Laeri walked down the hallway, battling down her apprehension. She knew this needed to be done, but that didn't make it any easier on her. Turning a corner, she peeked around. The girl didn't want to run into anyone who might distract her from her task and make her lose her nerve. The hallway was clear, but she still stalled at the corner. It was terrifying, knowing what she was about to do, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it could be. This was probably only a baby step compared to the leaps and bounds she would have to cover later. 

Most demon masters didn't care if their slaves were injured unless it could be exploited, and Laeri knew this well. It was hard for her to expose her injuries when all she had learned in the past was to conceal them and suffer in silence. She didn't like this feeling of vulnerability. The girl knew that Hyunseung had done everything he had because he wanted to help her, and Junhyung meant well, even if his ways of going about it were unsettling and frightening. She took a step around the corner and stopped again. Laeri almost wanted to hit herself for being such a coward, but it was understandable. In her world, bravery was never rewarded, only stripped away.

She slowly walked down the hallway leading to the infirmary and her room. When she came across the door, she stood stock-still in front of it. Her hand reached toward the doorknob but dropped mid-way through the journey. The girl huffed out a sigh and tried to pull some courage out of the depths of her soul. Her fingers reached toward the door again, and she took a deep breath. 

The door swung open quietly as Laeri poked her head around into the room. At his desk in the corner, Hyunseung sat up and looked in her direction. "Laeri? Is everything alright?"

She nodded and fully stepped into the room. After carefully closing the door, the girl shuffled her feet as she glanced around the room. The demon cleared his throat, effectively gaining back her attention. She took a breath and held out her wrists. 

Hyunseung smiled softly. "Would you like me to change those?" he asked. When Laeri nodded, he motioned her to the closest bed and went to get some bandaging. He came back to find the girl kicking her feet idly as she fidgeted. The demon had quickly noticed this was what she did when she was anxious about something. He reached for her hand, and she didn't hesitate to hold it out for him. Searching for the end of the old bandage, he tried to figure out what was going on in the girl's head. 

Laeri was fighting down the urge to bolt right out the door. She knew that would only draw more attention to herself, and besides, if she really wanted to chicken out, she could leave after Hyunseung was done. She fidgeted some more, trying to avoid moving her wrist but get rid of some nervous energy as well. The girl was finding the fidgeting habit more and more noticeable as she spent time here. She'd never had a problem like this in the past, and it bothered her that she couldn't seem to stop it. She assumed that her masters had noticed it, too. 

After the demon found the end and carefully unwrapped the linen, he peered closely at the marks. "Wow, you heal very quickly," he appraised. "I don't think we even need to wrap them again." Laeri leaned forward a bit to see for herself. Surely enough, there were only a few scabs and faint white lines. Hyunseung hummed happily as he walked back to the cabinet to put the bandages away and grab something. He walked back with a jar in his hand that the girl looked at apprehensively, bringing her wrist toward her chest protectively. Seeing her face, the medic laughed a little. "This isn't the one you don't like," he reassured quickly. When he reached for her hand, Laeri slowly stretched out her arm again. Hyunseung opened the jar and dabbed a bit of the white cream onto the stubborn scratches that remained. He started on the other wrist when he was satisfied with the first. 

As soon as he unwrapped the bandaging, his eyes narrowed. The girl peeked down where he was looking. She grimaced when she saw that the brand was still firmly in place. It had lightened to a pale line, but it was very much visible. Hyunseung brushed a thumb over the mark with a contemplative stare. "I'm afraid I may not be able to get rid of this," he said tentatively. 

Laeri pressed her lips together and nodded before pulling her hand back quickly, afraid the mark might send the demon into a fit again. The medic gave her a look and held up the jar. She flushed and stared down at the bed as she held her arm back out for him to doctor. He carefully applied a thin layer of the cream to the afflicted area. When he was content that the cuts would heal properly without a wrapping, he smiled at the girl who was still staring at the white sheets loosely clenched in her fist. She eventually glanced up again and quickly withdrew her arm. A quick 'Thank you' flew from her hands before she started fidgeting again. 

Hyunseung gave a contemplative frown as he watched her. "Laeri," he asked slowly. He wanted her to look up before he kept talking. When her blue eyes finally peered up at him, the demon gave a soft smile. "Is something bothering you?"

The girl froze and dropped her eyes immediately. She took a few deep breaths to center herself. This was the last possible second that she could back out. She hoped her master would allow her to explain her jitteriness away if she truly needed to do so. Hyunseung waited patiently until her hands rose slowly to sign. 

There is something else. 

Laeri pressed her lips together nervously. She felt like a tempest was swirling in her stomach. tightened around the lump that forced her breathing to shallow. She tried to make herself relax, but it was almost too difficult with the task ahead of her. Her heart-rate jumped as she attempted force down the rising fear. Her master gave her a worried look while she panicked. She gulped and took a few deep breaths to steady herself enough that she didn't feel in danger of fainting or breaking into hysteric sobs. Hyunseung still looked terribly conflicted at the moment, but the human had other things on her mind which kept her from noticing the medic's apprehension. 

Once she had calmed down enough to breathe normally and her heart had quieted to a dull thumping, she slowly slid her legs up until she could rest her chin on her knees while her heels pressed into the mattress. The fragile girl stared down at her shoes as she started to roll up the right leg of her jeans. She flinched when she heard a loud gasp as the bruises, scars, and the red ring around her ankle were revealed, but she kept rolling the denim until everything below her knee was exposed to the demon in front of her. Laeri carefully kept her eyes focused downward as she moved to her other leg, pressing her lips tightly together as she started shaking under the scrutiny. She knew that Hyunseung wanted her to tell him about all of her injuries first thing which meant she was in trouble. 

The girl tried to keep focused solely on her task, but a gentle touch to her right leg made her freeze. She winced at each feather-light press over the marks. The bruises didn't really hurt when touched so carefully, but the reaction was formed under different circumstances. The remaining denim was quickly rolled to match the other leg of the jeans before the human pressed her forehead against her knees and let her hands fall to the sides of her body, twisting the sheets under her hands. 

Fingertips carefully grazed the girl's ankle causing her to tense up and curl more into herself. "Can I...?" Hyunseung asked quietly as he tugged at her shoe. She gave a short nod and quickly pulled the flats off on her own, occupying herself with arranging them on the cot next to her. The demon cautiously touched the skin around her ankles, skin that had been broken repetitively by ropes and shackles over the years. He leaned over to look closer at the ridges, unintentionally breathing out a warm breath over them and causing the human to shiver violently. Hyunseung looked at her carefully, trying to determine what was upsetting her. 

He sat up and brushed a hand through her hair, pushing it away from the right side of her face so he could see her. The touch just sent another tremble through her body, and he watched her eyes close tight and open again ever so slowly. They swiveled toward his face but darted away as soon as he met her gaze. "Laeri?" he asked gently. When she didn't dare to move, he pressed his hands lightly over hers and tried again. "Laeri, look at me."

Laeri's eyes popped open. Her master's voice seemed different, deeper and smoother, and it drew her attention to him, tricking her head up to look at him. She immediately lost the curiosity that had made her want to look up from the safety of her knees when she saw his eyes, worry, concern and perhaps even a little guilt swirling in their depths. Doubt and terror filled her thoughts, and she couldn't even move her hands, though she tried to believe that wasn't intentional. Hyunseung saw the distress in her eyes immediately and frowned. "What's wrong? You can tell me. It's okay. You're safe here." He raised a hand up to rest on her cheek but paused when he saw her flinch away from the gesture. Moving much slower, he pressed onward until his palm rested against the outside of the girl's cheek. 

Laeri tried to sign out as much as she could with her free hand, switching to letters when necessary, but she was shaking so much that the signs weren't even recognizable. Her master took her hand with the one that had been resting on her face and gave a gentle squeeze before lowering her hand back to where it was before. He took the other in his as well and smiled softly. The girl stared up at him with wide, fearful eyes. "Calm down first, and then try again, alright?" Laeri nodded and closed her eyes, trying to find some peace in her mind to calm herself down. After several deep breaths, she pulled her hands out of the demon's, having managed to calm the shaking down enough to sign legibly. 

I'm sorry. 

Hyunseung's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why are you sorry?"

The girl shivered again, suddenly feeling very cold. 

I should have told you sooner. You wanted me to tell you if I was hurt. I know I'm in trouble. 

"No! No no no, honey. It's okay," the medic quickly responded. He gathered the girl into his arms and held her close as the dam broke, and she started crying. "I didn't ever expect you to open up right away and tell me everything. I just want you to tell me about the things that become too serious for you to handle on your own. I would never get mad at you for trusting me! Regardless of how long it takes, I'm just happy that you've opened up a bit to me." 

He the girl's back lightly, knowing fully well that that was a battle for another day, and hushed her until she stopped crying. It took several minutes, but eventually, the sobs quieted and the shivering nearly disappeared. With a kind smile, he brushed the remaining tears from her cheeks with his thumbs as he held her face in his hands. "Now, everything's alright, okay? I'm not upset, and you aren't in trouble."

But I-

Her wrists were held together in one hand as the other pressed a finger to her lips. "No. You're fine. Baby steps are okay as long as you're making progress." He removed his finger from and released her wrists to take both of her hands in his again. "Are you better now?" The girl lowered her head and nodded. "Can I look at your legs?" She nodded her head again. "Alright, that's a good little soldier." Laeri glanced up just long enough to catch the good-natured smile before she stared back down at her lap. She felt her hair get ruffled before Hyunseung stood up and walked to the cabinet, grabbing the red jar and some bandaging before walking back. 

When he caught the girl staring disdainfully at the jar, he gave her a sympathetic smile. "I know, I know. It feels weird, and you don't like it. Just bear with it for me, please?" Her lips pressed together, but she closed her eyes and nodded. Her master walked over to a sink where he wet a washcloth in warm water. "I'm not going to use anti-septic or alcohol to clean the cuts, but this still might sting a bit," he warned as he walked back over and sat down. "Lay down on the bed, please."

Laeri nodded and carefully swung her legs up onto the mattress before she laid back, so her head landed on the pillow. Her eyes drifted shut, and she clasped her hands over her stomach. Hyunseung gave her a strange look, but he shook it off and scooted closer to the end of the bed. He loosely grabbed the girl's ankle, so she wouldn't move too much while he was cleaning the cuts. His eyes flashed over to her face to check on her, but she was still laying there calmly with her eyes closed. The medic went back to work with utmost care, diligently cleaning each cut carefully but avoiding the worst ones. Biting his lip, he tried to decide the best way go about cleaning the deep wound around the human's ankle without causing her to breakdown again. He carefully brushed over a small segment of the mark with the washcloth while watching for a reaction. When all he noticed was a sharp intake of air, he cautiously set to the task, watching his patient the entire time. Her breathing became more labored and her eyes flashed open, but she didn't seem to be panicking at the moment. She stayed relatively still while the rest of the wound was cleaned, only fighting a bit at the deep parts when it stung. 

Hyunseung smiled at the girl as he rolled the chair over to her right leg. She raised her head up just long enough to see the smile before she let herself fall back onto the mattress to stare at the ceiling. The demon was not deterred at such a reaction from his charge. She wasn't normally very responsive to affection or compassion, as today had shown in spades. He started working on the littered cuts, moving quickly but mindfully to avoid causing any unintentional pain or stress. Laeri was fairly calm until her master lightly grabbed her ankle, a pained hiss escaping her lips. He looked up at her quickly, but she looked away, avoiding the unspoken question. 

"Laeri?" the demon asked slowly. She thought for a moment before she turned back to look at him. "Are you hurt?"

The girl moved to pull her leg back, but Hyunseung tugged carefully on her ankle, prompting another hiss. "How have you been walking on this?"

The human sighed as she realized she'd been caught. 

I walk so I don't put my weight on the wrong place. I don't run if I don't have to. I'm used to dealing with injuries. 

There was a brief moment of silence while Hyunseung closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down. Heaving a sigh, he tried to make the girl understand that she didn't have to live like that anymore. "Laeri, if you're injured that badly, you should tell one of us. You don't have to put up with things like this. We won't yell at you or try to exploit your injuries. Okay?" She studied him for a long time before she finally nodded. "Alright, I'm going to go get Junhyung, so he can look at-" The demon paused when he noticed his charge's distress. She was fidgeting again, and her breathing had picked up along with her heart-rate. 

"Hey," there was a pause as he waited for the fidgeting to cease, "what's wrong? Did he do something to scare you?" The girl looked at him for a long time with a war raging behind her eyes before she just looked away. "You don't want to talk about it?" the medic guessed. He received a hesitant nod and relented. "I'm not going to force it on you right now, but he's the only one who can look at bones. You two will have to work out whatever has happened at some point, preferably soon. You, however, are on immediate bed rest after dinner."

Laeri let out a quiet sigh in relief as she nodded quickly. She did not want to even begin to think about what might happen with just the three of them in one room. Junhyung might take the opportunity to talk to Hyunseung about the mark, and she was nowhere near ready to handle that. She could only hope to avoid the inevitable for as long as she could until she felt more resolved on the issue. The girl was so lost in her own thoughts and worries that she didn't even notice the slight sting as Hyunseung gingerly cleaned the damaged ankle. 

"This is the tough part. I'm going to use this," he held up the jar, "and you need to be perfectly still, especially with that ankle of yours. Do you want me to do all the cuts at once or one by one?" She signed 'all' after a moment of thought. "That's just going to make it tougher on you, but it will be quicker. Try very, very hard to stay still, okay?"

Laeri nodded and settled back onto the bed, closing her eyes to bring the most peaceful thoughts possible to mind. She shivered slightly when the cool gel touched her skin. The medic carefully covered each scratch, cut and scar before pulling back to watch the girl carefully. He prepared to spring into action as he leaned down and breathed over all the cuts quickly. 

The human tried to shoot up, but she was quickly subdued by her master. He pressed one arm across her shoulders and the other just above her knees. Trying in vain to escape the tingling sparks of heat dancing up and down her skin, she tossed her head and wiggled around to her best ability, but she couldn't move her legs let alone sit up to pull the arm off of her so she could. Her teeth clenched tight as she balled her hands into fists while she tried to thrash away from the sensation. After another minute, she just laid still and shivered every few seconds, the tingling beginning to subside. 

"Well, that could have gone better," the medic said with raised eyebrows. The girl gave him an apologetic look as she panted slightly. She closed her eyes and tried to relax as she heard him move around the room before coming back to where he was before. She felt something cold and stiff press against either side of her ankle, rousing a shiver out of her. The items pressed tighter as the demon wrapped the bandaging around them, and Laeri realized that it was a splint. When the process was finished, she carefully twisted the ankle around, immediately noticing the relief caused by the tight wrapping. 

Meanwhile, Hyunseung had moved to the other leg and was quickly smearing more of the ointment over the wounds on that side including the deep one around the ankle. Noticing that the human was completely engrossed with testing the splint on her ankle, he leaned forward and breathed over the marks while preparing to catch her if she shot up, but she didn't do much more than flinch and grab the sheets in a vice grip as the heat flashed through the cuts. When the sensation faded, the girl dropped back onto the bed and breathed out a tight sigh.

Hyunseung smiled at her as he said, "Well done. That was much better." He made a strange face suddenly. "It's not THAT bad is it?" he asked. His patient pressed her lips together and stared at him. "Alright, is it as bad as letting them heal on their own?" She shook her head quickly prompting a small smirk from the other. With that, silence swept back in as the demon diligently wrapped a bandage around the second leg. Laeri lay back and relaxed, feeling accomplished and strangely calm. 

She had come a long way from how she used to be. Adjusting to this new way of behaving, this new way of THINKING, was proving to be challenging, but do-able. Strength was starting to return to her body. Courage was beginning to back up her opinions as they formed. The damage done over time, physical and mental, was healing. The little ember of hope inside of her was slowly growing into a flickering flame. A small one, but a flame none the less. Things were getting better. 

