The next time he woke up, Eric sat beside him, rocking in a chair in the corner and reading a book. Illius slowly licked his chapped lips. His eyesight was clearer today, and he looked down to his arms—the skin rubbed raw by his shackles was scabbing over. Slowly, he tried moving one finger at a time and found he could move everything but his pinkies. Glancing over to Eric, he found those bright blue eyes staring back at him.

“Hey,” Eric said. “You’re up.”

Illius tried nodding. For the first time in a long time, moving his head didn’t shoot shards of pain through his body.

“You’ve been out for two days,” Eric said. “Hireth said you should be better when you wake up. She’s been healing you as much as she can.”

Hireth… So Curly’s real name was Hireth. He looked at his body, turned over his wrist, and stared at the ugly, black marks streaking through his skin.

“She said those will fade,” Eric told him. “It’s not permanent.”

A knock came at the door, and Hireth poked her head in with a smile. “Good morning—or, rather, afternoon.”

Illius tried to match her smile. She noticed and grinned even wider. “Feeling any better?”

He nodded again.

She walked in and pulled a chair up to his bed. “If you think you’re up for it, I’d like you to take a bath.”

He looked at his hands—his fingernails had grown long, with dirt clumped under them. Rough, unkempt strands of his hair curled down his shoulders, and while he couldn’t see what he looked like, he could imagine. Bathing sounded like a lot of effort, but he felt filthy.

“You don’t have to,” Hireth followed up quickly, “but it might make you feel better. I can heat up some water, and Eric can help you.”

Illius’ face flushed, and he looked away.

“Hey, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Hireth said. “You’re recovering. It’s natural to need help. If you were in a hospital or something, you wouldn’t feel so bad about asking a nurse for help now, would you?”

He shook his head a little.

“So, you’ve just gotta think of us as your nurses,” she said. “And if you don’t want to, you don’t have to.”

Illius slowly nodded.

“You’d like a bath?” Hireth asked. Grimacing, Illius nodded again. “Okay, I’ll go heat up some water, and then Eric can help you.”

Hireth left, and Illius tried not to make eye contact with Eric. He knew he must stink—he’d probably laid in his own excrement for weeks. On one hand, this was going to be embarrassing, but then, what dignity did he really have to lose?

Moments later, Hireth returned with a pair of scissors and handed them to Eric. “Cut down the outward seam on both sides, and they should just fall off. If you guys need anything, just holler.”

Eric nodded and waited for Hireth to leave.

“Hey,” he said, gently pulling the blankets off Illius. The therian looked down, grateful that Hireth’s cloak was still nestled around his body, despite all the bloodstains on it. “If you want me to stop at any time, just squeeze my hand, okay?”

Illius nodded and took a deep breath as Eric gingerly unwrapped the cloak. His ribs stuck out from his chest, and purple and green bruises dotted his torso. Black streaks traced jagged lines from his chest throughout his body. Eric shifted his weight and started to cut up Illius’ pant leg. Only then did Illius put together what Hireth had meant when she handed Eric the scissors. Sitting there, helpless while Eric disrobed him, Illius thought he might die from humiliation.

His legs started to shake, and Eric turned to look at him. “You okay? You change your mind?”

Illius took a deep breath and shook his head.

Eric cut with one hand, always leaving his other hand within Illius’ reach. He struggled a little bit with the thicker fabric around the waistband, but he took his time. Illius focused on the bath. Yes, this was embarrassing—yes, it was going to be horrible—but he would be clean. He wouldn’t feel… like a beast. Tears welled up in his eyes. What right did he have to pretend to be human?

“Hey,” Eric said, noticing the tears and gently reaching up to brush them away. “What’s wrong?”

Everything. Everything is wrong. Illius couldn’t move. He couldn’t take care of himself, and now Eric and Hireth were in danger because of him. He wished—he wished he had never been born and that none of this had ever happened.

“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Eric repeated.

