Ouch.
Marquise slowly began to come around as he felt something digging into his damaged side.
"Ah, there you are."
Who...?
There was no way he was going to be able to open his eyes or move much, so Marquise tried to focus on other things. Mainly, there was something stabbing into his side that hurt terribly.
"Ah, I'm sorry. I thought I had used enough numbing agent. Give me just a moment," the unfamiliar voice said as the pain in his side lessoned a good bit with the withdrawal of the tool the man had been using.
A few moments later he felt something cold press against the injured area, then, blissfully, it went completely numb. His tired body relaxed the slightest bit in response, making the other person respond calmly.
"There we go. Sorry about that, I honestly thought that I'd used enough but it seems like the rot has begun to eat away at your ribs," the man said as he started scraping away the damaged flesh again.
"I honestly thought that you would never wake up again. You surprised me."
He had surprised himself, too. Waking up had not been part of his plan.
"I can sense some of your emotions, but for some reason I can't hear what you're thinking. I've never not been able to hear the thoughts of another living person," the man stated.
It was no surprise to Marquise that he couldn't get into his head. Having been an alpha, he had years of practice restricting access to his thoughts. Not even his most-trusted subordinates had been able to just search his mind for thoughts.
I suppose my inner defenses are still solid, though for what reason, I'm unsure.
"This is the first time I have ever disobeyed my master in my one hundred and twelve years, too," the man said quietly as he continued working.
Marquise could just-barely feel a slight tickling sensation as a knife scraped against his left ribs, but thankfully he felt little else.
"I've already cleaned up your left leg and bandaged it. Your foot was thankfully spared, so that's good."
Was it? Marquise wasn't a fool. Yes, he'd managed to wake up, but that didn't mean much in the long run. His body was still dying, and no matter how much rot the man scraped out, it couldn't remove the multitude of silver from his bloodstream.
"Do you want to know why I actually went against my master to save you?" he asked, though clearly didn't expect any sort of response from him.
"Well, while you definitely smell like a wolf, or really, you have several of their scents on you, I realized that not a single one of those scents was as strong as it should be. A werewolf that's close to dying will usually smell more like its animal form, or even shift for its remaining days."
He wasn't wrong. Considering the terrible condition his body was currently in, he should have shifted back to his wolf form long ago to ready itself to die.
"I'm still ninety-nine percent sure that you're a werewolf, because I've never met one nice enough to let a human live amongst them, but at the same time, there's that one percent that has me curious. Perhaps you are that one human that had been granted some sort of leniency and yet, your blood is heavy with silver and your body is rotting away from within. There are some very rare diseases that can cause such issues, but the silver in your bloodstream makes it nearly impossibly for me to consider you human," the man said, then continued to mumble to himself as he worked for a long while on Marquise's left side.
By the time he sighed and withdrew his tools, he'd worked his way all the way up to Marquise's shoulder.
"These scars are quite interesting, too. You've clearly had to hold your own, wolf or not, more than a few times. Oh how I wish to be able to search your mind right now," the man said quietly as he began cleaning up his things.
"Do you think you could drink something? I know that it's probably not going to stay down, but the doctor in me can't help but want to try."
Marquise, of course, didn't respond, but he could feel his painfully chapped lips aching and his empty stomach twisting into constant knots. He was willing to try.
"Let's see how water works first, hmm?" the man said as he walked over and, after adding another pillow beneath his head, brought over a chair or stool and then grabbed a container of water.
"Alright, here we go," he said cheerfully as he reached over and gently settled some sort of small glass item against Marquise's lower lip.
"It's just a little eyedropper. We're going to go really slow to start, alright?" he said as he very gently squeezed a single drop of water out.
The moment he felt it slip into his mouth Marquise put every single ounce of effort he had left into moving his tongue just far enough forward to touch that tiny droplet.
"Wonderful!" the man exclaimed in excitement as he squeezed another single drop out of the eyedropper.
It took Marquise a bit more time to retrieve that one, but he did finally manage to move his tongue again and lick the tiny droplet.
"There you go. You are truly amazing," the man said as they began to slowly work together on their current goal.
It took quite a long time, but he managed to get through three droppers worth of liquid and about three ounces from a very carefully tipped cup before exhaustion overtook him and he stopped responding completely.
"That's okay. You did wonderfully. Rest now," the man said happily as he adjusted the pillows a bit more, then walked away.
Marquise was already half asleep when he heard the sound of something being opened. Then he smelled something that he hadn't expected to ever again.
"Ah, it seems like they are making more apple pies down the street at the bakery. They smell fantastic," the man said as warm air drifted in through the window, bringing the delicious scent with it.
