THE CAMP WAS quiet when they returned.

"Where did everyone go?" Kane asked.

Tempest followed Kane's confused gaze as it swept over the near empty field. When they'd left it'd been full of hundreds of tents and a few thousand fae. Now less than one fourth of the brigade remained and the battlefield was empty.

"Fox leads a sort of cleanup crew. He tracks down and kills creatures in the Otherworld guilty of hurting fae," she explained. The runt snuggled deeper into her armor-clad chest while she talked, shivering. The fact that he wasn't burned by the silver only further confirmed her suspicions. "Someone must've told him we left so some of his warriors stayed behind to wait for our return. After we rest we'll move out and join the rest of the brigade in the South for your second battle."

"Ok. Where am I supposed to sleep?"

Tempest pointed at their tent as it appeared in the distance. "We share a tent. There's three cots. Our stuff is there. Cleanup with the bucket and get some sleep."

When they arrived Tempest was surprised to see half of a deer skinned and prepped. It hung in the middle of the tent with a stick speared through it. The fire was reduced to a small smolder and the cook was nowhere to be found.

Her eyes scanned the dirt floor, seeing the multiple footprints. Signs of a scuffle led out of the tent and beyond.

"Oooh, meat!" Tempest jumped when Kane brushed past her in excitement, gently moving her to the side. Suddenly the space in the tent became much smaller with Kane's hulking form leaning over the food, smiling wide. "Silver said I can eat the food here without worrying about being trapped. That's good. I'm hungry. Are you hungry? Can we feed this to the baby? Where's Silver?"

Tempest blinked, overwhelmed by the sudden flurry of questions. She was exhausted. Not by a day of fighting and keeping Kane alive, but by talking. For as long as Tempest could remember she needed peace and quiet to recharge. Loud chatterboxes like Kane took a lot out of her socially. Honestly, she felt herself moments away from verbally shutting down.

A squirming in her arms snapped Tempest back to attention and she got moving. "Hold him."

Kane scrambled away from the fire. Tempest snorted. The image of the bulky man frigidly holding the baby was too funny to get out of her head. After rifling through her packed bag she turned with a clean cloth and thick shawl. She made a come-hither motion, curious about Kane's tinted cheeks as he joined her on her cot.

Tempest scooted away from Kane, pushing his legs away as he took up more than half of the cot. The little boy yawned, puzzled gray eyes peered up at Tempest. She tied a makeshift diaper around his lower body. The baby squirmed, chewing and slobbering all over his tiny fist. She removed it, hushing his squeal of indignation by opening his mouth to look inside.

His canines were small, too small to be of any use in the future. She knew that by the time he was fully grown they would still be less than half the length of other werewolves. In his wolf form his fur wasn't as thick as it should've been meaning that was less warmth for him. His humanoid form was tiny, like a doll, and his claws were blunt nubs.

His lack of screaming and burns when he touched her silver armor confirmed that he wasn't all wolf. There was something else in him, something she couldn't see, that canceled out his weakness to silver. Unfortunately, it also seemed to make him a runt and easily discardable.

She frowned, fingers tracing the scattered mess of bruises that marred his brown skin. "In my pack, there's a canteen. Get it."

Once Kane passed it to her she unscrewed the cap, carefully depositing the lake water onto his body. She hushed the wriggling boy, placing a hand on his chest. A chill flowed from her body and into his as the water seeped into the pup's skin, healing him.

"Wait here," she swaddled the calm baby in the shawl and laid him on the cot, "I'll be back. Don't leave. Clean up. Change. Don't touch the fire. We'll finish cooking the meat when Silver comes back."

Kane nodded happily, eyeing the boy with adoration. "Ok."

With the canteen in hand, Tempest pushed the flaps of the tent aside and left. The tracks leaving the tent were too distorted to tell where Silver had been dragged off to. Using the light from the torches to guide her, she wove in and out of the desolate paths in search of anything peculiar.

A soft tune caught her attention as a familiar face vanished behind a tent. Tempest sprinted after her, placing a hand on the fae's shoulder before she could slip inside.

"Lady Tempest?" The woman's wide, sky-blue eyes met hers and the song came to a halt. "May I help you?"

Tempest dropped her hand, taking a step back to give her space. "Songbird, I was wondering if you'd seen Silver?"

