Chapter 10: Breaking Point
Once again Alistair had convinced Rain to get up early so they could go out to the tide pools down at one end of the beach. Thankfully it was on the other side of the port and well away from the Azure Rathalos territory. Right now she was wearing a lighter armor set and had brought a bow instead of her switch axe. The armor may not be as strong but it did allow for greater flexibility and range of movement. Being this close to the water during the weeks when ludroth were breeding meant they needed to be on the lookout.
Alistair looked over at Ginouji and Akairo who were currently bouncing around the rocks and swimming through the water in the tide pools uncovering all sorts of sea life. Every time they pulled up something new they would come running back to her to see if it was safe to eat. Being as curious as they were they had pulled up more creatures than Alistair knew what to do with. Thankfully Rain was there to take over and after some trepidation both hatchlings were coming back to her for confirmation on what they should and shouldn't eat. Even Ginouji seemed to be warming up to her. Rain claimed that it was because of her "sparkling personality" and Alistair just rolled her eyes at that and shoved her best friend into the water in response. Now both of them were sitting on the rocks while the babies swam around in a shallow pool. Amai was standing a few feet away keeping watch and pretending like she wasn't trying to listen in on their conversation.
Sighing slightly, Alistair finally pried her fingers away from the bow she was holding and laid it down next to her, but she didn't take the quiver off her back. Removing her helmet she put that in her lap and gently touched her face and neck. It seemed the healing mixture Rain came up with yesterday had done its job. Her burn was almost completely healed. It wasn't bad enough burn to require firedouse berries, which was a good thing because she hadn't brought any along with her. Instead the icethaw pellet's icy texture had served mostly for comfort and the herbal mix had done its work overnight. Although Alistair had whined and complained about it the whole time Rain was wrapping her up she had to admit she knew what she was doing.
Right now though, Alistair was more focused on what the hatchlings were doing. A flock of water halk had settled down just a few minutes ago as well and the babies happy greeting confirmed that it was the same group from yesterday. Right now the halk were off on their own grooming themselves while Ginouji and Akairo played with each other in the water and occasionally snapped up a nearby sea creature to eat.
"He's probably picking up on how close I am to you and responding to that," Alistair said suddenly and Rain opened her eyes. She was laying back letting the sun dry her clothes off, but now she pushed herself up onto her elbows and watched the Silver Rathalos for a couple of seconds. Lifting a hand to shade her eyes from the sun, Rain grinned shamelessly at her best friend.
"I'm telling you. It's my natural charm. Even Ginouji can't resist it," Rain winked at her and wiggled her eyebrows.
"Don't make me push you in the water again," Alistair scowled as Rain sat up and crossed her legs.
"Fine. Fine. I have to agree though. We are very close while Amai is still..." Rain stopped and glanced over at the teenager. "Well... she's Amai. Nice maybe, but clearly not your best friend," she agreed. "It's good to see him starting to warm up to someone else. It's just gonna take some work and patience," she paused and reached over to pinch Alistair's left cheek. "So cute isn't it? He's just like his momma," she cooed and got her fingers bent backwards for her trouble.
"Ow! Geez, woman learn to take a joke will you? You're so irritable all the time now. You never used to be like this," Rain snapped back as she massaged her sore fingers. Immediately, Alistair looked guilty and she pulled her legs up and turned away to stare at the hatchlings. Right away Rain's attitude softened. "Oh, Alistair I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made a joke like that," she apologized, but Alistair just shook her head silently and looked down. Rain opened her mouth to say something else but then looked down and Alistair realized her hands were shaking.
Rain glanced back at Amai who was yawning and rubbing her eyes. Looking back she slid over and leaned closer as Alistair took a shaky breath.
"Rain..." she said quietly, "I had another nightmare last night and I've been having them a lot more recently. I was fine for months. Almost a year. What if... what if I'm getting worse again? What if I have another breakdown? I mean I'm trying my best to act like everything is fine, but I've been under so much stress lately thinking about these rathalos hatchlings. I didn't want to take care of them at first, but I couldn't let them go. I mean after what happened with my baby, the last thing I wanted was two little ones to take care of, but I couldn't just leave them alone to be raised by researchers in some sanctuary..." Alistair knew she was wringing her hands, but she couldn't make herself stop. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess and her words and sentences were all running together.
