Andromeda stumbled out of the mines and slumped against the stone cliff. She had retrieved her gun and investigated every inch of the place, but there was no sign of Filch. The Smuggler seemed to have vanished while she was fighting the demon he'd released in the tunnels. Just her luck. 
The elixirs she’d taken inside the tunnels had long run their course. Even the healing concoction she’d taken to patch the wound on her side was beginning to ebb, and the searing pain was slowly beginning to creep back into her awareness. She touched a hand to it gingerly and winced. 
The concoction had done its work. The wound itself was clotted and dark blood had congealed over it like a thick gel, but pinpricks of bright crimson were beginning to leak from the edges. She needed proper bandages. Annie flicked the latch on her hip case open and made a mental note to add gauze or something to the portable medical kit. She pulled out the last healing elixir and rolled it between her fingers. 
She was pretty sure she knew where she was going, but it was a long hike back to Millpoint. Her healing elixirs could mend small wounds outright, and with larger wounds they still worked better than any stitch or bandage. For a while. Every alchemical concoction had its limits, whether that was the potency of their effects or the duration of them. Would the elixir she’d taken in the mines last her the whole way back?
Annie twisted her torso experimentally and felt the congealed blood over her wound split, letting a loose stream of fresh blood and a wave of nauseating pain. She doubled over. 
Well. That answered that question. Annie snapped the injector open pressed the needle into her side. The relief rolled in slowly, unlike during the battle when her blood was pumping and her system had been flooded with adrenaline. 
The next couple of minutes were agonizing, but eventually the pain faded. She straightened up and tapped a finger against the wound. The clot covering it had thickened noticeably, and all she felt was a numb pressure from it. Annie gave herself a mental pat on the back for her good work and, after one last glance towards the mine entrance, started walking. 
It took her the better part of an hour to pick her way back through the ravine; being significantly less cautious than she had been on the way there the first time and slashing through shrubs and brambles with her sword in such a way that would make a sword smith worth their salt throttle her if they saw it. By the time she made it to the outskirts of town, the sun had begun to set and dusk was starting to settle over the town. 
Deputy Kenton, who had just been beginning his trek back through the Ravine to find the Stranger, caught sight of Annie as she forced her way through the last of the bushes. 
“Miss Annie!” he waved, “I’m glad to see you… made it… back?” his words gradually grew concerned as she got closer. 
The woman was covered in blood and grime, ragged holes had been torn in her clothes and her armor was badly dented, not to mention the gruesome bruises that mottled her skin like purple and green cow print. 
“Are you alright? What happened to you?” he asked. 
“Demon. Nothing a shower, some gauze, and a good night’s sleep won’t fix.” She said flatly. 
“Respectfully ma’am, you seem like you’re in need of a bit more than a shower and a bandage!” He reached towards her, threads of golden light beginning to wrap around his fingers, “Here, I know a bit of medical magic. We can patch you up and then get you to a doctor!”
The Stranger snatched his wrist and held it fast, “No.”
The light in Connor’s hand extinguished and he looked at her surprised, “What? Why? You look like you’ve been beat to hell and back miss Annie!”
“I don’t do healing magic and I don’t need a doctor. Just point me towards some medical supplies.” Her tone left no room to argue. 
“Fine,” he relented, “We have some supplies back at the station.” He pried his wrist from her grip and did a half turn back towards town, “But will you at least tell me what happened?”
“Demon.” she said again. 
“Yeah I got that part. Was it the one we’re looking for? Was it the killer?”
“Nope.”
Connor rubbed at the bridge of his nose, “Great, then what was it Annie?”
Annie let out a short and frustrated growl, “There were some old mines, a bit away from your murder site. I went inside and stumbled onto a mage who very politely dropped a demon on top of me.”
“Oh my gods Annie!” He exclaimed. 
“Yeah, sure,” she waved a dismissive hand, “The thing’s dispelled now and he got away. I don’t think he’s our guy, but he knows something.”
“Not our guy? He sicced a demon on you!” 
“Nah, he didn’t really do it on purpose. Just tore open the Veil and hoped whatever popped out would distract me which, to be fair, it definitely did. Whoever the killer is, he’s more precise than that. It’s the magical equivalent of comparing a butcher to a first time chef.”
“That’s a… unique way to put it, miss Annie.” 
“Uh-huh,” she pressed a hand to her side. It came away red, “Bandage?”
Connor’s eyes widened, “Right!” 
The two hurried through Millpoint’d backstreets, Connor glancing back every couple seconds like a dog that was worried his owner would drop the leash and wander away. But they made it to the police station in one piece, and Connor held the door for Annie as they made their way inside. 

The two hurried through Millpoint’s backstreets, Connor glancing back every couple seconds like a dog that was worried his owner would drop the leash and wander away. But they made it to the police station in one piece, and Connor held the door for Annie as they made their way inside.

Annie had been a teensy bit delirious her first time in the station. She’d ridden hard for a few days before happening to catch Connor’s broadcast on the public mercenary frequency. Then she’d gunned it to Millpoint on her motorbike while skirting the edge of the a magically irradiated desert wasteland and probably ate several mouthfuls of sand on the way. She vaguely remembered tossing a sword at someone, unloading her weapons (and her bullets), and taking a lovely hot shower. But other than that, the night was a bit of a blur.

