He opened his eyes again, and finding the room empty, his gaze traveled to the vase beside his bed- different flowers, and they were reaching the end of their bloom, dropping petals on the small metal table. Frowning faintly, he turned his eyes towards the other side of the room and realized that his bed had been moved and the shades were pulled down on one side of the window. He stared out the remaining side of the window at the sky, that being all he could see from this angle. It was early evening, the light golden-orange as it hit the opposite wall. He felt as if he'd missed someone coming in. It had probably been Sylphiel, and he wished she'd come back. He wanted to ask her... what had he wanted to ask her?
Oh yes, his name.
Flexing the fingers of his left hand and taking a slow breath, he realized the heavy cast was gone. No pain lanced through his body this time as he flexed his arm carefully. He tried wiggling his toes, finding that cast gone as well. Yes, his toes worked rather well, so he tried flexing his legs a bit. A smile flicked across his lips as he shifted his legs, finally pulling his knees up. Though he felt out of breath, he wasn't ready to give up and forced himself to sit up.
He got partway there, propping himself up with his right elbow, but anything further was bordering on painful and he relaxed back into bed. The activity raising his heart rate, as was evident by the beeping of the machine above his bed- yes. He'd finally located the source of that irritating noise. He wished he could turn it off.
Heaving a sigh, he stared up at the ceiling for a while, feeling a little hungry- no, more than a little hungry. His stomach growled-
A soft laugh brought his eyes towards the door. Sylphiel stood with a tray in her hands. Her hair was braided today. "I thought you were awake," she said, coming forward and setting the tray up over his legs as he straightened them once again- attaching it to the bars on either side of his bed. Hitting that button, she sat him up once more. "Sorry but it's still mostly liquids for you," she told him as he gazed down in confusion at the pouches of mush that sat on the tray.
She broke open the packets, mixed them together in a glass and stuck a straw into the goop, lifting it up to his mouth with the straw near his lips. Heaving a sigh, he took a suck and pulled a face, managing to swallow by sheer will, "Ugh- what is that?"
Biting her lower lip, Sylphiel shook her head, "It's pure vitamins and minerals. Not very tasty, I know, but you need to eat it." She smiled, "I brought something a bit naughtier for after. I hope you like cherries?" She pulled a chair over and perched on the edge of it, still holding the glass up for him to suck from.
Flashing a grin at her, he obediently sucked down the most horrible thing he'd ever tasted. Even Eris's rice pudding wasn't this bad! "I- figured out some things..." he said absently after he recovered from his speed-swallowing- an effort to taste the mush as little as possible. She looked interested. "I was in an accident... with a redhead on a motorbike. Out on Forth Street and Noonsa Ave."
Sylphiel nodded, rewarding him with a brush of her fingers across his hair. "Yes, I'm glad you remembered," her eyes grew sad as she continued, "the trauma councilor will start visiting you soon- now that the doctor has stopped sedating you." She sighed and leaned back to peek towards the door suspiciously. "Their idea of therapy is just short of brutal," was a whispered addition after her furtive glance.
"I think... I've been through worse," he suggested. She looked down at the second package she'd brought and opened it carefully, and held a dripping dip of yogurt up for him to take. He leaned forward to take the offered treat. Yes, it did banish the taste of his main meal quite well. Licking his lips, he met her eyes again. "I don't hurt today," he told her. "How long have I been here?"
Giving a smile, she nodded, "They took the casts off yesterday. You've been here three weeks. A bit strange, that; you took half the normal time to heal."
He paled, "Three weeks? Oh god- my boss is going to fire me."
Her lips turned downwards slightly, "Where do you work?"
"Cephied Corp, as a programmer," he answered automatically. "The only coder who actually did anything in the whole department. I bet we lost the client; the project was due last week and it wasn't even close to finished." He looked down at his chest absently and picked at the paper gown he wore beneath the light blanket that covered his legs. "I really didn't get paid enough for all the work I did, though I suppose this'll teach me to walk to the Peking Sun for late night egg rolls just to save a parking fee."
Sylphiel burst into a giggle and rewarded his answer with another spoonful of yogurt and cherries. "You like eating there?"
Once more, his words were automatic, "I always get takeout, but yeah its cheap and it's the closest fast food within walking distance from my apartment... damn... I haven't paid the rent either then." He sighed, a line forming between his brows. "I'm so up to the neck in shit creek."
