A Gift Unto the King

The Weight of The World

Lucas awoke to the overwhelming smell of roasting meat. After the night he'd had, he found that scent nothing short of nauseating. Pushing himself up from the hard ground, he groggily sat in front of the fire, watching Remus cook a moderately sized rabbit. He yawned, taking note that he had been covered with his wool blanket at some point in the night.

"Morning." Remus greeted, flatly. "Breakfast is nearly ready."

"Don't worry about it." Lucas waved him off, his voice carrying a bit of early morning gravel. "You eat it."

"You need to eat something." Remus insisted with a sigh.

Lucas sat quietly, watching the rabbit slowly twirl over the small fire. His body ached, and his stomach was horribly uneasy, but he did his best to ignore it. His memories from the night before were hazy at best, and he certainly didn't remember falling asleep. Still, the slight tension radiating from Remus led Lucas to believe something had happened. What that was, he wasn't quite sure.

"Here," Remus held out his canteen to the werewolf, "drink." Lucas looked at the canteen apprehensively for a moment. "It's water." Remus confirmed, sensing Lucas's hesitation.

Lucas nodded slightly, grabbed the canteen, and took a few slow sips. He hadn't realized just how dry his mouth was until the cool water hit it, but he dared not drink too fast with his stomach in such a delicate state.

Remus pulled the cooked rabbit away from the fire. Drawing his knife, he cut one of the legs off for himself, and handed the rest to Lucas.

"I can't-"

"Just take it." Remus cut Lucas off. "You need your strength." His tone was flat.

Lucas bit at his lower lip nervously, before reluctantly taking the rabbit. He stared at it for a while, spinning it around in his hands, not yet ready to eat. The morning after a full moon was always rough on his appetite, but having a baby in his womb certainly seemed to make things worse.

Remus nibbled at his breakfast, keeping a close eye on Lucas. Watching him dance around eating felt a bit like watching over a child. It wasn't a side of Lucas he was used to seeing, as he typically had a rather substantial appetite. But, he supposed that after last night, eating might not be very high on his list of priorities.

"Are you really not going to eat?" Remus asked with a sigh. Lucas shook his head.

"If I do, I might throw up." Lucas replied, his voice low. "Here." He handed the uneaten rabbit back to Remus. "I don't want it to go to waste."

"At least promise me you'll eat something before too long." Remus tossed the bare bone from his rabbit leg aside, before taking Lucas's.

Lucas nodded, before returning his gaze to what was left of the crackling fire. The morning air carried a damp chill, and he found himself unconsciously wrapping the blanket around his body. His clothes still felt moist from the night before, which sent a few extra shivers down his spine. A light fog drifted between the trees, which were cast in a hazy blue hue. Aside from a few chirps here and there, the forest was rather quiet.

Remus finished gnawing at his meal, and tossed the scraps aside. Wiping his hands on his pants, he pushed himself up from the ground, and smacked the dirt off of his clothes.

"I'll finish packing up and then we'll head off." Remus stated, making his way over to the horses.

"Head off?" Lucas snapped his gaze up to Remus. "Head off, where?"

"Home." Remus grunted as he adjusted his horse's saddle.

"Home? But..." His eyes darted back and forth as confusion consumed him. "What about Honterra?"