AN: Hope you enjoy reading~

Chapter 4:

Samuel wrung the cloth of excess water into the bowl before he placed it upon Killia's heated forehead. He used another to gently wipe away the water beads and dried flakes of blood from his cheeks and lips.

Killia still hadn't awoken, though Samuel had no idea how much time had passed since he had sought shelter in the recently abandoned cottage.

Outside, the rain poured down, masking all other sounds. It had grown significantly darker. A version of night-time, perhaps. Samuel should work on getting a fire started as it had grown cool, but he wanted to ensure that Killia was well and truly out of the woods, as they say.

Setting the cloth aside, Samuel folded the blankets covering Killia down to his waist to reveal his chest and torso. The bruise had deepened in colour, but not grown, thankfully. Hopefully Samuel could ease his pains further.

With one hand on Killia's chest and the other on his torso, Samuel spent several silent moments slowly and carefully offering him gentle healing. After he drew back his healing, he noted that Killia's breathing became easier, and his bruise had grown splotchy. It had begun to fade. It meant his healing was effective. That was a relief.

He had managed to get his fever under control, too. He could afford some time to give the cottage another quick once over. Search for some food. Maybe he could afford to get the wood stove going to cook something. The rain should keep the Lost Army at bay for a short while.

Pulling the blankets back over Killia, Samuel then set about checking the windows and ensuring the door was barricaded.

He kept all the curtains drawn. And for the windows that didn't have curtains, he placed something over other the glass to ensure that no one could spy on them without him knowing. He couldn't afford to be ambushed, something that made him twitch with hidden knowledge.

Ok. Time to see what kind of provisions he could get hands on.

Towels. Blankets. Medicine and bandages. Fresh vegetables. Rice. Flour.

Huh, look at that. Curry powder. With the ingredients he found, he could make a curry. The smell of it cooking might be able to rouse Killia from his sleep.

There was also a small pile of wood just inside the backdoor. Good. He could start a fire. Hopefully, the rain and fog outside would mask the smoke. And the dreary weather and the arrogance the Lost was known for would mean that the Lost Army was unlikely to revisit the village for a while.

It didn't take him long to start a fire, yet as he closed the hatch to the wood stove, something propelled him to look outside. So, he walked over to the window facing the front of the cottage and carefully peeled back a corner of the curtain.

Though the sky was dark, and the mist was dense, he immediately noted a small group of Slumber Cats with a Twin Dragon companion had paused to rest in the village centre. Scruffy and drenched. The dragon clearly hurt, but intent on protecting their feline charges. They weren't Lost Soldiers. Victims of them, no doubt.

Samuel's heart went out to them. He couldn't leave others out in the rain. Literally. And he knew Killia wouldn't want him to, either.

He spent a moment to make room for visitors and to set aside the barricade before he opened the door. The sound of the lock unlatching echoed, in spite of the pattering of rain. They tensed and all turned in his direction, the Twin Dragon bristling while the Slumbering Cats taking to hide behind them.

A completely understandable reaction, so he had to keep his actions unthreatening. He slowly raised his arm and waved them over, not wanting to shout in case they were being chased by the Lost.

They naturally hesitated but decided that being out in the cold rain was no longer an option, moving quickly toward him. Possibly indicating that they were indeed on the run.

"Are you on the run?" Samuel asked in a hushed tone as he held open the door, allowing for the Twin Dragon, carrying the Slumber Cats, to rush inside, and to scurry to the empty dining room.

"Not for the time being. But once the rain stops, they will being patrolling again, meow," a Slumber Cat with red fur replied. She had an elderly voice, like one would imagine a grandmotherly figure would possess.

That didn't surprise him. So, they were safe for the time being. Best use the time they had the best they could.

"I just started the fire, so it was going take a little bit of time for it to truly take off," Samuel said as he set the barricade back in place. He walked over to the provisions he had gathered and picked up a couple of towels.

"Here, use these." He crouched down and offered the towels. "The name's Samuel. Are any of you hurt?"

"I am Aloe Vera," the red-furred Slumber Cat who had spoken to him before replied as she retrieved one of the towels, before she turned and motioned toward the three felines that stayed atop of the back of the Twin Dragons. "Little Lily is very ill, meow."

She must be talking of the smaller feline being fussed over by the other two. One of purple fur. Shivering. Holding her little head. Sniffing, trying to hold back the tears she obviously wanted to cry.

The poor thing.

"I know some healing spells," Samuel said. "Will you let me attend to her?"

Aloe Vera tilted her head to the side to study him for a moment. Which was an understandable thing to do. He was a stranger. They were in the middle of a war. They were in the middle of a war zone. She had every right to be sceptical and suspicious of him.

She, however, nodded her head. Which was surprising, but a relief also.

Samuel gave the elderly Slumbering Cat a small smile as he stood up and grabbed another towel. He moved toward the Twin Dragon slowly, however. He may have the approval of one Slumbering Cat, but he hadn't gotten the approval of the dragon.

