"A Strange Bond"
Note: Alpha finally comes clean about how bad things are in The Hollow, and Tooth Fairy rallies the troops! Updates will probably be slower to come after this chapter. The last five only went up so quickly because they were mostly finished and just needed some tweaking. Listened to 'Decisions' by Kevin Macleod while writing this.
"Chapter 6: A Friend In Need"
January 31st, February 1st
Predictably, after texting Alpha as promised, the Tooth Fairy spent the entire next day sleeping. When he finally woke up, he had about half an hour to kill before he had to leave for work, and after an internal debate he reached for his cell.
Alpha picked up on the third ring, and he could hear people talking in the background. "Hey, Roy."
She sounded a bit breathless, as if she had been running or doing some heavy lifting.
"Hey, Alpha." He sat down on his bed and slipped his feet into his shoes. "About last night, I just wanted to say thanks again."
"Och, it's nae problem," she said warmly. "How're ye feelin'?"
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He seemed to do that a lot when they spoke, even when it was over the phone. "Better. Kind of a silly thing to set me off..."
"I'm pretty sure most people have a trigger after somethin' terrible happens," she said, "I used tae have a wee problem with the claymore. Once was a time I couldnae even look at one wi'out goin' back to wha' happened. The sight of'm doesnae bother me much now."
Tooth Fairy didn't have to ask what she meant. He didn't know the details of what happened to her family, but it wasn't hard to guess. He licked his dry lips and cleared his throat. "Does it, uhhh...get better?"
Alpha was heard moving something heavy, but he couldn't figure out what. She 'hmmed' once, as if in thought. "Well, first of all, everyone's different. For me, it sor'a evolved over time. I can handle it now. There are certain anniversaries tha' are difficult, but...it doesnae hurt to think of'm now, and I don't have the flashbacks anymore."
"Oh..." he nodded thoughtfully. He noticed that her accent was much stronger today than it usually was, and he wondered why.
She set something down, and it sounded like she sat down to rest a minute. "You'll be all right, laddie..." she said gently. "I know it doesnae feel like it now, but you will. And you won't have tae do it on your own."
"I know..." He looked down, not particularly enjoying the swell of warmth he felt in his chest. He hoped this unlikely crush of his would pass as quickly as it had come on. He heard a commotion in the background, and then he heard her swear in Gaelic. Unknown to her, he knew that 'mac na galla' meant 'son of a bitch', but he didn't let on that he understood that.
"Ne'er a moment's peace, Ah swear..." she grumped to herself before addressing him again. "I'm so sorry, Roy, I have tae go."
He frowned and got up to head downstairs, switching the phone to his other ear. "What's going on? Everything all right?"
"Aye, just some...er...technical difficulties, I'll talk to ye later."
She seemed to be in a hurry to get off the phone and attend to whatever was happening, and he had to finish getting ready, so he nodded and reached for his coat and scarf. "Okay, well, I'll let ya go, then. Meet up tomorrow, usual time and place?"
"Sure," she said distractedly, and they said their goodbyes.
Tooth Fairy frowned at the phone before putting it away. "Just what is going on down there?"
Ah well. Even if he was ready to brave The Hollow again, he didn't have the time. He wished he did, though. He didn't think he'd ever heard her sound so stressed, but then again he hadn't even known her for three months. Long enough for them to become close friends through shared pain, long enough for him to develop a crush on her, but not long enough to have seen all of her moods.
It would have to wait until tomorrow.
"Alpha!" James hollered again as Alpha came running. The food warehouse on East Mandrake Street was a maze of mostly-bare shelves, and the Skeleton stood near the door that led to the cellar.
"For Chrissakes, James, Ah heard ye the first time!" she roared, causing the Skeleton to literally go to pieces in fright. "Och...pull yersel' together, man. I'm sorry, I didnae mean to yell."
The pile of bones jiggled inside the bundle of clothing, then James reformed himself and adjusted the collar of his polo shirt. "We have a big problem. I need you to come down with me right away and look at something."
As the door closed behind her, she heard several of the customers clamoring to know what was going on. They were scared and angry, and she didn't blame them. Everyone had noticed the food shortage, and those with small children or elderly family members would be hit especially hard if things got much worse.
And it looked like things had, for two of the walk-in freezers stood wide open, and a rank smell wafted forth from inside. Alpha covered her nose. "What happened here?"
"Two of the freezers died, and we're not sure when it happened." James pointed to the shelves. "We lost everything inside."
"How much spoilage are we lookin' at?" she asked.
"You mean that we found?" he turned to face her. "Four hundred fifty pounds, give or take."
She put her hand over her face. "Och, this is a disaster..."
"That's not the worst of it. I believe that people have been breaking in and stealing."
Oh, incredible. Alpha coughed once as the remainder of the spoiled food was carted down below to be added to the compost heap. "What makes ye think so?"
