Calm Before the Storm

The chill of the room did nothing to deter her; if anything, it sharpened her focus, her half-furred skin prickling with the cold and a rush of adrenaline. 

Without a second thought, she wrapped Jade in a desperate hug, her cries filling the room, "Omg, you're still alive! I was so sure you had been eaten or worse," her voice muffled against Jade, her relief cascading out in loud sobs.

Oscar, roused by the commotion, initially groggy and disoriented, took a moment to process the scene before his eyes widened in disbelief. "How long will you cry over her—her holy shit, you're alive," he blurted out, his tone shifting from annoyance to astonishment as he caught sight of Jade. 

His face, marked by new scars and framed by bandages, bore the evidence of their recent ordeal, with intense burn marks on his hands highlighting the battle they had endured.