Cernunnos - 5. Chapter 5

He felt himself breathing. Grogginess bogged down his mind, making it feel like a swamp. Wha...what...happened? Cyn could barely open his eyes. I...I’m still...in the hosp...hospital. Deciding to conserve his energy, the deer kept his head and body where it lay, not that he could do anything. His body was numb. Even if he were fully awake, Cyn didn’t think he possessed the strength to lift a finger.

Taking in a small breath through his nose, his heart began racing once more. There...there’s another one. It’s...different from...the other two. Damn. Why...can’t they just leave me? Or eat me? Death is surely better than this...this torture. He heard a shifting movement and a cough, but nothing else. Closing his eyes, he tried to take a silent breath.

“Good morning.” The voice was calm but Cyn’s mind raced as the new wolf spoke. “Calm yourself. Please?” Pl...please? When...does a wolf...have manners? Cyn tried to keep his eyelids open, but he felt as if they were weighted down. “You’re heavily sedated...for the pain. You reopened your leg wound when you fell.” The voice was nearly quiet, and the deer had no idea why.

He fought the drug’s grasp that held him and turned his head to the side, getting his first look at his new captor. Confirming the smell, the being was a wolf shapeshifter, but like the doctor from before, the new man was seated with his back facing the deer. He then grunted as he leaned up to see his leg in a cast. “The staff wanted to put you in restraints to prevent another accident, but I told them no. You are no prisoner, Cyn.”

Gathering his breath, the deer did his best to communicate. “H...How...do...you…”

“Please. Save your energy. Doctor Ronnet gave me everything he had when he first spoke with you. If you would allow me, I’d like...to just talk to you. There’s a lot going on, and I need to help you understand that you are in no danger.” Cyn swallowed and noticed his throat was parched once again.

“W...Wah…”

The wolf slightly turned his neck, but didn’t dare look at the cernunnos. “Water?”

“Ye..”

“I’ll bring you a cup. And I’ll say it once more, Cyn. I’m just here to help you. I’m not sure if cernunnos can smell pheromones like lycan, but I truly mean no harm.” Cyn slowly blinked as he watched the wolf get up from the floor and made his way out of the room. The cernunnos could smell pheromones, detecting what emotions were being exuded from the room. He’s...telling the...truth. He won’t...hurt me. But...why am I scared...of him? I...I’m too tired to help...myself. Need to...need to trust him.

The large wolf reopened the door with a small plastic cup of water with a straw. But what Cyn paid attention to was the smile on the man’s face. He...is smiling. Not...grinning...or smirking. He’s...happy. The smile on the new lycan’s face immobilized Cyn’s feelings of fear or trepidation.

“Here.” As the wolf held the cup near Cyn’s face, his meaty fingers looped around the straw and pointed the end towards the deer’s mouth. The straw prodded Cyn’s lips and he opened them slowly, and latched on at the same pace. Even small movements like this were draining the deer of any energy he possessed. There was a mental struggle for him to even find the strength to suck in the water. As the water reached the tip, Cyn welcomed the fluid into his mouth and swallowed a small amount. His throat was crying for joy as the proverbial desert was washed away.

After several sips, Cyn stopped sucking and pushed the straw lightly out of his mouth with his tongue. With several smacks of his lips, he gazed up at the large man. He...looked smaller on the floor. He noticed his energy was coming back, but Cyn became puzzled with himself. How...is this lycan different...from the others? He isn’t scary. Maybe because he’s smiling? Cyn was hesitant about showing emotion, but he couldn’t stop himself from smiling.

There’s a smile! First one all day, from what I hear! “Good to see a smile.” The wolf kept a genuine smile on his face, in an effort to make the cernunnos feel welcome. “Would you mind if I talked for a bit? I’ll be watching over you for a little while, and I think we could get to know each other.” Watching a very slow nod come from the timid shifter, the larger man widened his smile. “I’m Sheamus. A lot of people call me Shea.” The lycan scratched the back of his head, amazed he got this far without causing the deer to flip his bed again.

“I think you should know the other two people that were in here earlier. The first guy, that’s Doctor Ronnet. He’s a real cool guy and knows his stuff. He was in here earlier to check on you, but you were pretty out of it.” A light chuckle left Shea’s lips. “He saw you were drooling in your sleep and he had the biggest grin on his face.” Cyn’s cheeks turned to a rose color, but he had no feeling in his facial muscles just yet. I...was drooling? He tried to twitch his lips in an attempt to feel if there was any form of dried fluid along his jaws, but the sedative prevented such actions.

“Then the second guy-” Cyn’s heart raced and he tried to squirm, but once again, his body couldn’t move a muscle. “Hey, hey. I get it. I feel the same way around him, too.”

W...what? The deer kept his breathing under control, but focused on the lycan in front of him. “Y...you...scared...of him?”

Shea let out another light laugh. “You have no idea, man. It was really strange to see him like this today. He also stopped by when you were sleeping and, honest to God, he smiled. I don’t know what you did, but if you could do it some more, I’d be really grateful.”

Cyn felt a bubble of laughter in his chest and his mouth widened to let it out, but only a mere grunt came. “I could tell that was a laugh. Want some more water?” The deer nodded and Shea was happy to hold the cup and straw in place once more. “Dang! You blew through that water. I’m going to go get some more, and I’ll be right back.” Watching the tall man leave, Cyn licked his lips as he admired Shea’s build. Wow...he’s tall! And he is very sculpted…

Oh...no. He’s a wolf! Cyn...get that out of your head! That thing can eat you. After controlling his inner thoughts, Shea came back with a slightly larger cup with a straw in it. “The nurses gave me a bigger cup for you…” Shea could tell the deer’s demeanor had changed since he left. “Did I do something wrong, Cyn?”