"At least your insurance is paying for most of your stay here," Sylphiel offered, green eyes sad. "No one plans for this sort of thing to happen."
He offered a wry smile to her. "I seem to be cursed with bad luck," he replied.
Her eyes turned even more sympathetic, "Yes, you had a very... extensive file," she murmured, looking away, setting down the cup of yogurt.
Closing his eyes tightly, he managed to shake his head, "Sylphiel- don't... look like that..."
She glanced back towards him, the light from the setting stun glittering off her hair as she moved to pull up the window shade. "It's just- so obvious she abused you, but no one ever did anything." She moved back to the side of his bed and bent over him again.
Licking his lips, he met her eyes, "Where could I have gone anyway? She was the only family I had left except for my grandfather, and I already lived with him- and don't bother mentioning foster care, that would have been even worse." Offering a smile, he found the strength to lift his hand, touching her cheek, though the tube in the back of his hand pulled oddly at his skin. His heart rate picked up again- damn machine, betraying him! She leaned in closer, one hand lifting to help support his.
"You're far stronger than I," she murmured, eyes shining with... admiration.
His eyes flicked upwards, "Think you could turn the volume on that thing down a bit?"
Giving a soft laugh, she stood and fiddled with it till the beeping became a bare murmur in the background. She sat again, still holding his now limp hand. "You want any more of this?" she asked, offering another spoon full of the intensely sweet yogurt and cherries from the bottom of the cup.
"One more," he answered, "I'll probably get sick from anything more." Sylphiel offered another smile and fed him one last spoon full. Chewing absently, he stared out the window at Flagoon and swallowed. "What about Gourry? I thought you liked him."
He looked back towards Sylphiel, she'd gone pale- then blushed brightly. Looking down and to the side, she swallowed. The fingers of the hand still holding his had gone cold. "How did you know about him? I never told you about him."
Shaking his head, he answered, "It was kind of obvious- wait..." he looked down, "That was..."
Sylphiel lifted her eyes, "Was what? How did you know about him?" she insisted, leaning forward slightly.
"That's from the stuff that didn't happen... where I destroyed Sairaag. And... Lina. Lina Inverse killed me, along with her friends: Princess Amelia, Gourry Gabriev, and Zelgadis Graywords... and you. Sylphiel Nels Raada- daughter of Eruk."
Her face had gone even paler. Looking down, he found the energy to tighten his hold on her, "Please- don't leave... I don't mean to frighten you."
Squeezing her eyes shut, Sylphiel shook her head, "How could you know... my middle name? I never told you those things- even when you were sedated!"
"I don't know," he answered. "Sylphiel? Who am I? What's my name? I... I'm a bit confused about that."
Sylphiel opened her large green eyes, swallowing. "Your name is David Graywords."
Relief flooded through him and he squeezed her hand. "Not Rezo then..." he murmured. Except... it was almost as if that name only belonged to half of him. Who was the other half then? What had he become since his death? "I died, didn't I?"
"For nearly a whole minute, just as the ambulance got there. They really thought they'd lost you, but then your heart started again," Sylphiel replied, staring at him. "It was strange... they said it started all on its own."
Twitching his toes, David stared down at them. "I think... something happened to me," he murmured, "Do you believe in souls?"
She nodded slightly, "Everyone has one, if that's what you mean?"
"I think I'm psychic now; I think my soul crossed to the other side and saw more than I was supposed to," he stated blandly. "There's things in my head that just shouldn't be there, and I'm having visions of stuff that didn't happen. I have a feeling that I did something real horrible that I died for, but I'm back now and that this... really is my second chance, except I'm still stuck in someone else's shoes." David sighed, "Please- I'm not crazy. I'm pretty sure I'll figure things out eventually, maybe it's some weird death experience or something that'll go away?" A yawn broke into his monologue.
Carefully, Sylphiel put his hand down, patting it gently and taking the tray, her expression still troubled. "You should rest," she murmured, putting his bed back down.
"Sylphiel," he called. She stopped, looking down at him, "I'm sorry, for frightening you. I didn't mean to... but... it's a lot better than what I thought I'd done to you."
She offered a faint smile. "Yes... I don't think I would like it if everyone I knew and loved suddenly died." Reaching out, Sylphiel put her hand to David's forehead, running her fingers through his hair. "It's funny... your chart says your eyes are blue."
