| |
Long minutes passed without any sign of Cull growing worse. It was hard to know what more he could do than staying by Cull’s side, stroking his fur and hoping. Cull had stopped giving out pained whines now, which was something. He drank down the broth eagerly enough, and Parton hoped that would give him strength. But soon after he'd finished, his body started jerking and convulsing.
"Cull!" Parton was on his knees beside Cull in an instant, reaching out to try and still his huge body, terrified of what this might mean. Had one of the bolts pierced some vital organ and let whatever it contained leak into the blood to poison Cull from the inside?
But then one of his back legs jerked so violently that it seemed to twist around in its joint, and Parton understood. They had been like this for at least an hour, and now the sun was rising. A great foreleg spasmed and shrank upwards. His body twitched round onto his back and his teeth, locked in a grimace, seemed significantly less sharp than they'd been moments before.
"Back away," Parton told Lucion, who'd been trying to hold the bandage against Cull's side despite the unpredictable movements. Even now, the bandages around Cull's shoulder were becoming looser. Parton hoped desperately that this wasn't tearing the wounds open again, making the injuries worse from the convulsions.
"What's happening?" Lucion asked.
Parton didn't know how to explain, except by waiting. He understood why Cull had never let him see this. The noise was somehow worse than the sight, with the cracks as bones reshaped themselves and a horrific squelching noise as flesh twisted into new positions. Fur seemed to melt away, pulled into flesh, and soon the smooth brown skin showed through, marked by the dried blood from his wounds.
After a few minutes, Cull lay on his back, naked and human once again, breathing as hard as if he'd just run a race.
"What the..." Lucion murmured, but Parton was quick to return to Cull's side, pulling away the cloths they'd used as bandages, checking to see how bad the injuries were.
But he frowned at what he saw. The flesh was knitting together, the wounds closing. There were red marks that showed where the bolts had gone in, but far smaller than they'd been before. Had the process of shrinking from his larger beast form somehow shrunk the injuries as well?
Cull caught hold of Parton's wrist to stop him prodding at the shoulder wound.
"I'll be fine," he said. "My body knows what shape it ought to be, and the transformation brings me back to that. A few more changes and the wounds will be gone completely."
The relief of hearing such a promise washed over Parton. Tears filled his eyes, and he started sobbing uncontrollably, all the emotions he'd felt the night before pouring out of him. Cull was safe and alive, and he would stay that way.
Lucion took a step forward, but Cull flashed a glare in his direction. He pushed himself to a sitting position and put his arms around Parton, pulling him into a tight embrace. Parton would put money on the fact that Cull was still glaring at Lucion behind his back, but right now he couldn't care about that. Cull was safe, and that was all that mattered.
\*\*\*
A short while later, they had all had a chance to clean up, and Parton had dumped the oiled cloth outside to deal with later. He wore a clean shirt as he sorted breakfast for the three of them. Cull had retrieved his clothes from the forest and now sat on his bed, looking a little paler than his usual warm brown, but well and whole. Lucion stood by the door, looking at the two of them.
"This isn't what I expected," Lucion said. "I didn't know."
"I told them," Parton said. "I told Elder Mist and Ivy about Cull that he wasn't a monster. No one listened. Your father wouldn't let anyone listen."
"I'm sorry," Lucion said again to Cull.
Cull glared at him. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to find Parton. When I came home and heard all those stories, I thought he must be in trouble. I came out here expecting to find him, well, trying to scrape out a living in the forest." He gave a wry grin at the rough cabin. "But I expected to find him alone."
"He's not alone. He has me, and he doesn't need you."
"I am allowed to speak for myself," Parton pointed out. "I am glad to see you, Lucion, despite last night."
Cull responded by glaring once again at Lucion. It was understandable that he'd be upset, given that he'd been shot, so Parton didn't try and rebuke him for his anger or convince him to let it go.
"I missed you," Lucion said.
Parton thought of those days after Lucion had gone, when he'd felt like a piece of his life was missing because he was so used to doing everything side-by-side. He thought of those nights full of guilt when he'd felt like it was his fault Lucion had gone. If he'd discouraged the first kiss, if he'd paid attention for the sounds of footsteps, if he'd done something differently or better, perhaps Lucion would still be at home, not sent off to exile in some distant school. The words, "I missed you too," seemed inadequate to sum up how significant a piece of Parton's life had been torn away by their forced parting, but he said them anyway.
"Are you finished with your schooling?" Parton asked.
"For now. I will be returning to Solar, and I wanted to ask you to come with me."
Cull got to his feet so quickly that it made Parton jump. Parton was instantly concerned, worried that there was something wrong; Lucion looked worried too, but more afraid of Cull than for him. Cull just started towards the door.
"You can't mean to go out today," Parton said. "You should rest."
"I'm well enough."
Parton hurried after him, his concerns not diminished in the slightest by Cull's harsh tone. Parton caught hold of his arm, stopping him at the door, and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
Cull shook his hand off. "You catch up with your friend."
That last word was said in a tone that made it sound like an insult. Parton wasn't sure what to make of this reaction, except to assume that Cull didn't want to spend the day socialising with someone who had shot him. Or perhaps he thought he would feel left out if Parton caught up with Lucion about old friends and events that Cull had had no part in. Parton wasn't happy about letting Cull leave after everything that had happened, but he couldn't exactly force Cull to stay, and Cull got impatient with being stuck indoors even without a stranger taking up space in their tiny cabin.
So all Parton said was, "Stay close. Call if you need anything."
Cull walked out without another word.
