Roedin stared at the open doorway using any bit of energy he had left to call to the Ancestors. He squeezed his eyes shut and focused solely on sending that mental plea for help. Then he did something he had never done before in his five hundred years of life: he begged. He begged the Ancestors that they would come and stop the assault that was happening before his eyes.
His body burned anew, not from fever but from shame. For he lay in a comfortable bed begging while a human girl endured unspeakable torture outside. The male beat her and whipped her. And then he used her.
Tears of rage fell from Roedin's eyes. Even as a youngling, humiliated in the prime circles, he never felt this much shame and anger. Because it wasn't him that was suffering, but he was watching it happen to another and doing nothing to stop it. An innocent, someone who was trying to help him and was now hiding him. He was a stranger, a different species, and Avery wouldn't break. For he was far too weak to fight. If the sapien came into the cabin he would be slaughtered in this bed. Roedin could hear the bones crunching in her body and could almost feel the blows of the male's kicks, but Avery wouldn't tell him who was inside.
Light remained long after the beating stopped. The screams of anger and rage had faded outside, or at least he had shut his ears to the torture. He stared at the doorway with nothing but silence outside. The snow melted rapidly and the birds began singing as spring arrived. There was a comfortable warmth in the sun that dried out the ground.
But Avery didn't walk through the door.
He tried to call for her but his throat was raw and dry. He couldn't take his eyes from the door, willing her to come back.
He saw a raven fly by. The messenger of death.
The fox came through the open door and looked at him.
With a clear voice it spoke, "You are useless, you let this happen. She could have left you there to die, and now she's dying because you aren't strong enough to help her."
"No, I didn't...I can't move...I would...I will..." Roedin rambled to the fox. "Please help her."
"That was supposed to be your job," was all the fox said as he turned and trotted away.
**********
A loud clang startled Roedin from his fevered sleep. His eyes flew open but he couldn't see anything in the dark room. Night had fallen, well, Dark had come. The fire was out in the grate, but someone shuffled through the room.
"Avery?" he whispered to the darkness.
There was a pause and for a moment he feared it was the sapien who had come inside to kill its occupant, and he had just given himself away. Finally there was a small sound from the fireplace.
"Yes. It's me. I'm here."
A sharp scratch cut through the darkness and a flame burst to life. Roedin stared at it in disbelief as she put the flame to the kindling and a small fire was born. As the wood caught, light filled the room and Roedin's stomach fell as he took in the sight of her.
Her hair was torn and matted. Blood and mud clotted together and chunks were missing where it had been ripped out. A stream of blood had dried down the side of her face from a gash on her brow. One eye was black and swollen forcing her to turn her head from side to side to look with her good eye. Her lip was split and there was blood at the corners of her mouth, likely from biting her tongue.
Roedin had seen these injuries before, just never on a young woman. A young woman who was still alive.
Avery reached up and gripped the chimney stones, blood and dirt under broken fingernails. She sucked in air as she rose and pain jolted through her. A wave of dizziness passed over her and she swayed on her feet. When it passed she blinked to get her bearings and then turned to Roedin.
"I got it. The Corasnow. I just need to boil it up into a mash, then we'll see if it works." She paused and then said as an afterthought, "Or if it kills you."
She closed her eyes again and seemed to build up the energy to start moving.
Through fevered eyes Roedin watched her reach for the kettle and then limp over to the bucket by the door. Her other arm clutched her side and she hunched over in pain as she moved. Her unsteady hands poured water into the kettle, spilling much of it on the floor. She limped back to the fire and hung the kettle again, then reached for the table and she slowly lowered herself onto the stool. Rain was falling outside, a heavy pattering on the roof.
"You're hurt," was all Roedin could think of to say.
She didn't answer but gazed at the fire, hypnotized by the flames. Roedin hoped she hadn't heard him stating the obvious.
"Yeah."
She sounded more resigned than sad.
"Don't worry, you're still in the lead for the most smashed up person here."
Roedin was horrified that she could joke after what had happened to her. She didn't seem broken or shocked. Just tired.
"This has happened before," he realised.
