Upon waking up, there was a brief moment in time in which I had no idea where I was. It took a moment for the events of the previous day to come back to my mind. And even then, part of me wondered if it'd all been a dream. Of course, upon opening my eyes to a very unfamiliar ceiling, that hope was shot down in flames. The fact that I was also in Micaela's bed was another indicator.
Now before you go making any kind of weird or gross assumptions, I want to make it very clear that Micaela did nothing to me. She just only had one bed. So, while I was crying and inconsolable, she simply tucked me in bed, comforting me until I fell asleep in her arms. Yes, it was a bit odd, but the intentions had been nothing but pure. And honestly, I wasn't complaining. I'd needed a hug really badly after all the shit I went through that day.
And now I was awake, alone in Micaela's bed. She'd probably awoken before me. I mean, she seemed like the type to be an early riser, so I figured that would make sense. With a groan, I pulled myself out of bed, before quietly trudging into the small living room that was connected to the bedroom. There, I found Micaela, sipping a cup of tea, while reading a book. Upon seeing me, she set it aside, giving me a tender smile.
"Ah, Alex. Come sit over here. There's some things that I need to discuss with you." She said, gesturing to a chair next to hers. Seeing no reason to deny her, I did as she said, giving her a curious glance as I sat next to her.
She hesitated for a moment, seemingly trying to find the right words for whatever it was she was about to say. Finally, with a sigh, she put her hand on my shoulder.
"Are... are you doing okay, Alex?" She asked tenderly, her voice filled with concern. "I know you didn't see anything, but... that can't have been an easy thing to hear..."
I shuddered, my eyes welling up as I remembered that woman's screams. They had been some of the most horrific I'd ever heard. I had no doubt that they'd haunt me for most of my life. And then what had happened after... Those feelings that welled up in me when seeing Yuri drenched in blood. Even just thinking about that now, my stomach roiled in disgust. And yet, the memory of that crimson liquid still made my throat ache with thirst.
I didn't even realize I'd started crying again until Micaela scooped me up into another hug. Her comforting warmth quickly quelled my sadness, distracting me with a feeling of safety.
"Sorry about that, Alex." She muttered, releasing me after a moment. "I probably shouldn't have brought that up so soon..."
I felt a flash of annoyance at her. Of course she shouldn't have brought it up! That was traumatic! I mean, I had the mind of an adult, but still! And besides, she didn't even know about that! So she had no excuse! That bit-
'Okay, maybe I need to calm down a little.' I thought to myself, cutting off that mental tirade before it went any further. I still wasn't used to how easily my emotions could get away from me. Control was something I definitely needed to learn, and soon. If I snapped at the wrong monster, I'd get snatched up and drained/eaten before I could so much as blink.
"Where's Yuri?" I found myself asking, not really sure as to why I was. Actually, scratch that, I did know. I just didn't want to accept the answer as true.
I missed her.
It was odd, since the last time I'd seen her was only the previous night, but still! I wanted to see her. And no matter how hard I tried to shunt that feeling into the back of my brain, I simply couldn't get rid of it. Even after she'd butchered that woman last night. Even after the strange feelings I'd held upon seeing her blood-soaked form.
Bah. Must've been this body's blasted hormones! There's no other reason I'd latch onto someone this hard!
Micaela seemed surprised by the question, her eyes widening slightly. After a moment, she shook her head in exasperation.
"She's out hunting right now." The secret seraph explained, a slight hint of annoyance in her voice. "She wouldn't stop pestering me about you, so I sent her to go do something useful."
I winced at the harshness of her tone, feeling somewhat angry on Yuri's behalf. Evidently, Micaela noticed, as she let out a sigh, her eyes softening somewhat.
"Sorry, Alex. I didn't mean to sound rude." She explained. "It's just... there's been a lot going on. People didn't take what Yuri did too kindly. I've been neck-deep in paperwork all day. I'd just been taking a ten minute break when you got up."
I winced at her predicament. Having worked in a bank in my previous life, I too knew the horrors of paperwork. Though, my particular position hadn't netted me too much in the way of those paper demons. I'd seen my coworkers suffer from it, however. The one time we got robbed, the mountain of paper on his desk the next day had been humbling. A monolith made up of incident reports and other unknowable things.
Unconsciously, I let out a shudder at the thought of it. Mankind was not meant to face such horrors...
"Is... Is she in any trouble?" I asked eventually, mostly to get my mind off of the demonic presence of paperwork. "I mean... what Yuri did was... horrific. But that woman did try to rape me."
