Wildfall is still resting as we open this one up. I thought it might win Best RP title, but another, later piece took that award.

 
"I'll be back in a while, Wildfall, you stay here and rest. I'm going to have a look around and maybe pick up some more medical supplies," said Mary as she headed for the door of their room.

"No way," Wildfall said, starting to stand up. "I've been resting all night. I'm sick of being cooped up."

True enough, Wildfall had slept through the afternoon and night into late morning. Although he wasn't looking that much better.

"Do you want me to post an armed guard at the door? Or tie you down to the bed so you have no choice but to stay here, rest and heal? I'm not abandoning you but I want to see what's going on around here and what we're up against in terms of our enemies," Mary said as she turned to look at Wildfall with her hands on her hips and glared at him.

Wildfall "glared" back mockingly, then cracked a smile. "Don't worry, babe. That's all I'm gonna do, kid. Put my particular skillset to use to figure out what is going on. This whole rat and bat thing doesn't add up.. and I know the key is out there somewhere. We just gotta find it. Figure what is going on."

"Well, I'll try to find out whatever I can to help you figure that out, Wildfall. As my dad said once, 'There's a weasel in the woodpile,' so I'm going to see about finding that weasel. I'll be back as soon as I can, dear." Mary walked back to Wildfall and kissed him on the forehead, before she turned and walked out the door.

Wildfall paced back and forth, starting towards the door a few times before settling back on the bed. "She's probably right.. I ain't up for this.."

Wildfall let out a deep sigh, closing his eyes and trying to listen to Mary walking down the steps and into the distance. Door was still open. Wildfall walked over, hoping to see a glimpse of her but she was already out of sight.

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The shadows flickered, almost too quickly to see as the shinobi made his way through them. Desperately hungry, the temptations were great. He would have to hunt, the hunger was too much.

Stomach churning, the shadow moved, following, seeking. It didn't know who it sought, only that all of his senses were searching, seeking what he needed to survive.

Mary walked from the Inn deep in thought when she stumbled across an injured vampire bat. Cautiously, she approached the creature, and talked to him in a soothing voice so as to not scare him. She had heard frightening stories about how vampire bats fed on humans but he did not appear to be so scary, only frightened and trying his best to hide in the shadows. As Mary approached him, she saw he had injured his wing.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you. I only want to look at your wing and see what I can do to help you," Mary talked to the bat as she looked his wing over. "My name's Mary and I'd like to help you if you'd let me."

The bat looked over the creature that was talking to him. He fired off a burst of rapid talk, the language unusual and flowing. He hissed, showing sharp fangs. His hunger lead him to doing something stupid, you never let them know you exist. He dropped down into a combat stance, eyes locked hard on Mary.

Mary froze in place wondered if her eye deceived her or not, and realized this was no ordinary bat. He was larger than any bat she'd ever seen in Ireaca. With her eyes riveted on the bat for any sign of an attack she approached to look at the damaged wing.

Kumori moved away, looking her in the eye. She didn't seem to be a combatant, but he couldn’t be sure. He frowned and suddenly darted forward. The impulsive move covered the ground quickly as he attempted to push past her.

The bat suddenly moved so quickly that Mary prepared herself for an attack but instead the bat knocked her to the ground which caused her to cut her arm on a sharp rock. She looked at the bat and saw him eyeing her arm. "You are hungry, I bet," Mary said as she held her arm out to the bat in an attempt to see if a little of her blood would satisfy his hunger and at the same time hoped the bat left some blood for her.

The bat stopped, looking at Mary, another sharp squeak of language and he took her arm. His tongue lapped over the wound, the saliva killing the pain she'd feel. He drank deeply, taking a few quick mouthfuls before reluctantly pulling away. The crimson dripped down his chin as he looked up in surprise. Quickly darting past her he soon disappeared into the shadows, leaving her slightly woozy but quite well.

After the bat appeared to have had his fill, Mary looked at her arm and realized it did not hurt. She wondered how the saliva could stop her pain. If there was some way of capturing the saliva, she could use that to help Wildfall's pain and maybe speed up his recovery. Although she felt a little woozy she wasn't harmed and the bat didn't appear aggressive toward her. She looked over at the shadows from which the bat now watched her from.

"You look a little better since you fed, and you wing will heal on its own but you will not be able to fly for a few days," Mary said to the bat and then chuckled at the thought to trying to sneak him into the room that she and Wildfall shared at the Inn. She couldn't leave him here to be attacked and defenseless. She had to help him till he healed.

Maybe not; looking around, she noticed there was enough cover for him to conceal himself. So he would be fine. As a matter of fact, the creature was soon darting towards the concealment and safety.

