Rainblade-Ryalors Private Barracks/Imperial Condos The Dreams We Live For

[Caden S. Freemont]

The nightmares had come back. They started in the hospital, fueled by pain and fever and infection and strange, drug-induced sleep. For what seemed an interminable amount of time, Caden had existed in a hellish reality of fire and violence where he was trying to get to Asta, Daniil, and Einar, but he could not move. They died in front of him, just out of paw's reach, over and over again, either crushed or burned or run through by some faceless fox. He would wake, screaming and trying to throw himself from his hospital bed and attack a non-existent threat, such to the point that the nurses were forced to keep him tied down until his fever broke and his delirious ravings quieted. Even then, when he had passed through the worst of infection and was told he would most likely live, albeit with permanent, life-altering scarring and months of agonizing recovery in front of him, each time he tried to settle into sleep, his dreams would turn to some violent and terrifying part of his past and he would wake in a cold sweat.

During his waking hours, he tried to distract himself with conversation with the nurses or Daniil and Asta when they visited. Several Guardsbeasts stopped in to visit on occasion, and he did his game best to put on an affect of brave stoicism and steadfast calm, as it seemed many beasts were shaken by the attack.

Once released from the hospital to return home, Caden found that sleep was easier, though came in fits and spurts, such was the difficulty in finding a position he could comfortably rest in. It was good, however, to be sharing a bed with Daniil again, and he took great comfort in the closeness of his partner, the todd seeming to ward off the worst of the nightmares. Still, though, some mornings he found himself waking with a start from some unsettling image or imagined circumstance. Late one such morning he reached out in search of Daniil to find the fox's side of the bed empty. In a half-asleep panic, Caden jumped up before his body recalled that such movements were currently not advised.

"Owww," he groaned, falling hard to the bedroom floor with a loud thump. He lay there on his front, breathing and staring into the darkness under his dresser as he dragged himself into full, agonized wakefulness.

 

[Daniil Ryalor]

From the hallway there were the sounds of pawsteps, and then Daniil's worried exclamation of "Caden!" The fox hurried to his lover's side and knelt, carefully trying to lift him without touching the burns and scars that were causing such pain. "I'm so sorry, I was cleaning the chamberpot," he apologized. "I didn't want to wake you. What happened? Another nightmare?"

 

[Caden S. Freemont]

"S'okay," Caden mumbled, doing his best to help Daniil get him to his footpaws. "Something like that. Ow." He wavered as he stood, then lowered himself to sit on the bed.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." The jack managed a pained smile and gave Daniil's arm a weak squeeze. He was far past the point of embarrassment when it came to bodily assistance from the todd, but he was concerned that his needs were putting too much pressure on his lover's already frayed nerves. Caden could see the weight of things on Daniil, how hard he took everything that had happened.

"Here, um, can you help me out of my gown and into some trousers? Then maybe I can at least get to the lounge today and we can do the dressing change in there. Would be nice to get out of this room a bit." As Daniil helped him undress and pull on a pair of pants, Caden breathed through the pain of movement.

He leaned heavily on the fox as they exited the bedroom. "So how's your morning been so far, aside from the riveting task of cleaning a chamberpot?" Caden chuckled lightly, trying to let the laugh cut through his exhaustion.

 

[Daniil Ryalor]

Daniil kept his focus solidly on his partner as he helped with the act of dressing him. Seeing Caden in such a bad state was nearly physically painful for Daniil; Caden had been his rock through the tumult of his return to Bully Harbor, and now their roles were reversed. He'd also had to learn how to clean and dress burns, a task he'd never picked up during his years of military service; there were always doctors and medics nearby better suited than him to such tasks, so he'd lapsed in his knowledge of emergency medicine.

As they made a slow, ungainly three-legged beast walk down the hall, Daniil grimaced at the question. "Well, not so bad," he allowed. "Could be worse; I could be at the barracks, cleaning latrines. After the Opera House, I almost thought that Alwyn would assign me that duty. I've never seen him so upset before." There was a note of regret, not at having abandoned his post to search for Caden, but for having let down his family so drastically. He glanced to Caden, giving him a small smile. "It would still have been worth it, to see you safe," he commented.