Whitefish River the hamiltons move uptown

The days since the incident at Silvertip all blurred together for Dragomir. He had fewer panic attacks since being moved from the cave, which served only to remind him of his captors, but they still occurred now and again, triggered by things that ought not have bothered him. The whisper of rain on leaves, maybe, or a glimpse of an errant shadow. His waking hours were fretful and his sleep was moreso. But he survived, and that was what mattered most to those he cared about.

To Dragomir himself, death would have been better. He always dreamed the same fear-filled dreams and he always woke in panic. When he was awake he was in pain; even the strongest aids the healers offered him only took the edge off. He'd given up trying to move and resigned himself to lying around, capable only of shifting his position with slow, excruciating movements. Already the lean youthful muscle he'd been building up was starting to waste. His cheek remained swollen and bruised beneath his dark fur, making his face seem incredibly lopsided. Even working his jaws to swallow hurt.

When he tried to recount the event, his tongue froze to the roof of his mouth and he couldn't find the words. It wasn't that he feared telling his family what happened to him, but it seemed taboo somehow. If he said it it would make it more real. Maybe they would find him again if he spoke of it. Whatever the reason, Dragomir remained mum about it, unable to bring himself to speak of it. He tried to keep his complaints to himself as well, but it was impossible. Everything hurt, he couldn't do anything, he was bored or he was afraid or he was tired but couldn't sleep. He had a lot to complain about.

So when Vercingetorix came to visit, Dragomir did not call him out for not being there like he might have before, but he also didn't hesitate to say, hurts so much, in response to his father's query. His throat bobbed with a heavy swallow and he turned his head away with a wince as the scabs on his neck pulled, eyes filming with tears.