16th of Ash, 120
It took him four entire hours to finish the bird. It was a wonder that he even tried to eat again at all, considering he'd nearly choked to death on a drumstick just a little before he began to eat. Fayeth had saved him by dislodging the food and opted to take a more active role in Arkash's rehabilitation. She sat at his side on the stained mattress while he broke off tiny pieces of chicken and swallowed them with the utmost care; he didn't feel comfortable eating otherwise.
Something was wrong with his throat, he tried to explain. "I need t' think about swallowin'. Ev'ry step, ev'ry muscle... It don't work on i'ss own enymore." It was true, and it was a lot more difficult to manage larger pieces. His jaw ached from all the bones he had to bite through, as he'd managed to swallow the entire chicken in tiny chunks with the persistence of his mentors; they wouldn't let him stop eating, and stood unfaltering in their expectation that he ate the entire bird. He agreed to some extent. Due to his cold-blooded nature, they hadn't fed him at all while he was asleep for a month and a half; it left him severely withered, so, he needed to eat a lot of big meals like that often to recover his lost mass.
"You'll get through it. I think you're just a bit shaken from it all and you're thinking too much. How many mouthfuls have you swallowed in your life?" Fayeth asked while she rested a hand on his shoulder. She was sat on his sighted side while his legs dangled off the edge of the grimy bed.
"A lot, I guess..." Arkash started. He knew what she was getting at, but it didn't feel right. He was convinced there was something wrong with his throat. The timing of it all was the most terrible, though. It was just when Arkash grew a sense of pride in his accomplishments that he needed to nearly die from the most basic mortal function imaginable.
"It was just a one-off mistake, Ark. You'll get over it." The pale woman smiled, and her red eyes gleamed in the dark of the abandoned lumber processing warehouse. Sunlight poured through some high-up windows near the rooftop and allowed the three to see better in the dark of the hideaway, but Arkash wasn't all too interested in the sights. It was leaky, it crumbled in one part, and there were rats everywhere.
"Thanks, Fay." He'd adjusted well to his new circumstances over a very short period of time, but Arkash was nothing if not adaptable. It was how he survived so long in Lower Nivenhain. Then again, his comfort around the siltori could have been due to many factors. For one, she'd saved him from certain death just that day, and even saved him from the hollows that attacked him in Searing.
The siltori simply smiled, then looked to Asmodei, who sat just across from the pair. "I'm... Still really sorry, Ark," Asmodei spoke in common. It was the avialae who just stood there while Arkash choked. If it weren't for Fayeth, he would have died that day. So, Arkash saw the guilt that painted his face. It was obvious that the winged man took his failures hard, and Arkash recognized that.
"It's okay," Arkash started in common with a slight smile on th right side of his mouth. "Mistakes happen, and I'm alright, right?" he spoke in vithmi; it was easier for him, and the avialae understood him.
Asmodei smiled a little; Arkash was successful in his ploy to comfort the winged protector. "Are you ready to try standing?" Offered the false argent. Arkash's smile dropped.
He felt so weak. He was uncertain if he'd be able to stand by himself, not without months of exercise. But, there was a thought that kept him going. "Th' sooner I c'n walk agen, th' sooner I c'n look for Cojack, rite?" he asked in his thick common for both to hear. Both the siltori and the avialae looked at one another with uncertainty, then Fayeth bowed her head.
"We'll help you look once you're able to walk again; don't forget that you're still wanted." With that, she gently rubbed at his shoulder, then drew him a little closer to half-hug him. "But only after you can walk without help. Okay?"
They would help him? They would. Fayeth and Asmodei were some of the nicest people he knew. Often times, he felt that he didn't deserve their kindness or generosity. But as it happened, he needed them. "Thank 'ew... both of 'ew," Arkash smiled, exhaled, then gripped the edge of the bed. "I'm ready." With that, he pushed off the bed, and his feet met the ground. The argent shot out an arm to try and catch him, as he was caught off guard. His legs held his weight for just a moment, then buckled. His knees met the planked floor with a grunt, and he fell to rest on his elbows, then dropped to his left side. Wow.
At once, Asmodei knelt at Arkash's side, and looked down at the rathari's yellow eye. "Ark! Are you alright?!"
