Henry's mind was reeling. He knew he had to get up, reach Thanatos, check if he was okay, and find a way out of here, to a safer place, but he didn't have the strength.
He had no idea how long he lied on the beach, listening to the chirrups of the jungle when the sounds suddenly changed. What had formerly been almost calming, passive background noise, suddenly turned into angry hissing.
Henry's head jolted up. Only thanks to his echolocation he made out the body of a snake, around the length of his entire body, that blended in with the background vines so well, only its sounds gave it away.
The exiled prince looked around because he thought he heard the noise of another twister and found himself dodging the bared teeth of one in the last second.
Two more started making their way towards them, including the first one Henry had spotted, and he instantly knew they couldn't stay here.
With the strength adrenaline gave him, Henry rose to his feet and grabbed his backpack and sword. He focused on the hissing of the twisters and twirled around, slicing the head off the one that had risen behind him with perfect precision.
He cut a second one in half, and severed the head of a third one, but more were on their way, and while Henry thought he could have taken them at his full strength, his head was already starting to spin and hurt from focusing after the ordeals he had gone through before.
He stumbled towards the figure of Thanatos, lying several feet away, and got there just in time to cut one of the snakes in half, that had attempted to dig its teeth into the neck of his bond.
Henry violently swung his sword behind him, killing three more twisters that had approached from there, granting himself a breather. He knelt down beside Thanatos and was immensely relieved to find his bond even half-conscious, staring blankly at his surroundings, and at Henry.
"Death, we need to move!" He shouted, slicing two more snakes. "The twisters will eat us if we don't find somewhere to hide! I can not fight them in this state, you have to get up!"
Thanatos did not seem like he had the strength to rise, or even answer. His wing still stood in an unnatural direction, his eyes fell close and a wave of panic engulfed Henry. I can not leave him, he thought and realized there was only one way.
In a last attempt to get the snakes off his back for a while, he imitated Ripred again and started spinning around, sword held vertically. Maybe four or five of the twisters fell victim to his attack, which was enough to gain valuable minutes.
While the replacements for the ones he had killed were still on their way, Henry sheathed his sword and grabbed Thanatos' claws. The flier groaned in pain when his bond tugged at the broken wing, but he had no choice.
With the last of his strength, Henry managed to load Thanatos' body on his back, his feet were still dragging behind the exiled prince but that was just how it would be. The flier's head was hanging over his shoulder and for a second, his amber eyes opened, looking at Henry confused, but soon fell shut again.
Henry drew his sword, holding Thanatos in place as well as he could, and sliced at a few twisters ahead. He prayed none of them would get the flier from behind as he slowly but surely made his way away from the river, deeper between the vines.
Though here, he was even less sure of what was a snake, and what a plant. Henry desperately looked for a place to hide in – one that would not eat them instantly, preferably. Stone... I need a cave of some sort, he thought, trying to prevent Thanatos from sliding off his back and ward off the snakes at the same time.
He had no idea how long he had stumbled through the jungle, it had maybe been ten minutes or so. The twisters had given up the attack soon after he had left the river area and now all Henry wanted was a safe place to rest, and tend to their wounds. He would need to set the bone in Thanatos' wing straight soon, or it would leave permanent damage, he thought, and panted heavily from the strain of battle, the heat that now engulfed him, and from the flier's non-negligible weight on his back.
When he finally saw the grey of stone in the distance and realized it was a cave entrance, Henry could have screamed in joy. He dragged himself and Thanatos forward, towards it, and saw it was almost entirely concealed behind a curtain of vines covering the entrance. He pushed the plants aside and was among stone walls again. The air in here was cooler, most likely from the stones, and maybe ten feet in, Henry finally dared drop Thanatos on the floor, collapsing beside him instantly.
All, the exiled prince wanted, was to stay on the ground and let sleep take him over, but he knew he couldn't. First, he had to make sure his flier was alright.
Henry raised his head, powered only by determination at this point. He managed to rise into a sitting position and dragged himself over to Thanatos, noticing the flier's eyes were closed now.
"Death? Death, can you hear me?" Thanatos didn't react, and a wave of fear hit Henry.
"Death!" He reached for his bond, collapsing over him from weakness. "Death, you need to speak to me... I need to... to... bandage your wounds... and set the bone straight... but you need to speak to me first..."
Thanatos' eyelids fluttered, before they opened a little. He let out a groaning sound, and Henry wanted to cry of joy that his bond was still with him, still awake and conscious.
