Mallow smiled a little sadly at her. "Nobody needs words to thrive, Cher. But they don't hurt." He said, beginning to wash himself. It seemed he was done with the compliments. "I don't want anything from you, you know." he said in that same monotone, the one he used when he was being careful not to betray how he felt. "I don't expect anything, I just thought you should know there's someone who cares."<br/>His brow twitched when she spoke of Raz. "Cherry, I assure you he's fine. He used to be in some special ops branch of the military, remember? He can handle himself."<br/><span style="font-style: italic">Then again, she might not know that.</span>He thought, and for a second regretted telling her. Only for a second, though. If Raz was lying to her, then it was on him.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>"My lies." Kai stated, seemingly devoid of anger. "You're right, you don't know me. You don't know what I'm capable of." He said, his head tilting to one side and his eyes getting a slightly insane look to them. There was silence, and before she would be aware of the change, Mira would find herself staring into her own face. "Maybe you'll believe yourself, then, hmm?" Kai said in her voice, sounding even more unhinged with her higher pitch. "Or maybe you'll just get even more pissed and attack yourself. Or, or! Maybe we could do something else, hmmmmm?" He reached out to run a finger along her jaw with a sultry gaze, all the while staring with wide, mismatched eyes into Mira's own.<br/>It was then that he shifted back with a disgusted look on his face. His heart was racing. He'd broken one of his own rules, and shifted into someone who was real. His forms were usually of his own making, because shifting into a real person would cause a rather nasty mental breakdown if he somehow forgot who he was.<br/>"You're hallucinating." Kai said, turning back to his pancakes. "It's likely because you're turning so soon after a traumatic event. You should go back to bed."<br/>It seemed that was all he would say, as he simply ate his pancakes and ignored the girl. Even something so sweet as syrup tasted like ash in his mouth after that display. The shifter didn't like reminding himself that he wasn't quite sane.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>Thyme jerked his head at the nurses after Brie's request. When one of them hesitated, he<span style="font-style: italic">hissed</span>at the man and bared his fangs. That sent him scurrying right as the werecat swept over to Brie's side, where he reached a hand out and brushed a lock of sweat-drenched hair out of her face, and dabbed at her forehead with a new wet cloth. "You have to keep the blankets on, love. Your fever needs to come down. Try to go back to sleep, okay? I'll stay here with you." He said softly.