Reaching over, Rain put a hand on her neck and massaged it gently.
"Hey, hey, just slow down," she said softly, but Alistair wasn't hearing it. From the corner of her gaze she could see Amai look their way and say something with a frown on her face.
"I can't do this, Rain. I can't do this. I can't be their mom. I don't want to be their mom. If something happens it will be my fault all over again. I swore I would never put myself through this again after I lost my family. I can't survive years of trying to raise these..." Alistair's voice cracked as she said it, "...these babies. I'm not stable enough for that. I was barely stable enough to be a hunter again. I have no business doing this. My sister was right and I should have left them with her. No matter how much I hated it, no matter how much it killed me I should have left them with her," she squeezed her eyes shut as a tremble shook her body. Now Rain wrapped an arm around her and leaned into her friend as she tried desperately to stabilize her racing thoughts.
Alistair could vaguely hear Amai calling to them, but her mind was going too fast to realize what she was saying.
"You know that's not true, Alistair," Rain said gently. "Those little ones love you and the best place for them is to be right here with you. You came to me for help and I'm going to help you through this. No matter how long it takes. Whether it takes weeks or years... I'm always right here for you. You know that right?" Now Rain used a finger to turn her head and make Alistair look at her. Nodding hesitantly Alistair quickly looked away again. After a moment she inhaled deeply and let it out slowly.
"I know... I know. I'm just... I'm getting worse Rain. I'm getting worse and I can't stop it. You know what they'll do to me if I have a breakdown again," Alistair said as Amai called out to them again more urgently. Looking up she could see Rain's eyes soften before Amai's voice cut through the moment.
"Good lord you two! I'm sorry to interrupt the tender moment here, but we've got trouble!" Amai shouted and both of them looked up to see her pointing towards the water.
All of the water halk had scattered and were currently flying away as fast as they could. Even Ginouji and Akairo had gotten out of the water and were starting to back up towards Alistair. Both were throwing glances over their shoulders and looking up at the fleeing halk. A few ludroth had been scattered around them, but a few threatening sword swipes from Amai were enough to convince them to keep their distance. Now all the ludroth that remained were scattering, some into the water and some farther down the beach as fast as they could go. A huge shape was thrashing around and darting back and forth in the shallows. Its fins sliced through the water as it came closer and darted after a ludroth that managed to slip past it. Alistair immediately knew what it was and quickly slammed her helmet back down on her head and secured it.
"Plesioth," she muttered.
Grabbing her bow, Alistair scrambled to her feet and pulled a coating bottle out of the small pack slung around her shoulders and resting against her side. It was an exhaust coating and it would slow down the plesioth enough for her and Amai to either kill it or drive it off.
"It must have been agitated by all the noise the ludroth and halk were making. Plesioth hate loud noises," Rain noted as the Alistair breathed in and out slowly to regain her focus. Already Ginouji and Akairo were pressing against her legs and looking up at her waiting for their mom to do something.
Alistair cursed as the coating bottle nearly slipped out due to her shaking hands. Finally she slipped it into the holder near the front of the bow. Due to the way the weapon was set up the coating would only pour out onto the arrow-head when the string was pulled back and ready to fire. The longer you held it back the more coating got on the arrow tip and the stronger the effect would be. It also would allow her to keep a certain distance from the plesioth, but Amai wouldn't be as fortunate. She was way out of her league here so Alistair needed to end this fight as quickly as possible.
Alistair was distracted when Rain put her hand over hers. Looking up she could see the worried look in Rain's eyes, but she shook her head and gently gave her best friends shoulder a push.
"Take Ginouji and Akairo and get them back behind the treeline; well behind the treeline. Plesioth are very dangerous and it'll be even more dangerous for Amai. This is way above her Hunter Rank and only the second time I've had to face one myself," Alistair said firmly. "I need to finish this fight as soon as possible. I have to protect myself and keep Amai from getting trampled. If you and the hatchlings aren't in a safe place then I'm going to be distracted and I can't afford that," she emphasized and watched Rain swallow hard before nodding slowly.
