Do you want a new stomach? [Open]

[Kayla]

Coming back from the bathroom, she had used one of those lavender scented lotion type soaps in hopes that the lavender would distract his nose. She had paused for a minute after walking back in to take in the surroundings. Her eyes moved to Cursico, glad he did not leave, but was he about to? She frowned before grimacing at that nagging pain as she made her way over to the medicine/bill cabinet. The two pills would take about a half an hour before they kicked in and hopefully before that time the cramps did not cause her to lay on the floor curled up like a ball. She took note of the time over the stove top before moving to sit down at the kitchen table even if she felt like curling into a ball on the floor and rocking herself to sleep. To distract herself momentarily, she told him about the shower and later added to watch her grandparents.


She waited, her head resting on her arms on the table. Her eyes were closed as she evened out her breathing. His question slammed into her like a train. It sounded so innocent too, but enough of that, he could freakin’ smell it! Her body grew cold with momentary shock as she realized this- horrified briefly. Bringing her head up, she rubbed her temples before leaving her finger tips there, eyes still closed. At least apparently he cared. She had an odd feeling that if she did not explain then he would keep nagging her… or find out for himself… Scary thought! Actually, she could give him a book about it and say ‘have at it’, but then he probably did not want to read it anyway. Sighing, she still kept her eyes closed, not being to look at him. ”It’s natural for women to have this once a month and it varies when it occurs.” Saying it, her façade was cool, but her cheeks were starting to grow warm.

Her eyes opened at his point, seeing him walk closer. She put a hand cautiously around her waist as she sat there, not moving away. Perhaps she should elaborate on the whole thing and gross him out? Every male tended to know about the menstrual cycle because that is when they were unnaturally nice to their wives. Eventually through their lives if I woman did not have it, then she could not have kids. To look on the optimistic side, at least she could have kids later on with a husband and start a family… perhaps when the whole slave thing ended. Sighing, she took the time to elaborate. ”Basically it means we can have kids, but we can’t get pregnant at this time. Hormones in the body can mess with their emotions which is called PMS for short. By the way, never ask a woman if they are ‘PMSing’.” At this point, she had been studying him. A small, satisfied smirk adorned her lips. He knew the basics now (or at least she hoped she hadn’t forgotten anything) and now he was educated a bit.

Apparently the medicine had not kicked in yet and at this point, she could not take it. Getting up from the kitchen table, she took a pillow from the previous pile and curled up on the floor. Basically now while he got cleaned up, she could take a nap. ”The shower isn’t going to run away you know,” she sing-songed gently. She was thinking that while he got a shower, she could sleep off the rest of the time until the pain killer kicked in. Though, that is if he decided to get cleaned up. As another bad cramp hit her, she curled up and shut her eyes, not saying anything or more so whimpering anything. She hated this though that he had to see her like this and it was so embarrassing for her even if she could not help it. She was not going to take birth control pills anyway. Taking a breath after the pain passed, she listened for him or the running of water, wondering if while she had been distracted he had gone upstairs to take a shower… or not.

[Cursico!]

Cursico thought back as far as his memory could go, to his mother. She'd never been nice, although she always said she meant well, but there had been times when she became increasingly more violent and angry. Had it happened once a month? He couldn't remember, he hadn't had any way of keeping track of the days in those five years of torment. Well that explains her mood swings, but what the hell does bleeding have to do with kids? He sighed and shook his head, deciding that periods were a human thing that he didn't want to know about.
At least, he couldn't think of any animals that bled routinely each month. Cursico brushed hair out of his eyes to look at her expression, wondering whether or not her discomfort came from where she was bleeding, as he had noticed how she held her hand over her waist, and then when she moved he noticed fluctuations of the scent that gave him a very good idea.
She was acting so weirdly- not that he had ever considered her 'normal' before- that he found a reason to be glad he was male. Although he'd thought guys could have kids as well, not in the same way as they never had heartbeats in their stomach, but still...

