“Here.” Isaiah unwrapped the bundle and held out a thick fabric coat. “Jelani picked this up for you at the thrift store. It fits Tanner, so I’m sure it will fit you.”
Nox took it and put it on.
“There are gloves and a hat in the pocket.”
He took them out. They also fit. “Thanks.”
“I got another coat for Luca, some socks, and a hat. Do you need more blankets?”
“No, the sleeping bag is working. And the extra tarp is keeping the wind out.”
Isaiah sat and opened the leather wrap and took out a vial and syringe. “I’m worried about you getting an infection since this container isn’t sterile, so I want to start you on antibiotics.”
Nox hadn’t even thought about how Isaiah drew the Rakta from a plastic capped tube and not a real medical vial vacuum sealed and prepared in a lab to keep out bacteria.
“The healing properties of Rakta would make it impossible in most situations.” Isaiah drew up the droplets into the thin syringe.
“But the Anubis isn’t most situations.”
Isaiah nodded. “It’s not.”
Nox took his left arm from the coat’s sleeve and laid it on the table.
“How have you been feeling so far?”
“I’m not sure. I have a hard time remembering what it was like before. I sleep at night now. I don’t need to eat as much.”
“Your aggression is lower,” Isaiah said.
“Yeah. It is.”
“There doesn’t seem to be any impact on your sex drive, so that’s good.”
Nash widened his eyes.
Isaiah laughed a little. “We have very good hearing and sense of smell.”
And Nox or Luca weren’t exactly quiet. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s good. For both of you.”
“It is good. It’s… different. Real. I can…” Nox cleared his throat. It seemed not having the Anubis also made him more self-conscious.
“You can love him as you?”
Nox dropped his gaze but smiled. “Yeah.” And he did every night, and it ended with Luca falling asleep in his arms, not exhausted and unable to move, his body bruised, his hair matted with sweat, and his shoulders covered in bite marks.
They held each other, they touched each other, and they spoke about the things they would do when this was over.
The places they would go.
The life they would live.
Isaiah placed the needle against the crook of Nox’s arm. A dark place marked the area. Isaiah ran his thumb over it. “Does it hurt?”
“No.”
Isaiah did it again and frowned.