Grey Squirrel, part 1 by Vanessa S. Quest

Greta squealed as her bat swung wildly at the ball Conrad had thrown toward her strike zone. Yuuri caught the ball and reminded his adopted daughter, "Greta, keep your eyes open, don't be afraid of the ball. Conrad's a good pitcher, he won't hit you." He smiled confidently.

Yuuri threw the ball back to Conrad and signaled for a slow-ball. Greta swung wildly, missing the ball once more.

"Watch the ball, you almost had it!" Yuuri smiled. Greta smiled at Yuuri.

"Okay Yuuri!" She said, swinging the bat for practice then taking her stance. Yuuri nodded proudly, tossing the ball back to Conrad, and again signaled for a slow-ball.

Conrad also nodded, then threw the ball. Greta swung, making contact, tipping the ball upward.

Strictly in catcher-mode, Yuuri aimed to catch the foul-ball as it returned to the earth. The ball knocked into a branch before returning to his mitt.

"Sorry, Greta, but you're out." Yuuri scratched his head. As he did, he felt something fall onto his left shoulder. At first Yuuri jumped from shock, but then he relaxed when he noticed what had landed on him. "Oh! It's a grey squirrel."

Conrad, however, tensed when he heard Yuuri say that, Greta even began to back away.

"Oh, Greta, you aren't mad that I caught the ball are you?" Yuuri asked, seeing his daughter's distorted face.

"Your Majesty, stay very still!"

"Oi, I keep telling you its Yuuri, Conrad! What's wrong? It's just a squirrel… I'm sure if I don't try to pet it, it will just get down on its own." He mentioned to himself how he'd never live down being scared by a squirrel if Wolfram were to hear, not like he was, of course!

"Greta, go inside." Conrad mentioned, "Tell Gisela to come out here at once. Go."

"Oi, Conrad…" Yuuri pouted. He didn't see the point to ushering away his daughter like that.

"Yuuri, squirrels are poisonous here."

"Eh? They are?"

"Grey squirrels are particularly venomous… so please, stay very still."

Yuuri's shoulders tensed as if on reflex, trying to shake off the dangerous thing. Doing so only managed to provoke the creature, coaxing it to claw into Yuuri's shoulder to prevent from being shook off.

"Geh! C-Conrad, hurry and get it off!"

"Calm down, don't upset it." Conrad took his soldier's shirt off, holding it so he could bat the beast without being bitten, himself.

The squirrel sniffed Yuuri, oblivious to Conrad, and came face to face with Yuuri. Yuuri's eye twitched as he laughed nervously, he really was now afraid of a harmless looking grey squirrel, he couldn't believe it. It looked so innocent, too. Not even like a Goala, looking fiercely rabid then timid and sweet like a regular koala.

It twitched it's little whiskers at Yuuri, even. How could this really be so poisonous? What kind of place was Shin Madoku.

It began to climb around Yuuri as if his chest were a branch, climbing down to his right arm, Yuuri began to raise his arm, slowly away from his body.

The squirrel did not seem to like that, or perhaps the shadow of a larger object approaching it, as it wound up biting Yuuri fiercely just before Conrad knocked it away.

Conrad was right! It was poisonous, the bite itself felt like fire, and in fact Yuuri's whole hand felt prickly-numb. Conrad grabbed a pitcher of some Shin Madoku version of lemonade, dumping it and cap-sized it around the squirrel, capturing it. He then rushed over to Yuuri.

"Yuuri!" He took a hold of Yuuri's right arm and corded off the blood flow with his shirt made tourniquet. He then gently walked Yuuri under a tree, which seemed to have instantly become an area Yuuri disliked immensely as he pressed forcefully back into Conrad's guiding arm.

"N…no."

The seasoned soldier however managed to press onward, winning over the young maoh going into shock. "Yuuri, you have to get in the shade at once." Talking seemed to make Yuuri's body calm, slightly, as he was able to sit Yuuri down at the base of the tree.

