Looking through the window into the occupied intake exam room, Katherine feels detached from herself. Inside lays her twin, her very much alive twin, who had yet to wake up from fainting. Blocking out the medical staff moving around her, Katherine rubs her shoulder through the grey scrubs she had been given after arriving at the medical center right behind Mason, her long hair left loose upon her shoulders. Her mind is racing, feeling at a loss to how Kaycee had survived all these years without anyone sharing that information with her. When Mason’s gaze meets Katherine’s through the window, she waves for her to come inside. Katherine blinks, shaking her head and moving away from the window. Not wanting to subject herself to the tensions running through the waiting room where her aunt, uncle and cousin are waiting with what seems to be friends of Kaycee from several different races, Katherine decides to wander the halls. Before she goes very far, she is jostled by one of the orderlies who is dressed in khaki dress pants and a yellow button-up blouse, causing the stack of blankets in the orderly’s hands to fall to the floor.
“Oh miaploni, sorry about that,” the teenage girl exclaims in surprise as she starts to pick up the blankets, the ponytail of her long, silver-blond hair falling over her shoulder to brush against the floor with each scoop. The girl looks tiny, barely standing four foot and petite in her structure. Her eyes were a bright grey that seems to shift between dark grey, grey, and light grey with each eye movement.
“No, it's okay. I wasn’t paying attention,” Katherine reassures the girl, helping her straighten the stack.
As they re-stack the last blanket, the girl looks up for the first time and gasps at Katherine. Looking down at the girl in confusion Katherine helps her stand with the stack. When the girl doesn’t move Katherine touches the girl’s shoulder lightly, using Omega powers to try and access the girl’s mental state instinctually. Finding no emotions other than surprise, Katherine chooses to wait. As the girl unfreezes, she looks Katherine up and down.
“You look like Kaycee” the girl murmurs eyes looking onto Katherine’s once more “But your eyes are lighter. Are you her tremerarika?”
Katherine sighs, reaching up to twirl a lock of hair nervously, her brow wrinkling in confusion. “Um…She’s my sister, “ she tells the girl.
The girl’s eyes go wide as she starts to quiver in excitement, “Oh goodness, you’re Kitty-Kat. That’s so cool. Have you seen Kaycee yet? She’s been in and out of the durksau trying to help with Mr. Guarst and Mr. Pichling. She’s probably in the lab the hythere’el claimed. Do you want me to show you where it is? Wow! It’s so awesome to bect ju. Jilly told me so much about what Kaycee, Jamie, you, and her, got into all the monyer. Albeit that Jamie claims Jilly and Kaycee had to delow ju ny nex along often enough. Jilly claimed Kaycee wasn’t nixryka really without ju. Did Kaycee really sneak out of the yenrikahyersau all the time like everyone says? Kaycee is going to be so copaye that you’re here and alive and…” the girl rushes out in one breath.
Katherine grabs the girl’s shoulder and sends a quick calming wave over the girl as she attempts to interrupt the flow of information and questions, confusion filling the front of Katherine’s mind as she struggles with the strange words the younger girl was using at times. “Slow down a bit. Yes, I’ve seen Kaycee. She’s not in the lab. She fainted and was brought to an exam room.”
The girl calms down some, but is still very animated, “Okay. Did you get kynozyrekancyr from going back to the cerom? I can help you find it. I’m really good at zyrekanyth rika’el.”
“I don’t really need help finding it, it’s near here. I just ... I don’t think Kaycee would want me in there when she wakes up.” Katherine replies, looking down the hall towards where she knew Kaycee’s room is.
“Eryz ever not? Kaycee isn’t usually irritable when she gnorifiecyr from fainting, even if it was food related fainting. I’m sure she’ll be copayetyrdecyr to see you.”
“Look… Uh…”
“Oh goodness, I never introduced myself. I’m Lucy, Lucille Tristen.” the girl tells her.
Katherine nods pausing a moment, as she processes Lucy’s last name, and how the girl could possibly know the nickname many of hers, and Kaycee’s friends had called her, her eyes widening as she puts it all together. “Wait, you are related to Jillianna?”
“Yep, she’s my giayayath. Our mom was aurydona with me last time Jilly saw you” The girl tells her smiling brightly. “Don’t look anything like her, huh? Mentre says its ‘cause Jilly is more sovlesaicyr elementally while I’m wylansaicyr.”
