HOME | DD

Description

“He’s living on borrowed time”
The vet, a feline specialist had stated with a frown as they scanned the sleeping Luxray’s shaved belly with ultrasound equipment.

“Between the malnutrition and the septic injuries he had when you brought him in, his immune system is compromised on top of chronic kidney disease.”

It had been close to two months since Rhames had come across a frantic Poochyena who had brought him to a dying lion out in the plains with a gunshot wound in their shoulder and covered in festering injuries.
Two months since one of the rooms downstairs had been painstakingly reconfigured into a sick bay specifically to tend to the Luxray after they had been discharged from the PMC’s critical care unit.

“I did everything y’bloody told me.”
It was hard to hide the thin line of tension in Rhames’ tone as his grip on the headrest of the gurney on which Davos was laid out on tightened.
Were all those sleepless hours spent encouraging some semblance of life and strength back into Davos for naught at the end of the day?

“I’m not saying you don’t do a good job with the rehab, Mr.Allardyce, but there’s just so much we can do for him at this stage. His body isn’t built to handle the more aggressive treatment solutions we have.”
The specialist, a stern-looking prematurely-greying lady in her mid forties was understanding of the situation as she kept her voice level and professional but didn’t mince her words as she examined Davos’ teeth and gums before scribbling her observations with a stylus onto her tablet and going on.

“Out in the wild without help, he’d be dead within a year. With round-the-clock care, maybe five? Depends on if he contracts something that he at his age and state can’t cope with. Whatever it is, his battling days are definitely over.”

She took out her handphone and scanned through her contacts, seeking out a number.

“There’s a big cat rescue stationed at the Scarred Plains. I can call them up and see if they’re willing to take him in for palliative care. He’ll be in good hands there.”

“Thanks but never y’mind that.”
Rhames said firmly with a shake of the head even as his expression softened as he ran his fingers gently through the lion’s mane, feeling the subtle twitch of their ear at his touch; the sedation was wearing off.
The last thing an animal left for dead by the world needed was the implication that they were unwanted or too much to deal with at this point.

“I’ve got the means. I’ll care fer him. Y’tell me how.”

___________________________________________________

Where Zoe’s drawings proudly festoon the fridge doors, they now made space for a list of medication and a post-it note at the corner of it with a reminder for Davos’ dialysis session every Friday.
On Fridays where he had to work longer hours at the PMC to deal with an emergency, Bira’s name and number had been scrawled on the same post-it as the secondary contact.

Where his mornings after work had been mostly been devoted to shoveling out food for the small military-style barrack of Pokemon he now ran and then passing out for a few hours until it was time to pick his daughter up from school, extra time and care was taken for the bowl of food set out for Davos specifically as he measured out the mixture of supplements and medicine the aging lion had to take twice a day.
He’d taken care of chronically-ill Pokemon before at the PMC; the compassion remained but there was the emotional barrier he set up between himself and them. They were his patients and they were many at the end of the day; to love each and every one of them like they were his own was the kind of heartache he knew his line of work couldn’t afford.

Davos was his though.
Davos was now family; He had rescued the Luxray, had elected to keep them despite the option of sending them to another facility and all he could think about was the number he’d been given when asking how long Davos had.

Five wasn’t long, but five was long enough to become attached especially when you were a child.
He’d had the talk with Zoe days ago, about what was wrong with Davos and why Davos needed special treatment over the others and it seemed like she understood with her grave little nod at the end of it but there was that stubborn little glint in her eyes he knew too well.

Maybe Davos had other ideas.
Maybe the cat doctor was wrong.
Maybe, just maybe, if they took super good care of Davos, then he’d make it to five.
And then five could be ten.

He didn’t pretend to know the weird intricacies of how Pokemon functioned at the end of the day outside of what medical journals told him and those were constantly evolving with new tests and discoveries; if there was chance the initial diagnosis had been off, then that chance was worth fighting for.

