Chapter Text
“That's the last of the tests we need to have done today. Me and your doctor will send you the results soon, now make sure to get plenty of rest, Amiya. I'll see you next week for a follow up and a physical” The feline eared woman finishes writing down notes on her clip board before giving the naked girl in front of her a once over. A young cautus with no parents, save for her guardian gives a small nod before looking down at her ringed fingers.
“Your illness seems to be reacting well to the new medicine and treatment we've been giving you. At this rate you will be able to go back to school next semester if things go well” The feline doctor gives a quiet bow to her before leaving the room so she can get dressed.
“….” A small hushed breath leaves parted lips as she looks down at the rings around each of her fingers before grabbing the clothes next to her. The young rabbit eared girl looks down at her small pale frame as she dresses herself. The first thing she puts on is the underwear she bought last week, just a plain white bra and panties designed to fit her tail comfortably. The next is the plain white dress kal’tsit gave her as an early present for her birthday last week. It's long enough to reach her thighs and cover most of the dark blue skirt she's going to have to replace for a bigger pair soon, she's starting to grow out of them. The last is the thick coat she's always wearing no matter the weather.
When Amiya is finally done her eyes of blue glance across the empty check up room. They glance over the many medical supplies and colorful charts of the human body littering the room. From diagrams of the human nervous system that she's memorized by now to childish posters of cartoon organs telling her to take care of them.
All of it is stuff she's grown familiar with these past few years. It makes her smile softly to herself before standing up and exiting the room. The moment she steps out of the small room bright white light and pale walls greet her, along with someone else she's familiar with.
“Ah, greetings Amiya. How's it hanging? Old kal finally done with ya for today? You've been here since this morning” An older woman with scales of green greets her with a sharp smile. She nods at the woman named Gavial, one of the many medical staff here she's grown used to seeing.
“Yes, her and my doctor just got done with me. I was about to head out to do some shopping before going home. I wanted to buy some supplies to make a cake for my birthday tomorrow” Gavial gives a nod and a smile.
“Well good luck with that Amiya, I have to go help Warfarin with some new patients we got last night. We'll be busy for the next few days, but I'll try to stop by to wish you a happy birthday later this week” The older woman turns around to leave but stops in place. “Oh, yeah! Make sure to check out that new shop on third street, Grani said she and some of Skadi’s friends went there and found a lot of interesting things to buy. Maybe you'll find something nice to get for your birthday”
“Thanks, I will, see you later, Miss Gavial” Amiya nods as they go their separate ways and she follows the pale hall of doors to the exit. When she's finally out of the hospital her gaze goes up to the overcast clouds coming in from the east. The large array of mountains and forests looming off in the distance as the sun begins to set over them.
It's going to rain. Hopefully it doesn't start before she gets home. She didn't bring an umbrella.
Her first stop is the nearest grocery store to pick up some eggs, flour and other stuff she needs for the recipe one of Texas’s friends gave her. As she walks into the small store some of the workers greet her with a smile as she makes her way to the back of the store.
Let's see, eggs should be about five LMD and flour should be about four and so should the chocolate. As she grabs the eggs she'll need and puts them in her basket her mind drifts to distant thoughts of what Kal’tsit said about her going back to school. It's been four years since she dropped out of school because of her illness and treatment, four years since she was in the same classroom as her only friend Rosmontis.
“…..” Memories of the forgetful feline and how she always used to cling to her in their youth flash in her mind. She wonders what the feline is like now.
How many years has it been since I last saw you? Her mind drifts off to the young girl who was so small the last time she saw her when they were both only–
“Oh! Pardon me” Her thoughts come to a crashing halt when she runs into an older man she doesn't recognize. One that exudes a kind aura and gentle demeanor. He's a pale haired Sankta who smells of coffee and gives an apology before walking off with a young girl next to him. She wonders if she's his daughter as they leave her alone with her thoughts.
“….” Images of her own parents flitter through her head as she stares at the two of them as they smile at each other and walk hand in hand.
Family. An older woman comes to mind with that one word. One that was everything a mother could be to her. A woman who…
“Amiya? You okay dear? You've been awfully quiet” A soft feminine voice calls to her and snaps the cautus girl out of her reverie.
“Huh?” The rabbit eared girl looks at where the voice came from and sees another cautus with closed eyes standing in front of her behind the check out desk. It's then the young girl realizes she was spacing out after bumping into that man.
“Sorry, what were you saying Kroos?” The orange haired cautus smiles softly at her and makes her lush.
“I said that will be twenty seven LMD and the chocolate you bought is on sale so they cost less”
“Oh, right uh here.” Amiya nods before taking out her wallet and handing over the small bills. Kroos takes them happily and begins giving back her change.
