Dr. Denshu's Clinic for Magical Creatures- Noel

1.

Her room was simple enough, a bed in the corner with a nightstand on the side. It was her walls and the one small window that stood out. It had taken decades perhaps even centuries, but inlaid in intricate designs all along the walls were small stones, gathered and acquired through friends and journeys that had finally brought her here, to Denshu's Clinic for Magical Creatures. 

2.

Craig had come out, holding onto a empty pudding cup. His room stood directly across from Noel's and he enjoyed the Poltergeist's company, even though the first time he had met her, he had accidentally called her a ghost to her face and had watched her stomp on everyone of his carefully collected and cleaned cups. He put on his best one fanged grin and padding over quietly knocked her door. "Hey Noel? Are you up?" He ran his fingernails over her door and then shuddered at the sound they made, stopping. He looked around, the hallway was beginning to wake up and the usual healers walked around, knocking on doors and helping those that needed to get about. This was life on the fifth ward, except today, he could smell, "oh....it was pancake day...again..." he let out a burp, he disliked pancake day, preferring the more innocuous porridge days that smelled like, well nothing. 

"Hey Noel...are you in there?" He knocked a little louder. 

3.

Noel cracks open the door. "Yeah, Craig...hold your horses, geez I was looking for my clips." She stares at him momentarily and then snickers "You do know that tube socks are not a fashion statement by themselves. You should go put on at least a pair of pants before Healer J makes you dress completely." 

Craig looks at her, his one fang glinting "I prefer to not have rough clothing brushing against my sensitive skin, thank you very much." he shoots back looking down at himself. He holds out the strawberry pudding cup. "Pudding?" 

Noel shakes her head "Craig, someday, you do know that you will have to consume something besides pudding. There's..." she sniffs the air. "Awesome, there's pancakes. Wouldn't you like to try...pancakes. I'm sure Kate can get you to try them." she squints her eyes wickedly. 

"No....No pudding is calming and consistent. I love pudding."Craig takes the small cup back and cradles it slightly in his hand.

 Noel let's out a tinny sarcastic snort "No shit Sherlock, we all know you love pudding." she drifts out, wearing her usual tight graphic tees and skinny jeans.

4.

Craig smiles and bounces on the back of his heel's impatiently, Noel was fun and he was actually surprised to find her in her room. Usually, he or someone else would willingly troop down to the Third Ward where she preferred to spend time with the comatose, watching them and strangely enough holding hour long conversations, where she would sit perched like a colorful parrot, on the edges of their beds. When he had asked her one time, why, she had replied "they are quiet and don't cause chaos and drama like up on the fifth ward." She had done this while staring very pointedly at him. He didn't cause drama, well, at least when it did happen he did not entirely blame the fault on himself. Noel and Kate seemed to have made it their mission to torment him about his obsession, as they called it, for pudding. Especially pudding that came in sealed little plastic cups.

5.

"Okai, I am ready for breakfast!" Noel suddenly announced brightly, coming out at full speed and purposely phasing through Craig, giving him the sensation of being plunged in an icebath. She gave a small twirl and the clinic bracelets shuffled down her thin arm, "Come on Craig...It is pancake day! Bobbi must have taken her meds all week, cause smell that sweet scent of holiness." She grabs his hand "I won't even push you to go get pants on." She glances two doors down and notices that Kate's door is already ajar and she begins pulling Craig towards the mess hall. "See Kate probably already beat us to the Mess Hall." she grumps "Move faster....Craig...its not going to kill you to go."

Dr. Denshu's Clinic for Magical Creatures- Nico

 1.

Nico had laid out every shiny scalpel, that Grom had made, out carefully on the stainless steel tray. They glinted in the soft light as he rolled it alongside a groggy Craig who hung from the ceiling, strung up in chains, like a trussed up deer. 

                     2.                     

Craig tried to move, but found himself wincing as the silver rings, lined and piercing down his back, connected to to the chains. " What the fuck..." he hissed, coming to slightly, glancing at his arm where a light green fluid dripped slowly in. 

                      3.                       

"Ah good, your awake." Nico spoke in a soft lilting tone. " I read your file, Craig, and you my boy are my new pet project." he continued hypnotically as he slowly lowered him. Letting his feet barely touch the ground. 

                                               4.

"What, what the fuck is all this...let me...go" Craig suddenly whimpered tugging at the line. Nico turned to look at him and shook his head. " I wouldn't...see that is the only thing keeping your skin from not melting into a bubbling pool of vampire fat at your feet. 
                                              5.

Craig's eyes fell onto Anya's unconscious form, that stood a little ways away on a exam table. " You must be a sick bastard if you are picking on the likes of her" he spit back, twisting violently, only to have an agonizing pain sear into his back. 
Nico, still busy laying out his tools came over and grabbed Craig's chin with his gnarled hand. " Has anyone ever told you, what an annoying pathetic voice you have?" he growled, squeezing harder, bringing a scalpel to his face. "Well we are going to change...that. Don't worry." he peered into Craigs widening eyes, " I won't sew your mouth shut. As tempting as it sounds" he sneered slightly, his voice still hypnotically suave. 
 It was at that precise moment that Craig felt a sudden sense of fear shoot through him and the trickling moisture soaking into the crotch of his pants and down his legs, only reassured it. 
                                             6.
  
