The rain came down harder hitting any exposed skin like millions of tiny needles, Therja helped the lioness to her feet and tried to protect her from the heavy rain the best her could, putting his arm around her waist , he took her inside out of the harsh weather.
He sat her down on the steps of the stairwell and went to the medical kit the hung on the wall.
"What are you doing?" the lioness asked.
Finding something to cover your wound and stop the bleeding" Therja explained
"No need just take me to my room" Leanna said getting to her feet.
"In due time little lady, in due time" Therja said seeing the blood running down the lioness's mangled arm.
"No, I need to get out of here"
"But I think it may be wise to take care of your arm first"
"I said I'm fine, "Leanna growled and winced when Therja grabbed her wrist.
"Let me take you to the med bay" Therja replied standing.
"I don't want to go to the med bay "
"Why not?" Therja asked
Leanna looked at him, her eyes pleading, "Please just take me to my room"
Against his better judgement Therja did as he was asked, helping the woman to her feet, her helped her down the hallway to her room. Once inside Leanna went into the bathroom and got a few towels. She sat on the foot of the bed and pressed the clean towel against her injured arm. "You may enter" Leanna said as Therja still stood in the doorway.
"Oh" Therja said slightly blushing, he was surprised how the room was laid out, it was neither overly masculine nor feminine, the walls were a deep rust color , the large bed sat on a type of platform that was painted black. The blanket and pillows were a deep red trimmed with a gold color; the room was warm and welcoming Therja's eyes wondered to the many hand pained pictures on the walls. The one that peeked his interest was one of two ancient warriors in the midst of battle, both look worn and ready to collapse and yet they were both froze in time swords drawn ready for the final strike, "That one is Panthro's favourite it was a gift from an old friend he met on third earth by the name of hatchiman"
"Have to say I've never seen anything like it "Therja commented, "It's impressive"
"You sound surprised" Leanna said with a hint of amusement in her voice.
"Well," Therja admitted, "just never pictured Panthro as a collector of art"
"There's a lot about my husband many don't know, you were probably expecting the room to be scattered with old parts and cans of grease"
Therja just looked at her and smiled.
"Believe me he has tried and got sent to the hanger for the night along with whatever he brought back, bad enough he has a shelf of tech manuals in here, he wasn't turning our bedroom into a machine shop" Leanna said with a slight snort.
"How's the arm? " Therja asked
"It's fine" Leanna said holding the towel tight against her arm
"Stop pretending you're not in pain" Therja said, " I know you are so stop pretending "
Leanna took a breath and lowered her head, "I… I can't"
Therja knelt down and touched her shoulder" Leanna, its ok"
"No, it's not ok, I can't let my guard down, if I do I will fall apart" The lioness said quietly.
"You're hiding behind a mask of pain"
Leanna pulled away from the liger lynx "why do you care anyway?"
"Because someone has too" Therja said softly, "how can you be so calm? Katra tried to kill you"
"Not the first time someone has tried "the lioness shrugged. "Won't be the last either"
"You know you are going to make yourself ill" Therja replied, " I can't even begin to fathom the pain you much be going through losing a child, but I do understand how it feels to lose someone you love"
Leanna just looked at him as he continued" even though it happened a long time ago, it still feels like it happened yesterday, "Therja said sitting down on the floor at the lioness's feet," After my parents died I was left to care for my little sister, Brie was a typical 12 year old, curious, full of life, always asking questions , she was forever bring home stray animals she had found who were either hurt or hungry, it was hard enough to feed the two of us let alone all those stupid pets she brought home, but it made her happy"
"What happened to her?" Leanna asked sensing pain in Therja's voice.
"I was only 15 at the time and managed to get odd jobs here and there, you know just enough money to keep us from going hungry, I had gotten a job down at the docks unloading the days catch the fishermen brought in daily, I made Brie promise me she wouldn't go out, to stay home and lock the door until I got back, I was only going to be gone a couple of hours, wasn't much money but sometime the fishermen would give me a few fish so we could eat that night and the next day, " Therja said taking a breath and continued " it was just before dark before I got back to our place, first thing I noticed was there wasn't any lights on, which I thought a bit odd, because my sister didn't like being alone especially when it got dark outside, as I got closer I seen the front door was wide open, I ran inside…" Therja stopped a moment and closed his eyes as the memory came flooding back.
Wasn't until he felt Leanna's hand on his shoulder did he open his eyes, "I found her on the floor…. She tried to escape through the back…. She was only 12 years old….defenceless.. "He said and lowered his head, the image of his sisters bloody naked body in the floor forever burned in his brain. He felt small strong arms wrap round pulling him into a tight hug. He didn't say a word as he returned the embrace.