Avery didn't confirm or deny. She just stared at the fire, holding one arm to her side. A single tear fell down her cheek but nothing else moved.
"Yeah." She paused. "The worst part is: he always says he's going to kill me, and he never does."
********
Roedin fell into a deep sleep when Avery applied the poultice of Corasnow. His body greedily absorbed the juice of the plant and the swelling in his leg finally subsided. The redness around the wound on his chest retreated and his appetite returned. He woke with a clear head and empty stomach. Stiffly, he pushed himself up onto his shoulders and looked around.
Avery lay on her stomach on the fireplace hearth, a blanket folded underneath her. She wore loose fitting pants but her shirt was stuffed under her face as a pillow. Her torso was bare except for a damp cloth draped over her back. The cloth was stained a yellow-bruise colour and splotches of red showed through in places. He realised she was trying to clean the slashes on her back and had no one to administer the care. For some reason this made Roedin angrier than the beating itself. Not only had she endured that torture alone, she now treated herself alone. Except she's not alone. He's here, doing nothing.
Roedin sat all the way up for the first time in...months? He had no idea why his body wouldn't heal itself. His magic should have recovered by now and begun to work through his injuries. He dragged his legs back and wedged the pillows and blankets until he could rest against the wall without putting any pressure on his ragged wing.
Avery stirred by the fire and turned to her side. The stained cloth slipped from her back revealing a dozen fresh slashes, overtop countless scars from previous sessions. Roedin couldn't tear his eyes away from her back as she reached for her shirt and slowly pulled it over her head. She rested for a moment and before getting to her knees and rising. She looked over at the bed and saw Roedin watching her.
Instead of embarrassment at finding herself being watched, her good eye sparkled when she took in the sight of her patient sitting up. A small smile crept onto her face and it made Roedin's heart ache as he thought of how this fragile human girl would not be broken. Humans were known to be weak, pathetic, whiny, and easily killed. She was none of those things. Her strength gave him strength and he felt all distrust melt away.
"Alright," she said by way of greeting. "Here we go."
She limped over to the shelves and pulled down some jars and boxes. She built a tray of cheese, bread, some dried fruit and meat. She filled two cups of tea and dragged the stool over to the bed before placing the tray on the bedside table between them. She took a mug and handed it to Roedin before raising the other in the air.
"Cheers."
They touched cups and swallowed their own servings of the healing tea and devoured the platter of food together.
*******
They ate in companionable silence as Light dawned outside, though Avery could tell Roedin was anxious to ask her about what had happened. She opened the door to the Cabin to let in the fresh air and then limped back to the stool and braced for the questions she knew were coming.
"How injured are you?" he asked first.
That surprised her. He didn't ask who the sapien was and why he was here, or whether or not he was coming back. He didn't demand to know what she was hiding or why she protected him. Still chewing she looked up from the platter and contemplated how much to reveal to him. There was no point in keeping secrets.
"I think my ribs are cracked. And something is torn in my knee, it hurts to put weight on it in a bend." She sipped some tea. "My arm is nearly useless. I can barely lift it let alone hold anything."
She didn't wait for his reaction and went on eating. She didn't need anything from him, but he asked so she told it like it was.
Roedin paused and looked intrigued. "Your arm, is it broken?"
"I don't think so. I can't localise the pain and there's minimal swelling. I'm able to move my wrist and fingers but not lift the arm," she answered still not making eye contact.
"It might be your shoulder then. Did you - did he - did-how... Was it pulled on?"
He struggled through the question. Avery gave him a grateful look. He tried to depersonalise the cause but still root out the mechanism of injury.
She swallowed. "I don't remember that moment specifically. It's all a blur."
He nodded and she could see the muscles in his jaw tense like he was keeping his temper in check.
"Can I see it? I mean, would you mind if I checked the shoulder? If it's dislocated, I might be able to reset it."
Avery stared at him blankly. Could he check the shoulder. This was it, this was a test. Up until this moment she had all the power. He was weak, vulnerable, and she controlled if he lived or died. But now he knew. Now he saw that she was the weak one. Human. Trapped. Nothing more than a victim, waiting in this Cabin at the mercy of whoever comes and whatever happens.
