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“Narinder?”
The Lamb was running through the dense caves of Silk Cradle with tears streaming down their face. It had been over a week since they sent Narinder out on a mission, yet he still hadn’t returned. It was supposed to be a quick, easy mission to get some silk. They would need lots of it to make clothes for their followers for the upcoming winter. They knew Silk Cradle would be dangerous, if not deadly, for the average follower. That’s why they sent Narinder. He should have been more than capable of handling himself. However, they were now regretting not doing this themselves.
Narinder? Where are… you?” They stopped talking for a moment as they stepped into a puddle of blood. Realistically, they knew it could be anything. It could be some random heretics dying to the beasts within Silk Cradle, or it could be a sign Narinder was nearby. They quickly looked around to see if there were any more spots of blood nearby before seeing one fifty meters away. They quickly ran over to it before looking for another one. Yet again, it was about fifty meters away, but the direction had changed this time. They kept following the spots of blood. They were starting to become closer and closer together, but the amount of blood each time kept increasing. Whatever they were following must have been hurt badly. They were starting to wish it wasn’t Narinder.
Finally, the blood became a straight forward path, ending behind a corner. Just in case, the Lamb wiped their face off and summoned the crown into a sword. They slowly turned the corner before jumping back in horror. They crawled backwards while still not taking their eyes off the body. They began to hyperventilate as they noticed more and more. The body had the outline of a cat with a huge gash in the middle of its chest. They were hunched over with a pool of blood around them. Yet, worst of all, they were wearing the same shirt they gave to every follower.
“Narinder!” They ran over to his body and hugged him. “Please! Please tell me you’re still in there!” They were sobbing on his shoulder.
“L-Lamb…?” The words were pained and distant, but it was at least a sign of life.
“What happened to you?” They were staring at the hole in his chest. It was rather deep, and it already looked close to being infected. It was a shock that he wasn’t already dead. They wanted to pick him up and carry him, but they were afraid of hurting him any more. It hurt them to look at his current state, yet they couldn’t take their eyes off of him.
“Ambushed… I was ambushed.” Despite looking in the Lamb’s direction, he clearly wasn’t looking at them. His eyes were glazed over and unfocused. They finally forced their eyes off of his chest and analyzed the rest of his body. He had dried blood on his hands and arms, but it appeared to be older than the wound. The sword next to him had more recent blood, around the same time as the wound.
“Just stay with me a little longer, okay? I’m going to bring you back to my cult, and we’ll heal you up, and everything will be just okay!” They were trying to hide the panic in their voice, yet it sounded more like they were trying to convince themselves rather than him.
“Lamb… I’m tired. Just let me sleep.” They could feel the life draining out of him. Their panic was escalating. They were desperately trying to keep their breathing in check. They had to be confident enough for the both of them. They couldn’t let him die, not like this. Not after everything they’ve been through.
“No! No, don’t fall asleep. Just focus on me.” Their words came out harsher than they wanted. However, it seemed like it snapped him back to the present. His breathing became more regulated. He was maintaining eye contact with the Lamb. The Lamb hugged him a little harder before backing off after he grunted.
“Lamb? What are you doing here?” He sounded more like himself again. The Lamb shed a tear and smiled. Maybe, just maybe, he stood a chance of surviving this.
“You were missing for over a week, so I came looking for you! Now, I’m going to bring you back and heal you up!” For the first time in the past day, the Lamb felt genuinely happy and hopeful.
“Why? In case you can’t tell, I’m about to die. I thought the new God of Death would be capable enough to know that. Just resurrect me. It would be a lot easier.”
“I never took the resurrection doctrine.”
Narinder was laughing maniacally. The Lamb was positive he must have been going insane. “Why? Why would you not take it? It is the most powerful doctrine in Death’s arsenal. I spent my life researching and perfecting it. It was the main reason my siblings betrayed me! And you still didn’t take it! What was the point of it all? Why would you not want to be as strong as possible? How could you have overthrown me?”
The Lamb was quiet for a moment. “I didn’t take it because I didn’t want to end up like you. I was afraid of what I would become if I had too much power…”
“Didn’t want to become like? You didn’t want to become like me? Then, why? Why have you done everything you’ve done? You disrespected all of my wishes, usurped me, and now you’re rescuing me? Why?” Narinder’s tail was thrashing. Despite his wound, he was towering over the Lamb. His breaths were full of rage as he inhaled as much air as he could. The Lamb’s eyes were looking down in shame. They were barely breathing. Their entire body was still. For a second, Narinder didn’t think they were going to answer.
