Bite Me! | lavashipping

2 | Scars Healed and Unhealed

"As of right now I can't find anything critical, however, I will need to do some additional check-ups once we're back at the monastery." With that, Zane's eyes ceased their familiar flashing as he stepped away so they all could see each other.

"Great. The last thing I need is to catch rabies. Fantastic idea, Jay!"

"What?"

"It was your idea to go 'inspect the forest'!" Since their journey back, Cole has not stopped grumbling about it. And while Kai shared the same sentiment, it was getting repetitive.

"Cole..." Holding his uninjured shoulder, Kai tried to help Cole ease down before he would pounce on Jay. He could not get frustrated even with himself for getting so easily shaken to the core by the attack. It was just a pack of wild wolves, he survived worse, why was he so shaken by it all?

"Hey, I was trying to help you!"

"Yeah, into the grave, maybe!"

"Cole." Kai tightened his grip and leaned his face closer. "Come on, you need to relax." Cole scoffed at Jay's mute, wild gesturing and eyes wide like plates but leaned against the wall and let his muscles relax anyway. Kai rubbed his shoulder before picking up another pad with disinfection to rub it on his scratches, clenching his teeth not to hiss.

"If you were to get rabies, and my scans showed nothing concerning, you've been vaccinated and the disease won't be lethal. That, with your immune system being boosted by your elemental power and our medical supplies, any potential diseases would be dealt with fairly quickly." Once Kai pushed the first aid kit towards him, Zane began packing it up. "Besides a few new scars, you two should be fine."

"Great, are we going to waste more time here? I think that's more than enough scrolls," he finally acknowledged the rest of the team.

Lloyd was quick to jump on the train, having registered the weird silence coming from the master of fire. "Kai's right, we should head back, we got what we wanted."

"What Wu wanted."

Nya shot Kai one of her sharp looks which he made sure to ignore. "Yeah, they need to get cleaned up properly and Kai's already getting pissy."

"Am not."

"Let's get these on board and head back, guys."

...

While he was more than glad to be away from the ruin of a library in the middle of nowhere, being tied to various beeping machines by Zane and Pixal wasn't a thrilling experience as well. Cole eventually settled down, only his death stares remained and targeted the lightning ninja who seemed jumpier than ever. Kai could not enjoy the performance as much as he wanted to, the whole incident still heavy on his mind.

There were too many questions swirling in his mind and he did not know which required his attention first. And then there was the fact that despite how much he tried helping Zane in reassuring Cole everything was going to be all right, he doubted it himself. The scars burnt relentlessly and his powers seemed to go haywire. Of course, it could be from his nerves. His heart was still busy racing a mile, as much as he hated to admit it.

Pixal said it was normal to feel shock after going through such an experience, Kai silently disagreed. He went through worse things. Way worse things and a bunch of wolves gets him trembling like a scared child? No, he was not having that.

So, he put on his usual, charming grin, went to the dinner as relaxed as he could and spoke fast to make sure his thoughts did not get an opportunity to seep more doubt into his frail foundation. He was just shaken up because Cole got the short end of the stick and Cole has always been his secret weakness and there was nothing more behind it.