Perverts 'R' Us

Drinking

By Danyealle ( M/F, plot, nosex )

It was really late at night as she lay there, awake, shivering in pain, curled up in a fetal position. Darious was asleep beside her, breathing deeply. Arkady was curled up at the foot of the bed in lupine form, snoring that blurry dog snore. Marcus was sprawled on the floor at the foot of the bed, all stretched out, his paws twitching as he dreamed. She lay there, shivering for around a half an hour before she decided to go downstairs.

Easing herself out of bed as quietly as she could, trying not to wake anyone, she headed downstairs quietly. Over the last month or so she hadn't been feeling quite right. At first it was nothing she could put her finger on, just rather out of sorts. But in the last couple of weeks some strange symptoms had been manifesting themselves. Her skin had become ultra sensitive to the touch. Her clothes and such were feeling like sandpaper against her skin. Her muscles at first felt like she had worked out more than normal and they were stiff and sore. But that had also progressed to the point of spasming softly most of the time, twitching and making her highly uncomfortable. Her back was also aching almost constantly, right up along the shoulder blades, for no reason she could fathom.

In her long life she had felt pain, yes, but not like this, not without a cause for it and she wasn't sure how to handle it. It wasn't like she was human that could take some aspirin and make the pain go away. Nor did she want to go to Julia, the she-devil that was their doctor. Julia was studying their genetics, but she was a doctor and did treat them if things went wrong.

Instead Dani was doing what humans called 'self medicating', she found out if she drank enough booze it numbed her slightly and seemed to dull the spasms enough that they were manageable. So, she had been drinking. Unlike most beings on this rock there wasn't enough booze on this planet to get her truly drunk or even give her a buzz, but it somehow or other it did effect the dulling she needed. But alcohol didn't always improve her mood, like when she was in a foul mood because of the pain like she was now. She would be the first to tell you that this had her all out of sorts to start with and she was short-tempered anyway. Dumping booze on top of that didn't improve her temper or self-control. Add in to the equation that she was scared and it was almost a deadly mixture.

She grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniels and planted herself in Darious' chair and started taking long pulls from the bottle, drinking the fiery liquid like it was water. She tucked her feet under her and curled up with the bottle, sighing deeply. She was tough, no one would ever question that, and she could take pain beyond measure, but this was different. It was alien and she wasn't sure how to deal with it. If she understood what was happening, then perhaps she could deal with it, but coming from nowhere and from no cause that she knew actually frightened her. Like most animals when they are scared, she got mean. She was trying to minimize that, what was wrong with her was no one's fault, but it was a front that she was having a hard time controlling. So, she was self-medicating on the sly and acting like nothing was wrong around Arkady and Darious.

Arkady had awakened when she got out of bed. He watched her, whining softly, worried. He got up and pulled the covers off Darious, trying to wake him. When that didn't work he stuck his muzzle between his legs and touched his ice cold nose to his balls. That worked.

Darious yelped and awoke with a start, looking around, "What the fuck?!" He looked down and saw Arkady standing there and his eyes narrowed. "This had better be good pup!" He snarled, sitting up.

Arkady whined loudly then looked at Dani's side of the bed then to the door.

Darious got the message quickly and scratched behind Arkady's ears, "Good pup." He then got out of bed, pulled his robe on and headed downstairs. She hadn't been acting like herself for a while now but over the last couple weeks it had gotten worse, so he was trying to keep a close eye on her at all times, not knowing what she was going to do next, especially since she denied that anything was wrong.

He found her curled up in his chair, a place she wasn't allowed to sit without specific permission, drinking Jack Daniels straight from the bottle. Over the last couple weeks large amounts of booze had come up missing. He had thought that it was Arkady or Marcus drinking it, but he now realized it was her. Stepping closer, he looked down at her, "So, you're the one drinking all the booze around here."

