“Cil is still living. Cil, meet Rhys,” Sely said.
Rhys felt a presence shift onto the bed. He couldn’t tell how big what joined him was, but suddenly a face was right in front of his. She didn’t say a word. In fact, all this time, Rhys hadn’t heard her make a single sound.
“The reason she is like that,” Sely said, stepping closer, “is because she’s at a stage where she needs to be in good health to grow. She still has some months... years left, I think. So until then, she’ll have very few words and her growth will be slow. But I think she’s close to ten—or more.” Sely offered the girl a portion of liquid from a cup, then turned to help Rhys adjust into a better sitting posture.
“Drink, it will give you strength,” Sely said.
'How long have I been out? Ahh, damn... I should have just walked away,' Rhys thought, watching Sely climb under the blanket.
“Doesn’t taste bad, huh?” Sely murmured, settling in.
'Cil seems to like Sely,' Rhys thought, closing his eyes. Not that he was actually going to sleep—he just couldn’t see very well yet, and the blurry vision was frustrating.
He was the last to drift off, but the first to wake. This time, his hand moved fully.
'Uhh, I can move. But let me stay here before I cause any more problems,' Rhys thought, glancing to his side. Cil had planted herself right between him and Sely, her legs draped over Sely while her hand rested closest to him.
After a few more hours—long enough for the morning sun to finally break through—Rhys woke Sely. Cil, on the other hand, was sleeping as if the night had just begun.
“Good morning,” Rhys said, looking over at Sely.
“You can talk now,” Sely replied, still buried in the blanket. “Morning to you, too,” she added with a stretch.
“I’m hungry.”
Sely forced herself up. “I’m not allowed to cook—they don’t trust me that much, I think. So they told me to talk to them when needed. I think it’s time they know you’re awake.”
“Have you seen the area?” Rhys asked as she got out of bed.
“Yes, and there is a lot of work to do. But you rest; we’ll handle it later. Let me go tell Lycan and Vaikor. Mikok will probably show up, too,” Sely said before slipping out.
“How good it must be to be young,” Rhys muttered to Cil.
Lycan and Vaikor arrived first.
“How are you feeling?” Lycan asked.
“Fine. Not the first time. Hurting, but fine,” Rhys replied, looking at the two alphas.
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“And hungry,” Vaikor added. “Sely said you needed something to eat.”
“Ohh, yes. Just that I don’t think I can move very far right now. I can still feel some pain—old wounds, I guess.”
“You should be walking by tomorrow, and then we can show you the village,” Lycan said.
“Do you have a way of knowing where water can be found? Underground water?”
“No. We have been on this side for most of our lives. The thing we know the most is...”
“Let’s not talk about that right now,” Vaikor interrupted, cutting Lycan off. “Let him eat and rest today, and then tomorrow we will do all we can.”
Just then, two female alphas came in—or rather, the alphas’ wives. Lycan and Vaikor didn’t look that old, but their wives gave Rhys a clearer picture of their true age.
“These are our wives,” Vaikor said as the women placed bowls on the ground. “Unfortunately, we can’t tell you their names; only they can do that.”
“Sely told us how much you don’t like meat,” Vaikor added.
“Ohh, no...”
“We already went over this when coming from the neutral city,” Lycan said, cutting Rhys off this time.
Rhys shifted his body, pulling himself upright. “Thank you.”
The alphas and their wives left immediately after.
“Hey, Cil, come eat,” Rhys said, gently shaking the little girl awake.
They chatted as they ate, and things felt a little better, though Rhys still couldn’t walk far or take many steps.
“Where do you bathe?” Rhys asked.
“Ohh, we usually fetch water. But then again, the wives of the alphas are respected and given some privileges here and there,” Sely said.
“So you don’t always fetch water?”
“Yes,” Sely said, leaning back and leaving Cil alone with the plate.
“How is it, though? The united village?” Rhys asked.
“They came to ask about the well, but I told them it was better if they waited for you to wake up,” Sely started. “The village itself is far from good, not terrible, but what you’d expect this far in.”
“Ha...”
“Ohh, and Mikok has been passing through. He should be coming by soon,” Sely added, cutting Rhys off.
“I don’t think I can walk far, and... well, I haven’t seen a wheelchair around here yet,” Rhys said.
“True, but they seem to have talked to Mikok about the Ravari village. He seems to have seen a thing or two—I saw them digging,” Sely said.
“I....”
“Sely!” a voice called from outside.
“Mikok, come in! Rhys is awake,” Sely replied.
Mikok walked in, smiling the moment he saw Rhys.
“Mikok, you seem better than the last time I saw you,” Rhys said.
“So do you.”
“Come closer. Why the distance?”
“Respect is what I give to the person who saved me,” Mikok replied, stepping further into the room. He didn’t sit right next to Rhys, but he came close enough.
“I thank you for what you did. Your presence here must have helped,” Rhys said.
“Ohh, it was nothing much. Not compared to what you did.”
“What I did? Aren’t we equal now?”
“We will never be equal. What you did is more than anything anyone has ever done,” Mikok insisted.
“You look older than me,” Rhys noted. “How old are you?”
“Oh, I’m... in your years, seventeen.”
“Most people ask, ‘What about you?’”
“What about you?” Mikok echoed.
“I think I’m nineteen... or eighteen, or twenty?” Rhys offered.
“Then you are older than me,” Mikok said.
“Ahh, yes, I am. But... are you married?”
“Rhys...” Sely warned softly.
“It’s fine,” Mikok smiled. “No, I’m actually not married. My family was all sisters—they are married, so I live alone.”
“Same as me. I’m not married,” Rhys said.
“I went to the Ravari village,” Mikok continued. “The canids there... it’s a good place. Big, good place.”
“Big?”
“Yes. They even have a wall—a big one, with a gate.”
“Is that so? Is your family here?”
“Yes. They actually wanted to talk to you, but...”
“The other canids? It’s fine,” Rhys said, looking at Mikok. “Then we have a lot of work to do. Can you do something for me?”
“What?” Mikok asked.
“I need to talk to the Alphas before I sleep.”
Mikok stood up immediately and left to fetch them.