As Harvick landed on the ground, his bones jolted and his right leg began faltering. Before he fell, their father went down and supported him. Making the unfortunate sod lean on his chest. As the boy let out a stifled breath of air, the father asked quite concerned “Are we too late!? Are the gates still open?”.

Vanessa glanced back towards the castle, seemingly stressed and replied “No, but they’ll soon be! You’re lucky to come back now. If you hurry we can all make it… But. What happened to Harvick?”. Hearing this question, the father swallowed hard and contemplated how to best explain this…

Vanessa and William both stared at Harvick’s trembling leg. With further studying, one could discern a darker shade, on the wine-brown pants. Going from Harvick’s thigh to his knee. The father took forth a dagger and looked Harvick in the eye, before saying “It’s likely a broken bone… Actually. Harvick has been in too much pain for me to remove his pants and check the extent of his wound… Harvick… I’ll cut them open now that we’re in safety. We should have a look as soon as possible”. That was how the father asked for permission.

Harvick wasn’t impressed but simply nodded and agreed “Yes… Just cut them open. I’ll have a new pair of pants sewn before winter… Ugh”. The blade hooked into a corner of fabric. Then it ripped a hole open, revealing something white, protruding from the blood painted skin.

William thought that he was getting used to seeing these types of wounds. Joss had been his teacher in this matter, letting him stare at a gross one everyday… But this… This disturbing sight left one aching all over… A slight sense of nausea crept up from his stomach.

Vanessa and the father both frowned, distorting their otherwise calm faces. The father stared at the jagged bone, jabbing out of the flesh. Numbness was all the father felt, until he coincidentally shifted his gaze unto his young daughter…

It was a direction where emotions erupted from. The little girl with her worn dress seemed ignorant at first. But then… Her tiny face began to shift slightly.

William was shocked to his core. Knowing just how troublesome and deadly a bite in the shoulder could be, with experience from Joss. He asked himself: Then what about a fricking broken leg with protruding bone!? Is Harvick going to die!?..

These thoughts made William’s eyes glaze over with saltwater. The red mixed with his blue irises and tears trailed down his cheeks. Such a sight was seldom seen coming from William. Even as a baby, he didn’t cry a lot. The father who witnessed such weakness, got affected, like it was a spreading disease. He was somehow overcome by shame.

A shame he had tried to bury, when he the first time noticed a swelling on Harvick’s leg. The father kept telling the boy to calm down and think good thoughts. Harvick shouldn’t worry about his silly leg. He should focus on the magnificent dinosaur he got from his efforts. Who knows? Maybe, if Harvick didn’t fall down from that cliff, the dinosaur wouldn’t have been so brave as to swoop down after him?

Being so vulnerable, Harvick must have appeared as the perfect prey. The father who stood nearby saw this opportunity and had to let it play out. So he let the boy crash-land, while he subdued the ferocious bird-creature. Afterwards the bonding process was easy as pie. Although, it would have been nice, if Harvick didn’t scream and sprawl around so much during it...

The father stood caught in a flashback. He could have stood there dreaming all day, if not for Joss trying to touch the dinosaur, who responded with aggressiveness.

Before the number of injured people increased, the father slapped his son’s hand away from the creature. Scolding the rascal with a stern look!..

Joss lowered his head and kicked a rock as he stepped back. 

Having made sure, that his son was out of reach from the dinosaur, he could shift his attention to somewhere else. Harvick for example… Before saying anything, he cleared his throat. Then he slowly opened his mouth and said “Ah… I guess there is always misfortune in fortune… Harvick, since you are now the adopted son of our lord, you can be seen by their doctor… He’ll fix you up... I promise! Come! Let’s go to the castle... You should rest for now, then after the festivities are over, we’ll have the doctor look at you”.

The father tried to encourage the rapidly paling Harvick. Even chuckling a bit and slapping the exhausted boy on his back!

Vanessa agreed and said “Yes, don’t worry Harvick. After the Harvest Feast, we’ll make sure that you get through this! So come! Let’s get up to the castle, before they close the gates!”. Joss who had been scolded just seconds ago, quickly regained his previous happy mood and clapped his hands in glee. Then he giggled “I really don’t want to miss out on the minstrels! Hurry, hurry!”.

