Don't worry everyone, Envy's not going to die! If Envy died, I'd have to bash my head in with a hammer. But no worries, you guys.
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The next day, Envy was wrapped in more rags torn from sacks, and put to rest in Lust's room. He slept for most of the day, regular bolts of pain shooting from his body, and his stomach growling in complaint. But when he WAS awake, however, he was barely aware of his surroundings. His world had turned into one of heat and pain, he was looking at his surroundings through a blurry, warped haze. It was a bizarre feeling. As though he was being stretched and then smashed back together again, then twisted from head to tail, each movement as painful and muggy as the next.
He often saw black shapes moving through his field of vision. They would come, poke and prod at him for a few seconds, then take off his bandage and slowly pour some liquid on it that burned and ached. Then, they'd put a new layer of wrapping on and then leave him to sleep. Other times, they'd force open his mouth and, using a spoon or some other kind of utensil, slowly drip small doses of water onto his parched tongue. He couldn't swallow, though, so he just let the water relax on his tongue and soothe the dry muscle.
It was around 5:00 P.M. when he was finally moved from his spot. He was gently moved onto a kind of makeshift gurney, which was really a wide strip of rucksack torn and then made into a hammock. The delirious Envy simply made a couple rasping sounds and twitched his tongue.
He remembered being brought out into the sunlight, and he instinctively closed his eyes against the blinding light. Remembered being taken into a white room. Lifted from his hammock. Placed on a table that was cold as ice and made him shudder. A loud humming filling the room. Feeling pressure on his chest. Too weak to cry out in pain. Absolute agony. A mask was placed over his face. A soft hissing as he breathed.
Dark, swirling blackness.
People moving around him. Black outlines. Someone speaking in distorted, warped voice. Too slow. Too fast. Being carried. Placed on another icy surface. A door being shut. Iron bars coming over his field of vision. Footsteps walking away. More blackness.
Fevered dreams. Half-formed thoughts chasing each other through his head. (wheres lust i want lust she knows whats wrong with me what is wrong with me i wish i knew why do i hurt so much why does everyone sound so wrong what happened this is all greeds fault hes a bastard just like the people in white why i am so cold i am cold i need a blanket i am sleeping on ice where am i why did this happen to me)
When Envy woke up, he knew three things: One, he was cold. Two, he was hungry. Three, the pain was gone. He cracked open a gummed eye, and its twin soon followed. His pupils dilated as he was hit with the light. His vision was blurred at first, but it grew clearer the more he blinked. He shook his head weakly, an unsettling dizziness setting in.
"Muhhh...?" Was the first noise he made, a questioning moan of helplessness. He blinked, and viewed his surroundings. He was clearly in a cage, which he did NOT like. He was in a very white, very clean room. He was laying on a towel. There were more cages across the room from him, and they held many cats. They peered out at him, mewling and pawing at the bars of their cage.
He flexed his paws experimentally. He could move them without pain. He shifted his limbs. Again, no pain. He pushed himself heavily to his feet. Now, he could feel pain, but it wasn't the searing agony he'd felt before. It was more of a strained soreness that made him sit down abruptly on his towel. He felt very tight, and compact in this space. He looked down at his paws, and then down at his chest, where he saw milk-white bandages around his ribs. He took a deep breath, and then gave a soft mew as his ribs stung momentarily.
He looked out onto the room before him, and caught the eye of the cat across from him. A slender, reddish tomcat. The large tag on the front of his cage read, "Nm: Monarch; Brd: Ruddy Abyssinian; Sex: Male". The cat, apparently called Monarch, nodded his head and stared at Envy with green eyes. He meowed pointedly, and, like he could with Sasha, Envy understood what he said.
"You look funny." The mew said. Envy narrowed his eyes and glared at Monarch, who stared back at him.
"So do you." He meowed back, flicking his ears.
"But not as weird as you." Monarch retaliated, licking his paw and brushing it behind his ears. "And you smell funny, too."
"Gee, it's great to have friends in this place." Envy said sarcastically. Monarch blinked slowly.
"You act weird, too." He said, shrugging. "And you have a weird name."
