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Healer Rhea's POV

There wasn't a particular sense that Rhea had focused on at first, they all managed to slowly increase as the sun rose and set as it had for the past several days. The voices were the most interesting in her settled purgatory, they were mumbled in the best of ways, where only one or two words had managed to filter out and become recognizable—Though there was no understanding to the entire conversation, not when they filtered at such an odd rate.

Even now, she could hear a voice, but peeking an eye open proved to be useless. Her mind replaying the last set of visitors to her side of the tent—And the only reason she had any consolidation as to where she is, was the signature scent of the tent wafting into her nose had turned into a massive comfort.

For once, Rhea was allowed to relax into the soft bed and allow whatever chaos surrounding her to just happen. The acceptance of death was much easier than she thought, having seen Dreven's final breaths made it easy to swallow—But what didn't, was the pain admitting into her heart and soul as she turned up from her bunk with a gasp, followed by a shout of pain as she held her side in pure agony.

"I told you! Didn't I tell you, Osmin? This is exactly why I didn't—"

"Help now, rant later...Rhea? Can you hear me?" Rhea wasn't sure if her body was managing the fetal position correctly, and if it was doing anything to help lessen the pain. But allowing herself the small gift of looking to those she might as well consider friends caused her to smile.

"She can hear just fine, it's everything else I'm worried about. Her soul already has one witch's blessing, two is just—Goddess, I don't even know where to start!" Lillian't words only caused Rhea to frown in confusion as she gritted her teeth once more.

"Poison?"
"I didn't think Wolfsbane could harm a witch...In copious amounts of dust and coated with a pic—It can do damage." After being uncoiled from her position, Rhea's crossed eyes managed to focus on the ceiling above her. Smiling once more that she could start separating her actions and thoughts now.

"I died."

"You did."

"Why didn't you let me die?" Rhea gasped, tears building up at the corner before streaming down the crook of her neck as she looked so desperate to go back to where she once was.

It was so calm.
So peaceful.

Now the pains and aches were becoming so overwhelming that she eyed Osmin's belt, lined entirely with weapons of all sorts. Perhaps she could—

"You did it, you killed the King." Her eyes flickered lazily back towards Lillian, though they already started to sink back into the realm of her subconscious. "Os, get me the blue bottle, it's best to let her sleep through the pain." Rhea chuckled and gestured to the burns on the better half of her body.

Which was now more than visible considering she was down to her underdress and nothing more. "I've suffered worse." She claimed, though a cough settled her out just as another figure came through the tent.

"She has risen!" A shout proclaimed, and as if all at once, the cheers had started to filter through the thin walls. But to Rhea, it sounded as if it was a tidal wave ready to hit her. Making her flinch and turn in every direction, waiting for another attack.

"Keep your voice down, there can be internal damages that I didn't account for." Lillian hissed and Rhea sighed into her hand. "It's fine...And I haven't made it to my feet yet, Rolf." The mere words addressing him had given him enough of an acceptance in passing the witch and coming down to greet Rhea properly.

"Gave us quite the scare there, Rhea. Don't do that again."

"I'll try not to make it a habit."

"Do I have your word?"

"Absolutely not," Rolf smirked and took her hand to lay a kiss on the outer palm before mumbling about getting her some water and broth.

"I swear, you have a fine line of suiters ready and willing to take you as a wife when all this is settled." Another cough followed Lillian's comment, as it aggravated Rhea's system to hear that her closest allies and their actions were confused with being in love.

"In times of hardships...All this and that, can you help me sit up?" She held a hand up and Osmin managed to pull her up just a bit to sit against the bed's crapy post. But it was enough to feel her pillows being fluffed.

"Are you playing my Healer now, Lil?"

"There isn't much to play with, the wound will not heal on its own. Not without a fine line of work and practice with a cane."

