Little Red Riding Hood

Chapter 30 Who Watches Our Heroes

Winter's Pov

It had been a few days since I woke up on the battlefield, the plan to save the Treinos Elves was in full swing. The only problem was that Troy and I had not been through the ceremony to solidify our positions as Alpha and Beta. Until we had our positions, I could not leave the Lucinian Tribes area, which irritated me to no end. The stress involved with planning the event had fallen upon my mother who, bless her heart, had been working day and night trying to make sure that everything was perfect. Alex had gotten better but now walked with a limp, although it did not stop him from immediately going to the military arena and continuing his training of the warriors. Even though I begged him to take it easy on his body, he still went against my orders and pushed his body until he was right at the breaking point. He's an idiot, but my elder, meaning that he can do whatever he wants, even if it kills him. 

But my concerns were now placed upon a fuming Tyler, who stood just outside the doorframe of my home. The second I tried opening my mouth to ask him why he was here, he began scolding me, saying that I had ignored his request and left without allowing him to fully check on me. He then had the nerve to reprimand me and force his way through the door, grabbing my good arm and dragging me to the kitchen. After forcing me to sit down at my kitchen table, he placed his bag on the counter and began rifling for the supplies he needed. He glanced behind his shoulder, telling me to roll my shirt up to expose my wounds. Doing as he said, I rolled my shirt up just below my ribcage leaving all of my wounds to be seen by the world. Once he turned around, the gasp that left his mouth made me jump a bit out of my seat. "Now what was that for? Have you never seen a girl's stomach?" My tone came off more aggressive than I had intended, but was thankfully ignored by the bashful man.

Flicking me on my forehead, he tutted and proceeded to clean the skin that was just beginning to heal. "Before I was rudely interrupted, I was going to comment on how your wounds looked terrible and, even worse, were becoming infected due to your forgetfulness. You haven't cleaned these since you woke up in that hut, have you?" The lack of response caused a groan to rumble from his chest. "Winter, you test my patience so much. You're lucky that I came over today because if I hadn't, you would have gone into a feverish state, which would have prevented you from helping our Elven neighbors. Now, do you really want that to happen?" Yet again, I admitted defeat and huffed out an agitated no. His exasperated laugh made me feel stupid, causing me to realize that I am acting as though I am a small child. "I don't care that you aren't responding in full sentences, I just need you to allow me to help you. Can you at least give me a nod to say I can?"

Deciding to break my childish vow of silence, I give him one better. "Of course you can help me. I was just flooded with too much responsibility in such a small frame of time that I forgot to care about myself. I appreciate that you are here to help remind me that I also need to care about myself while being a leader. Thank you, Tyler." He grinned and gave me a quick pat on the shoulder before grabbing the supplies he needed and setting to work on my torso. He wiped away the infected wounds with this green liquid that burned when it touched the injury, he patted them dry, then he placed this clear goo on each wound, before finally wrapping my torso with gauze. 

Checking over his work, he began to mumble quickly to himself, "Infection will be gone within a day, although the shoulder is another problem. Something must've been there before the splinters found a way to embed themselves in the shoulder. There was already evidence of a previous wound, blood was already dried on it before it even touched the wood." He began unwrapping my shoulder, taking the old gauze off and staring at it. "Good, good. No infection. Blood somehow found a way to escape. Maybe it is deeper than I previously thought. Ceremony tonight, cannot have open wounds that can be seen by the public." He turned to his bag to grab something before turning back with a vial of something tinted an odd purple. Smiling at me, he gestures to the vial, "This should help heal you up quicker than your body does naturally. To be in peak condition for your ceremony, you must have closed wounds and be able to run and jump without pain. You also must be able to catch whatever thing your mother is bringing to the event. I heard that it might be a fairy, although Nuonna is quite determined to be the trickster you chase. Now, there is no time to waste. Take the vial and drink everything." With unrestrained giddiness, he shoved the vial into my hand to consume. Taking the top off, I close my eyes and swallow the appalling liquid in one go. My reaction is immediate as my body keels, I feel Tyler gently rubbing my back to console me.