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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/grierks on 2024-10-16 23:49:21+00:00.

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Leaf woke to the sound of movement.

It was a subtle noise - barely a shift to those of average hearing - but with his recently heightened senses he could hear… feel the suddenness of it. He faced the wall, but again his newfound sensitivities could only detect one other person in the room with him. 

He turned to see Helbram shifting so that he was sitting on his bed. His head rested in his hands, and the heave of his back revealed the singular long breath that he took. He released it, letting it grow into a prolonged sigh before dropping his hands and looking up.

“Morning,” Helbram said, the smile on his lips barely touching his eyes.

Leaf sat up and peered at his companion, “Is everything alright?”

Helbram stood up and walked to the bureau between their beds, his gaze directed out past the window as he picked up the elongated bundle that sat on top of the drawers. He weighed the package in his hands, his face distant while he was no doubt searching for the right words to speak.

“I do not know,” he finally said, “but for the time being I have nothing to do but to press on,” he tapped the bundle against his knuckle, “Besides, I would not want to spoil the present.”

He smiled again, his expression brighter as the topic shifted. His pace was quick as he walked towards the door, but Leaf spoke just before he made it full out of the room.

“We can talk about it, Helbram.” 

His friend placed a hand on the doorway as he stopped.

“You’ve bled your heart to us already and we to you. If something is wrong, tell us.”

“It was just a simple nightmare,” Helbram said, “I shall be fine.”

The tremble in his fingers told Leaf that wasn’t true.

Before he could say anymore, Helbram left the room. The Awoken stood up to follow, but stopped as he recalled his own tight lipped position. With a sigh he stepped back and walked towards the window, rubbing his face as he let a slow groan slip through his teeth.

“Practice what you say, you bloody fool…” Leaf muttered to himself. Resting his hands against the bureau, he gazed out of the room’s window. Snow drifted gently towards the ground, blanketing the trees of the forest in whites soft enough to be mistaken for cotton. He was thankful for the sight, for the brief respite that it granted his thoughts as he embraced the wonder of fresh snowfall.

Until he saw his eyes.

He leaned forward, bringing his reflection in the window closer as his pupils constricted, bringing the color of his irises further into focus. Where once was a solid dark green color were now specks of red. Alarm flared in his mind at the possibility of disease, but as he peered at the newly formed color he realized that it was the same bright red as his Ether. For a while he remained still, monitoring his eyes to see if the red started to spread any further. When he saw that it didn’t, he stepped back.

Leaf closed his eyes and sat back down on his bed.

If he continued to use Ether, would his eyes fully shift?

My sweet boy, your eyes are perfect just the way they are. They remind me of evergreens - stubborn things, resolute… strong.

Should he continue to walk down the path of an Awoken… to embrace his blood, what else about him would change?

How much further away from them would he be?

He grit his teeth and laid back, covering his eyes with his arm.

“Godsdammit all…”

___

Helbram’s mind was a blur as he made his way out of The Tree’s Root. He tried not to focus on the nightmare, on the screams that he could still hear at the back of his mind, but he was failing. Any thoughts he could have had were smothered as the roar of that formless beast scratched through all else.

“Morning Helbram.”

He did not return Pius’s greeting amidst his distractions, and from the corner of his eye could see both confusion and concern flash over the tavernkeep’s face while he made his way outside. His feet continued to carry him until he found himself standing near the stables. Taking in a deep breath, he left himself sag against the building’s wall.

“Just a nightmare…”

A weak comfort, one that failed to quell the beat of his heart against his chest. It was not the first time that he’d had such a dream, and the pit of his stomach started to sink the more that he knew it would not be the last, either. Its presence was scarce for a while, only leaving the faintest touch against the dream that used to torment him, one that he’d somehow managed to turn into a boon of prolonged self reflection. This… this was different. There would be no productivity to gain from this, only a reminder. An echo of a memory that refused to be forgotten.

Refused to be forgiven.

“Helbram?”