”The shower isn’t going to run away you know,”

Cursico huffed, noticing his distraction hadn't worked so well. Though why he would think a shower was going to run away at all just added to his confusion, if only they could run away it would cheer him greatly; so long as they didn't run towards him. He took a step back as she curled up, and decided he might as well make himself look less like a slave, better than watching her bleed on the floor.
With a sigh, he crouched on all fours, skin rippling and sprouting fur from its pores as his body shifted into a wolf which was so much quieter on four legs. Turning his tail on her, he padded over to the stairs and climbed them without a whisper of a step to give him away. Cursico followed the most recent trail to a room, and stuck his nose through it. Smelling the room to be empty he walked into it and reformed his human body.
"If I were a woman I'd never want kids. How're you supposed to hunt if you stink of blood each month? Might as well tie a raw steak on your head and scream 'come eat me'."[/i] He whispered, finding the shower and eying the thing cynically. It all screamed 'unnatural', and made his skin crawl with disgust.
Puffing out his cheeks in exasperation, Cursico tugged off his slave garments and managed to turn on the water after two attempts. Immediately he hated the sound and feel of the water, but being a 'good boy' and not one who tore up furniture he scrubbed himself until his white skin had the faintest of pinks in its colour, and then just for fun he changed into a wolf in the shower (his fur thinner from when he wore clothes) and snapped at the water with his heavy jaws.
Once he was fully satisfied he had bitten the water enough he prodded with his paws until the water stopped pouring down. Not even noticing any of the hanging towels he shook himself dry and stepped out, leaving wet pawprints as he walked to his clothes, eying them briefly before he let out a wolfen sigh, he didn't want to put them back on anymore.

A few minutes later a very thick-pelted wolf plodded down the stairs, grinning a very un-innocent grin from ear to ear. His yellow eyes picked up the sleeping Kayla. Cursico tilted his ears forward and somehow his grin grew. Still moving with stealthy silence he walked over to her, eager to confirm his suspicions of where her 'wound' was he sidled up next to her, placing his cold wet nose to just above where her belly button was.

[Kayla]

When she had mentioned the shower would not run away, she had very faintly seen when he huffed. She hid her grin, not being able to contain it at his almost kid-like expression. However, she needed some down time as she moved to curl up on the floor- a better ‘bed’ than the table. Her ears strained to hear anything. She heard a sigh, but then that was it. Her body grew tense, unsure about the situation of where he had gone, but not wanting to open her eyes or anything, she just waited. Eventually she heard the pipes being used, her answer to what had happened to him. Glad he had found out how to work the shower, her body eased into a more relaxed position as the water-melody carried on.

Her dreams consisted in an almost submerged-in-water type of scenario. When she was still awake, she had been thinking about her stomach and just how exposed it was as she laid on her back, not liking if she were to fall asleep and then someone stepped on her- which was highly unlikely, but her stomach was sensitive like all of her skin became when she thought someone might touch her- very hard to explain, but it was almost like a sixth sense thing. Yet she ended up drifting off into sleep. It was like she could still hear if someone began speaking, but she was also sleeping. Somewhere during the time of her ‘nap’, the ibuprofen had started to work as she stretched out further on her back. The pillow had been pushed to the side in her earlier movements, her tank top riding up slightly exposing her lower stomach, but the skin suddenly exposed to the air was not enough to wake her.

It was sometime after the water had been turned off that she was slowly rising back into consciousness, but she had yet to fully awaken. It was only when something cold and wet was placed onto her stomach over her belly button did she startle into awareness. The muscles of her abdomen clenched as the skin grew sensitive, causing her to drop, her heart seeming to jump start. Eyes snapping open to sit up and place a hand on her stomach, it took her awhile to actually see Cursico there and realize it was him. Groaning, she plopped back down before deciding to act stubborn. Still grumbling, she turned on her side to turn her back on him. She was still tired, despite her slowly waking body since her heart had accelerated. Her breathing settling into the rhythm of that when she is awake, she became more aware of her surroundings but kept her eyes shut, hoping to settle into another sleep which was not going to come.

Frustrated, she huffed as she turned again on her side to face him. A slight narrowing of her eyes was in order since he had irritated her, but it soon faded as she took in his appearance. He looked… fluffier… or no, fuller? A funny thought of a blow-dried Cursico filtered into her head. It was exaggerated of course since he ended up looking like a white puff ball. Hopefully though he had not made a big mess in the bathroom, but maybe he did. However, she did not want to deal with it now and left it be as she looked at him from laying on her side. Sighing, she heaved herself onto her stomach for a little bit before bringing herself on all fours to sit herself up on the ground. Turning to face him, she gently reached out her hand at an attempt to stroke his fur and study it. Finally comprehending something, her gaze shifted from his fur to his eyes. ”What did you do?” It was not stern or anything, just a mere question because obviously he had done something. Then later, she huffed herself, taking her arms back to wrap around her stomach as she sat crris-crossed. ”Your nose is really cold you know.” The feeling of his sudden cold nose to her bare skin was still there and absent-mindedly again, she rubbed it to help perhaps get rid of the totally unexpected feeling.