Conrad sat beside him, holding Yuuri's forearm upward, making a right angle at his elbow with his arm.

Yuuri could feel the pain and imagined it seeping through him, moving up his hand and into the area of his wrist slowly. In truth, though, the numb prickliness had been what had spread up to his elbow at that point.

"M…my whole arm feels funny…" Yuuri mentioned, "Tingly like a static shock all over."

"Up to where, Yuuri?" Conrad asked, he could tell Yuuri had blanched and was in a state of shock from the venom.

"It's right above my elbow, by four centimeters." Conrad nodded that was the level of the tourniquet-- he had stopped the poison from hitting his circulation in time… for now. "Conrad, I feel really dizzy."

Yuuri's sight blurred in and out of focus and Conrad couldn't help but notice his blank stare and pallor skin. "Just hold on a little more, the poison has five stages it moves through. At the bite-wound it burns, but it will only burn where sunlight hits it directly, that should go away soon. Then it first feels like pin-pricks wherever the poison reached, that will then feel like you're being jabbed all over where it had prickled, then it feels icy-cold, then it feels like all the pain is fading away."

"And then?" Yuuri asked, hopeful.

"…Then the tissue dies completely, unless you get the anti-venom. You feel dizzy because you're going into shock, your majesty. You might even pass out."

"W-why am I in shock?" Yuuri shivered, his breathing was becoming much more rapid and shallow, Conrad noted internally.

"The venom has a way with reacting with your nerves, though it travels in the blood. Your nerves feel as if you're losing blood, so your body is trying to compensate, making your body conserve what it can. It makes everything unessential shut down and gives your brain, lungs and heart the extra blood-flow. That's why the poison can kill in under 17 minutes if it isn't caught."

"17 minutes?! You mean my arm will die and fall off in 17 minutes?!"

His heart was racing, painfully fast in his chest, his stomach felt clenched tightly, adding a feeling of nausea to the dizziness. Yuuri shivered and leaned his forehead into Conrad's shoulder, panting in air.

"Not at all, the tourniquet was properly placed, with the size of that grey squirrel your arm can survive for probably another 30 minutes without any long-term effects. More than that might risk nerve and circulatory damage, though."

"I… I think I might just throw up…" Yuuri mumbled. In the most dignified way Yuuri could, he leaned across Conrad, weakly, a lost the minimal contents he had had left in his stomach. Immediately afterwards; his body went limp, strewn over Conrad's thighs. Conrad took hold of Yuuri's right arm keeping it in the upright position. His other hand smoothed down Yuuri's hair in a calming fashion though Conrad felt anything but calm at the moment.

After the longest 7 minutes Conrad could readily recall, Gisela came rushing over with an anti-venom kit.

"You didn't try to remove the poison did you…?" Gisela asked. Conrad gave her a stern look.

"I know not to do something like that, the tourniquet held the venom off, up to his shoulder." Gisela nodded. He added quickly, "He just collapsed, but before then, he was still in the first stage."

Gisela sprung into action, "Thank you, what kind of squirrel?"

"Grey, larger variety, I've caught it underneath that jar." Conrad pointed.

"Alright, I'll take a look and be right back." She handed him a vial of something labeled as demonic smelling salts of consciousness. "Please try to revive him while I look."

In a standard fashion, Conrad placed a vial of no doubt one of Anissina's inventions underneath Yuuri's nose, causing the boy's eyes to flash open. Yuuri let rip a pained scream as he clawed at his own arm.

"Yuuri! What's wrong?" Conrad asked, he assumed this meant Yuuri was experiencing the next stage, perhaps the most painful of them all.

Spotting Yuuri's attempts at clawing up his own skin, Conrad took a hold of Yuuri's freed left hand, surprised the young maoh had stripped off the mitt of so easily. "You can't do that, Your Majesty, it will spread the poison to your other hand, and the rest of your body."

