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Ok, more mush, and Shadow is recovering nicely. Also, I wrote a little from Pyjamas' point of view, because I thought it would be fun to get into her as well.
And this is a chick-fic. If romantic mush makes you hurl, please leave!
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He's so weak and frail... and covered with burns... What a horrible way to live...
I hold him close and try to calm him down, but he's inconsolable. Only fatigue stops him from trying to escape... my dear, dear Shadow... I wish I could make it stop hurting...
Most of his body is horribly burned, except for his hands and feet, and his hair has fallen out. He's seen what his body looks like, even though I tried to hide it. Shadow... a child with a heart as dark as his fur, but a pure heart, like the ruff on his chest... what it was before the fall... beautiful...
And the nightmares... his best friend, his sister, killed in cold-blood... it brings tears to my eyes...
I lay down beside him. He's shivering, as if he's frightened... I wrap him in the blanket from my bed, which he's sleeping in, and hold him. He stops shivering, and relaxes...
Ebony's probably worried about me... I've been away from the Groovy-Train for quite awhile. I hope she doesn't worry too much. I've had to visit stores on the other side of Metropolis Zone, so Ebony wouldn't notice how much rubbing-alcohol I have been buying, as well as the bandages. That would make her even more suspicious, seeing that I've already been behaving rather odd lately... odd compared to how I usually behave... can't have her thinking I've got some weird fetish or something, and I can't have the millitary knowing what I'm up to... lousy good-for-nothing...
I have to do all that, and shop for food, before Shadow wakes up, or he's gonna get himself hurt or killed... every time I leave my house I pray that he'll be alive when I get back... it would kill me if he died...
********
I feel... arms gently wrapped around me... warmth...
Someone has wrapped me up... my hands can feel the blanket... soft and fuzzy, like my fur... like it used to be...
No! It remindes me of what I used to be! What I used to look like! Now I'm ugly! Maria... I remember her... her kiss... the pool of blood around her dying body...
I feel a hand holding mine... Pyjamas?
"Shh-shh... it's ok, Shadow," she whispers.
"I'm ugly..." I say.
To which she squeezes me tighter for a moment, strokes my bandaged head...
"Please... please let me die... I've kept my promise..." I beg, longing to escape from this pain.
"No! I'm not a murderer!" Pyjamas answers.
Why would she want to keep me alive, when I'm nothing but a big wound? Covered with burns and blisters...
I try to pull away, but I'm so weak... and it hurts... Maria... I want to be with Maria... I should have died with her...
{...then Mobius would be destroyed...}
Maria... I shouldn't have used chaos-control... I should've died... I wanted to be with you...
I start to weep... my stomach lurches... and the contents spill out... another indignity...
"Uh, oh... looks like we gotta little mess here..." Pyjamas chuckles, "Looks like the broth didn't quite agree with you"
She sits me up, gently... my stomach is still reeling... I moan a little, and she seems to understand, slowly easing me up...
My rescuer carries me back to where I was before... I can still smell the alcohol she had bathed me with...
She takes the blanket off of me... it's wet with my vomit... Why couldn't I handle the broth?
"Must've been too strong for you," Pyjamas says, as she wipes my mouth, "I'll get you some milk. That should help you feel better"
"Tea..." I say, my voice still raspy.
"And some tea"
I reach out for her, to feel her face, feel her smiling... she takes my hand and presses it gently to her face...
I can feel... dampness... she was crying, still is... but she's smiling...
Pyjamas sets my hand down, stroking it as she does. I like the feel of her strong, warm hands on mine...
"I'll be back. Just sit tight," she says.
When she comes back, she takes my hand again, and puts a cup in it... it's cold... strange...
She lifts my head and helps me drink, holding the cup steady in my hand. I've tasted milk before, but this is different... cold... much better than the milk I was given for the first few weeks after I was born. It tastes so good, and it washes the acrid taste from my mouth.
I finish it all, but I'm still hungry... strange... I wasn't hungry before she fed me...
"More... please..." I say.
"Ok," she answers, "But you should be careful, after you've just thrown up"
She gives me another glass of milk, then some tea. No broth... probably best, because it felt so horrible to throw up. I don't ever want to do that again...
After I'm finished with my tea, my bandages are changed again, and I'm put to bed. Pyjamas sleeps next to me, holding my hand, and sometimes telling strange stories... knights, dragons, magic... things I remember reading about in Maria's books... you're so good to me... why?
I love you, Pyjamas...
********
Several days have passed... no, weeks... my bandages were taken off today, most of them permanently. It feels so good to have them off, to be able to move more easily... and I can feel a soft fuzz where the bandages once were... my fur... it's growing back...
Pyamas still washes me in alcohol, but not as much. And now she's using peroxide and some kind of cream.
Right now, she's reading to me... her voice is so soothing... I wish she would never stop...
"...then he threw the sword into the lake, so it could never again be used to turn people to stone..."
Strange... I can almost see the knight, and the princess in chains... she almost looks like... Maria... my beautiful Maria, in chains... I wish I had saved her...
