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Rivener was beyond relieved to see Xiu accept the blood, even if it looked like the Frei was doing it VERY reluctantly. Well, he seemed reluctant at first, that is. As the blood pack emptied, Xiu became more and more eager to feed on it, eventually ignoring Rivener and Lazarus altogether in favor of the warmed liquid.

The white Raevan's rune was flickering worrisomely, and Rivener watched it with a frown once he noticed the dimming light. Was this affecting Xiu adversely?! Had Kyou been wrong?? The thing paled to almost nothing, and Rivener opened his mouth to perhaps suggest Xiu should stop now, but before he could utter a word the white frei's rune came back stronger.

The blue had turned to red, however.

Riv blinked. Most likely a result of the change in feeding... He glanced up and sideways at Lazarus, wondering if the older Sigel had any better theories.

Xiu spoke up then, sounding much stronger and less wild. Tentatively, trusting that Xiu wasn't a threat now that he'd fed at least somewhat, Rivener let go of the young man's wrists, to float around to Lazarus' side where both Sigels could look at Xiu properly. "Hm. Your rune seems to reflect the change in food, I think?" Rivener tilted his head. "Whose blood was that, Laz, do you know? It was just human stuff, right?" The Scorpion doubted any Raevans had donated blood to Tsu's stores. Riv knew first-hand the strange effects that could happen when Raevans mixed their blood together, surely Tsu would only use human blood for transfusions.

"Could Xiu have more of that?" Riv added, glancing at the refrigerator. "...to make sure he's full and satisfied."

As the pressure of Rivener’s hand on his wrists lessened and the frei was released from the Sigel’s hold, Xiu immediately turned to face the Sigels. Bewildered red eyes stared from Sigel one to the other as the frei tried to massage some form of life back into his numbed arms. His rune changed colour because of the change in diet? There was a certain irony in that. After all that trouble of trying to hide his change from Hazeline…

Xiu would have laughed if Rivener hadn’t at that moment requested that Xiu be given another packet of blood. Instead, the white frei merely shook his head. “No, I do not want any more of that, thank you,”

Lazarus had then floated forward and Xiu was tempted to back away from the approaching Sigel. Being observed by not one but two Sigels certainly had a way of making one feel intimidated. The white frei followed Lazarus’ gaze to the blood stained clothes and was immediately embarrassed. How could he be so careless? The stains would take forever to wash off and as if reading his thoughts, the flame Sigel had disappeared only to appear a moment later with a bottle of bleach. Which he gave to Rivener before disappearing once again. Which left him alone with Rivener. Somehow, the thought was not a comforting one and the frei avoided making eye contact with the Sigel and for want of something better to do, Xiu brought the back of his right hand across his mouth and looked surprised when the grey sleeve returned blood stained. The frei hastily covered the blood stained hand with his left.

“I can manage it on my own, Rivener,” said Xiu, shifting his glance from his hidden sleeve to the bottle of bleach in the Sigel’s hand. “I just need to know where the bathroom is…,”

...

"Rivener...," said Xiu hesitantly after a moment's pause. It was hard; and probably a little personal; but the white frei had to know where he stood in situations such as these. "Has there been any other raevans experiencing similar problems before?"


---------------------------

“But…what’s wrong with him, Doctor?”asked Hazeline, not distracted by the Doctor placing a hand on her shoulder. “And he’s weak because he isn’t eating, isn’t he?” said Hazeline biting her lip as anxious eyes strayed to the office from which the doctor has just appeared from. Was Xiu in there?

Then, as if to confirm her thoughts, Lazarus had appeared and Hazeline was immediately apprehensive. Why was the Sigel looking like he wanted a word on private with the Doctor? Hazeline’s heart raced with fear. Was Xiu alright?

Kyou was surprised to see Lazarus coming through the double doors. I thought you were supposed to take care of Xiu? However, Lazarus's expression made him worried, he was grim, something is wrong.

