Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ Arrow, Bequeath my Heart ❯ Chapter 4
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Oreana Date 
Non Anime: Sonic Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Drama / Hentai / Fantasy | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 06.13.2013 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.8K | Visits: 286 | Status: Completed
Non Anime: Sonic Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Drama / Hentai / Fantasy | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 06.13.2013 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.8K | Visits: 286 | Status: Completed
Sara-Li became interested in the young boy that Thunderhawk had pulled from the snowy terrain about Winterhold. Since Thunderhawk saw no harm in her being there for the rest of the day, he allowed Sara-Li to stay as he worked on trying to warm the nameless child. Hearing the knock on his door, Thunderhawk excused himself from the bedside to hurry to answer it. Seeing his servant standing there, he expelled a sigh of relief. “Did you bring them?” he asked hastily.
“I brought all the towels I could find with a bowl of cold water,” Lily-An said, her breath labored from her hurrying about the college to grab what she could. With the jarl taking the items she brought, she attempted to step into his bedroom, but saw him about to shut the door. “D-Do you need my help, your highness?”
“I appreciate the offer, Lily-An, but it’s just one little boy,” Thunderhawk replied. “I should be alright. If his health takes a turn for the worse, I’ll be sure to bring in my high priest.” With that said he shut the door finally and hurried back towards the young child lying in his bed. Placing the bowel of water down on the wooden nightstand nearby, Thunderhawk dampened one of the towels before using it to dab away at the growing fever.
Sara-Li noticed the boy continuing to shiver, making her brow wrinkle in worry. “Is he going to be okay?”
“Well, judging by the thickness of his fur and his white hair, he is a winter echidna,” Thunderhawk said to the young Sara-Li, as he grabbed the other towels to try and wrap the shivering child within them tightly. “I’d say the only reason he didn’t die out there is because of what his parent’s blessed him with.” Thinking on the young boy’s parents, he couldn’t help but hope and pray they were alright.
“Should I try my healing magic on him?” Sara-Li asked eagerly, wanting to try what she had learned thus far.
“You haven’t even begun casting yet,” Thunderhawk said with a light chuckle, reaching for the child on the bed to hold him tightly in his arms—hoping that the warmth emitted from his belly would help stabilize the boy.
“I learned this!” Sara-Li opened her tiny hands and begun to form a small ball of energy.
Thunderhawk’s blue eyes widened at the sight of her casting something so soon. “Where did you learn that?” he asked, a bit more surprised than anything.
“Well, my brother was having a hard time breathing last night, and I put my hands on him like this—,” Sara-Li said, placing her palms onto the small child’s body. “—and then I wished that I had the power to help him calm down, and help him feel better. It worked for a little bit, but it didn’t last long…My mom woke up after I tried, and she gave him that potion you gave my dad.” With her hands already on the maroon furred echidna, she bit at her lower lip to try and concentrate on bringing the magic back and soothing him.
Merely watching, Thunderhawk allowed Sara-Li to give it a try as he kept a close eye on the child’s reaction. He could feel the male echidna move slightly under the healing affects of the spell. As Sara-Li continued best she could, Thunderhawk noticed it was starting to wear her out as she wasn’t used to going extended periods with casting. Reaching for Sara, he placed his hand tenderly upon her wrists to break her concentration. “It’s alright, Sara-Li. You did your best, and I am sure, thanks to your help, he will awaken in no time.”
Smiling through her weariness at his words, she looked back at the boy in Thunderhawk’s arms. “Do you think he’ll wake up today?” Admittedly, she was a bit curious about where the nameless echidna had come from and why he was out in the dreadful weather like that.
Chuckling at her curious questions, Thunderhawk shook his head. “Honestly, my dear, I do not know. All we can do is keep a close watch on him and make sure he’s comfortable.” Realizing the time, the jarl sighed softly at reminding himself that he was hungry. “Sara-Li, can I ask a big favor of you?” Seeing her nod, Thunderhawk smiled. “Can I ask you to watch over him for a bit while I quickly run downstairs and grab some food for us? I would just use my own food that I keep stored away up here, but I’ve run out and need to fetch some more from the chef.”
Sara-Li crossed her arms upon the open space on the bed with an eager nod. “I can watch him for you!”
“I knew I could count on you,” said Thunderhawk, as he put the boy down under the bedcovers. He made sure that the covers were wrapped tightly about him, so that the young echidna couldn’t fall off of his bed. “Now, keep a close watch on him. I shouldn’t be long.” With that said, the guardian quickly hurried to fetch food for everyone—including the unconscious child.
Hearing the door close, Sara-Li kept her focus on the child with a curious tilt of her head. “I wish I knew your name,” Sara said to herself, as she reached over to move his wild, white hair. “You look like your name might by Clayton, or Oliver…or Luke!” Sara-Li kept guessing, her tail swaying back and forth in thought. Seeing the boy start to move with an added low groan emitting from his muzzle, Sara-Li straightened up as she wondered if he’d actually wake up. “Hey!” she called, reaching over to place her hand on his forehead. “Are you awake?”
The words were slurred and everything was very foggy when the child managed to open his eyes to the room about him. He thought he even heard a door open a close for a moment as he worked on trying to focus in on his surroundings.
“Thunderhawk!” Sara-Li called, when she realized the guardian was back. “He’s waking up!”
Hurrying back over to his bed, Thunderhawk put the food items down on the desk along the way. Seeing the icy-blue eyes of the boy open and soon latch onto him, the ruler knelt down to his eyelevel with a relieved sigh. “Son, can you hear me?” Thunderhawk noticed the slightly glossy look and was a bit concerned. “Nod if you can hear me.”
