Lala stood on Toumas' apartment balcony, her gaze fixed on the dimly lit streets below. A sense of melancholy lingered around her like a shroud as she took a drag from the smoking pipe clenched between her delicate fingers. The acrid smoke filled her lungs, causing her to cough, her eyes watering. She cursed under her breath, a hint of bitterness tainting her features as she exhaled another puff of smoke into the night air. The only modesty she had was the thin blanket wrapped around her slender frame, a feeble attempt at shielding herself from the cold night.
As the clock struck midnight, Toumas stirred from his slumber and made his way to the bathroom. Upon his return, he realized that Lala was not in her room. A foul smell assaulted his senses as he entered the living room, where he found her, smoking on the balcony. Anger flared within him as he snatched the pipe from her grasp and extinguished it with a flick of his wrist.
"What in the heavens are you doing? You're but a young lass, and you dare to smoke in my home? That of a physician! You’re spitting in the face of my profession," Toumas scolded, his voice laced with disapproval.
"Thou art the very first soul who doth not partake in smoking this one bethinks. All around us, people are hastening their demise with each puff," Lala retorted, her tone defiant.
"They may be hastening their own demise, but not me, not here!"
"Naught shall befall this one, forsooth, lest thou forget, this one has lived for 4509 years!"
"I don’t care! It’s disgusting. Smell yourself! What are you even smoking? That’s not tobacco," Toumas retorted, his grip firm as he led her to the bathroom for a shower.
"'Twas opium. Its effects upon this one are far more potent than mere tobacco," Lala said, her expression unchanging.
"Opium? That’s illegal in this country! I could find myself in trouble because of you!" Toumas exclaimed, ushering her into the bathroom to wash herself.
After a few minutes, Lala left the bathroom, covering her whole body with a new fresh blanket as if imitating a ghost. "Boo!" she whispered, attempting to startle Toumas with a feeble gesture.
"For God's sake, go get dressed!" Toumas commanded, his voice stern.
"This one fancies a moment of repose in this one’s natural state. Thou shouldst show respect to thy elders, thou pampered youth," Lala sighed.
"Why did you smoke? You know I dislike it!" Toumas asked, a tinge of weariness creeping into his voice.
"And so on and so forth... Recall what this one has spoken. Should a wound befall this one, this one must poison oneself to mend it. Should this one’s energies wane, this one smokes to regain vigor. Furthermore, this one cannot become ensnared by addiction, for the side effects of smoking don’t affect this one. Yet, it has been nigh on five months since this one’s last indulgence. Smoking repulses this one; its stench is abhorrent. But had this one refrained, this one would not have been able to inform this one’s lackeys that this one is well enough!" Lala explained, her face impassive though her eyes betrayed a hint of sorrow. "Thou comprehend this one not; thou knowest naught of this one’s plight."
Toumas gently guided Lala to the plush couch in the dimly lit living room, his concern etched on his face. He stood before her as she trembled with unshed tears. "I was only thinking about what was best for you," he murmured, tenderly wiping away the damp trails on her cheeks.
Lala sniffled, her nose running as she struggled to compose herself. With a shaky voice, she managed to speak, her eyes now clear of tears. "This one doth beg thy pardon... This one is filled with remorse."
"It’s alright,” he sat in front of her.
“Thanks.”
“I have something to tell you. I was planning to do it later, but I’ll not delay any longer. I have analyzed your blood and found something, I don’t know yet what that is, it’s something I’ve never seen before, but it might hold a mysterious connection to your very being because it’s a phenomenon unprecedented in human blood. Though this is speculation, this type of study is far from my area of expertise," Toumas explained, his tone measured yet laden with uncertainty.
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"Dost thou reckon 'tis a breakthrough, a boon to this one's plight?" Lala asked, her eyes shifting hues from the depths of navy blue to verdant green, then to a golden yellow, reflecting her inner turmoil.
"I cannot say for certain. I have concocted a sample which I must now test."
"A panacea perchance?" she ventured, her eyes now transitioning from a deep magenta to the serene expanse of the sky in a kaleidoscope of emotions.
"No, not quite. In simpler terms, I have observed this unique cell in your blood. When subjected to various stimuli in the laboratory, it exhibited some energetic reaction I have never seen before, it’ll break apart then regenerate itself into one once more," Toumas elucidated, his gaze unwavering.
