"I hope you enjoy this!"

Svi passed out plates of food to everyone. Noc was absorbed in reading, so Svi nudged him. He placed the book to his side, looking at the food. Meralf looked thankful but was surprised when he looked down.

There's a reason I'm the one who cooks... Svi likes it bloody. I like a little blood, but this was dripping in it. She cooked steak with zucchini and squash. The steak looked cooked, but red juices were pouring from it into the vegetables. I cut it open, and the insides were almost raw.

"Does it look okay, Nocri?" Svi asked, worried.

"It's a little bloody."

Meralf started laughing, spawning the attention of Svi and me. Noc was too absorbed with eating.

"A little? It's practically raw! The zucchini and squash were cooked well, though."

Svi looked back at me, a pouty look on her face. I patted her on the back, but it only made her angry. Svi's strange. Sometimes she wants pity, sometimes she doesn't. Her wants are constantly changing. Maybe it's a female thing...

"So what if I like it this way?! It's fine!"

"It's okay, Svidi. I'll still eat it."

Svi glared at me, which I found frightening. Women are not to be angered. You could lose an eye in an instant... Possibly before you even know what's wrong, though you may never know.

"Don't call me Svidi! Keep it at Svi."

"Yeah. Let's just eat..."

I looked over to Noc. He didn't seem to mind eating the food. I noticed his black eye appeared to be healing. It was less bloated when compared to the day prier. When I looked to Meralf, he seemed thrilled for the blood, though I read his lips saying, "it's not as good." It was likely in reference to my food.

"Hey, Meralf. Can you summon a creature that can heal?"

"Mmhmm," Meralf grunted, as he had food in his mouth.

"Get it out when we're finished eating."

"Why? I'm not healing my foot," Meralf muttered, sitting up and poking at his broken foot. He winced, lying back down.

"I want to heal Noc. He's covered in bruises and scrapes."

"I can do that, then."

Noc was a little perked up when I looked to him. He was eating the steak, satisfied. I ate my food, a face of neither enjoyment or disgust worn. Svi was eating by me on the bed, still upset and refusing to speak.

I finished up, placing my plate to the side. I consumed everything. Noc also stopped eating, though some food was still on his plate. He ate a little more than the day before thankfully. Meralf was done, as he was messing with the food now, smashing it and turning it to mush. Svi still had a lot to go.

"How are you three done already?! I'm halfway done..."

"I think males tend to eat faster. We don't really care if we look like pigs," I firmly stated. Meralf grinned in agreement.

"Nocri has a point. I usually get messy with my food," Meralf jested, chuckling.

"I'm not talking about eating humans."

"It's still eating."

"You're bound to get messy when it tries to squirm away," I said, ashamed of him.

"And when you tear off parts with your hands and teeth."

Meralf started quietly laughing, so I decided to drop the conversation. Svi finished, putting the plate to the side. It appeared like she didn't touch the vegetables, and instead filled up entirely on steak. She makes me eat vegetables, but she never does. Svi collected the plates, leaving the room to clean them, though it wasn't really necessary. Meralf looked at me while I sat up on the bed.

"I'll get to summoning now."

Blood fell from Meralf's eyes, falling onto the blankets. A figure started forming on the bed. The blood turned to fluffy, yellow clouds. The clouds floated, condensing into the shape of a large squirrel. A white mask with a black smile and dot eyes covered its face. It jumped through the air near Meralf, looking around.

"What's that?" I asked, disturbed by the freak of nature.

"One of the species of the best healers in existence. It's a yzzyxle. These things find a home in the domain of the god of health. It drained most of the magic I'd been storing up today."

"I've never heard of these. How does it heal?"

"Under the mask, a void exists. When an injury is placed in the void, it will heal instantly," Meralf explained, grinning at the squirrel. I heard a weird chuckling sound come from it, its hand over its mask in a laughing position. I couldn't help but wonder how it made the sound.

"That's creepy. Can you communicate with it?"

"Yes. It's freaking out because of my foot. This thing is amazing. It can even heal scars."

"Good. Send it to Noc."

"Alright. Let's get started."

Meralf was smiling while the yzzyxle hopped in the air to Noc. Noc looked curiously at the creature, trying to touch it. He appeared startled when he realized it could be touched. The squirrel jumped around in the air, circling him.

