiling thinly, then going serious. "Don't worry, I won't let him turn into a zombie."

"For our sakes, I hope not," the guard replied as she began preparation.

A tall figure walked in silently from around the corner, clearing his throat to get the guards' attention. He smiled toothily and brushed his left hand across the hilt of his sheathed sword before speaking.

"I know any time I try and raise the dead, I usually restrain them." he said sarcastically, shaking his head at the older guard.

"He's not dead yet!" Lapine said, trying not to snap. The tall figure simply nodded to indicate he understood.
"Janos," the veteran guard said in an attempt to be authoritative, "I know you've been paid a lot to be here, and I have yet to see you do a damn thing." He narrowed his brows at Janos, visually displaying his distrust. Janos' smile grew larger at the guard's comment, a single brow arched in amusement. "Precisely." he murmured quietly, his left hand lazily moving around the grip of his sword. "And if you are fortunate, you never will."

"Alright," Lapine called out impatiently. She pulled a pair of clean linen gloves out and slipped them over her hand paws. "Keep it down, got a little magic to work!"

Before she could began preparing the spell, she had to clean the wound a little. Though magic could do many things, it still had its limits, and like most mages trained in field magic, Lapine had learned the basics of medicine. Head wounds were especially hard to cure through pure magic, and if the wound became infected.. It was a nasty wound, too. Whoever had struck Dash- and Lapine had a pretty good idea who it was- had a total disregard for his life.

It would take her a while to get him healed up magically, and patched up, and who knows what damage was done here? Lapine pulled out a towel, slowly and carefully lifted Dash's head, and laid it underneath. His eyes twitched slightly, but his uneasy unconsciousness continued.

Pushing aside all doubts, Lapine knelled over, opening her emergency medical kit. Part of her wanted to break down in tears seeing Dash in such a wounded state. She wasn't quite sure what the reasons for the sudden burst of emotions, but she managed to remind herself his life was depending on her. She forced herself into a zone of focus as she cleaned the wound, being extra careful not to do more damage as she did. A quick, carefully applied repelling spell would remove any unseen pieces of the weapon lodged in Dash's spell - hopefully. Then, slowly and with careful precision, she slowly began healing the wound, even as she used her hands to bandage it. As she continued, his body went into infrequent spasms, but his breathing slowly became more ordered. Less pained and labored. Sparks flew off her body. It took her longer than it would with an ordinary wound, but after several long minutes, sweat soaked, she lifted his head slightly, removed the blood stained towel, and replaced it with a fresh towel.

Lapine took several deep breaths, exhausted from the effort, then smiled. "He'll be okay, but he'll need time to.." She took another deep breath. "Recover. Probably be side effects, though."

Janos cleared his throat once again from where he stood next to Lapine, kneeling down and inspecting Dash for a moment. He stood back up and glanced over to the guards who looked nervously at him. "When did you..." the first guard started to say before Janos interrupted him. "Oh that... I've been standing here the whole time." he said with a sly smile, despite the lie. He turned to Lapine and nodded in appreciation. "That's good work." he said flatly, sounding insincere. He took a single step backwards around the corner, silently leaving them.

Lapine barely seemed to hear him anyway. "Thanks.. and thanks for having my back, guys."

The mysterious Janos was now in play.. but where his loyalties and interest lie, that remained a mystery. The guards helped Lapine to his feet, and they took Dash to a more secure location. There were so many questions to be answered. Would Dash recover properly? What was up with the zombies? Would anyone be able to keep track of what's happening when if we keep jumping back and forth?

Most importantly, would they be able to find a cure to the zombie problem? And with so many focused on that, who'd be left to fight the Feline Empire's domination of Degrassi Knoll and South Degrassi?

Lapine manages to pull Dash through this.. or at least she gets him to the point he can recover more naturally. It'll be a while til he's ready to adventure. Meanwhile, Fumblies and Becky are about to meet up again.