"Death, I know you want to sleep, me too, buddy, okay... I... I have a painkiller for you. Take it and sleep, but only if you promise you'll wake up again..." He smiled, remembering what the flier had told him, back when he had lost his eye, "Like I woke up, after we bonded, remember?"
"Of course I remember..." Thanatos' voice was hoarse and quiet, but he was speaking. Henry buried his face in his fur, crusted with blood now, for a moment, before reaching for his backpack.
With limp fingers, he fetched his waterproof container and took out the kit with medical supplies. He picked out a bottle with painkiller and showed it to Thanatos. "It will help you sleep, okay? And I'll keep watch... I'll... I'll stitch you up and I'll keep watch."
Henry had no idea how he was supposed to keep his eyes open for a second longer than he needed to, but he was determined to prioritize Thanatos for the moment.
The flier eyed him, then the bottle, but finally agreed to take a sip, when Henry opened it and held it to his mouth. The exiled prince wondered how bad his pain must be for him to actually drink it with so little protest.
Within a few minutes he was out and Henry inspected his injuries, starting to understand why he had taken the painkiller immediately. His wing was broken, it stood off in an unnatural angle, and it took Henry some effort to put it back into the position it belonged. It made him almost glad Thanatos was unconscious now, as he was certain it would have hurt beyond belief otherwise.
Henry strapped a piece of bone he found deeper in the cave to the broken part, using the string he had packed, as a splint. Then he took to cleaning the rips in his wings and the wounds on his body, from countless claws of rats, as well as he could, using only the water he had packed, as there was no other. The bleeding had thankfully stopped on most of them now, though dragging the flier through the jungle, like he had, had not really helped any of his injuries.
Henry ended up sewing together five rips in his wings, and two of the worst cuts on his body, one along his chest, the other in the area of his neck.
When he had finally patched up the flier to the best of his abilities, Henry found his last strength, that the determination to save his bond's life had given him, leave his body and he collapsed, at last, face pressed into Thanatos' bloodstained fur.
I told him I'd keep watch... he thought, trying to keep his eyes open, but in vain. He had used up every single energy reserve in his body, and it shut down after only a few moments, letting the exiled prince slip into the dark oblivion of sleep.
Henry awoke from something nudging his side. He widened his eyes and jolted up from where he had slept, hunched over Thanatos.
"You told me you'd keep watch", a voice mocked, and Henry's gaze fell upon his bond, who was eyeing him from half-closed but sympathetic and almost mischievous eyes.
"Death – oh goodness I am so sorry, I did not mean to –", but the flier interrupted him, "Henry, forget it, I understand why you couldn't. You... you strained yourself enough for me."
Henry, infinitely glad the flier was not angry, collapsed back onto him. "I... I'm okay, don't mention it. It's not like you never did the same and more for me."
The exiled prince could feel Thanatos chuckle underneath him. "I am alright now. You... you did all this before you fell asleep? How long have we been sleeping, even? That painkiller knocked me out good..."
Henry rose up again, feeling stiff and bruised like never before. He looked down upon his own hands and realized they were smeared in blood – Thanatos', and his own.
He could feel the flier press his head into his side. "You patched me up, but not yourself... You need to clean your wounds, Henry, or they will become infected."
He realized Thanatos was right, so he proceeded to use the last of his water to clean the cuts on his arms, his stomach and the claw marks on his cheek. When Henry was done, he realized he had not a single drop of water left and knew he would have to go back to the river to get some.
"Death, you should rest, okay? I'll get water... and I'll look for food too." The exiled prince felt his stomach growl and knew tat Thanatos must be equally hungry. They had both not eaten since before they had encountered Longclaw.
"Be... be careful out there, okay?" Henry was not used to so much genuine worry in Thanatos' voice, but he smiled. "I'll be fine. I've taken worse before." He hadn't really, but there was no point in causing the flier any unnecessary worry now.
Henry was gone for maybe an hour, almost half of it he spent stumbling through the jungle, trying to find his way to the river and back to the cave. He filled both his water sacks and used Mys to catch five big fish before starting the trip back.
On his way, he discovered a path that led to a place that had the same vines Hamnet had plucked the plum-like fruit from, and he loaded his pack with them as well, before returning to the cave with Thanatos.
"I... I was starting to get worried..." Henry heard the pain in the flier's voice and saw, his eyes were now misted in pain. He realized the effect from the painkiller must have worn off entirely now, but when he offered Thanatos another sip, he refused. "I like my head clear, thank you."
