The Water Howlers - Book II ✔

Chapter 2 - Ori

A storm was raging inside of him, one that he had no control over. It was masked by his usual calm exterior – calm as a lake on a windless day.

The days went by agonizingly slow, like the Gods had slowed down time to make him suffer even longer, yet he did not know what he'd done to anger them. All he wanted was to see her brown eyes again.

Ori had spent the days since returning to Warrior City in the healers' tent, seated next to the small cot on which his friend and fellow Howler, Emmie, was deep asleep. Her chest would rise and fall in a steady rhythm, but no other part of her was moving. She had been sleeping for over a week now and Ori had barely left her side in case she might suddenly wake up. He remained positive that she would, though as the days went on, the healers around him would cast glances of pity when they thought he wasn't looking. No one said anything, but he knew what they were thinking; the longer she stayed asleep the chances of her waking up became more unlikely. 

He took a lock of her curly, dark brown hair between his fingers. "It's time to wake up now, Em," he muttered softly and like always, he waited for her to react, to stir or mutter something back to him, but just like all the other times, only silence answered him.

Ki and Thatch had been quick to seek out Sarko to ask for guidance. "Can't our combined powers heal her somehow?" Ki had asked, but the training master hadn't been able to help them, having never witnessed anything like this in his lifetime. Granted, there were very few alive who had. Both Ki and Thatch had yelled at Sarko, but Ori had been too busy watching the healers work on Emmie to even care. All he cared about was for her to wake up and be alright.

He hadn't even minded when the healers had ushered Ki out of the tent as she was annoying everyone around them with her constant questioning and relentless hovering. As soon as she'd been able to walk again she had been asked, in the nicest way possible, to leave. That had been two days ago and Ori had welcomed the quieter and much calmer atmosphere. He could hear her, from time to time, right outside the tent, complaining and talking to Thatch.

Ori ran a hand through his blonde hair. He hadn't even bothered with the usual string he used to keep his hair tied back and away from his face. It was getting close to reaching his shoulders and he'd sometimes wondered if it'd be easier to just cut it all off like the soldiers did.

A bell chimed in the distance, but Ori did not react to it. He knew it was the dinner bell, but he didn't get up. On occasion, he would be offered some bread and meat or sometimes fruit from one of the healers and though his body called for nourishment, his head was too distracted.

"Are you not hungry, Master Wyerkant?" A healer approached him. A middle-aged woman named Healer Fayka. Out of all of them there, she seemed the most sympathetic towards him. She kept checking in on Emmie, still carrying around the hope that she would wake up soon. And for that he was grateful.

"Not really," Ori answered, not even looking up at her as she stood beside him.

"It will do no good if you deprave your body of the strength it needs to keep up. You are a protector of this kingdom." Ori didn't respond as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Trust my word that I will personally come for you if her condition changes."

He swallowed, but his mouth felt bone dry. He knew, of course, that she was right, but he found it so difficult to leave.  

"You need your strength to be able to fight the things that did this to her." At this Ori looked up at her. "Undoubtedly, more will come," she continued, "and we put our faith and our lives in you."

"How can we fight when we are weakened like this?" He asked, glancing back at Emmie's still form.

"Then you must become strong enough for the both of you."

He knew Healer Fayka didn't just mean in the physical sense. His mind had to be stronger. They all needed to be stronger in every way possible. And he couldn't do that by sitting on a stool in the Healers' tent.

Ori stood and leaned in over Emmie's body. He inhaled her Earthy scent before placing a gentle kiss on her brow. "I'll be back soon, but you still need to wake up. We can't do this without you."

He took a few steps back as Healer Fayka came closer. "I will stay with her," she said, arranging her white dress robes as she placed herself on the stool Ori had sat on. "You have my word that I will come for you."

He nodded, believing her and then he left the tent to join the others for dinner.

He followed a group of soldiers to the main food tent and as the scents of roasted meat wafted towards him his deprived stomach began stirring.

Inside he scanned the rows of chattering men and women, all busy with their plates of food and cups of juice or wine, but then he spotted the two he was looking for.

The second they saw him, Ki and Thatch stilled. For a second they both looked hesitant, but then Ki shot up from her seat. "Is it Emmie? What happened?"

Of course. They probably thought he was here to inform them of her condition.

"No. Nothing's changed," he said before going to the end-table to fill a plate. Coming back, he took a seat next to Thatch, who was eyeing him warily. Neither of them touched their food until Ori speared a small potato with his fork and put it in his mouth.

Thatch thumped Ori's back and grinned, "finally" before he himself turned his attention back on his own plate and continued eating like nothing had changed. Ki was still watching him and Ori forced himself to swallow a mouthful of meat and potatoes to say, "I'm okay."

"I didn't say anything," she hastily replied and quickly turned her attention to her own plate.

The next three days, Ori found himself spending more time with Ki and Thatch than he did watching over Emmie. But Healer Fayka had been right – it had done him good to get up and about. To focus on getting himself stronger instead of sitting around feeling helpless.

The air outside that evening was cool and fresh and Ori inhaled deeply through his nose, letting it fill his body before exhaling through his mouth, like they did when they meditated. He had briefly visited Emmie before heading to dinner; he'd sat with her for a moment, updating her on what went on in the city, that there had been no new sightings of Shadow Walkers and that the King hadn't put out any new instructions. He'd kissed her brow like always and looked up to find Healer Fayka smiling softly at him. She'd kept her word and had always been with Emmie whenever Ori popped into the Healers' tent for a visit.

Inside the noise-filled mess tent, Ori filled a plate with stew and spiced rice and sat himself next to Thatch in his usual seat.

He let the noise and clattering of plates fill his head, drowning out everything else. He was suddenly glad that Healer Fayka had gotten him out of there. He finished his plate and went to get a bowl of mixed sliced fruit and berries that he placed on the table between the three of them. Ki picked out a slice of apple, Thatch popped a small strawberry in his mouth and Ori took a blackberry; almost smiling as his teeth broke the skin and the tartness of the berry filled his mouth. They chatted about unimportant matters such as the weather and what to expect of the winters on this side of the kingdom as they took turns choosing what to eat next until the bowl was nearly empty.

Ki smiled at Ori, but just then her eyes travelled up to a point behind him and her smile faded. Ori turned in his seat and froze as Healer Fayka stood just a few feet away from him, her hands clenched tightly together in front of her.

He nearly tripped over himself as he struggled to get out of his seat and from the corner of his eye he saw the other two stand up as well. He was a lot taller than the healer, over a foot and a half at least, but he felt utterly small at that moment.

"What is it?" He immediately asked, his eyes searching the Healer's face for any clues. His mind was almost out of the tent, waiting for his body to catch up, but his feet were rooted to the ground. The storm inside of him roared, deafening all sounds around him. Slowly, her eyes met his and they seemed to almost brighten; her lips, traced with thin lines around them moved into a soft smile and Ori thought he felt his heart skip a beat as the raging storm in him died down until everything was silent except for his own heavy breathing.

"She's awake."