Chapter 41 - Thirty-Nine (1/2)

I woke up feeling groggy, heavy and numb, with a weird taste in my mouth, but mostly just glad for waking up at all. I try to move, feeling too hot, and ended up bumping onto something.

I hear voices after my movement, and some weight over me as I try to open my eyes, only to encounter Leo's face very, very close.

I try to jump back but I hit something again, the sudden movement making me dizzy so I flop back down again. Someone lift the weight out of me, making it easier to breathe as I frown in concentration, trying to clean my mind.

I pass my tongue over my dry snout and someone brings fresh water for me, pouring it down slowly, even if I was so thirsty that I wanted to gobble it up in one go, having it off of me every time I went to fast.

Satisfied I tried once more to open my eyes, encountering a pair of golden ones staring me down.

”How are you feeling?”

”Heavy, numb, tired, but no pain.” I said in a raspy voice, looking eagerly to the rest of the water, which Leo's bring closer yet again to my lips.

I stand in a half-sit half-laying position, my long black legs stretched in front of me, slowly taking the place we were in.

We were at Aeglos room, the wooden walls and view from the forest a great indicator, not more than the elf himself behind me, holding my brother in his arms.

When my eyes encounter his I can already see the tears wanting to roll out of his eyes.

”Hey little brother.” I say in a tired voice, which makes the river of tears overflow as he escapes from Aeglos grips and jumps right at me, crying with his snout on my neck, taking in my smell and my presence.

”Ohh, brother – sob- I was soo – sob- worried – sob- we all were – sob- when you wouldn't wake up – sob sob.”

He hugged me with his paws, staying as close as he could, making me lick his face clean of tears.

”You silly, I wouldn't leave you here alone uhm? I did promise, didn't I?”

”No –sob- actually you didn't”

I laugh weakly at him, feeling my head heavy and laying down again as he kept passing his tongue over my fur, as if confirming that I was really there.

”What happened?” I ask Leo, looking in his direction and trying to ignore the fact that we four apparently shared Aeglos bed.

”You were poisoned by the Dragon on our way out, probably one of his attacks hit you.”

Poisoned? The descriptions didn't say anything about poison though? Maybe it was concealed? Or the level difference made that it didn't show all the information about it?

I don't know, I just know that I'm too tired to think about it right now.

”And…” Leo continues, having one of his rare moments where he struggles to say something.

”And?”

”The damage was too severe, and it was going to the rest of your body, so I had to take drastic measures… and cut our tail off.”

I was almost asleep again when I heard that, my ears perching up and my eyes wide, going straight to where my tail should have been. My lower part is covered by blankets, so Aeglos takes them off so I can look at it.

Nooo, by prideful whip tail! I didn't even have a chance to show it to my brother! I felt like a peac.o.c.k who had their feathers plucked out!!

Before I could despair, however, I was just thankful that it didn't hit a leg or something, otherwise that would have been a real issue.

I didn't have a stump tail like before, having some of it left; not the full ledge, not even haft of it, but enough that it reached to 2/3 of my leg.

”Sigh, well, it had to be done.” I said, trying to adjust to the fact, still feeling like I had the long tail as I moved it around.

Couldn't use this one in battle anymore…

”Brother!!!” Hunthor says, jumping up on me and biting my ear like the old times.

Oi, that's not how you treat a sick person now, is it!

I grab my chance and bite his snout, pushing him over me and pinning him down on Leo's lap, licking his face up and then pushing him over, making him roll off the bed and on the floor; lucky him that the bed was only a cushion over the ground.

”Brother! That was meany!! I was just so worried about you!!”

”Oh yeah?! And that's how you treat a sick person?! Stay there and think about what you did!”

He whimpers, flopping his ears down, but as he looks up a smile grows from his snout.

”I missed you brother.” I snorted, laying down again.

”I missed you too, dumb brother.”

I was getting sleepy again.

”Just one question though.” I say as my eyelids start to feel heavy. ”Why the hell are we all sharing a bed?”

”I was curing you, your temperature could drop drastically in the middle of the night, so I watched over that.” Leo said.

Ok, reasonable.

”I didn't want to leave you brother! I was so worried!” Says my brother.

As expected I guess…