[Cursico!]

Snickering, Cursico watched her sudden jump at his touch, his ears tilting forward at the same moment as his head rose proudly above his shoulders, expecting some sort of reprimand he was going to shrug off. But she didn’t do anything but roll over, which made him huff again. From the picked up pace of her breathing and heart-rate he knew damn well she was awake, and ignoring him! Why that bridled him so much he couldn’t tell, but the point was he didn’t like her attention being focused on... well nothing instead of him. The tip of his tail curled up in annoyance.
He eyed the end of her shirt, and wondered how quickly she would turn around if he shoved his head under her top. For some reason people seemed to hate that- women especially. Maybe it was a period thing. In fact, he had even half-lowered his head with the very intention of giving her another shock when she flipped over, oddly reminding him of a pancake.
Much in the way someone will turn away from someone acting weird so not to notice them, his ears swivelled back when she went on all fours. As far as he knew, only very little and smelly humans did that, otherwise it was strange. That period thing must be horrible, he wondered if women went into some sort of isolation whenever they went through it.
The individual hairs that made up the fur of his pelt rose as she reached her hand out to pet him. With a haughty air he stepped back out of reach of the intrusive limb, eying it like a piece of rotting meat, something to maybe take a bite out of but not something he wanted touching his shiny white fur. Then he noticed the way she was looking at his miraculously thicker pelt and smoothed his fur back out to give it a flatter appearance.

”What did you do?”

Maybe he shouldn’t have ‘dressed up’ so much; he hadn’t thought she would notice, being a human after-all. Cursico lifted one paw and tapped the stress-bitten claws on the tiles twice, then he shrugged his heavy scruff and lifted up onto two legs, a black hoodie forming over his top, and blue cargos grew below. The perfect attire to hide stuff in, and surprisingly they fit pretty well, although he would have preferred the trousers to be longer. “I did this, like it?” Cursico twirled on one foot, no worried about anything clinking in the pockets. Toilet roll did have uses greater than just to be flushed down the toilet.

”Your nose is really cold you know.”

The werewolf laughed, his voice carrying a teasing edge to it: ”If it wasn’t I wouldn’t really have bothered.” A lie, but the truth was bound to make her feel so much worse. But why do I care if I upset her? Cursico wondered, finding himself frowning again like it had become a habit since meeting the strange other-species. At least he was young enough that he wouldn’t get wrinkles, and as the saying went it took forty muscles to frown, so it was almost like exercise. Keep your face fit, scowl like a grumpy bastard!

[Kayla]

Her hand retracted fast as he stepped back, her eyes downcast and a bit disappointed, but she did not let that show for long. She noticed however that he smoothed his fur back down from being in its threatened state. She questioned him, hoping that nothing seriously bad happened, but he probably would not tell her anyway. He transformed back, seeing the black hoodie and cargo pants. He had said he ‘did this’ and then asked if she liked it. He twirled then and she raised a brow before clapping softly. ”Brilliant! You’d be a beautiful ballerina,” she fake-sniffed at the end of her played out, choked-up sob, and teased with him. Pretending to dab around her eyes, she later chuckled and looked up at him from her sitting position on the floor. And literally she had to look up. ”But anyway, very nice… You sure that’s all you did?” Her suspicion had grown, seeing the faintly enlarged pockets. To get him to tell the truth she could guilt-trip him, but decided against it. She sighed, leaning back.

Taking into consideration his mood had slightly lifted, she smiled. She had been right about showers now, hadn’t she? Deciding to tease around a bit more she joked, ”Great, now I have to look out for wet noses and exposed mid drifts…” it was bland and almost off topic, but whatever. She was still waiting to see if he would expand on his answer. Finally deciding to stand she made her way up and stretched her arms above her head, clasping her hands together and then went up on her tiptoes. As she relaxed from the small stretch, she yawned, a hand lazily moving to cover her mouth as she turned back around to pick up the pillow she had been using on the floor. She picked it up and walked to the couch, placing it in front of the arm that he had earlier torn. Moving her way to the kitchen -wondering if he would follow- she took about five soup crackers from their place on the island and bit into one. She held the bottom half of the cracker between her lips as she bent to open the fridge to see if there was anything to eat.

