Aster awoke with a sharp breath in. He was a bit disoriented still, but he could remember almost everything.
The painful images came flooding back to him as he simply stared at the ceiling above him while trying to recall everything. His match with Straga was much worse than he was prepared for it to be.
He remembered a lot more than he cared to from his loss, bringing a shudder across his achy body.
Aster began looking over his injuries, finally building up enough courage to assess the extent of the damage. He was thankfully relieved with what he found.
His left arm still felt a bit tight when he made a fist, but it seemed the broken bones in his forearm weren't so broken anymore. His ribs had a dull ache lingering, but he shifted his midsection around a bit and didn't find too much discomfort.
He couldn't feel any heavy scars where his face had been split open, but there was definitely a bit of tenderness and some throbbing where he was head-butted by the large humanoid dragon.
He was missing a tooth on his back right side, but it seemed the brunt of the damage done had already been mostly healed. Well, the physical part of it anyways.
Aster began really looking around the unfamiliar room he found himself in then. He knew it wasn't anywhere in his father's estate, and it certainly wasn't his room at the inn. It seemed pretty well to just be a spare room stocked with the basics.
Aster leaned forward, and felt his muscles were all pretty stiff still. It wasn't until the sheets fell as he tried to stand that he even realized he was stark naked, much to his embarrassment.
He spotted a simple coat and a pair pants hanging on a hook nearby, and helped himself to it, grateful to stretch his legs a bit. The garments engulfed the boy, being intended for a much larger sized beast, but he managed to make them work for the time being with a makeshift belt.
Aster made his way over to the door then, and pushed it open. He found himself in a hallway on the second story. The boy glanced around a bit, and after seeing nobody nearby, made his way to the large staircase and began descending it.
Upon reaching the bottom, he overheard some voices in the next room over, so he leaned against the wall to rest himself a moment while he tried to listen for any clues as to where he was.
"Honestly Jagón, I've already told you, it is no burden at all! We'd be happy to look after your cub, besides, Stahl, my precious daughter, could use someone to practice with, and if the boy gets some training in from it I only see positives here. That is, given you still trust my family is up to the task?"
The first voice went silent for a moment. It seemed familiar, but Aster couldn't place where. His father was the next to speak however.
"I have no doubt in your capabilities as a teacher, I myself am testament enough to your skill regarding that. I worry more that your name would suffer for my sake. That you'd face the same issues with your house that I am now.
"I'd rather not have half of your staff quit on you, and half of the country dub you a traitor. I appreciate your offer, but I can't ask for anymore assistance from you on this matter... You've already done more than the boy or I could ever repay you for as it stands..."
Aster grimaced a bit. It seemed his father was still having to apologize on his behalf. Just for once, he wanted to give the panther a break from having to always watch his back for him, from being a burden to his father.
Another voice chimed in then.
"Sir Venatus, my father and I did what we did because we felt it was the right thing, not for you, or your family to feel indebted to us for it. Aster has a big heart, and all he wants is to stand beside us. I think he deserves more than the circumstances he was dealt.
"I think he deserves a fair shot, and he clearly wasn't going to get one without a little help. I know the whole thing seems a bit like cheating, but they weren't exactly giving him fair treatment by putting him against that guy in the first place.
"Besides, if I can train him to watch my back like I think I can, I'll be able to keep him from directly being put in danger for the most part. I can't promise I can protect him from everything, but I can at least be a friend to him.
"I can at least show him the basic decency nobody else has. I can treat him like a person, as a brother. I can make sure he doesn't have to fight his battles alone, and I get some solid support in return. It's a mutually beneficial pact."
Aster felt humbled. Everything was pretty well spot on, but he never imagined he'd actually hear a beast defending him, let alone throwing a partnership on the table. He never believed one would consider him an ally.
His attention was snatched away as someone behind him cleared their throat. Aster turned to find a shaky looking young humanoid fox staring up warily at him.
The two were a bit stunned by the sight of each other, but the human managed to raise his hand in a half wave. The fox forced an awkward smile, and nodded towards the room the voices were coming from, motioning that he should say something.
Aster felt a bit embarrassed for being reprimanded for eavesdropping by someone obviously younger than himself, but only let out a small sigh and walked into the room, clearing his own throat a bit to make his presence known.
The first voice was obviously his father Jagón. The other two seemed to belong to the she-wolf Stahl, and her father, Byron. All three were sitting at a table and turned to look his way as he walked into the room.
Aster took an empty seat nearby, and looked away. He figured he should say something, as much as he wanted to put it all off for a bit longer.
"Uh, this is a bit weird for me... A few days ago I couldn't even really show myself like this or talk to anyone besides my family so... I... I wanted to thank you for having me."
The older wolf's face shifted into a friendly smile before he answered the boy.
"No trouble at all, only sorry you had to be our guest by result of such extreme injuries. Speaking of such, how are you feeling my boy? Everything feeling alright? You were out for nearly three days..." The silver wolf raised an eyebrow questioningly towards the human.
Aster felt a twinge of pain. He knew he had pretty well missed his final match, but to hear it confirmed that he had lost 'The Selection' just stung him regardless. The boy minded his manners though, and answered his host.
"I'm feeling pretty good considering the beating I took back there... He didn't break anything that couldn't be healed it seems. I'm a little tired still, and I've got a headache that could split wood, but I'll be alright..." Aster turned to look at his father now. The panther just silently waited for him to say what he needed to.
"Father, I'm... Sorry I disobeyed you. I'm sorry I wouldn't listen to your warnings. I'm sorry you had to watch me lose like that... I'm sorry you're dealing with the fallout of having a son like me... I'm sorry I failed, I thought I was strong enough..."
Jagón listened even as the boy's fists clenched at the end. He was beating himself up pretty badly over this.
"You fought for what you believed was the right path for yourself. I am not angry, my son. I am not disappointed, I am not ashamed of you, only of myself. I could not see that you were growing into a fine man right under my own nose. I could not see how much you dreamt to have a place of your own in this world. I could not see how lonely you were, my son... For that, I am sorry... And Aster?"
Aster certainly didn't expect his father to apologize to him, but when he turned to meet his eyes, he found the panther already kneeling, taking him into his arms with a tight embrace.
"I love you and I am so proud of you. You showed more bravery than most knights my age show in a lifetime. I consider myself nothing but lucky to have a son like you."
Aster really did do his best not to start crying in front of the first friend he had ever made, but he'd waited too long to hear those words already. A bit of pride couldn't have stopped them from falling anyways. The boy let his tears run freely. The wolves only watched on with warm silence.
After the two had managed to calm down a bit, the topic moved to more pressing matters.
"So... I'll be staying here to train with Stahl huh?" The three beasts looked a bit surprised, but Aster let them know he had already overheard a bit of the earlier conversation. His father confirmed as much.
"Javis did well with you Aster, but yes, it is time you learn from another teacher. Byron here taught me much when I was still but a cub myself, and I have no doubts his daughter can do the same for you. Besides, I have matters to attend to at our home, and this may be the safest place for you at this time. The Aschefell estate has a nearby town that is pretty well known for tolerance, So this could be one of the only chances you get to experience a bit of normal life for the next five weeks."
Everything his father had spoken had made sense to Aster, and him getting to actually go out into the world for once was an opportunity he had long waited for, so the human welcomed the stay, but he still had one more question, however.
"And what happens in five weeks?" This time, it was the panther who bore a smile.
"Well, that's when you are to be sworn into the Elite King's Guard with the rest of 'The Selection' winners."
***