literature

Ryder: Second In Command

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    It had been three days since he had woken, and though he could not move from his bed (lest he suffer a lecture from Citra) the man had still made himself useful. Though the number that the Rhino and deer had dealt definitely tried to hinder him, Tiberius did his best to assist the villagers. Seemed there were some things that the hyenas were unsure of after all and small business had to go about as usual. The first day after he had returned to the conscious world looked mostly like the man trying his damn hardest to fight sleep but ultimately it would overcome him. However in between the uncomfortable naps he would manage a question or two about the village, how people were doing, Ryders condition, what the extent of his own injuries were and the like. For the most part he was sleepy and perhaps even a little grumpy. The hyena pup he had taken in during the winter made herself more than comfortable in the hut.  No matter how many times Citra shooed her away Fini would come right back to the door and make as many god awful noises as she could till she was let in. Even before Tiberius was awake the growing pup was right by his side, or in her favorite place curled around his shoulder with her head tucked into the small of his neck.

He had dipped in and out of consciousness for two days now, some bits of conversations he knew he had were gone and others were completely non-existent though villagers assured him that he had in fact talked with them earlier that day. Ryder had come to his mind hard and often. The image of her fighting for her tribes safety just as hard if not harder than he played in the dogs mind again and again. He pondered on this for most of the second day, between sleeping and answering whatever he was called on for. Ryders character had done nothing but improve since he had first met her. She was sly, and a terrible trouble maker. But who here wasn’t? What everyone else here wasn’t was ready to lay down their lives like he had seen her offer up willingly not just once, not twice, but three times.


“Go. Leave me here by that rock…”


Who else here would have said those words? Let alone speak them aloud. It was one thing to think about it and an entire other to actually act upon it as she had done. Had actively tried to push him forwards. It was something that had been on his mind for more than a small while now, and it was his turn to act now.

It was nearing late afternoon of the third day since he had woken now. His mind was fairly clear and his voice had slowly but surely made its way back to him. Though a small hint of a rasp still had yet to leave. The light was fading and the vibrant sun shone orange through the dusty air, bidding the better part of the day farewell when Tiberius cleared his throat.

How he wished he could do this under better circumstances, at least do the honor of standing when he offered this to her. But if the pain that bolted through his body whenever he so much as twitched a muscle on his arm was any indication, he wouldn’t be doing much of anything in the near future.

It was useless to dwell on what he could and couldn’t do however, for now, he simply stared at the ceiling. Forcing the words to sound as clear and concise as he could.

“Ryder, I have a proposition for you.” he began. “There is fire in you Ryder, something that is lacking in many others, even my best soldiers would have been hard put beside you.” He paused a moment  before continuing. “If you choose, I would have you stand beside me as the tribes Second in Command.” As usual, Tiberius did not mince words and left the question right there at that, the only real indication that he was done speaking in the fact that he had turned his head to look at the woman beside him.




For two days Ryder lay alternating between consciousness and pain induced slumber, spending her waking hours staring at the unconscious man across the room. She could see his chest rise and fall, but still she found herself fretting over whether or not he would actually stand again, chase her through the village and scold her with only the vaguest of smiles showing in his eyes. Unable to roll over or turn away, the only thing she could do was close her eyes and hope for some amount of sleep. It seemed her mind wanted to relive the events over and over, but even if they brought a cold sweat onto her brow she wouldn't try to deny the memories. As long as they wouldn't be the last one's she had, then she would survive. Even if her mind refused to allow her much room for happy thoughts, her eyes were more than once forced into an attempted smile. Seeing the hyena pup Tiberius had taken on move straight to the man and lay on or next to him like she had done it hundreds of times before. The scene warmed her heart and brought out her inner troublemaking side again; being a sort of break from everything else that swam through her mind. Thoughts of Tiberius being alone at home and letting the pup lay on him and snuggle up into his neck was a thought she was sure to turn to when other painful memories tried to force their way in.


