Living as a Salted Fish, No Snake on the Marshal's Wrist

Chapter 21: Recovery

Receiving the tranquilizer, Taio Ru quickly felt the affects. He mind slowed and his tense body relaxed like pudding. Fighting to keep his eyes Open Taio Ru looked up at Jun De.

"Don't worry love. Go to sleep. I'll be right here with you." Jun De reassured.

Hearing Jun De's promise Taio Ru finally let go and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

...

While Taio Ru slept Jun De took the opportunity to speak with the doctor.

"Doctor, what needs to be done?" Jun De asked with a serious face.

"Marshal you've been a soldier on the battlefield for many years. You know as well as I do the effects war can have on a person. Each case isn't exactly the same. For now, we can focus on normalizing his life as best as possible." The doctor explained.
"Normal? Doctor that's difficult to achieve given the current situation." Jun De stated. Taio Ru wasn't from this world. There was nothing in this place that was normal for Taio Ru.

The doctor misunderstood Jun De's thoughts. From what he knew Taio Ru's normal must be living as some kind of egg.

"Normal may not be possible considering a Taio Ru's special circumstances. But hiding him away in the bedroom isn't healthy either. When dealing with these sort of traumas, avoiding the cause or triggers isn't always the best choice. You need to help him feel secure even when facing a group of soldiers, or leaving the room and changing location. Don't let him trap himself." The doctor explained.

Facing your fears and going out when it's frightening and stressful may seem impossible. Even counterintuitive at times, but it's necessary if you want to escape the prison known as trauma.

Listening to the doctor, Jun De knew everything he was saying was in Taio Ru's best interest. Despite that he still hesitated. He didn't want to see Taio Ru suffer. He wanted to protect and see Taio Ru's cute little toothless smile as he swayed his tail happily again.

Jun De had a hard decision to make. Even so, it needed to be done.

...

Taio Ru woke up feeling amazing compared to when he fell asleep. His body was light and the intense pain from his wound  no longer seemed as noticeable.

"Amazing! Do I feel better because of the drug or because I was able to sleep well?" Taio Ru wondered. His curiosity peaked.

"Love, how do you feel?" Jun de asked worried. Taio Ru had been given a small dose of a mild tranquilizer. It should have only knocked him out for six to eight hours.

After ten hours, Jun De started to panic. Sixteen hours and he had the doctor in an interrogation. Twenty four hours and he was ready to kill everyone within sight. Now 36 hours after being given the tranquilizer, Taio Ru finally woke up naturally.

The entire time Taio Ru was asleep he couldn't. He had even wanted to wake him up several times to make sure everything was okay.

The doctor would stopped Jun De from acting on impulse. "His body is doing what it needs to recover. Waking him could cause him more harm." The doctor often said as he frequently checked Taio Ru's vitals.

Waking up feeling refreshed, Taio Ru gave a light smile as he slowly swayed the tip of his little tail.

"I didn't dream about anything. I feel a lot better." Taio Ru said.

Jun De let out a long deep sigh of relief. It had been many days since he last saw Taio Ru's smile.

"That's great. Do you feel comfortable enough to try eating a little?" Jun De asked. Before sleeping Taio Ru couldn't keep anything of significance down. This worried Jun De.