Completed Cat in the Streets (Arianthe Swansong)

[Wyatti]

It was warm here, the smells faint but pleasant, neither intruding nor absent. It was light too, not overly, but enough to brighten the room without the aid from candles. What ever she was laid upon was soft, different to the hard floor she had been previously laid upon. She could barely see Arianthe as she walked away, a moments recognition to the human that reached out for her when in need. She said something, but it looked as if she was leaving. Leaving for what? Wyatti stared on, feeling weak and faint, her hand for a moment reaching out, a look of distress filling her face as images over laid themselves, changing forms and replacing them with others. But as quickly as those images came, did the child find herself slipping from a state of being awake to one of dreaming.

Wyatti slept. Perhaps only for minutes or seconds, or perhaps for hours on end that slipped into days and then weeks. Time had simply lost meaning to the Kelvic that slept. The quiet noises produced by others were most incoherent, if there were noises. Touches and smells came and went, her head rolled as if dreaming, but it would still be time until she woke. Even if to the outside world it was merely a few seconds, to those who slept it was a lifetime. Yet even those that slept could only escape reality for the short while, for eventually they would have to wake to face the pains they had suffered.

She awoke with a start, confused, sluggish, crying, her mind unable to think clearly. She was still caught in the nightmare that had entered her mind and had taken a firm hold of her in her sleep. She tried to move, to push herself up, to obey the words of her screaming mind, to run, to hide, for the nightmare still existed. But she could not, and so she simply curled up and cried, for it was the only relief a child could find from the nightmares of the past.

[Arianthe Swansong]

Twenty minutes after she had left, Arianthe was back with a doctor and a few groceries - food which she felt the young Kelvic might like. She was glad that the Doctor owed her a favour for something she had done for him a couple of seasons before for she knew that she needed to make savings and paying his fees would not help in that endeavour. The Doctor was a kind man, quite small with thick white hair, whom Arianthe had know from her tender years and, since then, he had not changed. He did not seem to have aged.
While he set about helping Wyatti - checking for her pulse and for a fever, cleaning and tending to her wounds - Arianthe went down the corridor to the communal kitchens to cook something with the things she had bought. She had been going to make salad, but thought that Wyatti would probably prefer meat so, instead, Arianthe had bought a couple of venison steaks. With a small smile, she cooked these, not too much, and added a pinch of herbs to make it taste more acceptable to her. She put these on a plate and, next to them, cooked tomatoes still on the vine, a little chunk of goat's cheese and a freshly baked breadroll with a lump of butter on the side. In these times, it was a dish of luxury - one she could not afford to realise everyday, but thought that now was as good a time as ever. Though heaven's only knew when she'd be able to buy goat's cheese of this quality again.
These two plates in front of her, she returned to her room and placed them on the desk. The Doctor had visibly finished for he was packing up his equipment into a little black leather bag.

"How is she?"

"She will be fine if she gets enough rest. She has mild concussion, a fever and maybe a lung issue, though I don't think so. The wounds are all on the surface and have all been cleaned and bandaged, apart from her ankle - she has twisted it. Now, although I suggest sleep, she does not seem to have had a good meal in a while. I would also suggest seeing if she can get anyway through one before letting her go back to sleep."

"Thank you Doctor."

He doffed his hat and left the room quickly, walking briskly back down the corridor. Arianthe approached the bed, wondering what state Wyatti was in now.

[Wyatti]

Hot or cold, Wyatti's body could not make up its mind. She shivered, holding onto her wrapped arms, her brow creased, her eyes narrow slits. She felt like she could barely breathe, her head throbbing. Who ever had dealt with her had obviously been gentle, capable of not waking her and skilled, for although her body ached and stung, it was no where near as intense as before. But still her mind swam. She slowly flexed her fingers, and then her arms, wincing slightly as she tried to move. Perhaps too fast, for when she tried to push herself up she found her arms crippling. She could hear movement, and perhaps that was what encouraged her to move, but then she laid eyes upon Arianthe.

She sat there trembling as the Human came over, her eyes not removing themselves as she slowly pushed herself up and succeeded this time. There was tears still in the eyes of the Kelvic, of being lost and confused. Her lips parted as she tried to find words to say, a way to find out what was going on, to understand. But there was one clear question on her face that could be spoke without words. Why?
Yet the girl could not summon the courage to speak, but she could to remain still, unmoving, to not run at sudden movements. She still looked tired, but the girl was alert, awake and aware of her surroundings, even with her current state of just being in her bandages. It was for a moment that time had simply stood still, it allowed her to take all in to quickly glaze over details in the room, from her way outs to the wax candles and roses. But every time her gaze returned to Arianthe, for although she would not cause harm, she was the current most likely source of it. She swallowed, her chest heaving before finally in a tiny voice escaped her lips.

"Hello."

[Arianthe Swansong]

Wyatti was still trembling when Arianthe looked at her. Was there a wound which the Doctor had not discerned? Or maybe she was still scared - the situation was rather amusing admittedly, to imagine herself an object of fear for there were very few people less equipped to strike terror in a person.