"A cane?" That mere mention of the device suggested just how unable she would be to be able to support herself. However, in seeing Osmin return from the other side of the tent, he held in triumph a beautifully carved cane. "Finished just this morning, Nelo has a bit of a creative thumb." The mention of Nelo, the sweet pup, had caused Rhea to smile to herself.

"I'll truly need it?" Lillian looked each and every way before going about answering the question without a single word. Upon offering the same wound that she received from Dreven, that it was still bleeding—Gushing even, without the given cloth binding it.

"We're running low on supplies as is, everything else has healed." She nodded, trying to keep herself in a positive mindset, but how was she meant to live any sort of life now with this?

Before, it was just her wrist, but even now it was secured tightly around her freshly bound waist—As though it was attached, as though it was now a normal look and motion for her.

"How long have I been asleep?"
"A week. There are preparations to leave, but I am not too familiar with the established packs as I once was." Trying to get a better seat up, she pushed herself up and gritted her teeth as she allowed an order to fall from her lips.

"W-what?" Lillian gasped and Rhea nodded in confirmation. "Whatever your brother was searching for, it needs to stay hidden. It needs to be erased." Part of her wanted to know what either Lillian or Osmin thought of the situation, but clearly, there wasn't any argument between them.

And before long, Rolf had appeared with a large platter and trailed by another few males, given to how they sounded just outside the flap. "Alright, I've got a large bowl of broth. The makings of that fancy tea. Fresh water and some bread, though Gilroy snagged a bite." He shared, earning himself a slap that shook the silverware around.

Which caught Lillian's attention.

"Taking claim to the King's quarters already?" Osmin questioned and the males sucked in a breath at the mere thought of ransacking anything that was owned by the bastard. "Maybe, and besides...The rest were burned or in use." It was a fine enough reason for them to start setting up Rhea and her given feast.

The best part of it all, there were actual chunks of meat within the broth—Alongside some vegetables that she nearly choked on.

It had been so bland and bitter the last few weeks, even some days in the Red Moon pack she was lazy and so used to the lifestyle of conserving and stretching out one food item as far as she could.

There was no unbinding that from her head, not when she knew what starvation felt like. That she managed to fuel herself on just a warm bowl of broth and unseasoned was all she had in her stomach and all she had to look forward to, but it never amounted to what she needed to tackle the long hours that were usually ahead of her.

"Just glad you're getting your color back, Rhea. Scared us for a bit." Dane's admission suggested that there was certainly more to her health than Lillian was sharing, but one falsehood was telling the actual patent before others. And in this defining moment, Rhea actually appreciated that rule.

"Maybe when I get the all-clear, you all can help me learn how to walk again." The suggestion she made was paired with a smile, one that none of the males could even think to let her down.

"You've got it, ma'am." Gilroy teased, but all four of them had laid a polite kiss on her hand before leaving the tent. Or in Dane's case, a rushed one to her temple.
"Rest well." He mumbled before setting off to get whatever he and the rest needed to get done.

"They've managed to fit into their positions with ease, they're organizing the humans together and banding to make this camp actually livable," Osmin explained, but Rhea withheld her next bite of bread in hearing an update of the outside world. "What do you mean 'their positions'?" Her question caused Lillian to drift off back to her task of measuring out the blue liquid, one Rhea was very familiar with in terms of pain relief.

"Those males have upped their rank all on their own, and started using the leftover tents to house a few dozen males at a time. They work very efficiently, I have to admit."

"But the plan is to still leave?" Lillian chuckled at Rhea's question as she came forward and did what any Healer would do when dealing with a pup and a fowl-tasting tonic. She tipped her chin up and held the small muscle to numb her reflexes and allow the liquid to be swallowed with ease.

Or in this case, it was bitter and acidic. "That was awful!" She coughed, though tried her best not to cough any of it up, knowing it was best to keep it in her system.

"Healer healing a Healer is no use, you know all the tricks."

"Not all, but some. Now tell me, what's the plan to leave?"
"There is no leaving, you can barely get out of bed, let alone walk without a cane. And besides, where are we going to transport so many males—Wolf and human alike—back to civilization without so much as a red flag to the kingdom and the king?" That was true, but Rhea thought it was more or less manageable. And she smiled to herself and tinker back her head.

