Ralph opened his eyes.
There was a wooden ceiling above him and he frowned, where was he? He sat up abruptly "Berry-!" Throwing the blanket off of him, Ralph made a mad dash out of his room and into the living room, where he was stopped by his brother Jack "Woah, easy! Where are you going?" "Get out of the way Jack!" Ralph growled, he didn't have time to talk to his brother. He needed to make sure Berry was okay! "Ralph calm down." Jack held him in place by his shoulders. "No! I can't! My friend's been hurt! I need to make sure she's okay!" Ralph replied loudly. "Would you two be quiet!?" A harsh tone came from the backroom that Ralph had never been in before. There at the door stood Rain, he was glaring in their direction. "No! I need to get back to Berry! She was attacked!" Ralph shouted as he pulled out of his brother's grasp and hurried over to Rain's side, grabbing onto his white coat "Please, we have to help her!" Tears began to form in his eyes as he had no idea how long he was out for or how he even got back. Rain pried Ralph's tight grasp off of his coat, "She'll be fine if you would just shut up and let her rest!" His voice was stern and shook the two boys to their core. "Let her rest...?" Ralph asked meekly, looking up at Rain with hope. "She was wounded pretty badly, if it wasn't for your annoying screaming she probably would have died at the springs." Relief flooded through Ralph's entire body as he hugged Rain tightly, thanking him over and over again. Rain rolled his eyes and just shoved the kid off of him, "Now be quiet." Ralph backed up with a giant smile, nodding his head. He was overjoyed that they managed to get to her in time! Hachi came from one of the side rooms and walked over to Ralph, tugging at his shoulder to move him back away from Rain's work area and to also speak with him about the time that he had been gone. Jack sat back down in his seat and took a drink of his tea as Mimi walked over, "I'm guessing from all the loud shouting that Ralph woke in a panic?" Jack stared at his drink for a few seconds before he turned his gaze to her, "I have never seen Ralph so concerned about someone before." "Really?" Mimi asked him as she took a seat next to him, taking a bite of the eggs that was made for Jack. "Yeah. He's never showed that before, not even to me. She must have done something that just triggered the worry for her." Jack rubbed his face in a tired manner. He didn't know what to think. His brain had yet to clear itself of all this crazy fog and constant fear of never being able to return home. It made him super tired. It made thinking any clear thought impossible. Jack set his drink down and excused himself, wandering outside for some fresh air. Maybe he was getting sick? Everytime food is sat down in front of him, Jack starts to feel nauseous. Jack wandered a few steps away from the cabin and over to a nearby tree where he proceeded to upchuck his breakfast. Or was it dinner from last night? He couldn't keep track of what meals him ate and what came up. He took a few steps away and sat down beside a different tree, staring up at the sky. Why? Why did he feel this way? It was a mix of feelings he only felt once in his life before. Jack took in a sharp breath at the stinging memories. It hurt. It hurt like he was actually there, living through that pain again. He tried to take a deep breath but it was like a sudden weight had been laid down on his chest. No, not again! His eyes widen as he grasped at the collar of his shirt, pulling it away from his throat as if the piece of clothing was choking him. His body began to fell hot as he yanked hard at the collar of his shirt. He leaned forward and smashed the back of his head against the hard bark of the tree, letting out a small cry in pain before doubling over, gasping out for the sweet air that suddenly filled his lungs. It had been years since Jack had a panic attack. "Jack?" A gentle voice called to him. But he didn't reply. He didn't have the energy, whoever was calling him could wait. A hand touched his back and he bolted upright, turning to the person and snapping harshly, "Don't touch me!" It was Ako. She removed her hand immediately from his back, "Jack, why are you hunched over in the dirt?" The motherly concern in her voice made his ears numb and his stomach twist in knots. "I'm fine, just leave me alone!" His tone bit roughly at her. She frowned slightly "Please tell me what is hurting you? We can fix it." She tried a gentler tone and placed her hand upon his shoulder. "You can't fix it!" He growled, slapping her hand from his shoulder as he stood weakly, "I said don't touch me." Ako backed up at his venomous words, "Jack-?" "Don't, just don't." He was clearly angry about something and she wanted to help him. "I just want to help you." She replied. "I don't need your help!" He snapped again, his pulse was starting to race. The lines between reality and memories were beginning to blur in his mind and he shook his head. He couldn't have another panic attack! Not now! He tried to focus on something else. Ako could see his struggle. "Do you have something you need to talk about?" She watched as his eyes flicked up to hers briefly at her question before back to the ground. "Ako, there you are my Dear." Oidoas' deep tone boomed gently as he walked over to both of them. "I've been looking for you everywhere." Jack stiffened in his place.
"In a minute, I'm just trying to talk with Jack about his day." Ako smiled warmly to Oidoas, wishing he'd walk away. She loved her mate but sometimes he was a little clueless. Oidoas looked over at the young boy, "Good morning Jack, how are you?" Jack turned on his heel, he didn't want to speak to anyone. Ako moved forward to grab at his shoulder, "Jack wait-" "Stop treating me like a child!" He bellowed, turning his head to stared at her, "I'm not your child! Stop acting like you can fix all of our problems you don't nothing about!" And he marched away angrily. Ako bit at her lower lip. His harsh words cut deeper than he knew. Oidoas looked down at his mate and pulled her into a hug, "Don't take what he says to heart, Dear, he's clearly fighting his own demons." "I just want to help him. He seems to be suffering ever since they got here. He's constantly sleeping and barely touches his food and what he does eat is probably thrown up later. I am just worried about him." Ako looked up at her mate, who carefully wiped away her stray tears at the boy's harsh words. "It'll be a lot of work to gain his trust. But don't give up, I am sure he will tell you eventually."

Chimur hummed in the kitchen as he washed the dishes again. He didn't the small chores and actually quite enjoyed the small moment by himself. "Hey, Chimur?" Mimi asked as she brought in the plate that she had finished off. Chimur turned his head and smiled warmly, "Yes Mimi?" "Is it weird that you live in a world with dragons?" She asked as she leaned against a wall. "I mean dragons are probably the coolest thing that I have ever seen!" She smiled as she pulled out one of the gold coins she snagged, "Oh, that reminds me-! Can we go find that green dragon!? I want to thank him for saving my life!" Chimur looked at Mimi, "It's probably not a good idea to go looking for dragons. It's bound to only cause trouble." He took the plate she had set on the counter and began to wash it. "Please! Please please please please please!" She begged him. "I want to thank the dragon! Especially since he had some of his scales removed to pay back for the coins I found! Pleeeeasssee!" Chimur tried to ignore her childlike begging as he finished up with the dishes. Finding out that the green dragon was actually him could cause a lot of problems. "We really should not go searching for-" He paused in his sentence as Mimi was giving him her best puppy dog eyes. He tried to ignore the hot fuzzy feeling in his chest. "Okay fine. But when I say we need to come back, we come back, deal?" Loving her was going to get him into trouble. He just knew it. He held out his hand for her to shake. She took his hand and shook it. Her other hand behind her back where she crossed her fingers. She was going to find that green dragon no matter what.