~Painful Love~ (On Hold)

Chapter 5 - New Problems

I wake up with an awful, throbbing headache and the sting of cold air on an open wound. I'm in the rain-soaked soil, but I don't feel the energy the move... Where am I? How did I get here?.. I can hear voices, they sound familiar but I can't make out the words. I attempt stretching out one of my wings, but I find it's tightly bound against my back. The sudden lack of mobility sends a jolt of panic from my mind- I'm stuck on the ground, without a quick escape. I can't fly with one wing! I try to sit up, but the sudden burning pain in my femur makes it apparent that I'm entirely immobile.. The panic takes over and I call out for the voices. Familiarity means safety- I think.. I hope..

They stop talking and it's followed by two pairs of running footsteps.

"Parable! You're awake!" It's Fable, thank god. He helps me sit up against a tree and is careful of my bound wing, which is hurting worse and worse by the second. "I thought you were gonna bleed out.. are you alright? Dizzy? Anything?"

His face is blurry, but I can make out his crown and golden wings against the grey ambiance of the rain and forest. His questions just confuse me further. "What happened to me..? Everything hurts.." He hesitated before answering.

"One of those ocean creatures attacked you.. the one with spikes on it's neck..." He says softly. His wing brushes against the side of my face and I squint at him, my eyes finally focusing. However, the gaze quickly shifts to a figure behind him. Tall, dark, and menacing... fear takes over for a few long, terrifying seconds before the identity that matches the figure clicks.

"Exemplum?" I ask. He seems to perk up a little as his name is mentioned, and takes it as an invitation to come and kneel beside us. Fable looks over at him as he approaches, and his wings puff up. I forgot that they hadn't met... But, at least Fable hadn't chased Exemplum off. Exemplum explained that one of his pack members had attacked me and he stopped them from killing me. It's hard to process, even after being told twice. Maybe it's the headache. Fable eventually helps me stand, which in itself is a challenge, and I lean on him for support. Exemplum watches closely but doesn't say anything, and we only briefly make eye contact.

"Come on, let's go back to your nest." Fable says softly. We start walking away but when Exemplum starts to follow, Fable takes me under his wing. I look over my shoulder, but the golden feathers are blocking my view. He must just be overprotective, I'm injured after all. Yeah... that's what it is. I just want to go back and rest.

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P.O.V. Swap - Exemplum
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Fable sends me a glare as they walk away. I can feel the hostility radiating off of him. Resenting the urge to glare back, I turn away and start walking back to the ocean. I trust that Fable will take care of him, and I'm clearly not wanted here, even if I want to follow them. The smell of blood is still heavy in the air, and it's distracting me from my thoughts, but I'll get something on the way back to the caverns. Another reason to just go home. I'll probably be in trouble with Figment for attacking Toxin, but he probably won't reprimand me too much. Toxin annoys everyone, even if he has a high rank. Even Crinoid and Pred resent him.

The sun is setting on the ocean when I get to the shore, and the water is cold. Being built for cold water makes it better, but it still sends a shiver down my spine. Once I get down into the darker depth of the ocean, the temperature regulates and it gets better, and my eyes adjust to the darkness. Just smoky, grey water for miles. The caverns are in the side of a shelf break, sloping off to the deeper ocean, but the entrance is easy to find. Once I enter the water-filled caves, I'm immediately greeted by a glare from Toxin, but strangely Figment isn't waiting for me.

Maybe Toxin forgot to tell him?... I know he's dumb, but the smell of his blood in the water is a pretty good reminder. Lupus makes eye contact with me and I nod at him, and he doesn't nod back. It's odd, usually he's the friendliest toward me. The glow of bioluminescence lights the cavern in dim aqua glow, but I can still tell that everyone's staring at me. Except Figment. Where even is Figment? If he isn't in the main chamber he's likely in his quarters, but nobody goes in there without coming out hurt. The tension is high and everyone can feel it.

I clear my throat. "I was going to go hunting if anyone want's to come with me."

Pred perks up a little- of course, he's always hungry- but Toxin sends him a glare and he looks away. Nobody responds for about a minute until Lupus swims over to me.

"Yeah, I'll come. Let's get out of here. They're just being irrational." He says, and leads the way out of the cavern. I hear some frantic movement behind me and glance over my shoulder, and Pred's following us out despite Toxin and Crinoid looking pissed. After we're a ways away from the cave, Lupus stops and looks back at me.

"Toxin said you attacked him to let prey escape... is that true?" He says. He looks concerned, frowning.

I pause for a moment. "..Yeah. I did. But only because it wasn't our territory, and we weren't even supposed to be on land. We don't need any fighting with the island-dwellers."

Lupus sighs. "I guess so. But food is food, Exemplum, and there's not much of it these days. You should've just let him eat and then taken him back to the ocean." He turns away and keeps swimming. I just hope he doesn't question why I was there to catch him in the first place.

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HHHHHHHHH IM ALIVE GUYS, DONT WORRY
I'm so so sorry I haven't updated this in forever, I've been dealing with a lot these days. School is hard. Anyways- I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll try to update more often, but it might be rushed. Love you guys, thanks for reading.
-LeFriendlyBoi