He shouldn't have come all this way - Corvus was fully aware of that. He should've waited until the fire died out and headed back, both to see if anyone in Abaven needed his assistance, as well as to seek the aid of a healer. Instead he'd foolishly traveled all the way here, not totally know what to even expect; but he knew he didn't necessarily want to be home right now. He felt like an idiot, and instead of feeling like an idiot at home he wanted to be anywhere but. Maybe he was being selfish thinking anyone would even care that he'd been off licking his own wounds... if anyone else was injured, surely the attention would be on tending to them rather than focusing on him, right?
Either way, that didn't stop his annoying thoughts from plaguing him. Only when he saw his friend did some of his anxieties begin to fade away, even if only temporarily. He realized suddenly how badly his paws hurt, especially his front two, and carefully he lowered himself to the ground against one of the pine trees that stood at the edge of Winterfell's border. He didn't even want to stop and check out the pads of his paws yet - he already knew the sight wouldn't be pretty. He briefly caught sight of the singed fur there and cringed, tilting his head to focus on Ignis instead. "Yeah, there was.. a fire," he explained weakly, wishing he had more information than that for him.
But he didn't. He'd sulked away like a coward, and if only he'd reacted more quickly he likely wouldn't have gotten hurt and would've been able to make sure everyone else was okay, too. "I.. I'm sure everyone's fine," he said weakly, trying to convince Ignis of it was much as he was trying to assure himself that. Instantly his mind went to Peggy, and her children - he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if anything happened to them. Maybe that was why running away had seemed like a safer bet.
"I feel like shit," he finally admitted with a choked laugh, not fighting Ignis as he tried to clean his neck. He knew he needed the help - in reality, an actual bath was probably a better option but the thought of cold water on his blistered paws sounded more painful than refreshing. "But.. I'm okay. I just need to sit for awhile. Maybe a week or two," he joked lightly, giving his friend a playful look. "I just really didn't feel like being at home right now. Hopefully it's okay that I came here?" He didn't know much about how Ignis's uncle would be running the pack, but technically he wasn't trespassing, so he wasn't too worried about his presence here.
|
