Seeking a Better Ending - Seek x Reader

Seeking Comfort

Seek sat next to you in companionable silence for a while. It surprised you, how human it seemed. How much it cared. Why did it care?

Seek said your name quietly, turning towards you.

"Yeah?"

"I ...need to change your bandages. Otherwise, your bite wounds might get infected," Seek said without making eye contact. Was it nervous...?

"Oh. Uh, okay." It looked up.

"You... trust me to do that?"

"You could have killed me earlier, but you didn't. Not only that, even now you're trying to help me."

"I suppose that's true." Seek slowly moved closer to you, gently putting a hand on your arm below the shoulder. Its touch was slimy and strange and frigid, but... not unpleasant . It was nice, actually. Seek began unwrapping the bandage, peeling away tightly-wound layers of cloth with its clawed hands. You didn't look at the bite. The image of your shoulder dripping deep red blood was all too clear still. You could hear the sound of gauze tearing as Seek applied a second bandage to your wound.

"I'm done with your shoulder."

"Thank you."

You sat quietly as Seek did the same for the bandage on your head, not wanting to move in case one of its claws slipped and cut into your skin. It was surprisingly careful, moving with the skill of someone who had done this a thousand times before.

It was sitting right next to you if not slightly behind, and you could feel its cold, angular side against yours. You leaned into it tentatively, unsure of how it would react. You felt it go stiff for a moment, and then it softened . Its side became ever so slightly malleable, just enough so thay you could rest comfortably. Seek didn't say anything though, instead slowly continuing to wrap the thin bandage tightly around your head.

"I need to do the one on your leg now."

"Oh, okay," you replied, a hint of disappointment in your voice. Seek was nice, you thought, and comfortable. You didn't quite want to move yet.

Seek said nothing for a few minutes, letting you lean against it. Eventually, it softly says your name.

"Could you... could you get up, now?"

"Oh right! Sorry, I forgot." Your face turned beet red and you sprung away from Seek as if you had been burned. That was incredibly embarrassing, and you suddenly wished you were anywhere else, but you swung your legs onto the bed. The bite below your knee stung like hell, and you winced when Seek's hands brushed against it.

"I'm sorry. This is the worst one."

"It's fine, just be careful."

"I'll try." Seek began delicately unwrapping the bandage, keeping one hand firmly on your lower leg, below the bite. Its claws seemed to retract, melting away into its hands as if they had never existed. Its slimy, inklike touch stung ever so slightly, and it reminded you oddly of the note you had received earlier.

"Hey, were you the one who left that note...?"

"A... note?"

"It warned me about Figure."

"Oh, yes. That was me." Seek didn't look up as it began wrapping the bandage around your injured leg. "A lot of... a lot of people who come here don't notice that. They panic, and make a lot of noise. I... didn't want that to happen to you." You smiled despite the stinging pain in your leg.

"I don't know if I would've survived if not for that. Thank you."

"You could have figured that out yourself. You don't need to thank me."

"But you took the time to do something you didn't have to do, and that matters a lot."

Seek was silent for a moment, considering your words before it spoke again, "Why aren't you scared of me?"

"I don't know."

"It is unexpected. I tried this once before, actually. Tried talking to another human who came here."

"And what happened?"

"...they attacked me. Tried to take out my eye with a lockpick. Almost succeeded, because I panicked and froze..."

"That's horrible."

"I didn't dare try anything like that again for... a long time."

"So why did you spare me?"

"You saved me first."

"Oh. Right." Seek paused, then pulled away.

"There. I'm done." You swung your legs back over the edge of the bed.

"Now it's your turn," you said, turning to look at Seek. It blinked.

"My... turn?"

"Your leg, idiot. I'm not the only one who got hurt." You felt a twinge of guilt as you said that. It was your fault Seek was hurt, after all.

"I'm fine," Seek said indignantly, standing up. It tried to put weight on its leg, then winced.

"No, you aren't. Sit back down." It was the least you could do for it. especially since it was your fault it was hurt in the first place. Surprisingly, Seek complied, sitting down next to you. It tentatively turned sideways so its legs were on the bed. Its injured leg was bent slightly at an odd angle, and it appeared swollen.

"What is it?" Seek asked.

"I'm not sure. I think it might be broken."

"Oh."

"Doesn't it hurt?"

"...a little," Seek admitted.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what to do."

"That is alright. I'll be fine."

"Still, I wish I could help," you said. Seek looked up at you with its single eye. It turned so it was facing the wall, and its legs were hanging off the side of the bed, though its legs were so long they were touching the floor.

"I will be okay. Humans do not come through here often, and I will recover quickly, I think."

"You think...?"

"I... have never been hurt in this humanoid form before. I don't know what would happen if I tried to change back to how I normally am. I feel... strange, like this. Smaller. Is this how you always feel?" Seek asked, giving you a look of concern.

"I've never really thought about it," you said, "but I suppose, sometimes... it feels like everything is out of control. And you can't do anything to stop it, only watch as everything falls apart."

"I see."

"Sorry, that was depressing."

"It was my fault for asking the question. Don't apologize," Seek said, gently putting its hands on your arms, below the bite on your shoulder. "You are a good person. You helped me when you didn't have to. I... admire that." You smiled. A warm, joyful feeling of contentment spread throughout your body.

"Thank you, Seek. I didn't expect you to be this kind."

"You... think I'm kind...?"

"Of course," you said. Seek blinked, and it seemed to relax a little.

"No one... no one has said that to me before."

"Why not? It's true."

"I... thank you."

"Always."