Everything hurt.
Thrain laid in the den of the Duke he had saved, his body sore and even shifting a minute amount caused his entire body to protest to the movement. The guard groaned, his legs stretched as he rolled onto his belly. The furs underneath him felt amazing. He had never gotten to sleep on anything like this before coming to the Tianxia. He had always given his sleeping furs to sisters of his brother, especially when his younger brother had been ill. Such a small thing. On more than one occasion he had worried he would lose him, as had his father.
Father...
What would his father think of what he was doing now? Would he be proud of him for saving Han? Thrain looked over to the sleeping Duke who laid not that far from him. The steel blue lion's wounds were beginning to close, but at least the blood had been washed off by a concerned maid. She had also taken the time to gently clean the blood off of Thrain face and back slightly with a damp bundle of worn cloth she had brought in case either had gotten a fever from their wounds.
"Your face will look good after that scars."
Thrain's thoughts were interrupted to see that the Duke was awake now.
Laying on his side, Han yawned before grinning madly at his protector. "Your face. You were scarred by that monster, but it'll look good on you. It'll make you look like the hero you are." He purred as he rolled onto his back. Hissing his quickly turned, exposing his back to Thrain before standing awkwardly on three legs, the fourth held slightly in the air.
"I'm not hero...I was just doing my job." Both of the tan lion's ears went back as he replied.
"Oh quit being so modest. You saved my life and I owe you a debt that I hope I can repay one day." Really his family did, but if it had been his brother, the heir, who had been saved instead...well that would be a whole different matter. Thrain likely would have been paraded through the West house and proclaimed a hero of the house or so Han thought would have happened. Not that he wished ill on his brother, it was that he just wasn't nearly as important as an heir.
"You have no debt to pay. You are letting me rest in your den, that is payment enough." Especially since he was also getting a good word put in for him by the royal family of the West and a place to stay while he recovered. Plus a visit from their apothecary to help make sure his wounds didn't fester. It was all enough to repay whatever debt the family thought it had to him and the North.
"Yes, at my mother's command." It hadn't really been a command, but it was close enough to one. "And I said quit it. Enjoy this. If I want to be thankful that you saved my life, I damn well will be." Han snapped. He was tired of Thrain's avoidance of accepting his thanks and the thanks of his house. "Seriously, quit it."
A bit taken back by the forwardness of the Duke, Thrain nodded, keeping his head down.
"Now." Han began, staring at the larger lion with a broad smile. "Keep your head up. Despite our differences in rank, I consider you my equal."
"Your...equal?" The Duke's statement caught him off guard. He had grown to expect the forcefulness of reinforcing that yes, the West house owed him something as much as Thrain didn't seem to like it but the idea of being an equal to someone of such high ranking seemed absurd!
"Yes, my equal. As I mentioned in the presence of my parents, you may as well be my brother now. Especially because the way I'm sure they appreciate your actions." There was still a hint of remorse in his voice and on his face regardless of how strong or happy he tried to look. He had failed his mother and while he had never been formally trained to fight, he felt as though he had let them down somehow. Maybe it was because he had been causing them problems, being the talk of the West now that news of his impending marriage got out into the lower ranks.
"In fact, if you would have it. I would like for you to become a sort of blood brother of mine."
"You..you hardly know me!" Thrain objected quite loudly, garnering the whispers of nosy guards outside the den. That was not something he had been expecting to come out of the Duke's mouth. A blood brother?! They hardly knew eachother!
"I don't need to know you to know you have a good heart, Tie Shi. But if you insist, tell me about yourself. Your common name, your family, where you're from. I'd like to know." Han shifted, placing one paw over the other as both ears turned forward to listen to the impending story that was sure to come out the guard's mouth. After all, how could he deny the Duke's request?
"Now?" Thrain asked, surprised by the other lion's sudden request for a story. A story of his life no less! "Do we even have time for such a tale?" He added. An apothecary was supposed to be visiting them shortly. Would they even have time for him to finish until they arrived? Though if he didn't tell Han now, he would just bother him later. He could see it in the excitement and anticipation in the bright teal eyes.
"Yes now. We have plenty of time. We don't have many apothecaries in the West. It will likely take a little longer for one of our messengers to find one and even longer for them to even arrive. Besides...I could always shoo them away for a little while if the story gets really good." Han wiggled excitedly, ignoring the pain his body sent as a protest. "Now, come on, tell."
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