"Please be careful, Alistair," Rain said softly before backing up and calling to the hatchlings who fidgeted but didn't move.
"Akairo. Ginouji. Go with Rain," Alistair ordered as she looked back to the plesioth who had come up the beach now and was hissing and thrashing its tail around. Looking back down she settled a firm look at the two rathalos who were reluctantly shuffling their feet. "GO!" she said louder and this time they hurried off and allowed Rain to herd them to safety.
Alistair waited long enough to see Rain lift them up the sandy bank and into the trees, before turning around and stringing an arrow. Quickly she ran over to stand next to Amai who had her weapon drawn and her shield up.
"Anything I need to know first?" Amai asked her face set in a focused look. She may still be a rookie but she hadn't gotten to her current Hunter Rank by playing around either. Alistair thought for a second as the plesioth saw them and roared angrily.
"It loves its water beam and tail spins. If you see it getting ready to fire then move or put your shield up. Don't stand too close to it either. The spines on its tail are sharp enough to run straight through you and its hip slam will easily break your ribs. A plesioth's main weak point is the stomach not the head. When it flops down on its belly it will slide forward just as if it were swimming on land," Alistair rattled off the information as she prepared for battle. "When it's getting ready to fire its water beam it will roll its head around and shoot it straight ahead or hop slightly before standing up and shooting it at an angle. Pay attention to those signs because that water is boiling hot," she warned as the plesioth reared back.
"Like that?!" Amai shouted and jumped the left as Alistair jumped to the right. Moments later a beam of hissing water shot between them.
"Let's go! Keep moving!" Alistair shouted as she fired an arrow into the plesioth's neck. Right away it shook its head to dislodge the arrow, but Alistair readied several more and fired the arrows higher in the air. Her aim was true and the arrows rained down on the plesioth's back. Screaming the monster turned and charged her angrily.
Rolling out of the way, Alistair came to her feet and fired another arrow into its belly as Amai darted forward and slashed at the wyvern's legs. It was far too tall for her to even think of trying to go for its belly, but the legs were good enough. Screeching in surprise the plesioth gave a slight hop to the side and twisted around to bite at Amai. Lifting her shield, Amai blocked the bite and then slammed the shield right into the monster's nose causing it to flinch backwards long enough for her to roll to the side and put some distance between them. Even Alistair felt her lips twitch up at that sight. Innovation was often a hunter's greatest asset.
Aiming carefully, Alistair shot more arrows into its neck attracting the plesioth's attention. Hopping angrily it reared back and fanned its wings out. Recognizing the move, Alistair quickly moved out of the way as a water beam hissed down into the sand where she had just been standing. Amai ran back and slashed away at its legs causing the plesioth to crouch down and go into a tail spin. Thankfully Amai managed to drop and press herself down against the sand just in time for the monster's thick tail to whip past her head.
Scrambling back to her feet Amai held up her shield ready to defend, but the plesioth hesitated and wobbled slightly. Shaking its head the wyvern scratched at its neck and stumbled slightly. Alistair's exhaust shots were doing their job. The coating contained chemicals that interfered with the nerves ability to send signals to the muscles making it harder to move around. Heavily armored monsters were more resistant to it, but this plesioth was covered in scales. Tough scales, but not tough enough to stop arrows. Trying to push past the effect was clearly taking its toll. However, that didn't mean it was ready to give up. This was one angry plesioth and it wasn't going to stop until it had smashed something into pieces. Preferably the two hunters who were currently fighting it.
Flopping down onto its stomach the plesioth slithered forward towards Alistair with startling speed. Unfortunately she was in the middle of switching out her coating bottles.
A hunter never hesitates. If your brain doesn't know what to do then let your body take over for you, Alistair recited the words in her mind as she automatically grabbed the close range coating bottle and put it in the holder on her bow. Grabbing three arrows she pulled the bow string back and held it for a few seconds before firing them right at the Plesioth's head. All of the arrows exploded on contact with the wyvern's scales causing it to skid to a stop. Scrabbling around on the ground the plesioth hissed in surprise as it lay on its side. It whipped its head around and flapped its fins as it tried to dislodge the arrows.