"It wants you to remove its mask, Noc. It won't bite. It's physically incapable."

It was strange to hear Meralf easing someone's nerve... He still sounded menacing, though.

"Okay."

Noc reached up, sliding the mask off the creatures face. An ominous, spiraling, black void was where it's face should've been. It chuckled again, looking at Noc.

"Don't be alarmed, but it's going to shove your face in its."

"Huh?" Noc blurted.

The yzzyxle rammed it's face into Noc's, quickly removing itself. His eye looked good as new. After, it expanded, filling up much of the room.

"It says that it wants to make this quick. It apparently has other duties it has to get to in its domain. Nocri, hold onto Noc's legs so he doesn't float off into the abyss."

"Yeah. No problem."

I removed myself from the bed, walking over to a nervous Noc. I grabbed ahold of his legs, the squirrel moving in. It shoved Noc's full body in, some parts of my arms falling in as well. The yzzyxle moved back, Noc looking up at me with astonishment. His injuries were all gone; even the horrific scars that were on his wrists. I was content, as he just needs to eat daily to get his health back up. It's hard to see him in such a skinny and frail state.

"Good. Now, I can send this guy back."

The yzzyxle shrunk, then hopped through the air to Meralf. Its face was directly pointed at Meralf.

"Why haven't you sent it back?" I questioned, seeing his annoyance.

"It seems to be refusing."

"They can do that?"

"Yzzyxle tend to be pushy. Most creatures call me "master" while these things call me "patient." If I have the magic to support it, my creatures can stay as long as they want. They usually leave when I tell them to, though."

Meralf looked frustrated with the creature. It started hopping in circles around him, swiftly moving.

"Didn't it say it was busy? Why won't it leave."

"It's saying it won't leave until it heals my foot. The bastard won't let me suffer."

Swats were made toward the fluffy creature, Meralf growing even more agitated. It dodged, jumping and circling faster. It seemed to mock him, pushing him on the face a few times.

"Just let it heal you. You can switch to Flarem after."

"No. I deserve this. I want to grovel for a while more."

"Are you a masochist?" I asked, Meralf looking madly pissed.

"Like hell I am! Why would you ask that?! I'm just extreme with apologies, and this apology has been building up for a while... Trust me when I say there is nothing fun about my broken foot."

"You've done enough. Alright? If you want to gain my forgiveness, then going to the tavern tomorrow is good enough," I insisted, sick of everyone suffering. Meralf sighed, a smile fabricating on his face.

"Fine. The tavern sounds nice."

The yzzyxle swallowed up Meralf's foot with its face. After, it hopped through the air back to Noc, nudging its mask with its paw.

"She wants you to put it on her face."

"It's a she?" I asked, looking at the fluffy mass. I guess she didn't have a set of balls. I assumed she didn't have a gender.

"Yeah. She's getting angry because I've been calling her an it."

I nodded in acceptance. Noc grabbed the mask, placing over the squirrel's face. She turned around, her back facing Noc. She moved her tail to the side, so it was just her back in front of Noc.

"She says she'll leave after you pet her. Apparently, she's already running late now, so she's fine with waiting around longer."

"I have to pet her?" Noc questioned, staring at the yzzyxle's back.

"She says that she's fond of children, as well as back rubs."

Noc reached his hand out, rubbing the creature's back. She twitched her tail in enjoyment, then turned into a pool of black blood. The blood traveled back to Meralf, flowing into his eyes.

"What did it feel like?" I asked Noc.

"It felt as if I was petting wind."

"Strange."

Noc looked expressionless, though a glint of wonder was in his eyes. He sat down by Meralf's books, going back to his spot in the medicinal herbs one. I stood up, lying back down on my bed. Meralf stood up as well, bending his foot. He started walking, shaking it to see if it was truly fixed.

"Yzzyxle are amazing. My foot feels as good as new."

"Good."

"I'd get off the bed if I were you, Nocri. I'm giving the reign to Flarem. He'll certainly panic," Meralf stated, looking nervous for me.

"Got it."

I stood off the bed, standing in front of Meralf.

"Ignore this conversation, Noc. Just keep reading."

"Okay," Noc replied, paying little attention to me. He looked closely at the book, reading rapidly. I faced Meralf, closing his eyes. His eyes opened to Flarem's blues. He looked around the room for a little, then his face went grim.

