Fallen Worlds

Chapter 7: Moonlit Vigil

König carefully loosened the knot holding Wolf's bandage in place. She watched him from beneath the shadow of her mask. "...What's wrong?" He didn't answer. Instead… He slowly lifted the edge of her cloak. Then froze. Wolf immediately noticed. "...König?" His eyes never left the wound. "...You've bled through it." Silence. "...What?" Wolf tried to sit up. A firm hand stopped her. "Please." His voice was quieter than she'd ever heard it. "Don't move." She looked down, finally noticing the dark stain spreading through the fabric around her side. "...No..." König was already standing. "I need more bandages." He pushed through the tent flap. "Ghost!" The shout cut across the campsite. Ghost's head snapped toward the tent. "What?" "I need you." Something in König's voice erased any thought of asking questions. Ghost was moving before the words had fully left his mouth. Price wasn't far behind. The three entered the tent almost together. Ghost looked down. His eyes widened. "...The hell?" Price followed his gaze. His expression hardened instantly. "König..." He knelt beside Wolf. "Why didn't you tell us?" Before König could answer— "Because I asked him not to." Wolf's voice came clipped through gritted teeth. "I didn't need the entire camp worrying over a scratch." Ghost looked at the soaked bandage. "A scratch?" "It should've healed." She frowned beneath the mask. "It should've been closed by this morning." Ghost looked at her as though she'd lost her mind. "...Should've?" Wolf's gaze shifted toward König. "You going to tell them too?" König hesitated. Only briefly. "...Might as well."

Wolf sighed. "I suppose there's no hiding it now." König looked toward Price and Ghost. "She's a werewolf." Silence filled the tent. "If I remember correctly..." He looked back toward the wound. "...They heal much faster than humans." Price absorbed the information without comment. There would be questions later. Right now… There were more important things. "Show me." König nodded. Slowly… Very carefully… He peeled the blood-soaked bandage away. Wolf inhaled sharply. "...Sorry." He whispered almost immediately. Fresh blood welled up from the wound. Then… Began running freely down her side. "...Fuck." He immediately pressed the bandage back against it. Wolf hissed through clenched teeth. "Varesh..." The curse slipped out before she could stop it. She instinctively tried to roll away. Three hands stopped her. Ghost caught one shoulder. Price braced the other. König steadied her hips before she could twist any farther. "That needs fixing." Ghost was already on his feet. "I'll get the med kit." He disappeared from the tent. Price never took his eyes off the wound. "...This isn't good." König swallowed. "I know." "Move." Price pointed toward Wolf's head. "Keep her still." König obeyed immediately, kneeling behind her. Wolf glared at both of them. "You are all..." She winced. "...Unbelievably annoying." Price almost smiled. "We've been called worse." König gently rested one hand against her shoulder. The other found her forearm. Not restraining. Simply keeping her steady. "Wolf." She looked up at him. "If this hurts..." "...I'm aware." "No." He met her eyes. "I mean..." His voice softened. "...I'm sorry." For just a second… The irritation in her posture eased. "It isn't your fault." Ghost returned a moment later carrying the medical kit. He slid to his knees beside Price. "I've got it." Price immediately opened the case, pulling out fresh bandages, antiseptic, and a curved needle with heavy thread. Wolf's eyes narrowed. "...That..." She looked at the needle. "...Looks unnecessary." Price didn't sugarcoat it. "No." He prepared the thread with steady hands. "It looks necessary." Wolf looked from the supplies… To the blood soaking through the bandage. "...How bad?" Nobody answered immediately. Price finally looked up. His honesty never wavered. "It's going to hurt like a bitch." He paused. "But if we don't stop this..." His expression remained calm. "...You could bleed out." The tent fell silent. Wolf closed her eyes. Took one slow breath. Then opened them again. "Do it." She looked directly at Price. "Even if I tell you not to." Price gave one firm nod. "I've got you." He looked toward Ghost. "Help König keep her still." Ghost immediately moved beside them. König shifted behind Wolf, careful not to jostle her injured side. For a moment...