Arkash laid there and stared at the wooden planks while he ran his claws against the wood. "My knees hurt," he spoke flatly in vithmi. "Why am I so pathetic?"
"What did he say?" Quizzed Fayeth with something of a hint of concern in her voice.
"Ahh, he's alright!" Spoke Asmodei in common before he directed his attention to the lizard. "It's okay, Ark. You're not pathetic. Remember you've got the entire weight of that chicken in your stomach too, it's unreasonable to expect to be able to stand right off the bat." He spoke in vithmi, which meant Fayeth was none the wiser of what was being said between the two.
Arkash exhaled deeply. While that was true, he loathed his own weakness. He didn't want to depend on anyone, he didn't want to be a bother or an encumberment. After all, he'd gone from providing for Cojack to being completely useless himself. In a way, it was his pride that was damaged, his dignity. Every failure just sank him further and further into despair. "Can you pick me up?" Was all he spoke to Asmodei's words of encouragement.
"...Aren't you going to try and get yourself up?" Asked Asmodei with a furrow to his brow.
"I don't want to," answered the rathari, his voice sullen. "Please just pick me up, Az..."
Asmodei paused a moment, then shook his head. "Try. Crawl to the bed frame and lift yourself up."
Arkash began to whimper in a quiet cry. He didn't have the heart to face more of his own failures.
"What's happening? Why is he crying?" begged the pale siltori in common.
"-He's a little disheartened," answered the avialae in the same tongue. "If you can get on your knees, I promise to help you stand on your next try. Fair?" Asmodei danced between languages with ease.
Arkash's crying slowed to a sniffle, and he wiped at his right cheek with his claws. Laying on the floor and crying wasn't going to help him learn to stand again, he recognized. But he had to fight his weakened muscles and his own misery to make any progress. "Alright," he spoke through his tears, then took a deep breath to steady himself and pressed his claws into the wooden boards. His limb shook with a strain before he remembered to use his stump to help himself up. He leaned his weight into the elbow of the shortened limb and huffed. Already, he struggled and shook with pressure. His stomach was a hotspot of tension and muscular weakness.
There, on the floor, it was difficult just to lift his head, but he managed to get a look at his placement. He needed to turn around to face the bed frame, so he began to crawl. He pushed with an extension of his right arm, then walked with his left in a sort of hopping motion. He had to stop halfway through to catch his breath but continued to turn the whole way around. His stomach burned with muscular strain, along with his shoulders and his upper back.
When he finally faced the frame, he took another pause to gather his breath, then lifted his stump arm to rest on the frame. It was a high bed, so he had what felt like a monumental task ahead of him. He leaned his weight into the frame while he moved his right arm to hold the iron. He was stood on his knees; he'd done what Asmodei asked of him, even if he was out of breath.
"You did it!" Cheered Asmodei in common, and he closed the short gap with the rathari.
"Wait," spoke Arkash in turn. Asmodei paused. "Le'me go th' rest o' th' wey," he half ordered with a tone of firmness. Asmodei raised his brows, then took a step back. Fayeth watched from the perch of the high bed with piqued interest. With their silent approval, Arkash lowered his right arm to press into the lower section of the frame, which gave him the vantage he needed to move his feet under him. Once his claws were secure, he pushed into his feet with his legs and gripped a higher part of the frame, which jostled the whole bed as it caught his weight. He was... almost standing.
With another heave, Arkash threw his weight on the bedding, and gripped the opposite side of the primitive mattress. His venture had left him exhausted, but he was almost on the bed. All he had to do was lift his leg and he'd be able to crawl atop the mattress. As he tried to shift his leg, he felt the other wobble with exhaustion. He couldn't climb fast enough, so he put his foot back down. That was the most he was able to achieve. "Okay..." he spoke through an exhausted wheeze. "Okay, 'm done." he declared, and Asmodei lifted his weight with ease. He was placed fully on the mattress on his front, and he laid there in complete exhaustion. Fayeth had long since stood to give him space.
"You almost did it, Ark. That's so impressive!" Spoke Asmodei, who gave the young rath a pat on his back. Arkash didn't reply, he just laid there in the dim light of the warehouse and caught his breath. He had nearly done it, he'd done more than Asmodei asked of him, and that was cause to be proud.
