"Hey!" Clark coughed awkwardly, scrambling to sit up properly once more. He found himself reaching for anything he possibly could reach to cover remnants of injury before realising he'd have to cover the entirety of his face and neck, among other things. "Hey."
The petite girl wormed her way from Jethro's arms and trotted to climb atop the bed at Clark's side. Ever naïve and wondrous, she reached little fingers up to touch the black, blue and green voids circling and covering Clark's throat and nose.
"What's this?" She asked, almost jabbing before her wrist was caught between gentle fingers. She looked to the offender - Jethro - with a confused pout.
Clark smiled, gathering Aurelia into his arms and satiating his selfish need to hold his sister close once more. "They're bruises." He answered truthfully and watched as Auri processed.
"How'd you get them?" She pressed and Selene was about to step in to tell Auri that her Lark was quite tired and that they should let him rest before she saw the shift in Clark's eyes. Something in them shone bright and happy and Selene wasn't ever going to be the one to put that spark out.
"There was a big bad dragon." He stated matter-of-factly and Aurelia seemed shocked for a moment before shaking her head in disbelief. "There really was! Wasn't there, Ro?"
All too soon, two sets of almost identical brown-green eyes were watching Jethro. Despite the fact that Auri and Clark weren't from the exact same parents, Jethro swore they were the spitting image of one another. They shared the same mischievous smile that curled around far-too-bright eyes and dimpled adorably at their features. They shared the same lion-heart - big, brave, beautiful and so entirely full of love regardless of how much it is, was or will be loved back. They shared the same mind - imaginative, inventive and innocent despite the worlds cruel intention to break them.
If Jethro wished to achieve one thing in life, it would be to ensure the people right in front of his eyes were never broken.
"There was! It was mean and ugly, with beady little eyes and big, sharp teeth." He confirmed, crooking his forefingers beside his bared teeth to demonstrate. He carefully slid into the open space at Clark's side, wrapping an arm around the back of Clark's shoulders and allowing Aurelia to sprawl over where their thighs were pressed tight. "We were all so scared, but Clark came and saved us!"
Aurelia watched with wide-open eyes as Clark and Jethro retold the tale of the mean old dragon and his plot to hurt all of their friends. And, when she burrowed between them for comfort, she was greeted with warm arms and reassurance that Clark beat the mean old dragon and that it wouldn't ever come back.
Selene needn't have heard from Clark that he may have finally worked through whatever had been going on between him and Jethro - it was clear as day right then and there that they'd long since found their home in one another's hearts.
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@JeThrowMeAway Lark, the whole time the nurses were trying to talk to him:
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