{She's in a better place now, Shadow...} Pyjamas whispers in my mind, {You did all you could... don't blame yourself... maybe I should read a different-}
"No," I say, "I like it... I like the way it ends... the knight rescues the girl... she doesn't die... does that happen? Are people really like that?"
There's a pause...
"Some people are like that... and some are bad..."
"I... I wish I could read it too... please... mind-link..."
"I'm sorry," Pyjamas says, "I can't... it takes so much out of me. And then there's these-oh..."
She trails off, and I can see a flash... she's having another vision...
The millitary! They're coming to get me!!! NO!!! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!!!
...Yet I do... strange... I'm torn... I want to die, but I don't... why?
Suddenly, there is a sound, of something being hit...
"It's the door," Pyjamas whispers, worry in her voice.
I can feel her muscles tense... she's nervous, like she 'knows' who's at the door...
She rises from where she was sitting, gently laying me back down, and I can hear her walking out of the bedroom...
********
I open the door, trying my best to look nonchalant. Just as I thought... the millitary... cursed millitary-humes... I hate them. How the hell am I going to get through this one? Wait... that's it!
"Hello, officer, what brings you here today?" I ask, trying to sound like your average old hippie.
There is an advantage to being old, having little or no so-called 'taste' in clothing, and dealing with these visions. I'll just be what everyone probably thinks of me. The crazy old psychic-wannabe. Simple enough.
"Excuse me, Miss, but have you seen a black hedgehog, 'bout this high, with red eyes, and a patch of white fur on his chest?"
Yes, I did see a hedgehog, but he doesn't look at all like that, probably because he's burned, you idiot! I think, trying not to smirk.
"Well," I say, pretending to be out of it, "Indeed I have"
The man raises an eyebrow.
"Can you tell me his whereabouts?"
Action!
I nod.
"Yes, officer, in fact, he's looking at you right now. I think he likes you. Care to come in for some tea?"
"No," the man says, turning to leave.
"Oh, come on in, it'll be no trouble at all," I say, "I can even read your palm, free of charge, of course-oh..."
My visions happen so often, that they're easy to fake. I just never had the need to do so. I fall to my knees, and stare off into space... taking advantage of my odd perm. Nobody can see my eyes... it's better than wearing shades, and I never have to worry about makeup.
"What the hell are you doing?" the man asks.
"Oh... run!" I whisper, over-dramatizing my vision just a little bit, "Someone is after you... run... while you still can... take me with you..."
The human groans. Pyjamas, you are a genius...
"Great... another 'psychic'... just what I need..." he grumbles.
"Run!" I say, laughing inside, "Run! He's after us! Please don't let him get me!"
"Yeah, whatever..." he says, his voice sarcastic, "And how much do you want for the fortune? And are we still up for the palm-reading?"
He laughs, the idiot... what a typical millitary-hume... stupid and gullible...
I snap out of it, and hold my hand out.
"Ten mobiums, please," I say, "And the palm-reading is free when you purchase a Lava lamp, officer"
The human laughs even harder. He digs into his pocket, fishes out a slip, and writes on it.
"Can you take an I.O.U.?" he asks, grinning at me like I'm the biggest fool on Mobius.
I nod, knowing he's probably going to try to fool me and write something insulting on it. Of course, he has no idea who's fooling who...
He hands me the slip, and sure enough, I was right. He has just insulted me. Oh, well... never did take much stock in his type...
"Thank you," I say, pretending to not be able to read it.
The man laughs, before turning to leave again.
"You're welcome," he says, in a tone that says, 'sucker'.
I smile to myself, and watch him until he's gone, then I go back to my room and collapse on the bed. That was a close one. Goes to show that I should trust my visions, since they could come true.
********
I heard some noise, a man talking... I hope Pyjamas is ok...
Footsteps... she's back. I can recognize her by the way she walks... and her scent. Sometimes it changes a little, but the moment I smell it, I know Pyjamas is going to be right by my side. I like that smell...
She flops down like she's exhausted, landing with a dull thud next to me.
"Pyjamas," I begin, "What happened?"
"You don't want to know," she answers, letting out what sounds like a sigh of relief.
"Yes I do," I say, my voice sounding a little different now.
I want to know what was going on, what was making Pyjamas so upset.
"The millitary... they... sent one of their men here..." she says.
No... they're after me... they know I survived...
I huddle closer to Pyjamas, resting my head on her warm body... I'm safe...
She takes my hands, squeezes them... I gently pull them free, my efforts met with no resistance, and run my fingers over her hands, stroking her fingers, kissing them... she does the same, touches them to her face, smiling, rubbing her cheek against them...
I'm... smiling... I never thought I would ever be so happy again... I touch Pyjamas' face, feeling for her eyes... they'e under her hair... hidden... but I have found them!
"Don't," she says, gently batting my hand away.
There's a long pause... I put my hand on her shoulder...
"It's... something I don't... want to be reminded of," she says, "I... I'm sorry"
I understand... Maria... I wish I could block what happened out of my mind...
I touch her face, and catch a tear...
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