“You okay Amiya? You were spacing out for an awfully long time. Something the matter?” Kroos voice is awfully soft as she speaks, just like it always is.
“Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just tired because I woke up early for my doctor's appointment today” Kroos nods before giving back her spare change and a receipt.
“Well make sure to get some proper rest, we don't want you to collapse on us again now do we. We were really worried the last time that happened” Kroos waves bye to her and she tells them she will before she leaves the store with her groceries. As she steps outside the feeling of a small drizzle hitting her ears makes her sigh and ears twitch. She begins to turn around to go back inside to wait out the storm but the feeling of her bumping into a taller frame makes her squeak.
“Oh, sorry little lady. My apologies” An older gruff man with horns and fiery hair gives her a kind smile as he looks her over with his one good eye. It makes her feel nervous before the taller man speaks.
“Oh, you're the little girl Kal’tsit and that doctor from Rhodes Island are taking care of. It's Amiya, right?” The man's voice is gruff yet soft as he speaks to her. She gives a quiet nod and he smiles at her.
“It's nice to meet you, Miss Amiya, my name is Hoederer. I run the new shop that opened up on third street. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance" He looks so imposing and big to her but there's also something gentle about him when he looks at her. Maybe it's because he looks at her as if she's a child.
“It's nice to meet you too mister, Hoederer,” He gives a warm smile before opening up the umbrella at his side to cover them both from the rain.
“I see you don't have an umbrella with you, do you mind sharing one with me until we get to my store. I have a few more there I can give you” She contemplates his request nervously as she recalls Kal’tsit’s words about trusting strangers.
He notices her hesitancy and gives her a comforting smile.
“If not I can ask Ines to bring one to us, but I'm sure she wouldn't want to leave the store unmanned” He contemplates what to do for a moment before handing her the umbrella. “How about this, you can take the umbrella and return it tomorrow to the store. I'm sure Ines would be interested in meeting you” She wants to decline because the rain is starting to pick up and he doesn't have any protection from it, but he waves bye to her before walking off without another word.
“See you around Miss Amiya, it was nice meeting you” She feels guilt in her stomach for taking his umbrella but also relief at the same time. She decides to ignore both and go home before the rain picks up again.
I need to get home. The streets are mostly empty because of the weather, but there are occasionally people that pass her by. The sight of a familiar dark haired lupo leaving a store makes her smile and want to call out to them, but she doesn't when she sees a silver haired wolf step out and follow after her friend.
“Come on my dear Texas! It's too early to leave, the party is just getting started!” The dark haired lupo rolls her eyes and tries to ignore the girl bothering her. “Or are you that eager to take me home with you~?” The silver haired lupo grabs onto the other girl's arm and pulls it to her chest. It makes Texas stiffen before trying to pull her arm away.
“Aww, don't be shy! I know how eager you are to do it again just like last time~. You were so gentle with me, but I wish you would have been a little rougher, just like you were with your little angel~” Texas notices Amiya before lappland can. She knows the look that passes over Texas’s eyes means that Texas wants to keep her out of what is happening.
“How many times do I have to tell you to stop with that!” Texas tears her arm from the silver haired lupo and storms off in the opposite direction of the cautus girl as Lappland follows behind
“Aww! You're always playing hard to get, that just makes me want to do it even more!” Lappland let's out a teasing laugh. “Maybe this time I can convince you to finally let me play with your little angel~” The two girls disappear down the street, after Texas yells to leave Lemuel alone. Amiya lets out the breath she was holding and continues down the other way.
Those two are always together. Seeing them makes her wonder what having a relationship would be like for her. She doesn't think she would ever fall in love with a girl like Lappland, or Lemuel for that matter. The only person she could ever see herself falling in love with is the girl the kids called Rosmontis, the quiet girl who was always with her at school, even if that was only when they knew each other as kids.
“Narcissa” Her blue eyes look up at the sky as she thinks about how long it's been since she was allowed to be one. That was a long time ago, before she was too sick to do anything but stay in bed, before her illness got worse. Before she began coughing up blood everyday.
Tomorrow is my birthday. It's an important day to her and everyone she knows. A day when she'll finally turn…
*Boom!*
Thunder rings above as she walks home to the place she has spent most of her short life stuck in bed.
I wish it would snow, just like it did back then when you were around. Her mind wanders to what tomorrow will be like for her, everyone she knows will be too busy to come celebrate. The only one that wouldn't be busy at this time of year would be Rosmontis, but she hasn't seen her in a long time and doesn't know if the girl would recognize her after all these years apart.
What are you like now? As she reaches the nearest edge of town she looks at the small house she calls home. A quaint little cottage she's lived in by herself ever since…
Theresa. The young cautus girl shakes her head free from those thoughts before grabbing her keys from her inner coat pocket.
