"Bloody perv... At least I don't go around shouting
e'ery shameless thought that pops into my head."
Following Avery about the cafeteria, Rori took in all the smells and
the sights. He hadn't had such a wide variety of foods to chose from
for a very long time. For the most part, his 'keeper' would bring
him a meal, something he could digest but wasn't particularly fond of.
The smell of cooking meat, of fresh vegetables, of bread, all of the
wondrous smells filled his nose. But right now he didn't want any of that.
Contrary to popular belief, Rori didn't subsist on meat alone. He
might have the characteristics of a predator but he was still, in part,
human. And what the human part of him desired most at this point
in time was not the hamburgers or the pot roasts, not the salad or
the fruit. No... What he truly wanted, what he hadn't had in so long
was, yes... Just that...
Turning about a corner, Avery lead his friend right to the breakfast
section and for a moment, nothing else mattered. Rori, a cereal
addict, was overwhelmed by pure bliss! There before him were
boxes of the food he adored.
Grabbing a box of Cheerios, he followed after Avery while
munching happily. Milk.... He needed milk....
Worst. Visual. Ever.
Please tell me you don't use a giant litter box... that would just be....
Eww. Yea...not too hungry anymore.
"'ey, I might be cat-like, Avvie, but I ain't that much o' an animal.
I 'ave still got me dignity. An' I'm still quite 'uman."
((Hey, welcome back, WC))
Avery chuckled, "Are ya now? We'll I'll be the judge of that."
He looked at the huge box of cereal, "Are you sure your going to eat all that?" He knew his friend was hungry, but an entire box? "Can you even fit that much food in?" He poked him in the stomach.
"Look, heres the milk, why not take the gallon," he joked, hoping Rori wouldn't actually agree, "Now, can we sit down? I've regained my appitite and am hungry as a horse....sorry Rori. I could eat a cat....no....um....I could eat a village, that sounds ok."
Avery thought for a second about what his friend had said, after taking a sip of his drink he quipped, "I do not say every 'shameless' thing that pops in to my head. Trust me, if you could read my mind....you're brain would explode. I just like to speak my mind, and your a perv. End of discussion"
"M'kay."
Rori grabbed a gallon as they walked past,
chugging some of it as they went.
He tried to ignore Avery's comments, but the wide eyed stare
that he got from his friend pressured him to speak.
"Fast metabolism. Don't worry about 'ow much food I
can stuff down my throat. Prolly won't get sick, and definitely
won't get fat. An' I am not a perv. Mind explainin' how I am?"
"If you werent a perv you wouldn't hang out with me.
Plus, I can see you checkin people out.
Don't tell me it's just your animal side." Avery smiled and downed the rest of his drink.
"It's amazing how much you can put away.
You used to eat next to nothing, now you eat more than twice what I can.
What do they feed you, if I can ask?"
Avery smiled and took a small bite of his food.
"Nah, that's just my curious side. I ain't seen
people in a long while. Just the keeper, and myself in the mirror.
An' 'bout 'anging out with you, don't know why I keep at it. Must
be 'abit - really should stop."
He was about halfway through the box already, and the carton of milk
was almost completely empty. Food was good... Yes, very good.
Upon hearing Avery's question, Rori grinned insanely.
"Do ya really wanna know wot they're feeding experiment #1839?"
Avery chuckled, "No thanks, I'm good. You hang out with me because you like to. And as for the mirror comment....I don't even want to know." With this Avery leaned over the table to talk to him, " Don't tell me you don't smell the pharamones. I know you better than that. Who you after?"
He sat back again, "Anyway your gonna get a tummy ache from eating too fast. Do you get bloodcicles? Because Lions do. I always wondered what they look like. Are they shaped like an animal?" Avery's mind was oft to wander.
"Eh, can't deny it. Though I'm quite used ter aw
the odd smells. Besides, the smell of fear is much more discernible.
An' they'll cart me back ter the bleedin' cage if I jump someone."
The box empty now, Rori set it down on the table and finished off
the milk. He was really too cat like for his own good.
"Bloodcicles? What're they? Nah, it's half cooked meat, fruits,
and vegetables, but mostly summit that'll put up a fight. Thin' it
was badger this mornin'. Not exactly tasty, but it made me work for a meal."
Avery smiled, he'd read far too many books for his own good.
"Whats it taste like? I've never had badger." He looked down at the table.
Sometimes He didn't know what to say. His best friend was reduced to eating zoo food. He was also very aware of his own pharamones.
"You and the hunt. If we are ever allowed to play sports I want you on my team."
The conversation had turned awkward for Avery, he didn't know what to talk
about.
"'ope ya never 'ave to eat one. They're
a pain in the arse to kill."
Tugging at his collar, Rori exposed a section of his bandage
clad chest. The labtech had fixed him up prior to sending him
on the hunt. The man hadn't said why, but Rori knew that Byrd
wanted to keep all of her experiments in working order.
Throwing a half lidded glance in Avery's direction, Rori chuckled.
It was so obvious what the other redhead felt, he didn't need
his advanced sense of smell to understand. Ever since they'd met
in the hall, Avvie had kept constantly glancing at him whenever
he thought no one was looking.
Great.... Now he had to worry about his friend falling for him.
"Ya wouldn't want me on your team, Avvie. I'd likely massacre
anyone on the bloody field."
"Ahh but it would be wonderful, as long as I kept out of your way."
He laughed lightly at his friend continued to sit on the table.
"It's gotta be nice, to actually be able to express your emotions.
I'm stuck being a fricking zombie most of the time."
He perched on his chair, so he could see eye to eye with Rori.
"Whatcha thinking so hard about?" He had a bit of trouble looking him in the eyes.