A pinched expression befell the fae's cherub face. "The others," she whispered, clutching her nightgown tightly, "they took him away. To talk."

Tempest gripped her canteen tightly. She hated that she was right to bring it along.

"The others?"

Songbird jerked her head towards the outskirts of the camp. "The ones that Silver hurt when he was..."

"Unseelie," Tempest finished. Her mind flashed with the faces of the many people Silver wronged. The list was long. Considering her and Kane had been gone for the mortal equivalent of two days, she already knew what to expect. "I appreciate you for telling me that. Sleep well."

Tempest held Clarent in an ironclad grip, descending upon the beating silently. She clung to the sides of the tents bathed in darkness to conceal herself. Her cold stare roamed over the circle of fae. Her ears took in the quiet grunts and cracking punches. She skimmed over Silver's shaking body being tossed from fae to fae, made to absorb each blow. He didn't fight back. He knew better than to even try after what he'd done to them.

When her eyes landed on the older man watching from the fringes with menace in his beady eyes, she sighed. The ring leader.

Tempest double-backed, slipping into the forest and sneaking up on them. She loomed behind the snickering fae like an ominous entity. His back went rigid when she pressed the sharp blade right between his legs.

"Unless you want to walk away without your dick and balls, I suggest you call off this jumping now." She dug her sword upwards to make a point.

"You know what he did," Thunder hissed, glaring at her from over his shoulder. "He never paid for any of it. Well he's gonna pay now."

"You can have him after Merlin's prophecy is complete. Until then you will stand down before I tell Fox of your insolence." Tempest lowered her voice, aware of the quiet and the fae that watched them. "I know you wish to avenge your son. But this isn't the way. Let us complete Pendragon's quest first. Then Silver will answer for his crimes."

The mourning father eyed her with a rage that Tempest knew all too well. It was anger masquerading as grief. Grief that had nowhere to go but fester and blacken all love until only the cold remained in a now broken heart.

"Swear it."

Tempest sheathed her sword. "I swear."

Pleased, Thunder called off his friends. One by one they trickled away until it was only the two of them left.

Silver panted, lifting his battered body up from where he lay on the ground. Various hues colored his bare upper body. His face was unrecognizable, beaten to a pulp. Both of his eyes were swollen shut.

Gold blood decorated his lithe body like a shattered vase.

"I didn't need your help," he spat, head moving blindly in an attempt to pin her location down.

Tempest scoffed, stomping towards him and dumping what was left of the canteen onto his face. "You always need my help."

Cupping his cheek, she forced the water into his system, ignoring his shivering. The blooming bruises gave way to milky white skin. His ribs cracked, shifting back into place. He wailed and whimpered like a child. The worst part was his face. It was a ghastly sight to watch as it rearranged itself, the puffy skin sinking back into his sharp features.

When he was healed the only thing out of place was his messy hair and ripped pants. Both of which he couldn't rectify until they got back to the tent. Which meant listening to more of Kane's rambling once he saw Silver.

Swell.

"Tempest." Silver grazed her wrist. She jerked backwards, wrenching herself free from his wretched touch. Moonlight pooled inside his aching eyes as he motioned to his face. "You're crying."

Tempest blinked. Her face twisted into confusion when she touched her cheeks, finding them wet. Tempest shook her head, stumbling backwards and furiously wiping her face.

"Fill it up then come back," she said brusquely, tossing the canteen at him. "Finish cooking the meat. Pendragon's hungry. Feed the baby we found too. We leave after we rest."

The howling of the wind whipped her damp cheeks mercilessly. Shame burned her like iron. When she was outside the tent she stopped, hearing Kane's cooing and the sound of the baby babbling.

By the time she slipped inside her energy was depleted. She waved off his questions with a limp hand, not caring as she stripped out of her armor and clothes. His wide eyes and pink cheeks meant nothing to her. She merely slipped on a fresh nightgown and settled on her cot using a thin blanket for warmth.

Silver and Kane's whispers became background noise. She succumbed to sleep, falling into Death's waiting arms. He didn't have her heart. But he understood her silence. For now, that was enough. For now, that was all she needed.

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QOTD: What punishments do you think await Silver once Kane's journey comes to an end? How do you think he was able to avoid answering for whatever he did while apart of the Unseelie Court? What do you think it would take for the siblings to repair the bond? Is that even possible with the betrayal Tempest carries?