Chapter 5

The Arctic wolf had left, not turning back as he went back into the castle, an angry energy about him. The grey wolf giving Bane a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry." She said, her words cutting through the silence. "Aspen doesn't usually act so cold such as how he's been today, I fear I may have pushed him a bit to far, especially with Eldrec, the leader of the army and his father having died so soon." She said.

Bane felt it troubling to follow her words, already feeling a bit lightheaded from how much he had put into healing Aspen, but he felt something as well similar to pity to the Arctic wolf. He remembered how awful it had felt when his own parents had perished, seeming so young when they had gotten so sick, but their bodies still not young enough to fight off the awful and unknown sickness that had killed them, even their life's savings not enough to buy the medicine that would save their lives.

"It's alright." Bane responded, looking away from the grey wolf. "I know what it feels like... to have to deal with something as awful as that."

The wolf sighed, giving Bane a soft smile. "Well thank you then, most healers wouldn't have been as kind as you were." She said before too, leaving through the door, back into the castle.

~

Bane was forced to heal more injured furs for the remainder of the day, the task absolutely brutal, the poor fox having to hold back his whimpers as he healed each of the injured Anthros, each injury seeming more complex than the last, only fathering the fox's pain and frustration.

He dreaded for the awful magic burnout that was oncoming, the pain slowly rising throughout his body, making his limbs feel weak and aching, making it all the more difficult to heal his patients.

By the end of the day, he felt drained of all energy, more exhausted than he had ever felt before as he left the section of the castle, the grey wolf giving him a sympathetic look as if she understood the great pain of the job before he left, the castles halls dim from the sun at last falling over the horizon.

The hallways of the castle were luckily empty, the fox unsure he at all looked presentable for anyone to see him in the awful condition he was in.

He could already feel the magic burnout approaching, the fatigue in all of his limbs worsening by the minute. He had to return home, and soon at that.

He stepped out of the castle, the moon risen high in the dark blue sky as his vision became unclear, the world shifting in and out of focus as he rushed home, as quickly as he could in this awful state he'd found himself in.

Bane barely registered the buildings surrounding him, just forcing himself to walk as he neared his home, the utter exhaustion creeping up on him rapidly gaining prominence.

As his house finally came into view, he felt as if he couldn't even feel most of his body, very slowly walking the last couple of meters to his home from sheer determination.

He grabbed the doorknob, the door creaking open before he collapsed, right in the foyer, his vision going black as blinding pain was sent through him, the burnout finally catching up with him as he went unconscious.