~Third Person Perspective~
It was a simple task.
Just re-attach the pipe to the stove.
The problem?
Getting one piece to stay attached in the ceiling instead of falling on your toes.
Easier said than done.
"Agh…! Dammit…!" Mandible continued to curse as his foot throbbed. "Fucking pipe…! Didn't stay…! Grrrrr!"
In agitation, he kicked the fallen piece… though hadn't given it a second thought as he ended up using his injured foot, making him yelp in pain and use every swear word in the book. He sat down, rubbing his foot, wincing.
He forgot how sensitive his feet were; while he could take an injury to the head, chest, or arm, his feet were the areas that were more prone to pain- as if they were his Achilles Heel. A knife to the shoulder felt soothing compared to whatever would happen to his soles!
He was so focused on his pain that he didn't hear someone enter the kitchen, that is until he spoke. "Need some help?" Vigor asked, walking up to him.
The werewolf only grimaced. "I'm fine, thank you." He muttered. "I thought I told you to go to rest!"
"If I rest any more, I'll become sluggish." The lad looked at the pipe on the floor, then at the pieces on the stove and ceiling. "So what happened?"
Mandible scoffed. "The frickin' pipe fell while I was trying to attach a piece to the stove." He pointed. "They're too far apart- I have to hold one part up while I put on the elbow, and then attach it to this long piece that goes in the ceiling."
"Then I'll hold up the pipe while you attach them."
"Ha! Like a weakling like you could hold something this heavy!"
Vigor clenched his fists, though emitted a quiet sigh; he looked disappointed. "…just let me try. Or do you want to keep dropping things on your foot?"
Mandible rolled his eyes. "Fine. But don't complain to me if you throw out your back!"
He picked up the long pipe once more, sticking it in the ceiling. He instructed Vigor how to hold it- wrap one arm around it to keep it steady while using one hand to support the bottom. His servant did as he was told- and looked as if he were about to crack from the strain.
"I told you it was heavy!"
"It's not…! It's just cumbersome…!" Vigor grunted, forcing himself to stay steady and hold strong.
Better hurry before the kid kills himself, Mandible figured and grabbed the elbow piece, fixating it to the long piece (having Vigor support it by the corner now) then grabbed a shorter pipe that would connect it to the stove.
"There, done." Mandible stated. He had to chuckle as he heard Vigor let out a gasp of exasperation, seeing him lean against the counter. The werewolf chuckled, turning to make a wise-crack-
*Boot!*
…Only to end up stubbing his toe on a stove-leg.
"Agh, son of a…!" He snapped, as his already-bruised foot throbbed once more. He hopped around on one leg as he rubbed it, hissing and mumbling curses. "Stupid… fucking… shit…!"
"Here, hold still,"
The werewolf paused in his writhe of pain, seeing Vigor walk over with a cold washcloth. "It's fine- I'm fine!" he snarled, lowering his foot… ending up hissing in pain as it throbbed again, and he ended up taking a seat to keep weight off it.
"It's starting to swell." Vigor knelt down, gently putting the cold cloth on it.
"Ow…! Dammit, that hurts!" Mandible sneered.
"Just hold still, and think of something else."
"Easy for you to say! You're not the one with a bruise on his foot…!"
Vigor didn't respond, though there was a dark look in his eye.
Oh, yeah. He had to deal with his own injuries, didn't he?
"I mean… you're not the one in pain right now," Mandible said quickly.
"Look. You tended to my injuries, I'll tend to yours." Vigor sighed, wrapping the cloth around the foot.
The werewolf looked, seeing the bandage on his hand- he had a point there. "Alright… if it'll stop your fretting- ah!" he cringed, as the tip of his toe bumped Vigor's knee a bit.
"T-Try not to move it," The lad then began to rub his foot, his fingers pressing gently into the cloth. "Here, does this help?"
Mandible froze… it had been years since someone rubbed his foot.
He found himself going limp, sighing.
Vigor paused for a moment, looking up at him in curiosity, before returning to the task. Whatever keeps the werewolf calm, he guessed. "I'll go get some bandages… Do you have an ice-pack in the freezer?" he asked. "I can put it on your foot,"
"No… but it's alright," Mandible replied, flexing his toes a bit. "It's still sore, but not too bad. I'll just put my feet up for a bit," he then grinned. "While I do that, you can clean up in the kitchen- starting by cleaning out the stove. It's been out of use for a while, so there's sure to be plenty of grime for you to scrub off,"
Vigor scoffed, standing up. "You're welcome," he then walked over to the sink, filling up the bucket he always used in his chores.
As he did, Mandible walked out of the room, sitting on the couch; he lifted his bruised foot, folding it over his knee and rubbing it himself, thinking back to the past…
Normally whenever he got a foot-massage, it was to keep him from eating 'him'. It was always the only way to keep his cravings repressed; by caressing his most sensitive part, it took his mind off his hunger- his constant battle between his humanity and bloodlust- and soothed him. Like a dog getting his ears scratched, he guessed.
…
But it didn't work for everything.
After 'it' happened, when his cravings grew, he would always have Biff or Kim rub his foot every full moon in order to keep him from harming others. That if they kept him calm, no one else would become his prey…
It was a failure. He would only be calmed for a couple hours… eventually only a few minutes… then the repressed urges would surface again, only more severe.
Kim claimed he needed a new solution. Something else that would not only keep his mind off his cravings, but have him forget them altogether.
He tried everything- hunting animals, taking long walks, sleeping more, drinking wine…
Nothing kept him relaxed long enough.