Opening his eyes again, he looked up at her, "I remember- I saw myself... like a mirror- only his left eye was yellow, the right was green. He seemed... so sad. I took his hand and then everything went white and I pulled him with me. My eyes are blue, right?"
Shaking her head, Sylphiel ran her thumb across his eyebrow. "Your left is yellow," she told him. "The other is blue like the picture on your chart." She looked towards the door, "I have to get back to work now." Closing his eyes, David lifted one hand, catching hers and pulling it down a bit to breathe in the perfume dabbed on her wrist. He could pick out her personal scent beyond that and it smelled even sweeter than the fragrance of flowers she wore. He could see her still too- a slowly shifting pattern of green and gold and purple, a calm aura, someone inclined to healing, both physical and mental, but... she was unsettled by something.
"You shouldn't forget your own wants and needs," he told her softly, "Can't live life without stepping on a few people's toes, there's no way around it. Pamper yourself from time to time, otherwise you may never get that kind of attention." He smiled faintly. "People forget the invisible helpers. Girls like Lina are the ones they remember." He rubbed his thumb in her palm gently, then finally let her hand go. She reluctantly withdrew it, touching his jaw faintly, sending a thrill through his heart. Taking the tray, she left the room.
Sighing at his own stupidity, he let his body relax, readying for sleep. What had possessed him to say that to her? Well... she was a really nice girl- when not pissed about losing her home. She- she seemed to care for him too. A smile curved David's lips at the memory of her scent. No, he really could still smell it as long as he kept his eyes closed.
He'd been visited by a trauma councilor every afternoon for the last week, ever since the doctors stopped sedating him. It was an interesting change, but otherwise he was stuck in that little room with nothing to do except sleep, but after a while, David had gotten more than enough and didn't want any more, especially since he had bad dreams when he slept. Mostly the dreams were about his mother, Eris, except things were more than a little confused. Sometimes he was her son, and sometimes he was her lover and neither seemed quite right. The only thing the dreams really had in common was that she was always mad at him. David kept his mouth shut about those weird dreams, or memories, and he stopped talking to Sylphiel about them as she might be required to report his continuing delusions to the councilor. He'd missed enough work not to be stuck in the psychiatric ward for observation.
That wasn't to say that he stopped talking to her altogether; he enjoyed her company- more than he'd ever enjoyed his ex-girlfriend Samantha's anyway. Sam was a good lover, but she wasn't the best when it came to conversation and she certainly wasn't the type he'd want to marry or have kids with. Sylphiel... she on the other hand was wonderful, and this Gourry he vaguely 'remembered' was a complete moron to not see her and realize that she loved him. It was enough to make him want to bash his head against the wall.
At last, David had been unhooked from the various machines, including the one monitoring his heart, and allowed to get up and take a piss on his own, instead of dripping into a bag hung off the side of his bed out of sight. How disgusting...
David had also started daily physical therapy to return his muscle tone. He'd taken to giving himself his own physical therapy by moving around in bed a bit, occasionally sitting up, stretching his legs and flexing his arms- he was a little sore from doing things like that, but he could definitely feel his toes again and his arms felt stronger. He smirked to himself as he continually surprised them by being able to do their little exercises with more ease than they expected. Admittedly, David still needed the practice, but he didn't have to be in their gym to do some stuff.
There was, however, a growing certainty that there was something... different. Other than the fact that he had sprouted new memories, not only of a time when Sairaag was destroyed, but also of a time even before that which was devoid of all visual information. Increasingly, his dreams were a mix of blackness spotted with colored blobs and voices, along with incredible smells, or they were of his mother, standing over him while wearing something that looked like it came from a dominatrix porno flick. His mother had always looked that crazy, but certainly had never worn black leather and spiked shoulder-guards.
David sighed and worked on stretching his legs while lying in bed. Was he supposed to be recovering this quickly? He didn't know, he wasn't a med student, but it did seem a bit fast.
Then again, that was because he'd been healing himself.
Blinking twice, David shook his head, what a weird thought that had been. Or maybe not so weird, after all, he could see people's auras, and natural energies in the world around him; why not use them to heal himself? Maybe if he were better, he'd get better food.
"But... but... if I get better, then I wouldn't be able to talk to Sylphiel," his mind protested weakly.