"Well, it isn't very realistic for all of you to return home with me, is it?"

"Y-you have a home?" Osmin bustled, remembering kindly to the sorry excuse of a farmhouse he had found her and the males hiding in.
But she laughed once more.

"Sort of. I used to live in Red Moon pack, remember? I have a small one-room shack, not that it's much to talk about. But the property, that is worth mentioning, isn't it?" For Lillian, it was a myth to hear about a woman unmarried and having land, but Rhea wasn't all too offended by that sense.

"My pack's Alpha claimed that taxes would rise and my position as head Healer wouldn't offer enough funds to pay for the land. But the land holds riches, I swear it, with enough work, we can create a neighborhood, farming land, what is here just move it there." Osmin licked his lips at the temptation before turning to his female. "And this pack, it's safe?"
"That is what I'm not sure of...I ran when Enforcers were starting to visit more frequently...I was attacked by a Rogue and realized that the King was visiting my pack. Fear got the best of me and I ran. If I recall, the property would be up for auction if no family member of mine cannot claim it within a year." The two started nodding to one another, clearly, they were already starting to build up their life together in Red Moon.

"And yourself?"

"Oh, I'll be taking my shack and position back easily." Rhea cooed as she took another long sip of her tea. It was certainly presumptuous of her to figure that Stephen would still be interested. Even if she was like this.

"Once I heal up a bit, a set of us can head over and see...How far is Red Moon from here?" Osmin shouted that he would go and fetch the countries' map while Lillian took the first chance to sit on the bedside.

"I thought he was never going to leave your bedside, goddess...He's been driving us all up the wall." Lillian's admission to what happened while Rhea was under wasn't entirely needed, as it only brought a tinge of sadness for her to feel guilty about.

"And my males?"

"They've done their work and getting the humans settled. Feels as if they were more trusting of my abilities than Osmin himself."

"He loves you. And besides, now the two of you can be together."

"Yes, an outcasted witch and outlaw Enforcer. What sort of life will that be, Rhea? We're talking about raiding your entire property as if it can house this entire camp." The only response she had gotten was a smile that Rhea was hiding behind her cup. Not wanting to treat the situation without some type of caution.

"Nobody here isn't used to hard labor, and the pack would certainly help. And besides, I believe my infirmary has a job opening if you're interested." Lillian's excitement had blossomed within the instant, but Rhea had taken her hand and offered for her to ease.

"I am speaking into the future, we still need to convince the better part of this pack to get together and travel. And that is if Alpha Stephan is interested in housing so many new pack members. It would be a strain on the resources." Rhea admitted, but Osmin came in—Completely out of breath and with a smile on his face—As he said: "More pack members means more incomes and more cycling. We build and farm, we're making do with what we're using...Can you show me where you lived?" Rhea tried to itch her way forward, but Lillian had cleared the food for a moment considering it was nearly finished and the small nibbles could be eaten on the side of their conversation.

"I live on the outskirts of the packs, so we wouldn't be making too much of a crowd or traffic. I own a majority of this stream before it's uncharted territory. This chunk is mine. Besides the farmlands, I believe I own the most and use the least." Osmin had questioned the reason why, and so she rose up her hand without much of a comment.

Though it did earn him a faithful whack from Lillian.

"So what do I tell those outside?" He questioned, and Rhea shook her head. "I'll speak with them. It'll be easier hearing all this from me." He supposed because of her human status that it would prove to be easy to resonate with the rest of her kind, as well as help the wolves—Considering she offered more than he could at this point in time.

Now Rhea had something to think about, but it came with needing to practice how to walk with that damnable cane first, before she spoke out to the pack.
One that was waiting desperately for an answer.

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Date: 05/28/23

Time: 12:05

Words: 2615

Author's Note:

Rhea has survived! But at what cost?