Since nobody had come in to check on him and it didn’t seem like anybody was likely to come in anytime soon, he uncrossed his arms and put the empty butter bowl into his empty soup bowl and placed both inside the basket. He dropped the dirty spoon inside the basket next to the used dishes. He reached to the bottom of the basket and pulled out the cloth wrapped piece of chocolate. He put the basket back on the ground next to the bed. He then unwrapped his dessert.
He put the dark brown, solid, sugar to his lips. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve had candy? The thought of his stomach made him pause. I haven’t eaten in days. I haven’t eaten candy in years. Will this make my stomach react violently I wonder? He pulled the candy away from his mouth uneaten. He didn’t want to throw up the soup or the bread and butter he had just eaten. He wrapped the candy back in the cloth and placed it on the floor beside the basket. Better play it safe till I know that I’m ok.
He lifted the tray from his bed. He scraped the breadcrumbs into the basket on top of the two empty bowls and refolded the tray and placed that on the floor also. He slid back down under the fur blankets. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.
The rich smell of food invaded the perfect void of sleep. His stomach grumbled and he opened his eyes. He looked around the room. The impurities in the obsidian ceiling were shining as brightly as they ever had. He lifted and propped himself against the cold stone wall once more. The sudden cold against his warm back made him wince. He looked over and saw a steaming bowl of the same kind of soup that he had eaten before. A new but similar basket had been placed on the ground next to it.
He reached over and set the tray over his legs and placed the steaming bowl in front of him. This bowl seemed to be bigger than the last one. There seemed to be more soup than the last time and he reached into the basket and pulled out a wooden spoon. He ate the soup a little more slowly than the first bowl. He enjoyed every bite. The carrots were still al dente and delicious. The other vegetables were also crisp. He had never eaten a soup where the vegetables weren’t all mushy. The chunks of deer meat were just as big as in the first bowl, there were just a lot more of them this time around.
He savored the large chunks of protein and the vitamins of the not mushy vegetables. He felt a hundred times better than he had that morning or yesterday. He stopped to consider the fact that he had no idea what day it was or how much time had passed since he had entered this underground werewolf city. The thought quickly vanished from his mind as he continued to eat his thick soup.
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When he was finished, he found another larger piece of warm bread in the basket with a similar bowl of butter. He scraped the butter up onto the bread and enjoyed the creamy texture of fat on the warm bread. He savored every bite but all too soon the bread was gone. Placing the dirty dishes back into the basket he found a similar piece of chocolate wrapped in cloth.
He didn’t hesitate this time, and put the dark sugar into his mouth. The rich taste exploded on his tongue and he allowed his eyes to roll back into his skull. This is what Heaven must be like. It had been so long. It was so rich he was instantly thirsty. He didn’t care. The pure sugar melted inside his mouth and coated his throat. He tried to savor every bit of the small piece of candy but he couldn’t help but gulp it down. In three short bites the chocolate was gone. The thick sticky goodness of the chocolate left a deep wanting in his heart for more, but also it left a sticky, burning thirst.
He cleaned up the tray and placed it on the ground as he had done before. He threw off the furs from his body and stood up. He remembered what had happened the last time. He lifted himself off the bed. As he did so he was horrified to see his rib bones sticking out from his sides.
He walked to the dresser and looked into the clear water of the basin. He lifted the large bowl to his lips and poured the clear, cool, clean liquid down his burning throat. He felt the water splash down into his stomach. Even though he had just eaten his stomach wasn’t near to full and the sudden rush of cold water that invaded the near hollow space was uncomfortable at best. He took it slow. Lifting the bowl and taking a long swallow and resting for a moment before putting the bowl back to his lips. Even with the precautions of pausing between swallows, the whole basin was empty before he knew it. He still felt thirsty, but he would have to make do with what he had.
He looked around the room and didn’t see any other furniture but the dresser. He also didn’t see a bathroom at all. He didn’t have much time to think about it because just then Ares walked through the open entryway. “I’m glad to see you up and about.” He said in the guttural language of the werewolves.
William was caught off balance by the sudden intrusion and reached down between his naked legs to cover himself. “Where am I supposed to pee?”
Ares eyes dropped to glance at William’s hands and then back to meet William in the eye. The massive brown werewolf smiled at the apparent discomfort of his guest.
“I’m glad this is funny for one of us.”
Ares nodded back to the entryway that he had just walked through. “We have working plumbing in only a few places in our city. The limited sewage that we use helps to avoid attracting unwanted attention. You have no idea just how closely people keep track of water and sewage in this state. I remember being a pup in the mountains and not having to worry about any of this stuff but as soon as I was taken here to the city I…”
“I’m sure that this is all fascinating and I would love to hear it but right now I have to use the bathroom. Could you just tell me where it is?”