A Wolf's Spirit

Emergence

          Ray's eyes traced the chaos scattered across his house. His body ached, but he knew he couldn't think properly with this mess everywhere. A mess he caused in the first place.

          Ember seemed to catch up with him. She cawed encouragingly, pleased with the idea of cleaning. She continued to caw, and Ray let out a tiny laugh. "Yes, I suppose you're right on that. We can't still have this disaster lying around when Kai returns."

          He began to think about how much he must have scared his son before he was taken to the medical ward, when he was caught up in one of the worst sectors of his rage. His chest thrummed uneasily, but the thought couldn't bother him now. He had some repairing to do.

          First, he grabbed the pile of dishes that were still intact and brought them to the bins. He needed to get rid of any supplies sitting around in random places. Once he got rid of those, he moved to pick up the tablecloth. He spread it to full length and smoothed it over the surface, wiping off crumbs. After that, he picked up the toppled furniture and carefully dusted them off.

          Ember chirped at him to look after the shards of glass and wood planks littered on the ground; she flew around the room—or perched on the bedpost when her ribs hurt—since she refused to walk with tiny pieces stabbing into her paws. Ray had to remember to bring her to the Dragon's Den after. She seemed alright moving around, but he cared for her just as much as he had done with Flame. He needed to get her ribs and wings inspected.

          As Ray continued to sweep the floors, his mind began to roam. Every now and then, the thought that Kai could be resistant to fire nagged at him. He tried to stop thinking about it, but a bad feeling ebbed at him. If Kai really had the fire in him now, then it would only be a matter of time before the Lord Protectors found out about it. And it would only be a matter of time until Krux and Acronix found out about Ray, too.

          About an hour had gone by, and nearly everything had been cleaned up. The house was small, so repairing some things didn't take very long.

          Ember slept soundly on Kai's bunk, puffs of smoking leaving her nostrils.

          Once Ray left the broom in the corner of the room, he realized just how tired he really felt.

          Sitting down for a bit wouldn't hurt, he thought.

          Before he could lay down, though, someone rapped at the front door. Ray stiffened. He thought it was his company of soldiers, or maybe even the Lord Protectors, but Ember chirped happily, even if she was half-awake.

          Ray opened the door and found Nya standing at the doorway. Her expression showed worry, and she was doused in the rain. Ray peered outside and noticed a storm brewing in the sky.

          "Nya! There you are, lass," Ray said, smiling weakly at her. "You'll catch your death out there. Come inside!" he said, ushering her inside. She walked in wordlessly.

          Ray shut the door and found a warm blanket to wrap around her. She slinked towards the lower bunk and curled into the sheets. Ray sat down next to her. He suddenly felt his fatherly instincts kick in.

          "Nya? What's the problem?" he asked calmly. "You look a bit shaken up."

          "P-problem?" she stammered. "No problem, Dad. J-just a bit cold." She closed her eyes when Ray offered her a welcoming embrace, basking in the warmth of his arms. After a few minutes, she quietly asked him, "Have you seen Kai?"

          "Kai? Oh, yes, he came by earlier," Ray answered. "He... he's at the medical ward now, having his wounds checked on. That fight near the gates damaged him badly." Ember crawled down the bunk and perched on Nya's shoulders, licking the side of her face. Nya, however, froze like a rock.