"But if I get better," he murmured out loud, voice a shocking sound in the silence. "If I get better, then I can see her outside of her work. She said she couldn't date patients," his mind continued after his lips were quickly shut over whatever else he was going to say. He lifted a hand and ran it through his hair; it was getting long again, and starting to do that funky wave on the sides. Maybe if he tied it back into a tail till it got long enough to hang straight down... Yes, having hair longer than Rezo's would be good.
David lifted his hands, rubbing his head with a groan. "What do I care about Rezo?" he demanded of no one in particular. There was no immediate answer to that one, and David shook his head. He was tired of being in bed. Eyeing the metal railing on the sides of his bed speculatively, he reached down and ran his hand along the side, and finding a lever he lowered the rail with a soft clang. Sitting up, he pushed the blanket off. Beneath the blanket he was wearing nothing but his paper gown, but it was unlikely anyone would walk in on him now.
In all the time he'd been here, no one had come to visit him except Lina. There were reasonable explanations for this; the most likely of all the people he knew would visit was his cousin. But Zel was off on tour and couldn't just up and leave to come visit, if he'd even been told about the accident. Then there was his grandfather, who lived six hours away. His mother lived with his grandfather and would have found it difficult to come visit- which was just as well because he didn't want to see her; doubly so now that he was having such strange dreams about her. Next there was Paul, and he was on a business trip till the end of the month or more. After Paul were David's co-workers, but they had lives of their own- as much as any programmer had a life- and would be too busy with work. Lastly, his girlfriend, Samantha... though they hadn't really broken up, he hadn't seen her in four months. He suddenly realized he didn't miss her anymore. Admittedly she disappeared like this fairly often, only to show up on payday just after he got home from work, but his sudden change of heart was strange, since before the accident he'd thought he'd pine away to nothing without her. Did death always have that effect?
Taking a breath, David sighed and slid his feet to the cold tile floor. He collected up his IV tubing and stand in his right hand. It felt... right being there. It felt like a staff, but it didn't have the jingling rings on it. David missed the jinglies, then wondered at himself for doing so, but stood anyway and headed towards the door in a stately pace, bringing his makeshift staff along with him. A draft flew up his gown. "A bit short," he muttered to himself and shook his head as he tried to pull it down to cover more of his thighs.
Out in the hall, David stopped, looking both ways down the hall, then closed his eyes, looking again. "Halls of death," he muttered, "Spirits... everywhere. How can anyone get any rest here? Maybe I should send them? ...or not. Not getting paid for it."
He stopped at that. "Since when was I a merc?" he asked himself. He opened his eyes and stared at the door opposite of his. It was closed; there wasn't anyone in that room. "I'm not a merc. The world runs on money and it's bloody hard to live without it."
"Unless you're a priest. Then people donate stuff to you." David paused at that, chewing on the inside of his cheek, "Guess you're right about that one. But I'm no priest either. I'm a coder. ... I was a priest. I can do priestly things, like exorcisms and marriages and healing the blind. That's what priests do, right?"
Turning to the left, as the right side was a dead end, David meandered down the hall, eyes half-lidded, but he wasn't really seeing either the physical or the astral world, but something of both. It was an interesting blend, the best of both, he figured. "Yeah, that's what priests do... and lead mass. They lead mass too."
"Ick, talking in front of people, I'd rather kiss Eris than do that... what if I said the wrong thing and they realized I'm not-"
"Hey!"
David stopped, blinking twice to clear his vision. "Huh?" he looked around, finding that he'd wandered into the nurse's station for his hall. The man at the desk had risen from his seat and was coming around it, heading towards David at a rush. David simply stood there, confused as to what the problem was. "Uhm," he murmured when the nurse reached his side and grabbed his arm, "Something wrong?"
The man, a blonde with brown eyes and plain looks, shook his head, "You shouldn't be out of bed- you shouldn't be able to be out of bed!"
Glancing around, David's lips pulled downward slightly, "I'm not? I feel fine, really," he looked back towards the blonde, "I need to make a call."
"No, sir, you need to get back in bed," the blonde said firmly, trying to support David, who definitely felt that he didn't NEED this man quite so close and stepped back a bit.
Still, the man insisted on keeping a grip on David's arm. "Really, I'm fine. Please let go."
"David!" this time, the interrupting voice was Sylphiel's and she came hurrying over from further down the hall in the direction of the elevator and the nurse's lounge. "Something wrong?"
Shaking his head, David started to speak when the nurse clinging to him rushed to speak over him, "Mr. Graywords walked out here on his own."