There were two desks at the front, flanking a door leading further into the building. The “front entrance” was actually rather small, Annie could probably spread her arms and touch both the front and back wall without even straining, and a few paces would take her to either end of the length of the room. At least the place had windows that looked out onto the street. She leaned over to peer through one out of habit, a cloud of dust was rising on the horizon illuminated in radiant scarlet hues by the setting sun.

Connor carried on towards one of the desks and she turned her attention back to him.

“Goddamn, you work in this shoebox?” She asked.

“Yeah, it’s not so bad once you get used to it. I even get my own desk!” Connor gestured to the short monstrosity of warped timber and nails just waiting to give some poor soul tetanus.

Annie wasn’t sure what expression she should make for that, so she opted for a blank one, “That seems… nice.”

He shrugged, “It’s not the worst post I’ve been given. This one’s downright cushy compared to what some other Paladins get.”

“Yeah, I’ve had some pretty shit jobs too.” Annie pressed a hand to her side, it came away only a little bit bloody. That was probably good.

“Really? I always thought Stranger work was exciting! Saving people, slaying monsters, and some such!”

“Monsters tend to live in shitty awful caves, ancient booby-trapped ruins, and evil magic forests,” Annie gestured to her blood and grime covered self, “Bandage?”

Connor shuffled around his desk and crouched down, pulling a whole medical bag from beneath it, “Got ‘em right here!”

Annie laughed, then winced, “Damn, do you have a whole doctor under there too?”

“I don’t get paid enough for that,” he chuckled, “Nah, doc’s down the road from the motel.”

Annie was surprised this middle-of-nowhere town even had a doctor. The motel was a surprise too, honestly. And then the secret mines. And the damn windmill. Come to think of it, there was a lot of unusual shit in this town.

“This place is fucking weird.”

It was Connor’s turn to laugh, “Maybe a little. Come here and let me patch you up, Stranger.”

“What? No. Connor, just give me the bandages I can do it.”

“Miss Annie. It looks to me like you got skewered by a demon. And no matter what you did to keep your insides inside, if you twist all around trying to wrap yourself up, you’re liable to tear something open.”

“I—“

”Miss Annie. Please let me help you.”

Annie swore the man had puppy dog eyes that could charm a raging demon, “Fine, fuck you.”

“I’ll take it. Sit down here,” Connor pulled his chair out from his desk and rolled it over to Annie, “You…” he faltered, “You’ll need to, uh, take some stuff off so I can apply the bandage.”

“Gods Connor, there are easier ways to get into my pants.” Annie shrugged off her duster and unbuckled her breastplate underneath it, dropping it on the desk with a clunk.

It was as she started unbuttoning her shirt that she looked up. Connor was redder than the sunset and staring furiously at the ground.

“What’s the matter, Paladin? Haven’t you bandaged a skewered Stranger before? I’ve not even gotten to my pants yet.”

Connor spluttered and stammered and put a hand over his eyes, “I… Miss Annie I didn’t mean…!”

“It’s a joke, Deputy. You’re fine. How the hell else did you think you were gonna get a bandage on me?”

“Truth be told, I hadn’t thought that far ahead.” he was still shielding his eyes.

Annie had finished unbuttoning her shirt and tossed it on the desk with her other garments, “Hey, this was your idea. I can still bandage myself up if you want to preserve my modesty or some shit.”

“No! No, it’s fine. I’m good. This is fine. We’re all good!” He rushed over to where she was seated, various medical supplies in hand.

Annie lifted up her arm and could feel the congealed seal over her wound stretch ominously, “Listen, all you need to do is put on one of the pads and get the wrapping on with good pressure. I already took two medical solutions, they’ve done most of the work patching me up. Now I just need a bandage and some time.”

“You have a potion or something that can do all that??” Connor’s touch was gentle, his fingers brushed lightly along her skin as he smoothed the gauze along Annie’s side, “Are you an alchemist or something?”

“Sort of, I studied a lot medical alchemy when I was young.” Annie shrugged, which earned a small tsk of disapproval from Connor who adjusted her bandage.

“I could never wrap my head around the stuff. What’d you study it for?”

Annie winced as he tightened the gauze, “I need some very… specific medicine. Alchemy was the easiest way to get it.”

“Specific medicine? Are you alright Miss Annie?” Connor pressed his fingers to the small of her back, sending a shiver up Annie’s spine.

Annie looked at Connor. He was being so careful with her, and the wound on her side was nearly patched up now. She made a decision.

”It was for hormones.” she said.

“It was… oh!” she could almost see the lightbulb go off above his head when it dawned on him. He smiled, “Good for you ma’am!”

Annie blushed, “Thank you, Connor.”

He stood up, “Alright, that should about do it!” He handed her a roll of gauze and another pad, “Here, you should replace that in a few hours if your bleeding doesn’t slow. And, all due respect, if it ends up getting worse I will be dragging your ass to the doctor.”

She raised an eyebrow at him.

“Let’s get you some sleep,” he offered her a hand and helped lift her from the chair.

”That’s the first good idea I’ve heard all night, Deputy.”