A Different Breed of Broken

"A Different Breed of Broken" is a [SEASON NUMBER] thread written on [IRL DATE].
==Summary==
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==Full Text==
The commotion had all but settled after the fall of the Construct – separate groups had congregated, and the feeling surrounding the events leading up to this point were scattered as they could be. Many were cautious of how to proceed, and others were thankful for their lives. For a stag, it was a blend of relief and grief.
Dario, standing a few feet away from the Arnason family now, routinely shifted his gaze over to the goat, taking note of his mannerisms as he spoke, and held his gratitude close. He was not sure how close he had come to losing Milae at multiple points during the fight, and he didn’t let a moment pass without acknowledging how lucky he was to still be able to look upon him in an upright state.
“What’s got him in good spirits?”
The interruption of the deer’s thoughts by Vox’s voice caused Dario to jump. He flashed a small grin; where the two stood was still an unknown.
“Your guess is as good as mine… but I guess it’s the same as any of us.” Dario looked around to the Construct ruins and the disorganized pockets of Rebellion members, taking in the numbers that were still too early to understand. “Thankful to still be here.”
He watched as Vox’s eyes moved back to his children – Liam was looking over Kendra once more. Even the scout had an unmistakable look of worry.
“How’s her leg?”
“Gonna take some work, but she seems at peace with it. For now, at the very least. We’ll see how things go once we get out of here. Jin is going to kill me in my sleep.”
“That’s… something, I suppose.”
Dario kicked at some small bits of debris near the two old friends. He couldn’t stop thinking about their last interaction, and the idea that it could have been their last if things had gone differently.
“Hey, I need you to know I’m sorry. I should tell the-”
Vox reached out to grab Dario’s arm before he could finish the sentence. The look he gave the deer wasn’t one of anger, or of frustration. He just looked… exhausted.
“No. Not now. It’s really not the time.” He shifted his head to watch the half-breed children, while still addressing the stag. “You and I both have a bigger responsibility to our family. That’s got to come first.”
Even if Dario wanted to continue his thought, the lump in his throat at the mention of family would have stopped him dead in his tracks. It was a welcomed development; a temporary armistice that couldn’t come at a better time.
“…okay.” He gripped Vox’s arm, expanding on the smile from before. The two turned to make their way over to Liam and Kendra, hoping they would find a similar silver lining in the two young Rebels. They both took to a knee in unison.
I’d be happy to look at your leg, Kendra. Only if you would want that, of course.
Kendra nodded and reached out to squeeze his hand as he did so, looking over at Liam. She could tell he was off; he was staring down at the ground beside her, his shoulders moving with his breathing, which was too heavy. She waved under his face to get his attention and they had a rapid conversation.
You ok?
Fine.
He’s gone.
I know. But his eyes were distant and foggy. 
Your chest.
It’s tight. I’m fine. Lots of dust.
You need to sit and breathe.
I’m fine. His hackles started to go up and she waved again, even though she already had his attention. She frowned and pointed aggressively down at the ground, and instead of crouching on his catlike heels, Liam sighed and fully sat down, resting his paws on his knees and shutting his eyes. Kendra rested a tender hand on top of his arm as he tried to slow his breathing, using his recent connection to Nala to try and steady himself.
The scout and stag watched the conversation unfold, trying not to be obvious of their intrusion. It wasn’t until Vox noticed Kendra’s concern that he fixated on Liam’s face… he was more than just tired. His chest continuously rose and fell at a pace that was far too quick. Without a second thought, Vox shifted his weight to sit next to his son.
Vox placed his arm parallel to Liam’s spine, letting his hand fall into the dusty mop of hair atop his head. His fingers gently ran along his scalp while pulling the half-breed to lean against him. Every bit of him anticipated some level of resistance, and he was surprised to find that Liam wasn’t fighting back. He matched his breathing as closely as he could with his son’s, and slowing his own pace in hopes that it would motivate Liam to do the same.
“You know, I just had a thought…” Vox spoke very softly, while Dario took a moment away from tending to Kendra’s leg to begin signing for her. “Your mother and I were fairly close to your age in all of those stories I used to tell you when the two of you were so very small. Although, I will say… the pair of you are far wiser and capable than we ever were. It brings back a lot.”
He reached out to Kendra to allow her to grab onto his arm. It had been too long since the three of them were able to exist in a passive manner, and he tried to let the moment hold a larger place in his heart over his regrets.
“Whatever needs to be done from here on out, you have your Uncle Dario and I in your corner… always.”
Liam had been on the verge of breaking down into uneasy tears–Vidar had been right there–but with Vox’s arm around him, he felt secured, and he hugged his knees and leaned into his father. He felt the ache and cold of the night start to settle in.
“I dunno how you all did it. You’re crazy,” he tried to joke, through his stuffed nose. “That was…that was fucking scary.” Kendra squeezed Vox’s arm; she thought the same, even though, in the moment, she was willing to do whatever she had to, in order to get Nala back. 
Vox had been resting his head against Liam’s for a few moments, feeling nearly each emotion the young man tried to stifle. He turned his head to give Liam’s a kiss, and nestling his head under the scout’s chin.
“It was… but I’ve never seen more bravery than what I saw today from the two of you. This Rebellion would not have been able to do it without you.”
Letting another moment pass, he squeezed Liam’s neck. Despite the circumstances, he never wanted this moment to pass. He stared at Dario’s eye with a wave of guilt; his feelings hadn’t shifted too much since that night back on Haligan, but his methods of dealing with them were unfair. The scout would owe him a conversation about it later.
“I guess… we figure out what we do next. Any ideas?”