They ate everything up within half an hour and drank up all their water too. Henry now understood why you should always make camp next to a river, it was a hassle going back and forth for fresh water.
"We'll need to move soon", Henry said, after they had finished their meal and he was lying, head leaned on Thanatos' back. "Find a better hideout and... orientate ourselves a little. I have no idea where we are..." The thought worried him greatly. They had never been to this part of the jungle before, at least not from what he recalled, and from what Henry knew about the jungle in general, it wasn't the best place to get lost in.
"You are right... and with that wing, I can not just proceed to fly over the waterway until we reach a more familiar area either." Thanatos sighed, "I don't think I can even move on my own now."
Henry sensed the thought scared him, and he calmingly stroke his fur. "You'll be fine... the wing will heal, and then you will fly again. But for now... you'll have to let me do the carrying, okay?"
"And how will you do that?" Thanatos asked, still visibly uncomfortable with the thought of not being able to move.
"I'll think of something." Henry grinned.
"Are you sure this will hold?" The flier skeptically eyed the construction Henry spent the last few hours making from vines and a few bones he had found in the cave.
"We won't know unless we try", the exiled prince grinned, shouldered his backpack and then grabbed the construction, signaling Thanatos to climb on. It was shaped like a sleigh with makeshift-skids and a surface to lie on, and Henry was sure it would be a bumpy ride, but it was the best he could do at the moment.
After some hesitation, Thanatos finally did as Henry told him, clinging to the borders firmly. "I really hope this works", his voice sounded cautious, and his bond kneeled down beside him for a second – "It will. Trust me, Death, okay? I know this is weird and scary and you are in pain, but we'll pull through – you took care of me so many times before, when I was hurt, now let me do the same thing for you."
The two exchanged a glance and Thanatos finally nodded, closing his eyes. "Alright. We'll... we'll pull through. I believe in you."
They made their way through the jungle for more than three hours, Henry was on the constant lookout for water. The ride for Thanatos was indeed bumpy and he was heavier than anticipated, but Henry refused to let that affect him. Yes, he was hot and his body ached from all the injuries, and the flier was heavy, but he could not allow himself to show weakness now.
He followed only his own sense of direction, essentially going in a random direction until he finally heard the familiar rushing of water. When he realized the sound came out of a cave system, similar to the one they had slept in earlier, he dragged Thanatos through the entrance and saw a small creek run along the wall.
He followed it deeper in and ended up at the shore of a broad river that bordered the tunnel, that was overgrown with vines almost to the point where they covered the walls and the floor around the river entirely, and Henry felt like walking on a carpet of living plants.
The feeling wasn't the most pleasant ever, but he decided it was fine, as long as they did not attempt to attack him. He finally allowed Thanatos to get off the construction and they quenched their thirst at the river.
"I should go look for food again, okay?" Henry said, after resting for a while. His stomach was growling, the physical strain from dragging the flier through the jungle had drained him, though he was proud his construction had held.
"Are there no fish in the river?" Thanatos' eyes were half-closed and Henry saw clearly he was on the brink of fainting from exhaustion again.
He glanced in and saw the water had fish, but they were only about the size of Henry's pinky and he'd have to catch a dozen to fill them up.
"I'll look for proper food, and then we eat and you can have more painkiller to sleep, okay?" He attempted to throw Thanatos a reassuring smile.
"No painkiller", the flier heaved now, "need to... keep head clear..."
Henry stroke his fur, trying to calm him. "Alright, if you say so... I won't force you, but if you need it, I have the bottle right here."
Thanatos opened his amber eyes for a second, throwing Henry a glance. "Don't... go... please..."
A wave of affection for his bond hit the exiled prince and he wrapped his arms around his neck for a second. How badly was he hurt, that he allowed himself to talk like this, he thought. "I won't be gone for long, I promise. But we need food, you must be hungry too!"
Thanatos nodded slightly, and Henry rose to his feet. "I truly mean it, I'll be back much sooner than last time." He glanced at the flier and decided to himself he'd do anything in his power to fulfill that promise.
Henry was out looking for food for maybe half an hour, he had one encounter with a four-foot-long frog that had flung his tongue at him, the exiled prince had been forced to finish him off.
He pondered if the meat was edible, but decided not to risk it. After a little more searching, heavily relying on his enhanced hearing, he finally found more water, this time with proper fish in it. He caught five again and made his way back to Thanatos. This time, he had taken care to mark his way back so that finding the cave again was no problem.
They ate, drank and then the flier fell back on the floor instantly, still drained from his injuries.
