Even Demons Can Be Saved

Disbelief

By the time the sun started to shine into the tiny window, Sephiroth was no closer to finding any explanation for his guest's predicament. He also found that he was slightly worried. The whole reason he stayed up was to watch for choking or coughing. He had checked several times to make sure she was still alive, and she was still breathing, but she had not made any movements.

It was as he was checking on her once again that a knock sounded. He opened the door to find Dr. Branscum waiting. He gave the man a nod in greeting and stepped back. The man didn't hesitate to head toward his unexpected patient.

After another quick exam, the doctor turned to Sephiroth with a frown. "Did she finally cough up the last of the liquid?"

Sephiroth's brow drew down as he answered. "No, I checked several times, but she has made no movements."

The doctor gave a heavy sigh. "I was afraid you were going to say that. Her temperature is fine, but there is no longer any sound of liquid in her lungs. With the fact that it had been mako, it seems as if her body absorbed it instead of expelling it. It isn't unheard of, but it's a rare reaction. It is still uncertain what that could mean for her. We'll just have to wait and see."

Sephiroth's brow drew into a frown as he looked to the woman in the bed. He didn't say anything, though. Instead, he gave the doctor another nod. "Thank you for your help."

Once the man was gone, Sephiroth looked to the woman one last time before leaving the room. He could not put off his mission, not even for something as intriguing as his guest. He didn't want to leave her alone for long, so he quickly made arrangements with the innkeeper to have someone sit with her while he was out. The man had been flabbergasted by his request, but once Sephiroth promised to pay whatever fee was necessary, the man quickly had one of his staff upstairs.

Once that was settled, Sephiroth left with the intent to find the beast that had evaded him the previous day. He hoped he would run into a challenge. Even though he looked like he could fit in entirely with the icy landscape around him, his irritation was building.

---

By the time he made it back to the inn, he was much closer to his ordinarily calm self. He hadn't been able to track the monster from the previous day, as the tracks had been completely buried under new snowfall. He did, however, find the den of monsters that had been reported as terrorizing the area.

He didn't bother asking the female innkeeper how his guest was as he was sure the conversation would only irritate him again. Instead, he headed straight up. He paused with his hand on the doorknob. He could hear several voices on the other side of the door.

He opened it to find a young girl cowering near the door, and Dr. Branscum trying to speak to the woman that had been sleeping. She was awake and currently trying to open the window. He caught the last of what the doctor had said. "-mako poisoning. You need to lie back down for now. We will have plenty of time to figure out what happened after we are sure you will be alright."

The woman turned to the doctor with a scowl. "Look, all I know is that I was swimming and got pulled under. I am positive that my friends are frantically looking for me." She looked down and to the side as she mumbled the rest. "I was so stupid. What the hell was I thinking."

Sephiroth's brow rose at those words. He doubted anyone else in the room had heard them. He also realized that no one had noticed him yet, so he stepped further into the room. The woman caught the movement and looked up. When her eyes landed on him, they widened, and she took a step back, putting her back up against the window she had been trying to open. Sephiroth was momentarily stunned as well. It wasn't the slight glow to her eyes, as that had been expected, but her eyes were the most unusual thing he had ever seen. One was a bright electric blue, and the other was a deep green.