And, sure enough, as he approached, the Twin Dragon gave a low warning growl.

"Now Buddy," Aloe Vera chided lightly. "He friend. He helps."

The Twin Dragon, Buddy, uttered another low growl, but made no attempt to snap at him. The other two Slumbering Cat allow for him to wrap the towel around the much smaller feline. The little one gave no protest or struggle, simply falling limp in his arms as he picked her up.

She was so young. Just a little baby.

Children shouldn't be affected by war.

Nestling her in the crook of his arm, Samuel rested his hand against her forehead and gave a gentle pulse of healing. The healing he offered her was vastly different than what he had previously given Killia. She was so much younger, and so much more vulnerable. Killia could handle a harsher form of healing. She couldn't.

Just gentle, subtle healing.

"She'll be ok, but she'll need a lot of rest," Samuel said as he idly tugged the towel tighter around her tiny body. "I'll make her a little bed closer to the fire so she can get warm. This rain didn't do her a bit of good."

He kept her cradled against his chest as he grabbed a chair and pulled it toward the wood stove, placing it at a safe distance where she would get the warmth she needed, but where he wouldn't accidently bump into her when he eventually started making dinner for everyone. He would need to change the towel to a drier one later, too.

"You've done this before, meow?" Aloe Vera suddenly asked him.

Samuel placed little Lily upon the chair. "Oh? Ah, yeah, I'm a bit of a, ah, caretaker, I suppose."

It certainly felt like it, honestly.

He walked over to the bed to check on Killia once more, uttering a disappointed sigh to cover up his concern when he realised that he was still unconscious. But at least he was comfortable. As comfortable as he could be, at least.

"You are on the run from the Lost, meow?"

Samuel idly patted down the blankets to ensure that Killia was comfortable. "Yeah, we're hiding from the Lost, also. But we're not from around here. Could you tell us the name of this Netherworld? We fled here to hide, you could say."

The elderly Slumber Cat could see that he wasn't lying. There wasn't an actor in the entire Netherverse good enough to pretend to be in that bad of a state.

"Ah, explains why I do not recognise your face. This Netherworld is called "Sleeping Willows", meow," Aloe Vera explained. "It was once a quaint Netherworld. One where one came to rest. Not unheard of to sleep, curled up in the roots of the willow trees, meow."

Which would explain why the Lost Army targeted it so nonchalantly.

Samuel sat down on the edge of the bed and crossed his legs at the ankles. "I take it you are locals?"

Aloe Vera nodded. "We're from another small village north of here. The Lost Army attacked one day, quite suddenly. Our Overlord, she abandoned us without a fight, meow. She left us to fend for ourselves. We were forced to flee, to find refuge within the willows. We've been hiding ever since. Buddy has done his best to protect us, but…we're not much for fighting, meow."

Samuel frowned. Their overlord just up and left, huh? What an absolute coward.

"How long have you been hiding?"

"Many days."

Too many days. They must all be very tired. Weary. Of everything.

"Let me make something for us to eat then," Samuel said as he stood up. "It'll be good to get some food in our stomachs, won't it? Why don't you all try to get some sleep, too? Dinner will be ready in a bit."

The mentioning of food and sleep seemed to win him favour of the other members of Aloe Vera's small band. The other two Slumbering Cats finally dropped from the Twin Dragon's back, who in turn settled down, folding his front claws beneath him. The other two felines, he learnt, were Nily and Jily, twins who were older sisters to Lily. They have quite the naming habit in their family.

And they had never tried curry before.

"Well, you're in for a treat, I promise," Samuel said, light-heartedly in hopes to bring a sense of normalcy to the situation, even just for a moment. "Even you, Buddy."

Buddy the Twin Dragon tilted each of his heads in separate directions, looking at him curiously.

"You did you best protecting everyone," Samuel patted the left head of Buddy, subtly healing him as he did so. "You're a good boy so you'll get a special meal."

Buddy gave a low, canine whine as he gave a soft, tired wag of his tail. He seemed to appreciate his words, however. So much so that his right head wanted a pat, and a heal, too. So of course, Samuel indulged him in a chin scratch, too.

The Twin Dragon was smaller than those that Samuel had previous encountered. That probably meant that he was just a youngling himself. Just a child.

Attacking tiny children. Barely old enough to talk, let along defend themselves. The Lost Army was created for abusers, wasn't it? Truly, an excuse for them to be as vile as possible without repercussion.

"Right, so try to get some rest while I do the cooking," Samuel said as he walked over to the wood stove. "Not a bad deal, right?"

As he pulled his gloves off, Samuel looked down at his left arm in surprise. Bruises and lacerations encircled his wrist and forearm in a crossover pattern. When did he…?

Oh. Oh, right. It was from the chain on his axe. He had wrapped it around his wrist and used his axe as an anchor to ensure that he and Killia hadn't fallen over the edge of Dark Testament.

