Ferocious

Chapter 2

Recovery

The ladies couldn't take it anymore, they couldn't bear the waiting anymore, they had been waiting for the boys for almost an hour.

Leila was pacing and biting her nails, "It could be a prank on their side you know? They could be doing this just as a way to be funny" she said.

Sheila wasn't convinced, probably because Leila herself doesn't believe in what she herself was saying.

It was as plain as day that something was wrong, but they couldn't just head off into the deep woods of an unmarked territory on their own again, something Leila had to keep reminding Sheila as she wanted to go in search of the boys.

"I'm more worried about Astro, he isn't turned yet, he can't handle himself like the others should they be in real trouble" Sheila lamented in a whine.

Leila moved closer to where her twin sister was seated with her arms folded around herself, she placed a hand on her sister's shoulder,

"you know that's not true, Astro could probably handle himself better than those other two and you know it, he isn't defenseless and you know it" she said in a bid to cheer her twin a bit.

Sheila then stood up suddenly and started moving towards the woods in the direction they came,

"hey! Don't go..." Leila started to say but cut herself when she also saw what her twin sister had seen which immediately got her as well running towards the woods.

It was the boys, all dragging each other along, all bloodied and in bad shape, but Astro seemed to be in the worst shape.

Sheila got to them first and took Astro from Lucas to support him seeing he was in bad shape as well,

Leila got to them then and burst out a barrage of questions, not that they could answer her and all Keith said sternly was "we need to get out of here and into our territory fast, details later".

that shut Leila up and she ran to pack up all their other belongings as they headed towards their clans territory.

***

As the group got to the clan settlement they headed straight for the healers area

(the clan is situated deep in the mountains far away from civilization hence their settlement is in rural form with the only urban effects being the clothes they wear which is gotten from the traders who go far into the cities on trading expenditures, how they build their houses, the schools (which was only till junior high though because about half leave for the cities before full adulthood, especially if they want to go further in education), the hospital (which is usually the houses of some of the healers themselves), the clan also consisted of all kinds of workers to include teachers, blacksmiths, craftsmen, builders, hunters & gatherers, warriors & healers as well).

Before the group got to the healers settlement they were all tired and a lot of people already saw them and knew something bad had happened.

The clan was immediately on high alert and the warriors barred the gates and manned their posts.

Astro was laid down on a bed in one of the healer's buildings and only a whimper came out from him, he was in so much pain that the pain got him numb to the pain.

He knew Lucas and Keith will rapidly recover when the genes kicked in which had already started because there was less awkwardness to the way they moved but they were as well laid on beds and were also attended to.

A really sharp pain jolted Astro out of his daze for a moment and his yowl at the pain was weak but then he discovered the branch had been pulled out of his shoulders,

As he drifted off again he saw Keith sitting up and explaining to the girls and some other people what had happened as he gestured with his hands to give his audience a somewhat clearer picture of the scenario.

***

Astros eyes opened slowly, the brightly lit room hurt his eyes, his head also hurt for a while as he remembered all that had happened till the point he presently was.

"I see you're awake, how do you feel?" an all too familiar voice said beside him,

he turned his head to see Sheila sitting next to his sick bed and a warm fuzzy feeling grew all over his body at the sight of her.

He gave her a nod and drank in her features;

from her long wavy silvery blonde hair naturally highlighted with pure white here and there indicating her fur colour, to her blue eyes under long lashes and her smooth sharp oval beautiful face that is almost always wearing a serious expression.

Even to her heavily busted chest where his gaze lingered a few moments till Sheila cleared her throat,

"I asked you how you were feeling, will your answer come after you've successfully devoured me with your eyes or you still wanna look some more?".

She crossed her long arms over her chest at that point, her slightly pale skin very obvious in the bright lighting of the room.

Astro blushed at being caught then tried getting up to rest his back against the wall so their eyes would be leveled and his gaze would stop wandering.

"hm hm, uhm yeah, I'm sorry, I'm fine now, I think, seeing as I can feel my entire body, thanks" Astro replied.

He stilled as a sound kept drifting into his ears, "whats going on out there? is that music I hear?" he asked.

Sheila couldn't keep the surprise out of her face and voice,

"you can hear them all the way from here? At the ceremony in the arena? Even I can't hear as far as that" she pondered really awed.