"Let us proceed forthwith, then," Lala urged, her words deliberate.
With a sense of purpose, the physician rose from his seat and made his way to his study. Retrieving a gleaming metal box, he rummaged through the drawers of his desk, producing two syringes and a blood extraction kit. Returning to Lala's side, he motioned for her to uncover her right arm, so he could rub some cool alcohol against her skin. Skillfully, he positioned the needle at her wrist, the sharp sting of the injection causing Lala to cry out, her once vivid irises now reduced to vacant pools bordered by obsidian rings. As he injected the substance he created. Such elixir coursed through her veins, and a wave of dizziness washed over her.
The room seemed to blur around Lala as she fought against the overwhelming sensation, her mind a tumultuous sea of conflicting emotions. Toumas watched on, his expression a mix of concern and anticipation, his actions guided by a blend of scientific curiosity and genuine care for his enigmatic patient.
Lala's world spun out of control, a whirlwind of confusion and pain. As she attempted to rise to her feet, a sharp crack echoed through the room, followed by a searing pain in her nose. She crumpled to the floor, blood trickling from the broken appendage, staining the wooden floorboards crimson. Toumas rushed to her side, his face etched with concern, and gently lifted her fragile form, carrying her to her room.
The air in the chamber was thick with the metallic scent of blood. Lala lay on the bed, her brow furrowed in distress, beads of sweat glistening on her brow. Her chest rose and fell in erratic gasps, her breaths shallow and labored. Toumas, his hands steady but his heart racing, searched for his stethoscope amidst the clutter of medical instruments in his tool bag.
Just as he grasped the cold metal of the stethoscope, Lala's body convulsed, a desperate gasp escaping her lips like a drowning soul breaking the surface of the water. For a fleeting moment, hope flickered in Toumas's eyes, only to be extinguished as swiftly as it appeared. Lala's heart faltered its rhythm a fragile melody on the brink of silence.
With a fervor born of desperation, Toumas pressed his hands against her chest, willing life back into her still form. He leaned in, his breath warm against her lips as he pushed air in, and then he performed a cardiopulmonary resuscitation technique. "Come back," he groaned his voice a plea to the fates that seemed intent on tearing her from his grasp.
"Damn!" The word escaped him in a fervent burst of frustration as he realized the gravity of the situation. Racing to his study, the physician's footsteps echoed through the dimly lit corridors. His hands fumbled among the shelves and drawers, searching for any vital tool that might hold the key to Lala's salvation.
As he wrestled with the chaos of his own making, a piercing scream shattered the fragile tranquility of the apartment, pulling him from his singular focus. Without a moment's hesitation, Toumas abandoned his search and sprinted towards the source of the anguished cry, the weight of dread settling heavily in his chest.
Entering Abeona's room, he was met with a sight that defied reason and logic. Lala stood before him, her once familiar features twisted and distorted by the emergence of two yellow protrusions from her temples. They curved like the horns of a mythical beast, a grotesque anomaly that defied all understanding.
"What the hell happened here?" Toumas's voice was a thunderclap in the suffocating silence, his disbelief mirrored in the widening of his eyes.
Gently covering her trembling form with a blanket, he guided her back to the living room, a silent procession of bewilderment and apprehension. Sitting her before a full-body mirror, he watched as she beheld her altered reflection, her eyes shifting hues like storm-tossed seas.
"This one has... sheep horns?" Lala's voice wavered, a tremor of fear lacing her words as she reached a trembling hand towards the unnatural protrusions.
"Your cat tail? It's gone," Toumas's tone held a note of incredulity mixed with wonder, his gaze fixed on the miraculous transformation before him.
In a daze, Lala's fingers brushed against her lower back, searching for a familiar appendage that was no longer there. "How is it possible?" Her voice held a tremor of disbelief, her mind struggling to comprehend the reality unfolding before her.
"Hey, wait! What is this... this? Blood?" Toumas's voice broke through the haze of confusion, his fingers stained scarlet as he followed a trail of crimson droplets to the source.
"This one doth not know what happened here, or what effect thy actions have wrought, but..." Lala’s words faltered, her gaze flickering between Toumas and the evidence of her transformation.
“Are you feeling alright?” he asked.
"Aye, this one has grown, thou shall look where the blood is cometh!" Lala's voice rose in a crescendo of joy and astonishment, her eyes alight with a mixture of wonder and trepidation. "This one has finally reached puberty."