She considered what she knew about Roedin. She was familiar with every inch of his warrior body. She had washed, sewed, moved, patched, and cleaned every part of it. He had a brother and lived in Corinth but other than that he had been too feverish to share much about himself. She didn't know anything except that he was a faunid and that he was male.
But when she looked in Roedin's eyes she saw only true concern. He wanted to help but was painfully aware of what had just happened to her. She chewed on her lower lip. He didn't push.
"Yes," she said before she lost her nerve.
Her hand had started shaking and she put down her mug and slipped off the chair to the floor beside the bed. She sat with her back to him and pulled the sleeve off her injured arm but left the shirt around her neck, draped across her front. She stared at the open door with her jaw clenched, willing herself not to pull away.
"I can see that it's bruised where the bones meet. I'm fairly certainly it's out of joint." She heard him take a deep breath. "Can I touch your shoulder?"
Her chin trembled. She didn't trust herself to speak without wavering, so she pinched her lips together and nodded once. He very gently placed his hand on her back and she tensed but stopped herself from pulling away. He began to probe gently around the joint, massaging the muscles to assess the damage. She turned her head and squeezed her eyes shut, holding her breath.
"Avery," he said softly. "I can put it back, but you need to take a deep breath and relax your shoulders. The muscles are too tense for me to move it and I risk doing more damage."
Avery started panting as panic crept in. She was shaking under his hands and it took all her willpower to not scream and leap up from the floor. Then she felt something furry and opened her eyes to see the fox crawl into her lap. He licked her face and nuzzled into her chest. She brought her good arm across and held the fox in a tight embrace, burying her face in its soft fur. She let out a deep exhale as Roedin lifted her dead arm and bent it at the elbow. With one hand on her shoulder and the other twisting her arm he deftly jerked and popped it in place. A sharp pain shot through her body and she yelped but didn't pull away. The instant relief made her head swim and she swayed in her seat before Roedin reached out to steady her. As her breathing slowed she opened her eyes and released the fox from her embrace.
The fox licked her face once more and then nimbly hopped up on the bed and settled down for nap.
Avery lifted her arm and twisted her wrist.
"Easy. It can pop out again while the muscles around it are weak," cautioned Roedin. "We'll need to make you sling so you can take the weight off the shoulder while it heals."
Avery turned to look up at him from her spot on the floor. "Thank you."
Roedin smiled down at her. "It was nice to be able to return the favour. I owe you a life debt that I don't know I can ever repay. I'm glad you trusted me to help."
Avery lifted her brows in surprise. She hadn't realised how much he noticed, or what he could read off her face. She nodded but said nothing as she returned to the stool, keeping her wounded arm close to her chest.
"How did you know what was wrong?" she asked, nibbling at a piece of bread.
Roedin resumed eating as well. "I've been in many battles over the centuries. Dislocated shoulders are fairly common when a warrior's shield arm takes a bad blow. Knowing how to put them back together is an important skill."
She nodded but frowned.
"Centuries?" she asked.
Roedin glanced at her sharply as though he had made an error in hinting his age. She watched him grind his teeth together, undecided if he would continue with the lie or admit the truth.
"I'm a Myotes faunid, we're related to bats-hence the wings-and our race is long-lived. But I'm also half-sapien."
The news hit Avery like an icy blast. He was half-sapien. Half the monster that tortured her. Faunids were supposed to be the savages, barely more than true animals, but it was a sapien who pinned her down and assaulted her. And the male sitting in front of her had some of that species in him.
She tried to keep her face blank as questions whirled around in her mind. Sapiens were supposed to be the 'perfected' version of humans only stronger, faster, better. They had achieved near immortality and lived for millennia before they withered and died. Some wielded magic and became powerful leaders known as primes while others held little to no magic.
Roedin had not only faunid wings but he could have sapien magic as well.
A knot began to form in her stomach as she looked at this powerful being with new eyes. Even though he was sapien he might be willing to help her, she thought. Through the pain of her injuries Avery felt a dangerous spark of hope.