"You alright?" Henry sat down beside him, not bothering to fetch his fur blanket as it was terribly hot anyway.
"I... I'll be fine." He sounded not fine. Worry flooded Henry, he knew exactly how Thanatos sounded when he was fine, and this was not it. The heat and the pain must be a terrible combination, he thought, comfortingly pressing his face into his fur.
"Hey, I'm here... okay? We'll be fine. We just have to stay here until you feel better – we have water and I now know where there is food. Then we'll find the way to the nibbler colony, and we'll be fine."
He reached for his water sack and poured half of its content over his own head, the other over Thanatos. The cool of the water helped a little, but not much.
Henry tried not to show how scared he actually was. Now, lying here, in the dark, somewhere in an unknown part of the jungle, he realized how utterly desperate their situation actually was. They were in the middle of nowhere, with Thanatos who couldn't fly, and no idea even in which direction and how far away the colony was.
The situation reminded him of when he had been stranded alone on the crawler island, suddenly, for a moment the same fear engulfed him, that had kept him from sleeping back then. But then Henry felt Thanatos' fur against his back and realized things were much different now – because this time, they were together.
He was still frightened, but he decided he couldn't let it show. He needed to be hopeful... to be strong, for Thanatos. It was his turn now, to give the flier comfort, like he had so many times in the past done for Henry, and the exiled prince was determined to do so, to the best of his abilities.
For a while, all he could hear was Thanatos' breathing and the rushing of the water next to them. Then, the flier suddenly raised his voice – "I... what even happened, after we fell off that cliff? I... I don't remember exactly. All I know is that we were in the water, and that you dragged me away, and then... that cave."
Henry sighed, and started talking. He told him everything, how he had jumped after him and Longclaw, how the cave had collapsed, burying all of the rats along with their plan to flood Regalia, how the current had carried them to the shore here, and how he had battled the snakes and dragged Thanatos to safety. Henry realized his own memory of it was blurry, almost like everything had been a dream.
"You... saved my life", the flier finally whispered, and Henry smiled. "Like I would save mine."
He could have sworn he saw Thanatos smile, from the corner of his eye. "You... goodness, I am so sorry I even dragged you into this feud." The flier sighed and closed his eyes. "You... you have no place in it and you should not have to suffer from it. When I saw Longclaw holding you, threatening to throw you off that cliff... I... I thought I would... I..." he sounded so helpless, so desperate, like he was about to cry, and Henry scooted closer to him, despite the heat.
"Don't blame yourself, please", he tried to sound calming. "It is my feud now as it is yours, our lives are one, remember? And honestly, I don't really mind. We'll teach him a lesson eventually – he made a mistake, you know? The mistake to mess with us, and he'll pay... in due time."
Thanatos' voice was hoarse, "thank you... for everything. I would not have survived without you today."
"Well then I, at last, repaid you for saving me more times than any of us can count", Henry chuckled.
They proceeded to lie in comfortable silence, pressed against each other, despite the heat. They both needed the feeling of knowing they were not alone in this foreign and dangerous environment more than the temperature bothered them. And when sleep, at last, consumed Henry, he drifted away knowing Thanatos was there and would warn him of danger, as he would the flier.
Henry awoke joltingly, at first he did not know what had woken him up, but then he realized it was Thanatos, who was now cowering over him, eyes wide open, like in fear.
At first, Henry reached for his sword, convinced there was some sort of threat to fight, but then everything remained silent, and Thanatos moved away, trembling, as Henry noticed now.
"Hey, what... what happened?" He asked, still anxiously glancing around for possible threats. "Did you hear something?"
The flier did not respond, he averted his glance instead, almost as if he was ashamed for having woken Henry up. The exiled prince noticed he was still shaking, and recognized the signs instantly. He was still suffering from enough nightmares himself to know the feeling of waking up from one.
Henry tossed his sword aside and wrapped his arms around Thanatos' neck. Only now he noticed how much the flier was indeed trembling, and the exiled prince tried to sound as comforting and reassuring as possible – "Hey, hey... Death, I'm here, okay? It was a nightmare... wasn't it? You're okay, it was just a dream..."
Thanatos did not respond, and Henry kept talking, the same thing over and over, words he thought he would like to hear himself after waking up, shaking from fear. "I am not leaving, you hear? And if there is ever any real threat, my sword is right over there, that threat will soon feel threatened itself, as it should."
After more than ten minutes of lying in the same position, Thanatos finally spoke – "You... were gone. Vanished. I... I was looking... screaming for you... but you were gone. I... I was..."
