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“Guys? We have a problem.”
Sky started at Four’s voice, yanking him out of his comfortable doze against the trunk of a tree.
Hyrule had woken up that morning and told them that there would be a portal coming any minute. Sky wasn’t quite sure how his ability to sense the things worked, but the Traveller had never been wrong before so they all had scrambled to get their things together, ready to go. Now there was nothing to do but wait.
It wasn’t the worst place to pass a quiet morning. The cave they had made camp in for the night faced onto a quiet, secluded grove, and Sky had been more than happy to set himself up against an old pine tree and doze, catching a few precious additional minutes’ sleep.
“What’s up?” he asked, although half awake and groggy as he was, it came out more like ‘whasuuhp’.
There was a rustling of fabric and a faint buzz from Fi, and Sky guessed that Four had just shrugged. “I think Wild’s sick.” he explained. “He’s still in bed and won’t get up. He’s just lying there making sad cat noises.”
Someone snorted a laugh and then reached up to cover their mouth, turning it into cough. Wind, Sky thought.
There was a shifting a few feet away, soft fabric just about muffling the clinking of armour as Warriors sat up from where he had been relaxing.
“How sick?” he asked, a hint of tension in his voice.
The Captain always took illnesses in the Chain seriously, even if it was only a sniffle or a small headache, and was liable to enforce bedrest on the unsuspecting hero. The first few times that Sky encountered this side of Wars he had thought the man cold and unfeeling for how strictly he implemented a quarantine, for his single-minded practicality. It was after knowing him for months that he realised the Captain was just looking out for them, that it was bitter experience that drove him. Warriors had seen firsthand what happened when illness was allowed to sweep unchecked through a barracks and wanted only to protect the rest of the Chain.
Still. His bedside manner was almost as bad as Hyrule’s.
Four made the shrugging sound again. “I don’t know, he’s just curled up in a ball holding his stomach.”
Legend snorted from across the clearing. “Hyrule, he didn’t eat any of your cooking, did he?”
Hyrule didn’t sign anything but from the constant buzz that Fi fed him of their surroundings, Sky could feel when he moved and hear, a second later, when Legend shouted in pain as the Traveller punched him in the arm.
“I will check on him.” Hyrule signed, and Fi translated it quietly in Sky’s head. “Hopefully is nothing big.”
He could say that again. After all, the portal could appear at any second and Sky didn’t fancy trying to figure out how they were going to get Wild through it if he wasn’t up for walking.
“I’ll go with you.” Sky offered, pushing himself to his feet. “In case you need to ask him anything.”
“Me too-” Twilight began to sign, but Sky could hear the clear sound of plate mail sliding against itself as Time put a heavy hand on the Rancher’s shoulder.
“Sorry, pup, you know the rules.” his voice was gently apologetic as he said it. “We don’t want to risk anyone else getting sick until we know what this is.”
Twilight huffed but didn’t argue; he likely knew that this was not a fight he could win. Honestly, Sky had been surprised that no one had protested when he volunteered to go, and he was fairly certain if Wild had been able to understand Rulie’s sign, then he also would have been told to stay outside.
Well, Sky considered as he followed Rulie back towards the cave, it probably wasn’t the worst idea for someone else to go in anyway. The Traveller was an incredible healer but his bedside manner was… decidedly lacking, to put it mildly. Sky suspected that it was at least in part due to the impracticality of signing while he was healing, but honestly, it probably didn’t help that he was surrounded by idiot heroes who were forever getting themselves hurt in stupid ways. And the fact that they all had a habit of lying about injuries. Sky had lost track of how many times Hyrule had snapped at him to ‘stop talking’ while he tried to heal up his injuries after a battle.
Honestly, If Sky was in charge of healing the chain, he’d probably get a little irritable too.
Hyrule, bless him, clicked his tongue to help Sky orient himself as he followed him back towards the cave, while behind them Warriors apparently turned on Twilight and Wind.
“Right, you two, don’t think you’re in the clear either! I’ve seen how you’ve been sleeping in a cuddle pile. If either of you get so much of a sniffle I want to hear about it!”
Sky giggled and followed Hyrule into the cave.
