Chapter Text
Ding!
His eyes snapped open, frantic as he pushed himself off and away from the desk. Darting up, he came face to face with—
A patient…
Glancing to the side in confusion, the patient swiftly adjusted his eyes– redirecting them to stare directly at Intern. Adjusting the child on his hip, he cleared his throat raspily before speaking.
“Hello, I’m here to check my child in as a patient.” He slid the documents through the small open section of the glass window separating them. Intern gulped, nodding as he groggily regained his wits and walked over to the counter, picking up the papers and reading over them.
The child’s name was Noelle Holiday, with the father being Rudy Holiday– “Oh, almost forgot.” The man adjusted the child angled on his hip, digging into his pocket, pulling out his wallet, and flicking out his ID. He slid that across as well, a somewhat bashful smile on his face. “Sorry ‘bout that.” Intern waved his free hand dismissively toward him, his eyes lingering on the last few details of the paper before looking up at the father.
“Don’t worry about it,” Intern reassured him as he picked up the ID, his eyes gazing over it. He then placed it back down, sliding it back toward Rudy, who grabbed it, shuffling it back into his wallet. As he did so, Intern moved to take the child’s picture, leaning down behind the camera and closing one eye. The child looked at him curiously, her eyes flickering away nervously– simultaneously with her ears twitching. Noticing this, Rudy chuckled before clearing his throat.
“Come on, Noelle. Let the nice man take your picture.” He spoke gently, coaxing Noelle into staring back at the camera. Slowly, she did so, darting her eyes over first before her head turned with it. Rudy smiled as the camera clicked on the child.
Giving the photo time to process, he moved over to the computer and began inserting their information, adding the father as a visitor and the child as the patient. Before printing the badges– he stepped over to the photo, leaning over to look at it. The child was normal, her buck teeth nudging out of her mouth with her eyes narrowed as if she had expected a flash from the camera. Intern chuckled a bit before his smile fell when he noticed a dark figure in the back. With a wide, downturned smile, its eyes were out of view, but the bunny still had a lingering feeling that it was Stalker. Staring blankly at the creature in the back, he slowly dragged himself toward the printer, pressing a button to begin the process as the entrance bell jingled. Peeking over and disregarding Security’s vulnerable state, his shoulders slumped at the sight of a headknocker. Quickly moving to grab the coffee, he grabbed the badges and slid them over to the father before rushing casually toward the check-in office door, pushing it open and taking a few sips of the coffee as he did so.
The father took no notice– nor care in Intern’s moving. Instead, he simply smiled with his dried, crackling lips. “Thanks. We’ll be in Room Three.” He then turned with child in hand, setting off toward said room. Noelle, however, peeked over his shoulder and watched Intern as he approached the possessed man, standing between them and the glass before holding out a cup of steaming coffee. The creature tilted its head as if confused, before gingerly reaching out and wrapping both of its hands around the warm mug.
“Coffee…” They muttered, standing there for a second as Intern began to walk down the hall. The possessed one stood there for a moment longer before taking a long sip from the mug, their face seeming to clear up a tad. They gripped the cup tighter as they turned around, walking out whilst another patient entered.
Once the three of them were inside the assigned room, Rudy placed Noelle on the bed before taking a step back as Intern moved in front of him. Noelle reached out for her father, but quickly pulled back her hands when Intern approached.
“Alright, I’m just gonna draw a bit of blood from you, alright?” He opened the bedside drawer and pulled out a packaged butterfly needle, tearing the wrapping open before reaching back inside the drawer and also pulling out a square of gauze, as well as a package of band-aids. She stared at the needle with a tinge of fear in her eyes, but nodded slowly nonetheless.
“This will help me find out what’s bugging you, and will also tell me how to solve it so you can get back home,” the bunny further explained as he slowly reached for Noelle’s arm. The reindeer, frowning deeply, held it out, whipping her head away and closing her eyes. Intern pricked it in gently, sliding it in all the way and adjusting the vial in his hand as it began to fill with blood. Once the tube had filled, he grabbed the square of gauze and pressed it against where the needle entered her furry skin, holding it down as he swiftly slid the needle out. Noelle whined, but didn’t complain aside from that.
Placing the needle and vial onto the bedside platter, he grabbed the pack of band-aids and handed them to Noelle, who stared at them curiously.
