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The Right Thing To Do?

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Chapter 7:

Silence

Written by: Seliron (Sel)

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Disclaimer:

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This story is purely fictional and does not depict any existing person, living or dead, or any real event. The characters are not human.

This story will not contain sexual interactions at all. NEVER. I'm sorry. I just don't want these two characters to do things like that, for personal reasons.

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Characters:

• Seliron "Sel" Lynch - Male black leopard (panther), 28 years old

• Leon, called "Leo" - Male eurasian lynx, about 8 years old

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Silence can be cruel sometimes. It's able to calm you down, help you relax - but if worries and fears already control your mind, it turns into an amplifier for those feelings. It shows you the most horrifying memories, makes you think the most frightening thoughts, it slowly destroys your sanity - until you finally break apart.

In the cold, dreary hospital hallway, Sel tried to avoid just that. Six hours ago, a crowd of doctors took his adoptive son, Leo, inside the operating room. Since then, not a single message had found its way out of the room - he was doomed to wait, without any idea what happened inside and when he would finally hear something from the doctors.

What if he's already dead?

That thought wandered through his mind, stirring up worries and fears repeatedly. Every time when he thought he suppressed those destructive feelings, that thought brought them back to life - and as time passed, they only grew stronger.

But they would have told me if there's no hope anymore...

He tried to tell himself this numerous times, tried to convince himself that everything will be fine, that his little boy would be healthy again in the end.

My little boy...

It still felt strange to think of Leo like that. Wasn't he alone until only a few weeks ago? On his own, without anyone he had to take care of, without anyone he cared about?

Only now, with Leo in immediate danger, he realized what had happened. Their relationship grew stronger than Sel had expected, even stronger than he had imagined in his wildest dreams. He cared about the cub, more than he cared about himself - and he didn't want him to get hurt. He wanted to protect him, guard him from anything bad that could happen to him - and he had failed miserably.

It's all my fault...

He hadn't looked after Leo properly. He should have stayed with him, shouldn't have allowed him to roam around the store on his own. Because of his failure, his little boy was almost raped and badly wounded - or even killed. How should he know? Leo's heart could have stopped beating hours ago.

But they would have told me...

Would they really have done that? Sel wasn't so sure about that. Maybe they thought that he couldn't take it, that he would break down on the spot?

Wouldn't I? What should I even do if he's dead?

_ _

He got up from his chair and walked up and down the hallway, nervously kneading his paws.

Neither did he have any idea what would happen then, nor what he was supposed to do. He only knew one thing: His life would never be like it was before. Just going on with everything would be impossible, too much had happened in the last weeks. He would not only loose a friend, he'd lose his son.

If only they'd tell me something...

He was just about to head back to his chair again, preparing to wait even longer, as he heard a door open behind him. His head shot around, and as he noticed who had opened the door, his heart skipped a beat.

A male wolf came out of the door, dressed in a typical white doctor coat. He looked tired, exhausted - his face was red, and his coat was covered in sweat stains. The doctor didn't seem to notice Sel, as he crossed the hallway and headed straight for the waiting area.

The wolf sat down on one of the chairs and buried the face in his paws. He still didn't seem to be aware of his surroundings, though he didn't look like he wanted to notice anything anyway.

Until now, Sel hadn't been able to move, his muscles simply refused to work - but he had to know if the doctor knew something. He gathered all his energy and stepped forward, his whole body trembling in fear. The doctor noticed the sound of Sel's paws on the floor and looked up.

"Y-you must be Mr. Lynch, I guess?" he mumbled.

Sel nodded, unable to speak.

"Your son... it was close, but... he'll survive."

For a moment, Sel didn't realize what the doctor had just said. He felt numb, like every single feeling had left his body, as he tried to understand what the words meant.

He'll... survive...? He's still alive...?

_ _

"Are you alright?" the doctor asked, a worried tone in his voice.

Sel didn't answer. Though his mind seemed to work in slow motion, he finally grasped what the words meant.

LEO WILL LIVE!

And for the first time in the last years, Sel broke down crying.

~Later~

"Where is he?"

"He's right over there, in the third bed."

The panther rushed through the room as fast as he could. His heart beat heavily as he approached the bed, but curtains blocked his view. He hesitated for a moment, but then he pulled them aside - and a sigh of relief escaped his muzzle.