The deer closed his eyes and began breathing deeply, and Shea watched every move. He was all smiles when I left to get him the water. Now he’s back to being scared. “Whatever’s going on in your head, it’s okay. Like I said, I’m here for ya. Would you like for me to go back to sitting on the floor away from you?” After a moment of thought, he watched the deer shake his head. Shea took in a deep breath to cool his nerves, but he caught a faint scent coming from the cernunnos. Oh! Wow. That’s...uh...that’s a new development! The commander kept his facial features neutral as he comprehended the reversal of Cyn’s attitude.

He thinks...I’m hot? That is, uh...something. A deer...thinks...that I...a lycan...is hot. I’m going to need to keep this away from Kara. “Would you rather me pull up a chair?” Aw, man. This is going to sound so awkward! “I’d like to get to know you a little better. Plus, I need to tell you what’s been going on. A lot’s happened while you were asleep.”

Cyn nodded. I...think I can handle him being closer. So far, he’s the only wolf I’ve trusted. The doctor was nice, but he seemed really mean when I was on the floor. “Y...yeah.”

Shea grabbed the small rolling office chair and slowly pushed it over. “Good to hear you’re getting your voice back. Some more water should help.” Cyn took more water from the cup as it was offered, wetting his throat once more. “Better?”

With a smile, the deer found himself growing comfortable with the handsome wolf. “Yeah. M...much better.”

“I’ll let you tell me more about yourself when your voice gets better.” As the lycan gave another cheerful smile, he saw the deer’s eyelids falling down once more. “You should get some rest, Cyn. Nothing wrong with getting some shut-eye.”

Yeah...I’m getting a little… Cyn let out a high pitched yawn as his body’s muscles quaked. ...sleepy. “S...sorry.”

Curving his neck to the side, Shea gave a frown. “What are you sorry for? If you need to sleep, sleep. No one’s here to tell you what to do, little man.”

Cyn curled a smile as his mind began to go dark once more. He...called me little man. The deer nestled his head against the pillow and fell into another deep sleep.

Shea let loose a silent sigh. Oh, man! That was a lot! Doctor Ronnet and Jaime got me ready, but damn! That was the longest poker face I’ve had to keep in a long time! He eyed the cup of water on the table, but decided to go get his own. I’ll need to update Alpha Claude, and whichever of the Turbin’s are out there. He silently opened the door to find Kara on the other side with one eyebrow raised high. Aw, Hell! She smelt the deer’s arousal! “Whatever you’re thinking, keep it to yourself.”

Flicking her hair out of her face, Kara couldn’t help but snicker. “Oh, come on! This is absolutely hilarious. That cernunnos has the hots for you, Commander! Even I have to admit, the little guy is adorable.” Leaning in, she whispered silently to her boss. “You two would look cute together.”

Shaking his head at his subordinate, Shea did his best to get the cern out of his mind. He is cute, but I couldn’t date a cern! They’re...they’re… He blinked several times at his derailed thought. I don’t know a damned thing about deer! They don’t exist in shifter communities, so it’s not like I can just ask a friend. “Hey! Earth to Shea!” Dragging his eyesight back up to Kara, he did his best to hold together a smile.

Her smile grew wicked. “Oh...that’s rich. I was just teasing you earlier, but you’re actually into him, too! Oh, wow!”

“Will you keep it down? You want to wake up Cyn?”

Kara subtly nodded and kept her amusement to a dull whisper. “So...Cyn and Shea? Kissing in a tree?”

Flatlining his brow, Shea shook his head. “You heard Jaime and Ronnet. I need to get close and build a trusting rapport with the cern.”

“Mhmm. Sure. Right. Whatever you wanna call it, Shea.” Gritting his teeth, Kara got the message to bring it down a notch. “Alright, alright. Jeez. Was just playin’, boss.”

Sighing, the commander nodded. “I know. It’s...just something I wasn’t expecting. But you’re right. Something’s there, but I don’t know how that would work. I’ve heard of relationships between different species...but with a cern?”

Kara felt for her friend and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Hey. No matter how much Jaime and I are going to tease you about this, we have your back. How about I grab a sandwich for you from the cafeteria? You can watch the door for a bit while the deer sleeps and update Alpha Claude.”

“Good idea.” As Kara walked off, Shea stood in front of the door and fished his phone from his pocket. Oh...should I mention...no. That’d be ridiculous to tell Arric that. He pressed his Alpha’s contact on his touchscreen and let the dial tone roll through.

“Update, Commander?”

“Yes, Alpha. Cyn woke up almost half an hour ago, and has just gone back to sleep. He’s taking water well, and he is being quite calm around me.”

After a moment’s pause, the Alpha responded in a curious tone. “Really? Big shifter like you? You’re a few inches shorter than me, and he was calm with you?”

Shea rubbed the back of his head and grinned. “Yeah. I just used a quiet tone and used a disarming smile.”

“That’s good work, Shea. Did you learn anything from him?”

“No, I’ll be leading up to that over the next day or two. I’m going to play the long game here. I need to be considered a friend to him before I start asking questions.”

An affirmative hum came over the line. “Smart. Deer don’t respond to action very well. This is a terrific plan. Have we learned anything about him, then?”

Uh-oh. “I...well…”

“Well, spit it out. Any information can be useful.”

Shea wiped his face with his free hand and knew he needed to say something. “Well...I found out he likes guys, if that counts as information.”

Dead silence came from the line. Either I’m dead...or I’m dead… “Well...that’s information, I suppose. Nothing really useful, but hey, I don’t judge. Glad you found another member of your team, Farren.” How...did...what? “You sound confused, Commander. Don’t forget that I’m Alpha. I know everything that goes on in this pack. Keep me posted.”

As the ending call tones beeped in Shea’s ears, he had a hard time picking up his jaw off of the floor.