She did a once-over before straitening up to glare at the clock. ((What time should it be now?)) Sighing, she took shut the fridge and began eating the rest of the cracker as she made her way to the glasses cabinet up top. Some hot tea sounded good right now, but she needed a glass she could warm up in the microwave to get the water hot before she put in the tea bag. She opened the cabinet, making sure Cursico was not in the way of course and stood on her tip-toes as she reached for a tea cup. Finally receiving it, she smiled before moving towards the sink to fill it up with water and placing it in the microwave for a few minutes. Mid you she only did this one-handed, the remaining crackers still in her hand. She offered one to Cursico before placing one in her mouth to eat. Shrugging, she got a napkin and placed the crackers on it at the edge of the island counter. She brushed her hands against her sweats before moving to another cabinet where they kept the tea bags. There was a raspberry one left so she took that one, opening it up as the microwave beeped to tell her that the water was hot enough.

She opened the door and placed the tea bag into the cup to let it steep. Gathering the trash, she moved around Cursico to throw it away. Before stealing another cracker away, she looked up at him. ”You want something to eat?” Perhaps he was hungry, but if not asking was polite anyway. Finally done asking him, she turned to snatch a cracker from the napkin and broke it in half like she had done earlier, still managing to hold the bottom portion in her mouth- call her talented or just plain weird, she did not really care right now. Moving her way to the cup, she took it out of the microwave and shut its door, placing the cup on the island counter next to the crackers. She turned back around, the half cracker still in her mouth as she paused; thinking of what she was going to use to sweeten the tea- sugar or honey?

[Cursico!]

I’d make a beautiful ballerina? Cursico thought with a growl, I’d rather dress up in a bunny suit and then jump into a pound full of hungry unrestrained dogs. What is a ballerina anyway? All he could remember was that men seemed to disdain them for some reason, or at least the straight ones. While being loved by one and all was far from his ambition, he didn’t want to be the subject of a drunken mans interests; apart from when he was doing something to make them scream. He made a mental note not to spin around on one foot again unless necessary.

”But anyway, very nice… You sure that’s all you did?”

Cursico bridled, even though he was very guilty of doing other things, it wasn’t very nice to be accused of lying. Well, he would do it to other people, but that was slightly different, he’d never locked anybody in a cage (locking your manager in the basement was slightly different, he had only an hour locked up, and got his revenge). Tilting his head back in a half nod, he offered a sly grin and agreed: “Why yes, I am sure that is all I did.” The lie slid easily from his lips, having been accustomed to doing many wrongs in his life, which, because of the circumstances seemed right.
There were a bunch of useless looking things in his pockets; some just looked nice so he wanted to keep them, and other items which looked particularly valuable so he had hidden them away in the folded pockets. The perfect crime, if only his pockets had been ‘slightly distended’ before he had come down. But why would I care if she found out anyway? If she manages to call anyone who can do something about it, I’ll be long gone before anything can happen. Unless she has some sort of secret panic button... one hidden by the smell of blood?
Cursico found himself irresistibly drawn to the thought of poking her stomach again. He pondered on how best he could sneak up on her while his eyes followed her in her expedition around the room. It took a while before he realised she was looking for something to eat. I wonder how long she’d last on a slaves rations, I suppose I shouldn’t blame her with her little problem. Needs to build up her strength again maybe? Or, perhaps she’s building up strength to feed children ready to grow inside her! The uneducated werewolf’s eyes brightened at the thought (it seemed very clever to him).
His green eyes watched her stomach as she stretched, but thought she would be expecting it again after so soon. It just wouldn’t be the same unless he shocked her; so long as she wasn’t asleep like last time it should prove much more interesting. The microwave however, distracted him quite thoroughly; he plodded over and stared at it as it turned on the inside. “Why is it doing that?” Cursico asked in awe, “It’s turning! It doesn’t feel hot either!” He prodded at the door, listening to the strange humming; Bee-powered?

”You want something to eat?”

Looking from the strange humming box to her, he stuck out his tongue and panted lightly. ”Is it special after going in the box? I’d like special food, certainly.” Cursico’s face dropped when she opened the door and the sound stopped, although it gave him the chance to stick his head in and look around, marvelling at how cool it was inside.

[Kayla]

Still at a state of disbelief, she watched him offer a sly grin. Ok so right now she thought he might have short term memory loss or something along those lines, but she tilted her head in a ‘huh’ motion as she studied him. Even though that grin might not be such a good thing, she found it cute- like a kid lying through his teeth… which is why she remained ever so suspicious. She glanced back at his pockets again before looking away a bit confused. Perhaps she was seeing things and she prayed she was not losing her eyesight or just seeing things. She turned back to face him, opening her mouth to say something, but just as soon back off. That probably made her look like a fish gulping for air (even though it did not work that way for the fish). The whole thought about his pockets and her eyesight were bothering her to a point where she thought the only thing she could do was to wait and see if things were out of place later.

