ROUGH DRAFT - Coye 6.2 (Patreon)

Just a rough draft, don't bother pointing out mistakes you see

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Since now there was no one between them, Dorothy approached Coye's bedside and pulled up a chair to sit down beside him. As she did, his gigantic eyes followed her every move. It was just the two of them, and he couldn't stop looking at her. Dorothy didn't know if his smile was because of the drugs or if he was really just that happy to see her. She hoped it was the latter, even if the idea made her nervous.

She smiled at him despite it all, and struggled to find where to even begin. She didn't need to think so hard, Coye had it covered his thoughts were just waiting to pour out of his loosened lips. "I'm really happy everything turned out the way it did."

"It's almost a little too good to be true," Dorothy laughed as she thought the same. "Even if the Guild is still going to have a bunch of problems from now on."

"You really think so?" Coye tilted his head. "I beat the bad guy and told everyone not to mess with you. Didn't I save the day?"

His innocence was rather adorable and Dorothy scratched her head. "You know I'm pessimistic, even when I shouldn't be... The money will solve a lot of short-term problems, and if people got the message and stop giving me a hard time that will help too, but a lot of the problems around here are structural. I'll have to rethink a lot of how we do business or anything to really make a difference for good."

"Sounds a lot like you are trying to do everything yourself again," Coye narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "I told you we are in this together from now on. That was what all of that was about."

Dorothy blushed and started waving her hands to excuse herself. "That wasn't what I meant! I mean, ah, I know, Coye. I'm not going to force myself to do everything. Not anymore. You were right... I really do need to just shut up and let you and others help me. I just wish it didn't take me so long to figure out."

"It's okay," he smiled. "I'm pretty stupid, too."

"You're not stupid..." Dorothy could only laugh. "The way you fought back there was... Beyond anything I could've ever imagined were capable of, Coye. Such tactical thinking was incredible, and even if your stubbornness was hard to watch, it can't be argued that you got results..."

"It's a good thing someone sold me a bunch of useless trinkets that are only effective in specific circumstances," Coye teased with a wide smile.

Dorothy blushed and looked at the floor. "I guess so. I feel like he would've found a way to win even without all that junk, though."

"Want to find out? I'm up to fight him again if he is,"

Dorothy blinked and felt despair swirling in her stomach. She didn't want him to fight Auguris ever again if he can help it. "Please, no. I don't think I can take another one of those so soon."

"Damn," Coye weakly clicked his tongue. "The only real way to get stronger is to fight stronger opponents, and I'm gonna have to keep doing that if I want to support you."

Dorothy blushed. "You're already doing more than enough, Coye. More than anyone else. I won't ever be able to think of a way to repay you... You didn't magically solve all of the Guild's problems, but you gave me the chance to fix everything-" Coye almost called her out on before she added, "together, I mean."

Satisfied, he smiled and nodded. "Any idea what you're gonna do with all the gold the Guild won?"

"I have a few scattered ideas, but I'm trying not to stress too much about it like you told me not to. The first thing I have to do though is find some new receptionists to help Tammy so that I don't have to spend as much time at the front desk. It's like you said, I need to lessen my workload and not try and do as much..."

"Shame," Coye mumbled. "I like it when you're the one who sees me off."

"Oh," Dorothy nervously twiddled her fingers. "I, um, I like being the one to see you off, too..."

There was an awkward moment between them before Coye said, "it's probably good idea, though. Then again, I'm having a lot of weird thoughts right now so I'm probably not the best judge of what is or isn't a good idea."

"Weird thoughts? Anything in particular?"

"How come Byng's ass is so fat and her thighs so thick when she is constantly on the move, running around and hunting all the time?" Coye posited this question like it was a deep and philosophical one, making Dorothy laugh from the unexpected comment.

"Actually," she stated the trigger word of an oncoming lecture, "Gengaggi are well-known for their exaggerated sexual proportions. Depending on the individual, this can range from excessive fat stores and exaggerated hips to- um..."

Dorothy paused and felt stupid for going off on another tangent. Something about talking to Coye was just so easy that she couldn't help herself. She was already someone who got carried away when talking, but the fact that he listened made him special and she couldn't stop it often times.

"Sorry," she laughed awkwardly.

"It's okay. I also can't stop thinking about what the deal is with us."

"... Us? As in, um..."

"Yeah. That."

"Oh," Dorothy stopped and found it hard to look at him. "I... I suppose you're going to have a talk about that soon. Aren't we?"

"Yes. Does that scare you?"

"More than anything," she gulped and adjusted her glasses, which were falling from her nose. "But not in a bad way. It's more like I'm nervous and apprehensive about the idea of us as we are right now changing, even if it might change into something... um... Better."

"I understand..." Coye smiled up at her and his hand slid out from under the blanket to reach toward Dorothy. It was bandaged, as was his arm. Dorothy was glad she didn't have to see what was underneath those bandages, but out of concern she took his hand in hers. "It's gonna be okay. Change is only scary before its happened. Once your past that, it just becomes your new normal."

"... Speaking from experience?"

