Devon was a fighter. He wouldn't want to give up without putting up a fight. Arella couldn't let him pass away like that. She had to try.
Before the man could stop her, she closed her eyes and started channeling her powers.
She hadn't used it before. But she remembered what she had learned in her classes. She had to try.
Familiar warmth covered her senses. Her temperature started rising again, but not to the abnormal heights like before. It was warm and stable this time. She kept her eyes closed all the time, focused her energy, and made it flow to the palm of her hand.
When she felt that enough heat was pooled in her palm, she opened her eyes and touched the fox's white bloodied chest. She made sure not to put any pressure on his wounds.
When she touched him, he quivered a little. Meanwhile, the man stood at a distance. He knew the pain of seeing a loved one perish away. Everyone deserves to try their utmost to save someone, even if it is destined to fail.
With the passage of time, the quivering of the fox increased. It crouched in a fetal position, which is the most defensive of all. It wanted her to remove the palm, but she didn't move.
A tamer could calm the chaotic energy and sort out the knots of a beast. If the chaotic energy was like rage, madness, and intensity, then, a tamer's power was like a gentle breeze.
What she did was not that. She didn't have enough aptitude for that. So, she kept on channeling her inner energy and passed it to the dying fox.
She was passing her own energy to the fox. People only did it in desperation. It was equivalent to giving up on their own spiritual energy. It could take months and years to raise the spiritual energy back.
It was a selfless sacrifice. And no stranger would do it.
What the fox wanted the most was not a high ranked tamer, but energy. His body was exhausted. It was fighting to curb the chaotic core, and in order to win, it needed energy. Arella passed her own energy to it.
She could cultivate it back. It might take her one year to reach back to her current level, but it was all worth it for Devon. He was brave and kind. She didn't have many friends. Anne was her closest, and Devon was Anne's closest. She wouldn't allow anything to happen to him.
The man watched the scene patiently. This girl was trying her utmost to save the fox. Her eyes were burning like an inferno. But the blue edges kept suppressing the fire. It felt like, inside her, both ice and fire were trying to fight for dominance.
But she was surprisingly very calm. As if, both the forces were not at war but in harmony. The man felt intrigued.
And then, the girl collapsed.
She had overdrawn her energy. How reckless! She could go into a coma!
He hurriedly checked her condition and figured out that she had simply passed out from exhaustion. The vitals were normal. Nothing alarming could catch his eyes.
Then, he proceeded to the fox. The breathing of the fox was still heavy. But the chaotic energy inside him had calmed down a little. Enough to give him some time.
The Hawk which had taken Anne away come back by now. The man instructed it to take the fox away to the healing center. It still had some chances to survive. The girl's energy had provided them with enough time to get the fox treated at a center.
The Hawk took the fox away.
The man picked up the unconscious girl in his arms in a princess carry.
And then, huge brown wings broke out of his back. He jumped and leaped into the sky with her in his hands.
…..
When Arella opened her eyes, a white ceiling filled her vision. She moved her head to check the surroundings. It was a healing center.
"Oh Madam! Thank God you woke up! Do you feel pain in any part?" A familiar voice greeted her. It was the cook.
"I am fine," Arella spoke in a hoarse voice. She felt parched. As if every drop of water in her body had been evaporated. Her throat felt as if it had thorns in it.
"Water." She wanted water.
"Here." A slender hand handed over a glass of water to her. She thirstily drank the water and wanted to ask for more. But before that, another glass made its way to her.
She took the second glass and drank the water in a hurry. Ah! she felt a little better.
"Want more?" A pleasant, deep, baritone voice entered her ears.
She moved her head in the direction of the voice and found a handsome man standing next to her. He wore the uniform of a healer and had an absolutely mouth watering physique!
His face dripped beauty. Soft black hair covered his hypnotizing brown eyes. Tempting red lips and a chiseled face, Arella couldn't help but marvel at his amazing features.
Then she remembered, wasn't this the Hawk man? The situation was a bit tense back then, so she didn't notice his beauty before.
"Take care. Your vitals are back to normal. You have overdrawn your powers. So, dizziness and weakness are normal. Don't do any physical work these days." The man checked her pulse, spoke his mind, and then left.
Overdrawn my powers? Wait…the Hound!
"My friends! How are they?" Arella asked the healer, who was in a hurry to leave.
He stopped and turned back, looking straight at her.
"The female is awake now, but her leg will need some time to recover. As for the fox, he hasn't woken up, but his condition is stable now." The man spoke slowly and reported calmy.
"Oh! Thank God! Can I meet them?" Arella felt relieved at the good news and wanted to see them with her own eyes.
"You better take care of yourself first." The man kept staring at her.
His tone was flat, but Arella inadvertently felt like being rebuked.
"Ohh! Okay. Thank you for your help. Thank you!" She wanted to thank him for coming to their rescue.
"Nicholas Smith."The man replied.
"I beg your pardon?" She didn't know what he meant.
"My name is Nicholas Smith." The man shared his name and left the ward without any other concern.