[Memory] Sick.
Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2020 6:04 am
67th of Frost 112
Arkash coughed hard into his balled fist, but it wasn't quite enough to dislodge the congested, sticky feeling at the back of his mouth. A hard rumble in his throat sounded through his pursed lips as he tried to clear it, then drew another deep breath through his nostril before he tried to cough up the vile phlegm that was trapped there.
He didn't normally care about such discomforts, but the mucus that currently rested lodged in his throat was particularly grim due to the air he'd breathed for the entire day. His mouth still tasted of dust, but the slime he gargled as was condensed, bitter with filth.
A hard paw slapped against his back to aid him in his efforts, and he finally coughed up the darkened phlegm onto his tongue, then quickly spat it from his jaws.
"Gross," called his mother's voice from beside him, and he looked to the gray mucus with a curl of his lips in a disgusted snarl.
"How do you think I feel? That was stuck in my throat all day!" he whined, and looked to the wolf's eyes. She looked back to him with her own yellowed irises.
The two held a long look at one another, with Liu towering over the boy, before the two began to smile, then broke into laughter. She petted his head through his thick winter hood gently before they resumed their walk home through the snowy streets of Lower Nivenhain, and continued to speak in Vithmi.
"You worked hard today, I think you beat your last haul," commented the wolf as she brushed some coal dust from the fur of her cheek. She was covered head to toe in black stains, just as Arkash was. But it was far less noticeable on his darker scales.
"I did my best," spoke the younger Rath with a turn of his hands and a proud smile, only to pause and visibly deflate.
Liu looked to the boy from the corner of her eye, then turned her head to look at him. "What's with the long face, hun?" She asked simply, then looked ahead once more.
"...Just wish dad was there," spoke the boy. "I know he's not well, but it's weird working without him, you know?"
The wolf nodded, though she didn't look back to Arkash. "Yeah, I get ya," she spoke with a light smile, then patted over his fur-lined hood again. "But, it's only for a day or two. The coal dust was irritating his lungs is all."
Arkash hummed. "...Do you think he's alright out in the woods?" It had been particularly cold earlier in the day, and Arkash had to return to the fires more often than he normally did to warm up.
"Ah, he's fine," Liu waved a hand in dismissal. "You know how thick his coats are. Hell, they even kept you warm that one time." Arkash knew what time she spoke of, though he didn't like to remember it.
"Yeah, I know," he sighed, then turned the corner with Liu to follow along the short stretch of footpath that led to their tiny wooden shack, tucked between two larger stone houses. At the door, Liu turned her filled backpack around, drew a key from its side compartment, then unlocked the padlock on their door before they both proceeded in. Without the fire running, the inside of their wooden shack was just as cold as the outside, so the wolf put her bag down and immediately got to work on lighting some tinder. Meanwhile, Arkash wrapped his arms around himself and pulled his scarf up.
A smile took the wolf's lips as she finished stacking some firewood, then promptly drew her bag to the table in the corner of the room. From it, she began to unpack various pieces of food, including a quarter of a ham. "Why don't we make a stew tonight?" She offered with a glance back at the shivering lizard. "It's strange that you can eat your veggies, even though you're a meat-eater, but it does make our lives easier."
Arkash paused in his shivering, then moved to sit by the fire so that he could warm up quicker. Finally, he nodded. "Sounds good, mom" he spoke, then loosed a visible breath of air. He didn't know why, but the cold was always worse when he stopped moving; as if it gave purchase to creep to his bones. Regardless, he looked to the ingredients they had available, and there wasn't much meat. Normally, whenever they made stew, Cojack would have the first bowl of only vegetable ingredients, followed by Arkash with some meat added. Finally, Liu would eat the rest of the meat, but it would scarcely be enough. "Mom?"
"Yeah, Ark?"
"Don't put any meat in mine this time, okay?"
To that, his mother raised a brow. "..What? Not hungry?" She asked with a glance at the lizard, then resumed chopping up the carrots. There were plenty of Vegetables there, Arkash could get his fill with just vegetables alone... But he did feel weaker the next day, every time without fail.
"Just not in the mood for it, I guess," he lied as he put a claw to the back of his neck and rubbed. Liu looked back at him with a faint smile, then sighed as she moved the sliced carrots to the pot.
"Alright then, more for me." She didn't argue back as much as she normally did, so Arkash knew she must have been hungry. She needed all the ham, Arkash would survive with just vegetables. Cojack managed, didn't he?
With a smile, Arkash rose to his feet, then approached the table. He was warm enough to not shiver, and his muscles were working as they should be. So, he took his own knife as well as some of the tomatoes and looked to his mother for an example. He watched Liu carefully, and how she used the knife. The upper part of the blade rested on the board while she pressed down with the lower part of the knife while feeding the vegetable through.
