Slow Recovery

Slow Recovery
Tulok / Meta / Kes

Meta stood in front of the old oak door that lead to Kes’ workshop. He lost track how long he’s been standing there- 20…30 minutes? His hand was firmly grasping the doorknob, but he couldn’t find the strength to actually let himself in. His mind would occasionally wander as he tried to memorize what he was going to say to her. He would nod to himself, feeling confident in his words and twist the nob just a bit further to the left, but then stop again and go over his lines JUST to make sure he didn’t forget anything. Eventually, after almost a hour has passed, he finally let himself in.

The long hall was poorly lit once he entered- Walls decorated with her weapons, masks and various pelts she gathered throughout the years. He continued to slowly walk to the main room where large wooden cabinets lined each wall, and an equally large table was placed in the center. He spotted her carving a long piece of bone into a bow. It was much brighter in the center compared to the hallway , so Kes easily spotted him once he emerged from the shadows.

“Hey, you’re back early.” She smiled, and held up the bow she’s been working on for the past several hours once Meta got closer. It was beautifully carved with embellishments of stars, snowflakes, swirls and other various designs. “Do you think Tulok will like it? I want to start him off with something that doesn’t require much ice to use. Since you’re currently teaching him how to use a sword, I figured it works out for the both of us, oh!! Speaking of which…”

She eagerly set all of her tools aside and focused on the puff. “How did training go? Tell me all about it, I bet Tulok loved every moment of it!”

To her surprise, Meta didn’t share the same reaction as her. She expected him to go off on a tangent; it was something everyone in the family was looking forward too. Her smile soon turned to a frown, and she got up from her chair and headed towards him.

“What’s wrong, is he okay?” She peered over to the hall and then back at Meta with a worried expression. “Did he get hurt?"

Meta motioned his wing forward and led her back to her chair while he took a seat across of her. Meta reached for his mask to slightly lift it up so he could see her properly when he spoke.

“We trained for awhile; took breaks when needed. I showed him a few stances and defensive moves, and we practiced a bit with several of the training dummies. You should’ve seen him, Kes, it was like he was born to wield it.”

“Well that sounds wonderful, Meta, but if that’s the case why are you so glum? He didn’t enjoy it?"

“Oh, he enjoyed it. Tulok was enjoying every moment of it. He kept saying he was going to be just as strong as Kirby, and how he was going to train his hardest everyday to achieve that goal. But...then we hit a bit of a rough patch during our sparring lesson.” He then paused for a moment, trying to sound as calm and reassuring so Kes wouldn’t worry. He fiddled with his hands for a moment before neatly folding them together and giving his other half a weak smile.

“Kessy dear, sweetheart, honey…..now, I don’t want you to panic what I’m about to say, okay?"

“You saying that is already making me panic.” She started to push herself out of her chair. “What happened? Did you accidentally hurt him? Was it his temperature? Was the weather too hot for him? Did he remember to stay hydrated? Did he pass out? Wait, was it his asthma? He didn’t have an attack while he was sparring, did he? Is that why he’s not here?!! No-? It’s worse than that?! What could be worse than that? Sweet Nova, please don’t tell me you forgot to bring his inhaler again!! Meta, how many times have we talked about this-”

“Kes, Kes, Kes…Tulok’s fine! Relax, it wasn’t anything of the sort.” He did his best to calm her frantic rambling.

She had a hard time believing him, though. If none of the scenarios weren’t the reason he was acting so cautions, what was it then? Kes began to stare him down, and she barked for an answer this time. Her patience was starting to reach past her limit, and Meta could clearly sense it when the room started to become colder than usual.

“Metameos Bate, if you don’t tell me what happened to our son this instant, Nova help me I’m going to-"

“Okay, okay! Calm down- I….well, I mean…there was a small accident, and he sort of…accidentally….” His voice lingered.

“Accidentally…? What?” What happened?” She pressed on.

“He, well injured himself. His….wing, specifically. He…ah…broke…one….of them."

