Jekyll and Hyde Syndrome

"B-but I don't need his love," she says through teary eyes and with a weak voice, "He's given me more than I deserve and I don't need him to sacrifice anymore. He has you now. He doesn't need me and I don't need him... Those days are over. He needs to let go. I already have."

Her arms feel sore from Tahir's grasp, her body feels weak all over. If they let go of her now she would collapse into a heap, a blubbering mess. Her mind would feel like a very dark, scarred place to Alexis, beaten by her own words, pained every moment with thoughts of self loathing. She very obviously has been collapsing under her depression and there is barely anything left to hang on with. Alexis would have to wipe away a good 700 years worth of her memories to even get her halfway sane again.

Again the tears welled up behind Tahir's closed eyes. This was so incredibly painful for him to hear.

Alexis's present was the only thing comforting to him. He took a deep breath, telling himself that he needed to trust his love, that this was currently out of his hands.

As the vampires fingers eased his grip he complied. He hadn't even realized he was squeezing Arzu.

"No one can give you more than you deserve, you deserve all the happiness in the world.
He is not making sacrifices for you, that is what love is, Arzu.
You both need each other and you always will, just because Tahir and I are together doesn't mean that I am replacing you."

The woman's mind was nothing but blackness, a dark vortex of hatred and negativity, this had been happening for so long and she had become too good at hiding the horrors that lurked inside her soul.

She couldn't get rid of all this loathing, but she could try to sooth the woman, ease her suffering if only a little bit, she would have to work through a lot of these issues and they would have to keep and eye on her.

Alexis placed her hand on Arzu's forehead.
"Arzu, leave this dark place and let others show you your worth, open up to love and don't let these inner demons eat at you.
You are not going to kill yourself, you are going to eat and get stronger until you don't need my influence to hold you up."

She hoped that her influence in the woman's mind would help seal away some of the darkness, enough for her to heal.

She can feel Alexis' influence enter her mind, like some kind of drug, something to cover up the pain. It numbs her inner voice and in turn makes her feel all of the physical distress she's been forcing in the back of her mind. Her stomach wrenches in three week old hunger pains and her limbs throb from Tahir's force. Completely weakened, she lets out a whimper and falls completely limp, very close to losing consciousness.

Alexis' words replay over and over in her mind, and though they grow faint over time they continue to stay there, numbing Arzu's black mentality. Her body shivers slightly from time to time, little after shocks of being in so much distress to being in so much pain. Her head hurts both from all of the restless activity in her brain and from Tahir pulling her hair. The thoughts of death leave her mind, but they are replaced by hallowness.

Cautiously Tahir repositioned himself, being sure to not make any swift movements as to snap Arzu out of whatever compliment state she was in.

He gently laid her down on the bed, and then stepped back so that Alexis could keep working with her.

"Is there anything that I can do?" He whispered to Alexis, though his eyes focused in on his sister.

Alexis blinked for the first time since she had started, her hand moving to rub her sore eyes slightly as she looked up at Tahir.

"She is going to be in this state until her strength picks up enough for her to function.
Even then she will be under my influence, she isn't going to kill herself and she will eat but she will still be harboring a lot of negativity, depression just can't be swept away.

Get a pair of your sweat pants and a sweater, her body isn't producing enough heat to keep her warm at the moment.

I don't know how to cook so you'll have to go to the kitchen and make something easy for her to take in.
Make a vegetable based soup and just add in some iron supplements so she can get her strength up, I'll watch her while you do.

We will take it in turns watching her for a few days until she is stable again."

She muttered, hopefully if she kept giving Tahir things to do he would feel like he was helping instead of sitting there weeping.

The Vampire's hand reached up and tenderly wiped away the tears which struggled not to fall from his eyes.
"She will be alright Tahir."

Her stomach feels as though a creature has taken up residence and is gnawing at her insides with razor sharp teeth. Though she isn't looking at Alexis there is a strong presence of the vampire woman in her brain and it scares and soothes her at the same time. Arzu doesn't move in fear of feeling the sharp pains that riddle her body, eat away at her skin and organs.

