Scenarios

Tidbit #20

"This Story was actually an assignment for my psychology class. I was to create a character and give said character an ailment that I was assigned. I was assigned delirium, and this is what I wrote and turned in." -Tiny

Midnight, a young werecat and the owner of a nearby bakery, is currently laying in her bed. She lives alone, but she's rarely at home for long. Whether she's at the bakery working, or out with friends, or on the battlefield, she's not often home alone unless she's sleeping. Point is, she's always busy, and that's a good thing. Midnight doesn't like being idle. So, one could see why being bedridden is torture. "Whyyyy do I have I stay heeeerrreee???" She whines. "Cause your legs are broken, my love," Says her boyfriend, Baxter, matter of factly as he comes into the room with food on a plate. Protector Joey, one of Midnight's closest friends, found him on a prison ship a couple months back, freed him, and welcomed him to come to Endromidus. Not long after that, Midnight made her move on her newly developed crush, and it went well. "Why can't Dr. Screwtape just heal me up or something? I've seen him heal worse injuries off of Joey," She says. "No, Screwtape is normally just healing whatever terrible disease or poison that comes along with the injury. Joey still has to heal the rest by himself," Baxter corrects. "What about a wizard, then? Endromidus has tons of them." She continues. "All of Endromidus' healers are away on duty," He counters again. "Uuuggghhhhh," Midnight groans. She's making a fuss of it, and she really does hate being down for so long, but the truth is it's really not that bad. Can't complain too much, what, with her boyfriend here to cater to her every whim. Baxter sets the plate next to her bed, intending to feed her, but she twists and picks it up to set in her lap. "No matter how nice it is to have you doing everything for me, I still have arms. I can feed myself," She says. "Alright, alright," He chuckles, backing off. He sits by the window, opening a book to continue his reading. Midnight eats voraciously. The plate is chock full of nutrient rich food, and she eats it all without hesitation. She feels like she's starving. Some girls these days might blanch at the thought of eating so much; But shapeshifting requires a lot of energy, and she, being a werecat, is no exception. While she eats she examines her legs. She's without pants, so they don't get in the way, but she's still plenty modest. Her light skin is covered in bruises and scratches, most of which are almost healed. She thinks back to when she first got injured. She was on a mission from Joey. She was alone, and her job was to take out a camp of bandits that had been harassing the people of Endromidus. She had almost taken out everyone around, but the last one, a wizard, got the jump on her. The wizard used a hastily created golem to smash her legs. She managed to damage the golem enough while it was breaking her to make it fall apart. It's quick birth left it fragile and unstable, so it wasn't too difficult. At the time, the pain was blinding. Her legs were bent at awkward angles and there were even some bones sticking out. Her fur caked with blood, she couldn't stay in her panther form anymore. She was forced back into a human body. The wizard was about to finish her off, but she managed to squeeze a shot off with her gun. Her first actual kill of the day, unfortunately, but worth it to save her own life. She knew she didn't have much time, so she pulled out a satellite phone and quickly sent a picture of her location with a blindly typed message: "imkured vad jeol." Despite it's barely legible spelling, Joey knew the situation enough to get the true message: "Injured bad. Help." He quickly teleported to Midnight, already unconscious, and brought her to Dr. Screwtape. She was lucky she got the picture sent. The instantaneous transportation to the most skilled doctor in Endromidus, and his quick and expert work saved her legs. However, she's supposed to be out of commission for a few weeks. She shakes her head, leaving the memory behind. The pain is not something she wants to remember, she can almost feel it. It takes a few seconds to recognize that there is actually a dull pain in her legs. She sets her now-empty plate on the bedside table next to her, and touches her hand to her knee. She can feel the contact, and it's starting to hurt. "Baxter, I did take my painkillers this morning, right?" Midnight asks, looking over at him. He closes his book and looks up at her. "Yeah. I remember, cause I asked you," He cocks his head curiously. "Why?" "I can feel my legs. And it's really starting to hurt," She replies. moves her hand as Baxter walks over. He picks up the bottle and examines the instructions. His mouth forms a line. "You should be fine to take another dose, if the effect is fading," He says, opening the container and giving her some of the contents. She's quick to take them, eager to be rid of the slowly intensifying pain. "If it starts fading again, I'm gonna call Dr. Screwtape. I don't want you taking another dose, just in case," Baxter says. The girl nods, laying back and closing her eyes. She'd take a nap, but she's plenty rested and can't manage to bring herself to sleep. Instead she falls into a meditative state, closing herself off from everything but her own mind. After maybe an hour or so, she finally she opens her eyes and mind. With the light comes a rush of pain. She must've been blocking it out. "Ah!" She groans. "What the hell?" She clutches at her legs, and the pain immediately intensifies. She cries out and lets go. It's so much, she's starting to feel woozy. "Bax- Baxter!" She calls out. He's in the room in an instant. "Midnight. What's wrong?" He comes up to the side of her bed, unsure of what to do. "It hurts!" She growls. "I- I'll go get Screwtape." He rushes out of the room. She expects to hear a car engine after that, but the front door slams and it's just silence. He must've just flown. He better be able to get here faster than a car, then. The pain has left her in no mood to wait. She groans and lies back, clenching the bedsheets. She tries to slow her breathing, maybe close off her mind again. Forget about the pain until the doctor arrives, but the pain is too much. She can't focus. When she opens her eyes, her vision is blurry around the edges. She's feeling all the pain of having every bone in your leg shattered at once. Which is exactly what she went through. She tries once more to close off her mind from the pain. She tries to take deep breaths, but she can't control herself. Her breathing is quick and shallow. She notices movement in the corner of her room, but when she looks over, there's nothing there. She hears the door again, and is flooded with relief at Baxter's return. But he never comes into the room. "Baxter?" She tries to call out, but her teeth are clenched. She has to think hard about unclenching her jaw to make it happen. She tries again, "Baxter!" She calls. No answer. She shakes her head. What's wrong with her? Is she insane? She remembers stories she's heard time and time again from her friends from when they were injured badly. Mind numbing pain that caused them to start going delirious. That's it! The pain is making her delirious. And it's only getting worse. The room looks as if it's bending and warping, she hears a dull buzzing in her ears, and the pain is so bad it's everything she feels. Why can't she just pass out! As if on cue, she finally loses the battle, falls into unconsciousness. In a half-conscious state, she sees Baxter return with Screwtape. She barely recognizes them through the pain and tears. Screwtape comes equipped with what looks like a case of torture devices. He pulls out a needle that looks longer than her whole arm, through her delirious vision. She shies away from the obvious weapon in disguise. "Don- don't bring that near me," She manages, weakly. "She's delirious," The Doctor observes. Baxter comes into her sight, holding the sides of her face. "Midnight. It's ok. Dr. Screwtape's just gonna put you to sleep," He says in a soothing tone. But she doesn't recognize him. "No-! Strangers! I don't know who you are!" She feebly pushes them away. She attempts to shift into a large cat to fight off her new 'enemies,' but she's too weak. It doesn't keep her form from convulsing a little, though. "Put her out already before she hurts herself," Baxter says. She feels a swab of cotton against her neck, and then a pinprick of pain. It's practically nonexistent compared to the pain in her legs, though. It only lasts for a second, however, before she's out once again.