“We go back to let Mom kill all four of us,” Liam lamented, and Kendra couldn’t stifle a wry smile. She would be upset, but he was exaggerating–at least they had all made it out in one piece. Kendra’s dark eyes, the exact same shade as Vox’s, flicked between her dad and her uncle, her fingers tapping nervously in her lap. 
Yeah, we can go back, and… Kendra indicated Vox and Dario with one hand, and then made her two hands talk to each other, looking like chattering birds. Then she made a sign indicating that whatever talk there would be, there would be a lot of it. But she didn’t include Liam or herself in her signage. As far as she knew, it wasn’t her business. She still hated the tension, though, and wanted it to stop. It reminded her of when Liam and Nala had fights.
Dario couldn’t even look at her. She wasn’t wrong… but the guilt of harboring the information he so desperately wanted to share hurt his heart. It took all of his constitution not to just blurt it out in the current moment.
Of course… of course. Yeah.
The deer looked at Liam huddled close against his father. No matter how badly he felt, there was a solace in seeing a shift in their relationship so stark from where it began when the two returned from their decade-long excursion. 
How is your leg feeling? I did what I could for it… He continued to inspect the coloration and swelling; it seemed to have recovered decently, but being a clean break made it more difficult for a more noticeable shift to be observed. If you can’t walk, I’ll be more than happy to carry you.
Kendra shook her head and with her family’s help, managed to get back to standing, though she kept her weight off her bad leg. I’ll be okay. There are people hurt worse than I am.
“Goat guy make it through?” Liam asked, helping Kendra’s arm over his shoulder.
“As best one can, given the circumstances…” Dario mused, realizing now that he hadn’t seen Milae in a moment, and the goat was no longer where he previously stood against his glaive. He was ready to help if needed, but it seemed that Liam had a good hold on his sister. “It was touch and go for a second there, but I think he’s going to be just fine.”
Dario looked at Vox, who’s attention hadn’t broken from his children… almost as if he anticipated further danger. It would likely be some time before any of them could enjoy a true sigh of relief.
“I’m glad you’re alright, Vox.”
“Likewise, bud.”
The group scanned the immediate area, taking note of recovery and regrouping efforts taking place. There was definitely a calm when compared to the violence of the day, and yet, the bustling of Rebellion soldiers and friends all the same was chaotic. Dario took note of the injured, both minor and grave, and knew time was too valuable to waste.
“Let’s figure out where we go from here. I’m going to jump on as a medic, but if you need me, I’ll be close by.” He looked to Kendra and grinned. Keep these two in line for me.
Kendra nodded vigorously and Liam rolled his eyes, hoisting her arm higher around his shoulder. “Come on.”
“Hey, wunderkind.”
The group turned around, and they saw one of the nixes, the one with the heavy coat and scarf, leaning an arm up against the porch of the neighboring house. Their coat was unbuckled and loose around their frame as they cupped their stomach, which was webbed with ice and frozen blood. Liam inhaled in surprise upon recognizing them as the person who had partially healed his paw while he was imprisoned. They gave him a weak nod and shifted their attention back to Dario. “Spare a heal?” they said in a would-be casual voice. “I’d bet a lot of gold that Lila’s gonna need me in a few minutes. Need to conserve energy.”
Without hesitation, Dario quickly approached the nix and knelt down to get a better look at the damage. It appeared much more severe in comparison to what Nio was outwardly showcasing, and they seemed to be bothered more and more as time progressed. Dario couldn’t believe the demand for his services; at the very least, he couldn’t say that he wasn’t decently practiced in a medic profession after today.
“Oh, goodness… yeah, that’s not great. Do you want to do this standing up? We can find you a spot to sit if you would like…” Dario cracked his knuckles and warmed his hands lightly to begin thawing the ice and blood that served as a makeshift bandage over their torso.
“How bad do you suppose this might be? If it’s internal, I’ll have to try and cauterize from the outside… not so much healing magic as much as it’s going to really hurt. If you think it’s more superficial, I can work with that.”
Nio sat heavily on the porch and flicked their hand, whisking the water away in a hiss of steam. They stared at Dario like he was speaking another language.
“I got stabbed, doc,” they said dryly. “Just close it up. I’ll get the insides later.”
“You got it.”
Dario only took a few seconds to get the external wound to shut. The incantations were becoming easier to perform with each real-world application, and he was able to step back and admire the work. It wasn’t his cleanest mend, but it would work for now.
“Just… don’t move around too much, I guess? You probably already knew that, though.” The deer looked to Nio, who at the very least would be able to function a bit better from here on out. “If you find anyone else who could use some help, please don’t hesitate to seek me out.”
They roughly clasped forearms with Dario to help themselves stand, and then they brushed off their coat, which was flaked with ice and dried blood. “Thanks. Got it.”
The rainwater below them glowed and swirled into a portal, and Nio deftly jumped into it with a heavy grunt of pain. They disappeared, and it froze into a slick, rippled disk of permafrost.
The quick departure of the Nix was not surprising in the least for Dario; from what little he knew of Nio, this was on par for the average encounter.
“Well that was… strange.” He chuckled lightly before facing back to the Arnason family. “I’ll be around. If you end up going back to Haligan, I will meet you back there as soon as I can. Please take care of yourselves.”
Vox stepped forward, placing a hand on the deer’s shoulder.
“Same to you. I’m not entirely sure what the plan is yet, but we’ll keep an eye out.” He winked, acknowledging the still very bruised eye. It wasn’t going to be an easy conversation to have, but it wasn’t the time to dwell. 
All in due time.