Micaela gave me an unreadable look, staying silent for a moment.
"...I hate how casually you said that. You shouldn't even know what rape is at your age..." She eventually spoke, her tone a tad bit somber. "But no, she won't be. People might object to how brutal she was, but killing Layla in it of itself wasn't an issue. She was a very bad person, Alex. She liked to hurt young boys like you."
I winced again, my mind once more drifting back to the previous night.
"M-Maybe she needed to die... but how she went was sickening." I said, my voice wavering slightly. "I-I'm not mad at Yuri for what she did, but... T-That woman's screams..."
Micaela frowned, giving me a long, sad look.
"Alex... I'm sorry that things happened the way they did." The angelic woman said in an ashamed tone. "Layla even being in this town was my fault. She's always had a reputation for being... like that. But since no men were ever in the village before, I thought it was a non-issue."
Her words did not calm me. They took away my sadness, of course, but only by replacing those feelings with anger. I mean, Micaela basically admitted that she knew Layla was a shameless, degenerate pedophile, and yet she still tolerated her presence!
"A-A non-issue?!" I erupted suddenly, shocking the disguised seraph. "If you knew she was a degenerate like that, why'd you even let her live here in the first place?! Why not just fucking kill her?!"
Micaela gave me an incredulous look, her head shaking as she tried to figure out how to address what I'd said.
"Alex, language!" She eventually yelled, clearly put off by my burst of sudden anger. "And I thought you were against Layla's death!"
I shook my head, the thought of letting that woman live turning my stomach into knots. I may have found how she died sickening, but her death itself seemed justified.
"I was never against that! Well, maybe I was at first, but not anymore! Pedophiles should not be allowed to live!" I growled, giving her a hard look. "Look, there's a lot of shit that I'm absolutely infuriated about right now. First and foremost, you allowed her to live in the village despite knowing her reputation! You should have killed her on the spot! If you'd just done that, last night would have never happened!"
Micaela was taken aback by my words, giving me a shocked, wide-eyed look. After a moment of sheer befuddlement, she cleared her throat, a small bit of heat coming to her cheeks.
"There was nothing I could do! All I knew was rumors! And if I killed everyone in Enrika who raped people, most of the village would be in the ground!" She said crossly, giving me a harsh look. "Alex, that's just how monsters are! Layla was especially bad, but the amount of monsters who haven't sexually assaulted someone is almost zero!"
That was... horrifying to think about. And more than likely, it was 100% correct. Lovely. I hadn't even been here for two full days yet, and I already hated this fucking world.
"...I'm starting to see why humans hate monsters." I said, my tone deadpan.
Micaela winced at my words, clearly holding herself back from saying something.
"That's... not what I wanted you to gather from that." Micaela sighed quietly. "Look, just know that you shouldn't trust most monsters."
I was tempted to point out that I didn't already, but I figured it was a moot point. I mean, she was telling me this because she thought I was a child, and was genuinely concerned that I'd bee too trusting. It was annoying, but I understood. She was just looking out of me.
"I won't." I said with a sigh. "Anyways... let's move on from this. When is Yuri coming back?"
Micaela gave me a shrug, before grabbing a sheet of paper, as well as a bit of charcoal.
"Not sure when, but soon." She explained, before handing me the paper and charcoal. "Now, while we're waiting for her, could you do something for me?"
Taking one look at the paper, I was both surprised and incredibly dismayed to see a list of basic math equations. Stuff like addition, subtraction, basic multiplication, and division. Just dumb stuff like that. Now, the question is, why the fuck is she handing me this?
"...Micaela... the fuck?" I asked, giving her a flat look. "What... what is this?"
"A math quiz." She said simply, giving me a soft smile. "Don't worry. I just want to see what you're capable of."
...Now this was odd. Why did she want to know how good I was at math? Just what the hell was she thinking.
'Should... should I purposefully flunk this?' I thought to myself, looking down at the paper. After a moment, I decided that was a bad idea. I mean, even little kids knew basic math, right? It had been a long time since I was 5, but I'm pretty sure I knew how to add and subtract by then...
Whatever. I wasn't going to try and figure out how much fucking up was normal for a 5-year-old. I just did the whole thing in about five minutes. Feeling just a tad bit spiteful, at the end of it, I wrote "What's the fucking point of this?", before handing it back in.
"There. Never ask me for something like that again." I said flatly. She rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything, instead turning her attention to the paper. After looking over my answers, she let out a neutral "hmmm" sound. Whether that was a good or a bad thing, I had no earthly idea.
