Wake Up

           "Xavier come on man" Shiny tried to get him to sit up but X would not move. He wanted X to at least drink some water or eat a little bit but he needed him up. "Are you hurt?" Shiny asked. It took X a moment to register what he was saying. "I'm...." His voice trailed off and Shiny shook him again to make sure he stayed awake. "Xavier I need you to answer me" Shiny told him, a hint of worry traced his voice. "My back hurts....it's fine though...." X croaked. He then felt Shiny grab his shoulder and try to pull X onto his side. X didn't try to fight him, he didn't try to help him either though, he was too exhausted to do anything at the moment. Sharp pains ran up and down his spine but he only had the energy to let out a long groan. After awhile Shiny managed to pull X onto his side. "You didn't help whatsoever" Shiny mumbled, positive that X wasn't listening. He then crouched behind X and rolled up his shirt a little to examine his back.

        "Oh shit-" Shiny muttered as he saw dark bruising all down X's back. He assumed it was from being hit with the bat's wing just yesterday. He gently began feeling over X's spine, listening to X's pained groans and taking note that most of the pain seemed to be in his spine. "X- I think you got hit a little harder than you thought-" Shiny told him but X was silent once more. He leaned over his buddy to see him asleep once more. Shiny sighed and sat back again, not sure of what to do about X. There was no real way he could help with his back since hospitals have been out of the picture for many years now. X looked sick and tired so Shiny was trying to think of what to do next. "I need Lasso here...he knows all about medical and shit like that.." Shiny sighed. X knew a lot about injuries and how to treat them but he Shiny doubted he was going to be able to stay awake enough to tell him what to do. He rolled his shirt back down and gently splashed more water on him to wake him back up. When X slowly awoke once more Shiny tried his best to help him sit up.

            For right now Shiny had his mind set to getting X hydrated again. He'd have to worry about the injuries later on. "Drink some water" Shiny told him while handing him one of the refilled canteens. X tried to drink some but ended up stumbling to his feet and quickly shuffled away just to throw up what he had just drank. When he came back he slowly lowered himself to the ground again, almost falling in the process. "X this may be a weird question but how well is your sight at the moment?" Shiny asked, trying to remain calm but his voice was traced with fear of his buddy getting sick with something that needs medicine that they don't have. Shiny feared being alone and right now X seemed to be hanging on by a thread. "I can see fine.....everything is just spinning...." He mumbled then slowly laid down on his side once more. Shiny nodded slowly and started pressing the back of his hand against X's cheeks and forehead. He felt extremely hot even though it was cool in the early morning at the moment. "Is it heat exhaustion or stroke....fuck I need Lasso for shit like this.." he muttered irritably while trying to remember the symptoms for each. "Is there a difference?...god damnit..." he groaned quietly.

            "What could the bruising mean?..Spinal injury? Sprained? Shit what if it's something more serious like damage to his organs...fuck fuck fuck.." his mind raced through all the possibilities of what the injury could be. He felt himself shaking but paid no attention to it. His heart felt like it was racing as fast as his thoughts and he just froze. He wasn't ready to lose another close friend of his, he saw this man as more of a brother than anything else. He was ripped away from his racing thoughts when he noticed soft tapping on his knee. Shiny looked down and noticed a small fox was pawing at his leg. He just stared down at the fox, not wanting to scare it away. X hadn't moved since he shuffled away so Shiny didn't bother him. He carefully reached out to the fuzzy creature with a shaky hand, it backed away for a moment, making soft screeching sounds before creeping closer once more. Shiny noticed something looked off with the fox but he couldn't pin what it was. Something just didn't feel right about it. As it creeped closer Shiny laid his hand on the ground for the little fox to sniff.

            "Easy..." Shiny softly coaxed and the fox rubbed it's head against his hand after sniffing him. It's fiery coat was soft and calming. A faint smile crept over Shiny's face as he gently petted the little fox. His breathing slowed, now focusing on the fox. "Aren't you sweet..." he whispered with a quiet chuckle. The fox carefully crawled into his lap, curling up into an orange ball of fur to keep warm in the cool morning of...November? Maybe December? Shiny didn't know. He lost track of the months years ago. For now he just sat there and enjoyed the peaceful quiet. Shiny's soft smile eventually turned into a concerned frown. It was quiet. Where were the crickets? The birds? Or any of the critters that roamed the forest? Why was it so quiet? All Shiny could hear was the pounding of his own heart and X's labored breathing as he looked around. It's never supposed to be this quiet unless there was something dangerous around. He scanned the area, keeping one hand over his gun that was holstered on his belt. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, bushes, trees, a patch of bright orange wild flowers, grass, fallen leaves. Shiny looked around again and again until his gaze stopped at the patch of orange wildflowers. That's at least what he thought they were.