The Prison of Deviants

Chapter 6: Theo's Recovery

When I wake up, I find myself in our cell, on my mattress. I sense my body's clear of feathers. I'm no longer unwell.

Yelen and Annabelle are sitting on their mattresses, conversing about their recent hunt. I wonder how long I was asleep.

"What happened?" I ask.

My voice doesn't sound squeaky either. Yeah, I guess I'm cured. So, that blond guy, Knut, succeeded in healing me? I thought there was no way to reverse this transformation! All vampires said so. I thought Knut was bluffing!

Yelen and Annabelle look at me. They brighten up and run to me.

"You're awake? How are you feeling?" Yelen asks.

"Your feathers have vanished and your voice is back to normal! I can't believe it!" Annabelle cries out.

"It seems so, thankfully," I reply. "How long have I been out?"

"Three days," Annabelle says.

"Three days?!" I gasp.

"Yes." Yelen nods. "We were concerned about you. Lord Knut said you'd recover, but it was too hard to believe. Then, your feathers began falling, so we realised it might be true. Rufy and Ronald dropped in several times too. They were worried about you. We all were!"

"Don't you ever scare us like that again!" Annabelle scolds me, as always. "I almost had a heart attack! You could've died!"

"Yeah, I'm sorry!" I apologise. "I'll never drink blood again."

"You can do that now." Yelen smiles. "Lord Knut said that since you're healed and have already tasted blood, you won't have those outbursts anymore. You'll control your craving."

"Yeah, your turning process has sped up," Annabelle explains. "If you haven't noticed yet, your claws have grown permanent, like ours."

Now that I look at my hands and feet, my nails have indeed gotten sharp like claws. I guess they have reached the final transformation. I can now morph them into beastly claws for battle whenever I want. Annabelle and Yelen have had such nails ever since I met them. I guess my turning process has sped up, indeed.

"So, from now on, I can participate in the hunts?" I ask, just to be sure.

"Yeah! You're officially our team member!" Annabelle grins, happy that I can accompany them now. "When you're on your feet again, we'll go hunting together!"

"Yes! That'd be marvellous!" Yelen is excited.

"I guess I can get up already," I say. "I don't feel tired."

I push my blanket off and get up. I change into my prisoner's uniform – a white sleeveless top, a pair of grey trousers, and cheap sandals. I neatly fold my nightdress and stuff it under the blanket on my mattress.

"So, anyway, how did Knut manage it?" I ask. "I thought you guys said the bestial transformation was an unstoppable process." I take a seat beside them and grab a bottle of blood from the bunch piled up in a corner.

"You want the truth?" Annabelle uncorks her bottle and gulps down some blood. "We've no idea!"

"Yeah. I asked Rufy about that," Yelen says. "He said he's seen it for the first time. Usually, bestial transformations are rare. The only fact we know is that of Kaleb, but he'd long been turned when he was discovered, so there was no way to revert the process. It turns out that it can be reverted, but only if the person is in the early stages of turning. Like you were."

"Oh, I get it," I say. "So, can all felines do that? I mean, when Knut stabbed me with his claws, some green liquid dripped off of them. That should've been the medicine, right?"

"Yes, that was the medicine, but not all felines can do that." Annabelle takes another draught of the blood. "Only elementals."

"Elementals?" I ask. It's the first time I heard that word.

"I haven't seen any elementals do that, though," Yelen argues.

"Elementals are zoomorphs that can control elements like fire, water, and plants," Annabelle explains to me. "Among canines, only foxes can do that. White foxes control water and red foxes control fire. Felines have more variations: black panthers, black tigers, and black jaguars control plants; red tigers, spotted leopards, and spotted jaguars control fire; and white tigers and nearly-extinct snow leopards control water."

"Yes, but they're not always elementals," Yelen says. "Meeting an elemental is a rarity. Most foxes and all of those felines Annabelle mentioned can't control any element, usually. And then, plant elementals don't control liquid, so I don't know how Lord Knut did that."

"Two words: dual power," Annabelle says, drinking the blood from her bottle.

While Yelen is stupefied at Annabelle's words, I'm rather puzzled. I've no idea what Annabelle meant.

"But dual power is a rare ability!" Yelen says.

"It may be rare, but not impossible, right?" Annabelle shrugs. "I don't see any other explanation."

"So, you mean, he can control both plants and water?" Yelen gasps. "Unbelievable!"

I'm having a hard time understanding their speech, but one thing I know: Knut saved my life. I should thank him when I see him again. Will I, though? – This prison is vast and the Feline District is far away! But then, Annabelle knows all kinds of deviants here. She should have some feline friends too.

"Annabelle!" I call her.

"Yeah?" she answers.

"Can you take me to the Feline District?" I ask.

"Huh? Why?" She blinks in surprise.

"I want to thank Knut," I reply. "He saved my life. I believed I was a goner, and yet I'm still alive! Now that you guys mentioned how he's done the impossible, I should thank him."

"You're saying you want me to cross half of the prison with you just so you could thank some guy?" Annabelle rolls her eyes. "Can you believe her, Yelen?"

"Why not? He was handsome." Yelen shrugs, smiling.

"Aww, you mean, that? Yeah, that makes sense!" Annabelle laughs. She turns to me: "Why didn't you say so?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" My cheeks burn. How come they think I like him? It's just gratitude!

"You don't have to hide it, girl!" Annabelle grins. "When you want to cross the prison grounds just to meet a guy, it's for more than gratitude!"

"Ugh, forget it!" I roll my eyes.

They continue laughing. They must be thinking I'm too shy to express my feelings. That's the way with girls – they think when you want to thank a guy who saved your life, you must like him! Why should I have feelings for that cat? He was rude and uncultured! If he weren't my saviour, I'd never want to see him again.

I'll just do it myself. I'll find Knut by, thank him, and get this over with.