But what's worse than that for her is the cold, the bitter air that leeches the minuscule amounts of body heat that escape her. It makes her shiver slightly, the worst of the cold is that around her ribs, which are too visible against her skin. Arzu's lower lip trembles against the cold, the pain, the hallowness. Her eyes flicker closed and she drowns silently in the pain that overcomes her and saves her at the same time.

Tahir nodded his head in compliance as soon as Alexis started giving him orders. He moved to his wardrobe and pulled out some comfortable clothes of his. They would fit his little sister like blankets.

He laid them down beside Arzu and quickly ran to the door to go start preparing her some food. Just before he left the room he stopped suddenly and turned back around.

In a few quick strides he was back at Alexis side. He looked into her eyes, his own silver hues still glimmering. There was so much love and thankfulness behind his gaze. Without being able to form any words, he grabbed her shoulders and kissed her passionately.

He then turned and quickly left the room to go and do as Alexis had said. He truly would be lost without her.

She kissed her Lycan back with equal ferocity, stroking his face tenderly, he had been through so much today and it reflected in his eyes which flashed with different emotion, each as powerful as the last.

"Hurry back."
She muttered softly as he left the room again, the more pained he looked the more she wanted to wrap her arms around him and protect him from the world.

It was a funny notion, someone as small as her protecting someone as large as him, but beneath Tahir's rough outer shell lay a soft center which seemed easily shaken in moments like these.

Her eyes turned back to Arzu, the woman was shivering, moving forward she helped the woman dress in her brothers large clothing, simply layering it over what she was already wearing, she could use all the heat she could get.

Once she was bundled in the overly large garments she pulled the covers over her, letting the woman soak in the heat that her body could no longer provide.

Unable to move herself without feeling immense pain, she allows Alexis to move her body to dress her. She lets out weak whimpers of pain as she's moved, her bones creaking under her flesh. Once she is finally bundled under all the fabrics she squeezes her eyes shut and continues to shiver, though it has died down some.

Her mind is numb... Her body is numb. Everything about her is numb. No longer throbbing in pain, but there is no relief either, only numbness. She can't even pull herself to feel fear. Only two emotions reside in Arzu: exhaustion and dull sadness. Her mind is free enough now to let what her brother did to her sink in, the way he bruised her, pulled her hair, yelled at her... How different he's been, how long he was gone. These feelings flash in her brain in waves, unable to think more in depth due to her current predicament.

She wants to sleep, but the pain keeps her awake.

All Tahir could think about were his sisters words. They played through his mind over and over again.

How she hated life. How she'd let go. How she wished he would to. How she wanted death.

Was he doing the right thing? Who was he to deny her what she wanted so desperately? Was it selfish of him to keep her alive?

He felt sick as these questions came into his mind. He didn't know anything anymore, and in this moment all he wanted to do was not think.

His allowed his mind to numb over as he went about fixing Arzu a light meal, focusing only on each minuscule task he had to do.

Alexis kept a keen eye on Arzu, she worried for the woman, she wanted to keep her safe and look after her, not just for Tahir's sake but for her own, Arzu deserved a happy life, not a sad death.

She sat up on the corner of the bed, at least she was looking a little warmer now and once they got a little bit of food into her hopefully her body would start kicking in and helping her recover.

There was hope for Arzu, even if they could not see it yet, the woman would not have been so easy to influence if there wasn't some part of her that wanted to live.

Though her senses were dulled considerably she could tell Alexis was still in the room, still watching her. Somehow, through all the pain and all the sadness, it was able to make the sickly woman uncomfortable. She didn't like the thought of Alexis sitting there... There was still a part of Arzu who saw Alexis as her replacement and that part was not going to fade very fast.

"...C-Can I be alone?" She questions, her voice would be too weak for human ears to hear, but to a vampire the question would be just barely audible.

Her face fell as the woman spoke, she knew that Arzu wasn't fond of her, despite her earlier hopes that they would become close friends, evidently that didn't happen.