Illius looked away. He didn’t deserve a bath, but he also didn’t want to inconvenience Eric and Hireth with his horrible stench. For a moment, he snuck a glance at Eric and found himself staring at those beautiful, blue eyes again. Allfather, they were gorgeous—he was so out of it and… Damn, why couldn’t he just die already before this beautiful man saw his fucked-up body naked? He swallowed hard. What am I thinking? I’m a therian. Eric isn’t going to give a damn. It’s probably no different for him than giving a dog a bath.

“Come on.” Eric held out his hand, unaware of the thoughts flooding Illius’ mind.

Illius took a giant, shuddery breath and reached out. Eric firmly pulled Illius up from the bed and supported his back with his other hand.

“Do you want to try to stand, or should I carry you?” Eric asked.

Illius knew he couldn’t stand, but he didn’t know how to convey that, so he just shook his head. Eric slipped the filthy trousers off Illius and reached under his knees to lift him up. He carried Illius out the door, through a thin wooden hallway into a bigger room where an oversized, ceramic bathtub sat against a stone wall. Illius looked up and saw Eric staring pointedly ahead. Somehow, despite everything, this man kept inconveniencing himself so Illius could have some kind of privacy—Illius couldn’t be more grateful for it.

When Eric lowered him down, Illius sucked in air as the warm water enveloped him. He grabbed the edges of the tub to hold himself upright, but his muscles gave out and he slipped. All at once, the magic inside himself fluctuated as he panicked—waves of it flowed from his fingers. Eric recoiled as Illius’ magic hit him. Darkness overcame Illius, and water started flooding his nose. In the back of his mind, he heard Eric calling for Hireth.

He woke up as a soothing warmth hit his body again. Forcing his eyes open, he saw Eric’s arm bracing him against the tub so his face wouldn’t fall in the water. Hireth knelt beside him, her hands alight with white magic.

“Hey,” she said. “You’re back with us.”

“Sorry,” he whispered, his hands shaking.

“Nothing to apologize for,” she said as she pushed a ray of white magic into him. “You just freaked out a bit and used up some more of your magic. I’ve stabilized you for now. I just need you to relax if you can.”

He nodded, leaning against the back of the tub and Eric’s chest.

Hireth took a soft washcloth and swished it in the tub, then rubbed some swirly green and black soap on it. “If I hurt you or scrub too hard, let me know.”

Man, he was exhausted. His eyes started to close.

“Illius,” Hireth said in a gentle, songlike voice. “Stay with us, Illius. Just a little longer, and you’ll feel so much better.”

She worked her washcloth over his shoulders, gently scouring grime from his skin. Rinsing the washcloth, she scrubbed her way up his neck. “I’m going to do your face, okay?”

He hummed a bit, leaning back against Eric more. Soft warmth ebbed through his neck and face, relaxing him. Hireth’s washcloth gently cleaned his cheeks and then, ever so slowly, dabbed at his eyes. Crusts pulled free from his eyelids and eyelashes. He winced a bit as one took an eyelash with it.

“I’ll come back to that.” Hireth coaxed one of his hands from the water. She washed his armpits, and Illius did his best not to fidget despite how much it tickled. “We’ll get your nails later,” she said as she reached his fingers. “Scrubby dubby, scrubby dubby doo.”

“You’re such a child, Hireth,” Eric said.

“I thought I was the scariest bitch you ever met?” She had a smile in her voice as she scrubbed between each of his fingers. “Oh, Hireth, most renowned of witches,” she said in a ridiculously high voice. “Come help me save someone! I can’t do it without you, Hireth!”

Eric scoffed. “Please. I don’t sound like that.”

Hireth fished Illius’ other hand from the water and continued scrubbing. “You sound exactly like that—doesn’t he, Illius? But… Glad to help. I’m nothing if not a pyromaniac.” She finished cleaning and rinsed her rag again. “Illius, I’m coming back for your face. Let’s see if we can’t get all those nasties off once and for all, so just keep your eyes closed.”

He felt something from Hireth—a certain warmth. Kindness. It felt like kindness, he decided as she removed the filth around his eyes.

