Flicker

Flicker: Vingt-Sept (1/2)

Cool spring days followed, just what Nora was looking forward to. The Earth seemed to become rejuvenated, doing away with all the old remembrances of winter. The trees seemed to grow greener and the flowers appeared more colorful than the following year as if to spite winter itself.

In the Gillans' household however, the situation began to deteriorate.

At first, when Quinton and Nora had arrived from Wicks, life seemed to have been given new breath. Nora was as peppy as ever, energized from the splendid sojourn she had had. Quinton too was well pleased and all of the estate seemed to be alive with mirth and gaiety. However, the moment's peace would not be enjoyed forever.

It started for Nora with mood swings, bouts of hunger, and fatigue. Every so often she would have a nosebleed or complain of a headache. Her time spent dealing with household tasks or playing with the children steadily decreased. She eventually only had a few infrequent minutes spent out of her room. She'd lie listlessly on the bed, in and out of sleep. The once soft downy hair that would appear on her body in patches began to grow thicker and coarser. Nora had random tufts of hair every which way. Tifa had made camp in Nora's room, sleeping on a cot that was placed in front of Nora's door in case she tried to escape during the night like time past.

Quinton could sense that her time was approaching. A full moon was nearing and Quinton prayed that she would survive this upcoming one. Cora and Harold were making visits nearly weekly but if it were up to Quinton, he would have them moved in. As busy as Cora and Harold were, they made time for Nora, updating themselves about her condition and doing all within their powers to keep her comfortable. They had had many a heated conversation with Quinton, telling him to remain vigilante, but optimistic. The transformation was right at their doorsteps, and he would have to be ready to aid Nora. Soon she would be a fresh wolf, as tender and fresh as a young sapling. They feared it wouldn't be easy to manage her. Nora wasn't connected to her inner beast, as she and the wolf had been disconnected for so long. She would have to communicate with a foreign element within her. It explained the nightmares that had begun to re-visit her as she slept, making her wake up in panic at night. Her wolfen side was trying to I communicate with her, but it did nothing to keep her stress level down.

Quinton found himself giving more and more duties to Blaine. Blaine obliged - a dutiful gamma. Quinton was far too distracted by the upcoming transformation. He doted on Nora,  caring for her in the few minutes that she was awake. He could not find it within himself to worry about the pile of notes, memos, and documents on his desk

One day, Quinton had left his office and exited his conference call early to make his way to Nora's room. Minutes seemed too long to be without her and he wanted to see how she was doing. Her door which was usually shut was open. He walked into the sunlit room.  The windows were cracked open and a faint breeze wafted his way. A gaunt, ashen-faced Nora sat on the bed in her robe accompanied by two small children. They were playing checkers currently it seemed while other board game pieces were scattered around them on the bed and floor. Nora set down a red checker piece, capturing one of Peyton's who gave a shout of sadness at having to forfeit his pawn. Nora smiled in delight before looking up at Quinton.

"Nora. You're awake!"

"More than awake," she responded. "I've missed these darling children. They had been knocking on my door carrying all these games and I didn't have the heart to say no."

A little Annabelle dressed in a yellow and white dress with polka dots smiled. 

"Nora's playing against Peyton and he's losing. I won my round though," she said, cheekily.

"It's because she let you win," Peyton retorted.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"