"Arzu, I want to respect your privacy and give you space, but I promised your brother that I would watch you.
I'll stay until he gets back, then I'll leave if you want."

She muttered in reply, she wanted to do what was right for Arzu but it may endanger her well being again.

"...Please... Please d-do," is all she's able to murmur out before her voice gives in. It wasn't necessarily that Arzu disliked Alexis, more that she felt intimidated by the woman. The poisonous voice that had plagued Arzu's mind before being hypnotized had molded a new Alexis in her mind that was completely different from the woman who sat at the end of the bed.

Arzu saw the woman as one who had judged her in the past, had view her was weak, pathetic, and a burden to Tahir, though this was only how she felt of herself. The self loathing had unfortunately seeped into her perception of how others view her, and Alexis was no exception.

"Alright then, I am sure he will be back soon."

A small smile graced her lips, not one of happiness but of compassion.

In Arzu's current state she could understand well enough why she didn't want her around, Alexis simply hoped that in the future when Arzu was a little better than they could make peace with one another because she was going to be by Tahir's side for a long time, regardless of how anyone else felt, including his sister and her brothers.

The Vampire's golden eyes turned down to look at her hands as she fidgeted, she was far too lucky to have caught the eye of someone like Tahir, he was passionate and she was drawn to him, she had no psychic ability but even she saw the two of them being together for an excessively long time.

Her breath grows faint after a few more moments of waiting. Though silence surrounds the two there are a million noises buzzing and writhing about in Arzu's mind. Noises of hunger, sadness, shame, everything that could pile up that has been hidden behind the iron curtain of self loathing. It gnaws at her and makes her whimper quietly at times with the breaths she takes.

Her brow furrows tightly against the pain as she struggles with it, the shivers coming and going in waves.

Tahir had worked as fast as he possibly could without making too much of a mess. He didn't bother cleaning the kitchen when he was done. He'd do it later, but now he just wanted to get his sister fed.

He walked briskly but carefully up to his room, knocked on the door once, and then opened it to let himself in.

His steps slowed the closer her got to the bed. It pained him to see her this way. But it wasn't the worst image he had seen in his life. With Alexis by his side, helping him, he'd be able to get through this, him and Arzu both. He knew it, whole heatedly believed it.

He sat down on the bed next to Arzu, using one hand to gently prop her head up so he could spoon the soup into her mouth.

"Please drink this Arzu." He whispered tenderly, holding the utensil up to her lips.

When he had left the room not long before he looked like a panicked wreck. But in the time he was gone he was able to get his composure back together and again looked like the strong and collected man he normally was. His brow was furrowed in concern, but he didn't appear to look like he would break down again.

Seeing Tahir enter the room again made the Vampire's mood lighten considerably.

He looked better, his eyes were not red from weeping and his face no longer contorted in confusion and pain.

She needed and excuse to leave now that he had returned, no matter how much she wanted to stay by his side she had told Arzu that she would leave.

Alexis rose to her feet padding over to him quietly and planting a small kiss on top of his head as her hand stroked his shoulder.

Leaning in she muttered softly in his ear.
"I need to go feed."
She lied, it was better than Tahir knowing that his sister didn't want her around, she would slip out without any trouble knowing he wouldn't deny her when she needed food.

The hunger churned in her stomach and pined for the food so much that any past thoughts of starving herself to death fled her mind, obliterated by both her extreme need for nourishment and the hypnotism Alexis weaved in her mind. Arzu drinks down the food steadily, keeping her eyes closed, the sound of her brother comforts her and sadness her at the same time. As she grows more mentally stable she'll want to talk to him about what they went through... But for now her mind is too focused on restoring her body to a healthy balance.

The bruises on very prominent on her body now, several darker ones surround her mouth where Tahir's hand was clasped, her skin being extra tender from undernourishment so any blow she received would show up very clearly and would take a good amount of time to heal completely. The shivers come and go in short spasms and there is some sweat on her brow from when the pain was consuming her, both mentally and physically, but she looks a great deal calmer as she eats.