He looked towards the window.
In a month, the moon would be full again.
Unless more thugs are dumb enough to enter the woods, Vigor's servitude will be short-lived.
'Things will be alright' assured the voice in his head.
How are you so sure? Mandible questioned. Because I've got some pipsqueak around? That's not going to help… Biff couldn't help, Kim couldn't help… I almost killed my cousin, remember?! Having someone else around isn't going to change jack-shit! I'm a monster!
'Not to him. …If he saw you as a monster, would he allow himself to get this close to you?'
Mandible sighed. He looked towards the kitchen, watching as Vigor scrubbed the inside of the stove, a bit of old soot on his face.
It's letting him get close that worries me…
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
While Mandible was out of the room, Vigor kept to his chores, lost in his own thoughts.
Admittedly, seeing the werewolf in minor pain was amusing for a moment… but the slave wasn't one to point and laugh. Seeing the look of pain on his host's face kept him from doing so- because he had more than his share of experience with pain.
Perhaps that's why he wanted to tend to the small injury; granted stubbing your toe, despite the sharp pain, wasn't as bad as needing stitches or cutting your hand, it seemed to be severe for the werewolf.
How ironic- he can take a stab to the shoulder, but can't handle a sore foot! Vigor thought, stifling a chuckle. Wonder how he got along before I came along…
He finished cleaning the inside of the oven, moving up to wipe down the burners. He didn't mind helping the werewolf- as he stated before, it was the least he could do for what his master had given him…
…
But a foot-rub though?
This was where the lad had to pause and think. Sure, it helped Mandible relax so he wouldn't put too much pressure on his foot… but Vigor didn't notice that until afterwards.
For a moment he felt it was just an idea to calm down the werewolf… but how did he get such an idea? What made him think that giving an 8-foot-tall, vicious, bloodthirsty creature a foot-massage would be enough to relax him?
He shut his eyes a moment. In the back of his mind, somewhere, he felt that he just… knew.
Perhaps there were more things he knew… but when he tried to think more into it, his mind drew a blank, and he ended up getting a headache.
Sighing, he got back to his work, moving on to sweep the floor. As he did his stomach growled; he hadn't eaten breakfast yet, he realized.
Finishing up his sweeping, he walked over to the cupboards, finding a frying pan. He then walked out into the living room, seeing Mandible was lying on the couch- staring at the ceiling as if lost in his own realm of thinking. Vigor cleared his throat, getting his attention. "I'm going to try out the stove. Is that alright?" he asked.
"Um, yeah- here, I'll show you how to do it." The werewolf replied, moving to stand up but paused, cringing a bit.
"Just tell me what to do, and I'll do it. You don't need to get up," Vigor walked over to the log-pile, grabbing a small log. "One log should be enough, right?"
"Yeah… though add some extra kindling."He pointed over to a bucket in the corner, filled with sticks and twigs. "Just a handful though."
Vigor nodded, walking over and grabbing a couple sticks and a fistful of twigs, then grabbed the matchbook off the fireplace.
Five minutes later he had a fire started in the stove, shutting the door and waiting for the thermometer to reach high enough for him to cook on the stove-top. As he waited, he stepped back into the living room. "Have you had breakfast yet?"
"Huh?" Mandible responded, looking at him in curiosity.
"I can make you something if you want."
Mandible chuckled. "Like I'd trust your cooking. …I'm good, kid. I'll eat some rabbit-tenderloin later."
Vigor crossed his arms. "You know… it's not good to just eat meat all the time. You should expand your diet,"
He scoffed. "I'm a carnivore, jackass. Meat is all I can eat,"
"Meat is what you choose to eat. And eating it raw isn't healthy either- you'll get tapeworm,"
"I'm a WEREWOLF. My stomach isn't the same as yours! I can handle it!"
"Wild wolves can handle it. Werewolves… well, you're part human, right?"
Mandible scowled. "What makes you so sure?"
Vigor paused… how did he know that?
"I…" he rubbed his head. "…I know about it from somewhere…" he tried to concentrate. "Werewolves can change human… can't they?" he looked at Mandible. "Can you?"
Mandible studied him, as if to see whether or not the kid was mocking him… but he sincerely didn't know where these ideas were coming from. First the foot-massage, now this 'fact'… or was it a fact?
The werewolf sighed. "I can't. I lost touch with my humanity a long time ago. …I doubt I was even human to begin with. I don't recall any memories of such, at least." He shook his head. "Weren't you making breakfast?"
Vigor turned around, running back to check the stove, seeing that the dial was near the middle-mark. Close enough; he put the pan on with a slice of butter, then walked over to the fridge for some eggs.
Ten minutes later, he had toast, eggs, and some grapes on a plate with a glass of milk. Mandible came in, and had to scoff. "What?" Vigor questioned.
"You eat like a bird," Mandible quipped.
Vigor sneered. "I told you, I'm still trying to get used to eating regularly. It'll be a miracle if I can keep this much down."
"You need more meat in your diet,"
"You need less meat in your diet,"
The two exchanged glares. Mandible walked over to the fridge after a moment, grabbing a package of bacon; he threw it on the pan, sizzling it; a few minutes later, he put two slices on Vigor's plate. "This shouldn't be too much. If you don't eat enough red-meat, you'll suffer an iron deficiency." He told him, eating the rest of the bacon.
Vigor held up the bacon. "It's not cooked enough,"
"It's not too raw, and it's not burned- just eat it. You can cook it however you want next time,"
Vigor sighed, eating his breakfast, the bacon included.
…
It wasn't really that bad.
