Alice
yawned, looking down at her shoulders, noticing the wounds were
now covered with nasty looking scabs. Well, it was a start- at
lease she knew it was healing well. She looked up as she heard
something fall to the ground, looking around the room, but seeing
nothing.
Wait- where was Zarkash?
She stood and started
looking around, shivering in her hospital gown. She heard
grumbled profanities and found Zarkash searching through a
cabinet, squatted up on the counter underneath it as he
searched.
"What are you doing?" Alice
asked, making Zarkash tense and slowly turn his head to her with
wide eyes.
"Nothing." He murmured, shoving things
back into the cabinet.
"Liar. What were you
doing?"
"Looking." He snorted, jumping off the counter
and landing on the floor. "Your wounds are scabbed
over."
"Yeah, I know. Don't change the subject. What
were you looking for?" Alice put her hands on her hips,
starting to get annoyed. "This is a doctor's office. There
are some things here that could really hurt you."
"Food."
Zarkash growled, his fangs bared. "I'm fucking starving, and
I don't know where to get food. I had some earlier, but I don't
know where to find it anymore."
"Oh." Alice blushed,
looking at the cabinets. "Well they won't be in there. You
have to keep blood cold."
Zarkash nodded, walking over to
the white box in the corner and looking in. Seeing nothing he
sighed and leaned his head against the closed door. "It's
gone." He growled, banging his head once in frustration.
"Well,
you could eat mine." Alice whispered, looking down
shyly.
Zarkash looked up at her, shaking his head. "You're
still healing. No way."
"Well otherwise you'll starve.
What then?"
"I'll manage." Zarkash growled, looking
out the window. Maybe he could catch a deer. But it was still
snowing pretty heavily, and he didn't want to leave Alice
alone. He let out a loud groan and leaned against the counter
behind him, holding his throbbing head. How was he supposed to
cope in this world without being able to hunt for prey like he
usually did?
"Are you okay? You're pale." Alice said in
concern, walking over to him and putting a hand to her forehead.
"Ah, you're burning! Come on." She grabbed his wrist and
dragged him over to one of the beds, pushing him down on
it.
"I'm fine- I'm warmer than you are!" Zarkash
tried to say as she kept him laid back against the pillow,
looking down at him with fierce eyes.
"Don't care. You're
pale, and that's not a good sign, even for a demon. Is it
because you're hungry, or are you sick?"
"What's sick?
Is it another word for hurt? No- I'm not hurt other than what
happened earlier." He growled, trying to sit up against her
hand.
"No, sick as in germs and coughing, throwing up
and fevers." Alice said, trying to fight him. She gasped as he
grabbed her hand, sitting up and holding her wrists away from her
with fierce eyes.
"I'm not sick, now let me up before
something bad happens." He growled, his voice low. Alice nodded
silently, her purple eyes wide as she tucked her released hands
on her lap.
Zarkash saw her sudden shyness and ran a
hand through his red hair uneasily. "Look, I'm just… I feel
weird when I'm hungry, okay? Don't mess with me when I'm
like this."
"I just want to help." She whispered.
"Then
find me blood." He said, looking out the window and having the
sudden urge to growl at the snow.
"You can always take
mine, you know. I really don't mind, and I don't like you
being like this. I can feel how frustrated you are in my mind,
and it makes me frustrated too."
"Ah, I forgot about
that." Zarkash sighed, slumping against the back of the bed
frame. "You only have so much blood for me to take, Alice. Last
time I took too much, and I don't want that to happen again.
Besides, you need your blood for healing."
"I'll make
more. Just please don't be constantly angry, I can't stand
it." She whispered, wondering why it was so important to her
that he wasn't angry.
Zarkash looked at her for a
minute, his yellow and red eyes cautious. "You won't get hurt
from it? I don't want to have you faint again."
"I'll
try not to. I'll tell you if I start to feel dizzy,
okay?"
Zarkash nodded, moving closer to her, feeling the hum
of the blood rushing through her, and the loud beating of her
racing heart. He looked at her eyes and saw resolve there before
he pulled her to him, wondering what the strange warmth rushing
through him was. Somehow this felt different- a heady rush making
his thoughts vanish as he pushed the neck of her hospital gown
aside, resting his cheek against her pulse, hearing her gasp
softly. This wasn't the rush of survival he usually felt when
he fed on something, it was far deeper than that. He puzzled over
it for a minute before sinking his teeth into Alice's neck, his
eyes shooting open at the strange pull of magic surging through
him- far more powerful than before. He held her tighter against
his chest as she held his shoulders for support, accidentally
gripping his horns as she tried to keep her balance as her head
spun, making him cry out against her neck and take his mouth
away. He looked at her with wide eyes as she gasped against him,
falling against his shoulder.
Zarkash held his hand
against the dripping pinpricks on her neck, looking down at her
in concern. "Alice?" He held her shoulders, sitting her up to
make sure she was alright. She wasn't unconscious, he could
still feel her through their mental link- she just felt…
tired.
