Lost in Translation

                                        

                                              
Aeryn had been six years old when the world had ended. Tavir always figured that meant she was too young to remember how life was before the quakes, when the toxic mist and choking ash weren't constantly suffocating the air. There had always been the fear of Aeyaey and Raiders, but the planet itself had yet to try and kill all life on the surface, and Aeryn had distant memories of that time. A brother whose name is long forgotten laughed and the slender frame of the one called Father, who pointed out the streaks in the night sky of those few, lucky travellers who escaped the planet to go find the stars. “One day little explorer, you'll fly far past even those.” Someone had once made Aeryn that promise but a child's memory didn't provide from whom it came. They were all dead regardless. That memory Aeryn recalled all too well. It had been a normal day, then everything exploded into movement, much like a bomb had gone off except it was the planet shuddering. Akin to a dog trying to shed itself of fleas. There had been so many people screaming, so much fear and everyone Aeryn had known and loved did their best to protect the little six year old. They'd succeeded but Aeryn often wondered what it would have been life if even one other person in that family had survived. She loved Uncle Tavir but there was a dependency to that relationship that always left the younger Human feeling as if more needed to be given to repay the sixteen years he had been guardian and family. With the sensation of overwhelming pain just waiting to descend once Aeryn came up out of unconsciousness, the only thing that would force her to wake up was the need to assure herself that Tavir was alright, somehow he would need her help.
                              
The first step to waking up and being useful was at times the hardest step. Aeryn simply had to let the pain in; letting go of that protective fog was not going to be fun. Her back was agony, the stitches from the Hunter attack that had nearly claimed her life had torn open under the barrage of blows and the skin felt hot and puffy. Her face hurt as well, lips a twist of pain as the tear in the lower one cracked and oozed. There was a thick feeling inside that indicated a moderate concussion and beyond anything Aeryn just wanted to sleep. But first she had to make sure Tavir was alright, it was her duty now to take care of him as he had always taken care of her. A long time ago Aeryn had found a way to embrace the pain and keep going. She knew it wasn't healthy to crave the pain sometimes but the rush of endorphins was addictive. As Aeryn became more aware of her pain now, focusing past it became a matter of effort and that allowed her to realize that there were others around her.
                              
Experience trained reflexes took over at that point; Aeryn had been raised to be an ambush fighter when necessary and a coward the rest of the time. Lying topless in a room while wounded and with no recollection of who was around left Aeryn feeling extraordinarily vulnerable. The muffled, indistinct voices sounded male and the surge of panic that hit Aeryn snapped her mind fully back into her body and then she was moving. There was a searing pain that had to be the busted stitches screaming to life as Aeryn pushed hands against the floor, knees tucked in and nearly vaulted into a crouched position. The blood that started to soak into the top band of pants confirmed that the stitches hadn't lasted a full day. Eyes had a fair amount of difficulty focusing properly so Aeryn was stuck blinking owlishly at the blurred figured in front of her. The young human thought one of the voices was Tavir but before Aeryn could call out, an over abused body demanded retribution. Acid burned and churned in knotted bowels as the rapid movement prodded the concussion into the ultimate bodily rebellion; Aeryn vomited what little had been in her stomach. The throbbing pulse grinding in temples hit blinding intensity and Aeryn knew she was seconds away from unconsciousness again. Someone was sounding frantic and another was so angry but there was someone gently telling Aeryn that all was well, she was safe. Finally the darkness swam up to numb her into unconsciousness again.
                              
Tokala wrinkled his flat nose as the stench of vomit filled the small room. The Humans Tavir and Sampson equally recoil from the small but the Pantharni was cursed with a sharp sense of smell. To the Humans, it smelled like bile, the Pantharn could smell the hydrochloric acid but he could also scent the partially digested animal jerky Aeryn had eaten earlier, and the faintest copper stain of swallowed blood. Seeming to ignore the horrible odour, Nahuel had been the one to approach Aeryn while Tavir yelled and Sampson worried. Tokala had kept the Human Tavir back as his warn Nahuel had rushed to help Aeryn. The elder Pantharni had been in situations that gave him a unique empathy for how Tavir must be feeling; any time one of Tokala's family was injured, he became less than rational. Like a few other, devastating similarities shared between their species, this one only left Tokala feeling less out of his depth because he knew how to handle that kind of paternal worry.