Im going to make a cake for myself. She smiles at the thought of making it as she pushes the door open, but not before hearing something breaking in the garden. Her ears twitch at the quiet sound of movement she hears. It's barely noticeable under the rain and thunder. She almost believes it was just her imagination, until she hears it again.
Crack!
“Hello?” Carefully she sets her groceries down in the doorway before taking a tentative step towards her garden. A part of her wants to believe it's just lena tending to the garden like she always does on the weekends, but when the smell of iron hits her sensitive nose she knows something is wrong.
“Who's there!?” Her ringed fingers clench together tightly as she takes a step into her garden. Nothing seems out of place at first glance until she sees muddy footprints and a trail of blood and broken pottery leading to the gardening shed near the back of the house. Fear wells up in her chest as she follows the muddy footprints until she reaches the old gardening shed she and Theresa used to use often when she was little.
There's someone inside. Her ears twitch at the rustling sound coming from behind the door. Fear wells up in her chest as she hesitantly she reaches for the handle. Her rings clack against the metal handle before she pushes it open. Terror that someone will come out and attack her the moment the door opens is there, but that fear turns to worry when she finally sees what's on the other side of the old wooden door.
The first thing she sees and smells is the trail of blood and broken pottery leading to muddy combat boots. The next is the torn up militaristic clothing covered in blood and wet dirt, and lastly is the face of a young Sarkaz woman. Amber eyes gleam at her with fear as the injured woman winces when she tries to move. The young cautus girl looks for any weapons the older woman might have on her and sees none before taking a step forward.
“You're injured” The red horned woman shoots her a glare to stay away from her, but that doesn't deter the young girl at all. She takes another step into the other girl's space, even if the sarkaz woman growls at her to stay back.
“I'm not going to hurt you, I promise” Amiya looks over the injuries she can see and sees they're mostly just superficial. There's only a few that are really bad and need stitches, particularly the one on her leg.
“Let me help you, please” Amber eyes glare at her when she tries to check the woman's injuries, but they don't stop her. “It's okay, I'll be gentle,” Carefully she checks the wounds to see if there's any bruising or visible bones.
“Does anything feel broken?” The woman shakes her head. That's good, it means she doesn't have to go to the hospital right now.
“I'm going to have to clean your wounds first and then stitch them up. I have some medical supplies inside I can use to patch you up. Can you walk by yourself?” The sarkaz woman nods and her glare lessens as she tries to stand up. The woman falters the moment she's halfway off the ground, thankfully the young cautus girl catches her.
“Here, let me help” The taller woman is surprised by her strength, but doesn't say anything about it as she leads them inside through the back door that leads to the kitchen. When they are inside she guides them towards the table and sets them down on one of the kitchen chairs.
“Okay, I'll be back soon, I need to get some of my supplies from upstairs.” The nameless woman nods when she hands her some rags to help stop the bleeding. It doesn't take her long to get one of the first aid kits from her room. Thankfully the older woman has already taken off some of her clothes when she comes back, that will make tending to her wounds easier.
“Here, I grabbed one of the bigger ones I had” Amiya places the large case on the table before undoing the latches. The nameless woman is stunned by the sheer size of the kit as she takes out everything she needs to clean and dress her wounds.
“I think I need to start with the gash on your leg first since it's the most serious one” She grabs a needle and thread along with other supplies as she drops down between the other girls legs. Her thin hands go to the woman's belt to begin undoing it so she can access the rest of her wounds.
“Agh!” The older woman grabs her hands with a sharp gasp before shaking her head as a blush forms on her cheeks. She wonders why they did that until they let go and grab the tear in their pants and tear it open so she has better access to the wound. The young girl doesn't think twice about it and begins cleaning the wound.
“Here bite down on this” She hands the older girl a wooden spoon when she's done. She makes sure they are ready before beginning to stitch up their wounds. The horned woman winces when the needle pricks her skin but remains quiet until the wound is finally closed.
“Phew” They both breathe a sigh of relief when the most serious wound is closed. “You doing okay? Do you want some pain killers?” The older woman nods and runs a hand through her silvery hair as Amiya reaches into her coat pocket.
“Here, these should be strong enough. I usually take them when one of my symptoms flares up” The older woman looks skeptically at the bottle between her ringed fingers before taking the bottle.
“Make sure to only take two at most. I'll get you some water to…” She goes quiet when the sarkaz woman dry swallows both pills before giving her back the bottle. Amiya decides not to say anything as she begins working on the other gashes and wounds that need to be stitched up.
“Okay, I think that should be everything” The young cautus girl looks over her handy work as she wrings out the bloody rag in her hands. “I just need to dress your wounds now and…” The older woman stands up suddenly before taking off her shirt and throwing it to the floor as she walks over to the sink. The first thing the young cautus girl realizes is that the older woman has a lot of scars, the second is how hot her face becomes when she realizes they aren't wearing anything underneath.