“Right. Your mom is a Nymph Fae.” Katherine murmurs, remembering having Mrs. Tristen explain to her once about how nymphs are only able to focus their magic on one of the basic magical elements and that it was more based on the soul of the nymph than what their parent’s elemental focus is. “Okay, Lucy. I still don’t think Kaycee will want to see me when she wakes up. I think she fainted because of seeing me.”
“There's no way that's the only ecigweryo for her fainting. Kaycee didn’t really like ealkyth a whole ton about when you all were little, but she did seem to lysmin ju a ton. Even if she was ligronitetyrdecyr to see you, and it added to whatever made her faint I doubt she wouldn’t want to see you the prewyt, she wakes back up.” Lucy insists, grabbing Katherine and pulling her down the hall away from Kaycee’s room a few feet before turning them around, giving Katherine a sheepish smile, as she drags them to Kaycee’s door. Katherine doesn’t have time to protest as Lucy pulls her straight into the room.
Mason looks up as they enter and smiles up at Lucy from her seat by the bed, “Lucy, did you get kicked out of the xochcerom, kitchen, again?” She teases the younger hybrid.
Lucy rolls her eyes at Mason, “Kyno, Fyraylo. Mama Guarst just asked me to come over to help put the garzolestiel ny veryazolestiel away, and I ran into Kitty-Kat here and figured I’d make sure she was with Kaycee.”
Shaking her head in amusement, Mason stands up and moves over to the two girls. “I see, and by the load in your arms, you didn’t finish your werona, work, yet. Why don’t you go finish up and leave Katherine with me for now?” Mason suggests, gently directing Lucy towards the door.
Lucy nods but pulls away to quickly lean down and hug Kaycee lightly, whispering in the unconscious girl’s ear, “Ortkyno kanryka J’yayath kyniortyth.” Standing back up Lucy then turns and surprises Katherine with a hug. “Zonwandant bectyth ju, Kitty-Kat,” she tells Katherine before rushing out of the room and down the hallway once more.
As Katherine watches the younger girl’s departure, Mason studies Katherine’s nervous form. Reaching out, Mason moves Katherine over to the chair she had previously filled, getting the Omega to sit before taking a seat on the edge of the bed by Kaycee’s left side. Katherine’s eyes flicker over Mason before focusing on her twin. Kaycee looks almost peaceful laying on the bed with a knit white blanket tucked under her arms, showing the light grey hospital robe someone had pulled over her unconscious form. Her pixie cut sticking up around where her head rests on the pillow. Deep even breathes cause Kaycee’s chest to rise and fall as Katherine’s examination of her ends on the IV in her left hand. Letting the silence fill the room, both Mason and Katherine are at a loss of what to say to each other.
Unable to sit in silence any longer, Katherine shifts in her chair before clearing her throat. “Aunt Valerie says Uncle David didn’t tell you anything.” She murmurs looking down at her hands clasped on her lap.
“I was only told anything by Alpha Xavier from Giaomply Giawacsau Lycaxyjon, Grizzly Mountain Pack, when they had found your parents car just before leaving his lands and entering your uncle’s. It looked like it exploded and set camcryc, fire, to itself. I had assumed you both were dermurncyr, dead.” Mason explains.
Katherine looks up at Mason in confusion, “But then how… why?” she starts.
Looking over at Kaycee, Mason sighs, “Kaycee was living at the Muern Gyrane Hytherexyjon, Moon Watch Hunter Guild when she shifted for the first time. I only found out about her still being alive due to that xify torlyca, first shift. She wasn’t nixryka, herself at all, not really. You could see her partyloyth, trying to act like she used to but…”
“She just wasn’t able to move past….everything,” Katherine suggests as Mason pauses, looking over at her sister’s face once more.
“No, more like she couldn’t figure out what her ecigwiteniel, reactions, should be in a world where she didn’t have you.” Mason counters, looking back at Katherine who’s eyes widen in surprise. “Everything that eczyrekincyr, reminded her of you or the attack caused her to pyrtelo, struggle. I lost count of how many zandlyojaryie-dermiel, panic attacks, she had before she started to really gain parylle, control of herself and her emotions.”
“Panic attacks?” Katherine echoes, a frown filling her face as she tries to match the image of Kaycee at five years old, with little fear of anything, to an adult version that would lose control and panic.
“Valorie mentioned you had tyrdedermen, depression, linked to the trauma of the attack. For Kaycee, it manifested more like tyrdederm, anxiety. When fregryocyr, triggered, Kaycee would have really bad panic attacks, though none of them have been this bad in several rolentri’el, years.” Mason explains, studying Katherine as the younger girl works through the new information.