The large bowl of enriched rabbit meat and cooked egg whites in hand, he stepped out through the kitchen door which opened into the sprawling backyard to seek out the Luxray whom he’d last seen basking in the morning sun on the patio.
They weren’t there now, though given that they walked with a pronounced limp, they couldn’t have gotten far.

“Davos!”
Rhames called out and whistled, hopping to be heard over the morning chatter of the Pidgeys in the treetops.

“Time tae get ye fed, aul man, come on!”

He waited for a few minutes, hoping to hear the low rrrraaauummms of an old lion on eager approach but there was only silence and steadily concern began to mount as he placed the bowl on a nearby windowsill and marched off in search of the Luxray.

Where on earth were they?

His search took him to the massive conservatory and then further down the grounds to the little glade next to the large pond and here he felt a surge of fresh fear ramming into his belly like an ice pick, for there was Lazarus tucked in rest at the roots of a large tree; as far away from the group as they could get and yet within reach of the aloof, aggressive wyvern was the old lion.

Immediately memories of Lazarus’ vicious Shadow-addled altercations with Bones and Wesker came flooding back and Rhames broke into a run, praying to Arceus at that moment that he would get to Davos before Lazarus lashed out again.
The Aerodactyl didn’t move however, not a muscle, not a curl of the lip to be seen. Nothing to suggest the usual aggression as Rhames’ run slowed down and he stopped entirely to gaze upon the unlikely scene with perplexed wonderment.

The two of them seemed completely content to be in each other’s company.
How?

It wasn’t Lazarus certainly, Lazarus whose appetite had been slowly returning, Lazarus who despite the shadow virus was otherwise as close to healthy as he could hope for with their condition.

As Rhames heard the low rumbles of what sounded like indecipherable conversation between the two of them, his throat went dry at a though that was slowly taking form in the back of mind.
Was it something with Davos?

The virus incited unusual levels of aggression within its host with hopes of being transferred to another Pokemon and in turn repeating the process....
But what of Pokemon, potential hosts who were terminal with disease and ill to the point where it would be impossible to live long enough for the virus to take hold and proliferate?
There was always the chance of death in Infected healthy Pokemon whose bodies broke down before the virus was fully incubated but what if the virus could in some measure sense beforehand the viability of a host?

Bones and Wesker were perfectly healthy Pokemon at their prime.
Davos was sickly. The only thing Davos would have made prime to the Aerodactyl was prey.
Yet where was the graying lion; suffering from advanced kidney disease, walking with a limp in each step and requiring human intervention to stay alive getting closer to Lazarus than anyone else had managed for the last several months.

None of them were bothered by his presence as he cautiously approached them; Lazarus raised their gaze and gave a single snort of acknowledgement while Davos turned a little to offer him a greeting rumble over the shoulder, stumpy tail gently swishing around as Rhames sat down next to the Luxray.
Their conversation continued as he warmly stroked his hand through Davos’ fur and made a mental note to include this in his personal research into the Shadow Virus, but for now he sat with them in the shade of the trees; listening to them speak to each other like old friends, like the world was alright for a moment away from the sicknesses the both of them suffered and perhaps shared kindred spirits with.

There was hope for both of them at the end of the day, and it was worth holding on to.

___________________________________________________

In which Lazarus and Davos forge an unlikely friendship over their respective illnesses and the facts that for some reason, Shadow either won’t recognize or won’t take on Davos as a host which allows for the lion to talk to wyvern up close where everyone else had failed.

Bittersweet given the reason for it, but Rhames is going to do his best to get both of them to rights.

Level count;
Davos and Lazarus both gain +7Lvls (Shaded Fullbody + shaded Fullbody Trainer + DBG)
Lazarus is already Lvl100

1537 words = 3Lvls to Davos

Monetary Bonus:
250PD (Effort Bonus Art) + 100PD (Effort Bonus Lit) + 140PD (Lvl100 Bonus) = 490PD

Description

“He’s living on borrowed time”
The vet, a feline specialist had stated with a frown as they scanned the sleeping Luxray’s shaved belly with ultrasound equipment.

