Moonlit

Chapter Six

Terra shivered as she slept, her hair sticking to her head with sweat. She had her arms wrapped around her, a pencil tucked behind her ear. Her sketchbook lay open on the floor to a dark outline of a powerful looking wolf. Terra's face was scrunched up, her night terrors plaguing her worse than ever. In the last two days she hadn't been able to sleep much. Instead, she passed out at random points of exhaustion, though she hadn't even left the bed to eat.

Jrasic had attempted to bring her food, but not to much luck. He hovered by the top of the stairs, holding a plate of bacon and eggs in one hand. He had seen many wolves turn, seen many die in the transition but he couldn't remember the last time he saw a turning this severe this early on. Jrasic moved over to the bedside table. His eyes drifted to the sketchbook and he picked it up, almost hesitantly. He frowned at the dark wolf that met his gaze, almost unnerved by it. He snapped the sketchbook shut, placing it beside the plate.

Terra snapped out of her nightmare and lurched back from the edge of the bed. She propped herself up on one elbow as she gazed at Jrasic. After a moment she relaxed slightly, but her gaze turned hard and she snatched her sketchbook back from the table.

"What, you hiding something in there?" Jrasic said, raising an eyebrow at her. He turned without giving her a chance to reply and retreated back to the stairs. With a hand on the railing, he paused and threw a glance over his shoulder at her. "How are you feeling?" he asked, almost as an afterthought.

"Just peachy," she snapped in reply as she flipped open to her sketches. Her eyes drifted to the food and she gingerly picked up a piece of bacon, nibbling on it in case it upset her stomach.

"It shouldn't be too hard on you," Jrasic said, nodding to the plate. "Meat tends to settle better than others."

"You've seen a lot of this then, have you?" Terra's gaze flicked back up at him. "I assume you went through it yourself too."

Jrasic kept his back to her. "I've seen many turn but I've never experienced it."

Terra frowned, though this time it was in confusion. "Why did you not enjoy this lovely experience?"

Sighing mainly to himself, Jrasic pressed his shoulder up against the wall. He crossed his arms, head tipping to the side ever so slightly. "I was born this way."

Terra finished her bacon and went for another piece when it didn't make her feel sick. "Is that why you could do the freaky thing with the claws?" She flipped through her sketchbook again to land on the page she'd drawn of him under the streetlight. Terra flipped it around, almost hesitantly, to show what she meant.

"Yes," Jrasic said rather simply. "Born wolves and turned wolves have different...abilities." He frowned at the last word, feeling awkward with the word choice. "You won't be able to do that."

Terra snorted and shut the sketchbook again. She ran a hand through her hair, swung her legs over the bed, and stood. A wave of dizziness overcame her and Terra pitched forward, darkness at the edge of her vision.

"Stay down." Jrasic suddenly leaned off the wall though didn't move any closer to her. "Moving will only make it worse."

"Well thanks for that advice earlier." Terra propped herself up, though stayed standing. She winced as she leaned down to pick up her bag and almost fell forward again. "I'm not going to waste away and smell like some homeless person." She sniffed her shirt and her nose crinkled in disgust as she headed, stumbling slightly, towards the bathroom.

"Do what you want then," Jrasic said with a shrug.

Terra rolled her eyes at Jrasic, but ignored him just as her vision blurred. She didn't notice she was falling until the floor was coming up fast. Jrasic was beside her in an instant. His arm wrapped around her, pulling her back up just before she could hit the ground.

Her instincts made her press back into him. Realizing what she was doing, she tried to push away, her stomach churning. Terra fell to her knees and retched up the little food she had eaten that morning. With one hand she tried to push her hair back from her face, the other just held her stomach.

Jrasic gently gathered her hair away from her face but otherwise didn't touch her. "Feel like remaining in bed now?" he asked.

When her stomach was empty, Terra closed her eyes, her energy gone. She gave a slow nod and tried to push herself back up, body trembling with the effort. Her shakes returned, sweat glistening on her forehead.

"Alright, just relax." Jrasic lifted her into his arms, trying not to jostle her. He returned her to the bed, at first lingering at the bedside once he had placed her back down.

Terra's face scrunched up in pain, her hands pressing down on her stomach. When the pain passed she relaxed and opened her eyes again. She flinched at his closeness, but then she relaxed once again. "Thanks, I guess, but you've done this a lot." Her voice was hard, but wavering in her exhaustion.

"A few times," Jrasic said. He said nothing more, simply leaving it at that as he turned away and retreated to the bathroom, returning with disposable rags.

Terra had closed her eyes again, shivering even with the covers pulled up around her shoulders. She cringed again and one of her hands gripped at the sheets. "Is this what it's always like?"

"Most of the time, yes," Jrasic disposed of the rags once he finished cleaning and returned to Terra. He sat on the floor closest to the loft's edge and leaned against the rail. "The turn is different for everyone. Some experience it better than others. Some worse. Some don't make it as far as you have, even."

"You're so very reassuring." Her voice was strained, but as the pain numbed she let out a long breath. "Is there anything to help this? I feel like everything is on fire." Terra let her head fall to the side so she could watch him. There wasn't fear or hatred in her eyes, just exhaustion.

"There isn't. Not this early in the transition," Jrasic said through a sigh. "I'm sorry. Human medications tend to make it worse."

"Oh fantastic, I can't wait until-" She cut off and let out a string of curses, turning on her side. She curled into a ball and groaned in pain.

"It just comes down to carrying it out," he said. He let his head drop back against the railing, watching her all the while, knowing there was nothing he could do. "You just take it as it comes. For now, that's all we can do."

Terra gave a small nod, not entirely convinced, and stayed where she was. When she didn't reply verbally, Jrasic left back down the stairs once more.