When the words started to make sense, the boy steadily nodded though still a bit unable to find his own voice for the time being. He was confused as to what had happened in the past few days. Everything had become such a blur.
Since he had removed his gauntlets earlier, Thunderhawk reached for the child’s neck gently and pressed his index and middle fingers on either side of it to try and sooth his throat if that was the cause for him not speaking. “Can you speak?”
Opening his mouth, the boy struggled for a second as the cold really numbed his throat until he felt the heat starting to work away at the numbness. “I…I…think…so…kind of…hurts…” Just getting those words out, the boy flinched with a whimper.
“What is your name?” Thunderhawk asked, as that was the only question he really needed answered right away.
“…Troy,” he answered, letting Thunderhawk work away at his weary body.
“Alright, Troy, just relax,” the guardian instructed. “If your throat is still bothering you, I can go grab an herbal tea for you to drink.”
Troy wearily shook his head, trying to squirm out of Thunderhawk’s touch as he felt he was fine and didn’t need to be doted on. When the guardian let go of his throat, his icy-blue eyes drifted over towards the other face in the room: Sara-Li. He continued to look into her violet eyes, wondering if she was the man’s daughter.
“Alright, grumpy,” Thunderhawk teased, releasing Troy’s throat. Noticing his eyes upon Sara-Li, he placed his hand on top of the girl’s periwinkle hair. “This is Sara-Li. I am teaching her healing magic, so that’s why she’s here.” Placing his hand on his chest, he introduced himself. “I am Thunderhawk. I am one of the guardians who rule over Skyrim.”
Hearing Thunderhawk introduce himself, Troy’s eyes shifted quickly up to the mark he had missed earlier as it kept hiding on and off behind the clothes the guardian was wearing. “I’m in…Winterhold then…?” Troy had heard of Thunderhawk since his own sleepy village was within the area, but it wasn’t exactly next door, so he was unaware what Thunderhawk looked like.
“Yes, you’re safe now,” Sara-Li said with relief, placing her palms upon the bedcovers to get a bit closer to Troy. “Why were you out in the cold anyways?”
Troy felt his fur prickle a bit at the question. Since it was such a sensitive topic, he recoiled away from the question and looked away from the curious gaze of Sara-Li.
Noticing Troy’s reaction, Thunderhawk brushed the question to the side. “Anyways, are you hungry? Do you think you could manage some food?” Seeing a faint nod, the guardian turned away from the bed to retrieve the small bundle of rations he had brought in earlier. “Sara-Li, come with me.” Since Thunderhawk had a desk not far from the bed, he gestured for her to sit down as he begun to sort through the sack. “Is there anything in particular you want, Sara?”
Looking at what he had brought, Sara-Li pointed to the bread, the cheese, and one of the apples. “Those, please,” she said with a smile.
After handing over the food to Sara-Li, he bundled up the rest and moved it a bit closer to the bed for Troy. Troy noticed that the guardian was trying to hide his pain in something. He would have asked what was wrong, but he didn’t feel too comfortable in prying. “I wasn’t able to grab anything hot, as I wasn’t sure when you’d be waking up. If you feel more comfortable with soup, I can certainly head back downstairs and get the chef to make some?”
Since Troy could see that moving was painful to Thunderhawk, he shook his head at the idea. Seeing the bread, he pointed to that from where he remained on the bed before eyeing the grapes and onions amidst the bundle of food items. He was so hungry that he was willing to eat anything at that moment, no matter what it was.
Seeing him point to the onions, Thunderhawk raised his bushy, brown brow. “Really? I’ve not known many kids to enjoy onions.”
“I’m just hungry,” Troy admitted softly.
Thunderhawk sorted the items on a plate before making it over towards the bedside to sit close to Troy. Cupping the back of Troy’s head, he helped him sit up a bit, so he could help the boy eat better. Breaking off the bread, Thunderhawk offered it to Troy only to watch in slight panic as Troy tried to just inhale it. “Whoa, whoa, slow down!” When Troy didn’t listen to him, Thunderhawk pulled the bread away while gently trying to close his muzzle. “If you eat like that, you’re going to make yourself sick, son.”
Troy growled lowly at having someone’s hand on his muzzle—something his father used to do to him whenever he was bad.
Releasing Troy’s mouth, he kept the bread away from him for the time being. “Now, eat slowly. The bread’s not going to run away,” he lightly teased, allowing Troy to take the bread once more and slowly work away at it.
---
With Troy still recuperating, Thunderhawk kept the lessons with Sara-Li closer to the bed in the back of the room. He had the hardest time trying to keep her focus, however, as she kept latching her attention onto Troy, who ended up falling asleep later on after eating. Closing the book he was reading to Sara-Li for the tenth time, Thunderhawk chuckled with a shake of his head. “I am not going to get you to concentrate with him here, am I? And here I thought you were too young to like boys.”
Sara-Li made a ‘bleh’ face at his comment, recoiling at the thought of being romantic with a guy. “I am just hoping he’s okay,” she said in her defense.
Smiling at her comment, he shook his head. “You’ll make a great healer yet.” The knock at his door catching his attention, Thunderhawk patted Sara-Li’s back gently. “That’s probably your mom or dad.” As he got up to help Sara to the door, he noticed her violet eyes back on Troy again. “Sara-Li, he’s going to be fine,” he assured her, bending down to pick her up into his arms.
