Owen Changes His Mind

9. Admit It 2/3

Owen faded back into consciousness slowly, like he was trying to wade through brambles, or a massive sea of grabbing hands. He couldn't feel his body. His head was absolutely pounding on both sides. He tried to hear, but the rushing of blood made it impossible. Owen cracked his eyes open. The red of the lava shone like an open wound. He was surprised he was alive. Owen tried to swallow. He was parched. Gently, carefully, Owen turned and lifted his upper body off the bed. He winced. His face hurt on that side. His everything hurt on that side. The room tilted and swayed- no, Owen was tilting and swaying.

"Oh. You're alive," someone said. Owen looked up at the bars of his cage. It was the tall demon. Guts. They weren't a fighter, but they did have a mean streak he hadn't bothered to account for. "I bandaged your head and gave you some aspirin for that fever. There's more in the jar." Owen stared at them, unable to blink. He was in the presence of a dangerous creature. He'd respect them and kill them. Then he would kill Krow. Then he would kill Apo.

"Why?" Owen croaked, moving slowly to conceal just how hurt his body was. He never took his eyes off the demon.

Their eyes flashed from outside of Owen's cage. "Krow won't be allowed to visit you again. Rasbi was right. Death would be too easy. You deserve to suffer."

Owen grinned. This was familiar territory. Wait, what? What had Guts said about Rasbi? Owen frowned. "She's a fool," he chortled. Or at least, he tried to. It sounded garbled coming out, but Guts understood.

"She might be. Stupid softhearted Apo got to her. Either way..." Guts trailed off, then showed Owen a bowl of mushroom soup. "That backpack is only going to last for so long. Enjoy your dinner." They offered the bowl, lifting it towards the bars expectantly. When Owen didn't get off the cot, Guts slowly tipped the bowl over. They stared straight into Owen's eyes. "Scrumptious. Eat up, pig." Still holding the bowl, Guts turned and left.

Owen watched the soup running down the wall and sighed. Then he winced. He wasn't ready to get up yet, but he needed water. Owen trashed what was left of his dignity and crawled to the jar. He drank a canteen of water there, laying on the floor. Owen's backpack was beside the jar. He grabbed it. Most of the food was gone. That- that demon Guts had taken it. But they'd left some food. Owen glared into the bottom of the bag. Inside was a cheesecake, a bottle of wine, and apples.