T o x i c

I'd like to say thanks for the reviews again ^^ I appreciate them! And sorry it's slow-moving so far. It'll get faster-paced as the story goes on.

I'm looking for someone who'd be willing to do some illustration for this story. You can contact me at meikyou@live.com if you're interested. :3

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“This is much worse than I thought.” Samé Deneuve always had a way of making everything seem far less serious than it was with that smooth, soothing voice of his, but as he spoke these words, André was sure that the damage done to Dimitri’s young body was extensive. Samé seemed to have the uncanny ability to sense when someone was injured-- in addition to his exceptional knack for healing-- and he had appeared with his first aid kit only moments after André had reached his personal quarters with the listless Dimitri clutched in his arms. The wounded boy now lay across André’s bed, clothed in one of his cotton shirts (far too big for his small body, André noted). His small chest rose and fell slowly through the thin material. He had slipped into an almost catatonic state, exhausted from the pain, and Samé moved around him like a ghost, careful not to wake him.

“What is it? What’s worse?” André steeled himself for the worst as he watched Samé peel away the shirt that had so recently been placed over the boy’s battered skin and make small, motherly tsk tsk noises.

“His injuries. I didn’t think they were this bad when I sensed them,” the shorter vampire explained, biting the delicate flesh of his own lower lip and ghosting a comforting hand over Dimitri’s cheek. “The damage is actually very extensive… it might take him some time to recover,” he warned softly as he opened his small first aid kit.

“How much time?” André asked nervously. It was almost too much at the moment, and it took all he had to stop himself from reverting back to his old habit of chewing his index fingertip in his anxiety. He didn’t even want to imagine what Lillia’s reaction would be if Dimitri was not well enough to train and study for his impending descent into the life of a vampire. She could be fierce and cruel when she saw fit, and this was often. Her response to Dimitri’s “weakness” could be very extreme, and André didn’t want to run the risk of him getting punished for this as well.

Samé chewed the silken flesh of his lower lip once more, tiny, thoughtful nibbles as he pondered. He poured a small amount of peroxide over a cotton ball and began to dab gently at the wounds that decorated Dimitri’s torso, starting with a deep cut below his collarbone. Dimitri winced visibly and clenched his fists as Samé worked, his nimble, graceful hands performing their task expertly. “I’d say anywhere from a few weeks to a month,” he answered as he cleaned the wounds.

“Oh…” André said softly, a heavy weight setting in over his chest and refusing to budge. Somehow, he was struck with the thought that this was all his fault, and though he dismissed it quickly and attempted to make peace with himself, the thought was still there, hovering somewhere between his ribs like an unwelcome cat. He watched the quick movement of Samé’s hands over Dimitri’s flesh, cleaning cuts and bandaging the smaller ones swiftly, saving the larger ones to be wrapped with gauze. “Samé…” he began quietly, speaking as carefully as he could. “Are you sure there isn’t something you can do to speed up the process? If Dimitri can’t work on his training, you know that Lillia is going to do something even worse to him. Are you sure there’s nothing?”

“I’m sorry, André.” the other man looked up from his duties, brushing away a wavy lock of golden blond hair that had been obscuring his view. His crimson eyes held a look of sympathy, and when he spoke, it was obvious how carefully he chose his words at this moment. “I wish there were something more I could do for him, but I really have no way to make him heal faster.”

“Perhaps I can be of assistance.” as usual, André had not heard Leroux approaching, and he jumped slightly when the smooth tones of his voice echoed through the room. His portentous form was already heading toward them, and André was not prepared for the weight his presence brought to the air. Leroux was extremely tall, towering over many of the vampires, with flowing ebony hair that just reached his elbows. His hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail at the moment, and he was dressed in his usual ankle-length jacket that had sparked rumors that he carried multiple weapons of mass destruction with him at any given time. There was also the fact that Leroux was not a vampire, but wouldn’t elaborate as far as exactly what he was that brought on the distrust from the House‘s other residents. He was not human, that much was clear.

