12-05-2010, 09:40 AM
Ykesha had slipped into a faint shortly after the boy left her. She was unaware of the approach of a second luperic, nor that she was the topic of a weighted conversation. She didn’t dream while asleep; her fire-bathed mind was too damaged to procure for her images of the strange. She was no longer aware of the heat. She no longer remembered how cold the air was. She’d forgotten about the herbs and the water which now settled in her gut like oil in a beaker of water. There was a welcomed stillness, and the she-wolf would later reflect on how much like a statue she had been. She existed in form, but in mind there was nothingness.
That nothingness was broken several hours later when she peeled opened blistering eyes and found her surroundings quite different from before.
The woman sat up abruptly upon feeling the firm warmth beneath her. Her breath caught sharply in her lungs, but what normally would have burned fiercely and caused her to cough felt muted. Gingerly she raised one hand to her chest and fondled the thin hair there. Why didn’t her lungs ache as terribly as they used to? She breathed with care for several seconds and felt no change. This was no fluke. Her pain had been dulled by something. As Ykesha’s mind began to wrap around this curiosity, she realized the strangeness of her situation. She glanced down at herself and the hand which was resting against her sternum. She was in optime form. Strange, she mused. I don’t remember having transformed. The hand which gently fingered her chest lifted to her face as if she needed to better see it to believe it was there. She opened her fingers and the pink pads of her palm greeted her with the familiarity of a childhood plush. This puzzled her. Apparently in her ill fit her body had shifted, perhaps from the pain, perhaps from the fever.
And where was that fever?
Ykesha ran her nails through her thick hair, her bright eyes widening at the strangeness of the situation. She still felt ill, yet the rage in her body had been quieted. Previously it was as though someone had unleashed a maddened dog inside of her. The beast turned it’s sour head to better pierce her muscles and mind with yellowed, chipped teeth. Its claws sunk into her flesh as a foot does in dense mud. The dog had crapped inside of her. It urinated within her organs and these sources of liquid had festered and turned to a dripping pool of blackened rot. Someone, however, had taken this beast, and broken it. She felt its presence still, but it had heeled. For this, she was grateful, but it did not settle her nervous mind. Somehow she’d moved. Somehow she’d shifted. And somehow she felt alive again. The hair on the back of her neck stood as she slowly lifted her face and looked around.
What she found surprised her so much that she clutched at her naked self and flushed beneath her white fur.
She was not alone on the heat rock which had kept her warm. Two luperci - two males - were nearby. With humble, shy movements which were unlike her, the fae tucked her legs to her and held them with both arms. She stared with wide eyes at the one she didn’t recognize and felt small next to his enormous sense of presence. Her ears flicked back to reveal her discomfort, though she said nothing. As she surveyed him her eyes lowered and she hugged her thighs closer to her bare chest. He frightened her, though she could not pinpoint why.
As the hybrid considered the man before her, however, the smaller of the two approached her. She recoiled at first from his sudden appearance, but quickly relaxed when she saw his posture. He was kindly, worried perhaps. She felt a sudden flush heat her still fevered face at this. Was he worried about her. With the timidity of a child reaching for a bug, she glanced at him and a weighted expression overtook her face. He had been the one who cared for her when she was so delirious she wasn’t even sure which direction the sky was. She meant to thank him, but the words caught sorely in her dry throat. It wasn’t until she noticed this discomfort that the motive for the luperci’s close proximity became clear. He cupped within his palm another drink of water. Ykesha stared at the little lad’s hand, her hesitation only a result of manners. Yet it was clear that he had procured this for her. Ykesha’s face swiveled back and took in his face, her own a meadow of weariness and thanksgiving. With ginger movements, the lass rotated to her knees, and placed her hands outside his own. Her eyes dryly closed and she lowered her face to the water. It sloshed lightly and began to run down his wrist. When his palm was free of the liquid it once held, she sat back and stared at him.
“Thank you,” her voice choked from disuse. “I’m sorry to have been so much trouble.” Her ears flicked back as she chanced a glance at the bigger of the two.
That nothingness was broken several hours later when she peeled opened blistering eyes and found her surroundings quite different from before.
The woman sat up abruptly upon feeling the firm warmth beneath her. Her breath caught sharply in her lungs, but what normally would have burned fiercely and caused her to cough felt muted. Gingerly she raised one hand to her chest and fondled the thin hair there. Why didn’t her lungs ache as terribly as they used to? She breathed with care for several seconds and felt no change. This was no fluke. Her pain had been dulled by something. As Ykesha’s mind began to wrap around this curiosity, she realized the strangeness of her situation. She glanced down at herself and the hand which was resting against her sternum. She was in optime form. Strange, she mused. I don’t remember having transformed. The hand which gently fingered her chest lifted to her face as if she needed to better see it to believe it was there. She opened her fingers and the pink pads of her palm greeted her with the familiarity of a childhood plush. This puzzled her. Apparently in her ill fit her body had shifted, perhaps from the pain, perhaps from the fever.
And where was that fever?
Ykesha ran her nails through her thick hair, her bright eyes widening at the strangeness of the situation. She still felt ill, yet the rage in her body had been quieted. Previously it was as though someone had unleashed a maddened dog inside of her. The beast turned it’s sour head to better pierce her muscles and mind with yellowed, chipped teeth. Its claws sunk into her flesh as a foot does in dense mud. The dog had crapped inside of her. It urinated within her organs and these sources of liquid had festered and turned to a dripping pool of blackened rot. Someone, however, had taken this beast, and broken it. She felt its presence still, but it had heeled. For this, she was grateful, but it did not settle her nervous mind. Somehow she’d moved. Somehow she’d shifted. And somehow she felt alive again. The hair on the back of her neck stood as she slowly lifted her face and looked around.
What she found surprised her so much that she clutched at her naked self and flushed beneath her white fur.
She was not alone on the heat rock which had kept her warm. Two luperci - two males - were nearby. With humble, shy movements which were unlike her, the fae tucked her legs to her and held them with both arms. She stared with wide eyes at the one she didn’t recognize and felt small next to his enormous sense of presence. Her ears flicked back to reveal her discomfort, though she said nothing. As she surveyed him her eyes lowered and she hugged her thighs closer to her bare chest. He frightened her, though she could not pinpoint why.
As the hybrid considered the man before her, however, the smaller of the two approached her. She recoiled at first from his sudden appearance, but quickly relaxed when she saw his posture. He was kindly, worried perhaps. She felt a sudden flush heat her still fevered face at this. Was he worried about her. With the timidity of a child reaching for a bug, she glanced at him and a weighted expression overtook her face. He had been the one who cared for her when she was so delirious she wasn’t even sure which direction the sky was. She meant to thank him, but the words caught sorely in her dry throat. It wasn’t until she noticed this discomfort that the motive for the luperci’s close proximity became clear. He cupped within his palm another drink of water. Ykesha stared at the little lad’s hand, her hesitation only a result of manners. Yet it was clear that he had procured this for her. Ykesha’s face swiveled back and took in his face, her own a meadow of weariness and thanksgiving. With ginger movements, the lass rotated to her knees, and placed her hands outside his own. Her eyes dryly closed and she lowered her face to the water. It sloshed lightly and began to run down his wrist. When his palm was free of the liquid it once held, she sat back and stared at him.
“Thank you,” her voice choked from disuse. “I’m sorry to have been so much trouble.” Her ears flicked back as she chanced a glance at the bigger of the two.