"There should have been a lot more food in there. It had to go somewhere." James passed a hand over his skull. "And we found out what's gone wrong with the crops. Something's been eating them."
"It's not the crops I'm worried about. About half of the people here are strict carnivores. How much meat in the other two freezers?"
James handed her a clipboard. "Most of it seems to be there. But the way things stand...we have less than a month to get our act together, or we're not gonna make it."
Alpha felt a headache coming on. She read the clipboard, but she trusted James's account of their situation.
"Alpha...what're we going to do?"
She looked up, saw him staring at her expectantly. Imploringly. She didn't have an answer for him, and she handed back the clipboard and smoothed back the fur on her head. "I'll think of something. In the meantime, we're no' lettin' these freezers out of our sight."
James sighed. "Good thing some of us don't eat, huh?"
"Small favors..." Alpha laid a hand on his bony shoulder. "Guess the hunters will be busy for a while, aye?"
"Guess so..."
The next day, when Tooth Fairy met Alpha in Elfsburg, he immediately knew that something was very wrong. Her hug was a bit longer than usual, and her lips were pale. She never wore lipstick, or any makeup, really, but her face always had some color to it. Today, she looked downright ill.
"What is it?" he asked with no preamble.
Alpha shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it."
Well, that was fair. He'd said the same thing to her before, and she'd respected his wishes and waited until he was ready. How could he not do the same? And yet...
"Okay...Let's go have lunch." He guided her with a hand on her back, and as they walked he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. As he watched, he could see what little color she still had drain out of her face, and he caught her shoulders as she began to sway. "Whoa, easy..."
"Ohh..." Alpha put a hand to her forehead, gave her head a shake in an effort to clear it, then sank down to one knee when this failed. It was either kneel down or fall down. He knelt beside her in an instant, and through her dizziness she felt his arm go around her shoulders.
"Alpha? Alpha, are you okay?" Tooth Fairy asked in a near-panic, then almost slapped himself. Clearly, she was not okay!
"Aye...Got a wee bit dizzy there..." She took several deep breaths as her vision returned through a cloud of purple spots.
"Here, put your head between your knees," he instructed her, but she waved that off.
"No, I'm fine. It's away now." She wasn't looking at him, and she was still pale.
All around them, curious Elves stopped to look, and Bernard appeared at her other side with his hands on his hips.
Everyone could immediately see that the Head Elf meant business. "Okay, everyone, there's nothing to see here! We all have things to do! Back to work, please. Thanks. Abby, would you please bring Alpha some cocoa?"
"Right away, Bernard!" called a female Elf whom Alpha hadn't met yet.
Oh, this was humiliating!
"What happened?" Bernard would have gotten down with them, but he didn't trust his bad knee to let him back up again.
"I dunno, she got really dizzy and almost passed out." Tooth Fairy rubbed her back without even realizing he was doing it.
"I'm fine." she almost snapped at them, causing the Elf and Fairy to exchange a glance. "I just needed a minute."
Bernard remembered his own collapse from several years ago. His was brought on by high blood pressure, and if it wasn't for his being put on an involuntary medical leave...and a good freezing, courtesy of Jack Frost...he wasn't sure if he would still be around to be pestered by Curtis. Truly a mixed blessing there, but now he understood Santa's concern. "I think we better get you to Dr. Hismus."
Tooth Fairy nodded, but Alpha shook her head.
"Werewolves don't get sick."
Bernard leaned down to give her a challenging stare, essentially squaring off with her, but his eyes were full of worry. "Then explain to me why you look like you're about to heave."
"Ah am'nae..." she herself didn't look so sure, but there was nothing in her stomach to come up anyway. She caught herself slipping into her brogue again, and suppressed it. "I just got a bit dizzy, is all."
Tooth Fairy shook his head. And people called him stubborn! "Look, Alpha, you scared the heck outta me just now."
"I'm sorry..."
"No, it's not your fault, just...Oh, here comes Abby."
Abby offered the mug with a chipper smile. "Here, this will put some color back into your cheeks."
Alpha hated to be fussed over, but she didn't want to hurt Abby's feelings, and she accepted the cocoa with a quiet thank-you. Her left knee was cold as she knelt in the snow, but she wasn't sure if she trusted herself to stand yet. Her people were going to starve if they stayed in The Hollow, and now she'd embarrassed herself and frightened her friends. She hated this.
Her stomach growled loudly as she drank her cocoa, and the two men exchanged another look.
Tooth Fairy had a hunch, and he truly hoped he was wrong. "After you finish that, I really want you to go see the doctor."
Alpha looked at him, and shamefully admitted, "Never been to a doctor before."
"Never?" Tooth Fairy and Bernard asked in unison.
"No," she shook her head. "A few of the Witches have some medical skill, but they're not 'doctors' as such..."
