[ P ] Gone.

She hadn't been able to do anything for him. There was no medicine—nothing that the apothecaries, physicians, or maesters had conjured up in their hallowed halls. No proverbs, no prayers, no texts, no guidance. At least when he had been burned—which had been a pain far more excrutiating than he had ever endured before—there had been moments of reprieve. More than that, there had been certainty. Florence had looked at him with the calm patience of a student that knew every answer to the questions on the test. Maybe it would take some time, but there were no surprises.

But this? It was a different kind of agony, the not knowing. He was in no pain save for the uncomfortable tug within his sinuses whenever the blood started to flow... but his heart ached with the lack of answers.

And the worst part was that it had taken him away from home. First he had been gone for nearly a season and a half due to the heat. His burns had been particularly horrible, life threatening even, and all because he had refused to leave the water. Desperate for fish to keep their finances secure, Caspian had been reluctant to leave. In the end, his friends from the docks had forced him to join the throng of destitutes and sick. Caspian's sister, on the contrary, had found safer pursuits in her fur trading.

She'd kept the ship running in his absence and for that, Caspian was thankful... and internally ashamed. Due to her emotionless nature, he had secretly feared that she would be unfit to care for mother. Sensitive as their dam was, Black might not be receptive to her needs. If blunt enough, she could even push their dear mum off the edge. Or at least that was what he had worried over.

When he had come home at last, he had been pleased to see everything in order. Mum was asleep as usual, but nothing was in disarray. This display of competence had convinced him that it was safe to return to Melrose in seek of aid for his new "affliction".

But as he returned today, he noticed that something was different. The townsfolk of Aberdeen seemed to avoid looking at him. They scurried out of his way, and when he caught their glances, their expressions seemed to well with pity—all before they tore their gazes away and hurried back to their errands. Caspian gave up trying to call out to his fellow fishermen. He could only hear "you should just go home" so many times before he was nearly sprinting to their little seaside den on the west side of the beach.

...

"Black?" Caspian called, heart already hammering and adrenaline coursing in his blood. She wasn't in the den—but neither was their mother. "Black!? Mom??" He yelled, alarm bells ringing in his ears.


@Black

Cordelia

“Cory…no stam… might die. So hungry,” huffing out between pants as they flopped on the ground, head lulling side to side with their chin kissing the terrain exhausted. Splayed like a rug. For being the one trained as a soldier, being shoved into a jail cell for what felt like multiple lifetimes really ruined any fitness one had achieved prior. Muscles aching with fatigue and tightness while their body had lost not only muscle mass but fat to put into energy reserves. This sprint felt like a marathon they never trained for.

Their complaints would fall on no ears whatsoever as they saw their brother vanish from sight, never having been quite to pace with him the whole time. There was no sense of urgency in their bones and though they had wanted to ask what the emergency was, no words had been spoken the whole time they chased his tail, feeding purely off the palpable stress and adrenaline that fueled the other so suddenly. Their mind had been absent from the conversations at the docks and markets, too focused on finding a vendor that was selling some chicken eggs or searching for the nearest gull nest to ever hear any of the beckons to return home by the local familiar faces. The few conversations they did have were mostly ones showing joy in seeing their return, not used to the happy go lucky face of their loud mouthed citizen being absent for long. Some older fishermen just wanted to chat an ear off while even that was barely heard over their own stomach growling, having simply nodded their head a million times till all rocks were investigated.

Laying there, they felt like getting up was never going to be possible again until distressed calls from Caspian shot them right back to their paws, nearly tripping on themselves as their whole body went into alert. A burst of energy allowed them to move with the same urgency as that voice, quickly cutting off distance til they made it to the den entrance, breathing heavily from a sputtering uncertainty rather than their fatigue now.

“Caspy?” they called gently, slowing down as they came upon his back. Stalking forward cautiously till his butt was nearly in their face. It all started to set in what the emergency was, inching closer and closer till their side brushed against their brother’s, glancing around him to see the little hobble empty while expecting a gruesome scene. Even still, a pit set in their stomach, twisting it in knots. Thoughts rushed into their head but rather than dwell on the worst options, they focused on ones that might ease the atmosphere, always one to be carrying a half full glass while he clung to one half empty. “Shhhhh. Maybe Blackie took Mum to get some fresh air?” they offered, brushing their nose into his shoulder in aims to flush away his tension. They wouldn’t put it past their sister to try, even if she had to carry mom on her back to do so. At least, that was their hope.

code & art by claerie
@Caspian @Black