Yuuri's hand still instinctively tried to pull toward his pained arm. "But it feels like there are spiders all underneath my skin…" Yuuri's eyes hadn't quite regained their luster of full awareness, but Conrad had already surmised that when Yuuri didn't correct him for not being more familiar.

"Yuuri," Conrad pulled Yuuri's face towards him, locking eyes, "you can not be permitted to scratch your arm up. Gisela will be here with the right anti-venom and a pain-killer. Please just hold on a few more moments." Conrad turned to see Gisela, "Gisela!"

She turned to face him, "I can't believe such a dangerous animal got into the courtyard." She mentioned, walking over to her kit she reached for three vials. She took the first vial and injecting needle, shooting it into Yuuri's carotid. "Your majesty, I've just given you a powerful pain killer, you may feel faint, tell me when you start to feel your muscles relaxing."

Yuuri's tensed left arm dropped to a more rested position, his right arm still felt painful pressure but at each passing second that pain seemed to dull in his mind. "I… I think it's working, Gisela."

"Okay, please try to raise your right arm over your head then."

Conrad continued to prop up his arm to shoulder level. "Isn't it though?" Yuuri said after a little effort.

"Alright it's working." Gisela mentioned. "Conrad remove the tourniquet."

Untying the shirt he unwrapped it, then slid it off to the side, temporarily forgotten.

Gisela injected the contents from the second vial into Yuuri's arm. Yuuri's pallor started to return as the first of the drugs had taken full course through his body. Gisela took out the third container, taking it, she injected it into Yuuri's shoulder.

"W-What's happening Gisela?" Yuuri mentioned, curious to know what was going into his body.

"This is the pain killer, your majesty. Conrad, please bring his majesty to his living quarters, he'll need to recuperate for at least the next two days." She took Yuuri's hand and began to fuse her healing magic with him, the wound on his hand closing up; the over-all soreness seemed to disappear in the vapors.

"I can walk there, myself, Gisela." Yuuri said, a bit put-off by being told to have Conrad carry him.

Conrad smiled gently at Yuuri, it was rare for Yuuri to show any sort of temper-tantrum, but Yuuri pouting was so unbelievably adorable. He chose to keep that mental image for himself.

"Your majesty, she just gave you a muscle relaxer, try to raise your left arm to eye-level." Conrad said, soothingly. Yuuri attempted to comply, really, he did! His body just seemed to ignore his commands.

"…" Yuuri muttered just at the level of inaudibility, "I'm not going to get to live this down…" He grimaced, already imagining Wolfram's taunts of calling him a wimp, only to be complicated further by being called a cheat for letting Conrad carry him to bed. Yuuri blushed, oh not like he'd mind that trade-off at ALL.

Conrad lifted Yuuri in his arms, knowing his success. Gisela took up Conrad's shirt and managed to drape it over Conrad's arm without disturbing Yuuri's body in the process.

"I can't believe a cute little grey squirrel did this to me." Yuuri brooded, miserably. "This place has serious problems… Oh! You're not going to hurt it, are you? But, I wonder why you'd never mentioned it before, if it was in the courtyard and all… and so poisonous…"

"Yuuri, squirrels are not indigenous to this area, in fact they almost exclusively live near the Cimarons. They are forbidden to be imported."

"Then how… did it sneak on a ship maybe? But why come to visit…" Yuuri seemed to be heading into random thoughts that painkillers were known to bring.

A brief glimpse of anger washed over Conrad's face. "I will be sure to address such issues about the wildlife with Gwendel and Gunter. Please leave this matter to me."

"The matter of a squirrel getting loose? You seem overqualified for that though…"

Conrad approach Yuuri's bedchambers and opened the door while holding Yuuri bridal-style. He entered the room and laid Yuuri onto the bed before going back to the door to close it.

"Your majesty…"

"YUU-RI. It's Yuuri." He pouted. Yuuri's eyes drooped as he rested himself on his bed.

