In the morning, Edmund was as alone as he thought he'd be. Groggy and miserable, but mercifully free of any signs of heat. Good. That meant he could rejoin the others. He could still smell Al on him, and it brought a fresh wave of pain to know that Al was gone, perhaps forever. He'd lost him for good, and his own actions had driven Al away. It tore at his heart as he washed away (with great reluctance) all the scents of last night from his body in the nearby stream. But the only thing he could do now was bear the knowledge with dignity and resilience, and make reparations if possible, simply because it was the right thing to do.
He rejoined the main camp, where Lucy had ridden out to heal the injured, and who pulled him into a great hug before insisting on giving him a drop of cordial while inspecting his bite wound. "These were poisoned fangs," she pointed out, frowning. "Peter said you were weakened by whatever creature struck you, and the Prince tried to capture you. How - "
And there in the healing tent, the story came tumbling out of him, as much as he knew, and Lucy's face matched how he felt as he described, in very general terms, how he had resisted the poison only to lash out at Al and cause him to want to leave the pride. "Oh, Ed," was all she said, but she hugged him again and let him talk as much as he liked. Edmund couldn't bring himself to tell her the extent of it, but his feelings were raw enough for her to guess at what he did not say, and to guess that he had not said them to Al either.
"You can't him leave like this," she said at last. "With both of you angry and hurt."
"I'm not sure he would even see me," Edmund said, looking stricken.
"Then write to him. I'll make sure it gets to him and no one else. I'm sure he'll see me." Lucy's pride was closely aligned with Peter's and she'd become well-acquainted with the Elrics. "There, that bite looks much better. I'll see to the others, and you can have tonight to write your letter, before I leave in the morning."
~
"Make sure he's all right," was Edmund's parting request to her, whispered as he put the letter with his seal into her harness, and Lucy nodded and loped off. Peter's pride had been uninjured and had already set off for Cair Paravel, but she tracked them easily and caught up in only a couple of hours. She gave a full report of the recovery at camp to Peter, who looked rather surprised to see her delivering the message in person but welcoming her easily into the pride on the move.
Which gave her the perfect opportunity to fall in with Al along the road. Lucy's voice was quiet, only loud enough for Al's ears, quite a low pitch considering the keen hearing all around them. "Last night was a rough night," she commented with a sympathetic look. "I'm very sorry, Al."
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2017-09-02 06:11 pm (UTC)He rejoined the main camp, where Lucy had ridden out to heal the injured, and who pulled him into a great hug before insisting on giving him a drop of cordial while inspecting his bite wound. "These were poisoned fangs," she pointed out, frowning. "Peter said you were weakened by whatever creature struck you, and the Prince tried to capture you. How - "
And there in the healing tent, the story came tumbling out of him, as much as he knew, and Lucy's face matched how he felt as he described, in very general terms, how he had resisted the poison only to lash out at Al and cause him to want to leave the pride. "Oh, Ed," was all she said, but she hugged him again and let him talk as much as he liked. Edmund couldn't bring himself to tell her the extent of it, but his feelings were raw enough for her to guess at what he did not say, and to guess that he had not said them to Al either.
"You can't him leave like this," she said at last. "With both of you angry and hurt."
"I'm not sure he would even see me," Edmund said, looking stricken.
"Then write to him. I'll make sure it gets to him and no one else. I'm sure he'll see me." Lucy's pride was closely aligned with Peter's and she'd become well-acquainted with the Elrics. "There, that bite looks much better. I'll see to the others, and you can have tonight to write your letter, before I leave in the morning."
~
"Make sure he's all right," was Edmund's parting request to her, whispered as he put the letter with his seal into her harness, and Lucy nodded and loped off. Peter's pride had been uninjured and had already set off for Cair Paravel, but she tracked them easily and caught up in only a couple of hours. She gave a full report of the recovery at camp to Peter, who looked rather surprised to see her delivering the message in person but welcoming her easily into the pride on the move.
Which gave her the perfect opportunity to fall in with Al along the road. Lucy's voice was quiet, only loud enough for Al's ears, quite a low pitch considering the keen hearing all around them. "Last night was a rough night," she commented with a sympathetic look. "I'm very sorry, Al."