He took a moment before he spoke, "so I know about hiding from the pain"
Leanna let him go and looked at him "Feels as if I've been kicked in the stomach and all the air has rushed from my body"
Therja nodded and let her continue "if only I hadn't of suggested we go to the beach house, Kale and Sele would still be alive and Panthro wouldn't have gotten injured"
"Don't blame yourself for the actions of a psychopathic woman," Therja said. "wouldn't of matter Leanna, Katra was hell bent on causing your family harm she would have tried even if you had of been here, only one person is to blame for all of this and she's paid for her actions"
"Why Therja?.. Why did she take away my son? Why Sele?" the lioness asked finally breaking down in tears
"Katra was a sick woman" Therja answered holding her as she sobbed, "just don't blame yourself or it will eat away at you, it's not your fault"
The lioness cried, once the tears started they wouldn't stop like a damn bursting they just overwhelmed her, Therja just held her in his strong arms, this woman who he hardly knew and only met a few days before was so vulnerable, so full of grief, he couldn't help but feel protective towards her, even though she had a mate, he had to do this.
Therja rubbed his hand up and down the lioness's arm as she quieted down, "it will be alright" he said quietly.
"How will it be alright? " Leanna asked "my child is dead"
"What I mean is you will get through this, it may take a long time but you will get through it"
Leanna pulled away from the liger lynx and stood "I need to go to the med bay" she stated once again putting up a wall of defense.
Therja stood and went into the bathroom and got a warm wet cloth, and passed it to Leanna "alright, wash your face and I will take you down"
After wiping her face Therja noticed a faint scar covering the right side of the lioness's face and neck and wondered why he hadn't seen it before. Leanna seen him staring at her "I was in an accident few years back in case you were wondering"
"Sorry didn't mean to stare" Therja said clearing his throat
"Its fine, I usually cover it up, the whole right side of my body is scared like this, it's not as bad as it used to be, Pumyra operated a few times to fix my face so it would be a bit smoother"
"She done a fine job" Therja said with a smile.
"Flatterer" Leanna said with a slight smirk.
Therja winked and the two left the lioness's bedchamber and headed to the med bay, soon as they walked in Sabar ran over" Lea, where have you been?" the female panther asked
"Why? Has something happened?" the lioness asked
"Katra was in here a while ago, got Panthro all riled up" Sabar explained
"Is he alright?" Therja asked
"he's fine, had to give him something to calm him down before he tried to get out of bed" Sabar said then noticed the towel wrapped around Leanna's arm" What happened?"
Therja quickly explained what happened with Katra out on the cat's head as Sabar looked at Leanna's arm, "Crazy woman," Sabar said shaking her head, "Lea you're going to need stitches"
Leanna nodded and turned to Therja" thank you for everything, you better go speak to Lion-O"
Therja just gave her a look, he knew when he had been dismissed, "you know where I am if you need me" he nodded slightly and left.
Once Therja left Sabar set to work stitching up the lioness's arm, the cuts were deep, a few were down to the bone. "Are you sure Panthro is alright?" Leanna asked Sabar.
"For now yes" Sabar nodded, she told her the outcome of the operation and the run in with Katra.
"I need to see him" Leanna said.
"He's probably sleeping again. He's going to need lots of rest for the next few weeks while he heals"
"Promise I won't be long" Leanna said and walked over to the panther's bedside. She seen he had his eyes closed and knew from the light snoring he was sleeping, her eyes scanned is limbs the sight of the missing part of his leg brought tears to her eyes. She picked up a small piece of paper and found a pen and scribbled a short note, she folded it and slipped it in his hand. Soon as she started to pull her hand away, Panthro grasped her fingers.
"Sorry didn't mean to wake you" Leanna said quietly.
"Sabar would have woken me up anyway doing her checks "The panther grumble then life his and "what's this?" he asked looking at the folded piece of paper.
"Just a note saying I as here while you were resting"
"I don't want to be here anymore Lea; I want to be in my own bed. You know I don't sleep well without you there"
"I know love, but Sabar isn't going to let you out of the med bay just yet, maybe in a day or so" Leanna said.
Panthro looked at her, "Baby? What's wrong? You've been crying"
"I'm alright" the lioness smiled, "don't worry about me"
"It's part of my job to worry about you" Panthro simply stated. "I wouldn't be much of a man if I didn't" then he seen her bandaged arm "what happened there?"
"Katra attacked me"
"WHAT!" the panther barked. "Where is she?. I'll wring her blasted neck; I should have done that when I had the chance"
"Dead" Leanna answered and explained what had happened. "I did try to save her, but she was trying to make me lose my grip on the edge and went for my throat when Therja pulled me up. Therja had no choice it's was either her or the both of us falling… I'm sorry. I didn't want it to end that way"
"You have nothing to be sorry about" Panthro replied calmly
"How can you be so calm about this?" The lioness asked
Panthro looked at his mate and gently stroked her cheek with his fingers, "I still have my hearing so I can hear your soft voice speak my name, I have my sense of smell that I can smell your sweet scent, I have my sight so I can still see your beautiful face, my hands to touch your soft skin, my arms to hold you and my heart to love you and our girls. I need nothing else"