Darting forward, Amai quickly began using her sword to attack the plesioth's belly as it snapped the arrows off of its head and kicked out with its long legs. One of its kicks knocked Amai back but she got to her feet again and staggered slightly. The plesioth got to its feet and went into a tail spin and followed up with several more first in one direction and then another. It fired off water beams in several directions forcing both hunters to dodge and duck.
Alistair grabbed another arrow and fired it into the plesioth's belly making it take a step back and slip on the rocks it was standing on. Any monster could be deadly, but only if it could catch you. Once again Amai jumped in to slice away at the plesioth's legs, but this time it was ready for her. Regaining its footing the plesioth whipped around into a tail spin sending Amai flying backwards and spraying sand everywhere. For a moment Alistair's breath caught in her throat, but she sighed in relief when she saw Amai's head pop back up. Even from here Alistair could see the large slash marks in her chest armor and the deep grooves now in her shield.
She must have gotten her shield up just in time, Alistair thought as she ran forward and fired more arrows at the plesioth. All of them exploded slightly on contact causing the plesioth to fly into another rage. Hissing loudly it threw water beams everywhere and charged Amai on its belly several times as Alistair continued firing arrows at it. Close range coating was very effective, but it was also heavier. You had to be closer to the monster or the chemical would cause the already heavy arrows to fall short of the intended target.
Screaming the plesioth fired another water beam at Amai who put her shield up, but the boiling water heated up the metal on the shield so much that Amai finally cried out in pain and dropped it just as the beam ended. Charging forward the plesioth knocked her to the ground with a weak slap of its tail and lifted its foot clearly intending to hold in in place for one final bite.
"Hey! Hey over here you stupid fish!" Alistair called out as she ran dangerously close to it. The plesioth whipped around and immediately caught sight of her. The hesitation was enough for Amai to be able to scramble to her feet and run away. Her shield was forgotten, but she still had her sword.
Rearing back the plesioth fired a water beam at Alistair who rolled to avoid it and then had to dodge three more times as the monster fired again and again at her. Alistair had to pause for a moment to catch her breath and that hesitation cost her dearly.
Seeing its chance the plesioth hopped forward and crouched down. Alistair held her arms up in front of her as the plesioth body slammed her with its hip. The force drove the air from her lungs and knocked her back as the plesioth whipped around with a tail spin. Thankfully its tail spines didn't get her like they did Amai, but its heavy tail slammed straight into her chest and pounded her ribs. A loud SNAP came from the bow as a huge crack skittered up the length of the weapon. The fact that she was holding it up in front of her was the only thing that saved her from having every bone in her upper torso shattered. Alistair was sent flying back where she slammed heavily against the rocks of the tide pool and cracked her head on the ground.
Being body slammed and tail slapped by a monster that was easily a few thousand pounds was no joke. It was more than enough to disorient her and Alistair could only lay there stunned for a moment as the plesioth stepped on her with its foot pressing down heavily on her already sre chest. Rearing back it opened its mouth to fire another water beam down on her.
I can't breathe. Did it break my ribs? Alistair's thoughts were muddled and all she could do was fumble around weakly for her damaged bow.
A loud war cry came from behind her and the plesioth looked up just in time for a large sword to fly straight into its mouth. Tossing its head back with a gargled croak the wyvern stumbled several steps backwards before slipping and falling to its side. Its feet scrabbled desperately for purchase on the slick rocks of the tide pool.
Alistair felt a pair of arms helping her up and she rolled her head back to see Amai's face staring down at her as the girl tried to help her up. Feeling something ooze down her legs Alistair looked down and realized the bag holding her coating bottles was stained. She must have fallen on it when she got knocked back. Her right leg was stinging painfully. Some shards of glass from the coating bottles had ripped through the bag and torn into her leg just above where her armored leggings ended. Thankfully she'd only bought three bottles.
