Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was the middle of the night, everyone was asleep, and having happy dreams…
Except for Suitcase, who was walking around for some reason.

She just… needed to clear her head a bit! She’s been needing it since she won season 2, and her duties as the head of safety for the O.S.C. has been stressful to say the least, so this might help! Crystal Ball, one of the new people, said walking around in a peaceful environment can help! He’s really nice…

She sighed, because clearly he didn’t know things like anxiety and mental health are unique to everyone- what was that. She turned around after hearing a sudden noise from the bushes. Maybe it was just… Taco! She likes hanging out in bushes, right? Wait, she said she’d stop lurking in bushes… so that couldn’t be her…

Growling. That was growling. Oh god there was a wild animal out here with her. Y’know, maybe it’s just… N/A! Or Sprinkles! They haven’t seen those two in a while, so maybe they decided to come back!

“S- Sprinkles…? N/A? Is that you?” There was only more growling, so she chose to check the bush. “Ok, maybe it’s just- That’s a wolf.” It was, indeed, a wolf. A very angry looking one at that. It stared straight at her, growling more, so she decided now would probably be a good time to run-

Crunch. Pain. Agony. It felt like a blur to Suitcase. It happened so fast, she could barely process it. All that she knew was that now she was on the ground, writhing in pain from the bite on her leg. This is it. This is how she dies. Welp, she had a nice run-

“HEY! GET OUTTA HERE YOU DUMB DOG!” Was that… Nickel? No, it couldn’t be… she didn’t remember walking near the restaurant…

“Suitcase! Hey, Hey, Suits, look at me.” She tried, but could barely see his face through her tears, but that was definitely Nickel. “Suitcase, I’m taking you to the hospital, ok?” “o- o- ok…” “Ok, good, you’re still alive. Come on!” He started dragging her along, blood trailing behind them from the wound on her leg. The pain hurt so much… she felt tired from it… maybe… some rest… would help-

Splash. It was so cold, but it was keeping her awake. “Hey, Suitcase, no. Don’t fall asleep, you could die.” Wow, that was blunt. Definitely Nickel. “Come on, we’re almost there, just stay awake…”
The warm air of the hospital hit her like a truck, and she was still struggling with staying awake. She was tuned out of the world around her at this point, focused on her own thoughts. How was she still alive? She surely would’ve bled out by now…

“Don’t worry Suits, it’s ok, y- you can fall asleep now. Salt’s gotcha.” Oh thank whatever God is out there, she needed it. She felt her eyes closing on their own… maybe just… a little rest would be… nice…

Sleep claimed her easily, so she didn’t hear the conversation between Nickel and Salt after.

“So, like, what happened to her?” Salt asked, more confused than concerned(don’t worry, she was still concerned) “I think she got attacked by a wolf. I didn’t even know there WERE wolves on this island!” Nickel looked over at Suitcase’s sleeping form on the hospital bed, his eyes full of worry. He looked down at her injured leg- wait… “Hey, uh, Salt?”

“Like, yeah?”
“What happened to her leg?”
“What do you mean? It’s, like, all messed up ‘n stuff.”
“NOT ANYMORE!”
“...what.”

She looked at what Nickel was staring at.

And lo and behold, the wound was gone, only a faint mark remaining.

“...Call it a hunch, I, like, don’t think stuff like that is, like, supposed to happen.”

Chapter Text

Suitcase woke up slowly, her eyes adjusting to the bright lights of the hospital. Wait, hospital? When did she get here? Her memories of the last night were… fuzzy, to say the least. She looked around from the bed she was in, taking notice of a certain former alliance member sitting on a chair nearby.

“...Nickel?”
He looked up at her, the blank expression on his face turning into a worried smile. “Hey, Suits!-” “don’t call me that.” “-ok! Anyways, how’ya… doin’?” “uhm, fine…?” She was kinda unsure about it, considering she couldn’t really remember last night all that well. It was all a hazy blur to her. A hazy, painful, terrifying blur. “Found you in a… a pretty rough spot…” He did? “You did…?”

Salt, from the front desk, looked over in concern, before going back to whatever she was doing. “Uh, you got… attacked by a wolf last night… I managed to chase it off while I was closing up the restaurant, heheh…” Cocky as ever. “Uh huh, sure, Nickel.” “I did! Salt, can you vouch for me?” Salt didn’t look up from the magazine she was reading, still flipping through the pages. “Yeah, I, like, can’t… ‘cuz I, like, wasn’t there?”
“...Crap.” Suitcase burst out in laughter, before coughing a bit. “Whoa! Suitcase!” The coughing quickly stopped as soon as Nickel expressed concern. “I’m fine! I’m fine…!” She sat up a bit more in her bed, trying to shake off the anxiety about what she forgot. “You need anything? Books? Food? Blue Ray so you don’t die?” She let out a snort at the last comment. “Nickel, I’ll be fine, I don’t need to be sprayed blue like Lightbulb… I am kinda hungry, though.” Yeah, she did feel weirdly hungry. She felt STARVING, actually.

“Alright, I’ll getcha something from the restaurant.” He got up and walked towards the door, before stopping and turning back to Suitcase. “Anything in particular?” “Wow, I can’t believe you almost forgot to ask.” she playfully poked, smirking after getting a laugh out of him. “Uh… I kinda want something meaty, for some reason.” Yeah, something meat would be nice… she was craving it really bad… “...Uh, ok? Honestly, I kinda thought you were vegan, considering you never really eat anything with meat.” “Eh, all the other options were better.” “fair ‘nough.”

And with that, he walked out, coming back soon after with… something. It looked kinda burnt, but the moment the smell of(albeit, burnt) meat hit her, Suitcase didn’t care.

