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For nine hundred years Douxie had somehow evaded death. Nine hundred years of protecting the material plane. Fighting monsters, taming monsters, falling from great heights trying to run from monsters.....And not to mention going toe to toe with the Arcane Order, a zombified King Arthur, and Jim Lake turned mind-controlled hulking brute of a beast.
But no. A bloody fever is what was going to do him in.
Had the Plague been this bad? In his current haze of feeling way too hot and burning aches in his everywhere, Douxie couldn’t even remember.
“Ugh, this is bloody the worst,” Douxie groaned, long and loud, running a sweaty palm down his warm sweaty face. Even in the thinnest tank top he had and roomy boxers and the airiest bedsheet they could find, Douxie was burning alive. He coughed harshly into his fist and rolled over. Archie, who was sitting next to his head, bent down and gave Douxie’s temple a lick.
“Nari will back in just a moment,” Archie said, then chuckled. “Always mewling like a kitten when you have so much as a stuffy nose.”
“What, I do not -- ugggh....” The slight but quick motion of Douxie angling his head to glare at Archie had his head pounding and spinning. With a huge huff, Douxie lazily rolled back onto his back, wincing as he went, took a deep breath, and droned out to the ceiling, “Naaaaaaaaaaariiiiiiiiiiiiii.......”
“I am here, I am here!” Her soft voice trickled in from the hallway through the ajar door. Nari peeked in before stepping inside, holding a silver tray of cold medicine, a cup of soup, a glass of iced tea, and a fresh wet towel.
Archie hopped across Douxie and landed next to his side as Nari placed the tray on the bedside table. Nari got to work helping Douxie sit up, propping his pillow behind his back just enough to where he wasn’t lying flat. She then held out two tablets of cold medicine and the tea, at which Douxie grumbled as he took them into his own hands. Gods, he despised taking medicine. But at the expectant looks being thrown at him by his feline familiar and a small forest goddess, and the fact that this was centuries better then blood letting, Douxie chucked the tablets and chugged the iced tea down his gullet. The bitter taste of the meds was quickly washed away by the more than welcomed coolness of the iced tea. The cup was empty in seconds.
“Very good, Douxie,” Nari said, taking the cup. Next was the soup, a small vegetable medley of sorts. Douxie could make out chunks of celery, carrots, potatoes, and shreds of tomatoes floating in a red, tomato-y broth. Nari scooped one spoonful, blew on it gently, and brought it towards Douxie’s mouth.
“Say ‘ah’!” Nari said, opening her own mouth wide.
Douxie couldn’t help but snicker. “Ahhh....”
It wasn’t the most flavorful thing he’d had, but the pleasant warmth of the soup coursing through his body soothed his aching bones.
Archie scoffed. “He listens to you nicely, Nari.”
“Maybe because Nari’s nice, Arch,” Douxie retorted, a teasing glint in his eye. Nari giggled, feeding Douxie another spoonful. When the soup was gone, Nari held Douxie’s shoulder and placed her other hand on his chest as she helped ease him back down. Douxie sighed as his head was cushioned once again and smiled softly when Nari placed her little hand on his forehead. He closed his eyes as she began to run her fingers through his damp hair. Archie settled into a loaf position right next to him, nuzzling Douxie’s neck and chin.
Nari fetched the wet towel off the silver tray and began to gently dab around Douxie’s face, shoulders, and collarbone. The coolness of the towel was overwhelming relief against his heated skin. Douxie’s gaze wandered over to Nari. Just looking at her made Douxie’s heart swell with endearment.
“Thank you, Nari,” he managed to croak out. Douxie let out another blissful sigh when Nari folded the towel into a neat rectangle and set it across his forehead. “You make a wonderful little doctor.”
Nari giggled. “It is my delight, Douxie. I have tended to many sick creatures before. So of course I shall care for you.” Douxie’s turned his head to look at her straight on as she cupped his cheek, the towel on his forehead slipping ever so slightly. Her eyes grew soft. “It is what I promised, after all.”
Douxie smiled, holding her little hand on his cheek. “Likewise, Nari.” Archie began to purr beside him, curling into the crook of Douxie’s neck and shoulder.
“I shall put these away,” Nari said, looking over at the empty dishes on the silver tray. Before she could pull away, Douxie gently held Nari’s hand a little tighter. Nari raised a brow. “Yes, Douxie?”
“Stay?” he said, flushing a bit because maybe Archie was right and he was kind of being a baby. The little menace chuckled next to him.
Nari was still for a moment, then she smiled softly. “Yes, Douxie. I will stay.” Nari pulled up a chair and crouched atop of it, holding Douxie’s hand as her other hand once again combed through his hair. She knew he loved it when she did that, evident by the look of complete contentment on his face.
A few moments later, Douxie was snoring softly.
Nari couldn’t help the rush of affection that swept through as she watched Douxie’s sleeping face. Her poor Douxie never got any rest, though he certainly needed and deserved it. There was a pang in her heart, as she knew she was now part of the reason why Douxie couldn’t afford hardly one peaceful moment of rest.
Thank you, you had said.
Nari ran her fingers through Douxie’s soft hair one more time before cradling his cheek, smoothing her thumb over his many freckles. She leaned over the edge of the bed and placed a kiss over Douxie’s brow. Then she stood and quietly picked the tray up off the table, ever light-footed as she stepped out of the room.
It is the least I can do for you.
But when the time came, and long, long after into the rest of forever, Nari knew she would do so much more.