For a moment, it seemed as if she was about to say something. However, before she could, she was interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Come in!" Micaela yelled towards the door. "It's not locked!"
The door creaked open, revealing an unfamiliar figure. She was huge, standing at about 6 feet, ten inches. Her whole body was covered by an ominous robe, obscuring her identity. The only reason I knew they were a woman at all was because they had huge tits. Like, they were impressive even for a monster. Well, at least compared to the twig-thin elves that lived around here. Also, I could see the vague outline of horns poking against her hood.
"Ah, Alta! Here for your session?" Micaela greeted the woman like she already knew her, a warm smile gracing her lips.
Staring at this woman for a moment, I was baffled. Just who the hell was this woman? I didn't recognize her at all. I mean, her name sounded vaguely like Alma, but that couldn't be right! Alma Elma, one of the main ladies in MGQ, should be nowhere near Enrika at any point! And if she was, I was certain Micaela wouldn't have responded so kindly!
All that logic died an unfortunate death when the woman lowered her hood, revealing a face that was the spitting image of Alma Elma.
"...You've gotta be shitting me." I heard myself say, baffled by this turn of events.
They weren't paying me much attention, so I made the wise decision to back out of the room, into Micaela's bedroom. At least there, I wouldn't have to deal with whatever that was.
...And then I fell back asleep. Turns out I wasn't all that well-rested.
I was awoken by a hand gently shaking my shoulder. Cracking my eyes open, I saw that it was Micaela, looking a tad bit worried.
"Alex, are you okay? You feel a bit warm." She said, her tone tinged with worry.
I was about to respond that I was fine, but her words gave me pause. I did feel a bit warm. Actually, I felt really warm. Uh oh.
"...Probably just a cold." I said eventually, dismissing the idea. "Anyways, who the hell was that chick that came in earlier? I haven't seen her in the village before."
"Oh, that was just Alta. She comes here for therapy every now and then." Micaela said flippantly, brushing my concerns off. "Now, seriously, you feel warm. Maybe it'd be best to get you to a doctor..."
I gave her a deadpan look. Seriously, her name was Alta. And she looked like Alma Elma! How did she not see something suspicious about that?!
For a moment, I debated whether or not I should reveal what I knew about her. However, such a thing would place utmost suspicion on me. Because, by all rights, I shouldn't even know who Alma is. So, I decided to be more vague.
"This Alta... She's a powerful succubus." I said flatly, crossing my arms. "Even I can see that. So why are you not worried about her?"
The disguised seraph winced, gaining a suddenly sheepish look.
"Well... she's no threat. She's actually quite nice." She explained after a moment. "And I didn't realize you could identify that..."
I have her a deadpan look.
"She's almost seven feet tall and looked very powerful. I'm sure the only way I couldn't figure if she was strong was if I was actually blind." I said, my tone snarky.
She seemed as if she was about to say something, but stopped after looking me in the eyes. She narrowed her own, giving me a suspicious look. I didn't like that... Not at all.
"Alex... your eyes just flashed red." She said evenly, her tone sounding somewhere between baffled and suspicious. "And I mean that quite literally. Your pupils literally glowed."
I paused, giving her a confused look as my mind tried to process just what she'd said to me.
"...Excuse me?" I asked, definitively weirded-out. "The fuck?"
That... was a little bit concerning. I mean, I think that we can all figure that if my eyes glowed for a second, that magic was definitely involved. To be fair, magic is a common thing in this world, I was pretty sure. And it's not like there was a normal, biological reason for a human child's eyes to temporarily change color. Of course, the reason all this was concerning was because I didn't understand magic. I mean, how could I? I knew literally nothing about it. And the idea of my body being affected by something I'm uninformed about is pretty fucking disturbing, to put it mildly.
"If you truly do not know what I'm talking about, then perhaps a visit to the doctor really is what you need." Micaela said eventually. "Such a thing is... odd, for a human, to say the least."
Oh boy, I'd get to go to a medieval doctor! I hope they don't try dosing me with mercury, or attempt excessive bloodletting, or, god forbid, try to carve a fucking hole in the side of my head! Because from what little I remembered in history class, it's that a lot of medicine before the 1900s fucking sucked!
Evidently, she noticed the dread that was building on my face, placing her hand on my head and patting gently.