Lazarus knew well how messy this could get, him running out like this to Kyou and Hazeline. But there is something that Kyou should know. Xiu is not ready to meet Hazeline yet. He glanced briefly at the young woman standing in front of Kyou, she looked like a mess. He nodded his head politely at Hazeline and moved quietly yet swiftly towards Kyou. Moving close to the doctor, he whispered in his ears concerning Xiu's new transformation after consuming the blood.

Kyou's face paled a little from Lazarus's new information, though it was too dark to see in the dim lighting. Xiu's eyes and rune turned red? How can he hide this from Hazeline now? Abnormal situations always happened with Raevans, Rivener's skin shedding, Melisande's paling colors. Most of them lasted more than a day, some transformation was even permanent. He couldn't tell how long Xiu's transformation is going to last, since all the Raevans are unique. His mind raced, trying to think of a way to prevent Hazeline from meeting Xiu, however, he was drawing blanks.

"Uhm, uh..." Kyou stuttered, mind still racing. Just say something! "T-to answer your questions, yes he was weak from starvation. But I assure you he is alright now, he is currently recuperating in Tsu's office and he is-" oops, did he just revealed where Xiu is to Hazeline? "Y-you can't see him yet! He is still too weak!" he said, sounding somewhat desperate. God I suck at lying.

Lazarus's thoughts were the same.

Rivener had expected some kind of answer, but it came from a very surprising place: behind him. The white frei's guardian had marched right in, and Xiu dropped the bleach in his shock. Rivener backed away from the pair, letting this meeting unfurl how it would. It was unavoidable, after all. In the Sigel's opinion, best that it should happen NOW.

Still, Riv sent a short glare towards the door, half expecting to see Dr Kyou and Lazarus peeking in. Jeez, didn't the Doctor say he was going to buy some time? They hadn't done a very good job of it...

Ruby eyes turned back to the two he SHOULD be watching, as Hazeline suddenly strode closer to Xiu, who seemed to shrink in on himself. Be nice, be nice! Rivener cheered in his head, trying to prompt Hazeline to be a kind, understanding Guardian...!

Just like that, the moment of tension was over: Hazeline spoke softly and brought out a handkerchief of some kind, wiping away at Xiu's face. The frei was apologizing... Rivener smiled softly and he slowly backed out of the room, out of the way. These two needed some time alone, to talk this through.

As Rivener came out, finding Kyou and Lazarus, he frowned slightly. "Nice going... Although I suppose it all worked out pretty well." The Scorpion's lips quirked into a smirk and he sighed, crossing his arms.

“There,” said Hazeline as she took a step back to observe her frei. Xiu still looked rather worn out but at least the blood seemed to have done him good. No longer was there that wasting away look that had been haunting the frei’s features since the start of the Hungry Ghost Month. On the contrary, the blood seemed to have…brought colour to the frei’s pale feature. Xiu’s cheeks were rosier than they had been for days and for a moment, Hazeline was…afraid. The manner in which the blood had restored the white frei was inexplicably similar to that of a vampire in books and…

Hazeline found herself drawn to the red eyes that her frei now possessed. No longer were they the innocent blue that the guardian remembered so well and there was a slight predatory edge to them.

“Hazeline?”

Hazeline snapped out of her trance at the mention of her name and once again Xiu was simply…Xiu. Despite whatever that blood had done to him, he was still her frei. Fangs or no fangs. “I’m here, Xiu,” said Hazeline gently giving her frei’s shoulder a reassuring pat. “We’ll work this out okay? I will have a talk with the Doctor for a moment and after that, we’ll go home, alright?”

“Yes, alright,” said Xiu looking relieved. Home sounded good. There was still some night left and the thought of bed was welcoming. Nodding, Xiu watched as his guardian left to discuss matters with the Doctor outside. Folding his arms across his chest, the white frei waited and soon, Hazeline returned with a smile.

“You are all set to go, Xiu,” said Hazeline. “Dr. Kyou has agreed to let you home and has even let us buy blood from the lab, to tide you over until this period has passed. So, let’s head home now. We will work out the complicated matters when morning comes,”

“Yes, when the morning comes,” agreed Xiu quietly.