BEAUTY AND THE BEAST AU 1

[enigmaster]

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[enigmaster]

... [Well, this is not going to work. There's no way Oswald will last long enough. He needs to sleep.] ...It just has to be washed and stretched? [Listen his claws are not... they're not GREAT for most tasks, but. This he should be able to handle, if he's careful???]

[agoodname]

Y-yes. Just...need to get th' blood out of the fur. Wash in the cold water then squeeze out the water, stretch it using nails n...salt. Salt 'n the hide to...t'dry it out. [everything is getting fuzzier at the edges and he feels feverish almost, his fingers definitely starting to lose their grip on Edward's arms as his strength just seems to be tanking rapidly. Aw, heck. He's...going to pass out, isn't he. Oswald can see the sides of his vision going a bit dark, and he takes a shuddering breath--] --'pologies. [and YEP HE'S GONNA PASS OUT NOW his body is so done with this shit]

[enigmaster]

[Yeah, that's about what Edward expected. He's staring down at Oswald, just... not sure what to do with him, for a bit. Well, first things first, Oswald needs to get in a bed. So, very carefully, Edward will head for the nearest bedroom. There's plenty in the castle, anyway, and there's a few that are mostly untouched. Those are... upstairs, which is a problem. Preparing one of the downstairs ones is going to take too long now. He'll just bring Oswald upstairs for now, then. It's a rather big bedroom, grand, even, if old and dusty. Such as it is. Edward will just get Oswald tucked into bed. As gently as he can. He's... working hard to be careful. Maybe it's a little clumsy, but, hey, Oswald isn't conscious right now. He doesn't linger. Right after leaving the bedroom, he takes off, back to the kitchen. ...To work on this pelt, then. Oswald can just rest.]

[agoodname]

[Oswald...does not sleep well. Apparently working yourself to fevered exhaustion is not great, so an hour or two later will find him sweating heavily, thrashing a bit under the covers, head twisting on the pillow as a ragged sob works its way out of his throat. Yeah someone's definitely having a bad nightmare]

[enigmaster]

[This is about when Edward's coming by to check on him and he immediately halts in the doorway. That looks... not good. He's had plenty of nightmares himself to know it, though he's never seen it from the outside before. He drops into a crouch, carefully making his way over to the bed and taking a look at Oswald. How bad are we talking, here?]

[agoodname]

[p r e t t y bad. that thrashing is probably not great--evidenced by the sweat on his brow and the red stain starting to spread on his arm. There also might be some tears as another hiccuping sob comes out of him, along with something that, if one's listening close enough, might sound like "mother"]

[enigmaster]

[Edward's expression softens. He starts to reach out, but... He stops himself. Well. He knows how he looks. His appearance isn't going to help someone not have more nightmares. So what can he do? Very carefully, he starts reaching out again, trying to shake Oswald awake, maybe. Though he plans to duck down to the floor afterwards. Gotta get him awake, first...]

[agoodname]

[the shaking does seem to work, actually--though it takes a little bit. Oswald's eyes fly open as he gasps awake, taking a couple heaving breaths...before abruptly choking on all the dust and starting to cough, loudly. He scrambles to sit up, very dazed and confused and coughing severely, clutching at his chest.]

[enigmaster]

[Oh. That's not great. Edward hesitates a moment, but is... going to rise up, and reach out once more, trying to help Oswald sit up. Get him to cough properly, maybe?] Careful.

[agoodname]

[suddenly there's a looming shape near him, and Oswald immediately wants to jerk away--but fortunately he really can't because he's coughing too much. But then there's that growly voice near his ear. And Oswald coughs again, reaching out with his free hand and clutching at what he finds, which happens to be some of the fur on Edward's chest. He feels very dizzy and very ill. Sick to his stomach. And like he really wants to cry. He's trembling even as he keeps coughing, though they're starting to lessen--and he's wheezing slightly due to all the dust, leaning his weight on the only available source--which happens to be Edward at the moment]

[enigmaster]

[Edward freezes up as suddenly Oswald is... leaning on him. His eyes go wide and he just stares. What's happening right now...?] Do you... [He doesn't really want to move ever again. Is that weird? This kind of physical contact is... scary. But at the same time, really welcome?] ...Do you need water?

[agoodname]

[it takes a moment for his coughing to finally calm, and he's just kind of wheezing for a moment before he can answer] ...no. [he shakes his head, weakly, his voice a rasp] Please, just--[he rattles out another breath]--stay. [how odd. but he feels weak and small and Edward is soft and he just needs something solid, right now. Water in a minute. He just can't seem to think. His head feels all fuzzy and he feels too hot but he's shaking at the same time and he feels like his heart's been ripped in two and he still wants to cry and he feels weak and helpless and he really hates this so he's just going to lean on Edward for a moment longer.]

[enigmaster]

[Just stay. For a moment, Edward's not sure if he heard that right. Oswald wants him to stay. He really must be delirious, wanting a monster like him here. Still, if that's what he says, then... Then Edward just won't move. That's easy enough. Oswald can just keep leaning on him. That's alright.]

