Rykka (Beastborne: Book 1)

Part 12: Pain

Song: Trouble - Cage The Elephant

As soon as Othanis and Lynsias were gone Lythias crawled out of the den to find somewhere to relieve herself. Aakine followed to keep a watchful eye on their surroundings. The pair then moved to the waters edge where Lythias filled her and Lynsias's water skins and drank heartily herself. Aakine drank only once Lythias stood and turned her full senses towards the trees around them. The only sounds were those of the nature around them. In the direction she felt Othanis to be in she could hear only the slightest of scuffling coming from the pair. She only listened for a few more moments before falling to her knees.

The pain in chest was getting worse with every movement, with every breath. Lythias knew she could not hide the extent of her injuries but she would damn well try her best to hide her reactions to it. Tears poured down her face and she found herself gasping as she clutched at her chest. Every breath felt like razor blades were shredding her lungs. Her ribs felt as if they were breaking with every rise and fall of her chest. Lynsias wouldn't be well enough to move in a matter of days. She wouldn't be well enough to move long distances for weeks. She felt the sudden urge to cough and hastily pulled her scarf down to uncover her mouth. Leaning over the hole she had cracked in the ice of the stream she coughed violently.

Aakine whined behind her and she felt him take her clothing between his teeth in case she leaned too far forward as her coughing turned into retching. Her whole body shook and she closed her eyes against the side of the clots freeing themselves from her stomach. When it was over she leaned back on knees and cried silently, eyes still closed. The pain was intense. Overwhelming even. The only thing she wanted to do was lay back down. So she opened her eyes and carefully leaned forward once more to rinse her face. The water was pink as it washed through the layer of drying blood clinging to her chin and mouth.

It was a sort of miracle that she managed to stand with Aakine's assistance. He whined again and was happy to help her back into the den. He placed himself against the cold wall by the opening and she took off her cloak to the best of her ability to use it as a blanket once more. Then she laid back down on top of the bedroll and curled into his warm fur. He curled his massive body around her as she lost herself in the waves of rolling pain that ached through her body. It continued until she was sweating and resisting the urge to uncover all together. Just when she thought she surely couldn't stand it anymore she heard scuffling at the entrance to the den.

Lynsias didn't even take the time to dust the fresh snow from his cloak as he practically dove into the den. He was at her side almost before her eyes could squint open enough to register him. He uncovered his face and reached out quickly to place a hand on her chest. Glancing up to meet her eyes he hesitated for a moment. She tried her best to nod in his direction. He understood and quickly began undressing her, first came the outer layer which was her own long sleeve leather padded tunic, this time full off instead of simply shoved down to her waist, thankfully not ripping it due to its extra wide collar. The next layer was usually a thick wool sweater with a collar that reached over her neck but it had been shredded to bare access when he had healed her before.

The bottom was actually the large button up shirt that she'd been given at the camp with the others. Part of her wondered if it belonged to the man who was healing her currently or the healer at the camp. She'd deduced that the bedroll she'd slept in that night was Lynsias's after all. His hands finally bared her chest and she craned her neck to see her chest but all she could make out was black blue and purple bruises covering every inch of flesh. She didn't bother hiding the grimace that crossed her face when his hands, now free of their gloves, pressed against her breast bone. He let out a stream of words, some familiar and some not. "When did my essence leave you?" He finally demanded looking into her eyes. She would've shrugged if it wasn't painful.