"wait what?, did you say ceremony?, its Lucas and Leila's betrothal ceremony already? How long was I out?" Astro asked totally spiffed.

"A day and a half at least, the ceremony started not that long though" Sheila shrugged in reply.

"Hey, you should be there Sheila, with your twin sister not with me" Astro said and started feeling bad.

"Naa, she can manage without me, she won't even know I'm not there with every other person in her face" She shrugged again and looked at him.

A few seconds passed and they just held each others gaze, then Astro started to get up,

"okay, you know what? I gotta be there for Lucas as much as you need to be there for Leila, so lemme get dressed and we can go there together" he stated in a way that showed he wouldn't take no for an answer.

Sheila stood up to help him get to his feet as she agreed with him,

he went to wash up in the bathroom and moments later he came out wearing an underwear under a bathrobe.

"would you please help me get dressed? I just discovered painfully that I'm not fully healed around the shoulder" Astro beseeched.

Sheila blushed heavily and nodded with a hand on her face to hide her reddening.

Slipping the trousers on was easy enough, but as Astro bared his chest to her so she can slide on the shirt, her breath caught and she had to remind herself how to breathe.

He was just too much to take in, she deliberately slowed the process of putting the shirt on him so she could have her fill of him well enough, she loved the way his skin was slightly tanned against her pale own.

His muscular arms and slightly broad chest took her breath away every now and then,

as she buttoned him up she rested her hands on his not too hard body as she did each button.

When she got to his chest her hand felt like it had rested on his very heart because it was thumping hard against his chest.

She looked into his grey eyes on his perfect square jawed face, his dark hair falling a bit close to his eyes in rough curls and their eyes met once again as she finished the last button.

Then, Astro used his good hand to stoke the side of her face, tucked her hair strands behind her ear and again they stared for some seconds more before breaking off.

She handed him his jacket and they headed out hand in hand with the excuse of her supporting him.

***

At the ceremony, Astro ensured Lucas and Leila knew of their presence and sure enough it had the desired effect on the couple, they were really happy to see them at the ceremony as they beamed up in wide smiles when they saw them coming and after pleasantries were exchanged the couple asked them to stick with them for a while.

Astro got tired quickly a little while after though, he told Sheila who in turn told Leila who in turn also told Lucas so they'd release them to allow Astro go rest up.

Everything was starting to blend together in a blur to Astro as he was led away from the event, he knew he'd faint before he could get back to the healers place, so he told Sheila all he needed was a quiet spot away from the noise so he could rest his head.

Still Sheila took him as far from the arena as possible towards the residential area of the Chief of clan and the high ranked clan heads.

It was really silent here truly, because everyone in this area is mandated to go to a ceremony such as a betrothal especially since those involved are offsprings of high ranking clan heads.

"That's Lucas' house, and after like two buildings comes ours, that's where my Uncle and his family now stays" Astro pointed to an elegant & well polished building.

"oh, cool, but you don't stay there though" Sheila stated because she knew he had his own apartment at the elite warriors residence.

They were sitting under a twin almond tree, "your mom is a high ranked clan head, why doesn't she have her apartment here though?" Astro asked.

"well, she kinda doesn't want the attention, and being the only female clan head is in itself tasking, so she decided to be in the healers ring instead, besides I like life at the healers ring too" Sheila supplied.

Astro stayed silent in thought for a while then a sudden realization hit him "the building where I'm being treated is elegant, unlike the others in the area, its bigger and more well polished and it wasn't crowded, that could only mean..."

"Yeah yeah, you've been at my house for more than a day now and my mother treated you" Sheila finished his sentence.

He touched his shoulder as he remembered the point when the branch was being removed but not the person that removed it,

"I wasn't even aware enough to see her face, I'd have recognized her right away, I have to thank her when next I see her, and also, I need to say thank you to you too", as he said that he placed his hand on hers.

She glanced at their hands first then into his eyes.

"I've never been shown such affection and care as you've been showing me all these while, your care hasn't been lost on me at all, I've noticed it all, I only wish there was a way I could repay it all to you".

As soon as he finished the statement Sheila closed the gap between them and drew in his lips with hers for a kiss, she drew back a bit after slight seconds, but then Astro pulled her back in and deepened the kiss.