It took Selena five days to finally recover enough to stand for longer than five minutes. About time, too; she was about to rip her hair out if she stayed in the room for a couple more days.
"Didn't you say three days ago that it sounds like a vacation to you?" Melissa asked as she picked at the grapes she had brought for Selena as a gift, ignoring the flat stare slated her way. "What's with the change of mind?"
Selena blew a strand of hair off her eyes, barely managing to control the growl that almost bubbled out of her mouth. Instead of answering, she turned to look at the girl standing by the wall, just a few steps away. After the duel, both fighters were delivered to what was the equivalent of a modern clinic in the pack: a white, sterile room that smelled of rubbing alcohol and antiseptic. The girl, a young teen assigned to help with the clinic for the day, squeaked when Selena's gaze landed on her, the tray of newly sterilized tools almost tipping over due to her shaking arms. She quickly put the tray on the nearest flat surface and all but ran out of the door, leaving the room in silence.
"…You see now?"
"Yep. It's almost amazing how fast she ran. Is that normal?"
Selena groaned as she flopped back on her bed, then quickly hissed. "Damn this shoulder."
Melissa snorted. "You're lucky that you didn't lose an arm. Actually, I'm still surprised you're still alive. I thought for sure that Claire would have bitten your head off."
"Same," Selena muttered as she patted the pillow to make it fluffier. The later parts of the duel were a bit hazy in her memories, the loss of blood making her more lethargic and losing focus. She was just glad that the anise powder did its magic as she had hoped. As soon as Claire took note of the scent, she started rolling on the floor and covering her fur with the seasoning and lapping at some of the powder. Selena had been grasping at straws at that point, but it seems like werewolves are still canine enough to be affected by the catnip-like effect of anise.
… Including the side effects, despite them having notably more tolerance than normal dogs.
"… Has Claire been cleared from here?"
"Well, she's been home since yesterday," Melissa replied. "Though I hear her… stomach problem still hasn't healed yet. Also need to hydrate more, they said, after ingesting that much of the aniseed—brilliant strategy, by the way. She'll most likely hole herself up in her room for a month at least. She'll probably be too embarrassed to face anyone anytime soon."
Selena had no words for that, so she just opted to stay silent. At least there's no immediate threat now of Claire dying due to dehydration caused by a seasoning. She'd be liable if Claire died, wouldn't she? Since she was the one who threw that aniseed powder on her. What even are the chances of someone dying from diarrhea? Would it be murder? Maybe she can argue self-defense. Claire was trying to bite her head off…
"…What?" Selena asked when she noticed Melissa giving a pointed look. "Is there something on my face?" She touched her cheeks, then her forehead. She couldn't feel anything wrong. She hasn’t turned into a smurf, too.
"You're different," Melissa stated in a flat, blunt tone. Selena gave her friend a look, trying to gauge the weight of her words. Nope, that's a serious look on her face. Melissa was not joking.
"You want to elaborate on that?"
"You're not acting like how I expect you would." Well, that doesn't explain anything at all. Something must have shown on her face because Melissa merely rolled her eyes at her. What's with the sassiness today? "I meant that you're acting so uncharacteristically in such a short amount of time that it's like I'm having whiplash.” She then shrugged. “It's also a bit unnerving, to be honest."
"…I'm not acting weird?" Selena wanted to cringe when it sounded more like a question than a convincing statement. Dang it, was it really that obvious?
Selena wanted to smack her head. Well, duh , of course, it will be obvious. She hasn’t been trying to act like how the story-Selena was in the novel. Granted, her days had been hectic, but it’s almost a surprise that no one else commented on it.
Melissa's flat look, coupled with a raised brow, made Selena want to sweat like a kid caught pilfering a cookie. The silence felt tense as it lapsed into a minute, then two, until Melissa heaved a sigh. "Fine. Keep your secrets and be all mysterious on me," she huffed as she plucked one last grape before standing in a stretch. Selena bit the inside of her cheek, feeling a sudden burst of guilt attempting to cut her airways. She watched as Melissa walked towards the door, then paused for a few seconds before turning to look at her.
"You know you can always talk to me, right? I'll probably have nothing that could help, but I'm always open to listening."
The words said in such an unsure voice reminded Selena of her Melissa, her best friend back in her real world. Someone who was firmly on the opposite side of the spectrum in terms of preference; crowds from Selena's preferred lonesome, energetic to her almost-chronic tiredness, easy charm to Selena's introversion. And yet, not once had Selena felt that Melissa's friendliness was born from pity or some weird savior complex for the socially-awkward kid. Instead, there was understanding and interest and patience; a sister in all but blood. And Selena couldn't help but miss her best friend—the one she knew—and feel grateful for this Melissa.
"I know," Selena replied, her voice breaking against her judgment. "You always do."
Melissa gave her a bright smile before skipping out of the room. It seems like no matter the universe, Melissa will always stay Melissa.
… Should she tell her friend the truth?
