He drew closer, careful not to move her. He rested his head just a bit on top of her, mouth close to her ear.
“I know, Anne. I’m sorry I can’t take it away.”
She whimpered again, defensiveness falling away in the face of such gentleness. He was so tense, but she could feel him trying to relax.
“Don’t talk if it’s painful. Just hold on.”
“Nico—”
That was all she managed out as she was wrung from inside out, a roller coaster ride as her beast howled underneath. Her claws bit on the wooden post, scratching. Before they could bleed, hands covered them and soothed them, rubbing circular motions. They gripped tighter when she did, preventing her from hurting her nails or breaking her knuckles. It went on for hours until it felt like she couldn’t hold on anymore, so Anne let go much as she had in the past.
The pain eventually ebbed away, but her body felt drained. She slept—and strangely enough, the nightmares that often lurked in wait were absent tonight as she greedily basked in the warmth offered to her. Every time she woke up, she didn’t dare move in fear of that excruciating pain again, but she did hear voices somewhere in the vicinity.
“She’s fighting off a fever and isn’t used to strangers crowding her. I know first aid. Let me handle it, please.”
“Okay, go ahead. Call us if you need anything…”
She was knocked out after into a dreamless but restless slumber. She woke up with the tent dark and braced for more of the same, but didn’t expect the body to still be there. It felt familiar now, engulfing her from the back, separated by new-smelling blankets.
“Hey,” he said upon noticing her awake but didn’t wait for a reply. “You have a fever, and it’s getting worse. If it doesn’t break tonight….”
She didn’t hear the rest of his words as the onslaught started again, but she knew one thing: that he would keep her in this tent and fight not to let anyone else see her in her rawest, most vulnerable state until he couldn’t do anything anymore. She let go with that knowledge, trusting the man as she focused on her struggle and tried to ride the pain that came even when she didn’t move. This night lasted shorter than the first as the full moon was already leaving, and his voice was the last she heard before she was zonked out.
“Your fever’s broken. You need a lot of rest, Anne. I hope you can.”
Chirping birds slithered in her senses when she first came into consciousness. Then memories bombarded her and had her sitting up—and she could have cried in relief when the only pain was muscle twinges and a faint headache. The tear on the tent had been sewn shut, and no presence came from outside, indicating there was no one standing watch.
Nico was gone, but a drum of water, clean clothes, and food had been left behind. She gingerly stood up and helped herself to them, then sat debating for a while. When she had gathered her courage, Anne inhaled deeply and walked out of the tent. She didn’t get far when a woman crossed her path, holding a basket against her hip.
“Hey. Good morning.”
She nodded warily. The woman didn’t seem to mind not being spoken to.
“Apple?”
Anne examined the glistening red in the basket and plucked one. She nodded once more while the woman smiled.
“I’m glad you are feeling better. I heard about the fever. Feel free to stroll around. Everyone knows you are here and won’t harm you.”
The woman walked away. It felt so weird not being looked at strangely, not being interrogated, and generally allowed to go wherever she wanted, and a part of her wondered if there were strings attached in the future. Her clan—
Stop.
She shoved it out of her mind, the ways of her clan no longer important. As was encouraged, she strolled around, shying away when she heard voices and peeking when she felt like she wouldn’t be watched back. Men were lounging at the edges of the forest all around, probably guards, and women were chatting. Others were rushing out of the forest all dressed up and saying that they were late for work. The hustle and bustle were hidden from the outside world, but they weren’t that secluded, either, as she saw modern touches like alarms and technology scattered about. When she heard giggles and small voices, she peered at the clearing to check it out.
She glimpsed around ten kids playing a ball among themselves, but the game was slightly elevated as they shifted between human form and cub form in between. A whistle was blown and they groaned, then scrambled towards the approaching figure.
“Playtime’s over. Sam is here and will start the lessons soon.” There were more groans. “Iz will join your lessons, too.”
Whoever this Iz was seemed to have a positive effect on them as they rallied cheers around Nico before racing off. A boy lingered for a bit, looking up solemnly until Nico glanced at him.
“Hey, you. What is it?”
“I didn’t have my breakfast yet.”
Nico’s lips quirked while he leveled the boy with a look. “Really? Well, now, we can’t have that when you are about to embark on a long day of lessons. What did you have in mind?”
“Bananas. Fresh.”