Away from the morning sunlight, he breathed in the mossy and slightly damp air. The cave had been a cosy enough space to spend the night, but it wasn’t exactly Sky’s idea of a good place to convalesce. There was a dank note to the air and much as Sky had enjoyed last night’s mushroom risotto, he was more than a little alarmed that Wild had been able to get most of the ingredients within feet of their campsite. He wrinkled his nose as he made his way over to Wild’s corner.
Sky knew what people imagined when he told them that he was guided by the Master Sword: a voice in his head carefully describing his surroundings to him in the most minute detail. The truth was somewhat less glamorous. The Sword’s magical sonar translated into a low hum at the back of his mind, giving him the shape and location of nearby obstacles and magics but leaving a lot more up to interpretation than people realised.
Still, even without a magic sword to guide him it would not have been hard to locate the huddled form of Wild, lying curled up with his back to the cave. Sky would have had no trouble following the sound of his whimpers. Four had been right on that count at least - sad cat noises indeed!
He knelt down and gently felt for where he was pretty sure Wild’s hand was resting, squeezing it softly as Hyrule bent over to feel his forehead. Wild was trembling like a leaf and the pads he had in place of fingertips were hot and sweaty.
“Hey, Wild, it’s me and Rulie.” Sky said in as soothing a voice as he could manage, reaching out with his other hand to rub circles into Wild’s back. “Four said you’re not feeling too good?”
Wild whimpered and hacked for a moment, a horrible, throaty sound. He mewled and his voice cracked and strained.
Hyrule nudged Sky. “Can you ask him how long he’s felt sick?”
Sky nodded. “Wild, I know you’re feeling bad but Rulie needs to ask a few things before he can help, alright? Can you tell me how long you’ve been feeling rough?”
Wild moaned and pulled his hand free, tapping weakly at his pillow. Sky frowned for a moment before Hyrule signed again.
“Since last night? You woke up feeling ill?”
Sky repeated his signs aloud and Wild nodded, whimpering into his pillow.
“Did he have any other symptoms before?”
“Wild.” Sky carefully pushed his brother’s hair back out of his face. Even through the fabric of the tunic he had been gifted in Ordon, he could feel that he was running a fever a mile high. “Did you notice anything different before this started?”
Wild hummed and slowly rolled over to face them. He lightly tapped his throat and then moaned again, curling back into a ball and clutching at his stomach.
“When did your throat start hurting?” Sky asked softly, pre-empting Hyrule’s question. Wild held out two shaking fingers. Okay. Two days ago. That was both good to know but also kind of alarming. Where had they been two days ago? And they’d all been in close contact with Wild since then, why hadn’t he told them about his sore throat?
Okay, well. Sky did actually get that Wild couldn’t exactly just tell them things the way the rest of the Chain could. Besides, he also had thick bands of scarring across his throat that Sky was certain caused him pain when he overused his voice. No one had ever said anything, but on more than one occasion Twilight had shared his soothing honey tea with him, and the Rancher didn’t let anyone touch that stuff.
Okay, so there were plenty of reasons why Wild might not have told the Chain that he had a sore throat. Sky could admit that.
Beside him, Hyrule gently tapped Wild’s stomach and then made a gesture that Sky sort of thought was like he was throwing up. Asking Wild if he was feeling sick, perhaps?
Wild nodded.
Well that wasn’t good. Sky didn’t know much about cats - until arriving in Twilight’s era he’d never actually held one - but what if they processed illnesses differently to hylians? Would Hyrule still know how to heal him? And wasn’t there something about cats not being able to throw up? And that made their illnesses so much more dangerous?
Or maybe that was horses.
Sky really needed to pay more attention to Twi when he was rambling about animals in future.
It would be fine, he told himself, returning to softly stroking Wild’s hair and trying to calm his nerves. Hyrule was an accomplished healer, he would know what to do. Wild would be fine. Just because he looked like a cat didn’t mean he was one, after all.
Still, Sky couldn’t stop his stomach from lurching at the thought. At least Hyrule didn’t seem nervous? Although good as Fi’s guidance was, she couldn’t really translate facial expressions. If Hyrule was frowning then Sky had no idea.
“Guys?” Four’s voice from the other side of the cave broke him out of his spiralling. “The portal’s here. Can Wild walk?”
Hyrule gave a thumbs up as Wild groaned loudly and burrowed back into his blankets.
Despite his nerves, Sky couldn’t help but laugh. “I think so.” he replied. “But we’ll have to make camp as soon as we go through. He seems pretty rough.”