He had wondered why his hand hurt every once in a while. He had better put a bandage around his wrist before Killia saw it.

But first, he'd make dinner then attend to his injury.

The Slumbering Cats slept together, and close to where Lily slept on the chair, curled up in a clean, dry towel. Buddy stayed in the dining area, silent, in a very deep sleep. A testament to how exhausted and drained the Twin Dragon truly was.

During his meal preparation, Samuel alternated between checking on Killia and Lily, while cautiously peering outside. Though, it was often a fruitless gesture with how dark it was, with the heavy falling rain. He still felt the need to be constantly on guard. He had a full house of those he needed to watch over, after all.

Once the curry was done, Samuel felt slightly bad about awakening everyone from their slumber as it was obvious they needed their sleep, but they needed their food, too.

And they soon forgave him for waking them when they got said food.

He made a special meal for Lily. One made for young children. A creamy, vegetable soup that could be eaten when one was feeling ill. Just like Lily was. With the Nily and Jily needing food themselves, Samuel took on the task of carefully spoon-feeding Lily. Something that he had done numerous times before. Evident in the ease of which he was able to feed the sickly child.

They fell back to sleep easier after having filled their bellies. Which was good. They needed their rest.

Unlike the others, Samuel didn't partake in having anything to eat. He was too busy and honestly too anxious to eat anything. Besides, he wasn't all that hungry. He felt that he was used to going days without eating anything, so it was fine. He needed to keep a bit of food to the side for when Killia finally awoke from his sleep.

After throwing another log on the fire, Samuel moved to stand by Killia's bed once more. And pressed a hand to his forehead.

Samuel breathed a sigh of relief. The fever had broken. He could finally relax a bit. Just a little bit.

Pulling back his hand from Killia's forehead, he caught a glimpse of the mangled lacerations and bruises, and promptly realised that he really needed to cover that up. Aloe Vera had already taken notice, though hadn't said anything.

But as Samuel moved to turn away from the bed, Killia unexpectedly shifted, the first time since he had received that near devastating attack from Bloodis. And a bubble of hope appeared in Samuel's chest; was he waking up.

Killia's brow furrowed, and his lips twitched into a frown. His hand wiggled out from the blankets, seeming searching for something.

Before Samuel could react, Killia suddenly snared his hand, gripping tightly. "L…Lieze…"

Lieze?

Samuel's eyes softened sadly, and he sat down on the edge of the bed. He placed his free hand atop of Killia's, letting the other man continue to hold his hand, a grip that was both tight and desperate.

That must be the name that of someone what was once precious to Killia. The one he had spoken briefly about with Red Magnus. His family. He must be dreaming about her. Perhaps reliving old memories they had together. Battling against Void Dark must have brought them back to the surface.

He was in so much pain. More than he was willing to talk about.

More than he knew himself.

Samuel idly brushed his thumb over Killia's knuckles. He didn't want to release his hand, but he felt the need to pace the perimeter once more. He couldn't afford to relax completely. Not yet.

"I'll keep watch outside," Aloe Vera's suddenly offered, surprising Samuel slightly. "My vision is better at night, meow."

Samuel turned toward the elderly Slumbering Cat, only to find her already heading toward one of the front-facing windows. "Ah, ok. Just keep the window covered. We can't afford any light to escape and give away our cover."

Aloe Vera simply nodded as she pushed a chair toward the window, climbed upon it, and slipped behind the curtain.

Quietly, Samuel turned back to Killia, who had fallen silent once more. The wrinkle in his brow had smoothen out and the frown had dissipated, returning to a slight parting of the lips to allow for quiet breathing.

He hoped that allowing for Killia to hold his hand was allowing for him to find some peace and comfort in his dreams.

Even if he could find it nowhere else.

Samuel snapped his head up when he heard Aloe Vera utter a small hiss. "Soldiers, meow."

Releasing his hold on Killia's hand, Samuel grabbed his axe, slipped off the bed, and silently ducked under the curtain to peer out into the night. She was right. Lost Soldiers. A small band of them, but a nuisance nonetheless. They were likely searching for any stragglers to threaten and to harm. He couldn't afford to let them know of them or their hideout.

He needed to get rid of them. Quickly.

"I'll slip out the back and come at them from a different angle," Samuel whispered to Aloe Vera. "I'll lead them away if I have to. But my goal is to take them out before they find us. Keep quiet and keep your heads down. I'll take care of everything."

Not waiting for a reply, Samuel dropped out from behind the curtain and quickly, but silently, headed toward the back door of the cottage. But not before pausing by the wood stove to pick up his gloves, slipping them on hastily.

He stopped by the back door to open it quietly and slipped out. It had stopped raining, but a light mist hung in the air. The mist should act as cover, but the wet gravel could be an issue.

But it didn't matter. There was no way in Hades he was going to let any Lost Soldiers near Killia. Or anyone else.