“But he won’t talk about his family,” Sara-Li pointed out, as Thunderhawk headed for his door. “What’s going to happen to him…? Where will he live?”
“I assure you, Sara, I will think of something,” said Thunderhawk as he opened the door to find Devon there. “Sorry about not taking her to you, Devon,” the guardian apologized, as he handed over Sara-Li. “I would have gotten her to you sooner but there was a boy that I found about Winterhold who required my attention.”
“Is he alright?” Devon asked, as he accepted his daughter in his arms.
“He appears to be alright.” Thunderhawk looked over his shoulder at where his bed was hidden by the partial wall, which separated his garden from his bedroom. “He’s resting for now, and I sent for my high priest, Baltheer, so I can make extra sure that he’s okay when that man manages to make his way to me.”
Thinking back on Cyrus, Devon looked at his daughter, who he lowered down to her own feet. “Sara-Li, can you wait out here for a moment?” Seeing his daughter nod, he gently tapped her nose. “Don’t move, okay? I need to talk to Lord Thunderhawk in private for a second.”
Thunderhawk could tell, whatever it was, had to be serious, so he didn’t decline the notion. Stepping to the side, he allowed Devon in his room. “Is something wrong with your son?” Thunderhawk asked, as he knew that could be the only reason the man could possibly be upset.
Devon shook away his surprise at the comment. “Okay, your highness, I know you’ve known me for a few days now, but it’s really creepy how you instantly know what’s bothering me; especially, when you have hundreds or even thousands of other people to concern yourself with.”
“1,056 people, actually,” Thunderhawk answered with a brief chuckle, his hands moving to his hips. “I lost half of that during The Great Divide when the surrounding homes about Winterhold College fell into the ocean.” Seeing the still surprised look on Devon’s face, Thunderhawk shrugged his shoulders like it was nothing. “Being a ruler, I want to at least know my people—especially after such a horrible loss.”
“Anyway, my Lord,” began Devon again, “that potion you gave me seems to only subside Cyrus’ breathing issues for a little bit. He’s still having difficulty breathing.”
Fondling his beard in thought, Thunderhawk headed back to his alchemy table to shift through his papers regarding formulas he had mastered in his spare time as well as some he had traded off to his family members. Finding the one that he had given to Devon, he looked over what he had put in the formula to remind himself the doses of the ingredients. “I can try and see if I can’t make the potion stronger,” said Thunderhawk, as he put the paper down on his desk to remind himself to tamper with it later. “If that fails, I’ll send Baltheer out to you.”
“Thank you, my Lord,” praised Devon. “I didn’t mean to trouble you, but I worry for him.”
“As any parent should for their children,” said Thunderhawk with a smile. “Also, you can just call me ‘Thunderhawk’, Devon, I don’t have a problem with that.”
Devon was a bit caught off guard by the request, as he couldn’t imagine talking to royalty in such a manner even if Thunderhawk was telling him it would be alright if he did so. “Oh, well…thank you, Thunderhawk.”
Thunderhawk nodded in response with a smile, watching as Devon exited his bedroom to pick up his daughter and head back to his family. Alone once again, he almost forgot that he had Troy in his bed for a brief moment until he saw the small child looking up at him when he ventured into that part of his room. “Ah, you’re awake. How do you feel?” he asked, as he grabbed one of his chairs to bring it closer to the bedside.
“I’m thirsty,” Troy answered, his fist balling up close to his mouth as if he was ashamed to ask for help.
“Are you still hungry?” Thunderhawk asked, as he attempted to rise from the chair to go back to his chef. “I am not sure how long you’ve been without food or water since you refuse to tell me what caused you to be separated from your family.”
Troy’s eyes quickly looked away from Thunderhawk before having the courage to look at him once more. “I am hungry…I think I was three days without food…?” Troy honestly wasn’t sure. He knew his village wasn’t right around the corner, but it was close enough to Winterhold. “I tried to drink the water that I could find, but it was too cold, and it felt like it was burning my throat…”
“You’re lucky,” Thunderhawk said with a stern look at the boy. “With how cold the water gets around here, it could have damaged your throat on top of you inhaling the cold air, and then you’d be in trouble. I’ll get you something warm to eat and drink. It might help sooth your throat a bit more.”
Since he was still nervous about leaving Troy alone, even for a moment, Thunderhawk hurried as quickly as he could down to the kitchen. Opening the door leading into the kitchen, Thunderhawk looked through the servants helping with the food to finally find his chef. Waving down the polar bear (who was hard to miss), Thunderhawk quickly made it to his side. “Ivan! I need a favor!”
Playfully scoffing at Thunderhawk’s words, Ivan continued to hurry about the kitchen to make sure dinner preparations were going well. “There’s no such thing as a ‘favor’ from you, your highness,” he teased though seriousness was underlining his words. Grabbing the ingredients he needed for the meals he had in mind, Ivan stopped briefly as he looked at his rack lined with different cutting knives. “What do you need? Is it for that boy of yours?” Ivan asked as he fixed his apron, which never seemed to hang right for him given his round belly.
“He’s awake now,” Thunderhawk explained, keeping out of Ivan’s way, as he knew if he stopped the bear from his duties, the man would get agitated with him being the passionate cook that he was. Seeing the herbal teas he had stocked on his shelf, Thunderhawk reached for one. “I was wondering if you could make a soup for him while I get the herbal tea—Ouch!” he exclaimed, jerking his hand back when Ivan slapped it away.