"I'm going to leave you here and hope you're able to get back to your home soon. I learned a lot from you today and will always remember our meeting," Mary said as she turned back toward the Inn, excited to tell Wildfall of her experience and what she had learned about pain control that her mother had never taught her.

As she spoke, the creature turned to give one more glance behind him, hesitating for a brief second before vanishing completely.

Mary watched as the bat vanished and smiled, wondering if she'd ever see him again and knew she couldn't just walk up to any other bat like that. She ran as fast as she could to the Inn and rushed thru the front door and up the stairs to the room where her Wildfall waited.. standing on one leg, stretching the other against the wall in front of him.

She burst in the door and said in a breathless voice, "You're never going to believe what happened to me tonight, Jarlsy,"

Meanwhile, Wildfall, oblivious to her entry moments earlier, lost his balance, comically trying to keep it for several seconds to avoid falling over. "Mary! Where'd ya come from.. wait, what happened? Are ya okay?!"

Mary sat on the bed with Wildfall and told him everything that had happened and about the bat, her fall and the bat drinking her blood. "I learned a new way of controlling pain today that mother never mentioned. I managed to bring some bat saliva back with me and I want to put it on that bad arm wound of yours and see if it helps your pain."

Wildfall looked out the window, half listening. "Yeah, new treatment, sounds gre- wait sorry, I think my hearing is startin' to get messed up. I thought you said bat saliva for a minute."

"Yes, you heard right. The bat's saliva has some kind of numbing agent in it that blocks the pain for the victim or, in this case, the patient." Mary replied.

Wildfall's face got a bit paler at the thought. "Ahh.. I think I'd prefer staying sick to soaking in bat spit, thanks."

"Then you can stay here and heal at your own pace and be miserable. Or you can let me help by trying this," said Mary. "I'm disappointed, Wildfall, that you wouldn't want to at least try this approach."

Wildfall smirked. "Heh.. would you try bat spit?"

"Jarlsy, you forgot that I did try the bat saliva and I'm fine. I know it worked for me and want to see if it works for you." Mary smiled reassuringly.

"Welll.." Wildfall looked at it, still hesitant. "Maybe."

Mary rubbed a little on his arm; "There try that and see if it helps the pain."

"Hey! I didn't say you could.." Wildfall started, trying to yank his arm out of her grip.

"Oh, stop being a baby," Mary snapped, yanking his arm so he couldn't pull it away. "Just let me finish."

Wildfall let out a slightly frustrated sigh. "Okay fine.. kinda tired of bein' sick anyway. I hope you know what you're doing."

"Jarlsy, I know enough about this that I wouldn't use it if I thought it'd hurt you. I'd never do anything to hurt you," Mary replied as she gently touched Wildfall's face.

"I know.." Wildfall closed his eyes, trying to focus on something else. After a minute or so, he cracked a smile. "Anything to get me back up and workin' huh?"

"Well, I do want you back and besides we are a team. Or do you want to break us up and you go your own way?" asked Mary. "How're you feeling?"

Wildfall smirked. "Heh. Naw, not sure what kinda trouble you'd get up to. But I think .. yeah, it's startin' to feel better already. Wow, Mary."

Mary looked at Wildfall, noticing his eyes looked less focused. With concern in her voice she asked, "What is wrong, Jarlsy. Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine.." Wildfall paused, holding his head. "Actually I'm startin' to feel a lil woozy."

Mary smiled and let out a sigh of relief. "I felt the same way when the bat drank my blood and it passed rather quickly. It'll pass and you're going to be fine."

"I dunno.." Wildfall tugged at his arm. "I think it's gettin' worse."

"Why don't you lay down and rest your head on my lap? Then I can keep a close eye on you for any further developments." Smiling, Mary patted his arm before releasing it.

"Good idea.." Wildfall quickly made his way towards the bed, laying down. "I think that's upsetting my stomach. Still feels better before than earlier.. Thanks Mary."

Mary stroked Wildfall's forehead and watched him fall asleep. With a look of concern on her face she said to herself, "I wonder if I used too much of that bat spit. I think the sleep will help and I'm staying right here to watch him and make sure he is okay."

She glanced over at a small bookshelf in the corner and smiled. Kind of sparse, but it had a good half dozen books or so.

Mary looked at the books and said, "Jarlsy should be sleeping for about an hour or so; I think I'll do some reading while he sleeps."

As our voter also mentioned, the piece captures Koumori's hunger and his thoughts going "a mile a minute." You can also see Mary's concern for Wildfall and I loved Wildfall's reaction to the idea of using bat spit to dull the pain. Hehe.

We're going to keep most of the focus on Wildfall, Mary Kate and Sassy for a while although some others will get a chance to shine as well. Then for the final stretch of roleplaying, we'll switch to a different cast of characters before we hit the Finale. Enjoy!