Rust had been doing her best to take care of her brother over the last few days, and was glad to see some marked improvement in his strength and his general well being. He seemed healthier, though he was still lounging about and sleeping most of the day away. She was not so concerned about that being part of the illness any more, though, so much as it was his normal personality. He did not look like he was in discomfort, and his sleep was peaceful and restorative, so she was glad that he was feeling better. She was getting tired of being his personal servant, anyway, and wanted to get back out to the pride and find her place. Her real place. There had to be more out there than taking care of her silly family all the time, right? The idea excited and scared her at the same time. Would she be able to become a Reaver? Did she want to? What else could she do? She did not want to live a quiet or safe life, that much she knew for sure. She needed something more.
Odd, on the other hand, was glad that his life was simple. Getting sick was the most drama and action he wanted to have for some time now, as he would be much happier to just stay in his den and go out and about only when he needed to eat or get a drink, or some other necessity. He was not shy, not really. Just aware that he was a complete mess, most of the time, and he was useless as a viking. The fewer in the pride that knew that, the better. He knew that his sister wanted him to leave and find a better suited home for himself, but this was where he had been born. This was in his blood. Why was he so bad at it, then? It made no sense to him, and he was hoping he had just not found his proper path just yet. Being a healer and helping others might be the calling he was seeking, so he was doing what he could to teach himself about herbs and other healing agents in the lands. So far, his knowledge had actually been useful, though only for himself. He tended to get hurt or sick a lot, after all, so half of his drive was selfish, in a way. Maybe not half, but at least a small part of it was derived from his own bad luck and poor immune system.
It was working out for him so far, though.
“You need to get off your lazy butt and get out to get your own food today, Odd,” Rust said, interrupting his pleasant nap. He sighed. All good things had to come to an end, he supposed, but he wished he could have been sick a little longer... . True enough, it had been pretty bad and for a while there he thought he was scared. Now that the fear was gone and he knew he had come out alright, though, well. He would not have minded being sick a little longer since all it really meant was staying comfortable in his den while Rust took care of everything for him. He had been allowed to sleep without anyone yelling at him for it or giving him a hard time.
Well, until now, anyway.
“Aw, come on, Rust, I’m still healing. I have to get all my energy back, you know. I’m still feeling a little woobly, and I don’t think I can run after anything fast…”
“Oh please, I know you’re fine. You look a lot better and now you’re just being a baby! Get up and get some exercise before you turn into even more of a big lump, you goof ball.”
Rust was not going to stand for his slacking off to make her do all the work. Now that the danger had passed she did not have to be super nice to him. He no longer looked like he was about to die, so she was no longer going to baby him like it. She moved over to him and gave him a shove with her shoulder, forcing him to roll from where he was laying down, though he resisted and refused to put his feet under him. He just flopped over onto his other side, and looked at her pathetically.
She frowned at him, not buying the act.
Sighing heavily, he got to his feet slowly, shaking out his fur and stretching his legs in front of him as much as he could to stretch out the laziness in his limbs. It felt good, but he just wanted to curl back up on the ground and go right back to sleep. The look on Rust’s face told him there was no chance of that, though, and he grinned sheepishly at her as he finally drew himself up to his full height and stood in front of her looking healthy and happy. She was relieved to see it, and sighed at him, shaking her head. He knew she had been honestly worried about him, and he appreciated that. He needed to prove that he did, he supposed, and that meant he was responsible for dinner that night before she was finally able to return to her own den and her own life.
“Hey sis, let me go hunt us some food. You’ve done more than enough at this point. So I want to pay you back at least a little, huh? Just wait around here and I’ll be back!”
“You don’t have to do that, we can go together…”
“Nah, I’ve got this! Let me do this for you, Rust! I’ll be right back, okay?”
“Okay…” she said hesitantly, as he hurried from the den, shaking out his paws as he went, wobbling with the effort. She shook her head, wondering if he was just going to fall down a hole or something, and she would have to go out there and help him anyway. Still, it was nice of him to offer to get dinner for them, and she was glad for the break. And glad that he was doing better. Ultimately, that was the most important thing.
Word Count: 1,049 in Google Docs