He righted himself at the sound of Aria’s voice and turned around, seeing the girl standing in the street, staring at him with a mix of concern and confusion. Though she was normally unaffected by the cold, she was dressed in a thick overcoat that was two sizes too big for her, making her already small face feel lost amongst the fur and cloth bundled around her tiny frame. It was a sight that always brought a smile to his face, and this time it was no different.

“Are you ok?” she asked.

“Just resting the leg a bit,” he said as he tapped the wall with the side of his foot, “it appears to have delayed its awakening a bit this morning,” he crossed his arms, “Now what are you doing up so early?”

Aria shrank further into her coat and her eyes drifted towards the stables. Upon realizing what was most likely within them, Helbram snorted.

“Excited to see the cubs, are we?”

She nodded.

“Understandable, but you should not step out on your own like this. You are bound to give Jahora a heart attack if she were to wake up with you gone.”

“She was sleeping so peacefully… I didn’t want to disturb her.”

Helbram walked up and ruffled her hair, “An hour or two of slumber is well worth the exchange of knowing that you are safe,” he put a hand on her back and guided her towards the stables, “and happy, let us go say good morning, shall we?”

Aria’s steps quickened at Helbram’s suggestion, walking at a pace that teetered on the edge of running as she made her way to the stables. She spun around as she got to the stable’s entrance, bouncing in anticipation as he placed his hands on the door and pushed them open.

Helbram could only chuckle at the sight that awaited him.

Bessie slept in a sitting position towards the back of the stables, a pile of wolves gathered around her. Geroth and Romina matched the Auroc in size, but curled into more compact shapes against Bessie’s bulky frame. The cubs slept atop the bovine, finding their resting spots atop her thick-furred head as the pack and their unusual bedfellow appeared to breathe in unison. If Bessie had any fear of the wolves, it was either overpowered by the need for sleep or something that she did not feel at all. Given her uncaring expression as her beady eyes blinked open, Helbram suspected it was the latter.

Aria peered in after him, a smile spreading across her face as she saw the bundle of mixed furs in the corner. She glanced at Helbram, who tilted his head forward in approval. The girl ran up to Bessie and rubbed the Auroc behind her horn, eliciting a satisfied grunt from the beast of burden while she looked at the two cubs in curiosity. She eventually poked the white cub, who responded by yawning and rolling over on her back, an action that Aria took as an invitation to rub her belly. The cub’s eyes fluttered open at the act, but she quickly drifted back to sleep under the girl’s pets, of which she appeared to have an infinite supply of.

Helbram smiled and left Aria to her bliss while he fetched two apples from the wagon. While he inspected them for any signs of spoiling, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and found Merida walking down the alleyway, a surprised look on her face.

“And here I thought myself to be an early riser,” the Druid said.

“Normally you would be correct,” Helbram responded,  “But… circumstance led to an preemptive start to this morning,” he tilted his head towards the stables, “It was probably for the best, as a certain someone would have been even earlier than both of us, otherwise.”

Merida smirked as she looked into the stables, “Indeed, and it looks like Geroth and Romina are treating Bessie well.”

“Quite, though from what I can tell she is the one granting them comfort.”

The Druid tapped her chin, “You’re right, though that is not surprising. Even for an Auroc she has quite the comforting nature.”

“Is that so? I am not surprised, but may I ask how you know? Intuition or is it part of your Druid nature?”

“A mix of both. While most animals are not as easily understood as Enlightened Beasts it is possible to establish some form of communication with the correct application of Aether. We are all linked to the Cycle, after all, and it is through that primal connection that speaking with them is possible,” she pressed her lips thin, “I may have taken the initiative last night to question her about her owners.”

“Companions,” Helbram corrected, “Given our travels I would say Bessie has done as much as any of us.”

Merida smiled, “She appears to be of a similar mind, but it is good to hear that you feel the same.”

The cubs woke from their slumber and, upon seeing Aria, hopped off of Bessie and ran around her legs.

Helbram c…

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