Bracken x reader (Fablehaven)

Chapter 5

I awoke suspended in the air next to Bracken in Raxtus's claw,"Bracken, what happened.'' I asked sluggishly and I shook my head to clear the drowsiness. "You collapsed after the fight with the harpies, we dropped Warren off in Istanbul at a healer who had the antivenom. We're In Shipbreaker Fjord about 5 minutes away from where we estimate the hideout to be. How are you feeling?" he said, debriefing me while searching my face for discomfort.

" I feel fine," I said," your not in any pain are you? Your wounds were reopened during the fight and I tried to bandage them up, but I'm out of practice." he said worried. My face flushed at the thought of him cleaning me up. I strained my neck to look around, " I see it!" I said surprised, " where?" Raxtus asked veering off course presumably because of the distractor spell.

" straight ahead." i said pointing towards a behemoth of a building as Raxtus righted his course he soared to a small perch on the side of the mountain, " i can see it now, that must be one hell of a distraction spell none have ever affected me that much before." he said squinting towards the hideout.

"The splintered gate is an ominous sign, we should go survey the situation. Normally I would just send Raxtus but right now time is of the essence." Bracken said thoughtfully. Raxtus grabbed us once more and swooped into the air angling himself towards the building. He dropped us to the ground outside of the hideout and we walked inside. Little carnage remained directly inside the gate however there was a boar scavenging among the corpses.

Drawing a scimitar I threw it at the creature piercing it right between its shoulder blades, the beast struggled before collapsing to the ground and I trudged over to reclaim my sword. I wiped the blood off on my pant sleeve and sheathed it once more. The three of us continued in silence, we entered what I presumed to be the great hall. The copper smell of blood and guts overpowered my nostrils as my head began to spin, tears began to sting my eyes as I avoided looking at the innocent lives shattered.

Bracken's hand made its way into mine as he intertwined our fingers together as a silent show of support, " it was an incredible battle." he muttered in a hushed whisper. "Indeed" a gravelly voice came from the throne. For a split second I thought that the charred body on the throne was talking, but then a tiger that had appeared deceased next to the throne arose. I drew my blades prepared for the worst and bracken dropped my hand to draw his sword ," who are you? And what business do you have here?" the tiger continued undisturbed

Bracken slowly sheathed his sword and I followed suit," I'm Bracken a unicorn, this is Kendra she is Fairykind, and our dragon is Raxtus the son of Celebrant." Bracken gestured to each of us in turn," in regards to our business, I'm afraid we came to warn Roon about the attack but we arrived too late to be of any use." he stated. "You would have been a great help had you arrived a little earlier." the tiger intoned, "they attacked at dawn?" Bracken asked," 2 hours before sunrise." the tiger replied spitefully.

"Who?"Bracken asked once more," A wizard. Several skilled warriors. Some lycanthropes. And the rabble you see strewn around the room. Minus the wizard and a couple of the more skilled warriors, we would have won the day. Roon always loved a brawl.". "And who are you?" I asked, concerned," I am Roon's guardian, he referred to me as Niko." Niko replied." Can I approach you?" Bracken interjected. "Considering the circumstances I will take no offense." Niko said as he approached Bracken and his outstretched hand and placed his paw on top of his hand.

"You're a shape-shifter." Bracken said," correct, which is how i survived the battle, i retained these injuries throughout the battle." Niko said looking towards his blood matted fur as before my eyes his wounds began to close." healing yourself on the inside while leaving wounds on the outside to give the illusion of succumbing to your injuries." I said thinking it through," a handy ability I must admit." he said with a resounding chuckle.