Danger... still... danger... Alistair tried to say it but it was like her chest muscles were locked in place. She couldn't draw in a breath and no words came out of her throat. Instead she gestured urgently to her bow and Amai hesitated for a just a second as her eyes darted over to the plesioth who was finally managing to stand up on shaky legs. Grabbing the bow Amai handed it to Alistair along with a few arrows. Moving behind Alistair, the younger hunter groaned loudly from her own wounds, but managed to support her sagging body long enough for the woman to lean back and fire a rain of arrows down onto the plesioth. The strain snapped the bow fully along its length and the string snapped apart with a loud TWANG slicing Alistair across the cheek.
The close range coating combined with the rain of arrows and Amai's last ditch sword throw were enough to bring it crashing back down to the ground where it lay twitching and gasping. Both hunters watched it tensely. Amai had no shield and her sword was still stuck deep in the wyvern's mouth. Alistair's bow had snapped and while the large arrows could be used as hand weapons if necessary, she was in no condition to try it and Amai was too busy trying to keep her from falling over to try it herself.
Finally after a few more twitches and weak tail slaps the plesioth's body sagged and it stopped moving. For a few moments the only sound was from the waves gently crashing against the shore and lapping against the rocks of the tide pool they were at the edge of. It was dead.
Unfortunately there was no time for them to relax. Alistair's body had already started to sag back towards the ground. Grunting from the effort, Amai managed to help her sit back down on the ground where she doubled over and squeezed her eyes shut.
"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Are you okay? Does your chest hurt? Stupid question obviously it hurts. Umm... ohh... ribs! Are your ribs broken?" Amai asked her hands fluttering around as she tried to figure out what to do. Alistair shook her head, but curled her body up even tighter. Why couldn't she breathe? She couldn't even move her chest up and down.
"Okay, okay. Doctor. We've got to get you to a doctor," Amai said and looked down at her own torn armor. "Me too. All right, calm down," she said chewing her thumbnail with worry as Rain came running over to them. Both rathalos hatchlings were close behind her wings spread as they hurried back to their mother.
Once they got there both babies crowded around their mother, but then backed up again when they saw that she was injured. Ginouji started whimpering and looked up at Rain with a pitiful cry begging her to do something to help. Akairo hesitantly approached Alistair and crouched down next to her with his head resting against her arm. Rain kneeled down in front of Alistair as Amai hovered nearby chewing on her fingernails nervously. Alistair's hands were starting to shake and the look on her face clearly said that she was starting to panic.
Carefully Rain removed the helmet on Alistair's head and set it off to the side in the sand. Leaning forward she gently felt around the back of Alistair's head to see if there was any damage. Not finding any she settled back and took the woman's face in her hands. Alistair did have her eyes squeezed shut from the pain, but now she opened them and stared back with wide eyes.
"Don't panic. I know it feels bad, but it doesn't seem like your choking or anything so you must be getting air somehow. Maybe your body is just in shock. The feeling should pass in a few minutes, okay?" Rain said and Alistair nodded shakily and looked down at Akairo who was still pressed against her. His little body was trembling, but he wasn't crying or whimpering like Ginouji was. For a second Alistair's lips pulled up, but then she started biting her lower lip and the panicked look returned to her eyes.
"Hey, hey! Look at me!" Rain said urgently and Alistair looked back at her and shook her head firmly. "I know what you're thinking. These babies aren't going anywhere, okay? You know I'm not going to let that happen right?" she asked feeling her friend trembling beneath her hands. "You know I'm never going to let something bad like that happen right? I promised you I'd do everything I could to help you didn't I?" she said it more as a statement then a question and after a second Alistair nodded slowly. Rain's face softened and she brushed a strand of hair out of Alistair's face.
"I'm here. I'm not going to let Ginouji and Akairo get taken away from you. I'm not going to let them lock you up again and if even if they do you know I'll do anything it takes to get you back out of there, right?" Rain said again and Alistair trembled, but nodded. "I know how it was for you before. I know how traumatizing it was... and how bad those memories still are for you. But I promise you things are different here. The Guild has special doctors now and they work with hunters who have the same problem you do. You're not alone and they are going to get you real help this time. They'll make you better. Not just pour medicine into you and lock you up," Rain said but Alistair was already shaking her head.