"Hello." she said with a smile, relieved that the invalid was speaking, "I have made you some food. I thought you might like some meat. It's venison."
Arianthe had never been very good at meaningless, proper conversation, so she looked at the Kelvic encouragingly, encouraging her to think of something to say.

[Wyatti]

For a moment Weylin was silent, her eyes fixed still on Arianthe. For a moment she was silent, listening to the woman's words, her nostrils flared. She leaned forwards, catching the scent of meat in the air. She sat up properly, wincing slightly as she tried to move into a more comfortable position. Her mind was still a blur, the events having yet to settle properly, but the woman appeared calm, almost encouraging for the Kelvic to speak.

"What... what happened?" she managed to ask, a tremble in her voice. But as soon as she did speak, hundreds of more questions came flooding in "What about them? What happened to them? Is it safe? It is Swansong right?"

[Arianthe Swansong]

"Arianthe Swansong, yes. I am not sure of whom you speak of in reference to 'them', and as for what happened..." Arianthe wondered how far back she should go, "You remember, I found you on the street after you had escaped. I removed your collar, then I took you back here. The Doctor has been to see you and has tended to your wounds. Now I am giving you food."

She paused, glad that Wyatti seemed aroused to the fact that there would soon be food for her. Arianthe was glad that she had hardly cooked Wyatti's steak since she was sure that as a carnivore kelvic, she preferred it that way. With a smile she went to find a tray to put the plate of food on and laid it down on Wyatti's lap.

"Here. If there is anything here which you don't like, do not hesitate to tell me. If it comes to it, I can try making something else."

[Wyatti]

Wyatti watched Arianthe come closer and lay the tray down. Her mind was still struggling to catch up with the events, but Arianthe’s words seemed to make sense so far. Her eyes narrowed briefly, as the pieces lined up.

Yes, I did escape. And now…

She looked at the tray, firstly with a bit of suspicion, expecting there to be some form of trick. But upon finding none she sheepishly looked at it, before glancing back at Arianthe. She did not need to say anything, her slightly confused look about the food was good enough- and would have presented some form of entertainment with her expressive features. For a moment she hesitated, but instinct took a hold on her, forgetting that Arianthe was present. She barely chewed, taking out large bites, a ravenous hunger taking over. She was too hungry to complain, but to her it tasted like it had fallen from above. No doubt to the poor diet she had before. She stopped in mid-flow, glancing at Arianthe and lowered her head slightly as she swallowed.

“Thank you,” she murmured as her fingers rested on the tray "It was... nice...?"

[Arianthe Swansong]

Arianthe watched Wyatti savage the steak, not smiling with the joy of a chef that finds their meal appreciated by the consumer because Arianthe thought that, in all honesty, in her state Wyatti would wolf down any food placed in front of her. Rather, Arianthe was smiling with relief at seeing the ravenous appetite of her new friend, which could only be positive.

"You're welcome." Arianthe paused, wondering if the Kelvic was still hungry, "If you like, you can have mine too... I would sort of rather have a salad anyway, but it is your choice."
At this, she took the empty plate from Wyatti's lap and put it on a table ready to take somewhere to wash once Wyatti managed to get to sleep.

"Are you feeling any better?"

[Wyatti]

The Kelvic's eyes followed Arianthe around the room, a faint brightness returning to her eyes. Although she seemed better, it was clear that she was still exhausted and weak. A look of curiosity passed through her face as she watched, ignoring the shiver that went through her, before she flinched back when asked a question. It took her a few moments to think of an answer, to think through her mind. Physically, yes she was, in other areas however she found her thoughts turning clouded and dark.

"Yes... better..." she shuddered as she felt herself becoming chilled "Maybe cold, but better."

Her eyes slid away and she pulled her knees up to her chin to hug them. Cold was an understatement, to Wyatti she felt freezing no doubt to her body being in its weakened state. A small frown formed on the girl's face, as if she was contemplating a question. Her eyes returned to Arianthe, and spoke in a low voice;

"When do you want me out? I can go now if it is easier for you."

[Arianthe Swansong]

Arianthe frowned, "Please do not feel any necessity to run off into the darkness until you are wholly better. I will not keep you here if you wish to go immediately, but I can assure that I am well able to keep you here until you find somewhere else to stay too and you don't feel anymore pain."

At the news that Wyatti felt cold however, Arianthe knew she could do something... usually she would call for a boy to do her fireplace up for her but now that she had watched it being done so many times, she felt she could venture to do it herself for the first time. Having checked for a draft, she proceeded to setting up the base with little pieces of wood and with used paper with writing she had not seen fit to keep. After this she put on some kindling, in order to make the fire catch more easily, and a couple of small logs, then larger logs. It took her about five minutes to finally make the fire catch, starting with the paper, but each failed attempt when the fire went out made her more determined and soon they were looking at a large, roaring fire.

"You will stay his as long as you like." repeated Arianthe.