"How did you do that?" She whispered, looking
up at him in confusion.
"Do what?" Zarkash asked, keeping
her supported against her.
"Some of the bond is gone-
don't you feel it?" Alice whispered, her eyes wide. Zarkash
blinked for a few minutes in confusion, trying to feel around
mentally for any differences, but not finding any.
"No,
I still feel the same."
"Try something. Anything- I think
we just found out how to unseal you." She smiled against his
shoulder.
Zarkash nodded and set her against the back of
the bed as he stood, turning into his cat form. Still the same.
He said through their mental link, walking over to the side of
the bed and looking up at her.
"Try another animal."
Alice sat up, wanting to see the result.
Zarkash sighed
and closed his eyes, his form growing larger into that of a large
auburn lion. He looked down at himself in surprise and grinned
happily, his tail flicking behind him. You were right. He sounded
overjoyed, making Alice smile softly as he pounded around the
room, shaking out his thick brown mane. Let's try some other
thigs. Zarkash said, stopping and closing his eyes again. He
formed into multiple creatures- first a wolf, then a horse, then
an eagle. He laughed happily, flying through the room and
stopping at the edge of the bed. One final test. He said, before
closing his eyes and concentrating, then letting out a deep sigh
when nothing happened. He turned back into his human form,
sitting on the edge of the bed beside Alice. "I still can't
turn to my natural form, though. But at least we made some
progress, whatever happened. Do you know what happened?"
"No,
I have no idea. It felt different for some reason,
though."
Zarkash nodded, still confused, but shrugging.
"We'll try again after you've recovered. For now, I think
it's best that you just rest and get your blood back." He
said sternly, pushing her back against the pillows.
"Yeah,
I feel pretty tired. I think you accidentally took some of my
magic with my blood." She chuckled. Zarkash grinned, nodding in
agreement.
"Didn't mean to." He shrugged.
"You're
fine. Don't worry about it." Alice said softly, drifting
asleep.
Zarkash looked up as a knock came on the door,
looking to Alice before standing and walking toward the
door.
"Is Alice okay?" A small voice said from
behind the door, and Zarkash rolled his eyes in frustration
before opening the door to reveal Suro, who was holding a basket
filled with medical supplies.
"I think we have enough stuff
to use in the ward." Zarkash said, looking down at the bandages
and strange lotions in confusion.
"You can never be too
careful. Will you just give these to her? Tell her to use the
lotions every night on her wounds, and they'll heal faster."
Suro smiled.
"Sure." Zarkash said, taking the basket
and closing the door again. He looked down at one of the bottles
and set the basket down, sniffing its contents and reeling back
in disgust. Alice was supposed to put this on her? She would
smell like a rotting stump if she did…
He sighed and brought
the basket over to Alice, deciding not to wake her. Instead he
walked over to one of the windows, stepping out onto the balcony
to feel the cold snow against his shoulders. Something was
changing- he didn't know what it was, but somehow he knew it
was important. Not only was the change clouding his mind with
racing thoughts, but a strange ominous feeling. He looked out to
the forest again, but still saw nothing, nor did he hear anything
that might be of any danger. He walked back into the health ward,
hearing the strange sounds of wretching from the corner of the
room. He looked around for Alice and saw the bathroom door open,
the noises from it pausing for a moment before starting again. He
ran into the room to see Alice crouched over the toilet, shaking
as she gasped for air.
"What's wrong- are you… um..
seke?"
"Sick. Yes." Alice whispered, gasping and
throwing up again into the toilet, making Zarkash flinch at the
stench and sight. He kneeled beside her, holding her for comfort
as she gasped for breath, her eyes wide.
"I felt fine,
until all of a sudden I felt really sick. I don't know why."
She whispered, closing her eyes in relief as Zarkash moved her
blond hair from her face, holding it back against her head so it
wouldn't get in her way.
"Just all of a sudden? Was it
from me taking your blood?" He said, a twinge of guilt running
through him.
"No, I don't think so. I really don't know
why." She gasped and threw up again, whimpering slightly at the
burning in her throat.
Zarkash looked down at her in
concern, rubbing her back for comfort as she sat onto the ground,
exhausted. "Should I call Jeremy? Maybe you should see a real
doctor."
"No, I'm fine. Probably just a bug or
something." Alice smiled reassuringly, but Zarkash's frown
deepened. He turned into a wolf, sniffing at her before snorting
in dissatisfaction, turning back into his human form.
"You
smell sick. Are you sure you're okay? Should I get Ricky
instead?" He asked, hoping she wouldn't agree. He really
didn't want to tell that boy that Alice might be sick because
he took her blood.
"N-no, there's no need for him to
worry. Could you just… leave me be for a bit?" She said, her
eyes looking down nervously.
"Sure." Zarkash said,
standing. He walked out of the bathroom and closed the door
behind him, but leaned on the wall beside it. He flinched as he
heard another wretching, looking at the door in concern.
Something was wrong.