"Hey, come on look at me," Rain urged and Alistair looked at her again still obviously unsure. "You said before that you trusted me. That you knew I would never lie to you or do anything to hurt you, didn't you?" she asked and the woman looked guilty and nodded slowly. "Then I need you to trust me now. You're hurt and we need to get you to a doctor so they can see about your physical injuries and then they'll help you with your..." Rain paused and glanced over at Amai who was looking back and forth between the two with a mix of worry and curiosity. "Your... umm, other problems," she finished instead.
Alistair grimaced but nodded in consent and Rain lifted her right arm and put it around her shoulders. Carefully she helped the hunter to her feet as Amai ran back to get her sword and shield. The shield was damaged and she'd have to get a new one, but it was still better than nothing and it had saved her from being impaled by the plesioth's tail spines earlier. Besides if they met up with any more monsters then it would be up to her to protect them. Hurrying back over Amai also picked up Alistair's broken bow. It probably couldn't be fixed, but that didn't mean it was totally worthless.
"Ready?" Rain asked her as she wrapped an arm around Alistair's waist to keep the woman from falling over. Her chest was clearly bothering her and her legs were wobbling with every step she tried to take.
Amai nodded and they set off at a slow pace back to the city.
They had walked about two miles before they came across a large garden that was being tended by some felyne. Upon seeing them the felynes had immediately rushed over to help them and had moved some baskets of vegetables off one of their aptonoth carts so they could bring the group back into town. Felyne's as a group were always helpful creatures and Amai was immensely grateful for that fact now. Her chest muscles were burning with every breath and her arms were like jelly. It was all she could do not to drop her sword and shield right then and there and forget about them.
One of the felyne's rushed ahead to notify the Guild about the dead plesioth. They would send somebody out to recover it and carve it up. It certainly would not be left there as waste. Likely they would sell most of it in the market and save the finer items for Amai and Alistair to pick up later after they had given a report on what happened.
Now they were sitting in the back of the wooden cart hurrying back to the city along a large hard-packed road. Surprisingly or perhaps not so surprisingly it was Akairo who was the most calm. Although he fidgeted nervously he didn't make a sound and instead had snuggled up next to Alistair and kept nuzzling her when her tremors got worse. Ginouji on the on the other hand refused to sit still. He kept moving back and forth across the cart as they rolled along crying and whimpering to himself as Rain took care of Alistair.
Amai didn't have the slightest idea of what to do or what was going on. So she had just moved off to the side so she'd be out of the way. Rain however was stuck to Alistair's side like glue and she kept talking to her the entire way. About halfway to the city Alistair had started breathing visibly again with her chest rising and falling in a short gasping wheeze, but something else was clearly going on. Her eyes were darting from place to place and her hands and body kept shaking. If Rain didn't keep her arm around her shoulders she would start rocking back and forth or hold Akairo to her chest as if someone was going to rip the baby away from her at any second. When Alistair finally got the breath to talk in painful, halting words it was the same things over and over again.
Don't let them take me away. They're going to take the hatchlings away from me. They're going to see me having another breakdown and lock me up again. Don't let them lock me up. I should never have taken Ginouji and Akairo. I wasn't ready for this. I can't handle this.
It was the same general line of thought repeated every couple of minutes. However, one thing Amai really had to admire was the way Rain handled the situation. No matter how many times Alistair's thoughts starting circling around again she was always there to comfort and reason with her until she calmed down a little. When Alistair started worrying and stressing out again a few minutes later Rain never got upset. She never got angry or showed even the slightest amount of irritation. She just started all over again telling the woman that everything was going to be all right and that she wasn't going to let any of those bad things happen to her.
