// Taboo becomes your law //
Heart racing, alone and scared, the young Flox curled up with his legs close to his head as if attempting to hide behind them. The tears slide down his mask, past the dried blood to fall to the floor, a reminder of who he was, a failure. She had been so perfect, could have been so perfect, but he had failed her. Crying out at himself until his inner voice became hoarse, Stein coped in the only way he knew how these days, by having another fix. He knew, as a doctor, that it was destroying him from the inside out, but perhaps he deserved as much. Although even his coping mechanisms had been attacked, his need for the drugs increasing as his tolerance for them did, and worse his supplier was no longer on the streets, so he was forced to look for alternative sources. He knew of a shop that sold many illegal things under the counter, many spoke of it in the circles, so that was where he was to go. That night, he decided. He would go that night, and he would get what he wanted.
His fur clung to his skin as he made his way over to the shop, the mood illuminating the water trickling off his mask. Surely no one would be there at this time, but even if they were, no one was getting between him and his fix. No one. The withdrawals had kicked in already, he was beyond caring who got in his way, he needed more. Stein had never liked the city... It was too loud, each sound echoing around his poor abused mind and awakening new paranoia. Each shadow was hunting him, or worse, mocking him for his mistakes. His failures. Imperfection, the world was full of it, closing in on him and laughing as he failed to cure it. All he wanted to do was to fix it, why did they always fight the change? He stopped and stared, his eyes meeting their target. The lights were off, no one was there. Perfection.
Breaking in was easy. After all, this was not the first time he had done it, but this was different. He would have to be quick. No sound came from the intruder, not initially at least. He knew he had to be careful as he was messing with dangerous people, or people who had connections to dangerous people, but his need quickly consumed his conscious mind, making him sloppy. After his search provided no results, he grew more and more aggressive. It was short-lived however, and soon the Flox was right back to where he had started, face hidden in his fur.
And this is how she found him... Surrounded by broken trinkets, worthless things for show, looking as though the devil himself had caught up to him. Matted fur, white but stained with blood, some of it his from glass cuts made within the shop, but she was sure that not all of it was. It was a sure sign of someone not to become involved with, but there was something else that drew her to him. He hid himself away from her, curled in on himself in a defensive position like a child. Although it was against everything she had taught herself when she had first decided to break the law, she couldn't refuse to help him in the state he was in. So she fetched him a towel and wrapped it around his shoulders, rubbing them gently as she whispered softly into his mind. <You're alright. You're safe now. I'll take care of you.>
-----
The days following their meeting were hard on both Kempley and Stein. As she helped him through his detox, he became more and more unstable. Anxiety attacks were frequent as he battled hallucinations, which she tried to help him through despite not being able to see any of it herself. There were times when he became very depressed, and she really wished she could do more, but she sat with him in her arms, just cradling him until he was feeling better. Even when he wasn't experiencing heightened emotions, he was a struggle to work with. He found it very difficult to concentrate on anything for any length of time and seemed to have constant headaches, but whether they were symptoms of the withdrawals or just due to the lack of sleep, Kempley wasn't sure. He tried to help her out when he was able to think straight, and she appreciated these moments with him to balance out the ones were he wasn't lucid, but they were few and far between. Even then, he was in and out of consciousness, and was barely aware of his surroundings the rest of the time, but he tried, and that was what mattered.
Things had been especially hard on Kempley during this time - balancing out his care and her own business. The shop wouldn't run itself, and she couldn't exactly trust anyone else to do it. So she kept him close, made her excuses to the clients when she needed to, and sedated him if things became particularly bad, although she didn’t like doing that too often. Usually she would just sit beside him, keeping quiet or talking softly, and gently stroking his fur so he knew she was there - so he wasn't alone. At the end of the day, he was just scared, and despite her not wanting children, he brought out her maternal instinct to care for those in need of help. He had really just lost his way, and she was helping him find it again after a long time in the dark.
It was at the end of the first week that she was finally allowed a break. He had slept his first night without the aid of medication, and any physical symptoms that he had were now mostly cleared up. It had been awful... The sweating, the times when he had nearly stopped breathing in his sleep, the way he had always appeared so tense as if expecting someone to hurt him. She had barely left his side unless she really had needed to... But that was gone now. He had relaxed in his sleep, only a little but it was noticeable to her. She sat by his bedside that morning, waiting for him to wake so that maybe she could finally learn a little about her guest. She was surprised to find him already awake, shown only by the slight cock of his head as he watched her. <W-where?> His voice was still a little shaken, his conscious and unconscious mind locked in battle due to the irreparable damage he had done to his mind. Kempley knew he would have to live with that for the rest of his life, but it was better than the addiction at least.
<You're with me, in my shop. My name is Kempley, I've been taking care of you.> A soft smile tugged at her lips, her movements still soft and gentle towards him, even when she wasn't trying to be. She didn't want to scare him again, although he seemed to be fairly stable at that moment.