It wasn't until a few days had passed and people began coming in to speak with the now awake Tiberius did Ryder finally manage to sit up without choking; and it was a freedom she openly enjoyed. Occasionally someone she knew would come to speak with her, and she would rasp out a conversation or try to force her body to swat at someone come to tease her; however, she mostly sat quietly and allowed Tiberius to focus on either sleeping or dealing with villagers. It was a feat that had terrified her father when he returned to visit, fearing that something had happened to her that truly broke her. But she waved it off, she simply didn't have the energy to speak, and had too many things on her mind to consider.


From what Tiberius had questioned and from what the villagers had said; there had been no further attacks on the tribe, no extra bandits plotting to double back and get them and they were all safe. It was after this that she allowed her thoughts to delve into the traumatic events, now that she knew there wouldn’t be additions to them; keeping them cooped up inside would only break her further and she couldn't let that happen when people expected her to heal, to be herself.


But would she be herself again? Of course there was her personality which had proven hard to shake, but physically. Her voice sounded odd to her own ears; it had lost strength and bite in exchange for a wheezing rasp, her muscles objected to her movements and then there was her face. A hand came up to touch the stitches that marked the long gouge across her cheeks and nose, and as she did so flashes of the memory returned to her mind. The pain, the fire, the look on that man's face as she screamed from the torture. His grin. She could feel her heart speed up, pound against her chest and cry out at the ghostly feeling. She could almost swear she could feel the cold tusk digging and driving through her muscle, carving out bone and cartilage. Her hand twitched away from her face as if it had been burned and instead she flicked bleary eyes to the wild dog across the room.


She had seen them; his scars. After reading about their existence and creation she could finally catch a glimpse of understanding at the weight they carried; how much he had lived with and still held onto. They ran deep and ragged over his back; warping skin and gouging muscle. She wondered if they still held hellfire; if sometimes he could feel them as if the whip was striking them over again. She wondered if her face would be the same. If decades would pass and she would still carry the anchoring memory of the torn skin's existence.


Ryder took a breath and stared determined into the space in front of her. She wouldn't let it slow her down or change her. What sort of person would she be if she let it rule her life now that she had fought for it, when Tiberius carried on as if he had never felt the sting of metal or the crack of leather? He had taken the pain and forced it to make him stronger. A hand clenched into a fist, pain shooting up her arm from the action but she forced herself to ignore it. She wouldn't feel that sensation anymore; it wouldn't phase her. She would become as hard as the mountain she swore by and she would remain as such until the day she would be buried under it. For Tiberius, for the village.


The man that had been driving her thoughts cleared his throat and Ryder turned, ears perked in interest, eager to hear what he deemed important enough to use his breath, to stretch his voice more. Head tilting in curiosity she listened, absorbing his words and planting them in the back of her mind; praise from the man was something she had come to cherish. But she couldn't help the flush that appeared on her face at his words. His soldiers? She couldn't possibly have lived up to that statement. There was little she did that would even be comparable to his life before the hyenas, that was what she believed anyways. The hyena gave a slight shake of her head and was about to snark at him about the undeserved comments but he had continued to speak, and for a moment she couldn't even digest what he had said.


He looked at her and Ryder stared stupidly. Her lips parted in an attempt to answer but she found she couldn't. A part of her was inwardly fluttering, flitting from one notion to the next. He wasn’t trying to make a joke was he? Surely he had no problem handling the tribe on his own so why would he need her? Would the village even want her to be in that position? But the other side of her was so intent on accepting it, to tell him something respectful, like how she would be honoured to, or how she would like to do nothing else but be at his side in protecting their people; but she simply couldn't get past the physical idea of it, of the offer really being real. Her gaze had been unfocused as her thoughts rushed through her mind, but her eyes settled on Tiberius once more, realizing words had been taken with all the oxygen in her body and it took a moment before she was able to take in a breath.


“Sir...” Ryder stopped, coughed slightly, and closed her eyes a moment to gather herself before she restarted, turning back to face the wild dog with her head as high as her condition would allow. “Tiberius, it would be my greatest privilege to protect alongside you.”


In which Tiberius makes Ryder and offer she can't refuse.

Confused? Read from the beginning ekatii.deviantart.com/art/To-P…



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Pandora-box55's avatar
Yaaaaa Ryder~~ OvO

Kehinde: :iconwtfisthisplz: