The Halfling Chapter 3: An Unexpected Ally

Lisara sat up slowly at the appearance of the man, the pain in her side still a dull throb. She tried to take in his words and make sense of how she ended up here.

"What do you mean 'one of you'?" Lisara asked hesitantly. The man, Teddy he had introduced himself as, couldn't possibly know about vampires and halflings. Not unless he-

"You know…" he started, tilting his head. "A halfling? A vampire? I've been waiting for one of your kind. I can sense that you're a halfling though and not full-blooded."

Oh god, Lisara thought, what if he's a Savior?

"How do you know what I am?" Lisara asked cautiously, knowing that if the man was indeed a Savior, she wouldn't be able to fight him off in her condition.

Teddy walked over to the chair in the corner and dragged it closer to the hospital bed. He sat down and looked at Lisara with a concerned expression on his face, as if he could sense her fear.

"I'm a Curatrix," he said softly, looking into Lisara's light brown eyes. "Vampires and halflings each have a distinct aura that Cura can sense. You don't need to be afraid of me." He offered a small smile and Lisara's tension eased.

"Oh," Lisara replied, her cheeks turning slightly red. "I was worried that maybe you were a Savior… my pack had to separate because one of them was hunting us." She dropped eye contact and grimaced at the reminder.

"Ah," Teddy started, his smile disappearing. "That's likely why I haven't heard anything from the council in a while…" he trailed off with a slight frown. "My guess would be that a group of Saviors are making the rounds on exposed packs, and the safest way to protect everyone is to not be seen together for a while."

He looked up at Lisara sympathetically and the warmth of his blue eyes made her feel something unknown. It was almost as if Cura had a magnetic pull that made vampires feel safe around them.

"So you've just been waiting for one of us to appear on your doorstep?" Lisara asked with a playful tone and grin.

"Yeah, or for one to almost be charged to death by a raging bull, only for me to rush in valiantly at the last moment to save them," Teddy replied with a pleased look on his face. Lisara laughed and was reminded of that very bull by the ache in her side.

"Right, thanks for that," Lisara squeaked out, placing a hand delicately on the left side of her torso. It was true that vampires' bodies healed at an accelerated rate, but for all she knew, the bull could have broken some ribs. That would take time to heal, no matter her mythical abilities.

Teddy noticed the pain in Lisara's voice and offered to increase her pain medicine. She nodded her head and closed her eyes for a moment. Teddy watched her for a few minutes until he could hear her slowed breathing, and quietly left her to sleep.

***

Lisara's eyes slowly blinked open and she noticed that it was suddenly darker outside. The blinds had been closed earlier too, but sunlight had still managed to shine through the cracks.

The pain in her side was less noticeable than it was earlier, and she silently thanked Teddy for increasing her medicine.

Looking around, she noticed that Teddy was gone. She wondered how long she had been asleep, but it wasn't pitch black outside yet, so she assumed it had only been a few hours. Noticing a box on the chair where Teddy had been sitting hours ago, Lisara pushed herself up from the bed and carefully planted her feet on the ground. She inspected the box, which was of a medium size and wrapped in brown paper. On the top was a scrap of paper with the words "Open Me" written on it.

She took the box back to the bed and began ripping at the paper. Inside was a large picture frame that Lisara took out of the box and placed on the bed. A sudden flash of white caused her to throw herself back against the pillows, but when she saw the creature she let out an embarrassed laugh. It was just a Felinus, a house cat. It settled in the box and looked up at her with blue eyes.

"Hey there little one," Lisara cooed. She turned her sights to the framed picture and looked at everyone there. She didn't recognize most of them until she saw…

Herself?

And even stranger yet…

"Teddy?"

"Hey Lisara."