It took him four entire hours to finish the bird. It was a wonder that he even tried to eat again at all, considering he'd nearly choked to death on a drumstick just a little before he began to eat. Fayeth had saved him by dislodging the food and opted to take a more active role in Arkash's rehabilitation. She sat at his side on the stained mattress while he broke off tiny pieces of chicken and swallowed them with the utmost care; he didn't feel comfortable eating otherwise.
Something was wrong with his throat, he tried to explain. "I need t' think about swallowin'. Ev'ry step, ev'ry muscle... It don't work on i'ss own enymore." It was true, and it was a lot more difficult to manage larger pieces. His jaw ached from all the bones he had to bite through, as he'd managed to swallow the entire chicken in tiny chunks with the persistence of his mentors; they wouldn't let him stop eating, and stood unfaltering in their expectation that he ate the entire bird. He agreed to some extent. Due to his cold-blooded nature, they hadn't fed him at all while he was asleep for a month and a half; it left him severely withered, so, he needed to eat a lot of big meals like that often to recover his lost mass.
"You'll get through it. I think you're just a bit shaken from it all and you're thinking too much. How many mouthfuls have you swallowed in your life?" Fayeth asked while she rested a hand on his shoulder. She was sat on his sighted side while his legs dangled off the edge of the grimy bed.
"A lot, I guess..." Arkash started. He knew what she was getting at, but it didn't feel right. He was convinced there was something wrong with his throat. The timing of it all was the most terrible, though. It was just when Arkash grew a sense of pride in his accomplishments that he needed to nearly die from the most basic mortal function imaginable.
"It was just a one-off mistake, Ark. You'll get over it." The pale woman smiled, and her red eyes gleamed in the dark of the abandoned lumber processing warehouse. Sunlight poured through some high-up windows near the rooftop and allowed the three to see better in the dark of the hideaway, but Arkash wasn't all too interested in the sights. It was leaky, it crumbled in one part, and there were rats everywhere.
"Thanks, Fay." He'd adjusted well to his new circumstances over a very short period of time, but Arkash was nothing if not adaptable. It was how he survived so long in Lower Nivenhain. Then again, his comfort around the siltori could have been due to many factors. For one, she'd saved him from certain death just that day, and even saved him from the hollows that attacked him in Searing.
The siltori simply smiled, then looked to Asmodei, who sat just across from the pair. "I'm... Still really sorry, Ark," Asmodei spoke in common. It was the avialae who just stood there while Arkash choked. If it weren't for Fayeth, he would have died that day. So, Arkash saw the guilt that painted his face. It was obvious that the winged man took his failures hard, and Arkash recognized that.
"It's okay," Arkash started in common with a slight smile on th right side of his mouth. "Mistakes happen, and I'm alright, right?" he spoke in vithmi; it was easier for him, and the avialae understood him.
Asmodei smiled a little; Arkash was successful in his ploy to comfort the winged protector. "Are you ready to try standing?" Offered the false argent. Arkash's smile dropped.
He felt so weak. He was uncertain if he'd be able to stand by himself, not without months of exercise. But, there was a thought that kept him going. "Th' sooner I c'n walk agen, th' sooner I c'n look for Cojack, rite?" he asked in his thick common for both to hear. Both the siltori and the avialae looked at one another with uncertainty, then Fayeth bowed her head.
"We'll help you look once you're able to walk again; don't forget that you're still wanted." With that, she gently rubbed at his shoulder, then drew him a little closer to half-hug him. "But only after you can walk without help. Okay?"
They would help him? They would. Fayeth and Asmodei were some of the nicest people he knew. Often times, he felt that he didn't deserve their kindness or generosity. But as it happened, he needed them. "Thank 'ew... both of 'ew," Arkash smiled, exhaled, then gripped the edge of the bed. "I'm ready." With that, he pushed off the bed, and his feet met the ground. The argent shot out an arm to try and catch him, as he was caught off guard. His legs held his weight for just a moment, then buckled. His knees met the planked floor with a grunt, and he fell to rest on his elbows, then dropped to his left side. Wow.
At once, Asmodei knelt at Arkash's side, and looked down at the rathari's yellow eye. "Ark! Are you alright?!"