“There we go.” She pried a big chunk off his eyelids and softly wiped over them again. “I bet that feels better.”

“What was all that?” Eric asked.

“You know when you get a cold so bad that snot comes out your eyeballs?” Hireth said. “It was a little of that, little bit of dirt, little bit of salt getting baked on when his magic discharged. Honestly, I oughta go back to that place and finish what I started.”

“I think you’ve caused enough havoc.” Eric shifted Illius just a little bit so Hireth could reach his ears.

“Mmmm,” Hireth hummed, finally done with his face. “There can never be too much havoc in the world for those fuckers. Alright, now I need his feet. Illius, can we scoot you a little bit further down in the water?”

Eric must have felt him tense, because he said, “It’s okay. I won’t let go. I got you.”

After a moment, Illius nodded and Eric scooted closer and helped him lie deeper in the water. Water lapped the back of his neck, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Hireth had pulled his leg up and was scrubbing his foot. He realized he couldn’t feel her touching him, and his foot twisted inward oddly. She scrubbed in between each toe and then the top of his feet, but he still couldn’t feel a thing. All he could do was watch.

He hated this existence.

She scrubbed up to his knee, continually adding more soap to her washcloth. After a while, she switched legs. Just as she was almost done, she looked up. “Can you feel me at all?”

He shook his head, and she merely nodded. “I’m not that surprised. It’s going to take a bit. Don’t be discouraged, though.” She swished her washrag around again. “Alright, all that’s left is your private parts. You wanna try, or do you want Eric or me to help you?”

His hands shook as he reached out for the washcloth in her hands.

“Okay,” she said, passing it to him gently. “I’m gonna go make sure your bed is all made up, then. Eric, you help him out when he’s done, okay?”

“Sure thing.” Eric hauled Illius’ body out of the water more and switched arms again. Illius forced his hands to scrub himself as much as he could, and then he set the washcloth on the side of the tub. “You ready?” Eric asked, shifting behind him but not loosening his grip.

Illius nodded, and Eric hauled him out of the tub, switching his grasp once Illius was somewhat upright and scooping him up once more. Eric’s clothes were drenched, and Illius’ cheeks burned. This was ridiculous. He was nothing but a nuisance. Eric took him back to his bed, where Hireth waited with towels draped over the bed.

“Out,” Eric growled at her. She rolled her eyes and headed for the door.

“Let me know once I can come back in. I haven’t done his hair yet.”

“Okay.” Eric waited until she was gone and then gently set Illius back down.

The therian shivered, and Eric covered him up with a towel and started to rub his body dry. Eventually, Eric pulled the wet towels away and wrapped him in blankets. “Better? Man, your lips are still blue. Hireth?”

“What’s wrong?” Hireth asked, cracking the door open.

“He’s cold.” Eric put a warm hand on Illius’ forehead. “His lips are blue.”

Hireth hurried over and started to send magic into Illius’ body again. “It’s okay. His body just can’t quite keep up yet.”

Soothing warmth spread over Illius once more.

“Better?” Hireth smiled at him.

He nodded.

“Now,” she said, touching his hand gently. “I can try to keep your long hair, or I can cut it shorter. What do you prefer?”

He just looked at her, drained.

She put her hand in his. “One squeeze to cut it, two to keep it long.”

He squeezed twice, and she smiled. “Long it is. Eric, can you move him down? We’ve gotta get some pillows under his shoulders. That way I can work on his hair. It ain’t gonna be pretty, but it’ll work.”

Eric moved him down and gently tipped his torso up as Hireth piled a bunch of pillows and blankets under his shoulders. Finally, she put a towel down and disappeared out the door. She came back with a bowl of water.

“You can fall asleep for this if you want to,” she said. “Um… I know therians can be a bit particular about their features, but… would you mind if I washed your horns? I’ll be careful.”

He wished she could remove them, but he merely shook his head and relaxed into the pillows. She dipped his hair into the bowl in her lap and started to brush it out.

The last time anyone had messed with his hair was his mother, and that seemed like such a long time ago.