“Pick any one you’d like, alright?” Her eyes flickered to the bunny before beginning to shuffle through the box, her elbow poking up and her tongue jabbing out the side of her mouth. She pulled out a few before placing them back– eventually landing on a band-aid with a grinning rainbow flower. Noelle stared at it for a few moments before holding it out to Intern, who peeled off the wrapper, removed the gauze, and quickly slid the band-aid on. The reindeer stared at it with a small smile on her face while Intern grabbed the needle and tube, bringing it toward the centrifuge. He unhooked the needle and clear tube from the vial, tossing them in a small nearby trashcan before sliding the vial inside the machine, closing it, and starting it.
He leaned against the pristine counter as he waited, tapping his fingers on the material before his ears perked up when the centrifuge machine beeped. He flicked it open, his finger flying upwards with the excessive force. He pulled out the vial, bringing it up to his face and staring at the heavy blood cells clumped at the bottom. He opened another contraption near the centrifuge, closer to the computer. Reaching into the lower cabinet, he grabbed another vial, pouring the clear plasma into it and leaving the blood to clump at the bottom of the other vial. He poured them both into separate plastic cups inside the contraption before closing it and pressing a few buttons. He then turned to the computer, opening the program connected to the machine and starting it from there as well. The screen was wiped in back, a loading bar displayed before the previous display reappeared, the patient’s name, Noelle Holiday, appearing before her list of negative symptoms.
Darting his eyes over the screen he read it all to himself mentally. Low blood sugar, dehydration, and a headache. Waving to the residents of the room, he let them know that he’d be right back– and would be grabbing the supplies to take care of Noelle. The two nodded as he exited the room. Leaving the door cracked open behind him, he grabbed the maple syrup first, shoving it into his elbow juncture, before grabbing the iv bag and holding it in his left hand. Then, he grabbed the green medicine bottle, clutching it in his right. With his hands full, he returned to the room not long after he’d left placing all of the supplies on the nearby bedside table before picking up the pill bottle, rattling it before cracking the seal. He shuffled a pill out of the bottle before holding it out to the child. She grabbed it with her thumb and index finger, staring at the green and white pill before putting it in her mouth. When Intern assured her that she could chew it, she promptly did so, sticking out her tongue at the odd taste.
The bunny removed the spoon from the side of the syrup bottle, popping the seal to the lid before pouring out some syrup into the deep spoon. He held it out to Noelle, who grabbed it and stuck it in her mouth, humming at the sweet yet sticky sensation that it granted her. Lastly, Intern pulled the IV stand from the corner of the room near the bedside table, hooking the IV bag onto it before reaching into the small open box on the side of the stand, pulling out a needle and twisting it onto the end of the tube. Noelle stuck out her arm, too occupied with messily eating the syrup while her father chuckled, occasionally coughing. Intern slid the needle in without a hitch, securing it with a small rectangular piece of tape before taking a step back. He checked everything on the computer, and the large screen lagged for a moment before displaying a recovery period. The bunny stepped toward the door.
“Alright, you should be good to go in about fifteen minutes! Finish as much as the syrup as you can,” he said to Noelle before glancing over at Rudy, “–if you need anything at all, I’ll be at the front desk.” The father nodded, thanking him for his care after violently clearing his throat. Intern’s ear flicked, and he stared at the man for a bit longer before hesitantly pulling his eyes away, simply replying that it was no problem. Leaving the room, he returned to the front desk, finding another patient already waiting.
Entering the office, he looked up at the patient only for his enthusiastic persona to drop when he noticed that it was Ron from Accounting. Knowing very well that the man wasn’t an anomaly– given that, well, he never was… Intern swiftly checked him in before sharing his room number. Ron nodded, thanking him as he slowly trekked toward the room. As Intern watched him walk, the entrance chiming with the arrival of another patient, he couldn’t help but wonder why they moved with such a disregard for urgency. No matter, Intern pushed himself off the counter he was leaned against and turned to the right window, yawning shortly before speaking.
“Hello, Welcome to–” He slowly opened his eyes, pausing as he stared at the red and three-eyed entity. It simply stood there, three eyes blinking one after the other, before placing its papers on the desk.
“Hi. I’m here for my appointment. I patient.” It said childishly. Unable to help himself, Intern cracked a small grin. I patient… he chuckled as he turned to grab the taser, the anomaly simply standing there patiently, blinking oddly once more. Intern exited the check-in office and rounded the corner, walking up to the animal anomaly.
