"Who are you? G-get away from m-me!!"
Alba heard the terror and fright from the young Puffball's voice. She tried to move closer to him, but noticed he started to panic.
"Bate, please, I'm not here to hurt you."
"Liar!" He shouted. "I don't w-want you stupid squids to get near me!"
He tried to stand up, but ended up collapsing back on the floor. Alba waited for him to calm down before speaking again.
"I'm sorry, Bate. I'm sorry if you think we all want to hurt you. We don't, I promise." She walked a few steps towards him. She hoped what she'd say next would earn his trust.
"You know.....Gordon wants to see you."
She saw Bate look at her.
"G...gordon?"
She nodded. "Yes, he says he really misses you."
The Puffball shook his head. "N-no, you're lying!" He started to back up.
She waved her hands in defense. "No! I would never lie to you." She smiled at him. "You've got a really special friend, Bate. He left the war just so he could stay by your side."
"Gordon left the war....to stay with me?"
Bate couldn't believe what he was hearing. Sure, him and Gordon were friends, but he didn't think he'd throw away the chance to be in the war just to watch over him.
"Are you serious?"
"Yup!" She giggled. "He's been very anxious to see you, but since you're not as, ummmm....healthy to see him, I've been holding him off."
Alba sat next to him. "But...if you want to see him, I could allow that."
Bate glanced at her. "Y-you can?"
"I can." She reached behind her and placed a medical bag in front of him. "But first, I need to get your wounds patched up....you're kinda dripping blood all over the floor."
Bate looked down and noticed blood smeared all over the wooden floor. He quickly looked up when he saw Alba reach towards him. He held out his arm to stop her.
"If you do this, I get to see Gordon after, right?"
"Yes, I promise." She assured him.
Alba reached in the bag and pulled out a bottle antiseptic and a few rolls of bandages. She walked to the left side of his wing and sprayed one of the wounds. Bate gasped in pain and backed away.
"Don't touch my wings!!" His voice was filled with anger....and maybe fear?
Alba tried to calm him down. "Bate, we agreed that-"
"But not my wings!" He cut her off. "P-please...don't touch them."
'Oh....' Alba sensed that something was wrong. The way he was acting with his wings were highly abnormal, to say the least. She backed away and tried to think of another way to help.
"Hey, Bate?"
He didn't answer.
"Your wings need immediate attention, but since you won't let me touch them...." She took out a bottle and dumped two white pills from it. "Could you at least take two of these pills?"
Bate inspected the tiny pills in her hand. "What is it?"
"It's just something that'll inhibit the bacteria forming in your wings." She pointed to the wounds. "Your wings took a lot of damage, and I don't want you to get sick from the bacteria that's spreading from them."
She handed him the pills and waited for him to take it. When he did, she waited for the side effects to kick in. She saw Bate getting drowsy a few minutes after taking the pills.
Bate's vision started to blur, and hit the ground in a matter of seconds. He tried to move, but his whole body was paralyzed. He looked at the figure in front of him one last time before passing out.
"Y...you l-liar...."
Artist Comment:
Date: July 27, 2013
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While Ellie and Elliot are arguing, Alba's gonna step in for a bit.
Bate really wanted to see Gordon. :<
Species © Nintendo/ HAL Laboratory
Interpreted characters created from said species © Rhylem
Story © Rhylem
Interpreted characters created from said species © Rhylem
Story © Rhylem