The sudden outburst of his curiosity caused her to turn his way, her brow raised with another look of disbelief. Just how uneducated was he? Did he ever go to school when he was younger or were the Gifted’s… situation that bad? At his point, she realized that she only knew a very insignificant portion about them and their history. Before answering him, she turned back to the clock again to distract herself in her ponderings. ”I don’t know anything…” A whispered murmured escaped her, not really thinking he could hear it since parts were even muffled to herself, but what did she know now anyway? However, she figured she would explain to him the best she could about the microwave. Sighing, she walked over to where he was. Leaning on the countertop it was on, she looked towards him before turning to view the keypad area to check the time remaining. ”It’s called a microwave and it warms up things if you do not want them to be cold or frozen. I can’t give you a scientific explanation- it was not my strong point in school.” After explaining a bit, she took the cup out to let the tea steep.

She offered him something to eat and she chuckled at his answer. Eventually it turned into a laugh as he stuck his head in. ”Um… technically you’re not supposed to do that, but… it isn’t really a set rule…” …just common sense… the thought finished in the confines of her mind. Thinking though, she wondered what she could give him to eat. Of course at this point in time she had no clue what to give him. To make some time, she got the honey and poured some into the tea after taking the bag out. She stirred it, tasting it before deciding it was sweetened enough and took another sip. With a spontaneous thought, she took a smaller spoon out from the silverware drawer and poured honey on to it. ”Here, something sweet, just watch out because it’s sticky.” Her hand held the spoon by the end as she offered it to him.

Still at a loss to what to fix him to eat, she leaned against the island counter again, holding her tea in front of her. ”Anything you absolutely know you want?” After asking, she took another sip of the honey-sweetened raspberry tea that was warming her up. It contents slid down her throat and soothed it pretty much soothing her whole being like hot chocolate did after being outside all day in the snow. A silence greeted her then and she was not sure if she liked it at this point in time. Although remaining calm on the outside, her thoughts whirled around about this being an awkward one- for her anyway. She heard a noise from upstairs then, her head tilting up towards the ceiling before freezing. As she listened for anymore sounds, her body was tense now as she dreaded one of her grandparents coming down and seeing the two of them together- a teenage boy and girl and that girl being Kayla, her grandmother would have a fit. A minute went by, but nothing else was heard from upstairs and at that, Kayla let out a breath she did not know she was holding. She lowered her head again as her grip loosened on the tea cup from her fingers tightening around it when she was tense.

[Cursico!]

Cursico didn’t notice her mumble to herself, or more like he heard her speak but knew from the tone it wasn’t for him so disregarded what she said. Too many times he had listened over people mumbling and it never turned out useful. Masters mumbled curses and biologically questionable threats, so he had learned through Classical Conditioning to just let the words slip by. What he wouldn’t admit, was that once upon a time when his feet and head looked much too big for his body, those insults had cut deep and left him afraid to try and see what people really thought of him; but that was too far back, and well hidden with the passage of time.

”It’s called a microwave and it warms up things if you do not want them to be cold or frozen. I can’t give you a scientific explanation- it was not my strong point in school.”

School, the word brought a bitter expression on his face, although he covered it back up with his wonder for the microwave. He had gone to school once, for one day before they realised who he was. It hadn’t given him any time to grow an opinion on it all, only later when he had been a bar slave had he realised that in school children learnt how to work out what funny squiggles meant. If he had gone through science, he would know microwaves used microwaves to heat up the water in food.
Cursico then enjoyed the innards of the microwave, narrowing his eyes to see if he could spot any little waves anywhere. Maybe they had hidden in the little grills set all around the inside. He ignored her again, not caring about any human rule for keeping his head out of places. It wasn’t like he could get caught in the little space, if he managed then it was likely someone had just chopped his head off and in which case he would be dead anyway.

”Here, something sweet, just watch out because it’s sticky.”

He had been attempting to see down one of the little holes when she spoke, and eased his head out, shaking his head to realign his hair which didn’t seem to appreciate being rubbed against wet walls, even if it was slightly damp after his shower. With a sniff, he noticed the golden coloured liquid on a spoon. With a stubborn expression, Cursico eyed it a little then shook his head. Once before he had had honey and the sweetness made him gag, although lightly licking its surface had been alright, it wasn’t something he felt like doing in front of anyone; nor was it worth the effort. Syrup he liked for some absurd reason, but not anything from bees. To his sharp senses, it did feel like he was just eating a handful of bees but without the sting.