Katherine sighs and rubs at her scarred left shoulder, “So seeing me set off a panic attack worse than she’s had in years,” Katherine laments, looking at the floor.
“That is kyno ry kani, not the way, to think about it, Katherine,” Mason admonishes, shaking her head sadly. “While seeing you may have been a ligronitetyrde, shock I highly doubt it's the only igweryo, reason Kaycee fainted. Plus she didn’t really kynozyrekan parylle, lose control, like she used to, just consciousness. More likely, Kaycee’s shock compounded on…. well on some ecigweryo’el, reasons. Kynorika, no one, had seen or heard from her since soni sonihyer, early morning. I’m pretty sure she didn’t blerydurk zanlyo, sleep well, and though a vyransepyre, supplement shake, was missing, I don’t think she had qui vyrarel, any food before joining into the game.”
Katherine looks up at Mason in confusion, “Lucy mentioned food related fainting. Is that what you are referring to?”
Mason nods, smiling brightly, “Wayle, that’s exactly it. I’m quite certain Kaycee shifted and swytcyr, ran, as a wolf after waking up this morning and then just joined the game instead of grabbing a fiajerel xify, snack first. If she also skipped sonihyerjerel, breakfast she may have still ended up fainting quikani, anyway, but less dramatically.” Mason shares.
“What does not eating have to do with the fainting exactly? I’ve seen wolves go for days without eating and not feel faint.” Katherine asks, moving her gaze to Kaycee’s face.
“How many of those wolves had Giaetnar-cevynor, Rage Fever, as a yenrika, child?” Mason asks, causing Katherine to snap her gaze back to the Alpha in surprise.
“Gia-wha… Rage….?” Katherine stammers, her whole body going stiff.
Chuckling Mason gently moves a hair from Kaycee’s face before facing Katherine more directly. “I doubt you really eczyrekine, remember, but when the two of you were about fur rolentri’el, two years old, Kaycee managed to escape from wherever it was your Mentre, mother told the two of you to stay and wandered into a quaryncyr cerom, quarantined room. The little boy in the room had just died from Giaetnar-cevynor complications; and Kaycee slytecyr, walked, right into being exposed and came down with Giaetnar-cevynor a few days later. She actually had the zangialydcyr coyse, worst case, of it I’ve ever seen that didn’t end with a death. Syx rolyneriel, six months of being poked and prodded, only turkkynoyth, staying in the room because we were able to convince her how kynotyrso, dangerous, it would be for you if she left.”
Mason sighs rubbing her face at the memory of that time. “If your Mentre hadn’t already been so close to zyrekanyth, finding, a vaccine, I think we would have kynozyrekancyr, lost Kaycee. Your Partre, Father may not have liked the idea of torweronyth, testing the vaccine on you, but Kaycee was starting to kynotyrk, decline. Gloria had insisted Kaycee just needed ju syt ungra rygra, you to push through. She figured even if the vaccine didn’t work, having the two of you aoujuen, together would at least keep you from suffering as badly, and Kaycee would start to actually ecdurk, recover. Thankfully it worked, not only ungyryth, protecting you but making it so Rage Fever would take the path of spectyrkyno, human chicken pox and scarlet fever. And Gloria was completely right about Kaycee urkyryth ju, needing you. Ry prewyt, the moment she saw you in that room, being told it was okay and that you wouldn’t get kynozanlyo, sick, she started perking back up and finally broke ry cevynor, the fever, for good.”
Katherine can only sit in silence as she listens to Mason’s memory of Kaycee being sick. She does vaguely remember that time, more the pain of not knowing where Kaycee was and everyone talking around her, trying not to let her know what was going on. Letting her mind wander Katherine looks out at the movement of the Medical Center staff. Her own Were Medical Training has covered a bit about Rage Fever. Fatigue, cough, rash, chills and of course fever are the most common symptoms, nothing overly life-threatening, but statistics reveal that before the vaccine the number of deaths of children who contract the disease under five years old would often die as their bodies could not fight off the symptoms. She remembers that even those who do survive often have side effects, after their first shift, that will affect them for the rest of their lives. Katherine shivers with the thought of the side effects. She wouldn’t wish on anyone an extremely high metabolism, low body temp, distaste for red meat but most especially the Wolfsbane allergy. What side effects did Kaycee have to face after shifting the first time?
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