Turning her eyes towards David, Sylphiel lifted a hand from the stack of sheets she was holding to brush some of her hair back from her face. "I got tired of looking at my room," David explained, "and I feel fine, really."
"I can't haul him back to his room on my own," the blonde said, eyes begging Sylphiel for assistance, but she shook her head.
Giving a slight smile, she glanced around, "He's been doing very well this last week, let him rest out here," she said instead, "It won't hurt him." David grinned at her.
Reluctantly, the male nurse shook his head, and David turned to look at him. His nametag said K. Smith, and David closed his eyes, "Kyle," he murmured softly, recognizing the aura. "Is your mother better? She gotten over her cold yet?" the hand holding his arm went cold. Opening his eyes again, David blinked, then blushed, "Oh my, I said something weird again, didn't I?" he looked at Sylphiel.
Sylphiel blushed lightly as well, her beautiful green eyes- eyes he could just fall into- flicked aside, glancing towards Kyle before turning back to David, "Um, yes, I ...think you did."
David chewed his lower lip, "Sorry," he murmured, then shook his head, turning to head over to the couch set in the lounge area. The room was more like a widening of the hall, but separated from the hall by a low wall that allowed access through two openings. There was a TV set against that wall, a soft pale green sofa facing it. Behind the sofa were a couple chairs and a low table with a half finished puzzle on it. Beyond the puzzle table was a window that looked out onto a section of the hospital grounds. Glancing around, David changed course from the couch and went to the window.
"What ...what do you mean?" Kyle asked, finally overcoming his shock, then looked towards Sylphiel. "You told him, didn't you?" he demanded.
"Told me what?" David asked, turning to look back at the man, "That your mother has been sick with a cold lately and has asthma? I already knew that." He turned away abruptly, looking out the window, "I told her to dust more often and get rid of the bugs. –I- couldn't really do anything about it since it was something she was naturally inclined towards."
Slowly, the hair on the back of David's neck stood on end, "Damn it! I did it again!" He put both hands to his head, "You guys're really going to lock me up now, aren't you?" he looked back over his shoulder to find Kyle pale-faced and staring at him. Sylphiel was shaking her head.
Stepping forward, Sylphiel put a hand on Kyle's shoulder and turned him towards the nurse's station, "It's okay, I told him," she said, "He's just kidding."
David blinked once, "Yeah, kidding. Bad joke, sorry." His voice as a little too deadpan to be believable, but Kyle went back to the nurses desk and sat down while Sylphiel came over to him and took his arm.
"Come on," she whispered and he gladly went with her. She was more pleasant company than the man. She stared at the ground as they walked at a fairly slow pace back towards his room, him dragging his IV stand, her holding the sheets.
Halfway down the hall and she still hadn't spoken. David gave up waiting for her to and said softly, "Sorry... I keep saying weird things and I don't mean to, it... I just know those things, I don't know how, but I do."
Sylphiel didn't answer, just shook her head, and David continued trying. "It's like I've met them all before and helped them somehow... Like I was some sort of priest and I could actually HEAL people, not just give them medicine, though I did that too, but I could bring people back from the brink of death in moments and heal the blind!"
Her lips were turning downwards. "Look, I... I can prove it!" David definitely regretted those words right after he spoke them, but Sylphiel looked up again and he had to continue, "Um, are you... bruised anywhere? Or I could cut myself, that'd be more visible I think." Sylphiel went pale and frowned again. "Or not," David continued before she could say anything, "Um, how about I heal someone else?" he offered. "Anyone on this hall that's really messed up?"
"That'd be just about everyone," Sylphiel finally said, a frown still pulling at her lips but interest in her eyes. "I...suppose it wouldn't hurt to let you try..." she gave in gently and glanced aside, then back down the hall towards the nurses station where Kyle had his face buried in a magazine. Turning, Sylphiel opened a door and stepped in, "wait out here a second," she said softly and entered. The door closed behind her and David was left to stand there staring at it.
She looked really good in the skirt version of her uniform instead of those one-size-fits-all-badly baggy pants and white shirt she'd been wearing lately. Rather abruptly, David became acutely aware that the only thing he was wearing was a tough paper gown down to his mid-thighs and absolutely nothing underneath. His toes curled under, face growing hot.
"But she'd probably been the one who was sponge bathing me before this, why's it matter now? Besides, what's so bad about not wearing clothes?" he told himself reassuringly.