“Because I love you.” The Lamb looked back up at him with tears in their eyes. “Because I love you, Narinder! Even after everything you’ve done, I love you! After I overthrew you, I cried for days and days. I was horrified that you would hate me forever. But, I had to overthrow you. I couldn’t see a life where you wouldn’t be by my side. So, please, just stay with me a little longer!”
Narinder stared at the Lamb with confusion plastered on his face. The Lamb had always made no sense to him. Just like how the world was currently spinning around him, and how his legs felt like they were about to give out. His head felt like it was on fire and about to explode.
“Woah!” Narinder collapsed into the Lamb’s arms. Fortunately, he wasn’t super heavy. A combination of his lanky build, and the power of the crown allowed the Lamb to carry him. “Let’s get you home. Focus on my voice, okay?” Narinder made a barely audible grunt, just enough to confirm that he was still there. They started to walk in the direction of the nearest teleportation sigil. “You know, after all of this is done, you need to tell me more about Aym and Baal. I didn’t get to talk to them much in the gateway.” Narinder murmured some form of agreement. At least, that’s what they assumed given his tone.
Yet again, they found themselves following the trail of blood he left behind. “In return, I’ll tell you something about my family. Sound like a plan?” Narinder didn’t answer this time, but the Lamb still felt his chest rising and falling at regular intervals. However, they knew they were starting to run out of time. They picked up the pace. Now that they weren’t panicking as much, they could also see the trail of bodies he had left behind. There were at least ten of them. They made a mental note to never fight Narinder again. “How did you learn to fight like this?” They thought they heard him say something about Shamura or Kallamar, but his words were quiet and slurred.
Once they approached the teleportation sigil, they decided it would probably be a good idea to warn him about it. “We’re about to teleport. Are you prepared for it?” Narinder didn’t say or do anything. “I need confirmation, Nari.” He groaned for a second before confirming. They stepped on top of it before closing their eyes and imagining the cult grounds. They felt themselves being picked up into the air before being pulled into the ground. The world shifted around them before they were spat out at the entrance to their cult. They readjusted their hold onto him before sprinting towards the healing bay, ignoring every single one of their followers. They slammed the doors open before placing him on a cot.
“Fekimar, can you come here please!” They heard the sounds of someone running behind them before the panda medic spoke up.
“Yes, my Lamb?” Despite running across the entire healing bay, she didn’t sound out of breath at all.
“Can you take care of him?” Fekimar glanced at Narinder before attempting to mask her grimace. “Of course, my Lamb. Step outside while I do my work.” Despite sounding pleasant, the Lamb had known her long enough to know that it was an order, not a request.
They walked outside and started pacing. They needed something to do. They started counting the amount of blue things they had in the room. There was a blue chair, another blue chair, and another blue chair. It wasn’t helping them much. They pulled out a feather, ink, and parchment before sitting down. They tried to brainstorm some ideas of something to talk about in a future sermon. They were bouncing their leg up and down, tapping the feather on the head, and combing their hands through their wool. No ideas were coming to them. Tears started to form in their eyes, but they were trying to be quiet. They put their tools away before adjusting themselves to be in a more comfortable position. They pulled their legs up onto the seat and hugged them for comfort. They were slowly drifting off to sleep before being awoken by Fekimar.
“Sorry for bothering you, my Lamb, but you are free to be in his room now.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. She offered a hand to the Lamb, which they very quickly took. She led them into his room before closing the curtain behind them. Fekimar sat down on Narinder’s right side before motioning the Lamb to sit on the other. They took a risky glance at his chest before sighing in relief. He was fully covered in bandages that were, thankfully, dry. They saw camellia paste sitting next to Fekimar.
“How’s his condition?” They picked up Narinder’s hand and stared at it. They wished he could feel it.
“Grim, to put it lightly. It’s a miracle he survived this long, and he will need another to get through this. What happened to him? It might help him if I am more aware of his condition.”
“He said he got ambushed, but he couldn’t really elaborate on that.” They refused to make eye contact with her.
“Well… I’ll leave you to it. If anything happens or you need someone to talk to, I will be in my tent. Try to get some rest tonight, my Lamb. He will still be here in the morning.”
The Lamb watched Fekimar leave before quietly breaking down. They gripped his hands while tears streamed down their cheeks. The reality of the situation finally hit them. “Please, please don’t leave me!” They started sobbing and gasping for air. The entire world around them ceased to exist. It was only them and Narinder. They were desperately trying to ignore the feeling of life draining out of him. If they focused hard enough, they could feel some life coming in. It was the biggest reassurance they could get. They calmed down just a tad and got their breathing under control. Once again, they felt the world around them disappear as they drifted off to sleep.