The Stray

2-25: Beneath a Broken Mask

The wolf limped back to the center of the clearing, leaving the warring bees behind. V stopped him, looking down at him with worry. "Hey, what happened?"

"Jes' wood politics is all." The witch said softly. "It happens." Mandy pressed herself to his side.

The dragoness eyed the churning cloud of bees. "Riiiiiight. " He squirmed a little under her gaze. Then, finally, she threw her hands up. "Nevermind. It's leg time, so siddown."

"I'm okay." He tried to fake a smile, but V wasn't having it. The dragoness loomed over him, arms crossed.

"You can sit down, or I can haul you back to town over my shoulder."

So he sat. V dropped down next to him, and with surprising care, she pulled his bad leg across her lap. No escape. Could she tell he was nervous...?

"...So, uh. You know healing magic?"

"Of course! The day I found out I was gonna have a little sister, I flew to the hospital and badgered Mat to teach me." She chuckled. "You're in good hands, so relax."

He figured it was no use whining, so he pulled the scorched and charred hem of his dress up. V winced at the sight of his roughly seared bare skin. "Fuck."

"I keep sayin' I've had worse." The wolf grumbled. His would-be healer just rolled her eyes at him.

"Quit talkin' tough an' gimme a few minutes." She took a deep breath, and pale purple light—her own life force— began to swirl around her hands in slow bands. "And hold still, would ya?"

The wolf braced himself, claws digging into the dry ground. Whenever Timothy used healing magic, it hurt, from the core of the bone to the tips of his fur. Ohh, and he didn't have anything to bite on... Timothy squeezed his eyes shut, cold sweat beginning to bead on his forehead...

But the pain never came. Instead, it was like his leg slipped into cool, minty water. His eyes popped open in surprise. His leg glowed with soft purple light, which V gently brushed and swirled over the injured flesh like paint. Layer by layer, the light soaked into his burns, and before his eyes, his skin began to regrow, with only a faint tickle. His jaw hung open.

"Wow."

"What, y' think I fuck around?" She flashed him a quick wink before zeroing back in on his leg. "I got you."

"I-I guess so!" Man, if he'd had her by his side all those years...! A Vol trapper and witch, paired with a warrior with both crushing strength and healing magic? They'da been unstoppable.

"So! Now that I've got you here... what'd I miss with the bees?" ...A warrior cunning enough to trap him before getting nosy. One of her ears was still trained on the hive, even! "Sounds like a real ruckus."

He scowled a little. "I said; it's jes'—"

"Wood politics, yeah yeah." She waved him off. "Look man, I get you don't like tipping your hand or whatever, but you looked like you were getting fuckin' reamed out." Her face got real serious. "And that breakdown earlier had t've been building for a while." Timothy squirmed. The dragoness smiled encouragingly. "Look, I dunno dick about what you do, but maybe if you spill, I can help."

The wolf's heart was pounding. He really wasn't as good as he hoped he was at masking, even before everything'd gone to hell. That, and V was sharper than she gave herself credit for. She'd read him good. So now what?

...Bah. Ain't like he was getting outta this clean anyhow. The last bit of fight left him in a quiet sigh. "They didn't know."

"Huh?" She looked at him. "What do you mean, they—"