The room went dead silent for a moment, before pure chaos erupted.

Meta nearly fell back when Kes pushed herself away from her desk and ran to the door. “I thought you said he was fine!! That doesn’t sound fine to me, Meta! Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?!! How’s he doing?!! Is he okay? Tulok-!!” She began to call out once she opened the door, but Meta quickly used his wing again to block it so she wouldn’t run off.

“Kes, I promise it’s not as bad as you’re making it out to be. He’s resting in his room, and he’s doing much better. He broke it trying to dodge one of my attacks. He lost his footing and, well…. it’s a small fracture, the doctor said he should be okay within a month.”

Meta could feel the anger emanating from the Leo. He didn’t engage in eye contact and focused on the floor as he anxiously waited what she was going to say. He gave a breath of relief when he felt the room started to warm up again after several painstaking moments. Meta’s wing lowered, and he looked back up once Kes started to take a few step back.

“A month? And..how’s Tulok taking it?” She quietly spoke.

“I don’t think he realizes it yet. But once he wakes up, we’ll tell him. I know he’s not going to like it, but we need to start limiting the time he spends outside just in case he decides to train on his own. ” He again looked at her table and eyed the bow she was crafting for Tulok. She noticed and gave a weak laugh.

“Easier said than done, right? He wants to be so much like his brother- to fight, to train.” She grabbed it and placed it on the top of the shelf. “If he’s anything like his Father, you know he’s not going to back down without a fight"

“And if he’s anything like his Mother, he’s going to do everything in his power to defy us.” Meta added.

“At least he’s passionate about it.” Kes humorously laughed as she nudged him out of the room. "You make it seem like that’s a bad thing."

“Just wait until we break the news to him. He’ll make you eat those words.” Meta responded, following behind and locking the door once they were finally out. He had a feeling they weren’t going to go back there for quite some time.

—--

As the pair predicted, the next day went off to a very rocky start. Arguing, compromising, arguing again, sneaking out, crying, and yes- more arguing. Eventually, after a very exhausting morning, Tulok finally gave up and spent the entire afternoon brooding in the corner of the living room. He refused to talk or acknowledge anyone, and would waste his time looking out the window in hopes to see his brother return. Kirby spends most of the day out, and usually returns late at night so he figured seeing him return at this hour would be a bit of a stretch….

“Tulok?” Meta called out as he stood behind the child. He gently placed a hand on his back and spoke again. “Are you ready to talk now?"

The child only huffed in response, and continued to stare out the window. He was supposed to be out there- training, sharpening his skills, getting stronger so he could be like his brother. So he could fight demon beasts like him. But instead….

“I was about to read one of my favorite books. How about you join me and we’ll read it together."

“Your books are boring....” He muffled a response.

“You’ve never read them before, so how would you even know?” He gave a small chuckle and picked up the child. “We’ll read several chapters before you make your verdict. C’mon, it’ll be fun.”

The small Leo didn’t bother arguing back and only sighed in response as his father carried him further away from the small window. His father sure had a terrible sense of what he considered was fun.

Tulok doesn't particularly care for reading. In fact, he didn’t understand half the stuff his father was saying during the past hour. All this talk of Star Warriors, and the history of them, and all the fighting just made him eager as ever to get back outside.

“Daaaaaaad….” Tulok whined as he struggled to stay awake after his father reached the 3rd chapter. “Can I go to my room or something, this is boring.”

“We tried that, remember? And you jumped out of the window not even five minutes later.” He reminded the forgetful Leo of the incident this morning.

“I promise I won’t do it again.”

“We tried that too, or did you suddenly forget?” Meta then looked up at the child. “And you got caught trying to hide in several of the bushes out front."

“I can’t help it. It’s no fair I have to stay inside. Momma said Ice Leos are born fighters. I’m supposed to be fighting, not sitting around reading books…” He fluffed up his good wing in anger.

