Chapter 85: Aftermath
"..."
Andria woke up in a blur. Her eyelids felt heavy, causing her to only see a blurred darkness. Her limbs ached and her head was abuzz with pain. She heard the faint mutterings of people around her, but their voices came in warped, impossible for her to understand any of their words.
Finally, she felt her mouth being pried open gently and a comfortingly warm liquid being softly poured into my parched mouth. Not only did this quench my thirst, but she also felt a energising warmth spread from her fingertips to her little toes.
Though she still felt incredibly bogged down and hazy, Andria finally found the strength to pry open her lazy eyes, her violet eyes finally in view to the people around her.
★★★
Lexa could finally let out the breath she had been holding onto for the last several moments. She was finally awake!
"Andria, how are you feeling?!" Lexa immediately asked, her greenish-red eyes boring into her violet eyes worriedly. She was situated on her side, her not-so-little anymore paws on her partner's fluctuating chest as the little girl breaths in greedily for air.
"Young Miss. Are you okay?" A few of the Wilderwolf soldier's were also kneeling by her side, a weary look on their faces as they look with feeling of guilt and pity.
"Heh-I'm okay now." Despite her dire state, Andria actually managed a smile, as unconvincing as it was. A second later, she was attempting to pry herself up through the use of her two elbows, only to have a hand grasp her shoulder as stop her from doing so.
"You should prevent from sitting up too soon. You are still in need of medical attention and any movement could exasperate the process." A kind looking Wilderwolf soldier spoke with soft words, coaxing her successfully as she finally nodded in agreed and laid herself back down with a defeated sigh.
As some of the more medically inclined personal of the Wilderwolf Soldier's attended to Andria, Lexa lifted her head from watching on that scene for a moment as she looked into the distant forest.
She was not the only one to do so, as several others around them also peaked in that direction, all wearing wear looks that were complex and hard to read. Anxiety, worry, hope were only some of the several emotions that could be read on their hardened features.
All activity in the distant forest had ceased. Where previously there were several vibrations rumbling beneath their feet like an earthquake and the oppressive feeling of a power source of several points of aura, there were now only fleeting amounts of aura on display. Ultimately, with the senses of the people here, none could ascertain the nature of the results of the conflict which had reached over half-an-hour in length.
"Its over?" A Wilderwolf Soldier questioned.
"Should we head over?" Another asked.
"We should wait a moment." The leader decided quickly. "He'd return on his own if he won... Otherwise..."
The tone around them chilled at those final words. A gloomy mood hung in the air, increasing by every passing second until finally over five minutes had passed. By this time, the look in everyone's eyes could not be called good, lips were curved into deep frowns and eyes were slanted in worry.
'Could... Something bad have happened to Alexander?...' Lexa could hardly believe this to be the truth, especially after having have seen him take out all those bandits earlier so effortlessly and cleanly. In her eyes, there had never been someone as strong as Alexander, and to think something could have defeated him... Well that was a truly frightening prospect, especially when these opponents were destined to be her opponents.
Her silver hair stood on end as her anxiety increased with every beat of her agitated heart. All of the pain she had suffered numb to her at this point as she waited, not forgetting to reassure Andria who had also grown incredibly worried. She was too young to properly hold back her emotions, especially one of grief and anxiety.
"Wh-Where's Daddy... I want Daddy!!" Rejuvenated by the potions she had been fed, the moisture in her eyes had returned and tears began to flow freely down her red cheeks once more and her little fists grabbed fiercely onto the nearest soldier's trousers as she demanded of him to answer her.
The Wilderwolf Soldier who had been grabbed could only let out a sad smile and plead with his eyes for someone else to help him. He had never been trained in how to deal with such a delicate situation, he dared not to act rashly less he aggravate the already tense situation.
"Andria, you need to calm down. You need to believe in your father!" Lexa leapt nimbly onto one of Andria's outstretched hands and spoke to her frantic partner directly into her violet eyes.
"Sniff... B-but da..." Andria mumbled between a stream of tears, though she eventually released her grip on the poor Wilderwolf soldier, who promptly took a good two steps backwards and brushed himself off with a wry smile.
Suddenly there was a commotion, as several noises of exclamations escaped the lips of several of the Wilderwolf Soldier's, especially those at the outer layer of their gathering.
With a weary glance, Lexa peaked behind her stiff shoulder's and her eyes darted towards the source of the commotion instantly.
Lexa breathed out in a long relieved sigh, one she hadn't even realised she had been holding in this whole time.
Alexander stumbled forward, his legs struggling to keep hold his weight. Beyond looking a little haggard, he seemed mostly unharmed; only, his struggle to walk a straight line coherently and the slight look of pain lighting his features every other second portrayed otherwise.
"Daddy!" Andria was the first to find her voice as she called out worriedly.
"I'm okay. I'm just tired Little An" Alexander broke out in a dazzling smile before stumbling once more, but was thankfully caught by one of his soldier's, who followed this action by snaking his arm under Alexander's armpit and reached around his waist to help hold him up.
After a quick thanks, Alexander now stumbled over to Andria and placed his comforting hand on her head, ruffling the now short blond hair as he put on his most warm smile as he reassured her. "Its over. We're all safe now."
"Really?!" Andria cried out in delight, leaning into her father's hand. "All the baddies are gone?"
Lexa noticed a flash of a complex emotion passing through Alexander's eyes beyond his glasses before he answered. "They're gone."
'They're gone... But are whoever was behind this dead...' Lexa had a feeling things weren't all as well as Alexander made things out to be. But Lexa didn't fault him for this, as it was clear to everyone that what Andria needed right now was reassurance. She was only a small girl after all, she had already dealt with more pain than one should expect of such a young child to be able to suffer and still hold a semblance of sanity. At this thought, Lexa couldn't hold back a feeling of reassurance that she had made the right choice in entering a contract with her. Her potential for greatness was definitely beyond her peers.
But potential was only potential, and there was no way a four year old couldn't go through what she did without breaking down...
"Waaah!!" Despite all of Alexander's reassurances, Andria suddenly fell to her knees and bursted into a loud crying fit.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone