The Frozen Melody

11.Plot.

Tiger woke up again to the feeling of a dull pain throughout his body. He couldn't pinpoint where or why he was hurting even though his body seemed to be a bit stronger after eating the meat earlier. Maybe he should try standing and walking up today. A weak werewolf without much magic was just begging to be bullied here in Hell, where power was everything.

Straightening himself from the fetal position he had curled up in, Tiger carefully stretched his muscles.

Maybe I'll heal faster if I shift. He thought to himself. He had always been able to feel stronger and recover better while in wolf form.

Tiger hadn't shifted into wolf since he was in Joker's hotel room years ago, before all that stuff happened. Stuff that he quickly shoved to the back of his mind again as he grinned excitedly and closed his eyes to call out his beast. How he missed the feel of being a strong wild hunter, his thick fur, bushy tail-

Blinding pain exploded throughout his body, making him see stars.

His mouth opened in a silent scream.

His fingers clenched at the bed sheets in agony.

It was the same pain he experienced when he tried to transform before to escape from the facility. It was like hell fire slowly but brutally ripping and skinning him alive inside and out. It was like having each and every bone in his body hatefully smashed and crushed into tiny particles of dust.

It hurts.

It really fucking hurts.

Tiger gasped for breath as he squeezed his eyes shut tightly against the pain that was threatening to drown him and make him go insane.

Why?!

He finally got away from the nightmare, so why did he have to experience this again? Why can't he call out his beast??

The boy covered his mouth as a strong urge to puke overwhelmed him, and he focused all his energy on trying to keep everything in.

Swallow.

Keep it in.

He didn't think Pye would appreciate him throwing up on his lovely carpet or bed. If Hell had toilets, he would have made a run for it, but he knew the washrooms here only had a huge bathtub. Pye wouldn't like having vomit bits floating around in there either.

Minutes, then hours passed by with Tiger curled tightly back in a ball. The physical pain had slowly subdued, but the despair continued to linger. The deep sense of loss made his weak body shake uncontrollably despite the warm temperature of Joker's bedroom. So engrossed was he with trying to find his wolf and forget the pain that he didn't even notice the presence of another until they almost reached the bed.

"...Tiger? What's wrong?" Judice asked and climbed onto the bed after setting down the tray of food.

Tiger froze in surprise at the sudden voice before relaxing slightly and looked up at his friend. His cobalt blue eyes was glazed over with unshed tears and held a look of horror, pain, and helplessness.

"What's wrong?" Judice asked again and put a hand on the other's back. His touch made Tiger flinch unintentionally.

Dragging his eyes away, Tiger looked at the bed, not wanting Judice to see his shame. He swallowed visibly, still trying to settle his nervous stomach.

"Come on Tiger, you can tell me." Judice said softly, deeply intrigued by what had caused this change in the grinning Tiger he saw just a few hours before.

After what seemed like forever to Judice, Tiger finally glanced back up at him slowly.

You won't tell anyone right? The muted boy mouthed.