“You do not touch my food, my Lord, unless it is prepared by me!” Ivan insisted sternly, waving his spoon at the guardian. “I will be the one to get it ready for the young boy.”
“It is just tea…” Thunderhawk commented with a raise of his brow, rubbing the back of his hand.
“I do not pretend to tell you how to rule, so do not pretend to tell me you know how to cook as well as I do!” Ivan seemed to scold, but after a moment of looking irritably at the ruler, his face relaxed and he started laughing at Thunderhawk. “Besides, nobody can prepare my teas quite like I can.” Here, he winked at the elder before waving him away. “Now, get out of my kitchen while I get things ready! I will send one of my cooks to your room with the soup and tea.”
Before Thunderhawk knew what was going on, he soon realized that he was practically being urged out the door. “But—.”
“Shoo, shoo!” Ivan said with a furious wave of his hands still. “You must not stop a masterpiece when it’s already in motion, and I know I don’t want your dirty hands all over it either,” he teased still.
Thunderhawk merely rolled his eyes as he was used to Ivan’s comments by now. There was something about the bear’s straightforward attitude that he enjoyed from the moment he set foot onto Winterhold soil to insist on becoming the head chef for him. He also trusted the bear more than anybody. Since he was so particular about his food, he tasted everything to make sure there was nothing off about the taste, and also made sure that no poisons made it to Thunderhawk or his royal court.
Upon making it back to his bedroom, he saw that Troy was attempting to read the book of casting that he had lain out near the nightstand. “Interested in magic, are you?”
Troy looked up at the elder before closing the book slowly. “Sort of,” he answered. “I learned how to cast lightning magic, but…I’ve not been really into it.”
“Is that why you’ve escaped to here?” Thunderhawk asked, as he was interested in getting to know the child better.
Narrowing his eyes at the guardian, Troy shook his head. “No, and Winterhold wasn’t my destination anyways…I was just leaving home…”
Thunderhawk could tell that trying to get Troy to open up was going to be difficult, so he dodged the subject for now. “So how old are you?” he asked, rubbing his palms together in thought.
Troy’s irritably look worsened. “Why does it matter?”
“Because I am curious.”
“Who I am is none of your business,” Troy retorted quickly in defense.
“I saved your life,” Thunderhawk said as quickly in return with his tone remaining neutral, “so I do believe I should be owed some information about you.”
“I am six,” Troy groaned, looking away from Thunderhawk, as he couldn’t stand the gaze the guardian was giving him.
“That wasn’t so hard now, was it?” Thunderhawk pulled his attention from Troy when he heard a knock at his door. “One moment.” Slowly getting to his feet, he made it to the door to accept the soup and tea from the cook that Ivan had sent. Upon making his way back to the young boy, he found himself in the ‘hot seat’.
“What’s wrong with your back? You’re not that old, are you?” Troy was being bitter in his question, but he was curious why the ruler walked around rather slowly and in a stiff manner.
Thunderhawk moved the bowl of tomato soup into his hands carefully. “Ah, you’ve got old jokes, do you? I hate to kill the punch line, but, no, it was an ice dragon attack.” He motioned for Troy to move a bit closer, so that he could help him eat since the boy was acting a bit weak. “Sara-Li was in my arms when a dragon managed to catch me by surprise. I didn’t have enough time to react with her there, so I used my cape to try and block a majority of the attack, but I still took part of the hit. This soup is still a bit hot, so be careful. I would blow on it for you, but seeing as you don’t need my help, I will allow you to do that.”
Catching the sarcasm in the elder’s voice as well as the minor pain, Troy sighed with a slight shake of his head. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I’m just upset…” Remembering the raging fire in the back of his mind, he swallowed harshly and shook away his worry best he could when it came to his family.
“You’ll like the soup,” Thunderhawk said, hoping to relax Troy and change the subject. “Ivan uses his own tomatoes he grows in the garden he keeps under lock and key in the back of the kitchen. There’s also a bit of onion in there. You might like it better without it being whole and raw. It adds a good bit of flavor to it next to some spice he added in there as well. The man never tells me his secrets.” When Troy appeared ready, Thunderhawk moved the spoon closer to his mouth.
Troy had never had food prepared by royal chefs before, so the flavor added to something that used to taste so simple to him in the past made him pause for a second to take in the texture of it.
Thunderhawk knew Troy wasn’t going to compliment about the taste, so he merely chuckled at his reaction. “Ivan apparently left bread for you to have as well. He always insists that you dip part of the bread into the soup to give more flavor to the bread.” Looking back at the herbal tea Ivan had made as well, he shifted gears and offered that to Troy next. “He made these herbal teas himself as well. He adds honey and, I think I once saw him, add a type of cinnamon to it.”
“You cook yourself,” Troy said, noticing that Thunderhawk seemed intent to eyeball his royal chef on occasion.
“I dabble,” Thunderhawk corrected, as he continued to help Troy with his meal. “I used to do a lot of cooking before and after my daughter was born, but since I am focusing on trying to rebuild Winterhold and keep everything under control, I’ve lacked the time to really focus on such a skill.”
Troy was quiet, unsure of what else to say until he realized he was staying in the Winterhold College where the jarl lived. “What’s going to happen to me?”
Thunderhawk rolled his shoulders. “That depends on a few things. Do you plan on going back home?” Seeing Troy dodge the comment once more, he knew that had to be a nonverbal ‘no’. “For the time being, then, I will watch over you. I am sure I’ll find a purpose for you once you are well.”
