Chapter 7
Toothache
Puck vanished before her eyes. He went straight to Elisa's apartment. Elisa was in the bathroom with Talia. She was trying to keep Talia away from the medicine cabinet.
"Tooth hurt!" Talia whined.
"I already gave you a pain killer right after we ate. You'll have to wait until tomorrow morning and see a dentist." Elisa explained.
"Hurts bad." She reached for it.
Elisa sighed. "No more medicine. If it hurts so bad, I could take you to the hospital."
Talia screwed up her face. "Fine."
"Good. Go put on your shoes then, I'll go make a call. I have a few acquaintances in the emergency room." Elisa said, patting Talia's back.
Puck waited until Elisa was gone. Then he turned visible. "Talia, lemme see."
"Puck?" She asked.
"Open your mouth." He instructed.
Talia opened her mouth. "Ahh."
Puck studied her intensely; her canines seemed to be the problem. He pressed against the gum. She winced and roared at him.
"Shh!" Puck shushed her.
"Everything okay, Tai?" Elisa called from the living room.
"I'm ok!" She answered back.
"I don't understand. You're not supposed to lose any teeth." Puck mumbled.
"It hurt all day. I had a headache too. My nose doesn't feel good either." Talia said.
"Well that I know. Your senses are getting stronger. It'll be over soon." Puck told her. "Go with Elisa."
"Come on Talia, hurry up. We're in luck, there's an old friend of my father who is a dentist at the hospital and he's taking the night shift."
Talia got her shoes on and went with Elisa. The hospital lobby smelt overwhelming. They were stereotyped to smell like bleach, but Talia could smell the gore and vomit. She gagged.
"Hey, are you alright sweetie?" Elisa asked, rubbing the girl's back.
Talia shook her head miserably.
They waited for about ten minutes, before a medic with curly, white hair walked up to them. "Hello Elisa."
"Hello Mr. Taylor." Elisa waved.
"Please, call me Milo. My, how you've grown, it's been a while since I saw you." The man smiled kindly and turned towards the teenager. "And this must be my nocturnal patient. Elisa told me you have a toothache."
"Yeah, it started this morning." Talia said.
"I see. Let's go into my laboratory, we'll see what's wrong right away." He turned.
They all went inside a room painted in white, and everything smelled of antiseptic. Talia wrinkled her nose, but sat on the chair. Elisa stood nearby. The dentist and the assistant looked in her mouth. Talia hissed as they got to the front of her mouth.
"Mmh...it's strange..." Milo furrowed his brow.
"What's strange?" Elisa questioned, worried.
"It almost seems that her upper canines are...growing." He checked the other canine with a pick.
"Dat hurt!" Talia tried to close her mouth.
"Talia, be good." The detective hushed her, trying to calm her down.
"Perhaps it's some kind of delayed dental growth. It's rare, but possible."
Talia was quiet for a moment. Then she smelled something odd. It was sorta dead, but preserved. It wasn't right. She had to destroy it. Talia's eyes glowed. Elisa gasped as she noticed. Luckily the dentist and his assistant were giving their backs to her, so they didn't see that.
"I'll prescribe another pain killer, it's slightly stronger than what you gave her, so it should be more effective." He told Elisa while the nurse typed something on the computer.
"Uh, thanks, yeah." Elisa said.
Talia rolled out of the chair and tried to get past Elisa.
"What the-?! Talia, calm down!" Elisa tried to hold the girl in the chair, both medic and nurse frowning in confusion.
"No! Lemme go!" Talia protested.
"Is she alright?..." The doctor asked.
"I don't know what's gotten into her!" Maza did try her best to calm Talia down, but eventually the teen broke free. Talia realized it was Elisa and laid back down on the chair. Then she threw up.
"I don't feel good." Talia moaned.
The nurse went outside to call someone that would clean up the vomit, while the doctor walked closer to Talia.
"What are you feeling exactly?" He asked.
"Head hurts, I'm tired." Talia looked to Elisa. "Can we go home?"
"She wasn't feeling too good when we first got here. Nauseous." Elisa added.
Talia was given a tissue and some water. They decided that the tooth pain caused the nausea. After the doctor prescribed them some pain killers, Elisa bought them at a 24 hour pharmacy and took Talia home. She helped her to wash her and change into a pair of clean pajamas before giving her the medicine.
"Now try to rest, Tai." Elisa said while gently tucking her into bed.
"Night night." Talia yawned.
The detective turned off the lights and closed the door.
Puck quietly peeked in on Talia. She was fast asleep. He looked at her mouth again. Her canines were still growing. Puck frowned. Someone must have claimed her. Her magic was very malleable for the first few years. Hopefully this wouldn't interfere with his plan.
"Good night, Sweetheart." Puck kissed her forehead. He tried to leave, but Talia rolled over. They bumped heads. Her teeth clacked.
"Wha, ow." Talia hissed.
"Shh, it's just me." Puck told her.
"Why're you here?" She frowned.
"I guess I might well tell you now." Puck shrugged. "Tai, I'm your father. I've been watching you as Owen."
"I don't understand." She looked at him.
"That night I saved you, I took you somewhere safe and healed you. My magic changed you, made you my daughter. I insisted Xanatos adopt you so I could keep you close." He explained.
"But why?" She started to tear up.
"Shh, little trickster, don't cry. I thought I would be OK with loving you from afar, but I was wrong." Puck hugged her.
"I'm still mad at you." Talia sniffled.
"I know, Sweetheart. That's ok." He stroked her hair. "How's your tooth? You want some milk before bedtime?"
"Elisa gave me some medicine. Milk please." Talia nodded.
Puck snuck into the kitchen and warmed some milk up for her. Once it was warm enough, he poured it into a mug. Puck pulled out a jar from his tunic. It was honey. He hummed when he saw how much was left. Putting a good dollop in and stirring it, he brought it back to Talia. She drank it all.
"G'night, Dad..." Talia snuggled Peaches, her fox.
"Good night, Talia." He whispered.
