Finally able to get her breathing back to normal, Serena wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand and straightened up. Her body was still trembling, but she ignored it.
She shoved all the spiraling thoughts down, not wanting to think about that dreadful day. It only brought up emotions and thoughts that she didn't want to think about.
Still there was one lingering question on her mind - why did she have that dream?
Except for that bothersome tiger beastman, last night had been fairly good. Nothing to trigger her PTSD. So, what could have caused her returning nightmares?
Wait, could it be because I'm not taking that blood pressure medication anymore. Serena mused to herself. I took it for the nightmares along with that other one, but now I don't have them…
A cold sense of dread filled her at that thought. She was so used to using medication to keep the memories of what she had done away that now she wasn't using them, they were trickling back to her.
Reminding her of what a piece of shit she was.
Disgust filled her and Serena lost her strength to keep standing. She let her body drop, not caring about a single thing. All she wanted to do was just disappear.
But before she could hit the ground, a thick arm wrapped around her waist, catching her and pulling her towards the person. The action caused her body to react on instinct and Serena threw back an elbow to hit the person.
However, her body was not as strong as before and the stranger caught her elbow with their free hand before it could do any damage.
"You're as troublesome as ever." A familiar voice murmured.
Serena turned her head to look at the stranger holding her, teeth bared. Gazing down at her was the tiger beastman from yesterday. He stared at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Let go!" Serena growled, pulling herself away from Theo.
"Only if you promise not to attack me again." Theo retorted.
Serena realized he was only trying to help her and numbly nodded, losing her will to fight. She hated how she was losing her mind once more and attacking everything.
Seeing that she wasn't going to attack him, Theo released her elbow and withdrew his arm wrapped around her waist. He was slower withdrawing his arm, not wanting her to collapse on the ground.
Once he let go of her, Theo asked, "Are you…"
He paused, unable to finish that question. Of course, she wasn't okay. Theo could see the way she was shaking that she was definitely not doing okay.
He'd even watched in shock along with a few others awake for guard duty as she ran out like something was after her. He came out to check on her, only to find her in such a sorry state.
"I…" Serena started, wondering how she was going to explain this all.
Now that she had a moment to process what she had done, she knew whoever had seen her likely thought she was crazy. And she couldn't exactly say the reason for her madness.
Theo seemed to sense that she didn't want to explain what happened and just stated, "You don't have to explain… As long as you're not sick that is."
Serena understood what he meant by that. Illnesses were dangerous in this world and easily caused many deaths. Being in something sickly into a city could spell disaster for many within.
"I'm not sick…" Serena finally answered. "It was just a bad nightmare…"
"I see…" Theo pursed his lips.
He looked ready to head back to the cave, so Serena quickly asked, "Do you know somewhere where I can wash up?"
A light layer of sweat coated her body and her mouth tasted bitter making her want to clean up. And hopefully wash away everything.
The tiger beastman paused for a moment before nodding, "There's a stream nearby you can use. I'll take you. Just give me a second."
Serena nodded her head in understanding before Theo headed back inside the cave. Richard stood just by the entrance with his arms crossed.
"Well?" Richard asked, wanting to know what happened to the young female.
"Bad nightmare…" Theo shrugged, moving to get a basket with some cleaning supplies. "I'm taking her to wash up by the stream."
Richard raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by his behavior. He expected Theo to be indifferent about the situation, but it seemed he was wrong. It made him curious as to what those two were discussing last night.
He badgered the younger beastman about their conversation, but Theo had been tight lipped about it. And now he was acting like this. Richard wanted to tease him about it, but decided it was best not to.
He poked the tiger enough yesterday.
"Fine, but don't take too long." Richard mused as Theo straightened up. "We'll probably have to stop by the Bear Tribe tonight."
Theo went still at his words, but didn't say anything. He knew his uncle was stopping by the Bear Tribe for one reason. To have a healer check on Serena.
The older tiger beastman couldn't just take words at face value. He had to make sure Serena was perfectly healthy. Otherwise, it would be on him for bringing disaster to the Forest City.
Theo nodded his head in understanding before heading back out to meet with Serena. He offered to carry her to the stream, but she refused, so he left it and the two walked side by side.
It took them about five minutes to get to the stream, the sound of trickling water hitting his ears before he spotted the clear water. Once he made sure it was safe to be in, Theo handed the basket to Serena and headed off to give her some privacy, making sure to be within hearing distance.
When Serena no longer could see him, she looked into the basket and found a rough looking bar of soap. She quickly picked it up before heading into the cool water to drown away all her worries.