”Anything you absolutely know you want?”

Another un-trustable grin broke out over his face. ”Why, meat of course. I don’t normall-...” His head jerked up at the sound of stirring upstairs, eyes fading into faint slips. He noted another smaller noise which gave the impression of someone pushing down into something soft and he relaxed, trusting his auditory senses to warn him if the perpetrator moved again. ”Err... So, I don’t normally eat things cooked... And I forgot why that had any relevance.” Cursico tilted his head, trying to remember why he had started talking about raw food. All he could remember was that there had been something else he had been meaning to add before the distraction.

[Kayla]

The spoon full of honey was rejected and she gave him an almost shocked looked before gently placing it in her own mouth. It was better than just wasting it. The sound from upstairs had sent her nerves on end, but once she heard now more, she eyed Cursico and saw he was acting ‘normal’ so she assumed it was safe now. Sighing, she went to one of the high chairs on the end of the island that was only a short distance across from the microwave. She sat, eyeing the microwave curiously as she took the spoon from her mouth- a good amount of honey still on it. If she tried taking the whole thing and swallowing it, it was just too sweet at that point. Cursico had stuck his head in the microwave though, would it need cleaning now? He had just gotten a shower anyway and his hair was still damp so maybe it did not need a cleaning. Besides, cleaning microwaves in her opinion was not fun at all.

He spoke again about what he ate. She frowned at what she heard. Nothing cooked? Well, he was on his own there. What did the whole ‘I forgot why that hand any relevance’ mean though? He seriously forgot what he was talking about. Curious now, she took the spoon from her mouth again after sucking on it while she waited. ”Why don’t you eat things cooked? If I ate raw meat I’d get sick.” Pretty much anybody she knew that ate raw meat got sick because of the bacteria and other things. And now there was only one person she knew now that did not get sick from it. Then that must mean he has a strong immune system and well, being able to shift into a wolf- it was probably just natural and normal to do. Speaking of his wolf form again, she noticed she was kind of growing fond of the two different forms Cursico had. This lead to the thought that she smiled at herself for because that one little thought meant that she accepted him for who and what he was.

Honey was gone from the spoon now after she had been licking it and only a cool, metallic feel greeted her as her tongue moved against it inside her mouth. Getting up, she placed the spoon in the sink and turned back around to grab her tea. Moving back over to the chair, she sat on it again and took a sip of the slowly disappearing tea before placing it on the island again. She sat back and crossed her arms as she wondering why he did not eat cooked food, until she realized something. ”Oh! Are you thirsty by any chance?” It was asked nervously wondering if she forgot to ask him in the first place. Her posture was more upright now as she sat up. She had water, tea, and perhaps something in the fridge like juice. Her hand came up to take her hair and pull in over her right shoulder, her eyes moving towards the clock again for something to do as she waited.

((Ok so what time are they at right now? 1 AM, 11 PM, the works…))

[Cursico!]

”Why don’t you eat things cooked? If I ate raw meat I’d get sick.”

Cursico raised his eyebrows, but was forced to lower them when hair poured into his eyes. Running a hand over his forehead to get all the stray strands out from his eyes he watched her in surprise. So humans couldn’t eat... normal food? He’d thought they just liked to burn things. His surprise retreated into thoughtfulness, if they got sick when they ate raw meat, why had he been given it so much? The ‘wolf’s already colossal hate for humans flared in anger. Had they wanted to make him sick?
For a moment his blame was on every one of his most hated species, but his conscience didn’t like him adding Kayla to a stereotype she had done nothing but prove wrong. She hadn’t given him anything to make him sick. The thought about having to be subjective about humans made his head spin. How could he justify half of his life’s desires if some were good? What about the few he had killed without knowing anything about them?
“Err...” He cleared his throat, distracted by the sudden revelation, “I’ve never seen wolves suffer from raw meat, or even rotting.” Although it wasn’t very pleasant eating with flies everywhere, but otherwise it was just a little different. Congealed blood gave it a different taste, like spices from a different country. See? Differences, humans are stupid fickle things that can’t even survive without surrounding themselves with all sorts of implements. I can’t identify with them... but Kayla hasn’t done anything wrong, apart from ordering me not to tear up her stuff.
What to think, Cursico watched her sip her drink without seeing. Cold shivers ran along his skin, but unusually it wasn’t because his body was shifting. It took him a second to realise she had spoken, he rose his head slowly; feeling that it was much too heavy for his neck. “Hm? No, water is easy enough to catch.” With a faintest tinge of red in his skin, he remembered how he had drunk water in the shower while biting it. Just another thing he didn’t feel comfortable doing around the pestilence called human-kind.
”Wuh-what-what do you plan to do in your life?” Cursico asked suddenly, not being too bothered by the food topic, after being used to eating little at large intervals. If he couldn’t justify his hate anymore, it couldn’t hurt to hear what other people bothered surviving for, or at least get an idea off one odd-ball.

