My eyes opened slowly and I stretched across the bed before sitting up. “Huh?” I wasn’t in my room. I looked down a long room of beds lined up along the wall, all with white blankets and sheets. Most of the beds were empty except for one or two. My mind blanked. Where was I?
I jumped when someone softly put their hand on my shoulder and I turned around to see a kindly looking tan colored fox.
She smiled. “I see you’re up, Whitefire. Are you hungry?”
I nodded. “Yes...but where am I?”
The fox looked a bit worried when I said that. “Don’t you remember? It’s the infirmary. You came here yesterday evening.”
Infirmary? I gasped, and what happened suddenly hit me upside the head. Turning to the fox, my orange eyes quickly filled with tears again. “Is he...dead?” Even the word numbed my mouth.
The tan fox smiled a little. “Goodness, no.” She led me slowly down the row of beds and drew me up to one. “He’s sleeping right now, but you can stay if you like.”
I quickly wiped the tears from my eyes. “Thank you.”
She nodded and walked away as I turned to Zuer.
Everything but his head was covered by a blanket. I reached over and folded the blanket down so I could see him. His shoulder and middle body was wrapped in white cloth, which probably had some sort of gauze underneath it for the wounds.
As softly as I could, I sat down on the bed, my hand gently grasping his and pressing it to my cheek for a moment before putting the blanket back over him. I quietly lay down beside him on top of the blanket and rested my head on the pillow. A few minutes later, the tan colored fox came back with a bowl of soup in her hands and I sat up as she gave it to me. “Thank you.”
She nodded. “Come find me if you need anything else.”
“Okay.”
The fox left and I slowly sipped on the hot soup. When Zuer yawned, waking up, I almost dropped the bowl in excitement. “Zuer?”
He grunted as he tried to sit up, and I set the bowl down for a moment, placing my hand on his chest to make him lay back down. “No, you still need to rest.”
Zuer winced. “Ouch.” He moaned slightly, then looked up at me and smiled a little. “Are you alright?”
I laughed. “You’re asking me? You were half dead last night.”
The otter chuckled. “Well, for being half dead I feel pretty good.” He breathed in a little. “Do I smell food?”
“Soup.” I smiled. “Want some?”
“Yes!”
This time I helped him sit up, and he held his side, wincing at the pain.
I carefully gave him the bowl of soup, and he scarfed it down. I laughed at him and took the bowl when he was done, setting it on the table by his bed. “So...I guess you won’t be going anywhere now...” Sitting on the side of the bed, I looked down at my hands, sighing.
Zuer reached out with his uninjured arm and placed a hand on my shoulder. Looking over at him, I smiled sadly. “If I wasn’t here...you...you wouldn’t have been hurt.”
“What?” Zuer chuckled at me and I looked at him in surprise. “Don’t over think this, Whitefire. I think someone wanted me dead, not you.”
I was thoroughly confused. “Why?”
He smiled. “Well, he obviously didn’t try and take you when he thought I was finished.”
I became silent, and after a few minutes I stood up, walking out of the infirmary. “I’ll be back later.”
Zuer laid himself back down, sighing as I left.