Arkash laid there and stared at the wooden planks while he ran his claws against the wood. "My knees hurt," he spoke flatly in vithmi. "Why am I so pathetic?"
"What did he say?" Quizzed Fayeth with something of a hint of concern in her voice.
"Ahh, he's alright!" Spoke Asmodei in common before he directed his attention to the lizard. "It's okay, Ark. You're not pathetic. Remember you've got the entire weight of that chicken in your stomach too, it's unreasonable to expect to be able to stand right off the bat." He spoke in vithmi, which meant Fayeth was none the wiser of what was being said between the two.
Arkash exhaled deeply. While that was true, he loathed his own weakness. He didn't want to depend on anyone, he didn't want to be a bother or an encumberment. After all, he'd gone from providing for Cojack to being completely useless himself. In a way, it was his pride that was damaged, his dignity. Every failure just sank him further and further into despair. "Can you pick me up?" Was all he spoke to Asmodei's words of encouragement.
"...Aren't you going to try and get yourself up?" Asked Asmodei with a furrow to his brow.
"I don't want to," answered the rathari, his voice sullen. "Please just pick me up, Az..."
Asmodei paused a moment, then shook his head. "Try. Crawl to the bed frame and lift yourself up."
Arkash began to whimper in a quiet cry. He didn't have the heart to face more of his own failures.
"What's happening? Why is he crying?" begged the pale siltori in common.
"-He's a little disheartened," answered the avialae in the same tongue. "If you can get on your knees, I promise to help you stand on your next try. Fair?" Asmodei danced between languages with ease.
Arkash's crying slowed to a sniffle, and he wiped at his right cheek with his claws. Laying on the floor and crying wasn't going to help him learn to stand again, he recognized. But he had to fight his weakened muscles and his own misery to make any progress. "Alright," he spoke through his tears, then took a deep breath to steady himself and pressed his claws into the wooden boards. His limb shook with a strain before he remembered to use his stump to help himself up. He leaned his weight into the elbow of the shortened limb and huffed. Already, he struggled and shook with pressure. His stomach was a hotspot of tension and muscular weakness.
There, on the floor, it was difficult just to lift his head, but he managed to get a look at his placement. He needed to turn around to face the bed frame, so he began to crawl. He pushed with an extension of his right arm, then walked with his left in a sort of hopping motion. He had to stop halfway through to catch his breath but continued to turn the whole way around. His stomach burned with muscular strain, along with his shoulders and his upper back.
When he finally faced the frame, he took another pause to gather his breath, then lifted his stump arm to rest on the frame. It was a high bed, so he had what felt like a monumental task ahead of him. He leaned his weight into the frame while he moved his right arm to hold the iron. He was stood on his knees; he'd done what Asmodei asked of him, even if he was out of breath.
"You did it!" Cheered Asmodei in common, and he closed the short gap with the rathari.
"Wait," spoke Arkash in turn. Asmodei paused. "Le'me go th' rest o' th' wey," he half ordered with a tone of firmness. Asmodei raised his brows, then took a step back. Fayeth watched from the perch of the high bed with piqued interest. With their silent approval, Arkash lowered his right arm to press into the lower section of the frame, which gave him the vantage he needed to move his feet under him. Once his claws were secure, he pushed into his feet with his legs and gripped a higher part of the frame, which jostled the whole bed as it caught his weight. He was... almost standing.
With another heave, Arkash threw his weight on the bedding, and gripped the opposite side of the primitive mattress. His venture had left him exhausted, but he was almost on the bed. All he had to do was lift his leg and he'd be able to crawl atop the mattress. As he tried to shift his leg, he felt the other wobble with exhaustion. He couldn't climb fast enough, so he put his foot back down. That was the most he was able to achieve. "Okay..." he spoke through an exhausted wheeze. "Okay, 'm done." he declared, and Asmodei lifted his weight with ease. He was placed fully on the mattress on his front, and he laid there in complete exhaustion. Fayeth had long since stood to give him space.
"You almost did it, Ark. That's so impressive!" Spoke Asmodei, who gave the young rath a pat on his back. Arkash didn't reply, he just laid there in the dim light of the warehouse and caught his breath. He had nearly done it, he'd done more than Asmodei asked of him, and that was cause to be proud.