"I do n...wait, how do you know what my name is?" He demanded, confusion etched on his face.
"It's on your tag, smarts." Monarch sighed, shaking his head. "Envy? What kind of name is that?"
"What kind of name is Monarch?" Envy retorted angrily, purposely drawing out the name so that it sounded like "moan-arche". The other gave a snort of disgust and snapped back.
"It's pronounced Mon-ark." He barked, wrinkling his nose angrily at Envy and curling his lip. "I guess a genius like you couldn't figure that out." Monarch turned away from Envy and curled up in his own cage, his back to Envy's view and his head hidden.
Envy opened his mouth to snap something back, but changed his mind and shut up. Finally. He stuck a paw out through the bars of his cage and flexed his claws at the air. A couple of the other cats began to caterwaul, annoyingly. The loud, droning moans of other felines made him shudder with rage.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP, ALL OF YOU!"
Dead silence reigned in the room. Many pairs of amber eyes glared at him, shocked, from their cages. Envy smirked with self-satisfaction and lay down gingerly, wincing slightly as his ribs gave a nasty twang. Envy had just begin drifting off to sleep when the clicking of heels roused him. He blinked and lifted his head, then yelped as he realized that Lust was staring at him through the bars of his cage.
"I was w-!" Envy began, but Lust silenced him with a tap on the cage. A man came up beside Lust, wearing white clothes and carrying a clipboard. He and Lust talked for a few minutes in hushed voices, before Envy's cage was opened. The man reached in towards him and gently lifted him from the cage. He was put into Lust's arms, where he clung desperately.
"Make sure he gets two of these every four hours." The man was saying, holding up a large bottle of pills and leading Lust down the hallway. "He should take them with food. Try tuna or maybe peanut butter if he likes that."
They were now in what appeared to be a lobby. Envy furrowed his brow, looking around carefully at the room. A few people sat in puffy chairs, with dogs on leashes and a few of them had cats in cages. One small child pointed at Envy and whispered to his mother, "He's funny looking, mommy!" Envy growled threataningly at the boy, who gasped and clung to his mother's coat sleeve. A cruel smile spread across Envy's face, and he turned back to Lust, who was handing the receptionist some money. Vet bills, he supposed.
"What's happened with Greed?" Envy asked, as soon as they were out of earshot of the town. They were walking back to the shiphouse, down a dirt road that was sloshed with mud. It had apparently rained while he was away.
"He's still being a goddamn bastard that doesn't give a care about anybody else." Lust said with a shrug. Envy wrinkled his nose and furrowed his brow, but said nothing except for, "Hm."
The door of the shiphouse was slightly ajar. No sound could be heard from within, which was a good sign… or was it? Lust pushed the door further inside. It creaked ominously. A soft moaning could be heard from inside, as well as a soft scuffling noise.
"Gluttony? Greed? Guys?" Lust entered the room. It was very dark. She fumbled for the light switch, still unaware of what had occurred in the room. Envy let out a low hiss.
"I thought you buffoons might be here." Said a honeyed voice. She was there, sitting in a chair in the middle of the room, her legs crossed delicately over the other. The rest of the homunculi were sprawled about the room, groaning and bleeding.
Dante flipped a lock of dark hair over her ear, smirking slightly. "I knew you would look for someplace to hide. After you'd failed."
Lust was dead silent. Envy's eyes opened wide. That person was here? Now? What? Confusion swam in his mind, and he shook his head.
"Yes, Envy, I know that is you." Dante said quietly, standing up. "I know what happened." She clicked forward, towards him, and lay an icy hand upon his head. He shuddered, and gritted his teeth. Her touch was like death itself. "I'm terribly sorry, son." She gently placed the tips of her fingers together, and then placed one hand upon Envy's chest. He glowed a faint blue, and he felt his ribs mend. "You won't be needing that anymore." She purred, gently pulling Envy's bandages from his chest. He felt several furs part company with his skin, and a shudder of pain rippled up his spine. Dante began pulling Envy from Lust's grip. Lust reached out one hand for him, her expression weak, and defeated. Envy strained against that person's grasp, but her hands were like iron vices.