Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 116
116
"Kiana!"
She jumped at the sound of her own name (all these 'jumps' couldn't possibly be good for her heart) and looked around.
Mother was dabbing an alcohol-soaked ball of cotton against the forehead of a wincing Wolf with one hand while motioning her over with the other. "Kiana! Come here for a second."
Kiana wiped the tears from her eyes and the wrinkles from her dress, gave herself a light double-slap on the cheeks and took a deep breath before going over. "Yes, Mother?"
"I need you to - What happened to your hand?"
"My h-" Kiana looked down and saw a long, shallow scratch along the back of her hand. It was funny, actually. Only now that it had been pointed out to her did it begin to hurt.
"Did something happen?"
Kiana briefly thought of telling her some cock-and-bull, but what would be the point? "A Wolf grabbed me."
"He attacked you?"
"No..." Kiana said thoughtfully. "I don't think he actually meant to scratch me. I think he was just..."
"Just what?"
Kiana looked back at the small group of Wolves huddled around the fire. The grey one had calmed down somewhat, and was sitting with his head hanging down just above his knees, his face buried in his hands. One of the Wolves who had restrained him before was now patting him on the back, whispering something in the dull, flickering light.
"I think he's just sad..."
Mother sighed. "Well, I was going to ask you for a favour, but if the Wolves are getting rowdy, then -"
"No, I can do it!" Kiana said, rushing over to her Mother's side. She couldn't say exactly why, but she suddenly felt that she needed to help in any way. She knew it was impossible, but she wanted to make things right. Even if it was only a little bit, even if it was only for a single Wolf, that still meant something, didn't it? Any kind of difference, even if tiny, was still worth making.
Hope is something that grows stronger and stronger the more hearts it touches. It's like a fire that needs no fuel to burn, only itself. The hope of one heart touches the hope of another, and so it grows stronger.
Mother looked her up and down, her eye tarrying for quite a while on the scratch across her hand. "I don't know, Kiana. Maybe I should ask one of the menfolk to -"
Kiana stamped her foot. "Mother, please. I want to help. I need to help."
Mother pursed her lips and sighed through her nose, but in the end, she begrudgingly agreed. "Fine. If you really 'need' to help so badly, you can start by fetching more blankets. There should still be some in the supply tents, but if there aren't, just borrow some from the sleeping tents. It's not like any Foxes will be occupying those tonight, so grab as many as you can carry."
"Got it."
"And if you see any able-bodied Wolves around, preferably of the non-crazy variety, tell them to - Will you stop fidgeting like that!?" she snapped at her patient. "Good gods you're like some angsty pup!" She turned back to Kiana, still dabbing at the unfortunate Wolf's head. "Tell them to make themselves useful and chop some firewood. We absolutely cannot afford to run out."
"Yes, Mother. Thank you."
She finished up, stuffed the cotton back into her bag (the Wolf let out a palpable sigh of relief at this) and closed the snaps. "I have to get back to the medical tent to check up on Hezzi, as well as the other fifty Wolves crammed in there. I'm going to need all the help I can get, so you'd better be quick with those blankets."
"Yes, Mother. Do you, um..." She knew that asking this wouldn't do any good, but she just had to know. "Do you know if... I mean, is Hezzi... Is he doing okay?"
Mother sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Kiana wondered if she had ever seen her looking so dishevelled. "Layla checked up on him a few minutes ago."
"And?"
"And there's no change."
"No change? Is that bad?"
"It's no change. It's neither good nor bad, and that's about as much as we can hope for right now."
"Oh..."
"Look, Kiana," Mother put a hand on her shoulder. "I know it's tough, but right now all we can do is try our hardest to try our best. For Hezzi and for everyone else who needs us, we have to be strong."
"I understand."
"Good. Now go out there and try your hardest to try your best. Just focus on that, and you'll be fine. You'll make a difference, and sometimes that's all you need to keep on going."
"Thank you, Mother. I will." Kiana gave her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be right back."
And with that, their embrace ended. Bethany went off in the direction of the medical tent, and Kiana couldn't help but stare after her for a few moments, knowing that, with her, she wouldn't even need to 'try her hardest to try her best'. She'd just do it, just like she did everything, and for that, Kiana truly admired her.
She stepped outside the glowing of pool of light surrounding the camp fire, careful not to tread on any Wolven tails, and set off in the direction of the supply tents, not knowing that all the horrors she had been through, all the fear, the pain, the death, would pale in comparison to what this night still had in store for her, not knowing that there was a single, blood red eye stalking her from the shadows between the tents.
Not knowing that she had told her mother the biggest lie of her life by telling her she would be right back.
There's a lot I want to say about these scenes with Kiana, but I'll save it for when they're completely done. I don't want to accidentally spoil anything by talking about the original version just yet.
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