Youth

#24 - Just a Sip

Nyais left half an hour ago, telling [Y/n] to wait for him to come back.  Of course, that's exactly what she would've done anyway, but she appreciated the sentiment.  Nyais had told her he didn't want her moving anywhere after he'd stitched her wounds up yesterday so the girl was still in bed, boredom leading her to twiddle her thumbs, hoping he'd come back soon.

After thinking and waiting for another five minutes, she heard the click of a lock and the slam of a door.  Then, voices.

"You pull any more of the psycho shit you pulled yesterday and I'll skin you alive," Nyais' voice sounded lowly, just harsh enough for [Y/n] to make out the words.  There was no reply, simply an 'mhm' which had a certain pitchy tone that [Y/n] could recognise from a mile away.  She hung her head; Rayne really wasn't someone she wanted to see today.  Hell, Rayne wasn't someone she wanted to see any day.

"[Y/n]," Nyais' soft voice called through the now opened door.  [Y/n] smiled at him.  He walked over to her with a slightly sad expression.  "I'm so sorry I had to bring him here again... it's just, you need to drink the elixir.  Olli warned me when I went to get some new solvents for your wounds last night that if I missed the deadline you wouldn't be able to stay with us anymore."

"Wow, he really doesn't like me," [Y/n] laughed, rubbing the back of her neck.

"You changed the antiseptics?" Rayne said disappointedly from the other side of the room.  Nyais nodded.  "Ugh, you're so dull.  It would've been funny."

"I hate you."

"Yeah, I know," Rayne sighed, walking over to [Y/n] and giving her the best smile he could manage without looking like he was about to break a kitten.  "I've got a little present for you," he grinned, "call me what you want - Santa, O' Great One, God... I don't mind~" he sang giddily.

"Would you allow 'creep'?" [Y/n] responded sarcastically, one eyebrow raising slightly.  Rayne frowned at this and pulled a vial of pinkish-brown liquid out of his pocket. 

"Drink," he said abruptly, pushing it into her arms.  [Y/n] picked it up and stared at it, a bit of concern in her eyes.  "Drink it," Rayne reiterated (as if he hadn't made himself clear the first time).  [Y/n] continued to stare at it, clearly lost, before turning to look at Nyais.  Nyais' eyes had averted as he clearly tried to pretend Rayne didn't exist and wasn't anywhere near [Y/n].

"I-it doesn't look safe... what's in here...?" [Y/n] asked quietly.

"Blood," Rayne began, "his blood," he said, pointing at Nyais.  [Y/n]'s eyes widened at this.  Nyais only hung his head more, not meeting [Y/n]'s confusion-riddled gaze.  "There's also rosewater, a series of human preservatives that I managed to scavenge and some secret ingredients that I can't tell you about," he smiled darkly - very much a 'shut up and do as I say before I hurt you' sort of smile.

"W-why?  What...?  What does it do?  Why do I need to drink this?"

"You're getting on my nerves, [Y/n]," Rayne growled out with a slightly forced smile.  "This elixir will make it so you're a bit more like us, but not like us at all—"

"No, I-I'm sorry, I really don't want to be a vampire—"

"You're not going to be a vampire you fucking idiot," Rayne snapped, "you're going to drink this, do as you're told and keep smiling like the stupid human you are.  Okay?"  At this, Nyais cleared his throat and stared at Rayne with a threatening glare.  Rayne met his eyes for a moment before sighing and trying to compose himself once more.  "This elixir is called the elixir of life.  I'll give you a few guesses as to what it—"