William however was a bit frustrated, seeing how casually they tried to treat this wound. It was clear that none of his family members wished to miss out on the party and stay with Harvick during it... Even if a close friend was about to collapse from a high fever, created by a serious wound… This wasn’t enough to change their minds.

Vanessa went ahead, sweeping her arm underneath Harvick’s. She felt relieved, after hearing the father talk about the doctor. In this aspect, Harvick was very blessed to be seen by the island expert. If he hadn’t been adopted, Vanessa and Grettel were likely the ones who would have had the task to heal his wound. This Vanessa could vividly imagine. The boy would likely sweat out buckets of sweat every day, while crying for the pain to stop. 

Should his wounds fester and rot, Vanessa’s husband would have brandished their axe and chopped of the hindrance. Surviving such a thing… It would be a service to be killed early on. Even if Harvick should come out on top, he would be a useless human being. Adding a mouth to feed but not any hands to help gather the food…

Maybe at that point, the best solution would be to turn the mouth into food itself. For something that had a taste for human flesh… Such as the warbeasts that lords ride on... Dinosaurs…

Having such thoughts Vanessa shifted her gaze onto the dinosaur, Harvick managed to bond with. William followed suit. Having been so absorbed in Harvick’s wound, William hadn’t really looked properly at the animal.

When he did, he was a bit awed. This creature had a long neck. Atop the neck was attached an enormous beak. The head and beak combined were the size of it’s torso… Such screwed proportions. It was a wonder that it could fly! But William had witnessed said wonder happen before his very own eyes, only minutes ago…

The dinosaur-bird’s arms were like bat wings. They were bend and its elbows swayed in the air, while its claws helped it walk on the ground. Just like front paws on a regular four-legged mammal…

It’s eyes were not as beady as the trotash’s. This one’s were big and soft with a blend of blue and orange. Light green feathers covered most of its body. The exposed areas without feathers, revealed leathery skin.

Sizing up this magnificent creation, William felt a little consoled.

He turned to the half-conscious Harvick and said “Hawick! You goh a wawsome dinasour!”.

William’s bright smile and genuine happiness, filled the stuffed atmosphere and made everyone around him relax a bit more. Harvick couldn’t help but give a weak smile back. It was the best he could muster and then said “Ah… Thank you, Mirabelle. I think it’s awesome too… But… If you people don’t mind, I’d really like to get some rest… Now...”.

Everyone nodded and began leaving for the castle.

The father and Vanessa helped carry Harvick to the drawbridge. William and Joss on the other hand, both circled around the dinosaur as they walked, like annoying flies around a cow’s tail. The dinosaur soon got irritated and tried to snap out after Joss, yet again. Seeing this, both parents nagged and scolded the children to stay away from the beast.

After all, it wasn’t completely tame. And it never would be!

WinterFairy

Someone wondered on RR how strong people like William's father is. Because he can slaughter a trotash and also 'subdue' a dinosaur big enough to carry two people φ(^∇^ )

Well, I don't have a strength system, with ranks. So it can be difficult to measure strength (❁°͈▵°͈)

 

But my logic behind it is, that most dinosaurs are like regular crocodiles and other big animals. You can kill them if you know how to. The father isn't actually that strong of a bonded person, because he like many others don't get to cultivate their dinosaurs that much. So he doesn't have the strength where he can split a tree in half with a punch. But he can punch a tree and leave a dent, without cracking his fist like potato-chips.

 

The trotash is a dinosaur, the size of a 6-7 year old child. So they can be killed without much problem. Although they like many other animals, can whallop your ass if you're not careful! ∑(ﾟﾛﾟ〃)

 

And the dinosaur that Harvick bonded with, although it's quite huge it is only a youngling and not even 5 years old. So it would be a lack of experience and brains that became it's downfall. It basically forgot that hunters can also be hunted and thus got snatched by a lucky fellow.

 

LOL (*≧▽≦)ﾉｼ)) Hope that this comment can give a better understanding, of how strong people like William's father is?