Rogue Squad

First Day is the Worst Day

"Ow ow ow ow ow!" Raymond wines incessantly as I dab a damp cloth over the last remaining sections of his open wounds.

"Oh get over it. You're acting like a whiny child. It's annoying." I spit back at him as I dip the cloth into the water bowl next to me, cleaning and wetting it again.

It's only been a week since we've returned back from the mission. Raymond's pretty much healed up at this point, we are just prolonging the treatment as long as possible. The cuts I'm nursing now are almost as small as paper cuts, but I really don't want to start my job as a maid, and neither does my squad. As for Rina and I, concerning our inhibited ability to shift, Rina can fully shift into her wolf but it looks like the wolf's bane has stuck in my blood stream a bit more. My strength has returned a tad bit, but I'm still not fully up to par. In another day or so, I should be back up to normal.

"You're the worst nurse attendant ever, you know that, right?" Raymond groans as I touch the cloth back to his open chest, "You have absolutely no compassion!"

"Your whining is making me less compassionate, so I suggest you start shutting your trap," I warn him.

His eyes widen in worry as he glances over at me. I frown with a serious face and he realizes I'm not fooling around. He lets out a small-awkward cough, and turns away from me. His silence is my victory.

I tend to his wounds a bit longer before re-bandaging them up. Although they technically don't need to be covered at the moment, we are trying to disguise them, making them look bad so I can continue to watch over him.

A silence falls over us momentarily.

"Thank you..." I quickly add to Raymond as I start cleaning up the bowl and towels I used to tend to him.

"You're thanking me? Why?" He asks.

"For staying in here, cooped up for my sake."

"For your sake? I'm injured!"

I snicker at his comment. "You and I both know you're wounds are not longer serious. Heck, we also both know how badly you are itching to get back outside and start training again. I can't imagine how annoying it must be to stay in here while you know the rest of the team is working hard in training."

He sighs, "Lucia, you're right, I'm itching to get back out there, but more so, I want you to be happy. None of us want you off the squad, and we most certainly don't want you working as a maid. You're our leader, through and through. It doesn't matter how long the Alpha keeps you separated from us. You know where our loyalties lie."

My heart thumps in my chest as a warmth spreads throughout my body. A small smile creeps onto my lips and a feint blush forms on my cheeks. It's one thing to assume you have the loyalty of your squad members, it's another to hear how deep that loyalty goes. It's almost a bit embarrassing.

"Thank you Raymond, but right now I'm being a bad leader."

He frowns, "What do you mean?"

"I should be looking out for what's best for the team, not what's best for me."

"What's best for you is what's best for the team." He informs me quickly.

I gather all the material and stand from the floor. I glance down at Raymond and gently shake my head back and forth, "No, what's best for the team is to grow stronger while I'm not there. You guys need to continue your work until I can return. The more I procrastinate this, the longer it will take for me to get back onto the squad."

I turn away from the bed and head towards the door.

"Lucia, where are you going?"

"To start something I should have started a couple of days ago."