Unwillingly, Marquise's stomach gave a pathetically tiny grumble. He had never admitted it to his pack members, but he'd had quite a bad sweet tooth when he'd been young. Of course, that all stopped when he'd taken over his pack, though it was impossible to hide while in such terrible condition.
"I totally understand. They're amazing, even though I really shouldn't eat them since I'm a vampire. It doesn't process all that well, but every once in a long while I can't help myself."
He couldn't argue that. If he had been able to move at all, he would have likely gotten one just because he could. Except, he probably couldn't. He'd given up all of his money and possessions before he'd left. He had not a single penny to his name.
"I'll tell you what. Next time, I'll bring you some of that pie filling. How does that sound?" the man asked as he walked closer and tucked a light blanket in around him.
I want it...
He heard the man begin to speak again, but his mind was no longer able to process his words as it sank back into darkness.
"M-my lord, please wait!"
Marquise's mind tried to pull itself together and wake up, but he couldn't make it work any faster than it already was.
"Please let me explain!"
The doctor from before...
The door to the room he was in suddenly swung open so hard that it slammed against the wall behind it as two sets of footsteps hurried toward him. One was sure and determined while the other fumbled about nervously, trying to keep up but not overtake the other.
"My lord, please let me explain! We have been tasked with keeping all humans safe, and I understand that he appears wolfish, but look closely, please! The scents of wolves have been fading by the hour and while he is rotting, there could be another explanation for such a thing," the man said, trying his best to brook an argument that was, unfortunately, likely to fail.
A hissed growl was the other man's response, and just like that, the room fell immediately silent.
A few moments later and a set of cold fingers were grasping his jaw painfully tightly, its claws digging into his pale skin in several places. He expected the man to break his neck and be done with it right at that moment, but instead of killing him, Marquise felt long lengths of hair settle against the right side of his face as the other man leaned down towards his neck.
He's trying to find my wolf's scent...
Somehow, some way, the man gave a quiet, frustrated growl and leaned away a few moments later. He refused to release his jaw yet, but for some reason, he was hesitating killing him.
"He reeks of silver and is rotting away just like a wolf would if it got badly poisoned," the vampire lord said with a slight slur.
He has his fangs extended.
Marquise felt his stomach twist a little with nerves, but he would have honestly laughed if he were able, because that nervousness had nothing to do with being killed. He wanted to taste that apple pie before he died and was worried that such a thing might not come to fruition.
"He smells like an entire pack of wolves and his mind is sealed so tightly that even I can't get into it! Tell me, how can he not be a wolf?"
There was a long stretch of silence before the doctor walked closer, speaking as he moved.
"I understand, my lord, but I just can't be sure yet. Is there really such harm in leaving him be for now? I can guarantee to you that there is no way for him to fully recover. If he truly is a werewolf, he will die very soon on his own. I just... something is off. Several things are off."
He couldn't argue that. Even he knew that he should have been dead by now. He wasn't sure what to make of his wolf's scent completely vanishing, either, since it technically was still inside of him, but if that bought him enough time to get a taste of that pie...
How far I have fallen from an alpha werewolf in charge of a massive pack to a fake human simply desperate for a taste of sugar before he passes away.
Finally, the man's fingers fell away from his face.
"You've cleaned up his left side," he said, stating the obvious as his hand found its way to one of the bandages.
Since it had been a while, the numbing agent had worn off, making Marquise flinch inwardly as the pressure began to hurt quite a bit.
"U-um, elder Vrasje, I—"
The other man must have made some sort of gesture to silence him, because the person who had been looking after him immediately quieted.
Marquise strained his ears to try and hear what was going on as both of them moved about the room, but he must have gotten some mud in them, because his hearing was beginning to give him trouble.
Perhaps they're infected...
It wouldn't surprise him. They also had been hurting a bit, too, but he had much worse pain to worry about and had probably just pushed the small ache to the back of his mind. He was just considering those thoughts again when he was startled slightly by a soft, wet towel pressing against his throat.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you, but it's good to know that your conscious again," the doctor said as he began wiping along Marquise's warm skin.
"You've got a bit of a fever and I've kind of neglected cleaning you off completely. My focus has been mainly on taking care of the rot first..." the man said right as another damp cloth pressed against his right arm, much harder than the first.
Those strong, cold fingers soon grabbed the spot right above where the rot stopped above his right wrist, then held it firmly as he scrubbed off the mud Marquise had rolled in previously.
Compared to the doctor working on his left side, the man on his right was ruthless and clearly annoyed with the job he was currently doing.
No one is forcing you...
