The Dead May Rise ✓ (GxG)

Eleven

"Whoa!" Bear began. "Are you okay?"

    Aedona immediately pushed herself out of Bear's arms. She brushed herself off. "Yeah. I'm fine."

      Bear's gaze caught on the blood that trickled between Aedona's fingers. "Is that-" She stopped. "I need to-"

     Donnie cut Bear off. "I'm fine. I swear." She pushed her away further from the Warmonger. She rubbed her head. Her gaze drifted up toward Bear once again. "I know I asked about it before... But..." Donnie swallowed. "Did you only save me because you wanted to marry me? Is that why you saved Pyotr? Because he was my brother?"

    "Nyet!" Once again, Bear grew upset by this topic. "That's not why!"

    "Then what was the real reason, Bear?" Aedona said Bear's name somewhat condescendingly.

      "Do you really want to know?" The Warmonger questioned the younger siren.

      Donnie nodded. "I do."

      Bear took a deep breath, her eyes watering. "I didn't just pick you because I wanted to marry you, Aedona! I didn't just pick Valeryan and Pyotr because you cared about them! By the time of the assault on Osowiec Fortress began, I was already there! I was engaging in hand to hand combat with the Germans... I was trying to protect our soldiers."

     "The grenade..." Aedona began, thinking back to the battle at Osowiec Fortress. "One of the Germans threw a grenade... It almost got me, but someone caught it and threw it back in the nick of time." She wetted her lips. "That was you, wasn't it?"

      Bear nodded, her lip still quivering. "That battle was-" She inhaled heavily. "I-I've never seen something so horrible as I saw there... The way they just dispersed the gas canisters into the fort... The way they just let those people rot alive..."

     "You still haven't answered my question," Aedona pointed out.

     Bear exhaled. "After that battle, I went across the battlefield and tried to tend to the wounds of the soldiers... On both sides..." She swallowed, her hands shaking. "I tried to convert those who lay over... I wanted to end their suffering." Bear sniffled and wiped her eyes. "N-None of them made it... They were too wounded."

    Aedona stood silently for several moments, avoiding Bear's gaze. Finally, she declared, "I need to take a walk." With that, Donnie turned and walked away from the camp.

    ─┉─¡! • !¡─┉─

      Over the course of the next week, Donnie remained at the camp, hoping that Pyotr would awake. She spoke with Valeryan, Dagmar, and Roman, but she tried to limit the amount of interactions she had with Bear.

     Aedona sat close to Dagmar—-every five seconds gazing off in the direction of where Pyotr lay, comatose.

     Valeryan—-who was about eight feet away from Donnie, facing away from her—-just stood staring at the ground, holding a rifle. He looked disappointed.

    "Valeryan," Aedona called out to the boy. "Are you okay?"

    Valeryan continued to pout.

     Roman called out to the young boy, "Are you gonna practice shooting it or not?"

     Valeryan said nothing as he continued to stand still.

    Bear's gaze traveled over to the boy. She inhaled. "Valeryan..." She called.

     Valeryan's head raised just the slightest bit.

    "Did your commanding officer never teach you how to shoot?" Bear asked Valeryan as she approached the boy, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.