"Don't worry. The doctor here is much better than what you'd find in a human village. She won't hurt you on accident." The angelic woman said, clearly trying to comfort me. Personally, I doubted her words, but whatever. If push came to shove, I'd do all I could to avoid that doctor's "treatment". Though, best-case scenario, I wouldn't have to do anything. Hopefully she'd just say I was fine, and let me go on with my day.
It was about that time when there was another knock at the door.
"Come in!" Micaela called, before turning back to me. "That must be Yuri. I figured she'd be back a little earlier..."
As I heard the elven woman open the door, I was filled with a whole host of conflicting feelings. I mean, I was happy she was back, of course. But also... it would be hard to look at her after what happened last night. And that wasn't for obvious reasons. I mean, sure, I was still upset about how she killed that woman. But more than that, the main reason I didn't entirely want to see her was because of what happened last time I did. Her imposing form, drenched in blood... Something about it made my throat ache with a horrible thirst. And that, quite frankly, was fucking disturbing. Something was definitely wrong with me.
Ultimately however, the positive feelings won out. Ah, childhood hormones. They were a strange thing. I still found it odd how I was already so attached to someone who would barely even qualify as an acquaintance. I mean, I literally only met her yesterday. And already, I cared deeply for her. I wouldn't say I loved her, but I was certainly fond of her. Though part of that was probably due to the security she provided.
I met her as she came into view, walking up and giving her a smile. She responded with one of her own, but there was a pensive look in her eyes.
"Alex... about last night..." She began, instantly killing my good mood. "I just wanted to make sure... is everything alright with you?"
I opened my mouth to respond, but let out a shudder as my mind flashed back to the image of her covered in blood. The unpleasantness of my aching throat was only matched by the intense, sickening feeling of nausea in my stomach. The concerned look she gave me didn't help. Actually, it just made it worse, because if she asked what was wrong, I wouldn't be able to explain. I mean, how could I tell her that the sight of blood made me thirsty? She'd think I was insane! And being insane in the medieval era was a very, very bad thing!
"Look... I'm fine." I said eventually, forcing my tone to be neutral. Whether or not she caught the lie in my voice, I didn't know. "I... I understand why you killed her. But I'm upset that you did it... like that."
That last part was truthful, so I was hoping that it'd help me sound more credible. Judging by how she winced when I criticized her, she definitely wasn't focused on the first thing I said.
"I... I'm sorry, Alex." She said, sounding ashamed. "I... I just got so angry when I saw her trying to take you away from me..." Her voice wavered around the last couple of words.
My heart hurt a little bit upon seeing the elven woman near tears. Before I realized what I was doing, I stepped forwards, and hugged her as hard as I could.
"It's okay, Yuri..." I said quietly, trying to comfort her. "I... I'm not mad. Just... if you have to kill someone, don't drag it out... I don't think I could take it if I was around something like that again..."
We stayed like that for a moment. But after an undetermined amount of time spent hugging, we broke apart, looking at each other.
"Alex... you feel kind of warm." Yuri observed, frowning. "Do you feel alright? Should I take you to the doctor?"
I let out a sigh. This again? I mean, sure, I felt a bit hot, but I certainly wasn't sick!
"I noticed that too..." Micaela chimed in, frowning. "And I was already considering taking him. Don't worry, I'll pay."
And so, before I could even begin to protest, their mind was made up. Less than thirty minutes later, we were walking through the village, towards the local doctor's house. It was a nice day out, with a shining sun, and fair temperature. Not too hot, not too cold. A perfect afternoon. And I was about to waste that afternoon talking to a doctor. Lovely.
The doctor's house was a bit nicer than most of the other ones surrounding it. Sure, it was still made of wood, but it was a bit bigger, and even had some nice engravings along the trim of the house. It was a tad bit out of place, but it made sense. Doctors were usually paid well for their services. At least in the modern era. I had no idea how things worked in the past.
Micaela knocked gently on the door, communicating our presence to the woman inside. After a moment, the door opened, revealing the doctor in question. The first thing I noticed is that she actually looked kind of old. She was still very pretty, don't get me wrong, but there were a few wrinkles here and there, and her hair was mostly silver. Considering the fact that monsters live a really long time, this must've meant she was practically ancient. Well, that could also be completely untrue, actually. I had no idea what the lifespan of an elf was. All I knew was that monsters lived longer than humans.
The old elf was dressed modestly, bundled in a large, dark-green robe which covered most of her body. In front of her grey eyes sat a pair of bifocals, which looked worn with age. Looking at Micaela, she gave a weary, polite smile.
