Byzantium

Stage 10

Ivy pushed at Elise's chest, trying to get Elise to lie back down. "Relax, relax."

"Relax? Judah was staring directly at the sun the last time I remember. What if he gets curious above the stove this time and burns down the house? What if he wanders outside?"

Ivy didn't want to admit it, but Elise's questions were starting to get her to worry too. Judah wasn't the most capable person now. "Okay, okay. I'll go check on him and make sure we still have a home. Will that make you feel better?"

"I can't let you go through the Hub alone. You're human!" Irritation seeped back into her and Elise wanted to scratch her leg more than ever. "And very nice Pre bait..." she added under her breath.

"Say again?"

Elise waved her hand. "Nothing, nothing." She turned to get out of bed and as soon as she her feet touched the floor, the itching sensation became too much. She clawed at her leg with her gloved hands and only become more frustrated. The specialty gloves felt like clouds rubbing against her wound and there was zero satisfaction, especially thanks to the extra bandages. "These damned gloves!"

Carmen came into the room just as Elise yelled and she rolled her eyes at the scene. She muttered under her breath and came to stand beside Elise, flicking the wolf directly in the middle of the forehead. "Calm down. This is exactly why I put the gloves on you in the first place."

"Take these off, Carmen!" Elise scrunched her nose as another flick came. "Estoy en dolor!"

"Pain?" Carmen's eyes slittled suspiciously. "Does it really hurt?"

"Well, no," Elise admitted sheepishly. She was emotional, but not too much as to get away with stretching the truth to Carmen. "It just itches really badly. Please take these off?" She held up her hands and whimpered.

"No." Carmen smirked when Elise wailed pathetically. "Stop. Lay down. I'm going to check your leg and maybe even scratch it for you."

"Really?" Elise grinned and snuggled back into bed, tossing her leg out for Carmen to check.

Carmen shot a glance at Ivy and they both shared a look- Can you believe her? Chuckling, Carmen started to remove the bandages from Elise's leg. Elise was the cutest little wolf without meaning to be.

"Hey, Carmen," Elise said, shaking her leg a little. "Can you send someone home with Ivy? She, uh, needs to check on something. I don't want her to go through the Hub alone."

Carmen hummed, rolling the bandages into a bundle as she removed them from Elise's leg. "Sure. But I think she'll be fine on her own."

"There's no harm in being cautious."

"Says the woman with a tear in her leg." Carmen fully removed the bandages and held back a gasp at what she found. Elise's leg was discolored and clearly infected. The magic salve didn't take, or Elise had scratched it out before the gloves were put on. Carmen moved to hide Elise's leg from Ivy's eyes. "How bad does it itch?"

"Really bad. Really, really bad. Can you scratch it?"

Carmen poked her finger around the wound cautiously, and pus leaked out without much prodding, and continued to leak when Carmen pulled her finger away. Elise threw her head back into the pillows behind her and sighed in relief and said a quiet thank you. Carmen wiped the pus away with the old bandages then covered Elise's leg with the blanket. "And it doesn't hurt?"

Elise shook her head. "Nope."

"Good, good..." Carmen stood and motioned for Ivy to follow her out. "Come on. I'll send you with a friend." When her and Ivy were out of the room and back into the shop, Carmen turned on Ivy and got to the point. She didn't play around when it came to the safety of friends. "Elise's leg is infected. It could spread if it's not treated immediately."