The three men looked at one another. No words were needed. Price took a steadying breath. "Ready?" Wolf answered without hesitation. "...Get it over with." Outside… The campfire crackled peacefully. The horses grazed. Birds called through the trees. Inside the tent… The world narrowed to a wound… And three men determined not to lose the woman who had carried them this far.

Wolf fought them. Not with strikes. Not with magic. With pure instinct. Every time Price reached for the wound, she twisted, trying to pull away despite the pain tearing through her side. "Easy." König shifted behind her, wrapping one powerful arm carefully across her upper chest while keeping well clear of the injury itself. His other hand steadied her shoulder as she tried to wrench free. "I know." His voice was little more than a murmur beside her ear. "I know it hurts." Wolf answered with another growl. Low. Deep. The sound barely sounded human. It vibrated through König's chest where he held her. Ghost tightened his grip around her legs as another violent jerk nearly threw Price off balance. "She's stronger than she looks." Price didn't even glance up. "I noticed." Fresh blood coated his hands. Every time he cleaned the wound, more welled from beneath the torn flesh. "Hold her." "I'm trying." Ghost answered through gritted teeth. Wolf bucked again. The entire tent shifted. König tightened his hold just enough to stop her from reopening the wound further. "I'm sorry." He hated every word. "But you have to stay still." Another growl rumbled from her throat. She shook her head violently. "No..." Her voice cracked beneath the pain. "No..." Price threaded the curved needle with steady hands. "Almost there." He worked quickly. Every stitch pulled the wound closed another fraction. Every stitch drew another involuntary growl from Wolf. The sound wasn't loud. It was worse than loud. It was restrained. The kind of pain someone tried desperately not to let anyone hear. König swallowed hard.

"Easy, Liebling." His voice stayed calm. Soft. "You're doing well." Wolf's hands clenched into fists. The fabric beneath them tore slightly. Another stitch. Another. Price never stopped moving. "We're almost finished." His sleeves were stained red to the elbows now. "Just a little longer." Wolf's breathing became ragged. Each breath shallower than the last. König felt it before he saw it. "...Wolf?" Her body suddenly relaxed. Completely. The growling stopped. The struggling stopped. Everything… Stopped. "Wolf?" König immediately eased his hold, supporting her as she went limp. For one terrible heartbeat— Nobody spoke. Ghost looked up. "...König?" The Austrian leaned forward immediately, one gloved hand finding the side of her neck. His other rested lightly against her back. Searching. Waiting. Then… A breath. Slow. Weak. But there. "...She's breathing." Relief swept through the tent almost instantly. Price didn't pause. "She passed out." His hands never stopped working. "Probably the pain." He tied off another stitch. "Honestly..." A quiet exhale escaped him. "...It's probably for the best." König remained where he was, listening carefully. Her heartbeat was faint beneath his fingertips. But steady. "...Ja." He nodded more to himself than anyone else. "She's still here." Ghost slowly let go of her legs, though he stayed close in case she woke suddenly. The tent fell quiet. The only sounds left were Price finishing the last of the stitches… The occasional crackle of the campfire outside… And Wolf's slow, even breathing. Price finally cut the thread. He sat back on his heels, looking over the wound one final time before applying fresh bandages with far more care than speed. "There." He leaned back, rubbing exhausted hands across his trousers. "That should hold." No one moved. König was still watching Wolf. Waiting for the steady rise and fall of her breathing. One… Then another. Only after the third breath did he finally allow himself to relax. Outside… Morning carried on as though nothing had happened.

The forest remained alive with birdsong, the breeze gently stirring the treetops overhead. Somewhere beyond the tent, Soap complained loudly about breakfast while Gaz laughed at whatever he'd managed to burn. Inside… No one moved. König quietly gathered the blood-soaked bandages into a small pile before beginning to clean the dried crimson from his hands. "I'm staying with her." Price looked up from packing away the medical kit. "Probably for the best." He stood, stretching the stiffness from his back. "If she wakes up and tries to move, she'll tear every stitch I just put in." He looked toward Wolf's sleeping form. "We'll stay here another day." Ghost nodded. "She'll be stable enough to travel tomorrow." "If she actually listens." Price muttered. Neither man believed she would. Ghost's gaze drifted toward Wolf before settling on König. "...You were right." König looked up. Ghost folded his arms. "About the wound." Silence settled between them. Finally… König shook his head. "Don't." Ghost frowned. "...Don't what?" "Blame yourself." His voice remained calm. "She wasn't trying to be difficult." König glanced back toward Wolf. "...She just didn't want to bother anyone." Ghost looked at the unconscious woman for several long seconds. "...Right." He quietly picked up the discarded cloths, helping clean the tent without another word.

