Ryker's Guide (Mild)

Training

Carbry

Carbry had not been intending to be as destructive as he had been. He had been testing out the new simulators, which a tech company had claimed would be able to put any vampire or other supernatural to task. Then his team was attacked, and Carbry went into fight mode, though he would have been completely controlled had he not smelled someone else in the training room.

Daryl may not have been his mate, but he cared deeply for the man. So, smelling him in a place where Carbry was responding to danger then smelling the thrill of fear lacing through the man's scent had decided matters.

Carbry would protect those he loved, including the aloof cowboy who was playing hard to get in their delicious little foursome. Daryl loved Ryker and Meriwa, and if that was all, it would have been enough to charm Carbry. But the man had a million different quirks and facets that fascinated Carbry to no end. He was a complicated supernatural that loved fiercely, and Carbry was set on ensuring that the man fell head over heels with him. So he had pulled out all the stops, courting and wooing the cowboy by spoiling every last love or desire or passion that the man had, though Daryl would never have admitted to any of them freely. The mystery of the cowboy was half the fun. Figuring out what made Daryl tick just made Carbry love the man more fiercely even though Daryl was still decidedly standoffish.

Carbry had smelled Daryl's fear and reacted from a base level, the vampiric beast in him demanding he eliminate the threats and go find his distressed lover. But, by the time he had made it to the observation booth, Daryl had already left, leaving Carbry to stalk him through the halls of the training floor to the cardio room.

And by that time, the fear was laced with an arousal that had Carbry grinning and distracted enough that the first thing on his mind was getting the cowboy back to his apartment to slake their mutual desires. 

***

Satiated for the moment, Carbry stroked Daryl's back, frowning as he tried to place what felt or seemed odd about the man. Daryl had been gone for a couple weeks, but he smelled the same. Daryl cuddling with him was a new development, but not so new that it was what was sitting oddly for Carbry.

Finally, Daryl pulled back and shot Carbry another lopsided grin. "I didn't mean to bother you."

"You didn't." Carbry chuckled, though he let the man pull away from him, lounging back in bed as he watched Daryl stand up and walk out of the room. He could hear Daryl using the washroom as he tried to puzzle through what was bothering him about the cowboy.

When Daryl stepped back into the room, naked and fully visible to Carbry, it all made sense. Carbry knew exactly what was wrong. Daryl had lost weight, more weight than someone should be able to in a fortnight. Carbry could see his ribs, and most of Daryl's muscle tone was gone. The lean, toned body of his lover looked startlingly lanky and thin.

It wasn't gaunt or unattractive, but it was alarming, if only because Carbry quickly calculated that Daryl had lost something near to about fifty pounds of muscle in two weeks. And Daryl had already been lighter than he should have been before he left.

Something in Carbry's expression made the cowboy stop mid-step, and Daryl froze as Carbry sat up. "Daryl, have you been eating at all?"

"Yeah. Just... shifting a lot... burns through faster and stuff... I remembered to eat most meals." The cowboy got his slightly stubborn look on his features, the look he got whenever anyone tried to take care of him.

Usually, Carbry understood the man's need for independence, but now, it just made Car's anger flare while his worry leapt in his chest. Ryker had been worried before, and Meriwa had even started trying to get Daryl to drink the meal shakes after it had become obvious that no amount of burgers and pizza bagels would keep weight on the man. Carbry knew that the two of them would be besides themselves with worry if they saw Daryl like this.

And with good cause.

"Daryl, how many shakes did you eat to compliment your meals?" Carbry knew his tone was clipped, but it was better than giving full vent to his fury.

The cowboy offered an unconcerned shrug. "I dunno. I had one today before working out. I forgot to bring them with me for a little bit. And sometimes I just can't stomach them."

Carbry stood, the gut dropping worry warring with the seething anger he had at the man for being so laissez faire with his own health. So he growled. "Ball park it.... A daily average?"

"Half." Daryl shrugged, his expression darkening to mule-headed stubbornness. "About half of one."

"You're starving yourself!" Carbry snapped, motioning toward the man as he felt his anger spike. "You're supposed to be consuming three! More if you miss a meal or shift or exert yourself, which, judging by what you said, was every goddamn day!"

The cowboy rolled his eyes. " I think you're being a little overdramatic."

And then, in classic Daryl fashion, he turned to leave. And Carbry knew that he would walk straight out of the apartment and refuse to listen to sense. So Carbry was up out of bed and blocking the door before Daryl had managed to take a single step. "No! Your mate is worried sick about you! MY mate is worried sick about you. It's like you don't even care about the fact that you're toying with your health and well being!"

Carbry had a whole long rant prepared about how they didn't even understand what kind of supernatural Daryl was and that it could be possible that the man starved himself to death if he wasn't careful. And he intended to leverage Daryl's love for Ryker and Meriwa to get the man to agree to see sense for once.

But Daryl's eyes widened in surprise when Carbry stepped in front of him. Then the surprised turned to terror as Daryl back pedalled away from him, holding up his hands in fear and shaking his head. It wasn't a slight shock of fear or a jump in adrenaline after being surprised by Carbry moving so quickly.

No, Daryl looked like he was facing down something that was about to murder him as he cast a panicked look around the bedroom. Even as Carbry softened his expression and opened his mouth to reassure Daryl, the man shifted, going from a human into a small canine-like creature with long black and grey fur, a fluffy tail, and a face that looked something like a racoon.

As Carbry shifted his stance to try and appear less threatening, the Tanuki -shaped Daryl bolted for the space between Carbry's legs in a desperate attempt to flee.