“Uhm, this was supposed to be a steak, but I think I burnt it… Who am I kidding, no shit, I burnt it.” She still didn’t care. “Eh, whatever, food is food when you’re starving.” he gave her the food, before sitting back down on his chair.

She ate the burnt steak, tearing into it like a wild animal, not even caring about the taste of the char, just the taste of the meat. Maybe this is what that “wolf” was feeling. Hunger. Starving hunger. So. Goddamn. H U N G R Y.

“Ew, like, what happened to, like, using utensils?” Salt commented on Suitcase’s… method of eating. “Uhm… Nickel… didn’t give me any?” “...Suits, look next to the plate.” She did, and lo and behold, there was a steak knife and fork next to it “...I didn’t notice, and I couldn’t wait?” The pitch of her voice kept going up as the sentence kept going. “Uh huh” was the in-unison response from Salt and Nickel.

She put her empty plate to the side, wiping off any remnants of the steak leftover. She practically licked the plate clean. “Huh, you were hungry.” “I told you I was hungry.” “Yeah, but you didn’t tell me you were STARVING!”

That’s true, she didn’t, but that should’ve been obvious! “Yeah, you’re right, I probably should’ve…” She’s still impressed that she ate that entire steak in one go!

But she was still… hungry… maybe this wasn’t normal hunger, maybe that wolf gave her rabies! IS EXTREME HUNGER A SYMPTOM OF RABIES!?... Naw, she’s probably overreacting.

She nervously eyed the empty plate, something Nickel took notice of. “Are you STILL hungry?” She looked down, embarrassed. “...Maybe.” Nickel stared at her, mouth agape in disbelief. “You ate… an entire steak… AND YOU’RE STILL HUNGRY!?” “YES?????”

“...Alright, I’ll get you some more food, but after you get out of the hospital, you’re getting your own food from the hotel fridge, missy.” He said, rolling his eyes. “Well, actually,” Salt began, having heard the entire conversation from the front desk. “I think she can, like, get out now? Her leg, like, healed surprisingly fast. I don’t even think there’s, like, a mark anymore.” Suitcase looked down at her leg, and sure enough, nothing was there. She thought she looked at the wrong one, before she saw Nickel staring at it in disbelief. “...Either that wasn’t a normal wolf, or Suitcase has regeneration powers we didn’t know about.” Salt let out a little snort after hearing that, before clearing her throat.

“Anyways, yeah, you’re free to go, Suitcase.” Salt said, closing her magazine, as she had finished reading it. “I’m sure you’ve got, like, important O.S.C. stuff to do.” O.S.C.? CRAP, SHE COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT CABBY AND OJ! “SHOOT! I TOTALLY FORGOT! THANKS FOR REMINDING ME SALT, I’LL BE SURE TO- WOAH!” She attempted to get out of the bed, but she was so wrapped up in the sheets, she ended up falling off. Nickel and Salt suppressed their laughter, as Suitcase just stared at them. “Wow, you two are soooo kind.”

She got untangled(with no help from King Sarcasm and Lady Like) from the sheets, and quickly raced out the hospital door, heading straight to the Hotel Hoot.

After she left, Salt and Nickel shot each other worried glances.

“Wounds, like, aren’t supposed to heal that fast, right?”
“Absolutly not.”

Chapter Text

So, it turns out Nickel told the other members of the O.S.C. about Suitcase’s injury, and they decided to help with Suitcase’s duties while she rested, so she had… nothing to do. Which was good, because she felt really sick all of a sudden, in the middle of the night, too! God just does not like her…

She was walking towards her room, just wanting to lie in bed for a bit, before she was suddenly stopped by Crystal Ball, who looked… scared? “Suitcase! A- Are you ok!?” He asked. “Yes? I just got a little… hurt?” He looked more scared, and his face went dark, and the next thing he said almost shook her to her core. “...by a wolf?”

“...What?” He sighed at her reaction, nervously picking at the cloak he wore. “Suitcase, you know I can see the future, right?” “You can WHAT!?” He facepalmed, clearly frustrated. “Yes, I can, I’m a ‘prototype’ of Candle, remember? Anyways, look,” he held tight onto her, honestly starting to scare her a bit. “I’m so sorry about what happened, I didn’t mean to cause it, but I’ll find a way to fix it, I promise.” “...Can you please let go of me?” He did as soon as she asked.

“Ok, I’m sorry, I got too intense.” She wanted to say something along the lines of ‘No, it’s fine, that was a scary moment!’, but the moment she opened her mouth, her stomach twisted, she could feel the drool pooling in her mouth, and bile rising up her throat. She quickly shut her mouth, and started running off to the bathroom. “SUITCASE!?” She couldn’t answer him, as she had already ran into the bathroom and shut the door.

She leaned over the sink, and immediately regurgitated the burnt steak she ate that morning and then some. When she thought it was over, she tried to catch her shuddering breath, before her stomach decided to go for another go, now mainly only throwing up bile and small chunks of meat.

When it finally let up, she rested her forehead against the edge of the sink, looking at the disgusting scene in it… wait, is that blood? SHE THREW UP BLOOD!? Oh, that… that wasn’t just blood… It was blood and teeth. She threw up her own teeth.

She tried to stand up, but a loud crack rang out, and she felt like her back snapped out of place. She gasped, as if she was trying to catch the air that escaped her lungs. The cracking noise started spreading to her legs. She sobbed. She was in so much pain. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt ithurtithurtithurtithurtithurtithurtithurtithurtITHURTITHURTITHURTITHURTITHURTITHURT-

The strangled sobs slowly turned to whines
The heavy breathing turned to the panting of a canine

Suitcase wasn’t there anymore
Only a wolf.

And it was
veRY

H U N G R Y