A Fallen HomeKin

PART XIII

The next day, the tubes in his chest were gone and all the previous tubes, circles, and the IV replaced them. Fralith brushed the black line over his heart, wincing as PainBird snapped at his fingers. He pulled them away and huffed at the black mass of annoying feathers and turned away, sighing.

Despite the sharp golden rectangles spilling from the window from his room — he'd been moved from the green area sometime when he had been asleep — and the SillyBird cooing outside it, everything was cast in a gloomy gray as if all the life and color had been sucked out. He had the MonsterShadow to thank for that. Its presence always made things gray, sad, and depressing.

He sighed away, easing himself into a sitting position and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The MonsterShadow's darkness lurked in his mind, coating the sticky cobwebs of a dream. What... had it been about, again? Something...something about...yelling? No...he'd...been listening to yelling.

Yes, that was it. He'd been listening to Father yell at...at...Drao, accusing him of horrible, horrible violent things. And Drao's voice — low and tense, almost angry if that was even possible for his soft-spoken mentor — defending his position. There was something else, too. Something he dreaded. Something that was horrible and bad and...scary. What was it? Fralith groped around the cobwebs, but the ones that held the answer had already faded.

Doesn't matter, he grumbled at himself. It was a dream. But it hadn't been a dream at first. It had been real. It had happened, just not as...not as how the dream made it out to be. And it did matter. It mattered very, very much. An ache tapped at his ribs and he growled, shaking his head. Stop thinking!

Closing his eyes and splatting every thought, he focused on the sounds around him and drawing them in, thinking their sound back at them.

Beep, beep, beep, went the BeepCorner.

Beep, beep, beep, Fralith thought back.

Coo, c-cooo, coooo, murmured the SillyBird.

Coo, c-cooo, coooo.

Whoosh, whoosh, thrum, the hunks of metal sounded.

Whoosh, whoosh, thrum.

Click! went the door.

Click? He opened his eyes, gaze shooting to the door.

"Good morning! How are you today, Special Brave Bud?" Tim walked in, pushing the cart before him.

The smell of fresh bread, eggs, and something else wafted from the cart. Fralith's stomach rumbled, grumpy bubbles reaching for the food. He fixed his gaze on the food. Food. It was food time. What had Tim called that time? Break-fast?

"Hungry, I'm guessing from that way you're eyeing up the food." Tim chuckled and patted the bed, smiling at him. "Don't worry, it's not going to run away."

He averted his eyes and fingered the blanket over his legs, only twitching slightly as the bed started to rise. Hungry. A part of him was hungry. The other part...the other part wanted to curl up and scream. So... not hungry, then.

Tim set the tray in place and put the food in front of him. "There you go! Enjoy your food." He sat in one of the chairs and waited.

Fralith glanced at him then down at the food. Bread, weird-looking eggs, and a bunch of red beans in red sauce. His stomach shrank away from the food and his throat clogged up. He...didn't want to eat it. It was just...new and— and different and— he didn't feel like eating. Didn't feel like trying out new things. Tasting new tastes. Chewing new textures. It was just— he was just— too weary. Too tired. Of everything.