Four chuckled. “Are you sure Hyrule didn’t cook for him?”
Sky snorted and shook his head as he turned his attention back to Wild. Getting him upright shouldn’t be too hard. After all, they had all sustained pretty unpleasant injuries on their travels and still managed to pick themselves up afterwards. If Wild could walk off a blow to the ribs a week ago, he could manage a few steps through a portal.
“Okay, Wild, let’s get you up.” Sky said as cheerfully as he could, partially for Wild’s benefit, partially for his own. “Portal’s here. We can get you somewhere else to rest once we’re through.”
He took Wild’s hand and tried to pull him upright. It was not effective. He might as well have been pulling on a sack of potatoes. Wild’s arm was limp, he wasn’t for moving.
Hyrule snickered. Sky frowned.
“Come on, Wild, you know the longer you stay here the worse the portal will be.” he chided. “I’ll help you up, you just have to move with me.” he tried again, this time slipping under Wild’s arm and trying to push him upright.
Nope. The giant cat was doing what cats do best and turned completely boneless, refusing to let himself be moved.
“Wild, please.” Sky begged. “You know we need to go, and we’ll find you somewhere to lie down once we get through, but you’ll only feel worse if you stay here. Come on!”
No effect. Wild just whimpered and curled up tighter.
Beside him, Hyrule sighed heavily and then clapped his hands together, so loud that they echoed around the cave. He grabbed Wild’s good ear and then yanked him, yelping, upwards. Wild tried to hiss in protest, but it just came out in a rough cough and the giant cat had to bend over double, hacking, until it subsided.
Still, he was upright. It was unorthodox, but it worked.
Maybe Hyrule’s terrible bedside manner served a purpose after all.
Sky lifted the thickest of the blankets from Wild’s nest and draped it over his trembling shoulders, patting him consolingly on the arm. Or where the arm should have been. Wild was oddly lopsided, his prosthetic not in its normal place.
“Wild.” Sky said, moving to where he figured his brother’s eyeline would be. “This is important. Where’s your arm?”
Wild hummed in confusion and reached with his left arm towards where his right should be, yipping in surprise when he only felt his bare stump. Sky supposed with how sick he was feeling he mustn’t have put it on yet today. He mewled and then gestured vaguely to the nest of blankets that Hyrule was working on shoving into his slate - and thank Hylia Wild had shown them how to use its storage function, at least.
“Rulie, have you got his- oh, yeah, there it is.” he said as Hyrule pulled Wild’s arm out of the mess of blankets and pillows, passing it over. At least he had the good grace not to throw it at him. Sky carefully fitted the prosthetic over Wild’s stump, patting him in sympathy when he moaned. “I know, I know. But you can take it off again when we get through, it’s just so we know where it is while we travel.”
Wild made a grumbling noise but at least nodded in agreement. Finally, Hyrule had everything packed away and gave a thumbs up. Sky smiled as best he could and let Wild sling an arm over his shoulders, half supporting his massive brother as they left the cave at last.
The pull of the portal was thick in the air and he could hear his brothers pacing about, uncomfortable with waiting so long before going through. A few of them had tried to resist the pull of the portals before and knew from bitter experience that if they waited long enough then they would be ripped to where it wanted them to go, whether they wanted to or not.
“All ready?” came Time’s voice from the head of the pack, standing watch by the edge of the portal. “Is he okay?”
“Is a nasty flu.” Hyrule signed as he moved to where he had left his things. “He needs to rest but will be fine.”
Sky heard the Chain sigh a collective sigh of relief at the knowledge that it wasn’t anything worse. A flu they could handle, most of them had been sick at some point on their journey. Sky only hoped the treatment was the same for giant cat men as it was for hylians.
Sky shook his head. There was nothing he could do about his spiralling now, and Wild wasn’t going to get any better until they actually stepped through the magical gateway in front of them and found somewhere new to camp.
One by one, the Chain disappeared into the portal. Sky and Wild were second to last to go, followed only by Warriors.
“Come on.” Sky said softly as he guided Wild forwards. His brother grumbled but obediently walked with him, his tail dragging miserably in the dirt behind him. If Sky hadn’t been so worried then he might have laughed.
They stepped into the portal and the familiar unfamiliar sensation of nothingness surrounded them for a millisecond.
Then they were stepping out into hard-packed earth and Wild began to prove with absolute finality that cats are absolutely able to vomit.