“Between the malnutrition and the septic injuries he had when you brought him in, his immune system is compromised on top of chronic kidney disease.”

It had been close to two months since Rhames had come across a frantic Poochyena who had brought him to a dying lion out in the plains with a gunshot wound in their shoulder and covered in festering injuries.
Two months since one of the rooms downstairs had been painstakingly reconfigured into a sick bay specifically to tend to the Luxray after they had been discharged from the PMC’s critical care unit.

“I did everything y’bloody told me.”
It was hard to hide the thin line of tension in Rhames’ tone as his grip on the headrest of the gurney on which Davos was laid out on tightened.
Were all those sleepless hours spent encouraging some semblance of life and strength back into Davos for naught at the end of the day?

“I’m not saying you don’t do a good job with the rehab, Mr.Allardyce, but there’s just so much we can do for him at this stage. His body isn’t built to handle the more aggressive treatment solutions we have.”
The specialist, a stern-looking prematurely-greying lady in her mid forties was understanding of the situation as she kept her voice level and professional but didn’t mince her words as she examined Davos’ teeth and gums before scribbling her observations with a stylus onto her tablet and going on.

“Out in the wild without help, he’d be dead within a year. With round-the-clock care, maybe five? Depends on if he contracts something that he at his age and state can’t cope with. Whatever it is, his battling days are definitely over.”

She took out her handphone and scanned through her contacts, seeking out a number.

“There’s a big cat rescue stationed at the Scarred Plains. I can call them up and see if they’re willing to take him in for palliative care. He’ll be in good hands there.”

“Thanks but never y’mind that.”
Rhames said firmly with a shake of the head even as his expression softened as he ran his fingers gently through the lion’s mane, feeling the subtle twitch of their ear at his touch; the sedation was wearing off.
The last thing an animal left for dead by the world needed was the implication that they were unwanted or too much to deal with at this point.

“I’ve got the means. I’ll care fer him. Y’tell me how.”

___________________________________________________

Where Zoe’s drawings proudly festoon the fridge doors, they now made space for a list of medication and a post-it note at the corner of it with a reminder for Davos’ dialysis session every Friday.
On Fridays where he had to work longer hours at the PMC to deal with an emergency, Bira’s name and number had been scrawled on the same post-it as the secondary contact.

Where his mornings after work had been mostly been devoted to shoveling out food for the small military-style barrack of Pokemon he now ran and then passing out for a few hours until it was time to pick his daughter up from school, extra time and care was taken for the bowl of food set out for Davos specifically as he measured out the mixture of supplements and medicine the aging lion had to take twice a day.
He’d taken care of chronically-ill Pokemon before at the PMC; the compassion remained but there was the emotional barrier he set up between himself and them. They were his patients and they were many at the end of the day; to love each and every one of them like they were his own was the kind of heartache he knew his line of work couldn’t afford.

Davos was his though.
Davos was now family; He had rescued the Luxray, had elected to keep them despite the option of sending them to another facility and all he could think about was the number he’d been given when asking how long Davos had.

Five wasn’t long, but five was long enough to become attached especially when you were a child.
He’d had the talk with Zoe days ago, about what was wrong with Davos and why Davos needed special treatment over the others and it seemed like she understood with her grave little nod at the end of it but there was that stubborn little glint in her eyes he knew too well.

Maybe Davos had other ideas.
Maybe the cat doctor was wrong.
Maybe, just maybe, if they took super good care of Davos, then he’d make it to five.
And then five could be ten.

He didn’t pretend to know the weird intricacies of how Pokemon functioned at the end of the day outside of what medical journals told him and those were constantly evolving with new tests and discoveries; if there was chance the initial diagnosis had been off, then that chance was worth fighting for.