“Taser, taser, taser,” he said. The cat turned to face him, blinking once more before beginning to tilt its head. However, it didn’t get the chance to. Intern held out the taser and flicked the switch, activating it. The anomaly screeched inhumanely as it was shocked, electricity flowing through its veins and prodding its fur onto its sharpest ends. Its body jerked abnormally, prodding out bones in odd parts as its body moved unwillingly. Switching off the taser, Intern’s eyes followed the body as it crumbled to the floor, its mouth lolling open, revealing spit-gleaming teeth and a saliva slathered tongue. It laid there for a moment while Intern turned, reentering the check-in office while the anomaly screamed, running out the building. He returned the taser to its rightful place, allowing it to recharge as he moved toward the coffee machine, removing the pot from under the drip as he grabbed himself a disposable cup, placing it on the table. He poured the coffee until the cup was roughly three-fourths full, grabbing two creamers and three sugars. He poured them in one after before grabbing a thin straw and stirring it all in. Then, he grabbed a plastic white coffee lid and popped it onto the top, allowing the straw to prod through the section to sip from. Bringing the coffee up to his face, he took a deep inhale in, the vanilla and slightly bitter notes of the coffee gracing his senses. Opening his eyes slowly, he brought the straw up to his mouth, closing his mouth around it as he took a sip–
“U-Um! Help! H–AH!” His eyes snapped open as if commanded, the coffee cup slipping out of his grip and crashing to the floor, splattering his fresh, burning hot coffee all over the floor, and his feet. He jumped back, hissing in pain at the heat before exhaling heavily, jumping over the spill and slamming the office door open, running down the hall to Room Five. He slammed the door open in his panic, greeted with the sight of Noelle struggling against– his pupils shrunk– Rudy? Despite his confusion, there was no time to question it. He practically leaped over to the bed, wrapping his arms around the father’s neck and pulling him back with all his strength. Sweat beaded on his forehead, rolling down his face and sliding into his mouth as he opened it with a snarl.
Soon enough, between Noelle’s pushing and Intern’s pulling, Rudy flew back, crashing to the floor with a hiss and closed eyes. Intern moved to stand between the two, jumping onto the man despite his unhinged, leaking jaw. Oddly, Rudy recovered quickly, his eyes wide, pupils shrunken, and iris’ glazed with inhuman emptiness as his hands moved to grip Intern’s body, pulling him closer while his jaw contracted, unhinging wider as if wishing to swallow him whole. Noelle whined from behind him, fearful as Intern pulled his upper body back, struggling against the force of the older man.
Snapping his hands forward, Intern pressed them firmly on the creature’s furry chest, pressing against the pulling force of the reindeer’s hands. The claws dug into him– pinching his waist and hip as he worked to devour him. Maneuvering his legs, Intern pushed them forward on either side of Rudy, practically straddling him before using the strength in his hind legs to push himself out of the anomaly’s grip. The entity garbled, disgusting chunks of green slime flying out of his mouth and splattering onto the bunny’s cheek. This, however, didn’t cause him to falter in the slightest, his smile tightening as he winded his arm back, slamming his fist into the anomaly’s face. Its eye bulged, a pained, off-tone scream escaping it. Intern didn’t care to regard it with any sympathy, his eyes fixated on the anomaly as he repeatedly drew his arm back, slamming it into its face until its eyes were bulged and puffy as if it had been crying. The bunny then angled its head up with a tug of the antlers before uppercutting the sick monster, sending its bottom jaw snapping up and overbiting itself– teeth prodding out like a sad angler fish. With its teeth jammed into its own mouth, Intern panted heavily as he staggered to his feet, bringing a hand up and brushing the tinted blood off his face, leaving a dark smudge in his fur from its wake. The anomaly sat there for a moment, eyes blank, before swiftly staggering to its feet.
“I’m getting out of here!” Is what Intern assumed it said– given the difficulties it had with speaking after what the bunny had done to him. Intern clenched his blood-stained gloves and watched as it ran out of the room, and exited the hospital with a faint ‘ding!’ From the bell above the entrance. Finally, Intern turned to the child, staggering a bit with the adrenaline pumping through his body. Noelle was shaking, her eyes wide and pupils shrunken in horror. Her lips were trembling and tears were unshed in her eyes, bubbling and closer to over spilling. Slowly, Intern’s rough exterior slipped as he approached the bed, ripping off his blood-slathered gloves. He pulled the reindeer into a gentle hug, allowing her to clench her small hands into his soft hoodie.