“Good evening, Leroux,” Samé said conversationally, offering the tall man a slight smile. “And what do you mean, exactly, by ‘be of assistance‘?”

Leroux leaned idly against the bedpost for a moment before straightening and raising his eyes to meet the other two. André honestly had to admit that the color of Leroux’s eyes was indeterminate, ranging somewhere between any number of colors, and there was something terribly inhuman about those eyes, lovely though they were. They were particularly eerie when they were staring him down as they were now, filled with the answer to Samé’s question before it passed his lips. “I know you’re quite talented with healing, Deneuve,” the smooth voice said, pausing to give Samé a winning smile before continuing. “But I know your natural abilities can only go so far. But, if you and I were to combine our healing power, I think it would be enough to speed up the healing process substantially; I’d say we could get it to the point that the full healing would take three days or so after his body takes over the job. Does this interest you?”

Samé chewed his lip and glanced at André, who nodded. “Yes, it does. You’d… really be willing to do this for him?” he asked softly.

“Of course.” this was followed by a look that lingered somewhere between a smile and a grimace. “I may be classified as a recluse, but that does not mean I don’t understand suffering and don’t feel sympathy for those forced to endure it. Had you thought me cold, staying behind closed doors, Deneuve?” as he spoke, he stepped closer to Samé, a few locks of long, silken black hair falling over his shoulders as he leaned down to look him in the face. “There’s no need to fear; I assure you I am not as aloof as you certainly believe I am.”

Samé’s cheeks quickly took on the bright pink of a blush, strange and vivid on his pale cheeks, the blood of others that was his sustenance rising up to color the flesh at his embarrassment. “Cold? I… didn’t have that impression at all--”

Leroux gave a slightly amused smile. “You shouldn’t lie, Deneuve. It isn’t becoming. Now, I’d like to get started on healing this boy before he loses any more blood.”

“Oh-- yes, of course.” blushing more fully, Samé watched Leroux step up to the bedside and stand beside him. “But…Leroux… to be honest, I don’t know how to go about this at all. I’ve never used this healing method before.”

“Somehow I’m not all that surprised,” Leroux told him, the slight smile playing across his features twitching slightly, as though it wanted to widen. “Come here, Deneuve. Je serai le professeur.” he took one of Samé’s hands in his own as the blond turned toward him, shamelessly lacing their fingers together and closing his eyes. “Focus, Deneuve. I want you to imagine that no distance at all exists between us. We are one and the same; we exist as one being. Two separate bodies do not exist. Visualize your energy binding to mine; we will create one force with the both of ours, alright?” a slight nod of Samé’s head as he did his best to concentrate.

André watched intently from a slight distance; he had always been intrigued by those who possessed special abilities, but since he seemed to be lacking any notable ones of his own, he had grown accustomed to staying on the outside and watching. He watched now as the two men stood with hands clasped, generating a strange aura of power in the small bedroom. Silence pressed in, the air of concentration taking on a new form, a deeper flow. The hair of the two began to shift slightly as though they were being pushed by a light wind, and André could have sworn he saw a slight glow coming off of their clasped hands, emanating a feeling of intense comfort from its soft red blaze. “I feel strange,” Samé whispered, eyes still closed, features still drawn in concentration.

“What do you feel?” Leroux’s eyes were still closed as well, and the utmost serenity in his voice was uncommon, very different from his usual measured drawl. The transformation in him as he drew closer to the center of the well of his power was extraordinary, a complete calm coming over his face as his hair moved ever so slightly, touched by a nonexistent breeze that seemed to have engulfed them both.

“I feel… light. It’s warm. Full.”

