Firestone Hot Springs Hakuna Matata

@Kavik

It was getting cold and the prey was scarce, both things made her practically useless due to her body's handicaps and the lack of energy. Lainie had stuck relatively close to her family, never far enough away to lose track of them or to be hard to find. She had made the trek down and back up the mountain before, forced herself to because it was hard and she needed to strengthen her muscles back up. Today she was hesitant to climb back up and instead wandered further away, following a river for a ways until something that reeked like butt caught her attention. Curious she began to follow it, nose wrinkling as she grew closer until the smell was nearly unbearable. What had her stay was the pools of water that steam rose from, the sudden warmth around her. She smiled and inspected the pools, finding a shallow enough one to sink herself into and groaning as the heat soaked into her fur.

Lainie was not a baby anymore, but she was still a child, even if she looked more like an adult every day. That along with the fact that every other member of their family was gone had him reluctant to give her much freedom. He was desperately afraid that something would happen to her; the fact that she was still healing didn't help matters. So when he picked up her scent on his way back to their temporary home, his heart thudded in his chest. Immediately, his mind was flooded with all the awful things that might happen to her while out wandering alone. He tracked her to the hot springs, his dark coat uncomfortably soaking up the warmth the second he walked into the steamy area. It took him a little longer than he would have liked to pick out her scent through the rotten smell of whatever fowl liquid bubbled in the craters that dotted the ground around him. When he did finally spot her, he rushed over, ready to reprimand her for taking off on her own, but the relaxed look on her face made him hold his words. They had so little comfort in their lives right now, and he couldn't bear to ruin the moment for her. Lainie, he said gently. But because he was Kavik, he still pointed out: It's dangerous to wander around on your own. He was careful to keep his words calm and even, not wanting her to think she was in trouble but still wanting her to understand that she needed to be cautious. The wilds were even more dangerous right now and with only the two of them, they had to be more mindful than ever.

A gentle uttering of her name had her crack open an eye and she looked at her father, cringing and sinking lower as he scolded her. "I am careful papa" she said gently shifting to look up at him her ears flattened. "It was my goal to be able to help the family with you one day but now everyone is gone. I have to learn how to live on my own Papa" she spoke slowly, her eyes drifting off to the side little by little as she stood her ground. "I won't leave you" she said and then trying to lighten then mood drifted backwards to make room "C'mon pops, take a load off. It feels so good, I don't even really hurt right now" she smiled at him trying to appeal to him, soften him up.

She might think she was being careful, but how could she actually know that? She was still so young and there was still so much she didn't know about the world. If you were being careful, you wouldn't wander off on your own, he pointed out. Her next words made hurt burn in his chest. It was just another way he had failed her. She had made plans to help and had obviously counted on the family still being together, but he had essentially led them all to their death. His jaw tightened against the reminder and he attempted to keep the pain from his expression. He didn't want to let on how much he was hurting; she didn't need the extra burden of watching her father suffer under the weight of his failure. And her promise was meant to make him feel better, he knew, but all it did was make him feel guilty; she shouldn't feel like she had to make that promise to him. He sighed and shook his head, looking away. He shook off her invitation, too exhausted to try and humor her. That's okay, he said gently. I'll stay here with you, though. Take as long as you want. He couldn't make her leave right now when he realized the water was helping her so much. Anything that helped with her pain, he wanted her to enjoy as much as she wanted.

"Papa!..." she protested nearly growing loud but deflating almost instantly her gaze lowered.  They were the only ones remaining at the moment, there was still no sign of any of the family who had stayed and while she held hope she had the sinking realization that they may never return. It was a painful feeling to know that she was all he had and that he was so protective over her, as if she was a baby but he didnt understand that she wasnt anymore. She had a dream to be someone of great use one day, a strong and brave wolf who could defend her home and family. Now she had to struggle with her body and she didnt want to be coddled, like a cripple or a baby. "Whatever. You know Maman would encourage me" she said bitterly, realizing too late that it was an awful thing to say.