"Yeah, I express my emotions
by rippin' someone's throat out."
Sighing, he figured it was time to get back to work. The conversation
was getting awkward and any further delay might have Byrd shocking
him into action. Damn woman was always so impatient.
"You okay? You're a lil' green 'round the gills. Maybe we should get
ya back on that IV. Byrd wouldn't be too 'appy if ya killed half the
personnel. Besides I need to get back to the 'unt."
"Yea I guess. I don't feel too bad, just really tired." Avery yawned, this was the disease he hated most, made him super tired.
"Damn sleeping sickness. Yea....gonna need help getting back." He stood up awkwardly and started jerkily walking towards the door. He hated being stiff, but he had had too much excitement for today. He had hoped he would have been able to roughhouse with Rori again, but not until he was medicated for a while first.
"If I OD I can stay off the IV for a while." He smiled, holding on to the door for support.
"Or is it that you can smell me?
Don't think I'm letting something as trivial as some stupid bodily want get in the way of our friendship? You're the animal, not me. It's prolly just cause I havn't seen you in a while. Just ignore it, alright?" Avery did not like the signals he was sending, he didn't understand why he wanted to be closer to Rori. He was upset with himself, he wanted to just have it all go back to how it was. Before they were....modified.
"Whatever, let's just get ya back on that IV. It's
pretty obvious that the bleedin' plague is startin' to come back already."
He tried to ignore Avery's comment because he didn't want to hurt
him. True, he could smell him and he could tell that the redhead
was confused, but he couldn't return those feelings. They were friends,
childhood friends, brother to the very end and that was all. He didn't
feel anything beyond brotherly love for the other.
It was likely the feelings had spawned because he, the one who
was more animal than human, was the only one capable of getting
within four feet of the walking plague. Were there another... Well,
things might not be so very awkward if there was someone else.
Avery was probably just attaching himself to the first person he
was capable of touching.
As he moved past Avery, he ruffled his friends hair and smiled. No
matter Avery's feelings, he'd still be the guy's friend.
"Don't worry about it, ok? Now where did we leave that damn
IV of yours? I thought it was sittin' in this 'all."
Avery grabbed the IV cart from the hall.
"Here, put it in Rori. I can't do it."
He was starting to not look so good.
His eyes were turning a sickening yellow colour and his fingernails were turning black.
Avery would have just inserted the IV except for the fact that he was terrified of needles.
"Please Rori, I don't feel good."
Avery tried to attach the IV to the tube in his hand.
"Just....push Rori, it should get enough meds in me.....do it!"
His skin looked like it was rotting along his cheek, exposing teeth and jaw.
"Um... I'm not so sure 'bout this, Avery....
I've never been near one of these things really... For me it's just
this bloody shock collar and a couple o' shots..."
The rotting skin suddenly reminded Rori of the badger from the
morning. He hadn't told Avery about how he was only fed once a
week. How he really was a monster, a beast when he was fed.
He didn't want to admit that he tortured his prey and then devoured
the meat raw. That the corpse was often left in with him as food for
the following days. He couldn't acknowledge the fact that he did eat them after.
Looking away from the vile sight, Rori suppressed the dizziness he
suddenly felt and grabbed the bag.
"I'm sorry if I 'urt you, Avery."
That said, Rori squeezed the IV firmly and hoped for the best.
Avery screamed in pain as too much fluid went through his veins.
His screams soon silenced and a broad smile enveloped his face.
His skin repaired itself and his eyes glassed over.
"Rori...roar....animal" He laughed lightly.
"Like roar....pretty.....hug?..." He pulled Rori down with him and poked his nose, then laughed hysterically.
"Funny roar...." Avery attempted to kiss Rori, instead getting the side of his head.
"Fuzzy roar..."
"Avery, Avery snap out of it! Blimey man!
Wot's wrong with you? Pull yourself together!"
Panicking, Rori pushed his friend away and grasp his head. His
blood was rushing like every time his urge to hunt kicked in. This...
This wasn't Avery... Avery wouldn't treat him like this. Avery
wouldn't... Would he? Bloody freaking Hell. Avery was so confusing.
Why couldn't they just be normal friends again. Normal like before...
Suddenly, something wrapped itself around his legs. Peering down
through his fingers, Rori found that it was Avery again. The boy
had decided to wrap his arm around Rori's legs and smile upwards.
Grabbing him roughly by his collar, Rori raised him to eye level
and glared an angry yellow at him. Baring his teeth and eyes flashing
gold, Rori began to forcefully move the other down the hall towards
where he might find the doctor - the twins' room.
"Wot the Hell is wrong wif you Avery?!?!?!?
Can't ya act normal for once?"
Unfortunatly for Avery, Rori had been a little overenthusiastic about the drug
application, and he was yet again overdosed.
He was trying his best to make sense, but it just wasn't happening.
"Izu...pretty lights!..no....OD! Yea....drug....I like normal
things...no...normal...normal...
back to the future....back.back to normal! zoom....sasoon....
sooo...n...soon! back to normal soon! wait....izu...sex! LIGHTS!"
The cloudiness of his brain was inhibiting normal thought.
Next to the overly happy Avery, Rori seemed
to be exude an aura of fury. He was seething with anger as he
pointed at the overdosed boy and glared at Izu.
"FIX. HIM. NOW!"
The bellow emitted from Rori's throat notified not only Izu to their
presence, but also another who was not too pleased to see Rori.
Shiki who had been sleeping pleasently, awoke with a start and after
a moment of blurred confusion, he stared blankly at Rori before
shouting and falling backwards out of his chair. Unfortunately,
the illusionist had forgotten that he had no use of his legs.
"Zanninna hito!"