“Eep!!!” Her ringed fingers cover her eyes as the sarkaz women begins wiping the blood off of herself in the sink. “Um, I have a shower you can use Miss um…” Amiya looks between her fingers at the mature woman who is washing the dirt and blood off of her face.
“Uh, do you have a name Miss?” Amber eyes look back at her as water drips through messy silver locks of hair. There's something almost ethereal about the way they look at her at this moment. They're such a beautiful woman, it makes her blush to see them like this and her heart beats faster when those amber eyes meet hers. She's so enraptured by everything they do even if it's just staring at her with a smirk.
Without hearing them say it she hears the words “See something you like little bunny?" in her head. It makes her go quiet because the young cautus realizes she's staring. She looks away and clears her throat as they hold up three fingers to her.
“Three? Your name is San?” The older woman shakes her head before drawing a w in the air. “W? Your name is W, like the letter?” They nod before turning off the sink. The moment they turn around Amiya looks away and tries not to stare again.
“Um, the bathroom is upstairs, W. I have some clothes your size in one of the spare rooms. I can bring them to you after you take a shower” Some of Kal’tsit’s old clothes should fit W since they're around the same size. She also still needs to dress her wounds, but decides not to bring it up right now. W gives her a quiet nod before looking across the kitchen for something. When those amber eyes land on the fridge she realizes they're probably hungry.
“Oh, I can make something to eat while you're in the shower. I was planning to make dinner soon anyways” W looks at her strangely before nodding. They walk off into the house and she's worried they won't be able to find the bathroom, but when she hears the shower turn on a few minutes later she breathes a sigh of relief.
I need to tell Kal’tsit about them. She decides to do that later and brings her groceries into the kitchen.
Why were you so injured W? After putting everything away she takes out something to make a light meal with and cleans up in the kitchen before starting on their meal. Her rings clack together as she puts meat to cook and cuts vegetables. It doesn't take her long to make because it's just some rice, meat and vegetables.
It smells good. It's a meal she's eaten many times whenever she was sick since Kal’tsit was the one that always made it for her. She said it would be easy on her stomach and has enough nutrition to give her plenty of energy.
It did, but that's only when she managed to keep it down and not throw up blood along with it.
I'm better than before. When the food is finally done she sets out two bowls of food and water on the table across from each other. The sound of the shower turning off reminds her that she forgot to get W some clothes. Quickly she goes upstairs and goes through the spare room for them before rushing to the bathroom.
*Knock! Knock!*
“Hey W? I got your clothes. I'll leave them on the floor out here and wait for you in the kitchen so we can eat together–” The sound of crashing and a pained cry from the other side of the door makes her go quiet. Without thinking she unlocks the bathroom door she sees the unconscious Sarkaz woman lying on her side in the middle of the floor
“Are you okay!?” Her first instinct is to rush to help them, but she pauses when she notices something else about the older woman now that she's naked. She ignores it and grabs a towel for the drying rack before draping it over the injured woman.
“Can you hear me?” W grimaces before opening her eyes, pain is the first thing she sees in them before they turn into something hurt. W sits up and turns away from her as she tries to hide her injured body from her under the towel.
She saw it, didn't she? She had to have seen it. Without hearing them she can see those words flitter through the other girl's eyes. She doesn't like doing it but she decides to lie that she didn't see anything.
“Are you okay W? I heard a crash and found you unconscious in only a towel” For a moment she believes her lie worked and so does the other girl, but she can tell by the way they frown and think about her words that they saw through her lie. They make a choked and strangled noise before covering her face.
“W?” The moment she hears crying she tries to comfort them, but they shoot her a glare that says “Don't!” and “Leave”. So she does, she leaves their clothes on the sink and closes the door behind her.
W…She's always been an empathetic person, people actually find it strange how she can always guess what they are thinking or know what they are feeling. Some of the kids at school used to call her psychic and tried to bully her for it, even if Rosmontis beat them up for it. But right now, as the sound of crying comes from the other side of the door, it feels like she can actually feel what W does.
Grief of losing someone she loved more than anything, sorrow for the unforgiving life she's lived and the people she's lost, rage at how the world has treated her since the day she was born, hatred for everyone that has wronged her and those she loved, disgust at herself for what they were born as and how everyone around sees them for it, and something else that feels distant and fleeting.
Something soft and fragile that feels like it will crack at any moment.
Something vulnerable.
W, who are you? As she slumps against the bathroom door she wonders what the other woman's life has been like. A life where she holds so much hate for the world around her, and for herself for not being able to protect what she loved the most.
Who couldn't you protect? That's what Amiya ponders as she cries the same tears as W does. Tears that are for a girl who never had a name of her own.