Red Rivers and Nightmares

17. Not Okay

Listlessly I push the food around on the platter given to me. The issue does not lie so much with the food, I am sure. I am just so drained mentally that it has little to no taste. I am not sure when Rion carried me to my room but at some point during the night the nightmares began to plague me once more. Waking up I could swear I heard voices calling for me and hands reaching for me, begging me to do something for them.

When I hear a sound I stab some vegetables with my fork and bring it to my mouth. I must not worry my brothers. Stab, chew, swallow. Repeat. I somehow force all the food into my mouth. I am about to feel proud of myself for doing so when I hear the sound of sloshing water from opened shutters nearby. I immediately tense and stop breathing. As I feel the pressure building in my chest I attempt to calmly breathe as I slowly put my fork down. Only then do I move my hands under the table so I can clench my clothing as I attempt to move through my dread.

I sit there like that as I attempt to listen to others talk as they finish breaking their fast. When they are all done Eardwulf suddenly appears, taking a seat as he gives a kiss to Fairley's ear. Fairley stops his conversation with Iien to smile lovingly at his Partner.

Looking at them it is easy to remember why the marauders avoided Shayle. One Matured is difficult enough, two would be a major inconvenience. Dealing with two Matured who are Partners and Bonded? Only the very prepared or the very stupid would risk an attack that would kill one of them and set the full wrath of the other one on them.  There are very real reasons for why vampires have survived even when all others turned against them.

All the other conversations wind down and we all look at Eardwulf and Fairley. Eardwulf must whisper something to Fairley as they both look at the slowly rising sun and they raise thick hoods up to shade their faces. Now, he directs his attention to us, "When the raid started some fled to Shayle. 'Course we reacted to the smell of blood an' as soon as we knew what was going on I led a group of us to help Messa. Even as quick as us...," he pauses and we can all see how his body tightens. Fairley gives Eardwulf's arm a small squeeze. Earwulf exhales, continuing, "Lots of humans died. Those bastards didn't take much with them cause we started ripping them apart and draining them so they fled. I an' one other followed them to see those rats join 'nother with a female feral in the lead."

Rion inhales sharply. Eardwulf stops talking. I look over as Rion slowly exhales and I see him unfurling his fists. It is when they are lying flat on the table that he uses his words, as strained as they are, "She have cat-shaped ears an' black hair?"

Eardwulf nods, "They could've been cat ears."

I can hear an undertone of desperation to Rion's voice now, "Did ya see her eyes?"

Eardwulf answers without hesitation, "Just briefly, but yes." As if anticipating Rion's next question he continues without much pause, "They're some dark color but had slit pupils."

Rion's hand trembles now, "That sounds like Nyra. Ya said she was the first?"

Eardwulf nods silently now.

I feel sorry for Rion. I know that he still held hope that the person he once knew did not take people he loved from him and stole the futures of so many. I can only guess that he had considered her a friend and tried to do what he could as a child to help her. Now, he is one of the very few to have escaped that horrible situation with no wounds of his own.

My curiosity is piqued as I think back on all the people I treated at Littlefoot, although I do try to gloss over the bodies in my mind's eye. It is then that I realize that he was the only one above age to be unhurt. That is the main contributor for why he is the only one here as the others left were either too old, too young, or too injured to keep up with this type of mission.