On the bed in front of him, tucked in a white blanket, was Leo. The cub was laying on his back, peaceful and relaxed, like he was sleeping really deep. He was unconscious, anesthetized, and he would probably stay like that for some time.

But still, Sel wanted to see him with his own eyes, or he wouldn't be able to believe that Leo was still alive. He stepped closer, right next to the cub, and sat down on a chair beside the bed. On the first sight, the boy didn't show any signs of life - but as Sel lowered his head, he could hear Leo's calm, steady breathing, and even feel the soft breeze of air on his black fur.

"Leon..."

Of course he knew that Leo wasn't able to hear him, but he didn't care much about that now. Sel reached out, stroking the young cub's headfur softly.

"I'm so sorry... It's all my fault. Everything. I... I should have..."

But what should he have done? What could he have done to prevent all this? To protect his son from any harm?

Not these thoughts again... I'm thinking the same stuff over and over again...

"I... I miss you, little guy." he said, focusing back on Leo. "You'll wake up soon, and then you'll be healthy again in no time. Everything will be just like before."

What am I saying? Nothing will be like before.

_ _

"Mr. Lynch?"

He looked up, noticing that one of the doctors had approached him.

"You're awake since you arrived here... you should really get some sleep now. You can leave your son here, we'll take good care of him."

"I- I can't... I can't just leave..."

"You don't have to leave the building. You can stay here in the hospital, not far away from intensive care - so you'll be here if something important happens."

"But..." Sel tried to mumble, but a loud yawn disrupted his excuse.

Only now he realized how tired he really was. He didn't want to leave Leo alone, but did he have any other choice? He felt like falling asleep on the spot, and he probably wouldn't be able to stay awake for any longer.

I should probably get some rest... it's not like he'll wake up anytime soon...

_ _

Reluctantly, Sel got up, almost ready to leave. He glanced down at the unconscious boy, smiling slightly - and without even being aware of what he was doing, he lowered his head and placed a soft, loving kiss on Leo's forehead.

"Goodbye, 'lil guy. I'll be back soon..." the panther said, before he turned around and left the room.

~Two weeks later~

"Well, that's it." the doctor said as he decreased the dose of the medicine. "He should wake up within the next few hours."

"Thank you..."

"There's one more thing to consider, Mr. Lynch. We don't know how he'll react when he wakes up. You should stay here with him, but he may react strange when he's awake and able to think clearly again. Anything can happen."

"T-thanks, I guess... I'll be careful..."

Unsure what to do, and a bit taken aback by this warning, Sel sat down on the chair next to Leo's bed. He made himself as comfortable as possible, ready for another long period of waiting.

Three hours later, Sel awoke abruptly. He shook his head and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, trying to clear up his confusion. He didn't remember getting ready to sleep, and so he figured that silence and boredom took it's tribute and he just fell asleep on accident.

_ _

How long did I sleep? Did I miss anything...?

As he was lost in thoughts, he almost didn't hear the quiet whimper emerging from the bed next to him. He got up immediately, and that was not a second too late. In the hospital bed next to him, Leo was stirring and squirmed restlessly on the bed.

Sel decided to stay quiet for the moment, as he didn't want to scare the barely awake cub too much. He just stood there, watching over Leo as he slowly woke up completely. The squirming lasted for a few minutes, before it finally subsided and he calmed down. He laid flat in his bed, breathing steadily, but his eyes stayed shut tight.

"Leo?" Sel finally dared to whisper.

The cub's eyes shot open. For a moment, the boy stared at Sel, a confused, somewhat frightened look on his face. But only a moment later, he locked his eyes again and turned his head away.

"Are you alright, Leo?"

The cub whimpered, but he still didn't answer. Sel actually remembered the doctor's warning, but regardless of that, he got a bit worried now. He moved closer to the bed, and he even dared to reach out and ruffle the boy's headfur - what proved to be a very bad idea.

As soon as Sel's paws touched Leo's fur, the cub let out a surprised yelp. He tried to move his head away in an effort to avoid Sel's paw, but he didn't get very far. Even this very small movement was too much for his injured body, and he let out a sharp cry of pain.

For the next few hours, Sel tried his best to talk to his adoptive son. He asked him how he felt, why he didn't want to talk, and even told him stories from the time where Leo was asleep. None of that worked, though - it seemed like Leo's muzzle was sealed shut. Not a single word escaped him.