He fell immediately to his hands and knees and began retching up what seemed to be everything that he had eaten in the last six months. It just didn’t stop, even when his stomach was well and truly emptied he lay crouched there, miserably coughing and hacking and choking up bile.
Sky knelt at his side, groaning in sympathy as he held back his hair and rubbed his back. He began gently murmuring assurances that it would all be okay, it would be over soon.
When he was finally done, Wild flopped against him, mewling pathetically. Sky could hear Twilight shifting from foot to foot, wanting to come and help but being held back. Probably by Warriors. Probably for the best.
“Well.” Four’s voice broke through the uncomfortable silence. “At least he’ll have a decent bed to rest in?”
Sky frowned. Until that moment he had been too focused on Wild to really pay much attention to his surroundings, so he tuned back into Fi’s hum. A wide, vaguely square yard of hard packed earth, two buildings with heat coming off the smaller of the two- they had landed right outside of Four’s forge!
“Thank Hylia.” Sky murmured and meant it. “Come on, Wild, let’s get you inside.”
Wild nodded miserably against his chest and this time let himself be guided to his feet, Sky supporting one side, Hyrule the other. The Traveller himself was likely feeling worse for wear too - he rarely took portals well and Sky was pretty sure he had heard him throwing up a little in the background.
They would have to do something about the mess in Four’s yard.
“Will your Grandfather mind?” Time asked quietly, and for a moment Sky frowned in confusion. Why on earth would Old Smith mind? He’d hosted the Chain numerous times before and had always seemed to enjoy their company, what was one more?
Then he remembered that Wild wasn’t exactly a typical hylian and that sometimes even the best-meaning people reacted to him badly. Time was polite in how he asked it, of course, but he was still checking if they needed to be prepared for resistance.
Four shrugged as he walked. “Should be fine. Maybe a little surprised, but nothing serious.”
‘A little surprised’ was putting it mildly, as it turned out.
When they stepped in the front door, Old Smith had apparently heard their approach and was on his way to greet them. He took one look at Wild and loudly exclaimed ‘gods above, it’s a giant cat!’.
There didn’t seem any malice in his voice, just surprise, so apparently Wind had been unable to resist adding in “Yes, from Cat Island.”
Four grumbled and grabbed his grandfather’s arm, pulling him aside to explain while Sky and Hyrule helped Wild up the stairs. Sky had visited Four’s forge a number of times now and had even got to stay in the guest bed a few times, as they usually rotated the privilege, so he could find his way without having to pay too much attention to his surroundings.
Now, though, he was glad to give up the bed to Wild. His brother moaned in relief as he slid between the cool sheets and curled up in a ball once more. After a few seconds he reached up and roughly yanked his prosthetic off, throwing it across the room and narrowly missing where Hyrule was sorting through his medicine bag.
Sky snorted. “Scars acting up too?” he asked. He wasn’t really very surprised, to be honest. A night in a damp cave would be enough to make anyone’s scars ache, even without a fever on top.
“Mm-hmph.” Wild agreed. Groaning, he began to reach for his slate, presumably to pull out some of his salve, but his hand was stopped by Hyrule coming over to help. He pressed a pot of his own into his brother’s hands and Wild hummed gratefully, beginning to slather it onto his face and stump and arm, everywhere that the fur thinned to reveal puckered flesh.
Hyrule finally retrieved all of his healing equipment from his pack and spread it out across the floor. He snapped his fingers. “Go tell the others he’s okay and see if Four has a bed warmer. I will mix medicine.”
“Will it cure him?” Sky asked, feeling a little stupid for asking but still not able to quite shake his fears.
Hyrule sighed. “Will make him feel better until he recovers.” he allowed and then brushed against Sky’s arm in a shooing motion. “Now go!”
-
Wild felt like he was going to die.
No, he wasn’t being melodramatic, thank you very much! He had up close and personal experience of dying, thank you very much, and this was absolutely the equivalent. His head hurt. His nose was bunged up. His throat ached. And worse, he was pretty sure he had just thrown up every single thing he had eaten since he first emerged from the Shrine of Resurrection. And maybe some of that weird pickle juice from inside the Shrine too.
He groaned and buried himself in the sheets of the bed he was now lying in, wishing that Hyrule would just leave him alone and pull the curtains so that he could sleep.
