Chapter 49: Teach to Fight
The news of Orion’s awakening rippled through the pack like a warm wind cutting through the northern chill. By mid-morning, the compound buzzed with a new energy, people moved with a little more pep in their steps, their shoulders less slumped, their voices carrying a hint of relief.
Sophia noticed it as she trudged through the snow, her newly tailored cloak hugging her fra, the fur lining brushing her chin. A smile crept onto her face, softening the edges of her usual guarded look.
Orion’s recovery ant stability, and though she’d never admit it out loud, it eased a knot of worry she hadn’t realized she’d been carrying.
She owed him an apology, a debt she’d been turning over since the gate incident. She shouldn’t have been there. She should have just apologised to him when he tried to rip her a new one but her stubbornness wouldn’t just let him have the last word. Orion was annoying and she wasn’t going back on her words.
With a deep breath, she headed toward the dical facility, her boots crunching the fresh snow.
Inside, the air was thick with the scent of herbs and the faint hum of recovery. The lantern cast a warm glow over Orion’s cot, where he sat propped up, his broad fra still pale but alert.
Tobias sat next to Orion’s cot. They were in deep conversation and Sophia wasn’t sure she should distract them. The stone walls, lined with drying plants, felt less oppressive today, the space alive with the alpha’s return.
Sophia stepped in, her nerves tingling as she contemplated disturbing them when Tobias glanced up, a grin spreading across his face.
"Sophia." He called out. "Did you co to see ?" He asked her as he approached her, arms spread for a hug which she returned.
The last ti she had seen Tobias was when he gave her his whistle.
"It’s good to see you." She told him.
"You too." He replied to her. "I really went around searching for you though, I never thought you’d be back here already."
They released each other and she stared at him with wide eyes. "Didn’t you hear? I almost got eaten by a skylur."
He nodded. "I heard."
"Your whistle saved . That reminds , have you gotten it back?" She asked him. "Ronan said he’d give it to you."
Tobias nodded. "It’s back with . But I’m glad you are okay."
" too."
Orion couldn’t place why but he felt a little annoyance at seeing them interact like they were old friends. He cleared his throat to remind them they weren’t the only ones in the room.
Sophia adjusted. "Right, I ca here for the ogre." She said as she directed a glare at Orion.
"Are you sure about that because from here it seed like you ca for Tobias." He told her.
"If I wanted to et with Tobias I would’ve looked for directions to his ho."
"Never would have pegged you as soone so brave as to look for a man alone in his ho."
She smirked, crossing her arms. "I only ca because I heard you were awake seeing as you’re still a grumpy ass, even half-dead. So things never change."
He snorted, shifting on the cot with a wince. "Half-dead? Does anything about look half dead?"
"Except for your grumpy attitude, everything else looks half dead."
"Are you sure it’s just amnesia you have? Perhaps Lysander was wrong and we need to check your eyesight also." He told her.
"I may have amnesia but my eyesight isn’t bad, nor am I as dumb as you because explain to why you sustained a serious injury but you had the energy to argue with ?" She asked him.
"It’s the sa way I have the energy to argue with you right now. Anyti I see you, there’s this unsettling feeling I get deep down."
"You sure it’s not just discomfort from realising that I’m smarter than you?"
"I’m sure. And I’m also sure you are not smarter than ."
"Really? Then explain why curiosity will lead soone as smart as you claim to the gate where there are dangerous monsters." He told her.
"Then explain why the trihydra didn’t hurt at all? Wouldn’t that be because I’m smart and I know how to hide myself?"
"And it would have been a different case if it had eaten you."
"It did not!" She told him.
"But it could have!"
"You are so fucking insufferable." she snapped, her voice rising. "No wonder the Trihydra wanted you out. You gave it a headache!"
"And you’re a nosy little pest," he fired back, leaning forward despite the pain. "Sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. One wrong move and you’d have put everyone in danger because of damn stupid curiosity."
"? You were the one playing hero with a hole in your side!" she countered, her hands on her hips. "If I hadn’t been there, who’d have dragged your sorry ass back?"
"Dragged ? For soone who claims she’s smart, you seem to be misrembering the situation because from what I recall, Ronan was there along with Lysander."
"Um...guys?" Tobias called out.
"What?" Orion and Sophia asked at the sa ti.
Tobias swallows even though he found the situation a bit comical. He raised his hands in surrender.
"I co in peace." He told them.
"What do you want?" Sophia asked him as she tried to reel in her temper.
"I’m just going to excuse myself since you guys don’t need here." He told them.
"Then go." Orion told him.
"Try to be fucking polite." Sophia snapped at Orion.
"Says the woman who didn’t thank for saving her." He told her.
"Well then, thank you!" She spat out. "There, are you satisfied now?"
"Not really." Orion grumbled out.
Tobias didn’t need to be told to leave. He slipped out with a smirk on his face. There was a reason why he liked Sophia when he t her. She stood up to Orion and she didn’t care that she was almost a foot shorter than him.
Sophia took in a deep breath as she tried to school her emotions. "Wait, stop. I didn’t co here to fight." Her voice softened, the anger draining into sothing closer to guilt. "I just wanted to see how you’re doing."
Orion didn’t let her finish, his impatience breaking through. "Thought you ca to apologize, not play nice." His tone was sharp.
She glared, but the truth nudged her forward. "I did co for that too. But if you’d let finish, you’d know that, you idiot."
He leaned back, a faint smirk playing on his lips. "Impatient, that’s . Sue ."
"Idiot," she muttered again, shaking her head, but the edge was gone.
Sophia lingered after that, her fingers twisting the edge of her cloak. Orion watched her, his gaze steady despite the fatigue. "You want sothing else?" he asked, his voice quieter now, almost curious.
She hesitated, then nodded, choosing her words carefully. "I was talking with Brynhild the other day... about stuff. She’s on bed rest, can’t train , but I want to learn to fight. To defend myself."
Orion’s eyebrows shot up, his smirk fading into a frown. "Why? What’s gotten into you?"
"I just told you," she said, her voice firming. "I want to defend myself. That’s it."
He studied her, his eyes narrowing. "Are you trying to learn this so you can turn it on us later? Kill my people when the ti’s right?" His words were a challenge, laced with suspicion.
She cursed under her breath, her temper flaring. "You’re an idiot! I wish you’d never woken up if this is how you think of !" The heat in her chest burned, but his smirk returned, infuriatingly calm.
"How’s an injured man supposed to help you?" he asked, leaning back with a chuckle. "I can barely swing a sword right now."
"When you’re healed," she shot back, crossing her arms. "Just give the theory for now, basics, moves, whatever."
He laughed. "Swordfighting’s all practical, not so book lesson. But if you want theory, I’ll give you theory."
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