Bayou Remedy

Part 41

So... yeah. I have no excuse for how long its been between updates here, I got sucked into a book series that a friend recommended. Very good series, but not really conducive to getting updates written. Luckily, I only have one book left to read and I have been holding out against it until I could get this update out. Enjoy!

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The scent of woodsmoke and roasted plants filled his nostrils as Kisin groggily shifted beneath the blankets. No, not blankets. Furs. Furs covered him, the fine hairs tickling his skin as he fought to sit upright. Cotton wool in his mind, a bitter taste coating his tongue. He rubbed at his eyes with the heel of one hand.

Kisin peered around the darkened cabin, a single candle cast dancing shadows across the quiet interior. Outside, frogs and insects sang a nighttime lullaby in a low continuous hum, the soothing sounds threatening to send Kisin right back into slumber.

A faint hiss of sound drew his sleep addled gaze to the left and to the still figure propped up against the nearest wall. Even as he watched the noise repeated itself. The dweller's, Itzel's, lips drawing up into a near silent snarl to reveal razored teeth bracketed by elongated fangs on both the upper and lower jaws. Claws rasped along the scales of his folded arms as his fingers flexed and released. His eyes remained closed in dreams.

"Itzel?" Kisin inched closer to the other male, slipping his feet over the bed frame to lie flat on the cool floorboards.

Itzel remained unresponsive, his chest heaving with the violence of the nightmare. His claws bit into his forearm, drawing faint lines of blood as the razored tips easily pierced the scales beneath.

Kisin didn't hesitate. He reached for the other male. "Itzel. Wake up! You're having a night-"

Instantly, Kisin's reaching hand was knocked aside, Itzel's other hand snapping out to grip Kisin's throat with bruising force. Pin pricks of pain as claws bit through the delicate skin of his neck. Itzel blinked rapidly, his sleep dazed eyes feral in remembered horror. Those eyes focused on Kisin as the human wheezed and just as quickly he was released, Itzel lurching away.

Kisin coughed, his abused throat none too happy with the additional injuries. His chest a dull ache of pain as he hunched against the bed frame. Stupid! Stupid Kisin! He knew better than to wake someone from a nightmare like that. Knew better than to touch. Knew better than to startle. Stupid! Even humans reacted violently when coming out of such a volatile state, emotions running high and adrenaline spiking. He'd clearly seen the signs, too. The elevated breathing, the clenching fingers, the snarls. Stupid.

Kisin straightened, touching his fingers to his neck to discover the skin barely nicked. A very slight trickle of blood staining his fingers in the dim light. Kisin looked up sharply at the sound of shattering pottery. The remnants of a small bowl lay shattered against the far wall. Another soon joined it, followed by a cup. Again and again until Itzel ran out of readily available dish ware to destroy, and still his breath came in harsh gasps.

Kisin stayed seated against the bed frame, his own breathing long since evened out, and watched. If he didn't know better, he'd think Itzel was having a panic attack. Or, perhaps 'panic' was the wrong word choice. Rage, certainly. Sadness, too. Horror. Self-loafing. Pain. All mixed up in a turbulent storm without a viable outlet.

"Itzel." Blazing orange eyes settled on green. "Breathe."

Kisin exaggerated the action, breathing in for a count of seven, holding it briefly, and breathing out in a controlled release for a count of seven. Repeating the actions, Kisin gestured for Itzel to mirror him. It took time, but gradually the tension leaked out of the- naga? Was that the name of Medusa's supposed species? Yes, naga. The tension leaked out of Itzel's body, leaving the naga with a hollow eyed expression.