The door opened again and Sylphiel peeked out and pulled him in. "Don't touch her," she said softly, "or do you have to...?"
"No," David replied, and shook his head, "Don't have to touch her." Closing his eyes, he moved forward, walking silently, his embarrassment forgotten, as well as his IV stand. Thankfully, Sylphiel caught hold of it as his hand slipped away and he approached the bedside of the critically injured woman. She was badly burned, so badly that they couldn't put bandages on her, only a coating of antiseptic jell. All she could do was lay there and suffer, fully exposed to the air. It was warm in the room, but that was so that the woman didn't catch cold from being without covers.
Now...how did it go? David stopped, frowning slightly. Was he about to make a total fool of himself? He had no earthly idea of how to go about doing this healing stuff. What had made him think he could in the first place? Or was it delusional death experience stuff? Why had Sylphiel even believed that he could? Was it his miraculous recovery? But he'd always healed fast! He squeezed his eyes shut tighter as panic began to set in, but just then Sylphiel shifted, and the sound of the metal hook on the IV stand clinking against the poll seemed to connect with something inside of him.
It felt... as if he'd just had the controls to his own body taken from him and he watched in wonder as his hands lifted. Well, watched was a relative term. He felt it happening, felt with extreme sensitivity the way the air parted to let his arms pass. He could smell the burnt flesh of the woman, a metallic tang, a scorched stench that clung to the back of his throat, a slight medicinal smell from the jell, and the scent of Sylphiel, like flowers, except now he knew that wasn't perfume she wore, she just smelled like clean air and flowers naturally. He could feel the grain of the tile on the floor under his bare feet and was acutely aware of the grimy feel of his hair and skin and the scratch of the paper gown he wore.
As for sight, it was as if it had never existed for him, what he "saw" was not sight at all, but another level of his other senses. Where the woman lay there was a blob of sullen red overlaying a healthier amber and blue. Beyond her, there was a hazy shape of someone who'd died in the same room and not quite moved on. There were other energies, the flowing of the air through the vent in the ceiling, the ambient hum of energy just floating in the air. On himself, there were two connections to another plane entirely, one tainted dark, the other white, but both were disturbed. That was easily fixed. This was like his weird dreams, a lot like his weird dreams in fact. It gave David the shivers, or it would have, if he were in control of his body.
His hands turned, lifting palm facing palm, but not touching. The ambient energy in the room shifted, drifting towards his hands, slowly at first, then with greater speed as a small speck of light grew between his palms. The speck grew larger as he shaped the energies into a sphere, pulling on it to create a vacuum into which more energy flowed. He shifted his grip on it, then turned his hands to hold the ball of energy out over the wounded woman.
Behind him, Sylphiel gasped, but he ignored her- or half of him did. David tried to turn his head and look back at her, but he couldn't. He was trapped in his own body, and whatever had hold of him was concentrating fully on what was happening.
What appeared to be happening was that his hands were shining the light he'd gathered down on the woman's body, eating away at the crimson shadow that covered the gold and blue beneath. There was a soft humming that accompanied this, one on the edge of hearing; high pitched but soothing. "I understand now," his lips said softly, "what happened." He got no answer, but didn't really need one, though he didn't continue his thought.
David wished HE knew what the rest of that thought had been, cause he sure wasn't privy to it, despite the fact that his mouth had said it.
"Later... I'll speak to you later, when we don't have watchers." This voice- his own, David knew well enough, it felt like himself... like that conversation he'd had with himself earlier about priests. What in the hell was going on? "Later," the voice repeated and David fell silent, watching as his hands did something with the weird light. Finally, he was beginning to grow a bit tired and his hands lowered, "I don't have as much energy as I used to, my lines of power were disturbed in the transition from my plane to this one, and the ... acquisition of a new body," David's lips said as he turned to face Sylphiel, who was even more lovely in this "vision", "She should recover more quickly now, or at least enough to put bandages on her. She'll still have some scarring, but that's better than being dead."
He opened his eyes finally to see Sylphiel's large shining eyes. Her hands were lifted near her mouth, shaking fingers just barely touching her lips and David wanted to kiss them.
"Damn! She looks hot like that!" David thought.
"Hm... I suppose she does..." was another thought, somewhat more guarded in its emotional response, but David could tell that his strong reaction to Sylphiel was due to all portions of his mind being in agreement on the subject. "Oh, fine... yes, she's very attractive... if that's what you mean by 'hot'..." This part was more of a reluctant grumble of admission and David suppressed a grin.