[Kayla]

It was times like these where she listened intently- times where she could learn more about someone. To think of something thoughtful to his ‘raw meat’ comment, she paused a bit to re-think her words. ”Well, being able to shift into a wolf… maybe your immune system is stronger since the reason why we cook it is because of the bacteria and things in it or on it.” She shrugged a little after this. The medicine seemed to even relieve her shoulder pain too if not but just a little. The part about the raw meat though did make sense. Wolves ate raw meat, and so did tigers, lions, and so forth, but she was human not an animal. It was cruel to her now to use the word ‘animal’ since saying it aloud to Cursico could be fatal.

Still thinking, she continued to sip on her tea. Soon enough the little cup was empty. Standing slowly now, she walked over to the sink as he answered. When he did, she turned her head to glance at him. Did she heard right? Barely did she notice the flush appearing on his skin and she smiled gently. Perhaps leaving the subject like that was enough. She rinsed the cup out and actually hand-washed it (bored) before placing it on the drying towel face-down. Cursico’s next question came kind of unexpected. Pursing her lips, she moved back over to stand near him, not feeling like sitting anymore. ”I’m not sure. I have dreams and hopes, -like starting a family when I’m older- but I kind of go with what life gives me and that doesn’t mean I let things push me around when it’s not right.” Sighing, she crossed her arms before speaking to him again. ”What about you?” What would he do?

Part of her wanted him to hang around a bit more. It was nice to talk to someone and hang out with someone around her age because normally she was just at home taking care of her grandparents. Thinking about him, she glanced his way almost thoughtfully before something clicked. A sense of maternal nature came over her, replaying the stutter he had done in her head. It was almost like she was ‘picking up’ something. ”Hey, are you feeling ok?” Maybe that flush she had caught a glimpse of earlier was maybe the forming of a fever? Curious now, she moved closer towards him, but gently and slowly and very unsure. ”I want to see about something so please don’t bite my hand off.” It was a rushed mumble of sorts and she took the back of her fingers and placed them on his cheek and then the underside of her wrist on his forehead. If he could transform into a wolf and eat raw meat, was his body temperature higher than hers? It was at this point she could not tell if he was running a fever or not.

[Cursico!]

A feeling he had never known before was upsetting his stomach. Even though he was extremely stubborn, and prone to acts of violence from his strong hunting instincts, his damn conscience was poking at him for all the things he had previously been able to rationalise. On top of his conscience he felt like a dog that had been chasing cars for hours, just to have one stop and be unsure what to do with it. Well, the people of the slave market were definitely worth killing, he supposed that could work, but going there again would wind up with his recapture, and more people would surely replace those lost...
The mention of families managed to amuse him. His wolf form was roughly two years old, and already ready to procreate, though it was instilled into his head that only an Alpha pair should whelp litters. He was more likely to eat any pups he found that raise them, his or otherwise. What was the point in spending your life making more lives? Then watch the point of the new life to be used for family purposes again. Where was the point in it all? Then how could he make sense of using his life just to end others?
Slowly he shook his head. What about me? I have no dream, nothing to work for because when you look closely there is no point in anything. Not without... Well I suppose not without putting faith into a God or two, but how can you appreciate life if you’re just on a balancing scale for heaven or hell? Cursico bit lightly on his lip, then harder as emotions threatened to push him overboard.

”Hey, are you feeling ok?”

The wolf glanced up, and then straightened having realising he had begun to double over. As always his hair hung down into his eyes, but unlike all the other times he made no attempt to remove it. He watched her with a depressed resignation, completely unaware of why she moved her hand to touch his skin. A faster metabolism made his skin moderately hotter than humans, although his internal temperature remained the same so the enzymes could work properly. “What’s the point in that?” He asked, looking at her directly, words reflecting what his mind kept chewing over.