While a bit offended over Thunderhawk’s choice of words, Troy knew that he had better count his blessings he didn’t die out there in the blizzard that caught him. As he fiddled with the bread in his fingers, he looked away from the guardian as he mumbled a ‘thank you’; being a bit too prideful to actually say it to Thunderhawk’s face.
----------------
Author’s Notes: Baltheer and Ivan belong to me. All of this writing about food has now made me hungry…brb store!
“I brought all the towels I could find with a bowl of cold water,” Lily-An said, her breath labored from her hurrying about the college to grab what she could. With the jarl taking the items she brought, she attempted to step into his bedroom, but saw him about to shut the door. “D-Do you need my help, your highness?”
“I appreciate the offer, Lily-An, but it’s just one little boy,” Thunderhawk replied. “I should be alright. If his health takes a turn for the worse, I’ll be sure to bring in my high priest.” With that said he shut the door finally and hurried back towards the young child lying in his bed. Placing the bowel of water down on the wooden nightstand nearby, Thunderhawk dampened one of the towels before using it to dab away at the growing fever.
Sara-Li noticed the boy continuing to shiver, making her brow wrinkle in worry. “Is he going to be okay?”
“Well, judging by the thickness of his fur and his white hair, he is a winter echidna,” Thunderhawk said to the young Sara-Li, as he grabbed the other towels to try and wrap the shivering child within them tightly. “I’d say the only reason he didn’t die out there is because of what his parent’s blessed him with.” Thinking on the young boy’s parents, he couldn’t help but hope and pray they were alright.
“Should I try my healing magic on him?” Sara-Li asked eagerly, wanting to try what she had learned thus far.
“You haven’t even begun casting yet,” Thunderhawk said with a light chuckle, reaching for the child on the bed to hold him tightly in his arms—hoping that the warmth emitted from his belly would help stabilize the boy.
“I learned this!” Sara-Li opened her tiny hands and begun to form a small ball of energy.
Thunderhawk’s blue eyes widened at the sight of her casting something so soon. “Where did you learn that?” he asked, a bit more surprised than anything.
“Well, my brother was having a hard time breathing last night, and I put my hands on him like this—,” Sara-Li said, placing her palms onto the small child’s body. “—and then I wished that I had the power to help him calm down, and help him feel better. It worked for a little bit, but it didn’t last long…My mom woke up after I tried, and she gave him that potion you gave my dad.” With her hands already on the maroon furred echidna, she bit at her lower lip to try and concentrate on bringing the magic back and soothing him.
Merely watching, Thunderhawk allowed Sara-Li to give it a try as he kept a close eye on the child’s reaction. He could feel the male echidna move slightly under the healing affects of the spell. As Sara-Li continued best she could, Thunderhawk noticed it was starting to wear her out as she wasn’t used to going extended periods with casting. Reaching for Sara, he placed his hand tenderly upon her wrists to break her concentration. “It’s alright, Sara-Li. You did your best, and I am sure, thanks to your help, he will awaken in no time.”
Smiling through her weariness at his words, she looked back at the boy in Thunderhawk’s arms. “Do you think he’ll wake up today?” Admittedly, she was a bit curious about where the nameless echidna had come from and why he was out in the dreadful weather like that.
Chuckling at her curious questions, Thunderhawk shook his head. “Honestly, my dear, I do not know. All we can do is keep a close watch on him and make sure he’s comfortable.” Realizing the time, the jarl sighed softly at reminding himself that he was hungry. “Sara-Li, can I ask a big favor of you?” Seeing her nod, Thunderhawk smiled. “Can I ask you to watch over him for a bit while I quickly run downstairs and grab some food for us? I would just use my own food that I keep stored away up here, but I’ve run out and need to fetch some more from the chef.”
Sara-Li crossed her arms upon the open space on the bed with an eager nod. “I can watch him for you!”
“I knew I could count on you,” said Thunderhawk, as he put the boy down under the bedcovers. He made sure that the covers were wrapped tightly about him, so that the young echidna couldn’t fall off of his bed. “Now, keep a close watch on him. I shouldn’t be long.” With that said, the guardian quickly hurried to fetch food for everyone—including the unconscious child.
Hearing the door close, Sara-Li kept her focus on the child with a curious tilt of her head. “I wish I knew your name,” Sara said to herself, as she reached over to move his wild, white hair. “You look like your name might by Clayton, or Oliver…or Luke!” Sara-Li kept guessing, her tail swaying back and forth in thought. Seeing the boy start to move with an added low groan emitting from his muzzle, Sara-Li straightened up as she wondered if he’d actually wake up. “Hey!” she called, reaching over to place her hand on his forehead. “Are you awake?”
The words were slurred and everything was very foggy when the child managed to open his eyes to the room about him. He thought he even heard a door open a close for a moment as he worked on trying to focus in on his surroundings.
“Thunderhawk!” Sara-Li called, when she realized the guardian was back. “He’s waking up!”
Hurrying back over to his bed, Thunderhawk put the food items down on the desk along the way. Seeing the icy-blue eyes of the boy open and soon latch onto him, the ruler knelt down to his eyelevel with a relieved sigh. “Son, can you hear me?” Thunderhawk noticed the slightly glossy look and was a bit concerned. “Nod if you can hear me.”
When the words started to make sense, the boy steadily nodded though still a bit unable to find his own voice for the time being. He was confused as to what had happened in the past few days. Everything had become such a blur.