Settling in his leather stool that glided almost silently, Nico had moved around and to the side, the scalpel glistening in his hand as he began running it around Craig's scalp like a can opener " Did I ever tell you about..hunter's? Hmmm?" Craig whimpered loudly, " ah...nononono...shush...shush.." he paused "I'm telling a story" A numbing sensation was beginning to fill Craig as his whimpers subsided and he stood petrified listening "See I learned a lot from them, even if they seem brainless enough." Nico continued moving, to face the back of Craig's fear soaked body. He ran a finger across the back of his head. "Not feeling anything yet are we?" he asked softly near his ear. 
                                            7.

Craig stood petrified, his knees wanting to shake underneath him, but somehow not allowing him too. He felt only the numbing sensation and the rivulets of blood that were tickling the sides of his cheeks and neck.  And then he screamed, he could feel it, like a suction and a pop; the minute his scalp peeled off and the lab air hit his brain. 


                                            8.

Nico stopped, placing down the large scalpel and picking up the smaller one. " Stop that infernal racket or I will stop it for you." he rolled back over to the front and looked into the fear sodden Craig. His violet eye glittered malevolently "It takes longer if you interrupt." he snipped casually watching Craig, gulp down the remaining screams and choke out only a silent cry. "Mmm...that's a good boy..." he smiled slightly rolling back behind and pressing some gauze onto Craig's exposed brain, that quivered slightly in the air like a its lobes like a red cantaloupe snow cone. "As I was saying, I learned a lot from the hunters, how removing parts of a beastie, made them...better. And you do want to be better? Right Craig?" he asked, slicing slowly and carefully into the upper lobe. 


                                           9.

 Craig gulped down another sob, emitting small squeaks, as his eyes traveled to the thin red gelatinous slices that began to line the tray, and then to his left arm; watching it twitch involuntarily. 
                                          10.

"Yes, Craig...those are or were part of you. But, it's for the better. You won't even remember them." Nico replies as he once more rolls to the front. "Now there...there don't cry. We'll get you cleaned up a bit." he says softly, like a father soothing a skinned knee, he reaches over and grabs a few moist wipes from a small stack on the tray. "Aw, my boy, you soiled yourself. A good Vampire, never does that, did you know? Even the beasties that came to me never...well there might have been one or two or a dozen...but we can fix that." he says wiping away the blood and gazing into his eyes. "You've stopped speaking....nothing to...say?"


                                          11.

 Craig couldn't feel his face, the chains pulling against his back holding him fast. He had to be in a nightmare, a hopeless nightmare. His eyes traveled upwards making contact with the one violet eye and he knew; the voice and the look made it all too real. "Please" he croaked "please let me go." he managed to rasp out. Nico's scarred face lighted up, giving him an even darker twisted look in the light. He reached up and patted Craig's cheek softly "Of course I'm letting you go. Why would I keep you here?" he let out a light chuckle as he tossed away the soiled gauze. "There that's better now isn't it." going back around and continuing his work silently. The only sound was the vents clicking on and off, like the emotion that Craig felt was being sucked and sapped away from his remaining soul. 
                                  
                                         12.

    Nico was proud, even with his grievious injuries he was still able to create. And, carefully he replaced the scalp and using his good hand began to stitch tiny fine black stitches that gave the effect of having a embroidered black band.
  He stood up and stretched slightly, before walking over to Anya's immobile body and holding her up. Coming back over, he clips off the chains and one end of the drip; connecting her to the rings. He breaks the silence suddenly, "Think of her as your lifesaving back pack. She is your donor vamp, relying on you and you to her. She dies and your flesh will be hanging by your ankles. Do you understand?" 
                                    
                                         13.

 Blood had filtered into one of Craig's eyes giving it a filmy red glow, "Yes, so it seems." he replied, his voice deep and icy. He was already flexing and stretching his legs. The Anya's donor vamp venom had already begun to affect his body, causing it to bulk and harden. 
                        
                                         14.

  Nico nodded and grasped him by his bare shoulders "Now don't you feel...better, Craig?" He studies him and adds "We need to add touch ups. Don't we.? Craig studies his arms, the drip line and let out a low snarl. At his feet, a darkness swirled around him like a cape. He cracked his neck and felt the silver rings rippling as his spine popped up. "Yes, better, in fact, I feel a need to.. eat." his deep voice resonating slightly. His eyes sweeping and eyeing the thin slices of his own brain. Nico had come back and had begun working on his arms with a tattoo needle, the chattering not drowning out his request. Glancing up, "Help yourself. Now lets revamp your skin and off you will go." Nico murmurs out loud "See, it wasn't so bad, now was it?" 
   The tray now devoid of its contents, Craig flexing his arms and fingers "No. It wasn't." He stomped his foot impatiently, but Nico was finished "There now off you go. And don't mention to Denshu, where we made you better, yes?" He slapped Craig's arm and pointed him to the door. With a nod, and a purposeful stride, Craig disappeared through the door and back into the ward on the Fifth floor.