[Kayla]

Another sigh skipped past lips as Kayla noticed Cursico’s body language and demeanor changing. Call it weird, but she had a knack for picking up if something was wrong or bothering the person. Wolves relied on body language so perhaps Cursico did too? For example, a wolf that was dominant would have their tails up and its posture would be regal. Now an Omega on the other hand instead of the Alpha- well, their posture would be low. They were scapegoats on most parts. Glancing curiously at him, she wondered what rank he might consider himself to be. Was he the dominate Alpha, a subordinate, or the Omega? Well if though he was Alpha most of the time… then let’s just say there would be interesting times if he stuck around a lot.

”What’s the point in that?”

It reached her ears on time only to catch her in deeper thought. The words caught her off guard to simply put it. Did he mean what’s the point of having a hope or was it because she touched his skin? Come to think of it, he was warm… and her upper portion was starting to become cold since her tank top revealed a lot of skin. Thoughts similar of curling up by the fireplace came to her mind, yet the fireplace would be substituted by Cursico… Stepping away quickly, she brought her hands to cover her flushed face. ‘Bad thoughts, bad thoughts, Kayla. You’re tired too just go to bed.’ Finally thinking herself to be composed enough, she turned to him again. ”Never mind that, but do you want to go to sleep? I know at least I’m still tired.” Shivering once, she placed her arms around her in an attempt to keep warm. As soon as she went upstairs she would switch her tank top to either a warmer tee, a long sleeve, or just grab a sweatshirt.

((I sorry! It’s suckish!))

[Cursico!]

Never mind it? Cursico winced, looking like someone who has had his worst fears realised. Does that mean that she cannot justify it? What do you do with something you can't justify? I do wish I had been born wolf and only wolf, it must be damn human contamination that is making me think like this. No wolves ever question what they are. It's like a poison in my brain.
Meeker than he had been in six years, he didn't even comment on the very obvious reddening of her face, or the new speed of her heart. Even if he had been in the mood to pay more attention, he wouldn't have been able to work out why she was acting how she did. Just like he didn't even know why women would possibly bleed to have children. If left to his own thoughts, he would have decided that bleeding meant there was something wrong inside and the woman could never have children.

”Never mind that, but do you want to go to sleep? I know at least I’m still tired.”

In a subdued smile he lightly- but firmly- shook his head. It was still early for him, having nocturnal tendencies. There had never been much to do in the cage at the market, but he still preferred being active when no one was around (even if it was gratifying to tear off some viewers arm and eat it right in front of their eyes.) "You can go sleep, I should probably keep moving as there are probably people looking for me." With a bitter laugh he began to muse aloud "I am a murderer afterall, warning all citizens, a wolf is gonna tear a new stomach in your intestines. Hmm, and of course I'm a dirty non-human, I must be captured and enslaved."
Must I analyse doing what I like to do best? So long as I enjoy it what more can be done? Let the humans worry about the meaning of life, I can worry about the best places to tear them open. So this weird girl is an exception, but if I had killed her before I wouldn't have felt anything. No loss, I won't hurt her now, because she has helped me, but that doesn't excuse the rest of humanity.

[Kayla]

Darn. She probably should have asked another question instead of saying ‘never mind’. God, just screw it up now why don’t you, she was thinking to herself. He looked almost exhausted mentally. The last thing she wanted was for him to go away and never return. Yes, she wanted him to be free and not enslaved, but she had kind of found a friend in him. In reality it was hard for her to hate people in the first place. She could get upset and angry, but the grudge she would not be able to hold forever. Even to distract her from her own thoughts, she asked if he wanted to go to sleep too.

She caught the shy smile and the shake of his head. Her lips pursed again, trying to keep a frown away. He began a short monologue and she was glad she had stuck around downstairs. He kept saying things that frankly Kayla did not like. ”As much as I would like to sleep, I don’t want you running off and getting caught again.” All her work would be for nothing, but it was not all the reason why she did not want him to go. And it’s not just that, I really like you- you’re a nice person.” And yes, she did say ‘nice’ because behind that ragging and angry wolf at the market was a rather intelligent and intriguing… and not to mention- cute- Cursico.

Still waiting for his reaction, she leaned against the wall and crossed her right arm against her hips to rest there while her left arms held her right elbow. The pose was more so just something to do while she waited. Her gaze traveled towards his pants’ pockets again. The reminded her… something was still up and she needed to find out what he did. If she did not suffer from short-term memory loss, then she still thought she had reason to be suspicious.