Healing Ties (Ties, Book 2) | ✓

Chapter 27

Yore could make the journey to the mage camp in less than ten minutes at a full sprint, but he didn't rush it this time. He needed a few extra minutes to think. He'd spent so much time worrying about how he would convince his mother to let Fanner stay that he hadn't given much thought to what he'd say to Danya.

As keen as he'd been to reassure Fanner, he was prepared for Danya to be upset when he found out what had happened. That was why he'd offered to go and speak to Danya first. Fanner felt bad enough as it was and Danya deserved the opportunity to feel and express whatever emotions he wanted without worrying about upsetting Fanner. Jasper had nearly been killed. Just because it had been an accident didn't mean it wasn't upsetting. Yore had to imagine that being reminded of your child's mortality simply inherently was.

Yore reached the mage settlement, weaved through the cabins, and scratched at the door of the one Danya and Simon shared. Danya opened the door.

Danya let out a breath of relief. "I'm so glad to see you. Is Fanner okay? He's with you, isn't he? At your settlement, I mean."

Yore slipped into the cabin and began shifting. He could still hear Danya, but something about the process of his ears changing shape made things sound all warped and distant, like it was coming from the other end of a tunnel.

"I had no idea he was so upset. Jasper bit him, but then Fanner said he just wanted to go back to bed and I knew he was tired so I thought that would be for the best. That we could talk about it some more in the morning. But then he just... left. Does he think Jasper doesn't like him?"

Yore stood up on two legs and shook his head. "I'm afraid it's a bit more complicated than that."

"Okay..."

Yore went and sat on the floor and draped the blanket there over his lap. Neither he nor Danya were particularly concerned about nudity, but there had been a few times when Simon had walked in on them having a conversation when Yore was naked and it clearly made him uncomfortable. Simon had definitely grown more comfortable with casual nudity over the years, but Yore still tried to be respectful.

"I told you about how Fanner pulled energy from me and knocked me unconscious."

Danya nodded as he sat down in front of Yore.

"He filled in some gaps in his story for me when he came to me last night. As his injuries suggested, someone hurt him very badly before he ran away. What he didn't mention was that he killed that person in the same way he knocked me out. It was an accident, and it was necessary to save his own life, but it still doesn't sit well with him."

"Oh." Danya let out a sigh and shook his head. "No wonder he's so shaken up. He's so gentle. I'm not sure he's even capable of hurting someone intentionally."

"There's more," Yore said. "Last night, he had a nightmare about that man hurting him again. He tried to defend himself in the dream, but he ended up grabbing Jasper in reality. He believes that, if Jasper hadn't bitten him, the situation wouldn't have ended well."

Danya's mouth fell open and he looked towards the bedroom. "He slept in this morning. I thought he was just sleepy from all the excitement, but..."

"It made me a little tired as well. He'll be fine."

"So Fanner left because..."

Yore nodded. "It scared him. He had no idea this would happen and he's worried some other situation he has no way of predicting will come up and he'll end up hurting someone. Werewolves have more energy, so he felt it would be safer to be with us."

"Why didn't he tell me, though? I could have helped. He didn't have to go out on his own in the middle of the night. He could've gotten lost."