The day passed slowly. The camp remained where it was. Soap and Gaz rotated watch with Price. The horses rested. Meals were cooked. The forest settled into its usual rhythm. By the time Wolf finally stirred again… The sun had long disappeared beyond the trees. Crickets sang outside the tent. A small lantern hanging near the entrance cast a warm amber glow across the canvas walls. Wolf blinked. Everything felt… Heavy. She frowned beneath her mask and instinctively pushed herself upright. A hand rested gently against her shoulder. "Not so fast, Liebling." König's voice was quiet. Wolf's vision slowly focused. She found him sitting beside her bedroll, one arm resting casually across a bent knee. "...You're still here." "I said I would stay." She stared at him for another moment. "You keep calling me that." A faint tilt of her head. "...And I still have no idea what it means." A quiet laugh escaped him. Before she could question it further, König leaned forward until his forehead rested lightly against the smooth surface of her mask. His hood slipped forward, draping over part of it like a curtain. "You will." His voice was barely above a whisper. "...When I want you to." Wolf let out a thoughtful little hum. "...You're impossible." König leaned back again. "So I've been told."

A familiar voice interrupted them. "Well..." Ghost folded his arms near the entrance of the tent. "...Look who's finally awake." Wolf turned toward him. "Oh." A tiny spark of mischief found its way into her voice. "The skull man returns." Ghost raised an eyebrow. "That's the best you've got?" "I literally just woke up." "...Fair." Ghost stepped farther inside. "You look better." Wolf considered that for a moment. "...I feel like shit." She laughed. Immediately regretted it. Pain shot through her side. She hissed quietly. Ghost was beside her before she could tip forward, one hand steadying her shoulder. "Easy." "No laughing." Wolf looked up at him. "...Bossy." "I've been spending too much time around Price." That earned the smallest snort from König. Before anyone could say another word

— Grrrrrrr.

The sound filled the tent. All three froze. Wolf looked down. Her stomach answered with another loud growl. Ghost blinked. "...Was that—" "My stomach." Wolf interrupted. She sounded genuinely offended. "I'm starving." Another growl echoed through the tent. König tried very hard not to smile. "It appears..." He failed. "...You are." Wolf folded her arms. "I wasn't joking." She sighed. "Werewolves..." She paused, choosing her words carefully. "...Need a lot of food when we're healing." "It probably explains why I wasn't." König was already getting to his feet. "I'll make you a plate." He ducked toward the tent flap before glancing back. "Ghost." The masked lieutenant looked over. "Don't let her get up." Ghost nodded once. "Sorted." König disappeared outside. The tent fell quiet again. Ghost looked toward Wolf. Then… Very deliberately… "...So." Wolf immediately knew that tone. "...Don't." "A werewolf, huh?" She slowly lifted one arm. "Oh, absolutely not." Ghost leaned back just enough. Wolf made a lazy swipe toward him. He caught her wrist with ease. "...Nice try." Wolf let out an exaggerated sigh. "I liked you better when you talked less." Ghost tilted his head. "You've known me for barely two days." "And?" "...Give it time." For the first time since waking… Wolf laughed again. Much more carefully this time. "...You're both insufferable." Ghost folded his arms with quiet satisfaction. "...You're still smiling." Wolf realized she was. "...Don't get used to it." "I wasn't planning on it." Neither of them noticed… Outside the tent, König paused for just a second after hearing the conversation. A faint smile tugged beneath his hood before he continued toward the fire to make sure Wolf got enough food to satisfy what was undoubtedly going to be a very large appetite.