So, Arkash did the same. At once, he found a spray of tomato juice splatter his muzzle, and he shut his eyes out of shock. Liu looked to the boy as he paused, then laughed a breath. "Try dicing them instead, hun. It works better for the stew, anyway."
Arkash furrowed his brow and lifted a claw to his muzzle, where he wiped the juice off. He couldn't lick it off, else his venom would be on his fingers. So, he brushed it off on his pants, then resumed dicing. In order to do so, he made a few horizontal cuts in the body of the tomato that didn't quite cut all the way to the bottom, then turned it ninety degrees and repeated the process. Finally, he turned the fruit on its side and began to cut down to form little cubes. Once he was done, he moved on to the next tomato.
He hadn't really thought about the amount of food they used, but it seemed like a lot at first glance. Of course, Cojack was quite big, so it made sense. One had to consider all the bellies that needed filling when cooking for three.
Soon after, the latch fo the door clicked, and both mother and son looked to the door. Cojack stepped in, along with the winter breeze. The horse appeared tired, worn out, but neither Liu nor Arkash thought much of it; they both felt how he looked.
"Hey dad," smiled the youngest Rath, who put his knife and diced tomatoes aside before he closed the gap with his father, only to attempt to wrap his arms around him. Liu followed suit, and gave the horse a hug of her own.
"How was work, honey?" She asked. Cojack drew a long, raspy breath, then coughed into his sleeve. The cough was aggressive, painful-sounding, and jerked Cojack's whole upper body.
"Not great, if I'm honest..." replied the horse as he lowered his arm, and looked to the spot in which he coughed. Both Arkash and Liu looked at him with worry, but Liu saw something Arkash couldn't when she saw his sleeve.
"Hey, Ark... Why don't you chop up the onions while I help your dad settle down?" The wolf offered. Arkash nodded and looked to the horse with worry. Something was wrong, he knew. Part of him was too afraid to ask; as if he could escape what came next if he remained blissfully unaware, but that wasn't the case.
Regardless, he hugged Cojack tighter for a squeeze, then spoke "feel better soon, dad" as he looked up at him. It was then that Arkash stepped away, and returned to the chopping board. Meanwhile, Liu helped the horse out of his coat, and onto the bed, where he rested for the remainder of the night, and only woke to partake in the stew... Which he barely touched.
It was agreed that three of them would take off work the next day, and the thought put Arkash's mind at ease, but not for long.
Arkash coughed hard into his balled fist, but it wasn't quite enough to dislodge the congested, sticky feeling at the back of his mouth. A hard rumble in his throat sounded through his pursed lips as he tried to clear it, then drew another deep breath through his nostril before he tried to cough up the vile phlegm that was trapped there.
He didn't normally care about such discomforts, but the mucus that currently rested lodged in his throat was particularly grim due to the air he'd breathed for the entire day. His mouth still tasted of dust, but the slime he gargled as was condensed, bitter with filth.
A hard paw slapped against his back to aid him in his efforts, and he finally coughed up the darkened phlegm onto his tongue, then quickly spat it from his jaws.
"Gross," called his mother's voice from beside him, and he looked to the gray mucus with a curl of his lips in a disgusted snarl.
"How do you think I feel? That was stuck in my throat all day!" he whined, and looked to the wolf's eyes. She looked back to him with her own yellowed irises.
The two held a long look at one another, with Liu towering over the boy, before the two began to smile, then broke into laughter. She petted his head through his thick winter hood gently before they resumed their walk home through the snowy streets of Lower Nivenhain, and continued to speak in Vithmi.
"You worked hard today, I think you beat your last haul," commented the wolf as she brushed some coal dust from the fur of her cheek. She was covered head to toe in black stains, just as Arkash was. But it was far less noticeable on his darker scales.
"I did my best," spoke the younger Rath with a turn of his hands and a proud smile, only to pause and visibly deflate.
Liu looked to the boy from the corner of her eye, then turned her head to look at him. "What's with the long face, hun?" She asked simply, then looked ahead once more.
"...Just wish dad was there," spoke the boy. "I know he's not well, but it's weird working without him, you know?"
The wolf nodded, though she didn't look back to Arkash. "Yeah, I get ya," she spoke with a light smile, then patted over his fur-lined hood again. "But, it's only for a day or two. The coal dust was irritating his lungs is all."
Arkash hummed. "...Do you think he's alright out in the woods?" It had been particularly cold earlier in the day, and Arkash had to return to the fires more often than he normally did to warm up.
"Ah, he's fine," Liu waved a hand in dismissal. "You know how thick his coats are. Hell, they even kept you warm that one time." Arkash knew what time she spoke of, though he didn't like to remember it.
