She waited, silently, fear of his response making it hard to breath; what would he say? Would he forgive her? Could he?! She sat stiff, trying to ignore her own thoughts, which were speeding around in circles, unable to decipher her wild feelings, waiting, not daring to hope. Coal had stopped eating a while ago, and was now simply staring at the cleaned bones, or more likely at empty space, sighing heavily with every breath. Oh Coal... I wish a could help you... SO BADLY! Her heart was breaking, just watching his hardship, eyes once more watering in desperation and anger at her own helplessness.






When the big male finally spoke, his voice was strained, pain and exhaustion evident on his face. His words would have been a relief to hear, had they not been so pained, and immediately followed by the closing of his eyes. Aideen yelped and jumped forwards as he fell, sliding her muzzle along the dirt to catch his head before it struck the frozen ground. Her snout would get pinched, her whole jaw squeezed underneath his heavy mug, but she didn't care.






As she strained to hold him up, tears burned in her eyes and quickly stated running down her cheeks. She lowered him gently, ever so carefully placing his weight in the sparse, frozen grass, her tears dripping down onto his face. <b style="color:#c7470f">"Coal..?" She asked hoarsely, holding back a sob; He's dying, HE'S DYING! No! No he couldn't die, not like this! <b style="color:#c7470f">"Coal please!" She begged, no longer able to contain her sobbing. Her strength was depleted, she was scared and alone, and a wolf was dying before her eyes. Not just any wolf, him! <b style="color:#c7470f">"Coal wake up! Please, please! Don't die, I... I... I can't lose you!" She cried, bending down and nudging him roughly with her muzzle; I won't let you die!






Word count: 310




I'm not stupid <b style="color:#c7470f">”I've got bark!”

She felt him stir, and pulled her snout back, out of his fur, heart leaping in her chest; Not dead! He rolled on the ground to look at her, dark brown eyes only inches from her own, and her breath ceased in her throat, a strange tinkle running over her nose and fur, where his exhaled breath hit her face. It smelled musky over the scent of blood from his meal, strangely appealing... Her ears feel out to the sites, warmth rushing to her face; What am I thinking? What's going... The roar of tangled thoughts in her head suddenly stopped dead, nothing but emptiness in her head, her uproar of feelings fading to the background, leaving only a strange, intoxicating warmth, along with the tightness in her chest and throat.






Then the large man spoke, his deep voice resonating in her body, making her bones feel, weirdly squashy. The meaning of his words took abnormally long to settle in her blank mind, leaving her staring blankly into his, seemingly bottomless bistre eyes; Not going to die... Here with you... Ai... AI! Her ears flicked, once, twice... She blinked at him, slowly understanding the meaning of his speech; He's not gonna die! A small smile made its way onto the lass' face, quivering faintly; Is it really true..?






Coal's move to get up snapped her out of her daze, she quickly slid her flank in to support him, easing his raising to a sit. He seemed to be moving more easily now, much smoother than the pained wamble from before. Aideen briskly swept her eyes over his body, checking for any fresh bleeds, any quivering of limbs... There was no pain to be seen; He really isn't gonna die! Now that I have you here with me... Slowly she trailed her eyes back to his, smiling shyly. Suddenly she felt very self-conscious; He called me Ai... The thought might a strange, tinkling warmth blossom in her chest; I like that...






She stayed close to the man's side, overly aware of the touching of their flanks, her skin burning strangely against his. Their eyes were locked, and while a part of her wanted to look away, bashfully, she also never wanted to lose his eyes. Then he leaned forwards, licking the salt from her fur. A small, surprised sound escaped her; <b style="color:#c7470f">"Oh!" But she kept still, almost frozen under his light touch; his tongue leaving blazing spots on her, already blushing, cheeks. She glanced away, embarrassed up to her ears, but quickly sought his eyes again, there was something about those eyes that made it impossible to look away for long; like they were feeding something, deep within her, that nothing else could.






She felt how his weight grew against her shoulder; Is he passing out again?! A brief fear flashed through her, but then she saw the tiredness in his eyes, even before he commented on it. Of course... Thinking about it, I feel rather tired myself. Suppressing a yawn, she watched him as he slit back to the ground, a mild concern scratching at the back of her mind, the frozen dirt was awfully cold. But Coal had plenty of bulk to sustain the freeze! The thought made her chuckle lowly. Then he asked his question, the tone unable to discern as mockery or fear. It send a small jolt through the young fae, and she froze for a second, closing her eyes.






But then she shook her head, Cobber eyes opening to once again find his; <b style="color:#c7470f">"No." She smiled warmly, lowering herself down next to the sand-pelted lad; <b style="color:#c7470f">"I will never leave you again, Coal." Eyes heavy, she rested her head over the boy's shoulders, enjoying his strong warmth against her, contently drifting off to sleep. Tomorrow they would start their journey, to find a pack where Coal could get properly healed; Secret Woodlands... They're not far from here. That was her last thought as she fell, into a heavy, dreamless sleep, filled only by the warmth of the man beside her.






Word count: 674




I'm not stupid <b style="color:#c7470f">”I've got bark!”