Since he had removed his gauntlets earlier, Thunderhawk reached for the child’s neck gently and pressed his index and middle fingers on either side of it to try and sooth his throat if that was the cause for him not speaking. “Can you speak?”
Opening his mouth, the boy struggled for a second as the cold really numbed his throat until he felt the heat starting to work away at the numbness. “I…I…think…so…kind of…hurts…” Just getting those words out, the boy flinched with a whimper.
“What is your name?” Thunderhawk asked, as that was the only question he really needed answered right away.
“…Troy,” he answered, letting Thunderhawk work away at his weary body.
“Alright, Troy, just relax,” the guardian instructed. “If your throat is still bothering you, I can go grab an herbal tea for you to drink.”
Troy wearily shook his head, trying to squirm out of Thunderhawk’s touch as he felt he was fine and didn’t need to be doted on. When the guardian let go of his throat, his icy-blue eyes drifted over towards the other face in the room: Sara-Li. He continued to look into her violet eyes, wondering if she was the man’s daughter.
“Alright, grumpy,” Thunderhawk teased, releasing Troy’s throat. Noticing his eyes upon Sara-Li, he placed his hand on top of the girl’s periwinkle hair. “This is Sara-Li. I am teaching her healing magic, so that’s why she’s here.” Placing his hand on his chest, he introduced himself. “I am Thunderhawk. I am one of the guardians who rule over Skyrim.”
Hearing Thunderhawk introduce himself, Troy’s eyes shifted quickly up to the mark he had missed earlier as it kept hiding on and off behind the clothes the guardian was wearing. “I’m in…Winterhold then…?” Troy had heard of Thunderhawk since his own sleepy village was within the area, but it wasn’t exactly next door, so he was unaware what Thunderhawk looked like.
“Yes, you’re safe now,” Sara-Li said with relief, placing her palms upon the bedcovers to get a bit closer to Troy. “Why were you out in the cold anyways?”
Troy felt his fur prickle a bit at the question. Since it was such a sensitive topic, he recoiled away from the question and looked away from the curious gaze of Sara-Li.
Noticing Troy’s reaction, Thunderhawk brushed the question to the side. “Anyways, are you hungry? Do you think you could manage some food?” Seeing a faint nod, the guardian turned away from the bed to retrieve the small bundle of rations he had brought in earlier. “Sara-Li, come with me.” Since Thunderhawk had a desk not far from the bed, he gestured for her to sit down as he begun to sort through the sack. “Is there anything in particular you want, Sara?”
Looking at what he had brought, Sara-Li pointed to the bread, the cheese, and one of the apples. “Those, please,” she said with a smile.
After handing over the food to Sara-Li, he bundled up the rest and moved it a bit closer to the bed for Troy. Troy noticed that the guardian was trying to hide his pain in something. He would have asked what was wrong, but he didn’t feel too comfortable in prying. “I wasn’t able to grab anything hot, as I wasn’t sure when you’d be waking up. If you feel more comfortable with soup, I can certainly head back downstairs and get the chef to make some?”
Since Troy could see that moving was painful to Thunderhawk, he shook his head at the idea. Seeing the bread, he pointed to that from where he remained on the bed before eyeing the grapes and onions amidst the bundle of food items. He was so hungry that he was willing to eat anything at that moment, no matter what it was.
Seeing him point to the onions, Thunderhawk raised his bushy, brown brow. “Really? I’ve not known many kids to enjoy onions.”
“I’m just hungry,” Troy admitted softly.
Thunderhawk sorted the items on a plate before making it over towards the bedside to sit close to Troy. Cupping the back of Troy’s head, he helped him sit up a bit, so he could help the boy eat better. Breaking off the bread, Thunderhawk offered it to Troy only to watch in slight panic as Troy tried to just inhale it. “Whoa, whoa, slow down!” When Troy didn’t listen to him, Thunderhawk pulled the bread away while gently trying to close his muzzle. “If you eat like that, you’re going to make yourself sick, son.”
Troy growled lowly at having someone’s hand on his muzzle—something his father used to do to him whenever he was bad.
Releasing Troy’s mouth, he kept the bread away from him for the time being. “Now, eat slowly. The bread’s not going to run away,” he lightly teased, allowing Troy to take the bread once more and slowly work away at it.
---
With Troy still recuperating, Thunderhawk kept the lessons with Sara-Li closer to the bed in the back of the room. He had the hardest time trying to keep her focus, however, as she kept latching her attention onto Troy, who ended up falling asleep later on after eating. Closing the book he was reading to Sara-Li for the tenth time, Thunderhawk chuckled with a shake of his head. “I am not going to get you to concentrate with him here, am I? And here I thought you were too young to like boys.”
Sara-Li made a ‘bleh’ face at his comment, recoiling at the thought of being romantic with a guy. “I am just hoping he’s okay,” she said in her defense.
Smiling at her comment, he shook his head. “You’ll make a great healer yet.” The knock at his door catching his attention, Thunderhawk patted Sara-Li’s back gently. “That’s probably your mom or dad.” As he got up to help Sara to the door, he noticed her violet eyes back on Troy again. “Sara-Li, he’s going to be fine,” he assured her, bending down to pick her up into his arms.
“But he won’t talk about his family,” Sara-Li pointed out, as Thunderhawk headed for his door. “What’s going to happen to him…? Where will he live?”
“I assure you, Sara, I will think of something,” said Thunderhawk as he opened the door to find Devon there. “Sorry about not taking her to you, Devon,” the guardian apologized, as he handed over Sara-Li. “I would have gotten her to you sooner but there was a boy that I found about Winterhold who required my attention.”