"Ah, Micaela. Been a while since I've seen you. You're probably the healthiest woman I've ever met." The doctor chuckled, before turning her eyes to me. "And... oh my. We don't get a lot of men in this village. Especially not so young... What's your name, child?"
"...The name's Alex." I responded evenly, trying to keep my expression neutral. "I suppose you're the village doctor?"
She beamed, and looked back up at Yuri and Micaela.
"He's so well-spoken for his age!" She said to them, impressed. Then she looked back down at me. "Yes, I am. You can call me Miss Morgan. Now... why don't you all come in and we can discuss what's wrong today?"
She quickly ushered us inside, and shut the door behind us. From there, she led us into a medium-sized room. There was a desk, a few chairs, and a big observation table in the middle. Before I could say a word, the old elf hoisted me up onto the table, placing me in a sitting position. She then ruffled my hair, and gave me another sweet smile.
"So, what brought you into my office today?" She asked kindly. "Or... would you rather that Micaela tell me?"
For a moment, I considered letting the disguised seraph talk. Then I realized she might end up blowing it out of proportion, so I figured I might as well say it myself.
"They think I might have a fever. I mean, I feel a bit warm, but I don't think it's that serious." I explained, shrugging. "I think they're worrying over nothing, personally."
The doctor chuckled, and shook her head.
"Even so, it's better to be safe than sorry. Now let me feel your head." The doctor said, before placing her hand upon my forehead. It was a bit cold, but I didn't mind. It actually felt rather soothing.
"Hmm... You do feel rather warm." Miss Morgan said, frowning. "I think I'm going to probe deeper with some magic. Don't worry, it won't hurt."
Suddenly, the woman's hand shined with a green glow. A strange, comforting warmth enveloped my body, sending a tingling sensation down my spine. It tickled a little.
The room was silent as she cast her funky little spell on me. Her expression was neutral, but grew more and more worried as time went on. She held her hand to my head for what felt like several minutes, but couldn't have been more than one. It was... an odd experience.
"...Well that's not good." The doctor muttered, before taking her hand away. Almost instantly, the feeling disappeared, and I was returned to normal.
"What's not good?" I heard Yuri ask, her tone nervous. "He's... he's not in any danger, is he?"
I was tempted to question just what the hell the doc had done to me, but I refrained. I mean, I didn't really care, to be honest. I figured it was probably just some kind of magical scan. I mean, she even warned me first before doing it. That was more courtesy than most gave in this hellhole of a world. I'd take my victories where I could get them.
"Well... you're right about the fever. His body is fighting off some kind of illness." Miss Morgan explained with a frown. "But strangely, I can't detect what kind of sickness it is. It's almost like there's nothing at all, and the body is reacting to some kind of phantom disease."
...Well that sounded worrying. Assuming she knew what she was talking about, of course. Magic aside, she was still just a medieval doctor. They didn't exactly know medicine all that well. Hell, I'm pretty sure they still fed patients mercury up until the 1800s or so.
"...Anyways, is this something I can ignore?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Because I don't feel all that sick. Just a bit warm, is all."
The doctor paused, taking a moment to think up a proper response.
"...I have no way to know what the issue is, so I cannot really offer much advice. The only thing I could say would be to keep an eye on it." She then turns her gaze back to Micaela and Yuri. "If his condition worsens, let me know immediately. I do not know what's currently wrong with him, and that makes me very nervous."
As ominous as her words were, there wasn't much else we could do. So, Micaela paid the doctor for her services, and left me with Yuri. The elven woman and I walked back home in silence. That silence persisted after she closed the door behind us.
Walking back into my room, I paused upon noticing that my window was now boarded up. Slowly, woodenly, I looked over to Yuri. She looked back at me, a sheepish expression on her face.
"...Well it's not like I'm gonna take chances after what happened!" She exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips. "Alex, someone tried to break in through your window. I'm not leaving that unblocked!"
I felt like that was... a bit of an overreaction, but whatever. I wasn't gonna try and argue with her on it. Because I knew damn well she wouldn't listen to me anyways. Nobody listens to five-year olds. I didn't. You probably didn't. Not even teachers or parents did. Children were to be seen, not heard. That's the rule I grew up with. And I guess, in a way, that persisted even into this life.
"...Whatever." I shrugged, trying to change the topic. "So... how was your day today?"