"You could say that."

The two started to laugh softly at each other until Dorothy helped Coye's hand back where it could rest peacefully. "I'm getting tired, Dorothy. You don't have to stay much longer if you don't want to."

"I'm fine, I can stay as long as you need me to, I..."

"You need rest just as much as I do-" Coye was firm. "Don't kid yourself."

Just from Coye pointing it out, Dorothy felt a lot more exhausted. The events of the day were congealing in her mind and she needed time to process them. Still, she couldn't help it the Coye was more important to her right now that herself.

"Is there anything I can do for you before I go?" She scooted her chair little closer, her cheeks red. "I'm afraid I don't have a fluffy tail, but, um..." Dorothy paused and ended up making herself blush even harder. "I don't know where I was going with that, I'm sorry. This is all so-"

even though he was high, Coye knew Dorothy was struggling to keep herself together. Looks like she needed someone to tell her what to do again, or else she'll keep thinking in circles. "Pet my head." He commanded suddenly.

"W-What? Um... Okay...?" Dorothy reached out before she even knew what she was doing. The idea made her shy, but Coye's forwardness motivated her and compelled her to do it anyway. As her hand made contact with his silky blond locks, she noticed something that had evaded her until now.

When did she start becoming so obedient to Coye? It seems like after their talk two days ago, she'd been doing just about anything he asked of her. Now that she was aware of it, it made her wonder about the strange way it made her feel. Namely, it made her feel good to be of use to him. The way she pet his scalp crossed the line between Guild Mistress and adventurer, but when he smiled and started to doze from her touch, none of that mattered.

She lost herself in their physical contact, smiling wider and deeper as the thoughts exited her stressed brain. For a while it seemed like she might fall asleep while touching him, and in her tiredness she began to wonder what it would be like to lay there beside him and nap. Probably painful for Coye, given what was under the blanket, but some other time, perhaps. This embarrassing thought brought her out of her peacefulness. Did she have it in her to be so bold? Maybe Dorothy would find out some other time, but for now, Coye needed his rest and she needed to clear her head as well.

She didn't want to leave his side, but she forced herself to. Dorothy walked away and looked back over her shoulder at Coye, giving him one last smile before stepping out into Eschal's office.

He was there at his desk, sitting in his leather chair while updating Coye's folder with the details of his current treatment. He didn't look back at Dorothy, assuming she would check in with him before going on her way.

"P-Soft Boy's condition remains stable?" Eschal looked up from his work and sat down the magical ink filled pen with which he wrote.

"Stable as can be," she reported with a noticeable smile, sitting down across from Eschal at his desk. The moment she went upstairs she would get ambushed by an entire Guild worth of people who will likely wanted to either apologize to her or push her aside to make their way to Coye. Having a quick talk with one of her few allies before facing that seemed a wise decision.

"I assumed as much, I rarely make mistakes." Eschal stated this fact plainly. "And how about your own condition? You're here, you might as well tell me about what has occurred from your perspective."

"I'm not sure where to even begin," she sighed. "I'm fairly sure the worst of it has passed, though. Things might actually be getting better around here soon."

"Is that so?" Eschal took notice of the way she still stared at the examination room's door. "I must say that as your humble employee I am pleased to hear that, but as a healer I'm heavily disappointed."

Dorothy was no stranger to Eschal's peculiarities and it made her curious to know where he was going with this. "I'm not sure I follow, ahaha...?"

"I put in all of that work to stabilize you during your anxiety attack and subsequent cardiac arrest, yet all of my efforts were in vain compared to the power of love. Such an illogical, stupid thing, I-"

"love?!" Dorothy wasn't ready to think about the subject that hard yet. "You're being a little presumptuous, I think. I... um... How much do you even know?"

"P-Wavering Mind kept me up to date with your condition yesterday in case I needed to visit you in your room. I'm aware that an extended discussion with P-Soft Boy was what motivated you to leave your bed this morning."

Damn it, Tammy. "Yes, but... That doesn't mean I'm-"

"dilated eyes. Redness of the cheeks. Shortness of breath. Even more flustered than usual when the topic of P-Soft Boy is brought up. Sweaty palms. Go on," Eschal stared straight at Dorothy, who couldn't even look at him. "Tell me my diagnosis is wrong."

"I'm not- um... I... I don't think this discussion is in my best interest right now, Eschal."

Eschal considered this and was hit with a sudden wave of empathy and felt rather foolish. His intellect led to a lack of bedside manners at times, as obviously did his appearance. He hung his head. "Forgive me. I didn't mean to pry into your emotional state. Rather, I did, I just didn't mean to be rude about it."

Dorothy laughed at his offkilter apology. "Don't worry about it, I'll be alright."

"I only meant to say that for as much as I have a distaste for it, I begrudgingly admit there are a few medicine stronger than love. It's a prescription I can't fill, but if you happen to find your own source of it, I wholeheartedly recommend it."

"Ah-" Dorothy felt flustered at his roundabout advice. "Thank you... I'll... Keep that in mind, I suppose..."