She looked up at him and shrugged, still shaking slightly, the muscle spasms not yet under control, "So?" She was in no mood to be questioned by Darious about what she was doing and why. All she wanted to do was drink enough to dull the pain, and then she would be better able to deal with Darious and his questions.

He stepped in front of her and looked down at her, "How come you are drinking so much?" In the whole time he and her had been together she hadn't drank much, only when they went out or when he wanted to share a drink with her at night. He had never known her to drink alone, let alone large amounts of it since he knew it didn't have much of an effect on her.

She shrugged; not wanting to answer him, then took another pull from the bottle, finishing it off. "Because I feel like it."

His face hardened and he frowned at her slightly, "Because you want to? Drinking like this is not like you, Toy. What's up?"

She glared at him, her temper very close to the surface, the pain had still not abated and she was still very out of sorts. She just wanted him to go away and leave her be so she could finish self-medicating. "Don't start with me Darious; I'm not in the mood for it. I pay for part of the stuff, so I am entitled to drink it if I want to." She told him in short, clipped tones, her eyes flashing slightly.

Frowning at her, he crossed his arms across his chest, "You are still my sub…"

She snarled at him, eyes flashing dangerously, her temper starting to flare up, "So?"

He glared at her, tone hardening, "So? You are disobeying direct orders, Toy."

She looked down at the empty bottle, frowning, "Again, so?"

His anger was starting to rise but he choked it down, realizing this was totally out of character for her, "Why are you acting this way, Toy? This isn't you at all."

She looked down at the floor and sighed. She didn't like keeping things from him, it wasn't her. But how could she explain something to him that she herself didn't understand? So instead of telling him, she bluffed, "I thought you liked me acting like a brat."

He frowned again; this person was not the Dani he knew. She never acted like this. "Being a brat is fine, but this is beyond that. You are acting like a total bitch, just like Jade."

Her temper that was so close to the surface these days reared its head and she was out of the chair in a flash, snarling. Her eyes changed and she picked up the empty bottle and threw it at him. Then she turned to leave. Thinking it was better to walk out and deal with the repercussions later than stand here and get into a knock down, drag out fight with him.

He ducked the projectile easily enough and it shattered harmlessly against the wall behind him. "Bring that ass back here right now, Toy!" He snarled in his deepest, most commanding voice, making the bewilderment he felt at her out-of-control action.

She stopped and looked at him, eyes narrow and flashing, her temper not abating in the least, "Make me." Then she turned her back on him and started walking out.

His eyes narrowed dangerously, Make you?" Walking over to her, he grabbed her arm firmly, stopping her. "What in the blue hell is going on with you, Danyealle?"

She yanked her arm away and howled in pain. He didn't grab her hard, but he had left a bruise in the shape of his hand where he had held her. Her claws extended out of reflex and she took a swipe at his face, growling loudly.

He blocked the blow with his forearm, leaving another bruise on her. This was DEFINITELY out of character for her and was stunning to him. But he used the cold, even tone he always did to get her attention, trying to bring her out of whatever this was. "I am your Lord, Toy, don't you DARE attack me!"

She looked away, snarling, pissed beyond measure. She held her now sore and bruised arm to her chest, breathing heavily.

He looked at her, totally puzzled by this reaction. She was never like this without cause of some kind. "You are losing your self-control - attacking Marcus and Arkady, now me. What's wrong? I am very concerned about this behavior."

She backed away from him, eyes averted, still clutching her arm to her chest, shaking her head, "Just leave me alone, Darious."

He stiffened up, she had NEVER told him this since she first came to live with him and it was like being slapped. In times of trouble for her, she usually wanted him to hold her, but now it was like she was shoving him away and he didn't know how to react to it.

"Fine." He said, in a cold voice, "I will leave you alone for the time and allow you to get your emotions back under control. But do not leave the house, Toy." It wasn't that he minded anymore if she went somewhere on her own but with how she was reacting to him it unnerved him just what she might do in this state alone.