She seemed to appreciate the new topic, immediately going into a long-winded explanation of everything she'd done that day. From bothering Micaela, to going hunting, to picking up some supplies, etc. It was all very normal, mundane things. It was so mundane, in fact, that it gave me pause. Not because her being boring was an issue, mind you. In fact, I'd say that I was more than fine with her being a bit dull. It's just that... how could a woman act this normal, when she'd literally torn someone apart the night before? She just didn't seem to even think about what she'd done. To be brutally honest, it was more than a little fucked up.
We talked for a while. It was all small talk, of course. Nothing of substance. If she was surprised at my ability to hold up a conversation, she didn't show it. More than anything, she just seemed relieved to talk to someone at all.
We spoke mostly about the weather, and other such things. Since I didn't actually know that much about this world other than what's shown in the game, I opted to let her lead the conversation. I participated well enough, though it was rather annoying at times. You see, since she still thought of me as a child, she tended to speak as if I didn't understand big words. On top of that, there were certain topics that she felt the need to either dumb-down, sugar-coat, or straight-up avoid. It was very patronizing, and I did not enjoy it. She was unfortunately oblivious of that, however...
Eventually, I began to feel a bit sleepy again. That was... more than a little odd, considering the fact that I'd spent most of the day sleeping. Paired with what the doctor said earlier, it was a tad bit worrying. I was determined not to think about it, however. After all, if I was sick, there wasn't much I could do about it. This was a medieval world, after all. And apparently magic couldn't help me either, since if it could, the doc would've taken care of it.
Oh well. There was no reason to dwell on something I couldn't reasonably do anything about. So I cut off the conversation as politely as I could, and trudged over to my room. Taking one last, slightly-baffled look at my boarded-up window, I shook my head, and climbed into bed.
Sleep came for me soon after.
As it turned out, I really should have worried about my worsening health. Things quickly got much worse after that night. By the next day, I had a fever hot enough to actually suck. And the day after that, it was high enough to hallucinate. I'd started to develop a cough, too. It was a wet, rattling sound. The kind of cough that someone would make if they were on death's door. To put it plainly, it seemed like I was dying.
The doctor couldn't do anything about it, of course. I'd figured that was the case, but it was still a blow to the stomach to hear it. A blow that was made worse when I eavesdropped on the Doctor's conversation with Yuri and Micaela. To put it simply, she advised that they start looking for a nice spot to bury me. So... yeah, that wasn't a nice thing to hear.
Yuri was inconsolable. Every moment she didn't spend looking after me was spent bawling her eyes out. Her crying made my cry as well, so it was just a big mess all around. Though, her sheer concern was appreciated. It was touching. If I hadn't been too busy being afraid of my imminent death, I'd have loved her even more for it.
So, you might be wondering just what the hell I was supposed to do in this situation. I mean, I'm sick in bed, from an illness that was apparently unidentifiable. And on top of that, there's basically no medicine that could help me. So I was fucked, right?
Well... no. You see, I actually did have an idea of what was causing the issue. Remember how I'd thirsted over that blood the other day? Yeah, that ache in my throat was back. And good god, was it worse than ever! It got to the point where I had to literally scratch bloody trenches into my arm just to distract myself from it. But I refused to try and find some blood to admire, or god forbid, drink. That was... foul! Horrible! Completely and utterly disgusting! And besides, if I gave into that urge, I'd likely die of some kind of disease anyways!
Except... something in my head was telling me that drinking blood would be a solution to my issues. That voice was getting harder and harder to ignore by the day. And of course, it wasn't a literal voice. Just a metaphor, since it's really the best way I can approximate it. Though, I think I'd much prefer if it was an actual voice, as that would at least make things a bit simpler. No, the nebulous thing that whispered such suggestions into my conscious mind was nothing more than my own instincts.
Now, this is certainly an odd thing to realize. I mean, I'd lived a pretty normal life in the past (albeit with some minor incidents). Never in my past life did I feel the primal urge to drink blood. That was something unique to this body. Which, of course, brought up a whole host of questions that A: I didn't know how to ask, B: I didn't know if I wanted to ask, and C: I wasn't sure if I could ask.
And it's not like I could tell Yuri or Micaela about this, either. I mean, I was currently delusional from a stupidly-high fever. At best, they'd just think I was rambling. At worst, they'd think I was too far gone to be saved. So really, my only option was to try and wait it out.
Easier said than done, of course. Every waking moment was painful beyond measure. If I wasn't too tired to scream, my throat would have given out long ago. As it stood, all I could do was lie on my back, coughing and wheezing like someone dying of tuberculosis.