[agoodname]

[he's still shaking. He can't seem to stop. Whether that's emotional or because of the high fever he's running right now, that's debatable. But it leaves him leaning heavily on Edward, which is honestly fine because he doesn't even have the wherewithal to logic up the calm that he's been keeping or the fear that he'd had before. All that he registers is soft and warm and something like a heartbeat and he just feels so awful right now that he's just going to accidentally fall asleep on Edward. Right here. He's just going to slip back into unconsciousness]

[enigmaster]

[It takes a second before Edward realizes that Oswald fell asleep. Once he does, he's... not sure what to do. This isn't exactly the most comfortable position he's in right now. After all, he's half on the ground, half on the bed. He should probably just... go. But Oswald's sleeping again and he seems calmer, so. What can he do? In the end, he doesn't dare move. Worried he'll break the spell or something... And isn't that an ironic feeling. He just... stays there, like that. It's not comfortable. But he's been far less comfortable than this before. ...Night is when he should be most active, but. With him properly stuck and not moving, he'll fall asleep too, eventually. Which means that, in his sleep, his wings might fold up around them unconsciously. So that'll be a strange way for Oswald to wake up.]

[agoodname]

[when he wakes up, he's....warm. Finally not sweating, as it seems his fever has broken. But...it's definitely soft and warm and feels a bit like he's gotten tangled up in his blankets--]

Mn, wh--[and then he freezes. Because he realizes that he's tucked against the soft fur of Edward's chest. It's warm and comfortable and soft and he can't move. A brief glance over his shoulder proves the reason why: he's wrapped up in bat wings, cuddled against the beast.

Okay.

Oswald blinks, slowly, lifting his head a bit to look up at Edward and see if he's still asleep]

[enigmaster]

[Oh, Edward is super asleep, my dude. Like. Deep asleep.]

[agoodname]

[....w e l p. Okay. Guess he's not moving for now. He should probably feel a bit more nervous about all this, but it's...not so bad, really? And if this doesn't confirm his obvious safety here, he's not sure what could at this point. This is the strangest thing that has ever happened to him in his life. Right. Hellish-looking demon, but surprisingly easy to befriend. He could probably tear out Oswald's guts with those claws, but he's essentially done nothing but take care of Oswald since he got there. Granted, there's always the chance that he's waiting to pull something, but...honestly, Oswald finds that doubtful. He debates whether to try and wiggle out, but his ankle is still just killing him and he doesn't actually feel that great still, so...probably not the best idea. Besides, it's not as though he's not comfortable. After a moment, Oswald settles again, back down where he woke. The best option right now really is to just try and get some more sleep. It's hard to determine how Edward will react anyway, so...that'll be a thing to worry about later. ...right. Oswald'll just...curl up here, and try and go back to sleep]

[enigmaster]

[Well, later on, Edward is... actually still asleep. Winter does weird things to his sleep cycle, it's not uncommon for him to just suddenly be OUT for a while. He is so sleepy, all the time. The good news is that, once Oswald wakes up again, Edward has shifted his wings. One of them's tucked more against himself, not Oswald. And the other is more spread out, now. Which does cover more area, but is also easier to escape. In theory.]

[agoodname]

[He feels significantly more awake this time when he comes to consciousness. Perhaps because he's slightly less trapped and is therefore a bit colder. It's also because it's...still the most strangest of circumstances to wake up in.

Oswald swallows a bit, trying to turn slightly to get a better view of his situation.

Definitely possibly easier to slip out this way. He almost still feels reluctant to, but...he also really had to find a bathroom. So, right...he'll just suck in a low breath and slowly try to wiggle out from under that wing, all while not upsetting the bandage on his arm or his leg.

It's...not an easy task. By any means.]

[enigmaster]

[The sudden movement under Edward's wing is... not enough to wake him just yet, but...] Mmn... [He does make a noise and huff a little in his sleep, trying to burrow his head under the pillow a little. Continue your quest towards freedom, Oswald.]

[agoodname]

[Oswald freezes as Edward starts to move, tilting his head up to watch Edward's face, but...nope, still asleep. (That was, once again, cuter than it should have been) He sucks in a breath, before making another bid at freedom.]

[enigmaster]

[How far are you getting there, Oswald? So far you seem to be doing okay...]

[agoodname]

[HE'S....about halfway out from under that wing. Just trying to escape out the side or something, moving slowly in an attempt not to wake Edward but...it's hard when one of your ankles is just out of commission entirely.]

[enigmaster]

[Yeah, about that attempt. Oswald might think it's going good, but then he... maybe moves in the wrong way, but Edward feels the movement in his sleep... and tries to roll over. The problem: he's like, at the edge of the bed, kind of draped over it? So. The good news is that Oswald is now very free. The bad news is that Edward is rolling straight off the side of the bed. Which definitely wakes him, judging from the surprised yelp that follows.]