No such luck. Instead he had whipped out his mortar and pestle and was busy mixing together some infernal potion with that medicine set of his. Wild cracked his eyes open and peered down at him from his nest of blankets. He could recognise a few of the plants; feverfew and sweet marjoram, but also a jar of honey. Wild’s heart leapt at the sight and he hoped he’d be allowed some.
All of this was faintly ridiculous, Wild thought. Here he was, a seven foot tall, muscle-bound lion man, brought low by a little cold. Or flu. He knew that he had been more or less fine the night before, perhaps his throat had been a little scratchy, but it always hurt after he over-exerted it and he had yowled quite a lot in battle recently. He honestly hadn’t put two and two together until he woke up that morning and felt like death.
His memories since then were… hazy. Not hazy in a ‘I have amnesia and am not sure what my own name is’ kind of way, more in a ‘I have a raging fever and my grip on reality is tenuous at best’ sort of way. He vaguely remembered Sky and Hyrule talking to him. He was pretty sure he had gone through a portal. Then there was the Terrible Vomiting. And an old man? Maybe?
And now he was here, in the Greatest Bed Ever To Exist.
Seriously. This bed was wonderful. And he totally wasn’t just saying that because of his massive fever and the fact that he had just spent the night in a damp cave.
It was perfection.
Much to his chagrin, though, a few minutes (or was it longer?) later, Hyrule was gently nudging back the covers and trying to help him sit upright.
Oh well. At least he wasn’t grabbing his ear this time.
Because Wild may have been in and out with his fever, but he definitely remembered that.
Traitor.
Rumbling as petulantly as he could manage, Wild obediently sat up and accepted the cup of probably medicine from Hyrule. It was an odd yellowish colour and it smelled like ass, but Wild knew better than to refuse it. He had once seen Warriors try to refuse treatment, claiming that there were others in more need. It had not gone down well with the Traveller. Wild had long since learned that if Hyrule wanted you to rest and to look after yourself, you would do it whether you wanted to or not.
(The image of a thoroughly cowed Warriors tied to his bedroll with his own scarf was not something Wild would forget in a hurry.)
He shakily gulped back the medicine. Ugh. Tasted like ass, too. What had happened to that honey? He whined weakly as he passed the cup back to Hyrule and got a sympathetic smile in response. The Traveller didn’t give him any honey, but instead held up a familiar jar and tilted his head in question.
Wild knew that jar, although he had yet to actually try its contents. It was Hyrule’s special blend of dwale and would knock the drinker out cold for a solid twelve hours.
Twelve hours of sleep sounded pretty good right about now.
Wild nodded eagerly and then winced when his head pounded in response. Hyrule laughed at him and carefully measured out a spoonful of the potion, a deep, noxious purple liquid with the consistency of syrup. Wild was too exhausted to protest and let himself be spoon fed just this once.
The effects were almost instantaneous. Wild feel a heavy wave of exhaustion crash into him and rumbled as he slid back down and into the covers, burying himself in his pillows. By the time Sky returned with a bed warmer, he was already deep in a dreamless sleep.
-
When Wild finally stirred again it was dark outside of the window of the little room. There was a candle burning on his bedside table and Hyrule was sitting in a rocking chair nearby, methodically sorting through his medicine bag.
Wild gingerly stretched and pushed himself into a sitting position, still leaning against the bedframe. His head still hurt but it was no longer quite so severe, and the pain in his throat was starting to subside. He was fairly certain he wasn’t going to be sick again, but then, that might have been because there wasn’t really much else that he could throw up…
Hyrule looked up as he moved and smiled, setting aside his work and coming over to the bedside. He placed a practised hand on Wild’s forehead and then nodded in satisfaction - the fever must have broken, then. The Traveller gently patted his arm and then disappeared from the room, returning a few moments later with Sky in tow.
“Hey Wild!” the Chosen Hero beamed. “Are you feeling any better?”
Wild hummed and nodded slowly. He was still feeling a little groggy and would probably go back to sleep soon, but for now he was upright. He watched as Hyrule signed something to Sky, who nodded.
“Are you hungry? Hyrule says you should eat something, even if you don’t feel up to it. We can make you some toast, or if you want something more, Four’s grandpa made sausages in pottage?”
Wild considered. On the one hand, he had thrown up pretty violently only a few hours ago. On the other hand: sausages in pottage. Hell yeah. He nodded and rumbled hopefully. Hyrule rolled his eyes and signed again.
