Weight of the World-p.r.s

34-and my heart's held high with this battle cry

a/n: today followers, I offer you a part after 5+ months! God only knows when the next is gonna come, but I'm alive!! Long story short, I'm officially starting my second semester of college next week, which is wild because I started this fic my junior year of high school. Anyways, thank you all for the support, I really appreciate it and it gives me the motivation to keep writing. So, thank you so much, and enjoy the chapter!!

With Jayden, Brooke didn't know if his 'I'll tell you later' meant that they talked to each other in the next thirty minutes, or the next thirty days. She tried not to judge him, she wasn't that much of a hypocrite, but she felt her eye twitch in annoyance as she heard the door to his bedroom quietly shut. She wanted to help him and provide some sort of comfort, he just made it extremely difficult to do so. So, she accepted defeat for the night with a small shake of her head. Forcing him to talk was an exhausting task, plus Brooke knew her limits. An attempt to do so would just leave them both frustrated and with a strained friendship. That was never ideal, so she just followed his example and entered her bedroom.

As Brooke shut the door behind herself, she watched in partial amusement as Amaris instantly appeared on her bed in a flash of silver. The white wolf wasted no time in curling in a ball on top of the white comforter and grey throw blanket, violet eyes watched Brooke from where her head was lazily resting on the top of her tail. A scarred hand gently patted her on the top of her head, her eyes closing in contentment as her ears flicked slightly.

"Sorry, I know I haven't made it easy for you the last couple of days," Brooke murmured as her eyes flashed. She had partially forgotten that she and Amaris shared the same feelings, but the wolf's visible exhaustion served as a grim reminder. "Thanks for stickin' around." She added, and Amaris cracked her eyes open.

"Apologies are not necessary. My feelings are a part of the role I chose, the role of protector I have been assigned. If anything, the feeling is slightly refreshing," Amaris replied. Her quiet laughter, a sound that resembled bells jingling, rang through Brooke's head as she noticed the silver ranger's expression of slight shock mixed with confusion. The white wolf then sat on her haunches, her ears flicking as she explained herself. "As you are aware, I had been... trapped on Sweetbrier Mountain for generations. My days there were rather desolate, so the exhaustion, while almost foreign, is not unpleasant."

"You want to be useful to others," Just like me. Brooke thought, and Amaris laid back down in confirmation. Grey eyes flashed gold as a wry smile appeared on the silver ranger's lips, she ruffled the fur in between Amaris's ears. "Don't worry. Well, I dunno if you worry about it, but you're extremely helpful. I know I wouldn't have gotten as far as I have without you. Hell, the team most certainly wouldn't have. I feel like we all don't thank you enough." She mused with a slight laugh.

Amaris's eyes shone with a small amount of pride, but her voice kept its usual motherly tone as she spoke. "There is no need to thank me. I wish to see the end of this war as much as you and the others do. The world has been left in turmoil for too long, it is also time to put these ghosts to rest." She responded, and Brooke felt her eyes water as she swallowed past the lump in her throat.

She knew her words would fail her at that moment, so she chose to respond through her actions. Brooke just nodded, but Amaris got the message. Her fluffy tail wagged slowly in confirmation, her violet eyes trained on Brooke as she went about her nightly routine. The withdrawal symptoms were still present, no matter how much the silver ranger wanted them gone. Nausea ruined her appetite, but she knew that she could only blame herself for what had happened. Nobody forced her to relapse, instead, it was just her and her own stupid mistakes. She knew she had no right to complain, either, but that didn't stop her from doing so. It was all internal complaining anyway, so it's not like she was bothering someone with it.