“Is he alright?” Devon asked, as he accepted his daughter in his arms.
“He appears to be alright.” Thunderhawk looked over his shoulder at where his bed was hidden by the partial wall, which separated his garden from his bedroom. “He’s resting for now, and I sent for my high priest, Baltheer, so I can make extra sure that he’s okay when that man manages to make his way to me.”
Thinking back on Cyrus, Devon looked at his daughter, who he lowered down to her own feet. “Sara-Li, can you wait out here for a moment?” Seeing his daughter nod, he gently tapped her nose. “Don’t move, okay? I need to talk to Lord Thunderhawk in private for a second.”
Thunderhawk could tell, whatever it was, had to be serious, so he didn’t decline the notion. Stepping to the side, he allowed Devon in his room. “Is something wrong with your son?” Thunderhawk asked, as he knew that could be the only reason the man could possibly be upset.
Devon shook away his surprise at the comment. “Okay, your highness, I know you’ve known me for a few days now, but it’s really creepy how you instantly know what’s bothering me; especially, when you have hundreds or even thousands of other people to concern yourself with.”
“1,056 people, actually,” Thunderhawk answered with a brief chuckle, his hands moving to his hips. “I lost half of that during The Great Divide when the surrounding homes about Winterhold College fell into the ocean.” Seeing the still surprised look on Devon’s face, Thunderhawk shrugged his shoulders like it was nothing. “Being a ruler, I want to at least know my people—especially after such a horrible loss.”
“Anyway, my Lord,” began Devon again, “that potion you gave me seems to only subside Cyrus’ breathing issues for a little bit. He’s still having difficulty breathing.”
Fondling his beard in thought, Thunderhawk headed back to his alchemy table to shift through his papers regarding formulas he had mastered in his spare time as well as some he had traded off to his family members. Finding the one that he had given to Devon, he looked over what he had put in the formula to remind himself the doses of the ingredients. “I can try and see if I can’t make the potion stronger,” said Thunderhawk, as he put the paper down on his desk to remind himself to tamper with it later. “If that fails, I’ll send Baltheer out to you.”
“Thank you, my Lord,” praised Devon. “I didn’t mean to trouble you, but I worry for him.”
“As any parent should for their children,” said Thunderhawk with a smile. “Also, you can just call me ‘Thunderhawk’, Devon, I don’t have a problem with that.”
Devon was a bit caught off guard by the request, as he couldn’t imagine talking to royalty in such a manner even if Thunderhawk was telling him it would be alright if he did so. “Oh, well…thank you, Thunderhawk.”
Thunderhawk nodded in response with a smile, watching as Devon exited his bedroom to pick up his daughter and head back to his family. Alone once again, he almost forgot that he had Troy in his bed for a brief moment until he saw the small child looking up at him when he ventured into that part of his room. “Ah, you’re awake. How do you feel?” he asked, as he grabbed one of his chairs to bring it closer to the bedside.
“I’m thirsty,” Troy answered, his fist balling up close to his mouth as if he was ashamed to ask for help.
“Are you still hungry?” Thunderhawk asked, as he attempted to rise from the chair to go back to his chef. “I am not sure how long you’ve been without food or water since you refuse to tell me what caused you to be separated from your family.”
Troy’s eyes quickly looked away from Thunderhawk before having the courage to look at him once more. “I am hungry…I think I was three days without food…?” Troy honestly wasn’t sure. He knew his village wasn’t right around the corner, but it was close enough to Winterhold. “I tried to drink the water that I could find, but it was too cold, and it felt like it was burning my throat…”
“You’re lucky,” Thunderhawk said with a stern look at the boy. “With how cold the water gets around here, it could have damaged your throat on top of you inhaling the cold air, and then you’d be in trouble. I’ll get you something warm to eat and drink. It might help sooth your throat a bit more.”
Since he was still nervous about leaving Troy alone, even for a moment, Thunderhawk hurried as quickly as he could down to the kitchen. Opening the door leading into the kitchen, Thunderhawk looked through the servants helping with the food to finally find his chef. Waving down the polar bear (who was hard to miss), Thunderhawk quickly made it to his side. “Ivan! I need a favor!”
Playfully scoffing at Thunderhawk’s words, Ivan continued to hurry about the kitchen to make sure dinner preparations were going well. “There’s no such thing as a ‘favor’ from you, your highness,” he teased though seriousness was underlining his words. Grabbing the ingredients he needed for the meals he had in mind, Ivan stopped briefly as he looked at his rack lined with different cutting knives. “What do you need? Is it for that boy of yours?” Ivan asked as he fixed his apron, which never seemed to hang right for him given his round belly.
“He’s awake now,” Thunderhawk explained, keeping out of Ivan’s way, as he knew if he stopped the bear from his duties, the man would get agitated with him being the passionate cook that he was. Seeing the herbal teas he had stocked on his shelf, Thunderhawk reached for one. “I was wondering if you could make a soup for him while I get the herbal tea—Ouch!” he exclaimed, jerking his hand back when Ivan slapped it away.
“You do not touch my food, my Lord, unless it is prepared by me!” Ivan insisted sternly, waving his spoon at the guardian. “I will be the one to get it ready for the young boy.”
“It is just tea…” Thunderhawk commented with a raise of his brow, rubbing the back of his hand.
