#elafi

He wanted to get to Warrick's. He wanted to see Warrick. He just had to be somewhere. Anywhere. If Warrick wasn't here, Elafi would possibly be captured again.

After a long while of walking and trying to remember the path, he saw the log cabin from a distance. It was unmistakeable, sticking out against the woodland. Elafi couldn't help but stop for a moment, in spite of the possibility that he could be followed. Remembering that, he used all his energy to run towards the cabin.

The pain from his injuries caused him to collapse onto the ground, just in front of the door, but he was able to hold onto the handle. He pushed against the door. It was locked.

Was Warrick in?

Looking behind him, he began to bang on the door. He didn't know how hard to bang on it; if he was too loud, people could hear him and recapture him, but he wanted to get Warrick's attention. He needed to get his attention.

He banged on the door as quickly as he could, breathing heavily. He wanted to yell out for him.

Shortly after, the door opened. Elafi collapsed onto the floor, the threshold bashing into his chest.

"Elafi!" Warrick yelled, noticing the blood and the rip on his shirt. Blood oozed from the whip mark, pouring onto the floor a little and staining his shirt. He watched how Elafi breathed heavily, trying to crawl into the house, but his legs - tired from running - wouldn't work as well.

For a moment, Warrick froze. Chimera children weren't commonly found in this area, so people wouldn't be looking. So why was Elafi hurt again?

Quickly, Warrick picked him up, shutting the door behind them both. The blood oozed onto Warrick's hands, though he ignored the sensation as he carried Elafi further into the house, resting him on a sofa. Elafi winced at the pain, the contact of the leather onto his injury, turning himself sideways whilst Warrick went to get something to cover the injury with.

Warrick returned, after a short while, with a wet cloth and some antiseptic. He put them down, wanting to survey the injury.

"Am I okay to touch it?" Warrick asked gently. Elafi slowly nodded his head, his eyes soaked with tears. Warrick bent over him, lifting up the back of his shirt to try and suvery the whip marks.

Marks of blood were all down his back.

Warrick shook. Who could've done this? Who could've hurt such an innocent young boy?

"Hey," Warrick gently whispered, stroking the boy's cheek with the lightest touch, "I'm sorry, but I need to clean this. It may hurt."

Elafi slowly shook his head. He didn't want more pain.

Warrick poured the antiseptic onto the cloth, the cloth covering the opening of the bottle. He gently rubbed the cloth on Elafi's back.

It stung horrifically, but Elafi didn't scream, instead whimpering like a hurt animal. Warrick gently stroked the boy's hair as he rubbed the cloth more on his back. Elafi wept a little from the pain, his hands curled in tight fists as he raised his wrists to his chest.

After a few more strokes, the wounds were looking a bit cleaner. Warrick decided to stop cleaning there, not wanting to put the boy in any more pain.

He ran back into the kitchen quickly, to get a large, cold cloth, which he put on Elafi's back. It felt a little better.

"You’re okay,” Warrick gently whispered, gently stroking his hair with a full hand.

Elafi's eyes were still wide, his knees curled slightly upwards. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't. He quivered.

Warrick's heart tore at the sight.

He didn't exactly know what his son had been through, but it must've been something horrible. The fresh blood on his back, the fact that the whip marks were still pouring with blood, and the fear on Elafi's face…