"Well, better late than never," Tooth Fairy told her, determined to get to the bottom of this. He saw her shake her head, but he persisted. "I've met Dr. Hismus, he's real nice. Please...humor us."
Alpha didn't have the energy to argue with them anymore, and finally, she gave in. "Aye..."
"This should be interesting!" Dr. Hismus smiled as he shined a tiny flashlight into Alpha's eyes to gauge her pupil response. "I've never examined a Werewolf before."
Alpha sat stiffly on the small cot, painfully conscious of the fact that the Tooth Fairy was in the room with her. He had been allowed to remain because Alpha seemed nervous, and she had given her consent when he asked if she wanted him there or not. Plus, all the doctor was going to do was take her vitals and test her blood sugar. "I'm no' exactly comfortable with this..."
"That's understandable," Dr. Hismus talked as he worked, taking her temperature and her blood pressure. "Temperature's normal. Hm, blood pressure's a little low, but not enough to cause concern. That's to be expected after an episode of presyncope. But not to worry, we'll have you right as rain in a jiffy, and this won't hurt a bit. Well...the fingerstick will pinch a little, but only for a minute."
"Oh, I don't mind that, I'm just no' sure there's much point to...sorry, what's that?" Her eyes followed his hands very mistrustfully, but she didn't prevent him from clamping a small device on her finger.
"Measures the oxygen in your blood," he explained.
"Huh..." She blinked, curious to know how that worked, but she didn't want to admit her ignorance of such things...at least, not more than she already had!
Alpha didn't react at all to the fingerstick, though she did notice that the Tooth Fairy looked away when this was done.
"Hmm..." Dr. Hismus frowned. "You're a bit low. Have you eaten today?"
Tooth Fairy looked over at Alpha, who shrugged. Oh, no...
Dr. Hismus nodded, more serious than he usually was. "When was the last time you ate?"
Alpha mumbled something, and both men leaned forward to hear.
"Sorry, could you repeat that?" Dr. Hismus cupped a hand behind his ear.
She would have gotten up and either paced the room or left, but she still didn't feel good, and she didn't want to risk a faceplant. She saw no way out of this, and finally admitted the truth. "I'm not sure. Three days ago?"
Tooth Fairy lowered his head to his hand and sighed. "Oh, Alpha...why?"
Dr. Hismus could see that there was a discussion to be had, one that might or might not get a bit loud, and he decided to make himself scarce. "Let me give you a few minutes, shall I? I'll bring you back a sandwich."
The door shut, and they sat in silence for a moment before Tooth Fairy raised his head. "Alpha...would you look at me, please?"
She did as he asked, her face expressionless.
"I want to know what's going on."
This was getting to be too much, and Alpha got up to leave. She glared when he stood up and blocked her path. "Let me out."
"Alpha, don't do this." he practically begged. "This isn't the same as with me. It's your health. You can't mess around with that. You helped me, let me help you."
"You can't help me!" she finally yelled, though it wasn't exactly 'at' him. "No one can! You wannae know wha's goin' on? Fine, I'll tell ye! The crops on the lower level are bein' plundered, and so are the freezers! We don't know who it is or now many of'm there are, an' I'm no' recognizin' any unfamiliar scents, so it could be anyone! Two of the walk-in freezers, two of'm, are broken, and James thinks it was sabotage! Which means one of our own has turned on us, which means we're screwed! We've got maybe enough food to last us through the month, and that's it! Most of the big hunters left when The Founders did! There used to be seventy-eight, and we're down to twelve! It's all falling on us, and we can't keep up! If the food runs out, even the children will go wi'out! Everyone's scared, fighting, and..."
She wasn't sure when she'd started to cry, but this was as far as she got before he snapped out of his state of shock and hugged her tight. Alpha had provided a shoulder for him two nights ago, and now he stood strong for her. She didn't fight him.
"I don't know what to do!" she sobbed as he held her.
"We'll help you," he whispered into her hair. "We will. Did you think you couldn't ask us?"
She didn't answer him right away, but finally she shook her head. "It's never been an option before...'We take care of our own'...that's what we've always done, because The Founders never did shite! Ex...excuse the language, but it's true. We could never ask them, and...I only just joined the Council, so I didn't know."
"And the whole time you were dealing with that, you were busy helping me, too. Oh, Alpha, I'm so sorry..." He shook his head, then his expression grew firm once more and he stepped back. He gave her a wad of Kleenex from the nearby tissue box and kept a hand on her shoulder.
"You were helpin' me, too..." she admitted as she used the tissues. "Being able to get away from it all for a bit, or just talkin' on the phone...It's the one thing I've looked forward to this past month."
He was absurdly gratified to hear that, and he held up a finger. "You know what? We're gonna fix this."
"How?"
Tooth Fairy took out his cell phone and began to tap out a group text. "I think it's about time I got back on speaking terms with the Council."