He could feel her growing increasingly more frustrated with how overprotective he was lately; it was exponentially worse that before he had lead the rest of the family to their death. But even though he knew how it made her feel, he just couldn't keep himself from doing it. He was afraid every second of every day that something would happen to her if he wasn't vigilant in keeping her safe. His fear even penetrated his dreams at night, preventing any sleep he managed to get from actually being restful. Not that he got much sleep anyway; even when he tried, he usually just ended up staring at the sky lost in anxious thoughts or watching Lainie sleep while silently drowning in his tremendous grief. 

Her comment pulled him from his thoughts, hurt burning in his chest, although he tried not to let her see; he knew she didn't mean it. She was just frustrated with him. God he wished Rosalie was here, or Alessia. Just someone to help him deal with this devastation. He scolded himself for the thought as quickly as it had risen in his mind; he wouldn't wish this on them. He'd much rather offer himself to bring all of them back and let them go on living their lives. At least then they would have a life, and Lainie wouldn't be tethered to him by guilt and grief. Look, I'm sorry things have to be this way. It's just really dangerous right now, and I need you to be safe. He wasn't honest with her about how he was feeling or why he was smothering her, falling back into his old habit of keeping his pain hidden so that his loved ones wouldn't worry. He needed her to worry about herself, not him and his shit.

The guilt had taken the edge off of the anger she felt and she looked up at him, feeling bad for the words she had carelessly tossed at him. Lainie moved to the edge of the pool, stretching her neck out and touching her nose to his fur "I'm sorry Papa. I know we have to stick together, I won't wander off again" she spoke genuinely but inside it turned bitter and rotten as she regretted being unable to have her own independence. She wished that her mother or Maman would come back, she missed Polaris something awful, and she hated Zephyr and Helios for leaving them again during this time. It hurt that her entire family was gone and that she woke up every morning looking for them only to realise that they may never come back. Things would be better if they were here, if she wasnt the only one who her father had to worry about. "I have to get strong again, will you help me since I can't do it myself?" she asked him as she climbed out of the pool, moving away and shaking out before moving to lay against him for warmth as her fur dried out in the warm steamy air.

He nuzzled her in return, sighing heavily. He was relieved for her acceptance of how he needed things to be; he just hoped she would be able to stick to it. Kavik knew her wandering off was never intentional. She was curious, and he understood that, but circumstances were different right now, and she just couldn't do the things she might be allowed to do had they had a safe territory to call home. 

He leaned against her as she climbed from the pool, watching her worriedly until she stood safely on the ground. Once she had shaken the excess water from her fur, she came over and settled against him, and he curled around her like he liked to do. He nuzzled her cheek as she spoke. Of course I will, he answered first. He would help her anyway he could; he wanted her to get strong too. We can start training if you'd like. Maybe do something to start building up your muscles? His mind worked quickly as he tried to think of ways they could do that, thankful for a distraction from the usual anxiety and despair.

Her ears twitched as a pool released a loud hiss of steam behind her, causing her to jump. "I was thinking trying to go longer? Running more?" she suggested. The journey was already tiring enough, her body was always constantly sore and the way her spine jolted and legs spasmed on and off made moving even more hard. She wasn't sure if she could get it to stop by moving more but at the least she could figure out how to move around through the episodes better. She had to be able to do something, whether that was hunting or focusing on defensive fighting so she could be of use in the case of an attack. "I still want to learn to fight Papa. I still want to be like you" her voice came out soft and unsure, all of her doubts and vulnerability revealed in a tremulous voice. "What good am I if I can't even walk like a normal kid?" 

If you want you can write an ending and wrap this up?

sure <3

I think that's a great idea, he said, reaching over to gently nuzzle her cheek. I'll you help you any way that I can. When she stated that she wanted to learn how to fight and to be like him, it took every ounce of his control not to immediately shut her down. His reservations had absolutely nothing to do with her injuries, though; he hated the idea of her fighting anyone, and he certainly didn't want her to grow up to be like him. He had lead his entire family to their death after all. But he bit back the words he wanted to say and instead offered her an encouraging smile, reaching over to nuzzle her again as she continued to speak. You'll get better, he assured her even though he didn't actually know that she would. It didn't matter. But even if you don't, you'll still be just as capable and intelligent, and I will always love you no matter what. He wrapped around her, embracing her. Don't worry, we'll figure all of this out, he promised.