But, of course, this wasn't sustainable. After another day or so of waiting, it became quite apparent that if I didn't do something about it, I'd either die, lose my mind, or both. Still, I was hesitant to do anything. I mean, was my life really worth drinking blood? That was... monstrous! I might as well forsake my humanity if I did such a thing! And then, of course, there was my pride to think about. Yes, I really was considering letting myself die just to save a bit of face. I'm that stubborn.
However, in the end, none of that happened. My body, which up to this point had endured all kinds of agony that I couldn't possibly describe, decided that enough was enough. If I wasn't consciously going to try and do something about this predicament, then it would simply shut down my mind and take care of it for me.
Now, that sounds like a really dumb explanation, but that's basically what happened. I'm sure there's a much more elegant or scientific way to explain what happened, but I'm not smart enough for that. Oh well.
Anyways, things kicked off on the fifth night. My fever was higher than ever, and Yuri was convinced I was gonna die. Because of this, when she thought I was asleep, she'd do nothing but cry and cry and cry. It was very loud. And while it did mess with my rest, it also distracted her from basically everything around her.
Now, let me preface what I'm about to say by clarifying that I don't really remember most of this. I have... I suppose you could say flashes of memory. Little bits and pieces. Not enough to make a coherent recollection, but enough to give me an idea of what went down.
Essentially, I was about to fall unconscious, when my nose picked up a most delightful scent. It was coppery, and thinking back on it, it's quite obvious to me that it was blood. But at the time, I didn't realize that. All I knew was that my entire body throbbed when I smelled it.
My body moved on its own, shuffling out of bed before I even realized what happened. Stepping out into the main part of the house, Yuri was sat in the kitchen, loudly sobbing at the table. She was so in the throes of grief that she didn't notice me pass by her, nor did she notice the front door creaking open.
And like that, I was out in Enrika. Unsupervised. At night.
Normally, I'd have been terrified beyond measure in such a situation. But my mind wasn't even thinking about that. Actually, my mind wasn't thinking much of anything. It was mostly radio static, with vague impressions of direction.
Slowly and clumsily, I stumbled through the quiet town. My body twitched and convulsed as I traveled, though I'm unsure if that was from the illness, or some other thing. My memory is the foggiest here, so I didn't really know. I wasn't sure how long I wandered for, either. It could have been minutes, or hours. I had absolutely no way to tell. I was essentially just being led by the nose towards a delectable scent. There was no rhyme or reason to the paths I took. My brain was thoroughly fogged over.
I do remember finding the source of the scent, however. It had been after quite a bit of wandering. Circling around the back of a building (which I later learned was, in fact, a butcher shop), I was met with the sight of a trough, filled with scraps of bone, gristle, and of course, blood. It was disgusting, and had clearly been sitting out for a while, but at that moment I couldn't care any less. This was exactly what I had been craving! It was what my body wanted- no, needed! And me finding it out in the open like this... it just had to be destiny!
I'm exaggerating, of course. But this is genuinely what I felt like at the time. Though it wasn't nearly that coherent-sounding, of course. I wasn't entirely sure I could even form words in the state I was in. I just did what came natural to me. With wide eyes, I approached the trough, salivating at the thought of all that blood touching my tongue. It smelled divine. Like a five-star meal. Something so rich in flavor, that it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience!
So, wasting little time, I promptly dunked my head into the trough, and began to gulp down as much as I could.
It tasted heavenly. The coppery flavor was so rich on my tongue. So desperate for the liquid was I, that it tasted incredibly sweet, like some kind of ambrosia. As soon as it touched the back of my throat, my entire body was lit afire by a relaxing, tingling sensation. My aches and pains were soothed in a flash. My fever was also similarly annihilated. Every worry and trouble on my mind was washed away in a flood of red. That beautiful color was the solution to all of my problems...
I would have drank until it was empty. Until my stomach was bloated almost to the point of bursting. Until I could barely even move. However, it was around this time that my reason returned to me, and I realized what the fuck I was doing.
With a gasp, I tripped backwards, my stomach roiling in disgust at what I'd just done. Immediately, I tried to throw up, but found that I couldn't no matter how hard I tried. I even tried that old technique where you stick your fingers down your throat, but not even that worked.
'Oh, I'm fucked!' I thought to myself. 'Good job, Alex! You've probably just given yourself every disease in the book!'
A bizarre mixture of panic and disgust overtook me, and I was left unable to stand. Laying on my back, my face and hair drenched in blood, my body shaking as I hyperventilated...
