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"ARTEMIS!"
I jolt at the sudden sound of my name, scrambling out of the tent towards where the panicking voice came from. Did something happen to them? Why were they yelling?
Nearly tripping over the green undergrowth of the forrest we were camped beside, I lock eyes with two of my Hunters who stood panicked beside an injured deer. Why are they panicked? This is good news! This deer is big enough to feed all of us for a few days, if we butcher it properly. So why do they seem scared?
Wait, this isn't right, three of them went hunting, Engima, Eagle and
"GEM!" I yelp, moving to crouch beside the injured deer, her deep green eyes parting slightly so watch my approach, a nasty wound on her side that left the soft fur splattered with deep crimson "What happened here!?"
"She had- we were gonna- but we- I'm sorry!" Lizzie stammered out faintly, her words lost amongst the screaming voices in my mind
I shouldn't have let her go! I should have known something like this would happen! Is she gonna be okay?! Stars above I'm such an idiot! I-
A firm and grounding hand landed on my shoulder, snapping me back to the present
"Pearl, calm down, we need to get her back to camp, Shelby will be able to help her" False stated
As if agreeing with False’s assessment, Gem shifted into the form of a small orange cat, easy to pick up and carry safely and without stuggle.
Holding her close to my chest, I ran.
Fast.
Back to camp.
Calling for Shelby.
Praying to whichever of the gods would listen to let Gem be okay.
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I'm not getting any sleep tonight, that much is for certain.
How can I?
The feverish and restless movements keep me from drifting to far from consciousness
Her firey red hair lay stuck to her face and spread out across my legs. I wonder if she realised what she did when she fell asleep on my lap as a cat before, what I guess was unconsciously, shifting back to her human form.
I'm just glad she isn't awake to make fun of how red my face definitely isn't.
Shelby had managed to stitch up her injury okay but it seems we won't be moving on from this spot for a while in order to let her heal properly.
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"Come on! Please can I just-"
"No Gem, you need to rest. Or do you want that injury to leave permanent damage to your side and compromise your movement?"
"Fine" Gem pouts, slumping back onto her bed, her eyes glinting with annoyance but posture defeated. Her fever has reduced significantly which is a relief but it has just made her restlessness turn from rolling around into a seemingly unstoppable need to go and run around the camp as a fox while the rest if us try to catch her and make her rest.
We went through quite a lot of our bandage supply patching up everyone's arms after that and the wound still stings. I was the least hurt, probably because I'm her favourite, which is a relief since I need to go and actually do the food hunt that caused this.
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"No."
"Come on, we gotta-" I sigh, slowly moving to stand as the vast dark sky above starting to drip down into rain
"Nope!"
"Gem"
"Nope" her hands shifting into claws that block my path, massive scaly wings sprouting and circling both of us, her vibrant green eyes locked onto me.
"It's gonna rain soon, and you" I prod at her beautiful scaly side, "are still recovering. We can't have you catching a cold just as you're getting close to normal"
The dragon huffed, smacking me in the face with a plume of deep grey smoke as if to remind me that dragons don't get cold.
"Fine" I relent, giving I and sitting down, my weight pressed against her leg, "I guess we can stay for a little while longer"