Sky laughed. “Okay, but Rulie says you have to eat it slowly and if you throw it up he’s not holding your hair back.”
Fair enough. Wild gave a thumbs up and Hyrule went off to fetch his dinner, leaving him alone with Sky. The Chosen Hero smiled softly, setting his sword down and easing himself over to the bedside.
“You sound less hoarse than you were this morning.” he said. “You were so ill! We’ve been worried all day. Time keeps having to stop Twilight from coming in to check your temperature. For a while we thought he was going to sleep outside your door tonight.”
Wild chuffed a laugh. He could absolutely imagine Twi pacing the floorboards outside of the guest room in worry. He may have been a wolf in spirit, but more often than not he acted more like a worried sheepdog.
The door creaked open again and Hyrule slipped in carrying a steaming mug. Behind him was a stout old man carrying a tray. He smiled over at Wild as he entered.
Ah, so this must be Four’s grandpa. Had they met when Wild had first arrived? His memories of coming into the house were still confused and distorted with fever, and even if they had met, he doubted he would have made a very good first impression.
Wild purred in greeting, waving slightly.
“Good to see you upright, lad.” Old Smith greeted and passed the tray down to him. The stew smelled delicious, as did the fresh bread roll set beside his bowl. He could feel himself starting to salivate. “I’m always glad to meet another of Link’s brothers. If you need anything more, just let me know, alright?”
Wild nodded and rumbled in thanks as the old man waved him off and left again. Hyrule also passed him the mug, its steaming contents smelling deliciously of lemon and honey.
The stew was, as expected, delicious. Wild found himself happily mopping up the end of the sauce with his bread and thirstily drinking back the honey tea. Now that his stomach was no longer revolting at the thought of food, he couldn’t believe how hungry he was. Sure, he hadn’t eaten all day, but he had also only slept for most of it.
Being sick must have really been hungry work.
Hyrule nodded approvingly at his cleaned plate and then proffered another cup of the vile yellow ass medicine. Wild mewled a little in protest but drank it back before the Traveller could get annoyed. Ugh. Gross. Hyrule could have at least given it to him before he ate the dinner, left him something to get the taste from his mouth.
Wild rumbled and wiggled where he lay, kneading softly at the bedsheets. Now that he was fed he could feel the tiredness beginning to return. He would soon fall back into sleep, he was sure, and would need no special potion to help him.
“I’ll let you rest.” Sky said, pushing himself back to his feet and reaching for his sword again. “I think Rulie’s going to sleep in here with you tonight-” Hyrule gave a thumbs up. “But I’ll see you in the morning. Well. Talk to you. Hopefully you’ll be doing a bit better then.”
Wild rumbled and nodded, curling himself down into the bedsheets. Nearby he could see Hyrule quietly pottering about and setting up his bedroll on the floor. Wild felt a little bad about that: the bed was more than big enough for the both of them. But, of course, he knew that Hyrule wouldn’t want to put himself at risk of catching Wilds cold any more than he already had.
The bedroom door creaked open and Wild heard Rulie’s patented sigh of exasperation, followed by, oddly enough, the scrabbling of paws.
Wait.
Wild sat up in time to see Wolfie jump up onto the bed. He flopped down at Wild’s side, nosing softly at his face. Wild giggled. Hyrule rolled his eyes and went back to making up his bedroll.
Wild lay down again, letting Twilight curl up beside him, the heat of his body soothing Wild’s aching scars. This was a stupid thing to do. Twi had been told to stay away for a reason, there was no way Time knew about this. It would be so easy for the rancher to fall ill next.
He nudged his brother sleepily, raising his eyebrows and tilting his head. Twi just snorted in response and buried his head into wilds chest.
Idiot. Well, they had been hanging out pretty closely before Wild had become obviously sick. Wars wasn’t wrong, he, Twi, and Wind had been sleeping in a cuddle pile of late. Twi was an adult, after all. He could make his own bad decisions.
Grumbling contentedly, wild snuggled into his brother’s fur and let sleep begin to overtake him.
He still felt awful. He knew that it would take a few days for the sickness to fade, at least. But he was safe. He was warm. He had his brothers around him and they wouldn’t let anything hurt him.
Wild purred softly and fell asleep, safely curled up with his brother.