Chapter 8

Bane knew he would push through the magic burnout. The days after a burnout were always difficult, the aching throughout his entire body, the magic feeling sore and unnatural to weird, but he would still heal in the castle, for it was the only way for him to stay afloat in this cruel world, either option of him either keeping the job or abandoning it both seeming to lead to something awful. But he thought of his sister, of how even though she acted as if she didn't want Bane to push himself like this, needed the money just as much as he did.

He stepped into the castle after checking in with the guard, going straight to the healing area of the castle.

He was well aware that this day would hurt like hell, would be one of the hardest experiences as a healer he would ever have to go through. He clenched his hands, already testing his magics limits within himself, pain throbbing through his body even when he barely had summoned the healing magic to the tips of his fingers. Today would indeed be a fucking pain.

Just like the day before, Alara handed Bane his assignments, the list of names and room numbers written on the clipboard just as daunting as it had before.

He walked to the first room, opening the door to a young Fox, one he found looked similar to himself with an injury just as brutal as the rest of his patients had, having suffered something severe.

Bane clenched his teeth, seeing this would not be as simple as many of the rest of his patients. The fox's left side of the face was absolutely ruined, seeming to have been cut, practically shredded at that point with the left side of the face a mess of flesh and dried blood.

Bane summoned his magic slowly, feeling carefully as he felt it slowly run through his body, through his arms before it reached his hands. The fox gasped as the magic flowed out of his fingertips, the sensation feeling like a knife was stabbing through his skin instead of just healing magic flowing through.

The fox bit his teeth together hard, clenching his eyes shut as he surprised a groan. It hurt almost just as much as the burnout itself did, forcing the magic out to repair the other foxes mangled face making tears roll down his cheeks, the sustained time he was healing for contributing to how brutal it was hitting him.

But he wouldn't let himself stop, it was only the first patient of the day, with too many more to count.

With that, he braced himself through the pain, forcing his maw shut as to not draw any attention or himself as he forced the reluctant healing magic out of his body, into the fox, his face slowly mending into something less grotesque, the healing almost complete.

He felt a sob rip through himself, the pain becoming something he couldn't hold back from, his body arching forward, eyes clouding with the tears as he tried to focus on the other foxes mangled face, remembering his goal and healing it as evenly as he could muster, even with his shaking hands.

The skin of the brutalized for finally closed, only faint scars left remaining on the face. It had felt like an eternity to Bane as he looked down at his hands.

He sat down, seeing blood covering his paws. He gasped, hands shaking even harder as he saw the blood dripping down, one of the last signs for a healer to stop, meaning them to be at their absolute breaking point.

Bane couldn't reign his tears as they fell down his cheeks, sobs tearing through himself, causing his chest to hitch on breaths, feeling so hopeless in this job in the castle.

Now, all he wanted to do was return home, back to his old life of begging on the streets or having a poor paying job in the market, it felt at that moment that any other job would be better than this, than making his body show him this desperate sign for him to stop that he had never in his years of being a healer had ever encountered before.

Bane remembered his sisters words, playing them back in his head. He had to pace himself, before his magic gave up on him completely.

The fox suddenly felt a jolt of pain snap through his body, causing his back to arch before slamming back to the floor again. It felt almost like another magic burnout, but this one feeling sudden, as if it had came out of nowhere and slammed into him like a brick.

He needed to leave, he couldn't stand the pain any longer as he sprinted out of the door. Pain was pulsing just as hard as the day before, more blood seeping from his hands from all of the magic he had drained, the magic that he had pushed past its limits, and was now forced to face the consequences.

Alara looked ready to snap something at him, confused as he rushed towards the exit in such a hurry.

"I-I'll be right back." He bit out, barely able to make a sound, not to mention forcing his aching legs to move, carrying him through the hallways.

The fox turned back, Alara looking both perplexed and terrified as she saw the blood on Banes hand, something all of the healers knew was an ample sign of magic burnout.

Bane had barely turned around when he felt his face slam into a furry torso, his hands pressing onto the chest of an irritated Arctic Wolf before he fell backwards, landing on his ass. He pulled himself upright, the headache made even worse by his fall, his entire body in absolute pain.

He forced himself to look up, flinching softly as he saw Aspen, the Arctic wolf from earlier scowling back at him, a mix of annoyance and concern written on his features.

Bane tried to say something, but found he couldn't. He felt weak, so weak and couldn't even force himself back to his feet. His vision went blurry, his body falling completely onto the soft carpet of the castle, body shuddering as he fell out of consciousness.