I was having a panic attack.
I won't regale you the details of all the thoughts that went through my head around that time, mostly since they're pretty obvious. I mean, I was terrified! I'd literally just drank a trough of blood and other stuff, which had been sitting out for God-knows-how-long! Anyone that wouldn't feel panicked after that is a fucking nutjob!
The only thing keeping me from going fully catatonic was the fact that it had made most of my symptoms go away. My throat no longer ached, and my fever had almost completely disappeared, leaving me feeling rather cold in the night. The soreness in my body also seemed to vanish, leaving me feeling as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.
Hell, I didn't even feel tired! I was energized! I felt better than I had in a long time. As if I could just stand up and run laps around the whole village!
"Oh good god, Alex..." I muttered to myself, slapping a hand to my bloody face. "You are not seriously disregarding the fact that you just drank a shit ton of blood! I cannot just let that slide!"
I didn't offer any answer to myself. After all, it was just me. As therapeutic as it was to put my own concerns into words, it didn't actually help all that much, since I couldn't really respond to myself in a meaningful way. All I'd done was just appear insane. Well... More insane than I already was.
"Oh, hell no!" I heard an angry female voice coming from the building I was behind. "You damned raccoons! Stop messing with my garbage!"
I froze in place as the door swung open, revealing a very angry elf, wielding a broom as if it were a spear. Her eyes widened upon seeing me, and she nearly dropped the broom in shock.
"W-What the fuck?! Why are you covered in blood?!" She exclaimed loudly, stepping forwards and grabbing me by the arm. "G-Goddess... Don't tell me you were drinking that!"
Before I could even respond, she dragged me inside, and sat me down at a table. From there, she pulled out a wash cloth, and began trying to scrub the blood off my face and out of my hair. After my face was clean enough that she could tell who I was, she went pale.
"Oh, fuck me running..." She swore, her eyes wide. "You're Yuri's kid..."
I nodded slowly, confirming her suspicions. I mean, there was no reason to lie about that. Honestly, her knowing that probably made me safer. Though I didn't really feel like I was in danger in the first place. Maybe I was just being foolish, but this woman didn't seem like the type to take advantage of unattended children. And saying that, I realize how fucked up it is that that's considered an admirable trait around here, and not common fucking decency.
"Shit... I need to get you out of here." She muttered, shaking her head. "Your mother's probably worried sick, a-and I don't want her thinking I did anything to you..." The woman shuddered as she imagined the consequences. No doubt her mind conjured up some horrific torture. I mean, practically everyone knew about what happened to Layla. So it'd be reasonable to assume that a similar fate awaited anyone else who tried to make a move on me. As fucked up as that was... I wasn't really going to complain. It was just an extra deterrent against monsters doing shady shit. Might as well take advantage of it.
After she finished having her little freak out, she quickly took me by the hand, and began to lead me back towards my house. We walked in awkward silence, with the woman occasionally giving me a nervous glance. I mean, I understood why she was looking at me like that, but it still made me uncomfortable. Like, yes, I know I just drank a shit ton of blood. Stop making me feel even worse about it.
Knocking on the door, we were quickly greeted by the teary-eyed face of Yuri. When she saw me, her eyes widened in surprise. "Alex?! How-" She paused as she noticed the other elf standing there sheepishly. In an instant, her eyes narrowed, and she glared harshly at the other elf. "Explain. Now."
"I found your kid outside the back of my butcher shop! Covered in blood from the trough!" She declared, her tone a strange mixture of nervousness and indignance. It was... odd. "He looked like he'd been drinking it!"
I looked down, feeling my face flush with embarrassment. I could feel Yuri's eyes turn onto me, giving me a horrified, possibly judgmental look. She was silent, but I could tell there was a lot she wanted to say.
"I uh... I can explain." I said.
A/N: HEY KIDS I'VE GOT A P(A)TREON NOW!
...Well, that's not exactly the best way to introduce it. But yeah. I've got a p(a)treon now. If you want to support me, it's just $1 a month. Though, I will not be locking chapters behind a paywall (that is both illegal AND scummy!). I will have chapters up there a week early, however. Though that is not the only purpose. There will also be more... adult oriented content on there, if you catch my drift. (I haven't posted any of that stuff here. I have on Ao3 though.) More details on my profile.
Also, Alta is a reference to another fanfic (currently only posted in the MGQ fanfiction discord server. Yes that's a thing. No I will not be linking it.). He referenced TRLT in his, as well.