< Kempley...? Stein.> He gestured towards himself, his paw trembling a little as it performed the action, but the gesture was otherwise quite clear. <T-thank you Kempley. You good doctor, Stein thanks you.> He placed his paw in her own, giving a slight squeeze with a lop-sided grin to match. He was much happier now, and although it had been lots of trouble for her, so was she. Though this one wasn't going to be leaving her side for some time, just to make sure he stayed clean.
She could always use him around the shop anyway.
His fur clung to his skin as he made his way over to the shop, the mood illuminating the water trickling off his mask. Surely no one would be there at this time, but even if they were, no one was getting between him and his fix. No one. The withdrawals had kicked in already, he was beyond caring who got in his way, he needed more. Stein had never liked the city... It was too loud, each sound echoing around his poor abused mind and awakening new paranoia. Each shadow was hunting him, or worse, mocking him for his mistakes. His failures. Imperfection, the world was full of it, closing in on him and laughing as he failed to cure it. All he wanted to do was to fix it, why did they always fight the change? He stopped and stared, his eyes meeting their target. The lights were off, no one was there. Perfection.
Breaking in was easy. After all, this was not the first time he had done it, but this was different. He would have to be quick. No sound came from the intruder, not initially at least. He knew he had to be careful as he was messing with dangerous people, or people who had connections to dangerous people, but his need quickly consumed his conscious mind, making him sloppy. After his search provided no results, he grew more and more aggressive. It was short-lived however, and soon the Flox was right back to where he had started, face hidden in his fur.
And this is how she found him... Surrounded by broken trinkets, worthless things for show, looking as though the devil himself had caught up to him. Matted fur, white but stained with blood, some of it his from glass cuts made within the shop, but she was sure that not all of it was. It was a sure sign of someone not to become involved with, but there was something else that drew her to him. He hid himself away from her, curled in on himself in a defensive position like a child. Although it was against everything she had taught herself when she had first decided to break the law, she couldn't refuse to help him in the state he was in. So she fetched him a towel and wrapped it around his shoulders, rubbing them gently as she whispered softly into his mind. <You're alright. You're safe now. I'll take care of you.>
-----
The days following their meeting were hard on both Kempley and Stein. As she helped him through his detox, he became more and more unstable. Anxiety attacks were frequent as he battled hallucinations, which she tried to help him through despite not being able to see any of it herself. There were times when he became very depressed, and she really wished she could do more, but she sat with him in her arms, just cradling him until he was feeling better. Even when he wasn't experiencing heightened emotions, he was a struggle to work with. He found it very difficult to concentrate on anything for any length of time and seemed to have constant headaches, but whether they were symptoms of the withdrawals or just due to the lack of sleep, Kempley wasn't sure. He tried to help her out when he was able to think straight, and she appreciated these moments with him to balance out the ones were he wasn't lucid, but they were few and far between. Even then, he was in and out of consciousness, and was barely aware of his surroundings the rest of the time, but he tried, and that was what mattered.
Things had been especially hard on Kempley during this time - balancing out his care and her own business. The shop wouldn't run itself, and she couldn't exactly trust anyone else to do it. So she kept him close, made her excuses to the clients when she needed to, and sedated him if things became particularly bad, although she didn’t like doing that too often. Usually she would just sit beside him, keeping quiet or talking softly, and gently stroking his fur so he knew she was there - so he wasn't alone. At the end of the day, he was just scared, and despite her not wanting children, he brought out her maternal instinct to care for those in need of help. He had really just lost his way, and she was helping him find it again after a long time in the dark.
It was at the end of the first week that she was finally allowed a break. He had slept his first night without the aid of medication, and any physical symptoms that he had were now mostly cleared up. It had been awful... The sweating, the times when he had nearly stopped breathing in his sleep, the way he had always appeared so tense as if expecting someone to hurt him. She had barely left his side unless she really had needed to... But that was gone now. He had relaxed in his sleep, only a little but it was noticeable to her. She sat by his bedside that morning, waiting for him to wake so that maybe she could finally learn a little about her guest. She was surprised to find him already awake, shown only by the slight cock of his head as he watched her. <W-where?> His voice was still a little shaken, his conscious and unconscious mind locked in battle due to the irreparable damage he had done to his mind. Kempley knew he would have to live with that for the rest of his life, but it was better than the addiction at least.
<You're with me, in my shop. My name is Kempley, I've been taking care of you.> A soft smile tugged at her lips, her movements still soft and gentle towards him, even when she wasn't trying to be. She didn't want to scare him again, although he seemed to be fairly stable at that moment.
< Kempley...? Stein.> He gestured towards himself, his paw trembling a little as it performed the action, but the gesture was otherwise quite clear. <T-thank you Kempley. You good doctor, Stein thanks you.> He placed his paw in her own, giving a slight squeeze with a lop-sided grin to match. He was much happier now, and although it had been lots of trouble for her, so was she. Though this one wasn't going to be leaving her side for some time, just to make sure he stayed clean.
She could always use him around the shop anyway.