"So, you believe me now?" he asked, then glanced toward the door as he heard a noise from the hall, someone moving equipment down the hallway. Stepping forward lightly, David caught up his IV stand and Sylphiel's arm and looked out the door to see an orderly pushing a cart into the elevator. He pulled her out of the room as soon as the elevator closed, and down the hall to his room where he lightly closed the door. "Well?" he asked once they were alone. Outside, it had gotten dark, and David was suddenly aware that he hadn't eaten lately and was really hungry. "Happens after using large amounts of magic."
Sylphiel's eyes were still wide and shining, shocked, but pleasantly so, "It was... amazing," she whispered, "You... held up your hands and there was... there was light and she started breathing better and her heart stabilized and her skin started growing back- David it was amazing!" she stepped forward, her arms going around his neck.
David knew that he hadn't intended it, and she hadn't intended it, but that other portion of himself- who or whatever it was that had taken over before- did so again. His arms went around her, pulled her flush against his body as his lips met hers. Sylphiel gasped softly into the kiss, then her eyes slid closed and she melted into it, by then, David had no objections- if he'd ever had any they'd been blasted away by the kiss, and all three of them enjoyed it.
Obviously, she hadn't been kissed very often, but David made up for it. First, he kissed her lips fully, then nibbled her lower lip, pressed in and kissed her hard, then soft, then slipped between her lips when she gasped for air. His tongue explored her mouth, caressing every surface he could reach. It took him a moment more to realize that his hands hadn't been idle either; they'd traveled over her back in a light massage, his fingers digging into the muscles between and beneath her shoulder blades, then down her spine to her lower back and sliding down to cup her rounded butt, pulling her closer against him.
"Oh Cephied, I want her! This is torture!"
"Then take her. She wants us."
"Us? But... I can't just..."
"There's a bed right behind you... I want her too. She smells very nice... she tastes even better."
Sylphiel gave a soft mumble into his mouth, leaning close against him, her stomach pressed against his hips, fingers combing through his hair as she tried her best to keep up with his kisses. David could feel her heart beating- so fast and hard. Okay, so she wanted him, but this wasn't the place to do things like that... was it? ...kinky... Well, she was a nurse.
He stepped back slightly, breaking the kiss and giving a smile, then released her. Blushing crimson, Sylphiel put her hands to her face, lips slightly parted as she gazed up at him. "I- I- I-"
"Have to get back to work," he finished for her, "I know," he made a gentle gesture towards the door, and turning, she fled the room.
"Now, why'd you do that?" was the sour question of the other half of his mind.
"Because... she does have work to do, and ... I think she'll respect me more for letting her go. Least she knows the option's available now, rather than that Gourry guy, whom I have never met but seem to know quite a bit about."
"It's because I know him."
David stood there for a long moment, blinking in confusion for a moment before he started forward, heading into the bathroom. He turned on the water in the sink and washed his face, then stood there, leaning against the sink as he stared at his reflection in the mirror, watching water drip down the sharp edge of his jaw to his chin. David figured he was handsome enough; girls didn't seem bothered when he smiled at them anyway, but he didn't have a lot of experience with relationships. His hair was dark red with a purple shine to it, or it could have been light red-ish purple, either way, it was about shoulder length and had a terrible tendency to flare out at the sides in a weird wave that no amount of hair gel could cure. "Grow it out, or cut it off," he sighed. "Now, how is it that I know someone I've never met?" he asked himself, staring into his own eyes in the mirror, which had indeed changed, his left one was yellow.
"Because –I- know him," was the repeat of the previous answer, "I... am not sure how exactly it happened, I think its because you grabbed me when you died, and didn't let go when you were brought back. Anyway, here I am."
Closing his eyes, David thought back, and thought hard, he'd said something of this sort to Sylphiel before, but those had just been crazy theories! "I'm losing my mind."
"'Have to stay together', that's what you told me and grabbed me. Not that I mind that I'm... partially alive again, but it could be better."
"Could be worse," David added that which was unspoken.
Lifting his head, the young man's eyes opened to find that another stared back at him from the reflection. "Indeed," he murmured, tone of voice different, more dark and bitter. "I could still be dead. It is strange, though. People shouldn't be able to have more than one soul, yet there's plenty of room for us both in this body. We fit together quite well, as if we were... parts of the same soul."
