The Wolf's Daughter

13 - The Spoils of War

Fingers drifting through my daughter's long ginger hair, I sighed heavily. Her arms clung to my bicep and she snuggled up to me in her sleep. At least she'd gotten some rest. How could I sleep when Athena was out there somewhere alone, injured, dead? No not dead. Best not to take my mind there. She was strong, I'd trained her that way. She wasn't dead. She was not dead.

'Morning.' Wren looked up at me lazily, stifling a yawn and loosening her grip on me. 'How did you sleep?'

'Well.' I lied, smiling down at her absentmindedly.

'Good.' She beamed, rubbing her eyes and sitting upright. 'I'll go find Kim, see if she can whip us up some breakfast.' Swinging her legs out from under the blanket, Wren padded out of the infirmary and I sunk back against the wall. As if on cue, Selene entered with a big smile on her face.

'Oh you're up! That's excellent!' She paused by her desk, picking up a stethoscope and plugging it into her ears. 'I'm just gonna check on your breathing mister, is that cool?'

'Do what you need to do.' I muttered, pulling my shirt over my head as she crouched beside me, pressing the cold metal to my exposed chest.

'Big deep breath in.' She instructed and I obeyed, filling my lungs up with oxygen. They expanded harshly but I held back a cough, feeling my ribs harden.

'Breathe out.' The nurse patted my shoulder as I spluttered, blood still painting my uniform and cheeks. 'Your airways are still inflamed from the zinc chloride Private Seed. We need to put you on bed rest for two more days.'

'No you won't.' My corporal entered, picking up the clipboard that hung from the end of my bed. 'He's fine.'

'With all due respect sir, he inhaled a lot of smoke from that grenade explosion. His respiratory system-'

'He's sitting upright isn't he?' Gesturing to me, the corporal dismissed the nurse quickly and put my clipboard back down. 'Private?'

'Yes sir.' I coughed, buttoning my undershirt back up in a rapid movements.

'I want you outside with your squadron in thirty minutes, is that clear?'

'Yes sir.'

'You're all clear!' Selene chimed, pulling the stethoscope away.

'Huh?' I grunted, shaking my head in confusion.

'You're all clear.' She repeated. 'Your lungs are free of smoke dude!'

'That's great news!' My head spun as Wren entered, a bowl in each hand. She handed me what looked like oats and milk, the silver spoon suspended in the white liquid. Still dazed from hazing in and out of flashbacks, I took the bowl apprehensively. 'Breakfast. Eat it.' She winked, nudging me. I gave a half hearted chuckle and ladled the food into my mouth. It wasn't the best but it'd do.

***

It started out as a good day. Silver returned from his rescue mission with Nick in tow and Kim put together a celebratory barbecue. But whilst everyone else was dancing, singing and eating, I found myself sat alone lost in thought. I watched Wren spinning around with Carmina, laughing manically. She didn't deserve to be caught up in all this mess.

'Penny for 'em?' Nick took a seat beside me with a huff, his grey hair pressing against his neck.

'Just thinkin' 'bout how fucked up the world is.' I grunted, taking a swig of my beer.

'Same old, same old then.' Nick chuckled and then let it die, fiddling with the bottle in his hand. 'I heard about Athena. I'm sorry Seed.'

'S'fine.' Taking another long drink, I felt the glass pull against my tongue.