Phantom Hollow it's a dangerous business, going out your door

backdated to yesterday, 4/26

His torn pad struggled to heal on its own, and Cortland found himself struggling along with it. The encounter with Kalina had been a set-back, though; first he had been too focused on finding @Phocion— then too uncomfortable, and then something else, and had forgotten all about his wounded paw. The carelessness had seen it open again and bleeding, and he had feared infection. The Mayfair said nothing of his concerns to his companion, even when they began to materialize.
He awoke feverish, making soft noises of distress in his half-conscious state and stretching fitfully. Darkness surrounded him, and for a beat he panicked— why was it so dark? Then he remembered; his new friend was nocturnal, and he had automatically taken to the same schedule. It was still a strange adjustment, more so with the blanket of lethargy over him now. Cortland rose slowly to his feet, keeping his infected pad off the ground. A wave of dizziness overtook him, but he had roused fully now and managed to steady himself. His paw felt hot, swollen— it throbbed uncomfortably with each beat of his heart. The sunset boy took a deep breath and turned to leave his sleeping place; he didn't know where he was going, or what he was looking for, but it felt like the right thing to do somehow.