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 Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 4:07 pm
Lucas had risen early to make sure the dog did his business outside that morning. He also picked up more meat for Reuben's breakfast in the cafeteria, along with something for himself and Em if she felt up to it.
Leaving Emelyn to rest, Lucas moved around quietly in his apartment and spent most of his time reading on the couch. When he heard Em speak his name he lowered his book to check on her. Slipping a marker to save his page, he stepped over.
"Hello, Emelyn. How are you feeling?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 4:16 pm
"Hey..." she said, her voice somewhat hoarse as she eased herself into a sitting position. "I'm... better, I think. Oohhh." The sound was one of surprising pain. She'd leaned back against the headboard, only to find that her infant spines cried out from being flattened so. It was not a great pain, Emelyn realized when she sat forward- more than anything, it was discomfort. "Wow. ...That's a new thing," she gave a small, throaty laugh. She'd been in the wild so long, she'd not experienced seats with backs on them.
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Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 4:23 pm
Walking over to his mini-fridge, he pulled out one of the cold water bottles. Unscrewing the top, he paused for a minute. After his meeting with Ambrose it realized it would be difficult for her to drink out of the bottle with her muzzle. Grabbing a plastic cup, he poured it till it was nearly full, then handed it to her.
"I wouldn't try to move. I know it's probably uncomfortable, but the cuts on your stomach are still healing and it will just make things worse. Maybe rolling onto your side would be okay." He stood ready to help her if she needed it.
"Can I ask what happened?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 4:26 pm
"Thank you," she said, taking the offered cup and holding it with both her hands, sandwiched between her palms. She stayed, sitting up, despite Lucas' efforts to have her lay back again.
She sighed. "Joliette attacked me. She wasn't herself- it was... a feral moment. I don't know what happened after the attack. I think I passed out. Did you..?" For the first time, she realized how she must have ended up in Lucas' duplex, and she looked at the man with wondering eyes.
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Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 4:35 pm
He wished she would lie back down, as he was rather concerned, but he did not press the issue.
"Joliette?" He was not familiar with this person, he had only met a few of the others stuck on the Island.
He guessed at what her look meant and filled her in. "I was out walking when I ran into your dog. He led me back to you." He glanced at the dog. "When I found you lying face down no one else was around. I didn't know what else to do, so I brought you here and did what I could for your injuries. You've been in and out of it for over two days."
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Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 4:39 pm
"Two days.... wow. ...I guess that would explain why I'm starving." She gave a small smile, then let it fall as her face transformed into a sort of solemn gratitude. "Thank you. You really didn't have to... but thank you. I never like waking up in the labs." She looked down at her dog, a sad realization that she'd been attacked in the wild... again. How many more times before she didn't wake up in the labs... or wake up... at all?
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Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 4:49 pm
"Didn't have to? I couldn't just leave you out there bleeding."
Even if staff had been moving in her direction, he couldn't just sit there and wait while she bled. He didn't even know if they were coming. Nobody had even contacted him after the attack. Surely they knew that she was with him. No doctors sent out to check on her. He also realized that he had never bothered to contact them, or tried to request help. Whether it was because he was still reluctant to speak with anyone on staff or if he was thinking of Em and knew she wouldn't want to receive help from them too, he wasn't sure.
Again he returned to his minifridge and pulled out a simple selection of foods from the cafeteria. Not sure what kind of food she liked or what hedgehogs ate, he had picked up mostly fruit items and some raw vegetables. "I hope something there appeals to you."
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Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 5:00 pm
"Anything would be great," Em said, cutting straight to the issue of food. She didn't know if Lucas knew how the labs worked, or not- but even if he didn't, there were many more things that she'd rather talk about.
"Hedgehogs eat anything, really. We're omnivorous. ...We." She laughed then, at the sake of the word. Her voice was so hoarse, then, that she lifted the cup up to what was left of her lips- slipping her proto-muzzle inside to be able to get to the water. It frustrated her, somewhat- she didn't realize that there would be so many things in the way here in 'civilization'.
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Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 5:07 pm
"I don't know a whole lot about animals. Except for turtles." He laughed. "I guess now that I'm here I should probably think about reading up, huh?"
He felt awkward, just standing here hovering over her, so he started to busy himself by straightening things around the room. He also slipped a chocolate into his mouth to try and help him relax.
"Is there anything else you want me to get you?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 5:16 pm
"No... I think this is great, thank you." She picked up a pear from Lucas's offerings, and took a tentative bite, as if fearful that her body would reject it. After the grainy bit of fruit slipped down her throat and nothing catastrophic happened, however, she took a bigger bite- stretching the limits of her jaws and nearly scraping all the meat off one quarter of the pear. Juice drizzled down her chin and caught in her fur, and her jaw ached with the exertion it hadn't had to attempt for some time. It was seldom that the girl had enough food in the wild to dare to eat it all in quick, large bites. Preservation had been the key; even a good fishcatch was always set aside for drying and storing.
Emelyn revelled in the sensation of having her mouth full- and of the large bites forcing themselves almost painfully down her throat. She realized the dichotomy of the situation- only moments after being disdainful of the wild for its more human accoutrements of chairs and glasses... now she was revelling in the sake of endless food- the very ambrosia of survival.
"Mmm... thank you," she finally said, after she'd taken several bites. "But I think I shouldn't be imposing anymore. ...I'm feeling better..." she started to stand up, gingerly but surely.
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Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 5:22 pm
Lucas lifted his head toward Emelyn and watched her try to get up. "What? Em, you really shouldn't try to move. It's no problem, really." He started over to her, then stopped. "But if you really don't want to stay here... I suppose we could try putting you in your own duplex. But in your condition it would be a very bad idea to go back to your cave." He was actually against the idea of just letting her head back into the wild alone, but that was a battle for another time.
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Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 5:25 pm
"It's nice that you're concerned,but really- I'm... uhnn..." she couldn't finish, for as soon as she managed to get to her feet, they crumpled beneath her. Whether it was for the sake of their long unuse, or for how weak she was- for whatever reason, they would have none of it, and Em found herself right back where she started.
She sighed. "I guess you're stuck with me a while longer, Lucas." She moved the pear- which was still hooked in her grip- back to her lips. The cup of water was on the bedside table- and that, too, she debated reaching for again.
Reuben just sat near the foot of the bed, his head on his paws and a content look on his face.
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Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 5:30 pm
He moved over to her side and offered to help her ease back into a more comfortable position on the bed. "I really don't mind, Em. I just want you to get better. Just take it easy."
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Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 5:33 pm
"Hmm..." she murmured, unwillingly allowing Lucas to help shift her position. "I'll be better soon. ...I think I just need to get some food in me, and some strength."
She looked down at Reuben again, smiling at the content dog, and squirreled up her nose at the canine. "How about you, sweetheart? Have you been good for Lucas?" Em's eyes went back to her caretaker. "Soon, we'll both be out of your hair."
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Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 5:43 pm
He backed off at her murmur. As he settled into a chair near the bed he started to wonder if she didn't want to be around him and an uncertain look appeared on his face for a few seconds. In that time he considered offering to go out for a little while, but her tearful words from the other night stopped him.
Smiling politely to her comment to him, he glanced at the dog. "He's been pretty good." No need to concern her about the running away incident and the stain on the carpet.
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