David shivered, wrenching control of his body back and shook his head, putting his hands in his hair and pulling lightly, "Gyha!" he groaned, "All this death and stuff!"
"Don't like it? Sorry, that's life... or as little of it as I've seen," his co-pilot replied. "Look, we're stuck like this till I can figure out a way to get myself out of you... and... maybe it's better that way. ...you know more about the 'proper' way to act in your world than I do. I'd probably just get myself killed again."
"Or just put in jail for rape," David muttered and peeked at the mirror again, only to find himself. "I'm really friggen nuts."
He snorted, yellow left eye flashing, "No, just possessed. Say, how long till we get out of here? I'm tired of this room."
Lowering his eyes again, David rubbed his face and sighed, turning to lean against the door of the small bathroom. "Dunno," he muttered, "but I'm bout ready to leave too. The food sucks here. And I'd like some real clothes. Wonder what Sylphiel will do about my weird powers?"
"-Your- weird powers? Ha! I was the one doing all the work. Who cares what she does anyway? She seemed rather impressed with it, which is strange, because when I knew her, she could do the same thing. It would just take her longer." The co-pilot shrugged slightly, then pushed off the door and ran his fingers through his hair. Turning, he frowned as he found the IV tube hanging from the crack of the door. "Oops... what's this supposed to do?"
Lifting the tube, David eyed it, then the back of his hand where the tube had been attached, and shrugged again, "No clue." Opening the door, he took hold of the IV stand and dragged it back over to the bed, shut the valve on the bag and looped the tube across it, then climbed back into bed. Outside, it was getting darker and David's stomach growled. "Damn, when's dinner?"
"Now," Kyle's voice from the door spoke and the young man stepped in, carrying a tray. "You shouldn't be sitting up like that- what happened to your IV?"
David shrugged and grimaced. "It fell out," he replied and offered his hand over as the man took the tube and plugged it back in, having to prick a new hole in the back of David's hand for it, which he hardly felt. "I still need to make a call- so I can get some clothes and someone to pick me up when I leave."
"You'll not be leaving for a while yet," Kyle admonished, "Now, lay down." He locked the side rail back into position with a warning glare.
Heaving a sigh, David shifted and flopped down on the bed, crossing his ankles as Kyle raised the back of the bed, before setting the tray across the bars. "I can feed myself," he stated when Kyle started to offer him the straw to the glass of mush.
Kyle's gaze was hard, and not very kind. "Odd how you can't when Ms. Raada is here," he replied.
A smile curved David's lips, though not of his own volition, and he murmured, "Not really, she's a lot prettier than you are." This got a shocked look from Kyle, and David picked up the glass on his own, settling back in the bed to sip at the horrid mush. Overcoming his shock, Kyle's face turned pale with anger, then red with embarrassment, or perhaps it was the other way around, but either way, David knew he'd hit a very sore spot with the young man. Crushes were rather difficult things indeed, and if David's co-pilot were in the least bit interested in not making people upset, he would have been a bit less... obvious about things. David mentally put his head in his hands.
"You're FAR too worried about what other people think, David," the voice that was his, yet not, said mildly. "Besides, you want to give up a 'hottie' like Sylphiel to this schmuck? He's about as stupid as Gourry when it comes to making his intentions towards a girl clear. Besides, he'll find another girl to have a crush on soon enough."
Silence fell between the two of them, and while David was distracted, his co-pilot finished off their dinner and sent Kyle packing from the room with another mysteriously infuriating smile.
"Oh Cephied! He thinks I'm a jerk now!" David groaned and put his face in his hands, "I've got a split personality and I'm crazy and-"
"Shut up. Quit your moaning and whining. I've already explained this to you once," the co-pilot snapped, hands curling into fists. "Now, go to sleep. We'll see about getting out of here tomorrow."
David shook his head, having been given control of his body back once more, "Don't you dare just... just..."
"What? Blow a hole in the wall and walk out? ...Okay, so the thought had occurred to me, but fine. I won't. But how are you supposed to get out of here?"
Again, David shook his head, "We get released by the doctors, that's how... I've been talking to myself in the third person," he realized and lifted his hands to cover his face. "Oh Cephied-"
"I said stop it!" his co-pilot snarled, "damn it all. Fine, if you won't shut up and go to sleep, I'll PUT you to sleep." David watched in horror as his hands lifted, a ball of light glowing between them then- it fell on his head. He knew of nothing else after that.