"He could use a real bath, but I'll need to get this fever down first. Don't want to make it worse," the doctor said with a hint of cheerfulness to his voice as he thankfully shifted his attention to check Marquise's aching ears.
"Ah, my bad. Let's clean up these ears, too," he said calmly, clearly trying to get the other man to relax a little and not be too upset with his decision to save him, but when all he got in response was another growl, he relented back into silence.
Marquise remained awake the entire time they worked together cleaning him up. Surprisingly, the more aggressive man had gotten much more done, and even cleaned up his face decently well as the doctor worked on cleaning his ears with thin little tools.
"Thank you for your assistance, my lord," the doctor finally said as he stepped away, likely to set aside his tools to wash later.
The other man was still holding onto his right wrist, but he'd stopped cleaning him a short time ago. Marquise could sense his attention on him, but there was nothing he could really do about it. Nor did he really care to even try. He honestly had a feeling that the guy had only helped clean the mud off of him because he was trying to see if his wolf's scent would become stronger without the barrier. It hadn't.
"I know you're a wolf. I'm not sure how you got past the three packs that border our territory, but if you show even the slightest hint of animalistic behavior while you're here, I'll break your neck immediately," he said, his voice absent of any kind of leniency.
Marquise ignored the man's threat and, instead, focused his attention on what the doctor was doing.
"I'd like to try a transfusion," he said, more to himself than to the other man it seemed, since his voice had quieted greatly. He almost hadn't heard him.
The hand holding his wrist tightened its grip significantly at that moment, making Marquise finally show an outward reaction as he gave the most pathetic, near-silent gasp.
It had been enough, though. The doctor hurried to his right side and quickly but carefully unwrapped the other vampire's hand from around his sore wrist.
"He's been conscious, my lord. He's not pretending anything, just extremely exhausted with everything he's going through. I also haven't given him anymore numbing agent since I dosed him so much earlier. Please be understanding," he said quickly as he hurried away as soon as the other man's hand was removed.
The elder vampire was silent for a long while, his gaze focused completely on him. He knew that he was contemplating either questioning him or just killing him and getting it over with but, eventually, he gave out a frustrated huff and walked away. He only stopped when he was over by the door, then turned.
"I don't care what you do with him. Just don't forget why we're here in the first place, Taru," lord Vrasje said before turning again and walking out the door.
The doctor waited quite some time before heaving a stressed sigh and returning to Marquise's side.
"I was hoping that he wouldn't find out that you're here so soon, but I suppose that was just wishful thinking. This is his home, and while it's massive and he rarely ever pays this side much attention, a new heartbeat and scent would be hard for him to ignore."
As he spoke, the man got some things ready, then pressed something metal against the bottom of Marquise's lower lip.
"I ground up a little chicken earlier and lightly cooked it. Would you care to try some? I know I said that I'd try to get you some pie filling, but by the time I got out there it was already sold out. I promise I'll do my best to get some tomorrow."
Marquise would have smiled if he had the energy to do so. Yes, he'd really wanted the sweet treat, but that was really all it was. A treat. He was dying and, for some reason, a vampire in a town that hated werewolves was trying to save him.
Testing his sore throat, Marquise swallowed slowly, then flexed his jaw the slightest amount. He could eat. It would be tedious and a little painful, but he could do it.
So, wanting to repay the man for his kindness, and also wanting to stop the twisting pain in his stomach from worsening further, Marquise accepted the tiny morsel of food from the spoon.
They settled into a comfortable silence over the length of an hour or so as the doctor fed him bit by bit. They both ended up surprised by his appetite.
"Very good. You exceeded my expectations again," Taru said as he offered him a few mouthfuls of water.
Marquise tasted something bitter mixed in with it, but he wasn't surprised.
"Just a little medicine for that fever and the infections you've got going on," the man said, then offered him a little more.
This time it was a tad sweet, making it far more bearable as it washed away the bitter taste.
"I added a bit of sugar to that one. I know that medicine doesn't taste the best," he said as Marquise finished what he was offered, then sighed, content.
He heard the doctor begin bustling around the room again and began to drift in and out of consciousness.
"I'm going to get you some more numbing medicine later, then try to get a transfusion going. Maybe we can get some of that silver out of your system. And don't worry, lord Vrasje is going to be pretty busy this week. He shouldn't bother you. Get some rest for now, if you can."
Oh, he could.
It didn't take long at all before Marquise was out cold. His body wasn't hurting too badly and his stomach wasn't rejecting what he'd been given to eat. He also was no longer covered in mud, but he wasn't too sure if he was happy about that part.
Either way, somehow, someway, things were actually looking up.