~Alliances and Animosities~ - {CyNari}

Bonding [Ch 10]

Some time before the last chapter

I entered my little room after a quick knock on the wall and saw the short Valuka Shuna couped up in my bed. They looked exhausted and weak.
Something about them made me remember... Little me.

Their ears shot up at the sound of unfamiliar footsteps. "No need to be afraid. I'm Collei, trainee Forest Watcher. I'll be here to take care of you while you recover so Master can give his whole attention towards the General. You're Bas, right? What are your pronouns?"

Their ear twitched happily at my question. "That's right, I use they/them. Thank you for asking, what about you?" I smiled. "I go by she/her but I don't really mind that much. My master said you walked all the way from the desert? You show extreme signs of exhaustion, so tell me if you notice any discomfort."

Their ears went down after hearing my words and they looked disappointed. I could almost immediately understand what they were thinking. "Just rest up, and you'll be bouncing off the walls in no time. The longer you rest, the sooner you will be fit again." They nodded.

Suddenly their ears shot back up and they looked at me desperate for an answer. "How is the General? Is he awake?" I was a bit startled by the sudden tone shift but answered calmly. "He is awake but- Hey, what are you doing?" They stood up mid sentence and started to ran up to the other huts.

"Wait! You need to go back to bed! Bas, be sensible! You're still recovering!", I yelled as they just ran into Masters hut. I quickly followed them, hoping to not interrupt anything. Master Tighnari was currently applying some antibiotic ointment onto Cynos wound, who was shivering like crazy. Both of their eyes landed onto us immediately.

I quickly apologized and was fast to catch Bas after losing their balance while I scolded them to be careful. Luckily Master and Cyno didn't seem to mind. Still, I felt really bad to interrupt them so I took Bas back to my hut as soon as I could.

"We will do anything we can to make sure that you will recover as soon as possible, but you need to work with us. Please, don't do anything like that again until we allow it..." They nodded as I helped them back on the bed while adjusting the pillow a bit. "I will get you something to eat. Wait here for a moment..."

I placed a plate full of Pita Pockets onto their lap after I was done cooking and encouraged them to dig in. They were a bit hesitant at first but shortly after the first bite was done the whole plate was empty.

"Just say if you need anything, I'm glad to help!", I said after I placed the empty plate onto my desk. I turned around and they were already fast asleep. I chuckled a bit but soon realized that it was already dark outside and the dim lit lanterns and glowing blossoms were the only thing illuminating the forest.

I slowly closed the leaves as I left the hut. Everyone was already asleep, everything was quiet outside. Usually you could never get this kind of atmosphere during the day, especially during my time in the city. I missed it... A lot...

I sat down at the edge of the walkway like I would always do, kicking my feet to the rhythm of the water deep underneath me, admiring the peace and calmness of the forest. After a while I heard the wood of the walkway creak and turned around.

"Master, what are you doing out here?" He lowered himself to sit next to me. "I could ask you the same thing. What is it this time?" I looked at him with a puzzled look. His ears flickered a bit and a small sigh escaped his lips. "You would always sit here when you had something on your mind. Be it a difficult lesson, a sudden flashback or something entirely different... You know you can always talk to us if you need to get something off your chest, right?" His head tilted a bit to the side and his ears followed its movement.