She just glared at him, eyes flashing, "I will leave if I feel like it, Darious." Her voice was hard and clipped, full blown rage simmering just below the surface.

He backed himself up slightly and lowered his voice to something more calming, "I'm asking you nicely not to leave. Something is wrong, you are angry and losing control, so please, for both our sakes, don't leave the house." He could feel his blood start to boil at her attitude, but the calmer side of him told him that would do no good with her in this state. Something was wrong with her, and his lashing out at her would only aggravate it more.

She glared at him again, then turned on her heel and walked out of the living room. She went into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of scotch from the cupboard and sat on the kitchen counter with it. In one long pull, she downed half the bottle.

He looked after her for a minute, puzzled and confused. When he heard the kitchen cupboard slam and he was convinced she wasn't going to leave, he walked into his study to sit and think for a while, trying to puzzle out what was going on with her.

He gave her a half an hour alone then went into the kitchen. She was sitting on the counter, holding her arm to her chest, a bottle of scotch ¾ gone, and sitting between her legs. He took a deep breath to gather himself then locked his hands behind his back, trying to look calm. Looking at her he asked, concern in his voice, "Dani?"

She looked up at him, and then lowered her eyes, ashamed of how she had spoken and treated him earlier.

He took a couple steps closer, "What is wrong, Dani? I don't know what's going on with you so I'm asking you to please tell me. I'm worried about you because you never, ever act like this. It's obvious that there is something going on and I would like for you to please tell me what it is."

She finished the last of the scotch in one gulp then sighed deeply and looked up at him, still holding her arm to her chest, but said nothing, just shaking her head.

He looked at her arm and his brow furrowed. Stepping even closer, he said, softly, "Did I hurt you? I didn't think I grabbed you all that hard. Can I see it, Toy? Please?"

The booze had finally taken effect and she wasn't hurting so bad anymore so she was much calmer and more reasonable. She held her arm out so he could see the hand print he had left, looking calmly at him.

He stepped up next to the counter and put his hand, gently, under her am and lifted it up so he could see it more clearly, frowning. Whatever residual anger he may have felt evaporated instantly and was replaced with concern. He knew he hadn't grabbed her that hard, certainly not hard enough to leave a bruise in its wake. He looked into her eyes, brow furrowed, "I barely grabbed you, but you got bruised. How did that happen? That was not my intention, you know that, Toy."

She shook her head, "I know, Darious. I don't know why it bruised. All I know is that my skin hurts and my muscles ache everywhere. Lately it's been quite easy for me to bruise, even bumping into things seems to do it, and they HURT. That is why I have been drinking so much, somehow it seems to dull the pain and make it more manageable."

Looking at her, thoroughly puzzled, "Why are you hurting, Dani? What is causing it?" He asked voice soft and concerned.

She shook her head again and sighed, "I don't know, Darious. All I know is I am hurting and I don't know why. It's driving me nuts!" She said, sighing heavily. "All I know is everything is so sensitive I can't even wear regular clothes, they have to be soft or they cause real pain."

He stroked her hair softly and kissed her tenderly on the forehead, "Is that why you've been sitting in my chair?"

She nodded vigorously, "Yes, it's the only place I can stand to sit. The fabric on the others is like sandpaper."

He stroked her hair softly and gently kissed her again. "OK Toy, you have standing permission to sit in my chair at any time." He pulled away and looked down at her again, brow furrowed, "How can I help you, Toy? Is there anything I can do to make it better?"

She sighed and shook he head, "I just don't know what's wrong. This has never happened to me before." She looked at him, eyes wide, "I'm scared, Darious. Just hold me, OK?"

He wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he dared, holding her gently, rubbing her back softly, his face buried in her hair.

She nuzzled her face into his chest and clutched him tightly to her.

He put his hand under her bottom and picked her up and holding her closely, then carried her into the living room. He sat down in his chair, cuddling her until she fell asleep. He was thinking, trying to figure out how to handle the foreign situation and best deal with it.