"Scared you lost me?" Henry knew those dreams perfectly well, the fear of waking up, realizing he was alone, was a very old one, one he had had even before his exile, and he knew how terrifying the sensation could be.
"Don't be ashamed, you hear?" He realized the flier was probably fighting his pride to even be able to talk about it, "I have those dreams too, and they are terrifying. Sometimes it's just not enough to wake up, sometimes we need someone else to tell us we'll be fine, and that we aren't alone... and there is no shame in that. Please don't think you have to keep it all in, I'm here, and not just to protect you from threats."
His voice was slightly shaking now, and he chose his next words carefully – "Your fears are my fears now, as your enemies are my enemies. Our lives are one, and they will always be, no matter how much we end up fighting or screaming at each other in the future. You know we will do that, there is really no use denying it – it's just the way we are. But know that I am as scared of losing you as you are of losing me. You told me I am your reason to keep going, well, you turned into mine too."
Henry felt Thanatos' breathing calm a little, as he kept talking, "You once told me there doesn't have to be a purpose for living at all times, sometimes you have to spend time looking for one. And I believe I have finally found mine. It is this bond... this bond is my reason to keep going now. There are others, sure – the sheer sensation of adventure and exploration is a reason, the strife to become better is another, the will to protect my friends, old and new, is also one. But this bond – this bond is what truly makes life out here worth living."
He felt the flier had calmed down entirely now, eyeing him from half-closed amber eyes. "You... truly mean that?"
"I do", Henry said and smiled – and rarely ever in his life, he had been more certain of something.
"There is a clearing over here, I believe we are on the right track!" Henry ran back to where he had left the contraption with Thanatos on it and dragged it along, towards the clearing.
Two days had passed since they had stranded in the jungle, and they were getting by better than Henry thought they would, even if it was a hassle at times.
The heat was bothering both of them and Thanatos still slipped in and out of consciousness almost at random, most likely due to the temperature and his severe injuries. Henry had gotten more used to carrying him now, but it was still difficult, with the uneven floor and the large number of plants in the way.
When they reached the clearing they took a short break, drinking some of their water. Henry just wanted to continue on, when he suddenly heard something.
He froze, immediately gripping his sword and protectively standing in front of Thanatos, who was utterly defenseless at the moment.
At first, he saw nothing, not even his echolocation worked as well as it should, the vines obstructed it, and Henry felt almost blind now, having gotten used to seeing his surroundings clearly usually.
Only after his eye had focused, in the dim light the vines and creeks gave off, he suddenly realized they were surrounded. Five pairs of eyes were staring down at him, and Henry had to use all his self-control to not fall into attack-mode instantly. But this time, he decided to wait. The creatures had not attacked yet, and suddenly, Hamnet's words rang in his ears – Most creatures here only attack if they are left with no other choice.
Well, I hope this won't cost us our lives, Henry thought, keeping his hand on his sword still. Only when one of the pairs of eyes moved forward, out of the vines and onto the clearing, Henry realized what it was.
"You are hissers!" He called, staring at the giant, purple-blue glistening lizard before him, that now closed its previously extended ruff.
Henry looked around and realized all five of them had come out of the jungle now. They shimmered in colors from yellow-brown, over green to purple-blue, and the tallest one, the first that had come out, now raised its voice, deep and almost soothing – "What seek human and flier in this land, that is the hissers'?"
Henry hesitantly let go of his sword. The last thing he needed was them to think he was a threat. "We did not know this was your land", he answered, looking at the one who had spoken, who he presumed was their leader, "My flier is injured and we have washed ashore a few days' trek from here. We are looking for our friends, the nibblers that live here, in the jungle, but we are lost. By no means did we intend to insult you or your people." He thought he was getting the hang of this "being polite in order for things to not instantly want to kill you"-thing slowly but surely.
The purple hisser lowered his head. "Far off track, you have wandered then. We see the flier is hurt. We may show you the way to the nibblers."
For the first time, actual hope rose in Henry. "We would be in your debt if you did that. We have the means to pay you... if you want any of what we have to offer, that is."
"We do not need your goods, human", the hisser responded, "we will help because it costs nothing to help."
Henry sighed audibly with relief. He watched the other lizards approach now, and suddenly felt a nudge in the side. When he turned his head he stared into the curious eyes of a small one, a baby most likely, only about half his own size. Behind it, he saw two others, one even smaller, and realized this must be a pack of some sort – perhaps two or three families with their young.
He looked back at the purple hisser and smiled. "We'll gladly accept your help, then."