“W–What? M’ papa…” she babbled before the tears cascaded down her face like a streaming river. Intern placed his hand on her head, combing down her hair in what he hoped was a calming manner as she cried, confused and alone. Intern closed his eyes, cooing to her hesitantly, unsure of how to comfort children. She whimpered, trembling in his grasp as Intern hugged her just a bit tighter. Ashamedly, he was quite desensitized to this given the anomalies were unofficially part of the job– he encountered them everyday and had beat up countless patients and visitors due to attempts to try and eat others. But, he supposed that a bit of extra sympathy bubbled up due to the fact that she was a mere child who had just experienced something deeply traumatic. Intern stared at the top of Noelle’s head, adjusting some of her hair to ensure that she hadn’t been bitten anywhere. He gently pried her hands off of his hoodie and held them in his own, larger ones, brushing against her palms with his thumbs to ensure that she was untouched. She didn’t mind, simply allowing it to happen as she curled up into him, her sobs stifling with exhaustion. Intern simply sat there with her, cradling the reindeer in his arms as her sobs worked her into an unwilling, exhausted slumber.
Once the bunny was sure that the girl had fallen asleep, he scooped her up into his arms, pressing her close to his chest as he exited the room from the ajar door, walking toward the office. He turned the knob, pushing the door open and looking around hesitantly before approaching the counter, kneeling down and sliding the girl under the counter. He approached the shock kit nailed into the wall and opened it, pulling out the coarse blanket and walking back to the child, laying it over her trembling figure before tucking it in to ensure that the heat would be trapped. He sat there crouched in front of her for a few more moments, pondering over what else he could do as he slowly stood. Looking around the check-in office and waiting room– his eyes lit up at the sight of Security, still slumbering, with a small pillow supporting his neck.
Intern walked out of the office, up to the wolf, and held her head as still as he could while he wiggled the pillow out from under her head. Luckily, she didn’t seem to notice, although her head did fall back further, an odd cracking sound emitting from her neck. Intern froze, his eyes darting around in confusion before he slowly inched away, jogging back into the office. He crouched back down in front of the slumbering reindeer, carefully picking up her head before slotting the teal pillow under her head. Her cheek smushed under the soft force, her hair connecting to her mouth with a thin line of drool. Intern smiled slightly, slowly moving his hand forward and gingerly brushing the strand of hair out of her mouth and behind her ear, which flicked gently at the soft touch. Intern stood up, taking a step back and sighing deeply, closing his eyes before they flickered over to the mess of coffee on the ground. His shoulders fell, his eyes twitching as he grumbled, exiting the office to grab a towel from the back.
The door was left ajar. A shadow slid in, the overhead lights flickering with its presence. Its feet were visible from under the counter– but not his knees. Oddly, he bent himself down, his knees cracking as his legs spread, his torso prodding in front of it as his long arms dragged in front of him, draped on the floor. Its ears stood tall, untwitching as he stared at the sleeping girl with blank eyes and a simple smile. Slowly, he leaned in closer, his eyes progressively closing as he exhaled frigid air before inhaling. The child had her own scent of forest and pine– but the lingering, foreign vanilla and smoke intermingled with it oddly. He leaned in closer, leisurely opening his eyes before his smile widened, threatening to break the borders of his face. Leaning down further, he pressed his head under the desk, non-existent nostrils widening as he drew in the scent. His eyes drooped, falling half-lidded as he sluggishly shivered at the scent of smoking vanilla. He pulled his head back unhurriedly when he heard the break room door open, standing up and pulling himself into the shadows of the office, trailing out and behind a wall in the waiting room. He watched from behind that small protruding spot as the bunny entered the office, throwing a towel over his spill and standing there for a moment before his shoulders slumped.
Like a fire alight, or perhaps a star ablaze, Stalker’s void-like pupils dilated as Intern bent down, dragging the towel with his hand. The void-being was entranced, watching how his hips slowly swayed with his movements and grinding his teeth when his fluffy tail twitched. Heat rushed through his body, a warmth unlike any other building up in his abdomen. His head tilted, attempting to get a better angle to stare. He crept closer to the check-in office, near the check-in window, his ear twitching at the sight that greeted him.
Intern’s hoodie was far too baggy on him, and this just proved it. The extra fabric hung down loosely, leaving his mid and upper sections visible from the bottom. Stalker flexed his long, spindly fingers, just imagining sliding his large hands up that thin body. Drool dribbled out of the corner of his large smile, causing his tongue to slowly slither out to lick it up with an extra flick of the wet muscle.
Stalker’s hand drew further down himself, the tip of his claw stroking his furry pelvis as the fur parted, transforming into an opening that sprouted a large, tentacle-like appendage. Heavy and thick, Stalker held it loosely in his hands as he slowly pumped it, staring at Intern with unmeasured fixation, the bunny’s reflection projected in the void’s dark eyes.