"All done!" The medic smiled at the girl brightly. "Now, don't worry so much about it next time, okay? It's not a problem, and I promise I won't get mad about anything you share with me." Laeri nodded and gave a very slight smile back. He ruffled her hair and started rolling back toward his desk. "You can go ahead and eat. I've got some more things to do around here, and Gikwang and Dongwoon have disappeared off to somewhere. I haven't seen Doojoon all day, so only Heaven knows where he's gone. Go eat supper, and then bed rest! If I catch you wandering around, I will personally carry you to your room and tuck you in so tight that you won't be able to move." He attempted to give a stern glare, but it dissolved in a matter of seconds. With a half-smile, he shooed the girl out the door. 

Laeri wandered down to the steps and carefully picked her way down and across to the hallways. She headed toward the kitchen but slowed down as she realized she was nearing the most likely place that Junhyung would be. Such a thought nearly made her stop in the middle of the corridor, but she forced herself quickly down to the door and disappeared in as fast as she could. When she passed through the second door, she was quickly waved down by the girls in the corner. Emi was terribly excited that her friend was going to sit with them for supper again. 

The girl sat down and tried to deflect most of the questions asked of her while she ate. After a while, the others stopped asking her about her day and went back to happily chattering amongst themselves. She ate quickly, intent on getting out of there as soon as possible. The others at the table looked at her curiously when she stood up to leave. She tried to give them a sincere smile to ease their worry and hopefully keep them from trying to stop her from leaving. It must have looked real enough because their worried faces melted into calm smiles as well. Laeri waved goodbye and walked gingerly out of the kitchen, taking more care to keep off of her ankle now that the splint reminded her that she should with every step. 

She was just about to turn the corner when she heard a door creak open and felt a familiar dark energy rush out into the hallway. 
 

A/N:

Ooooh! A cliff-hanger! That's almost rare for me!

I'm back baby! And things are gonna speed up a bit now. Noticed how the beginning seemed so slow? Well we're picking up speed now! We're nowhere near the end, but when we get there you will be shocked~ SHOCKED!

Give me til next Saturday at the earliest to update, I want to get that other story K.O.ed finally.

I apologize for teasing you ^^

SIGN LANGUAGE 

today we're doing GIRL and BOY

Sign language is easy in that it's very literal. For GIRL, you drag your thumb down one side of your face similar to where a bonnet string would be. For BOY, you grab the brim of an invisible baseball cap.

French for man and woman would be, un homme (uhn ahm) and une femme (oon fahm). Girl and boy are une fille (oon fee) et un garcon (gar sone). Une fille can also be a daughter.

SO this chapter is in third-person PoV. It took me a while to get used to it, but now I have to say I almost prefer it because I can go out of one character and focus in on another. BUT! The true vote now goes to you guys.

Let Me Know What You Think!

Okay here's the hard part.... which comments haven't I responded to......

COMMENTS!

@Kwonnie: Heh... Heh... cute... definitely was the word I was thinking..... But Yay Noonaness! #making up words
@Stars-litupthesky: Kay~ P.S. You just gained a new nickname! You are now to only be referred to as Starry Night. *nods* If you should wish to request a different name, please consult the following link: Click! Should this link prove to be unhelpful you may consult our help desk at this link: Click x 2!
@Kami: Weeeeeeeeeeeell... It's back now ^^ Clicky For You Too
@b2utygonnabastalker: Your name is too long and I can't think of a funny nick-name for you except Stalker so you may decide your own! what a treat! You like Anna? she's interesting huh? And lol poor thing. #forever sticking Caffeine in your head BTW JUNHYUNG HAS A VERSION OF CAFFEINE ON HIS ALBUM FLOWER ANDIMDYINGCAUSEWHENHESINGSITSLIKEANGELS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ICANTEVENRIGHTNOWTHISISWHYILOVEDX-ING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!JS,KAFLKJDSHFKJSHDFULAKUHDUKJFHSGZDHJF,AIKDBV,AIUD

Okay I'm done. Enjoy Your day. Clicky for ~EVERYONE~

Flower~ you are so sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet~ Oh! Flower~ you are so deep, deep, deep, deep~