“I know you are, but you are also a very vulnerable Ice Leo right now.” He spoke, as he began the next chapter. “Your wing won’t heal properly if you keep jumping out windows or trying to take your brace off. Once the fall season approaches, we can try again."

“Autumn? B-but there could be an invasion of Demon Beasts by then! What am I going to do, bore them to death? Throw a book at them?”

“Tulok Bate, when did you become such a smart mouth?” He slightly shook his head.

“Well it’s true.” He mumbled. “I won’t be able to properly defend myself. Can we do something else? We don’t have to spar like before, what if we try-"

“You and I both know we can’t.” The elder cut him off before he was able to finish, and he placed the child in front of him. “You already heard what the doctor told you yesterday.”

Tulok angrily crossed his arms and looked away when he mentioned him. “That doctor doesn’t know anything. I bet he isn’t even a doctor..those papers on his walls are probably fake.” He mumbled the last part.

This time Meta couldn’t help but give a small chuckle of amusement. Sweet Nova, he’s been hanging around Kirby too much.

"He’s the best doctor in Green Greens but if you’re still skeptical, I’ll be sure to press my concerns to him when we visit later this week.” He then picked up the child and headed to the hallway. He knew Tulok wasn’t a fan of his book, so he’ll be a bit more lenient just for today and let him go back to his room. “Tell you what, I’ll let you go back to your room just this once, but if we catch you trying to sneak out again, you’ll be grounded until the cold season arrives."

“It already feels like I’m grounded…..” He quietly thought to himself as Meta set him back on the floor.

“I’ll come by once lunch is ready. No running off, okay?”

“Hm…okay….” He huffed and sat on the floor as he listened to the footsteps of his father get father and farther until he couldn’t hear it anymore. Eventually her sat up after several minutes and glanced at the window next to his bed. Now’s his chance! If he ran out now, maybe he could be able to catch up to Kirby and…and…..

"And what? What’ll that do…?" He murmured to himself. “Dad will just bring me back here and I’ll get in even more trouble…”

He slightly nudged the brace his wing was wrapped in, and stared at his reflection from across the room. His brow furrowed in frustration that he had to be stuck like this for the next 4 weeks. He huffed one last time, dragging his feet back to bed since he didn’t feel motivated to do anything for the rest of the day.

----

“Kes, I’m getting worried. Tulok’s been moping and sulking this entire day.”

“He’s only had the brace on for less than a day.” She replied, chopping up several slabs of meat for the curry they were making.

“Exactly, how you do think the rest of the recovery’s going to pan out? We need to find something that’ll occupy his time without the use of his wings. Better yet, maybe avoid anything that has to do with training, or Demon Beasts."

“Our whole lives revolve around it, not matter how hard we try to ignore it. This isn’t going to be as easy as it sounds, but give him some time and he’ll come around.” She reassured, dumping the cubed chunks into the pan.

“And if he doesn’t?”

“Trust me, Meta. I’m already working on something. Just give me until tomorrow and he’ll bounce back to normal.” She smiled.

“If you’re that confident, I’ll leave you to it, then..” He chopped up several vegetables, and then glanced back at Kes. “I tried reading to him.”

“Yes, I heard you, dear. You know he doesn’t enjoy reading.” She paused, and tapped her chin several times. “Or at least the topics you chose to read to him."

“Yeah, I know…” His wings lowered as his failed attempt. “I just thought I’d try….”

“Oh- don’t be so glum.” She leaned over to give him a supporting nuzzle when she noticed how hurt he sounded. “I know you tried. You’re such a good father. Tulok doesn’t understand now, but in time he’ll thank you for it.”

“Hm, thank you, Kes.” He returned the affection and motioned the Leo to get Tulok while he preparing the finishing touches for their late lunch.

-End Part 1-

Artist Comment:

April 27, 2021

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Part one of a small little story I had in mine. I have a good portion of the second part typed out, but I don't know when I'll get it done. XP Meta tries to keep his son entertained by reading to him, but that didn't turn out as well as he thought it would. I wonder what Kes has in mind....