Amai didn't know what Alistair was referring to exactly, but the pieces were starting to fall into place. Back home in the mountains she'd taken every opportunity to go into the city. Once she was there she would sit inside the warm enclosed tavern and listen to the hunter's tell stories beside the fire. Some of them also had horror stories of other hunters who became angry, violent, self destructive, and started hallucinating weeks or months after coming back from a hunt that went bad. Others would get hurt or watch a partner die and would avoid talking about what happened and start avoiding other people altogether. They had trouble remembering things and couldn't focus. The woman who had gotten Amai interested in hunting talked about one person who had nightmares and episodes that could last for hours or even days. Episodes where he would relive a quest that had gone wrong years before.
Until now Amai had never put much faith in those tales. To her those stories were just that; stories meant to frighten young naïve hunters and get them to pay attention and realize how dangerous these monsters they were facing really were. Now she was starting to reevaluate that point of view.
The idea that emotional damage was just as harmful to a person as a physical injury was a relatively new idea. Amai knew that doctors capable of treating such problems had only started popping up in the last few decades and having a diagnosis officially recognized took years. Plus those doctors that did exist could be far and few between. Amai knew of one person in the city back home who clearly had been suffering from something, but the closes doctor who treated mental problems was hundreds of miles away. So when he acted up all they did was haul him off to the hospital and keep him sedated or locked up until his episode passed and they were sure he wouldn't hurt anyone again.
Alistair keeps saying that she doesn't want them to take her away again. Earlier today she was talking about her baby and then about Ginouji and Akairo. So... Amai frowned and rubbed her aching chest as she tried to figure things out. So maybe what happened with her baby and her husband traumatized her somehow? I mean she gave me some details, but she made it clear that she was too tired to tell me the rest. Clearly there's more that happened that I don't know about, she thought as she glanced back over at Alistair who was now leaning against Rain. For a few minutes she would seem like she was aware of what was going on around her, but then she would slip back and become consumed by her worries all over again.
Did they do that to Alistair too? Just lock her up when she got bad again because they didn't know how else to help her? Or simply didn't want to? Amai considered her stomach turning at the idea.
A short time later they were in town at the hospital. It was a large sprawling wood building. There was a large door on the side and the felyne pulled the cart up to the doors. A few seconds later a man in simple blue and green clothes rushed out. Those colors meant he was a nurse and Amai was so glad to see him she could have hugged the man. Rain helped Alistair over to the edge of the cart and then hopped down.
"I'm going to go talk to the nurse and whatever doctor is working right now and let them know what's going on. I'll just be a few minutes and then I'll be right back for you okay?" Rain said softly, but Alistair just kept her head down and didn't respond. Sighing slightly, Rain stepped back and hesitated a moment before walking inside with the nurse to talk with him privately.
Shifting position, Amai scooted over until she was sitting next to Alistair who was still trembling. Akairo was stuck to her side and kept nudging her or licking her arm gently. Ginouji had stopped crying, but still fidgeting and paced nervously beside his mother.
"Didn't want... never wanted... you... see me... this," Alistair gasped out suddenly as her body shook once again, but it took a moment before Amai figured out what the woman was trying to say.
I never wanted you to see me like this.
Oh great now I'm going to start crying, Amai thought as she tried unsuccessfully to swallow the lump in her throat. Never before had she felt so very far out of her league. What was she supposed to say? More than anything she wanted Rain to come back and handle this, but she wasn't here right now. So instead Amai took a deep breath and put her arm around Alistair's trembling shoulders. For a second she felt Alistair's body tense and Amai almost pulled away, but she stopped when she saw a tear slide down Alistair's face. Lifting a shaky hand Alistair immediately brushed it away and turned her head as her jaw clenched as more tears fell.
Is she embarrassed? She tries hard to come off as strong and to keep others away from her. It must be so terrible to feel yourself losing control and not be able to stop it or do anything about it, Amai thought and she felt guilty for every bad thought she'd ever had about how aggravating the woman was. No wonder Alistair was so standoffish and withdrawn around people. Amai was also starting to understand why she was so close with Rain. Their earlier conversation suggested that she had helped Alistair through these episodes before.
Well the village elders often said that everyone has a story and I clearly haven't even begun to scratch the surface of Alistair's, Amai considered as Rain came back out and helped Alistair down off the back of the cart.
AN: Chapter 10 revised