Cold. Wet. Dark.
Everything was so dark…
The calm flow of a river was audible nearby, and slowly but surely, he blinked his eyes open, taking in his surroundings. True enough, his entire clothing was soaked, indicating that he had been washed ashore. And the cold air was not making it any better. What happened…?
In the blink of an eye, each and every memory of the recent events flooded back into his mind. They had fallen down into the depths of the cliff when Arou had protected him from that bear-
"Arou!" with renewed vigor, the human desperately looked around for the black wolf, all of his previous thoughts shoved into the back of his mind. However, his breath was almost taken away the moment he witnessed her motionless form lying a few meters away from him. Without wasting another second, he rushed over to her and held her side, his eyes widening once he witnessed her injuries.
Arou remained unresponsive even as he shook her ever so slightly. Panic was growing within him with each second that passed, and he felt utterly helpless as he glanced around for anything that could be of help. The most prominent wound was located upon her left side, blood trickling down onto the ground from torn flesh. It was only then that he realized how quick and uneven her breathing was.
Without any other options, he glanced down upon the shirt he was wearing. Not wasting another thought, he pulled it off and clenched it together, trying to remove as much of the water as possible before he carefully wrapped it around her body. She shivered once the material came into contact with the wound, her teeth subconsciously clenching together, and it all caused the human to be as careful and gentle as possible.
His own hands were shivering once he knotted the fabric together, but he forced any and all worries into the back of his mind. All that mattered was to help…
With the most serious wound bandaged, he took the rest of the time to clean whatever cut or bruise that he found. And with time, he noticed that her breathing had calmed down once again. He didn't realize how much time had already passed until the sun had slowly begun to set, painting the environment in an orange tone.
It was then when a small stir immediately caught his attention.
Having taken it upon himself to watch over her as long as she was unconscious, he gasped when Arou suddenly began to stir, her eyes blinking open. And they immediately focused upon him once he came to her side, sitting upon his knees as he looked back at her with obvious concern and fear.
"Arou! Are you alright…?" slowly but surely, her vision focused, and she could see how his gaze was filled with relief once he could look into her eyes again. But it soon turned into confusion once she tried her best to crack a small grin, her crimson eyes almost gleaming in the light of the descending sun.
"Hey… t-this, ah… is the first time I hear you say my name…" despite the pain that wretched itself upon her face, in the end, she still smiled at him with a small chuckle before the human placed a hand upon her side.
"Don't strain yourself…" his concern was still evident, and it only amplified once Arou actually tried to stand up from the ground, despite him urging her not to move too much.
"D-don't worry, I'm fine- ah!" with clenched teeth and a low growl, she fell back onto the ground the moment she applied too much pressure upon an injured paw, and to her, it felt as though every single movement was causing her left side to be on fire. Before she knew it, he was holding her side again, and this time, he assured himself that she would not move.
"It will only hurt you, please don't strain yourself!" his voice was not concealing a near desperate edge, and in the end, Arou relented as she kept still, her eyes slowly but surely settling upon his own once her vision grew blurry again from the sheer amount of pain.
"I… I'll try my best to take care of you, I promise…!" even as his words became more and more inaudible to her, she kept her eyes on him for as long as she could.
How curious… she had never… seen him like this before…
Fear once again etched itself upon his face once her eyes began to lid, and just as the human carefully held the side of her muzzle, an almost silent whisper escaped her.
"Thanks…" her paw touched upon his hand one last time before her eyes closed entirely, losing consciousness once more. She was still breathing… she would be alright, he would make sure of it…!
Regardless how long it would take.
The moon was long shining upon the night sky as he just about finished making a small fire near her, not wanting the cold night air to bother them any longer. And it also served as a much better light source…
A small sigh escaped his lips once the small flames grew larger ever so slowly, the gentle cracking of the fire creating a far more comfortable atmosphere. And with that, he took another glance at Arou's motionless form, her breathing having turned far more regular again. She was still alright, that was all that mattered…
However, before long, a sudden but strong growl emitted from his stomach, causing the human to hold it slightly. It only reminded him that he had not eaten for two days… and he had to find something for Arou once she would wake up again. But the mere thought of leaving her alone all but burned these thoughts away, as well as his own hunger. He would not leave her side, he promised. He would make sure for now that nothing would harm her.
