The Lord ✔️

Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Comfort Of A Family

Andromeda sat next to her father's pile of moss, watching his chest heave, breathing slowly. Hunter was next to her, his face buried into her neck, as they watched King Kai struggle to survive his slumber. Andromeda had tried to make Hunter tell her what had happened, when he, Ruby, and her two sisters, Emerald and Diamond, had rushed into the Healing Den carrying a bleeding and severely injured King Kai, but he'd just sobbed harder, and after a while, she knew he wouldn't say anything.
She watched as her father's chest heaved up and down, breathing, but with dry blood drizzled across his body and smudged so carefully around the deep bite-mark that had positioned itself on the borders of his throat. Sadly, she closed her eyes in a attempt to shake herself out her trance and comfort her brother, who's sobbing had become so loud she thought that he might wake up the whole Healing Den. And that would be bad, because the main Healer, Auklet, took making her patients happy, safe, and perfectly healed and well-rested very seriously.
"Hunter, we should go now," Andromeda said, partly sorry for her brother (she was, although she didn't know why he was crying—perhaps that father was injured? But she wasn't crying) and partly worried that Auklet would become furious when she realized Hunter could wake up the whole Healing Den. Currently, Auklet was marching over to them, her paws making thumping sounds on the ground, and like Andromeda had worriedly expected, her brows her ceased, and quite frankly, she wasn't happy.
Andromeda sighed.
"What's going on?" Auklet said, relieving Andromeda that she wasn't exactly angry.
Hunter looked up, his tear stains making his fur look wet, and false looking. "It's all my fault," he half-moaned, half-sobbed. Auklet's facial features softened, and she looked around, making sure they were alone. "No, it's not, but you're clearly not feeling well. Let's put you in that pile of moss, next to your father's." Auklet hurried to fix Hunter's moss bend; Andromeda felt relieved that she hadn't needed to somehow comfort him any longer, because she was terrible at it.
Hunter lay down on the moss bed, his eyes closing as soon as he fell onto the comfy green, and Andromeda sat in the middle of them, her father and her brother, and watched their chests heave up and down, breathing, and sleeping. She didn't know what to do, what to say—apart from she'd need to start a full blown investigation, she was utterly confused.
Great. Just great.
Andromeda looked over at Auklet. "Do you know anything that can heal them quicker?" she asked, anxiety flickering at her torn heart. She touched Hunter's nose to her own, watching his eyes flutter open, and making him look so vulnerable, like a pup. She touched his heart with her paw, his guilt-sodden heart, and smiled affectionately at him.
The corners of Hunter's mouth could only twitch. He was to weak, to weak from crying, to smile properly. She gave his head some licks, taking in his scent, and she brushed the blood off him gingerly. They sat in silence, and only the noises of Auklet getting special herbs were heard. It was only some time before Hunter drifted back off to sleep.
Shaking her head, Andromeda dusted herself off. She'd need to compose herself more—she'd need to fight for Hunter, for Findrut, against Cora. She'd need to stay strong.