Tahir looked up at Alexis when she approached him, and nodded his head when she said she had to go.

"Come back when you can?" He asked, not wanting to demand anything of her, but wanting her company in this dark time. He watched her go with loving eyes before turning his attention fully back to Arzu.

A gnawing guilt formed inside his chest as he noticed the bruises forming on her body. That was... his fault...

He had never hurt a woman before. He always felt strongly that there was no honor in hurting someone who could barely defend themselves. Arzu was so weak right now, and he had handled her like an object.

It wasn't out of malice, it was out of anger. He wasn't thinking "I want to hurt her", but that's what he had done. He had abused his little sister.

He swallowed back his guilt as he continued to gently feed her, taking it slow. In contrast to how he handled her before, he was treating her as if she were a thin sculpture of glass, one wrong move and she could shatter.

"I'm so sorry Arzu." He whispered. "Alexis and I, we'll make this right. I promised you I would protect you, even if that means from yourself. I'll show you how much you mean to me, I'll show you how much you're worth. You're worth so much little sister, so so much"

He continued to try and comfort her as he fed her. Every bit of food she consumed brought great joy to Tahir, even through all the bitter sadness.

The food is warm and healing as it runs down her throat into her once empty stomach. If Arzu wasn't laying down as she is the food would slouch around inside her and make feel sick to her stomach, possibly just to throw it all back up again, but she is able to stomach it in her rest. Her eyelids flutter slightly though they are closed and a small tear rolls out of the corner of one of them as she listens to her brother speak to her. She honestly doesn't know what to trust. A part of her wants so badly to just collapse into her brother and be a young, vulnerable girl again, but an even stronger part wants to hold back and make sure she can trust both him and herself again before succumbing to anything drastic.

She stays silent as she eats, refusing to look Tahir in the eye, even when her eyes open slightly, the weakness she feels making them roll back in her head slightly when she tries to look elsewhere. Eventually, after eating all the food Tahir gives her, she is able to drift off into a stable, numbed sleep, one much less troubled then all the times she has attempted to rest in the past month.

Alexis did end up going out to hunt, after delving into the dark, doom ridden mind of Arzu, she needed to clear her head.

Town was too far away, she didn't want to travel far in case something bad happened, as such she had ran through the surrounding forests, catching a small doe with ease and drinking.

Once her stomach was slightly sated as her head no longer drowned in negativity she made her back to Tahir's room but did not enter.

She didn't know if Arzu was still awake or not and she didn't want to risk upsetting the woman, or intruding on a sibling moment.

As such she simply sat outside by the door, listening intently for any signs of distress as she leaned warily against the wall.

Tahir made sure to stay near Arzu even after she fell asleep. His large hand stroked her hair gently as he looked down at her. A frown was twisted into his face and his brow furrowed.

If there was one thing he hated it was not having answers. And this was a situation where he just didn't know what the outcome would be. He didn't know what he should do, what he shouldn't do. He couldn't say if Arzu would be okay or not. And he hated that, the unknowing.

Swallowing he stood up, wanting to find Alexis again. Normally he would not leave his sister, but she was in such an exhausted state he was sure she wouldn't go anywhere or hurt herself.

Not only that but he needed to find his love, to thank her for all that she had done.

He was surprised to find her standing there when he had opened the door. Perfect timing? He hoped so.

Without a word he wrapped his strong arms around her, holding her close to him in a loving and protective way. The proper words to thank her could not leave his throat. So instead he cradled Alexis, pressing his lips to the top of her head.

Her eyes shot up as the door opened, she hadn't expected either of them to be coming out any time soon, perhaps this meant that Arzu had fallen to sleep.

She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight, kissing his chest softly as he kissed her head.

"She will be alright, Tahir."

Alexis muttered softly as her bright golden eyes turned up to him reassuringly, she had an unexplainable need to make the woman healthy again.

She had to, for Arzu's and Tahir's sake, they needed each other more than they probably knew.