Selena groaned as she covered her face with her hands. Would it be alright, though? There wouldn't be some cosmic comet coming down her head if she told someone the truth? She was pretty sure that telling others that you're a transmigrator is not something that is done in all isekai stories, movies, and series she'd seen. Why isn't it done in stories? No one really said anything about it being a thing. It just is.
… Selena felt like an idiot having a one-sided conversation inside her head.
"I need to make a fucking list." She needs to sort out everything that will happen in this world first before she decides to spill her guts out to anyone, lest she wants to sound insane.
Selena heard the sound of the door opening. "Do you mind grabbing me a paper and a pen? Please?" She mumbled through her fingers. God, her shoulders hurt, her head is throbbing, and she currently hates existing today.
"Go get it yourself."
The smooth, low, and definitely masculine voice made Selena almost shoot out of her bed, the action pulling at her injuries and making her suck in a breath. Leaning by the door, Chase had an amused smirk at the pained groan from Selena. Asshole.
"What are you doing here?" Selena blurted as she tried to sit as much as possible. No need to add more to the man's sadistic ego by showing that she's too pained to even sit properly. "… You look like a drowned rat," she blurted when she noticed that the man was drenched from head to toe, his clothes and hair plastered on his skin. Did he jump into the fountain for a swim?
Chase's eyebrow twitched, making a vein pop more visibly. "I did not jump on the fountain, idiot," he muttered in irritation. Selena's hand flew to her mouth. Oops, didn't mean to say it out loud.
The room fell into a thick, awkward silence, with Chase not moving from where he stood, and Selena unsure of what to do or say. Would asking about the weather even be appropriate? What does this guy even do in his free time?
( Banging the female protagonist, her mind helpfully provided, along with all the explicit descriptions the author used in more than 50% of the entire novel. And ropes. Just… No.)
"It still hurts?"
Selena blinked. "Pardon?"
Chase pointed with his chin. "That."
It took Selena a bit to realize that he was talking about her injuries. "Oh. It's, uh, getting better." The only concern she had was the poor bandage rolling. Gah, this just adds to the discomfort of her injury.
Chase's brows furrowed a bit at that, eyes watching her picking at the bandage. "It's too loose."
For some god-awful, unholy reason, Selena's mind went back to her last internal thoughts. "NO ROPES!"
Her voice rang in the room and scattered all coherent thoughts from her head. Then Chase's brows furrowed deeper, and oh God, can the earth just swallow her whole and save her from her misery? "Why would I need a rope?" The man asked, thoroughly confused. It would have been comical to see that expression on the alpha's face—it didn't look like it belonged, really—if Selena was busy dying from embarrassment.
"YouknowwhatIthinkIneedtosleepsocanyoupleaseleave?" Selena blurted out in one breath, her tongue almost tripping over her teeth as she tried to maneuver her body so she could lie down. "Fucking hell," she bit out when she pulled her shoulders too much. Chase was looking at her like something was seriously wrong in her head. A nice way to top everything up, Selena mockingly thought.
The door opened wider as the girl from earlier returned, looking a little less nervous now. She squeaked when she noticed Chase standing by the door, her face and neck quickly turning red like she was about to combust, eyes glued on the man's chest. "A-a-a-a-aa-alpha, wh-w-what can I h-help you with?"
The girl squeaked again when Chase turned to look at her. "Cream," the man muttered. "The one Elder Mae concocted. She told me she had some stashed here and instructed me to come."
"Cream…" the girl muttered airily, until her eyes moved to Chase's face. "…Oh, your forehead!"
Selena's eyes moved to the said man's forehead. She didn't notice it at first, with his hair plastered on his face, but it's definitely starting to turn into— "Is that a bruise?"
Chase didn't give her an answer, merely narrowing her eyes to the girl until she realized that she had to fetch said cream for him. Selena, however, couldn't help but notice how Chase's shoulders looked stiffer, almost pulling towards his chest. It also made his fingers tapping on his arm even more obvious, the movement too restless.
"Don't tell me…" Selena started, and Chase's finger froze. "… You really did fall down the fountain earlier?"
If Chase had ice powers, Selena would have been turned into an icicle from how sharp Chase's glare was towards her. Selena, meanwhile, just couldn't get her mouth to close. No way she actually guessed it right.
The girl from earlier then thrust a small container at Chase's face— barely missing his nose—presumably the cream he'd asked for earlier. She looked like she hadn't heard anything as she continued to look red and star-struck in front of the alpha. Chase cleared his throat and all but snatched the container from the girl's hand before storming out. The girl only gasped and sighed dreamily, grasping her hands like the holy hand of God had touched her palms, not a rude huffing guy.
She stood like that for a while, blankly staring at the ceiling with a blissed-out expression, until she realized that there was one other person left in the room. Her face quickly paled when she looked at Selena. Dang, the difference is really heaven and earth, huh. Harsh.
"Y-y-you need anything?"
Selena eyed the girl, standing by the door as if she were about to bolt again. To hell with it, she'll just do the list later. She doesn't have enough energy left in her. "I'd just take a nap, please."
The girl nodded and, predictably, ran out of the room. Selena hoped she'd napped for a hundred years. Maybe then, everything will be miraculously better.