Thus, he once again made sure to take a look at her injuries, noting the smaller cuts that were especially visible upon one of her forelegs. There must be more that he could do other than to clean it…
He stared at the small piece of torn clothing in his hand that he had previously ripped from his shirt before he had used the rest as a bandage. If only he wasn't so useless…
Taking a last glance at her, he slowly got up from the ground and walked over to the small river a few meters away, intent to wet the small piece of clothing again. The only source of food that he had seen so far was a small batch of berries that was growing on a small bush, but they would only be two handfuls at best. Still, it was better than nothing…
As he approached the river, a cold surge of wind swept through the air, causing him to shiver slightly. Kneeling on the ground, he slowly tipped the piece of clothing into the water, causing it to soak. Yet, as multiple thoughts coursed through his mind, he was slightly torn out of them once he witnessed the visible air that escaped his mouth with each breath that he took.
And all of a sudden, he shivered even more strongly, the wind picking up again. How could it be that cold…?
Hurrying up in wetting the piece of clothing, he quickly got up from the ground, intent to return to the small fire. But it was then that he suddenly stopped, a small movement catching his attention at the edge of his vision. Swiftly turning around, he took a closer look at his surroundings, the dense trees around him only revealing little.
However, as he looked around, everything was quiet, aside from the rustling of leaves when the wind picked up again ever so slightly. His body relaxed again when another moment of silence passed. He imagined things… perhaps… perhaps he simply didn't want to admit how afraid he truly was alone…
His eyes glanced down upon the wet piece of clothing in his hand once more, clenching it slightly. But before he could realize it, a sudden pressure was building upon his back-
-and he froze when an icy breath exhaled against his left ear.
A startled outcry escaped him when he whirled around, his hands instinctively clenched into fists as he stared at the dark environment behind him.
Nothing…
"Who's there…?" his frail voice sounded amidst the rustling of leaves, a cold chill running down his spine now that his mind was beginning to grow more and more paranoid. But his whisper remained unanswered, for there was nothing there to answer it.
Forcing himself to remain calm, the human took a deep breath to relax, taking one last glance around before he quickly returned to the small fire that he had made.
An almost immediate wave of relief coursed through him once he stepped into the close proximity of the fire, a gentle warmth meeting his skin, easing his mind and shoving any uncomfortable sensations into the back of his head. And a single glance at Arou's form caused his previous thoughts to slowly fade away. He approached her again and briefly regarded her peaceful expression, her side calmly moving up and down with each breath that she took.
Without wasting another thought, he proceeded to clean the small cuts upon her foreleg, careful not to cause her any more discomfort than was necessary. However, even when he inspected his handiwork, he felt a wave of frustration within him. This would not help her much at all…
His hands clenched together again as he dropped the clothing on the ground, albeit suddenly, a thought wormed itself into his mind. She had taught him far more than this, didn't she? The Life Force that was flowing through each and every single living being… if he could manifest his own just like when she had shown him, if he could somehow share it…!
With a renewed rush of vigor, he shifted upon his knees and held his hands above the small cuts upon her foreleg, concentrating as much as he could. He had done it before, come on…!
Just like back then, he grasped for the inner flow of energy within him. And true enough, slowly but surely, a small, glimmering orb of green light began to surround his hands. Clenching his eyes shut, he tried harder and harder, and with each moment that passed, only more began to float around the tips of his fingers.
Yet, with each handful of energy that he grasped from within himself, he felt another wave of fatigue overcome him. But regardless, he pushed on. Thus, slowly but surely, the light began to grow stronger, the orbs melting together to form a single entity-
-and the cuts slowly began to close.
Torn flesh and bruises were recovering, new patches of fur covering the injuries that had been visible just a small moment prior. All until there was no indicator left that would have led to the assumption that there had ever been an injury in the first place.
Several minutes had passed, and in the end, the bright glow had long died down again as the human laid next to Arou, the sheer amount of exhaustion having taken over just before he fell asleep next to the wolf. The small fire continued to linger long until the morning, until the first rays of sun would replace the night sky again.
But unbeknownst to him, he never realized that a pair of glowing eyes had been watching him from the shadows.
"Mhm…" with a small stir and a long yawn, the human slowly creaked an eye open and blinked, feeling at least a little bit better than the day prior. For a small moment, he allowed his vision to focus until he glanced at Arou-
-only to realize that the only thing next to him was the piece of clothing that he had used as a bandage.
With a gasp, his eyes turned wide open and he immediately moved to get up from the ground until suddenly, his gaze shifted forward to see a certain black wolf standing tall and proud in front of him, her back facing towards him. Her gaze was trained upon the sky the moment until she heard him moving…
… and she turned her head to train a single, crimson eye upon him, a bright smile forming on her muzzle.
"Rise and shine, dear..."
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