"Yeah, I know," he sighed, then turned the corner with Liu to follow along the short stretch of footpath that led to their tiny wooden shack, tucked between two larger stone houses. At the door, Liu turned her filled backpack around, drew a key from its side compartment, then unlocked the padlock on their door before they both proceeded in. Without the fire running, the inside of their wooden shack was just as cold as the outside, so the wolf put her bag down and immediately got to work on lighting some tinder. Meanwhile, Arkash wrapped his arms around himself and pulled his scarf up.
A smile took the wolf's lips as she finished stacking some firewood, then promptly drew her bag to the table in the corner of the room. From it, she began to unpack various pieces of food, including a quarter of a ham. "Why don't we make a stew tonight?" She offered with a glance back at the shivering lizard. "It's strange that you can eat your veggies, even though you're a meat-eater, but it does make our lives easier."
Arkash paused in his shivering, then moved to sit by the fire so that he could warm up quicker. Finally, he nodded. "Sounds good, mom" he spoke, then loosed a visible breath of air. He didn't know why, but the cold was always worse when he stopped moving; as if it gave purchase to creep to his bones. Regardless, he looked to the ingredients they had available, and there wasn't much meat. Normally, whenever they made stew, Cojack would have the first bowl of only vegetable ingredients, followed by Arkash with some meat added. Finally, Liu would eat the rest of the meat, but it would scarcely be enough. "Mom?"
"Yeah, Ark?"
"Don't put any meat in mine this time, okay?"
To that, his mother raised a brow. "..What? Not hungry?" She asked with a glance at the lizard, then resumed chopping up the carrots. There were plenty of Vegetables there, Arkash could get his fill with just vegetables alone... But he did feel weaker the next day, every time without fail.
"Just not in the mood for it, I guess," he lied as he put a claw to the back of his neck and rubbed. Liu looked back at him with a faint smile, then sighed as she moved the sliced carrots to the pot.
"Alright then, more for me." She didn't argue back as much as she normally did, so Arkash knew she must have been hungry. She needed all the ham, Arkash would survive with just vegetables. Cojack managed, didn't he?
With a smile, Arkash rose to his feet, then approached the table. He was warm enough to not shiver, and his muscles were working as they should be. So, he took his own knife as well as some of the tomatoes and looked to his mother for an example. He watched Liu carefully, and how she used the knife. The upper part of the blade rested on the board while she pressed down with the lower part of the knife while feeding the vegetable through.
So, Arkash did the same. At once, he found a spray of tomato juice splatter his muzzle, and he shut his eyes out of shock. Liu looked to the boy as he paused, then laughed a breath. "Try dicing them instead, hun. It works better for the stew, anyway."
Arkash furrowed his brow and lifted a claw to his muzzle, where he wiped the juice off. He couldn't lick it off, else his venom would be on his fingers. So, he brushed it off on his pants, then resumed dicing. In order to do so, he made a few horizontal cuts in the body of the tomato that didn't quite cut all the way to the bottom, then turned it ninety degrees and repeated the process. Finally, he turned the fruit on its side and began to cut down to form little cubes. Once he was done, he moved on to the next tomato.
He hadn't really thought about the amount of food they used, but it seemed like a lot at first glance. Of course, Cojack was quite big, so it made sense. One had to consider all the bellies that needed filling when cooking for three.
Soon after, the latch fo the door clicked, and both mother and son looked to the door. Cojack stepped in, along with the winter breeze. The horse appeared tired, worn out, but neither Liu nor Arkash thought much of it; they both felt how he looked.
"Hey dad," smiled the youngest Rath, who put his knife and diced tomatoes aside before he closed the gap with his father, only to attempt to wrap his arms around him. Liu followed suit, and gave the horse a hug of her own.
"How was work, honey?" She asked. Cojack drew a long, raspy breath, then coughed into his sleeve. The cough was aggressive, painful-sounding, and jerked Cojack's whole upper body.
"Not great, if I'm honest..." replied the horse as he lowered his arm, and looked to the spot in which he coughed. Both Arkash and Liu looked at him with worry, but Liu saw something Arkash couldn't when she saw his sleeve.
"Hey, Ark... Why don't you chop up the onions while I help your dad settle down?" The wolf offered. Arkash nodded and looked to the horse with worry. Something was wrong, he knew. Part of him was too afraid to ask; as if he could escape what came next if he remained blissfully unaware, but that wasn't the case.
Regardless, he hugged Cojack tighter for a squeeze, then spoke "feel better soon, dad" as he looked up at him. It was then that Arkash stepped away, and returned to the chopping board. Meanwhile, Liu helped the horse out of his coat, and onto the bed, where he rested for the remainder of the night, and only woke to partake in the stew... Which he barely touched.
It was agreed that three of them would take off work the next day, and the thought put Arkash's mind at ease, but not for long.
I hope Cojak does feel better, though I already know it isn't meant to be.