Sel's worries only increased hour by hour, and as a last chance, he even made the doctors check if something was wrong with Leo's body. They examined the boy carefully, but the result wasn't really helpful, too.

"There's nothing else injured than his chest area. He's certainly able to speak, Mr. Lynch. He just doesn't want to, that's all."

As he didn't have any other choice, Sel decided to just keep going with his efforts to break through Leo's defenses. For the next few days, he tried to talk to him as much as possible without repeating himself - he told Leo a lot of stories out of Sel's own past, or more current ones out of magazines and newspapers. He told him what happened in school at the moment (thanks to Sam, who kept him updated at this topic), and he even read books to Leo. But whatever he did, the cub simply ignored everything that happened around him.

On the evening of the fifth day after Leo woke up, Sel was just about to complete their daily evening routine. He closed the book he had just read out to Leo, and made himself ready for bed. He changed into more comfortable clothes, and after that entered the bathroom to brush his teeth.

He was just about to grab his toothbrush as he suddenly heard quiet whimpers coming from Leo. The panther hurried to reach him, and he found the boy curled up tightly in his bed. His face was hidden away, buried deep in his pillow.

"Leo...?" Sel whispered, careful not to scare the sobbing cub.

At first, Leo didn't answer. Sel didn't dare to touch him, or even get any closer, and so he couldn't do much to comfort the kitten besides talking.

"It's alright, 'lil guy..." he said, slow and calm. "I'm here, don't worry."

Sel sat down on the chair, expecting silence like every time - but to his surprise, he got a reply this time.

"Leave me alone..."

"I'll leave you alone, if you want. But I won't leave the room."

"I... I wanna d-die..." Leo replied after a long pause.

"Huh? Why that?"

Another moment of silence followed, but Leo's resistance finally seemed to fade away. He turned around in his bed, as fast as he could without hurting himself.

"I-I had a bad dream..." he mumbled. "Before I woke up."

"You did? Do you remember what you dreamed, Leo?"

"Yeah... I-I was laying on that table... back in the mall. It was all so weird... I was naked, and... that guy was there, too. And the other guy that asked me to live with him, my parents, and... you."

Leo sniffled and stopped for a moment. He looked frightened, but after a deep breath, he was able to continue.

"Suddenly everyone pulled out a knife and... and stabbed me, again and again... Everyone, except for you. It... it hurt so much... and then everything went black and I woke up..."

"Leo... that was just a dream. You're safe. I'm here, and I would never hurt you - nothing bad can happen, 'lil guy."

"I d-don't believe you..."

"You can trust me, Leo. Prom-"

"NO! Everyone only hurts me!"

"That's not true, Leon. I'd never hurt you." Sel said, trying his best to stay as calm as possible. "And what about Sam and his dad? What about your friends, your teachers?"

"I don't care! I'm just a burden to everyone..."

"You're not a burd-"

"I AM! That's why everyone's trying to hurt me..." he said, tears filling his eyes again. "Just kill me already..."

"I won't kill you, Leo. And please... calm down. You'll hurt yourself." Sel replied. "Besides, I believe you would have given up a long time ago if you truly wanted to die. But you fought for your life, you did everything you could to live - and you won, you're still alive."

"But how can I ever trust someone again?"

"I believe you still trust me, Leo. It's still there, just hidden away behind doubts and fear. In your dream, I was the only one that didn't hurt you, remember?"

"Yeah... but it was just a dream."

"Do you remember the first day we met?"

"I-I dunno..."

"After I almost hit you, you decided to stay and keep me company. Do you remember why you did that?"

"N-not really..."

"You said that I didn't look like a bad guy. You said that you didn't think that I'd ever hit you."

"Mhmm..."

"Your heart, or more likely your intuition told you that. What does it tell you now?"

"I... dunno..."

"Look, we'll take it slow. You don't have to trust anyone right away. Just... try, okay? Stuff like that needs time."

"I-I'll try..." the cub replied, nodding weakly.

Leo's tear-swollen eyes wandered to a painting on the wall - one that he had always stared at since he woke up. It was a simple illustration of the sea, the waves dipped in the dark orange of the setting sun.

"You like that, huh?" Sel asked as he followed the cub's glance.

"Mhmm. That's the sea, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Have you ever been there?"

"No... I-I never left the city..."

"Would you like to go there?"

"I... I'm not sure... i-if that's possible?"

"Sure. One day, when you're fit again, we'll travel there, if you want."

"Promise?"

"Promise."