The large bowl of enriched rabbit meat and cooked egg whites in hand, he stepped out through the kitchen door which opened into the sprawling backyard to seek out the Luxray whom he’d last seen basking in the morning sun on the patio.
They weren’t there now, though given that they walked with a pronounced limp, they couldn’t have gotten far.

“Davos!”
Rhames called out and whistled, hopping to be heard over the morning chatter of the Pidgeys in the treetops.

“Time tae get ye fed, aul man, come on!”

He waited for a few minutes, hoping to hear the low rrrraaauummms of an old lion on eager approach but there was only silence and steadily concern began to mount as he placed the bowl on a nearby windowsill and marched off in search of the Luxray.

Where on earth were they?

His search took him to the massive conservatory and then further down the grounds to the little glade next to the large pond and here he felt a surge of fresh fear ramming into his belly like an ice pick, for there was Lazarus tucked in rest at the roots of a large tree; as far away from the group as they could get and yet within reach of the aloof, aggressive wyvern was the old lion.

Immediately memories of Lazarus’ vicious Shadow-addled altercations with Bones and Wesker came flooding back and Rhames broke into a run, praying to Arceus at that moment that he would get to Davos before Lazarus lashed out again.
The Aerodactyl didn’t move however, not a muscle, not a curl of the lip to be seen. Nothing to suggest the usual aggression as Rhames’ run slowed down and he stopped entirely to gaze upon the unlikely scene with perplexed wonderment.

The two of them seemed completely content to be in each other’s company.
How?

It wasn’t Lazarus certainly, Lazarus whose appetite had been slowly returning, Lazarus who despite the shadow virus was otherwise as close to healthy as he could hope for with their condition.

As Rhames heard the low rumbles of what sounded like indecipherable conversation between the two of them, his throat went dry at a though that was slowly taking form in the back of mind.
Was it something with Davos?

The virus incited unusual levels of aggression within its host with hopes of being transferred to another Pokemon and in turn repeating the process....
But what of Pokemon, potential hosts who were terminal with disease and ill to the point where it would be impossible to live long enough for the virus to take hold and proliferate?
There was always the chance of death in Infected healthy Pokemon whose bodies broke down before the virus was fully incubated but what if the virus could in some measure sense beforehand the viability of a host?

Bones and Wesker were perfectly healthy Pokemon at their prime.
Davos was sickly. The only thing Davos would have made prime to the Aerodactyl was prey.
Yet where was the graying lion; suffering from advanced kidney disease, walking with a limp in each step and requiring human intervention to stay alive getting closer to Lazarus than anyone else had managed for the last several months.

None of them were bothered by his presence as he cautiously approached them; Lazarus raised their gaze and gave a single snort of acknowledgement while Davos turned a little to offer him a greeting rumble over the shoulder, stumpy tail gently swishing around as Rhames sat down next to the Luxray.
Their conversation continued as he warmly stroked his hand through Davos’ fur and made a mental note to include this in his personal research into the Shadow Virus, but for now he sat with them in the shade of the trees; listening to them speak to each other like old friends, like the world was alright for a moment away from the sicknesses the both of them suffered and perhaps shared kindred spirits with.

There was hope for both of them at the end of the day, and it was worth holding on to.

___________________________________________________

In which Lazarus and Davos forge an unlikely friendship over their respective illnesses and the facts that for some reason, Shadow either won’t recognize or won’t take on Davos as a host which allows for the lion to talk to wyvern up close where everyone else had failed.

Bittersweet given the reason for it, but Rhames is going to do his best to get both of them to rights.

Level count;
Davos and Lazarus both gain +7Lvls (Shaded Fullbody + shaded Fullbody Trainer + DBG)
Lazarus is already Lvl100

1537 words = 3Lvls to Davos

Monetary Bonus:
250PD (Effort Bonus Art) + 100PD (Effort Bonus Lit) + 140PD (Lvl100 Bonus) = 490PD