Echoes Of War

44

I felt a knot tighten in my stomach as I watched Killian and the three Wolfkin to the safe house, all of them bearing wounds of their recent skirmishes. Killian shoulder hung at a weird angle, clearly dislocated while Kieran limped slightly, his injuries slightly less severe. The sight of their pain brought both concern and frustration.

As they recounted the events of their encounter with the revolutionist leader, a sudden surge of conflicted emotions washed over me. "I can't believe that they attacked you guys," i muttered,

Killian winched as Lars inspected his injured shoulder, "It's as if they knew, where to find us....funny thing is they weren't holding back at all. I never knew how the elements of the Sythra can come to together and-ah, Lars!" He yells in pain as Lars pushes his shoulder back into place.

"Sorry little brother, but now your wolf can help heal it properly."

"Yeah, thanks. But after all that, we were still able to hold our ground. We fought them off." I clenched my fist, feeling of resentment and frustration coursing through my veins. A part of me was happy that Killian wasn't hurt badly but the other part was pissed off at the Sythra had to fight in the first place, haven't they lost enough? Their land, their people, their homes......ever since I closed the gates of my tribe 8 years ago, I have never been outside of Thundar gates.

"The Sythra, have every right to fight back. For both their freedom and land."

"You've gotta to be shitting me." Remington spoke as he got up and began walking to where I was standing. "You have no idea of your talking about Queen of Thundar." Remington's nostrils flared with angry as he took a menacing step closer to me. But I stood my ground, "I know enough to see the truth," I shot back at him my voice full of anger and frustration.

"And I won't stand idly while innocent are being killed off."

With a sharp exhale Lars intervened pulling Remington away from me. "Rem, come on. Let's go."

I watched them go as my heart pounded in my chest. I got a Killian watching me with an uncertain expression on his face.

I turned around and decided to go to the basement, seeking solace in the thuds of my fist against the punching bag, as I unleashed my pent-up anger and frustration, I couldn't shake the haunting memories of my siblings face as I continued to punch the punching bag, each punch was a reminder of what this war had taken from me and my tribe.

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The moon casted a gentle glow over the lake outside the safe house. I sat by the water's edge, my fingers trailing through the cool rippling waves as I molded them into tiny dolphins, with my water magic.

As I was lost in my mind as I used my Sythra's magic, I sensed Killian's presence near before I even heard his footsteps. My heart clenched with a mixture of anxiety and anticipation, unsure of what his reaction would be to our earlier altercation with his tribe members.

He walks towards me with his arms folded across his chest. As he finally made his way towards me, he settles down near me, his expression unreadable in the dim light. I suddenly felt a sense of guilt wash over me, knowing that my words had probably hurt him and yet I couldn't bring myself to apologize for my actions.

Surely what I said wasn't right at the moment, given that they could've lost their lives but many also lost their lives because of this war.

For a long moment we just sat there, with complete silence, only the sound of the water was heard. I stopped using my water magic and pulled my legs near my chest, with a heavy sigh I decided that we needed to talk.

I stole a glance at him, searching for any indication of anger or even frustration but there was none, just a small smile that he managed to give me.

"I'm not normally good with this....." unable to bear the tension any longer, I broke the silence. "I didn't grow up with any family members around, so I never truly mastered the element of apologies–what I'm trying to say is......I'm sorry."

Killian reached out, his hand gent as he brushed against mine, sending shiver down my spine, "It's okay," he replies softly, his gaze warm and understanding. "I know how passionate you are about your beliefs, I just wanted to make sure that you were okay." His words melted away the last remnants of my anxiety, leaving behind only a deep sense of gratitude.