"You wondered why we hadn't seen him recently? It's because he's been avoiding us!"
"It can't be that bad, Lisa."
"They were mobbing him, Mom! I could hear him from outside! And then, as soon as I made my presence known they all scattered to who knows where, acting like nothing had happened."
"It could have been a one--"
"No Mom," Lisa said firmly. "He has new wounds on top of old ones. For all I know they've been fighting every night since you switched him to this form."
"We would have noticed something before now if that was the case."
"Mom! His feet are swollen to twice if not thrice their normal size! Just look at him and tell me this is a one time occurrence."

I burrowed deeper into the towel. I really didn't want Madam Shan to see how bad I was, it was one thing to have Lisa know, but her?
It didn't help to try and hide, Lisa just picked up the whole nest and unwrapped it holding me out to her mother. I hunkered down, shaking slightly. I hadn't been this close to Madam Shan since I was a fish and there was a wall of glass separating us. To be honest, she looked scary. Her lips had thinned into a tight line, her eyes blazed with fury as she looked upon me. But her hands were just as gentle as Lisa's when she ran a hand slowly down my back, feeling the various wounds. "Roll over, Henry." She said in a tone that brooked no argument.
Unable to stop myself from whimpering, I did as she asked, rolling onto my back so my feet were exposed. It felt so unnatural.
If it was possible, her lips thinned even further. I nearly fell from Lisa's hands, when Madam Shan touched the paw that John had nearly taken a toe from, trying to get away from her, squeaking in pain.
She winced, which I didn't think was possible from her. "I hate to say it, but you're right. He looks like he's been through a shredder."
"What should we do? He can't go back! Would he even recover from this?"
"He'll recover, any injuries received here heal without a mark. He'll be fine." She tapped a finger to her lips. "Are you sure it was his group that attacked him?"
~It wasn't the--~
Lisa's glare cut me off. "I'm pretty sure, I know the markings for each one. They were all present."
~Lisa, It wasn't them~
~Shut up, Fishy Thief.~ Her eyes taking on the same cast of fury as her mothers. ~Why are you even protecting them?~

#Henry