"Nocri... Is what Noc said true?"

"Yeah. Meralf ate that brunette," I admitted. I tried to look sympathetic, and Flarem was panicking. He was hyperventilating a little.

"W-Why? So, I have human going through my digestive track?"

Flarem bent down, chunks spewing on the wooden floor. Noc looked up for a second, disgust on his face, then went back to reading. Flarem kept spewing, so I walked up and patted him on the back. I didn't know what else to do.

"You're an undead... You need to eat human, or your functions will cease."

"Why wouldn't anyone tell me that?"

Flarem's irises twitched around his eye whites. I patted his back, more food leaving his stomach. There went all of the steak Svi cooked...

"How do you feel now that you know? The way you're reacting now is an example of why you weren't told."

Flarem clenched his teeth in rage. Gold swiftly started to flow into his eyes. He looked as if he was going to knock me out.

"Calm down, Flarem. Your eyes are changing."

"What do you mean?"

The gold started to dissipate when Flarem's emotion changed. He went from angry to curious.

"They were turning gold, but it looks like you're mellowing out."

"Like Meralf's? That bastard! Eating human," Flarem growled. His eyes started to change as he grew furious. "You should've told me, Nocri!"

"Why? It's only causing you nausea. It's an inevitability you'll have to accept."

"I don't want that going into my body!" Flarem shouted, his arms shaking with rage.

"It has to. You don't have to be the personality that does it, but it has to be done."

Black blood poured from Flarem's eyes, a mob of zombies forming. Noc strangely didn't care. Around ten spawned.

"Why'd you do that?"

"They just came. I was thinking about Meralf eating human, and the blood poured..."

"It must be because you're thinking of yourself like a zombie, which I guess you sort of are. Calm down," I said, worrying about him. Flarem was in need of help.

"Why would I be calm? I don't accept this!"

"You have to. It's not the end of the world. You're not human."

"I was human," Flarem mumbled. I felt bad for him as I wouldn't want to be in his situation, either.

"I really shouldn't be saying this stuff. I don't think I could eat human. Think of it this way, Meralf did the killing and eating, not you."

"It's still my body..."

"Do you want to lose function?"

"No," Flarem muttered.

"Then don't think about it too much."

Flarem sighed, a miserable look on his face. The zombies turned to black blood, flowing into his eyes. Blue took control of his orbs, a sad shine in them.

"I have to accept this..."

"Cheer up. Besides, we're going to get Noc's ears pierced when Svi comes back up."

"What's she doing?" Flarem whined. He looked like a dog left on the side of the street.

"Stop moping. She's cleaning some dishes. We had steak, but you didn't miss out. It was really bloody..."

"Oh..."

Flarem wasn't getting any better, though he should've been thrilled. I looked over to Noc. He might've known something I didn't, I figured.

"Hey, Noc. Do you have any ideas that might make your uncle feel better?"

"It's just tissue and cartilage. It's clearly a health benefit for you, so why not, Uncle?" Noc coldly stated, eyes fully looking at Flarem. Flarem slumped over, Noc's words making him worse. Noc shifted his eyes back at the book, having lost interest in the conversation.

"I feel sick..."

"You did just lose all of the contents of your stomach," I reminded, grossed out from the vomit on the floor.

"Right..."

"It'll be alright. Don't think about this too much. We should be getting hyped up! We still have half the day left, so let's make the most out of it."

"Yeah... Okay."

I lay back on my bed, relaxing for a few minutes. Flarem was staring off into space, still standing. I saw a single tear leave one of his eyes, making my stomach sink. While I lay, Svi burst into the room, jumping on me. We stared into each other's eyes. She looked exhausted.

"What's up, Svi?"

"I broke every dish in the kitchen..."

"What?"

"I finished cleaning the plates, so I started putting them back, but I tripped and broke all of the dishes... I was down there for a while cleaning up all of the shattered plates," Svi muttered, kissing me for comfort.

"You didn't even need to clean the dishes... The town is destroyed, remember?"

Shame spread over Svi, her hands grasping my upper shirt. I felt mild fear, as she was in an emotional state.

"I forgot about that..."

"Don't fret about it, and let's go. We've been trying to get Noc's ears pierced all day. It's a good thing that we woke up so early."

Svi instantly looked interested.

"Yeah. Let's go."