"Yuuri, it was most likely…" Conrad stopped himself, he didn't want to worry Yuuri with assassination attempts; the young man was already fatigued as it was and needed so badly to rest.

He knew why Yuuri hadn't pressed him to finish his sentence, luckily, for he had fallen asleep. Conrad set out Yuuri's pajamas and began to take off Yuuri's catcher gear.

Wolfram stormed into the room. "YUURI!" Yuuri stirred slightly underneath Conrad's careful arms as he pulled off the chest padding.

Conrad turned to give Wolfram a terrifying look. "Wolfram!" His voice barked out as an order. "His majesty needs his rest. What is it that you wish to address?"

Wolfram looked at Conrad, perhaps the blond was stunned at the sudden outburst from his so well trained older brother that he didn't even seem to register that Conrad was in the process of undressing his unenthused fiancé. "Explain this then!"

Conrad looked at Wolfram, "He was bitten by a grey squirrel, you should know just as much as I do about how painful that is supposed to be, regrettably he moved into second stage just before treatment. Gisela gave him a sedative for him to recover more quickly."

"But how did a squirrel get to--"

"That is to be investigated immediately, however, I must first tend to his majesty."

Wolfram gave Conrad a look, probably still fazed from being scolded with such a strong tone, Wolfram proposed, "I'll do that. I'll report to brother to start a formal inquiry."

Conrad was a bit taken aback, did Wolfram lose sight of how he was stripping his fiancé to dress him for bed? Or even lose sight of his chance to bodyguard Yuuri in this prone state? Conrad had figured he would have to somehow negotiate his own stay with Yuuri instead of Wolfram folding before even knowing cards why the cards were on the table.

"Alright, also request for him to send two of his finest guards to watch his majesty's chamber doors."

Wolfram nodded. Conrad had to add in the last bit, at least just to try, "And sleep in your bedroom tonight."

"What are you saying Conrad!"

Conrad let out a bit of air, that had been running too smoothly for him, hadn't it? But he had to try…

"Of course I will, Yuuri's not well, what kind of person would I be if I jeopardized his comfort in that state? How would he be able to get restful sleep with my body in such close proximity?"

Conrad only wished Wolfram knew why that happened to Yuuri.

"Having such a beautiful fiancé like myself, and he's so shy and a gentleman never making passes on me… he should just realize I'm not that old fashioned at all!"

He cleared his throat, no longer wanting to hear things along these lines. "Then make the report."

"Fine. I'm going, but you had better plan on guarding him tonight, I'll stay with Greta to make sure she feels safe."

Conrad smiled softly, "Of course." He knew Wolfram had a warm heart, that was what this was really about, protecting his daughter's feelings… it was actually quite sweet.

Once Wolfram had exited and closed the door Conrad moved on to taking off Yuuri's shoes and pants.

Conrad decided to be as gentlemanly as possible and not take advantage of the situation at hand, no, he was absolutely not looking over Yuuri's body devouring it in his mind, nor was he memorizing every curved line of flesh, no, and he was absolutely not taking his time with the buttons on his pajama top to just stare at Yuuri's chest. Nope, not him, not at all. He was merely taking his time there to make sure he didn't disturb Yuuri's breathing, that's right. He brushed back Yuuri's wet bangs, the black-haired boy was drenched with sweat.

He walked over to Yuuri's private water closet and filled a basin of water accompanied with a small wash-towel, bringing it back to Yuuri's side.

Wiping around Yuuri's mouth, Conrad thought to himself that Yuuri would be famished when he awoke, and probably very thirsty as well. Deciding not to trust Yuuri's timing, he sent one of the guards to have a kitchen maid make up sandwiches and a drink for Yuuri's consumption, to be brought up in another two hours.

With that all taken care of, Conrad sat in a chair to Yuuri's side and continued to observe the room and his majesty for any signs of movement.

--To Be Continued.-- by Vanessa S. Quest