“I do not pretend to tell you how to rule, so do not pretend to tell me you know how to cook as well as I do!” Ivan seemed to scold, but after a moment of looking irritably at the ruler, his face relaxed and he started laughing at Thunderhawk. “Besides, nobody can prepare my teas quite like I can.” Here, he winked at the elder before waving him away. “Now, get out of my kitchen while I get things ready! I will send one of my cooks to your room with the soup and tea.”
Before Thunderhawk knew what was going on, he soon realized that he was practically being urged out the door. “But—.”
“Shoo, shoo!” Ivan said with a furious wave of his hands still. “You must not stop a masterpiece when it’s already in motion, and I know I don’t want your dirty hands all over it either,” he teased still.
Thunderhawk merely rolled his eyes as he was used to Ivan’s comments by now. There was something about the bear’s straightforward attitude that he enjoyed from the moment he set foot onto Winterhold soil to insist on becoming the head chef for him. He also trusted the bear more than anybody. Since he was so particular about his food, he tasted everything to make sure there was nothing off about the taste, and also made sure that no poisons made it to Thunderhawk or his royal court.
Upon making it back to his bedroom, he saw that Troy was attempting to read the book of casting that he had lain out near the nightstand. “Interested in magic, are you?”
Troy looked up at the elder before closing the book slowly. “Sort of,” he answered. “I learned how to cast lightning magic, but…I’ve not been really into it.”
“Is that why you’ve escaped to here?” Thunderhawk asked, as he was interested in getting to know the child better.
Narrowing his eyes at the guardian, Troy shook his head. “No, and Winterhold wasn’t my destination anyways…I was just leaving home…”
Thunderhawk could tell that trying to get Troy to open up was going to be difficult, so he dodged the subject for now. “So how old are you?” he asked, rubbing his palms together in thought.
Troy’s irritably look worsened. “Why does it matter?”
“Because I am curious.”
“Who I am is none of your business,” Troy retorted quickly in defense.
“I saved your life,” Thunderhawk said as quickly in return with his tone remaining neutral, “so I do believe I should be owed some information about you.”
“I am six,” Troy groaned, looking away from Thunderhawk, as he couldn’t stand the gaze the guardian was giving him.
“That wasn’t so hard now, was it?” Thunderhawk pulled his attention from Troy when he heard a knock at his door. “One moment.” Slowly getting to his feet, he made it to the door to accept the soup and tea from the cook that Ivan had sent. Upon making his way back to the young boy, he found himself in the ‘hot seat’.
“What’s wrong with your back? You’re not that old, are you?” Troy was being bitter in his question, but he was curious why the ruler walked around rather slowly and in a stiff manner.
Thunderhawk moved the bowl of tomato soup into his hands carefully. “Ah, you’ve got old jokes, do you? I hate to kill the punch line, but, no, it was an ice dragon attack.” He motioned for Troy to move a bit closer, so that he could help him eat since the boy was acting a bit weak. “Sara-Li was in my arms when a dragon managed to catch me by surprise. I didn’t have enough time to react with her there, so I used my cape to try and block a majority of the attack, but I still took part of the hit. This soup is still a bit hot, so be careful. I would blow on it for you, but seeing as you don’t need my help, I will allow you to do that.”
Catching the sarcasm in the elder’s voice as well as the minor pain, Troy sighed with a slight shake of his head. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I’m just upset…” Remembering the raging fire in the back of his mind, he swallowed harshly and shook away his worry best he could when it came to his family.
“You’ll like the soup,” Thunderhawk said, hoping to relax Troy and change the subject. “Ivan uses his own tomatoes he grows in the garden he keeps under lock and key in the back of the kitchen. There’s also a bit of onion in there. You might like it better without it being whole and raw. It adds a good bit of flavor to it next to some spice he added in there as well. The man never tells me his secrets.” When Troy appeared ready, Thunderhawk moved the spoon closer to his mouth.
Troy had never had food prepared by royal chefs before, so the flavor added to something that used to taste so simple to him in the past made him pause for a second to take in the texture of it.
Thunderhawk knew Troy wasn’t going to compliment about the taste, so he merely chuckled at his reaction. “Ivan apparently left bread for you to have as well. He always insists that you dip part of the bread into the soup to give more flavor to the bread.” Looking back at the herbal tea Ivan had made as well, he shifted gears and offered that to Troy next. “He made these herbal teas himself as well. He adds honey and, I think I once saw him, add a type of cinnamon to it.”
“You cook yourself,” Troy said, noticing that Thunderhawk seemed intent to eyeball his royal chef on occasion.
“I dabble,” Thunderhawk corrected, as he continued to help Troy with his meal. “I used to do a lot of cooking before and after my daughter was born, but since I am focusing on trying to rebuild Winterhold and keep everything under control, I’ve lacked the time to really focus on such a skill.”
Troy was quiet, unsure of what else to say until he realized he was staying in the Winterhold College where the jarl lived. “What’s going to happen to me?”
Thunderhawk rolled his shoulders. “That depends on a few things. Do you plan on going back home?” Seeing Troy dodge the comment once more, he knew that had to be a nonverbal ‘no’. “For the time being, then, I will watch over you. I am sure I’ll find a purpose for you once you are well.”
While a bit offended over Thunderhawk’s choice of words, Troy knew that he had better count his blessings he didn’t die out there in the blizzard that caught him. As he fiddled with the bread in his fingers, he looked away from the guardian as he mumbled a ‘thank you’; being a bit too prideful to actually say it to Thunderhawk’s face.
----------------
Author’s Notes: Baltheer and Ivan belong to me. All of this writing about food has now made me hungry…brb store!