Regardless of what her feelings were, Dorothy couldn't pursue them until a few things are cleared out of the way. She couldn't stop dwelling on the things that Gloria said about Coye's father. If anything were to happen with him, she wants to air that out. And then there was another topic that concerned her that she like thinking about even less. That was definitely something they couldn't talk about until they were both feeling better, as it might upset him as well.

She shook her head and forced herself not to think about any of this before standing up. "Any idea how bad it is up there?" Dorothy asked before taking the first steps towards his door.

"No. All I do know is that you need to relax for the rest of today, and have someone alert me if my services are needed."

Dorothy thought about that, and Eschal noticed the hesitation on her face. "Is something so troubling you?"

"I don't really know if I want to go back up there..." She admitted.

"There are more beds if you need one."

"It's not that, it's..." Dorothy sighed and looked back at him, crossing her arms. She and Eschal were always on friendly terms even during her years as assistant guild mistress, but she never trusted him to deeply with their personal problems. Now, though? She could only think of Coye telling her to accept help from others when she could get it.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to handle the aftermath of everything that just happened. Did Tammy talk to you while I was with Coye just now?"

"Yes," he confirmed. "She gave me a much more detailed breakdown of today."

"Good, okay," she nodded. "I'm troubled because I don't know how to handle the fact that Coye, um, essentially may have salvaged my reputation. I don't know for sure whether it's true or not, but, I... um... I think a lot of the adventurers and employees are feeling bad about how they treated me."

"And the problem with that is...?"

"How am i supposed to react to their apologies?" Dorothy asked. "A lot of them made my life a living hell, and-"

"you still harbor resentment for many of them?"

"No, I... well... Maybe. There are only a few who are really that bad, but the rest of them were integrated, either. Am I just supposed to turn a blind eye to everything that they put me through and start being friendly now like I've tried to be for so long, or what...?"

Eschal was not a therapist. He was a man of good intentions, questionable interests, and scientific reason. This wasn't within his wheelhouse to treat. Some guilds had a counselor for adventurers, but no one would mistake Eschal for one. That said, Dorothy Whittle was someone he looked after for eight years now. He still remembered the physical examination he gave her on her first day at the Guild and how she screamed when she saw him and then apologized profusely. Few others had it in them to do that much. She was a good person at her core, and he would provide whatever little guidance he could for her.

"If you ask me, I say you should remain polite but never forget. Give them a chance to earn forgiveness yet don't pretend there harsh treatment of you never happened. Remain stern."

Dorothy went quiet as she considered his advice. It was reasonable and rational, nothing less than she would expect of her healer. She smiled and ended up laughing softly couple times, a funny idea coming to mind.

"You know, that's not bad advice. Maybe you should be running the bar upstairs? I think you have it in you to be a good bartender, Eschal. You could teach Norman a thing or two about listening to people's problems."

Eschal's dark expression was hard to read as ever, but Dorothy could've sworn she saw the corners of his eyes crinkling into a smile behind his long willowy hair. "P-Milquetoast may be underwhelming in many regards, but he is far more suited to serving drinks than a literal monster. Not only that, I'm a healer. I'm more inclined to cut people off than I am to let them keep drinking past the point of responsibility."

Dorothy smiled again. "I suppose that's fair." Both of them heard Coye lightly groaning from the other room, which instantly worried the Guild Mistress. Eschal calmed her down and rose from his seat, dismissing her concerns with a wave of his corpse like darkened hand.

"He's fine, this is normal. I just have to go and apply a few follow-up ointments to P-Soft Boy right about now. Don't go worrying yourself about him any longer for today."

"I doubt I can stop myself there," she smiled crookedly at the ground.

"No, likely not. It would please me if you would try, however. Now, if you'll excuse me..." Eschal made his way to one of his many shelves and started grabbing bottle after bottle of strange and expensive tinctures, each one clinking against the others glass until he disappeared into the other room and Dorothy was left alone.

She trusted Eschal with Coye's care, as he was the most reliable healer she'd ever known. Much more than the adventurers healers she had in her roster, anyway. Now all that was left was for her to return upstairs. Before she even made it out of Eschal's office, she was already stressing about the next thing.

Dorothy hoped that Tammy wasn't having much trouble right about now. Coye never told her that Suzette was taking care of the front desk with Tammy, but she felt bad about that and that her infirmity made a near stranger go so far out of her way Dorothy's sake. It wasn't just her, Byng was very nice and helpful today, too.

Before she knew it, Dorothy was growing more and more fond of the two of them. She wasn't used to people doing her kindness, but she wouldn't mind if it continued in some form. The idea of having friends beyond Tammy was foreign to Dorothy, but it gave her the courage she needed to make the plunge and head back upstairs.

Little did she know that someone was waiting for her on the other side of Eschal's door, someone who threatened to send her courage plummeting straight back into the abyss. Waiting at the base of the stone stairwell leading to the lounge was Britni, looking tense with her arms crossed and her brows furrowed. Coco still faithfully at her feet while chewing a fresh bone, the cracking of her fangs on bone giving Dorothy momentary dread.