The Ranch

There's two types of errandboys (3)

There are no more opponents, but the bloodthirst in Tih's eyes has not been quenched and he is no longer under control of his body.

His eyes turn to the few onlookers, who flee the moment Tih's blood-colored eyes lay upon them. He watches his prey leave one by one, a desire to chase after it, but something is trying to stop him.

The monster's eye then land on a better prey, unmoving prey. Tih looks at Kai and his group and starts taking slow steps towards them.

Kai shivers when he meets eyes with him. He's reminded of that time before. That incident that brought Tih into a coma for a month.

Kai remembers what happened to the man involved and a chill runs down his spine. "Tih! TIH! You need to get ahold of yourself!" He realizes he needs to do something, so he calls out to the monster.

This seems to have an affect, as the red seemed to disperse and Tih's movements pause for a moment before slowly resuming. Only, this time his movements seem to be stiffer.

The group follow along with Kai and try to call to Tih, even though they're not quite sure what's going on. Especially Sherlock and Lucien, who haven't been lucky enough to experience this side of Tih yet.

Although his movements slowed, the monster wasn't very far from the group in the first place. Tih's stiff hand stretches towards Kai's neck, almost grabbing it.

As a last ditch effort, Kai cries out once more," 𝗧𝗜𝗛!"

The last remaining wisp disappears from Tih's eyes as he collapses to his knees, panting heavily. He managed to regain his sanity at the last minute. Perspiration slides down his face and he collects his breath.

Kai and the others have never seen a tired looking Tih before. It's a weird feeling, for the child to be doing something normal like sweating.

They want to wait for the drained Tih to recover, but more and more onlooker start to cluster over to see what happened. The group decides to ditch Nathan and his teammates and head to the market to search for a doctor to check on Kai and Tih.

They walk to the Central Market while Sherlock starts explaining," I know a good place to get you two checked out. This massage therapist is super popular amount soldiers.-"

Kai cuts him off," Massage Therapist? We're not going to see a doctor?"

"Doctors are too expensive." Lucien explains.

Sherlock talks in more detail," Usually, only instructors can afford to see a doctor and they'll usually only go if it's life threatening. Non-licensed "doctors" can't treat grave injuries, but they're knowledgeable compared to an average soldier."

Sherlock then goes into more detail about the profession," Just like in the outside world, becoming an instructor with the profession of doctor takes a lot of classes and a lot of money, which is why they're so expensive. Any good non-licensed doctor has taken at least a couple classes in the realm of healing and such methods. They usually enter professions similar to doctors."

"Which explains 'massage therapist'." Kai nods in understanding.

"Exactly." Sherlock concurs.

Sherlock and the others enter a small shop located in a fairly busy area in the daily necessities district of the market. A bell chimes as they open the door and they are greeted to the smell of incense. The aroma has a calming effect that relaxes one's nerves.

"Welcome~" A sickly-sweet voice accustomed to the retail industry welcomes its customers.

The group walks inside to see a curvaceous woman. They have the height and body structure of a man with the...assets and body language of a woman. At first glance, they seem effeminate but powerful.

"What can I do for you darlings?" The woman wearing heavy makeup that complements her outfit bends over from behind a desk to close the distance between her and the group.

Before they can speak, the lady finishes her inspection," Dirty blond, wavy hair....tall for your age, aren't you? I would place you in the 'cool' category. The others...Oh! this one is just a peach isn't he!" She spots Tih. "What a cutie pie! A genuine cold aloofness, that's quite rare. Ooh~ honey I wouldn't mind hooking up with you...though I might have to wait about a decade. Good thing I'm patient." She winks at Tih.

Kai covertly pulls Tih behind him. "Are you the.. massage therapist?" He speaks with her to try to take her attention off of him.

"Yep~ Who's injured? Is it the boy? I'll give you a discount if it's the boy." The lady brings the conversation back to Tih.

Kai gives up trying to hide Tih since he needs to be treated by her anyhow. Kai hooks his arm around Tih's," Both of us got injured, but we don't know the extent of the damage."

She looks Kai up and down," Hmm~ You look fine? My cinnamon bun on the other hand is full of cuts and bruises. Let's hurry inside and get you treated." She stretches out her palm to the boy.

Tih looks at the hand and puts his paw on top.  The lady smile and leads the boy, hand in hand, to a different room. The rest of the group starts to follow but hearing the large amount of footsteps, the lady turns around," Only the patient is allowed to enter, patient confidentiality." She has a weird smile.

"I'm also a patient, so I can come too, right?" Kai starts looking for loopholes.

"Only one patient at a time, please be patient sir." She answers in a cheery tone, creepy smile still on her face.

"Then... Tih, do you want me to come in with you?" Kai secretly nods when the lady is focused on Tih and not him.

The only thing the lady sees is the child nod. She tries to find an escuse," I need verbal agreement."

"He's mute."

"Then I'll need written agreement."

"You need a written agreement for a chaperone?" Kai purposefully uses the term chaperone, who's role is to safeguard, instead of friend or escort, who would merely be their to accompany Tih.

"...Fine." The lady can't think of any other excuses. "Follow me little one." Her sweet voice refer to Tih.

Kai follows the two, carefully watching the "lady" who's hand is holding Tih's.