“Then I do believe we’re ready,” Leroux said with a slight nod. Guiding Samé’s hand by moving his own, he placed the linked hands on Dimitri’s chest. The boy gave a soft whimper, and Samé gave a sympathetic wince. “Now is time for you to focus wholly. Our healing abilities can be multiplied by two hundred percent when temporarily bound this way, but it will only be effective if you put all of your concentration into allowing the flow of energy into his body. Imagine it flowing from your hand and into his skin… visualize it and allow it to happen as you focus.”

The flow of soft red light that came from their hands was slow, lingering. Mellifluous energy that drifted in the form of that soft red glow seeped from their joined hands and onto Dimitri’s battered skin, glowing softly in place for a moment before spreading slowly to cover his skin, reaching to the every inch of skin and leaving it with a gentle cherry glow. Leroux and Samé stood joined over him, their faces carrying twin expressions of concentration as the light reached out to engulf the form of the wounded boy and then glowed brighter for a moment, lighting the room with a mellow ruby radiance. Leroux lifted their hands from Dimitri’s chest, and after a moment of the bright glow, the light on his skin faded away immediately, leaving no evidence of its earlier presence.

“There, finished.” Leroux released Samé’s hand and turned toward André, giving him a confirmative nod. “That should speed up the healing process quite nicely. Now, I’ll be off. If anyone should need me, I’ll be in my chambers.” he passed André with a flutter of black material and then he was walking toward the door at a leisurely but businesslike pace. Leroux’s walk had always reminded André of an executioner; he moved with a grim sort of confidence, not proud, but certain, as though accepting everything that happened to him in life as a formality. It was a slightly eerie display.

Beside the bed, Samé had buttoned Dimitri’s shirt and lay a damp cloth across his forehead, and was currently fussing with the blankets, trying to get them pulled comfortably up to his chin. “Is there anything else you need, André?” he asked softly as he finished his task and turned toward him. “I could help out for the rest of the evening if the need arose.”

“Thank you, Samé. But no, I don’t think that will be necessary.” André gave him an amiable smile. “I think I can take it from here. I really do appreciate your help with this. I won’t forget it.”

Smiling delicately, Samé nodded. “Naturellement vous êtes bienvenu, André,” he replied. “Let me know if you need anything else.” It was his habit to meld his native French into his speech without realizing it, and André tried not to smile at the peculiar habit, not wanting to seem rude. André understood very little French, but when it came to Samé he could usually decode the general meaning of his words, as he did now.

“Alright. Thank you again,” he said by way of parting as Samé made his way to the door. The blond gave him a sunny smile before gliding out into the corridor, leaving André and Dimitri alone in the room. The silence, without the presence of the other two, are burning, and he moved toward the bed to take his mind away from the maddening quite. Dimitri looked slightly better than he had a few minutes ago. Already many of the angry bruises that dotted his skin were beginning to fade and the wounds were ceasing their bleeding.

Thank you both for saving him… for giving him this chance. He looks… like a butterfly. A fragile butterfly. How easily his delicate wings can be crushed. Thank you, for not allowing that to happen this time.

Now that he was beginning to heal, Dimitri’s agonized expression had softened into one of relief, and he lay with his ebony hair fanning out onto the pillowcase, his breaths coming peacefully. He looked serene and childlike at that moment, far removed from the Dimitri he routinely passed in the hallways while he was locked inside a world of cruelty inside Lillia’s chamber. Slowly, carefully, André slipped a hand beneath the bedclothes and found Dimitri’s hand, clasping it delicately in his own.

“André?” at the contact, Dimitri’s large eyes blinked open, staring straight up into his, and André immediately blushed.

“Dimitri… I thought you were asleep. I’m sorry--” he made a move to let go of Dimtri’s hand, but then Dimitri squeezed his hand, preventing its escape.

“It’s alright. No one… one’s held my hand in a long time,” his soft, thoughtful voice whispered. And so André let it stay there, and for the first moment in a long time while, André was at peace, sitting there in the dim bedroom with a human’s hand held tenderly within his own.

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Given this chapter:
-Are there any pairings that you feel drawn to so far?
-What do you think Leroux really is?