Breakthrough
Armin's P.O.V.
He was screaming. I should've stopped. His back was going to get infected if I had stopped. My arm stung as blood gushed out. I grabbed it, applying pressure. I looked at Eren, angry. His eyes were squinted, teeth showing, nose scrunched, growling. I pulled in on myself, tucking my feet under myself. Then, silence.
"Armin?" Eren asked, seemingly coming out of his pain infused haze. I didn't respond. My arm hurt too much. Eren's eyes widened. I looked away.
"...................I'm fine," I answered, finally. Eren began to struggle. I looked back at him to see him yank his feet free of the cuffs, breaking the chain. I shook. He ripped his hands away from the armrest. He stood. He flinched. He stumbled over to me. Falling less than gracefully, he sat by my side, head down. He reached for my arm, but I pulled it out of his reach.
"I did that to you, ..................didn't I?" he said. I didn't answer. "I did............God, I am so sorry, Armin. It's just..........it hurt so much when you put the rubbing alcohol on it, a-and........I couldn't control myself. I'm sorry," he said, face still down-cast. He opened his mouth to speak, but decided against it.
"I-it's nothing, really. It'll heal," I tried. Eren scoffed.
"No, it's not. It's too deep. It must hurt. Here, let me--" I cut him off before he could finish.
"No, seriously, it will heal. Look!" I said, as I lifted my arm. Just as the green-eyed brunette was about to speak, I brought my head down to the cut. I stuck my tongue out and ran it over the sliced flesh. Eren grimaced.
"Ugh, nasty! What are you doing? That's not going to help anything! St--" I shushed him.
"Shut up!" I ran my tongue over the gash again and again, until all the blood was cleaned up. Then, it happened. My flesh started to knit over itself. Each fiber regrowing, each molecule reconstructing itself, each drop of blood being replenished. I was healing.
"Wow," Eren said once it was done. "How'd you do that?" This time I scoffed. I wiped my arm dry with my other sleeve. Rubbing my skin, I sighed.
"It's regeneration. All cats can do it. It's a healing mechanism. All the cells regrow. All the blood is replaced. It takes time, though. A cat has to rest for a few minutes for it to heal properly. If we don't leave it alone for a long enough amount of time, it'll scar. Then, when we change, the fur is a different color. It becomes inconsistent. It's really ugly," I explained. I thought for a second, then spoke. "Can't wolves do that, too? Well, at least the alphas?" I inquired. Eren shook his head.
"No, only the pack leader can. Just my dad can. It's kinda unfair," he said. I nodded. Then I remembered.
"YOUR BACK!!" I screeched. He seemed to remember and grabbed his back. He fell over.
"Gah, why'd you have to remind me. My body would've forgotten about it if you hadn't told me! AAHH, m'back!" he said, rolling onto his stomach.
"I can't carry you back to the couch. You have to work with me here. Okay, help me," I lifted his chest from the ground. He tried as best he could to stay upright. Once he fell, it was onto the couch, so he was saved any extra damage. He groaned and whimpered. I couldn't think of what to do. Then, it came to me.
"Take your shirt off," I ordered. He didn't. I grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it up. I somehow got it all the way off of him and looked at his back. The gash was a deep red and swollen. It was already getting infected! My mind was a blur. I placed my hands on his back and thought. His back was hot. Sweat started to stream over his shoulders. The infection wasn't wasting any time to take its course. I began to mumble the probabilities of him living to myself. I was not happy with what I thought.
"Okay, Eren. I have an idea, but you may not like it. There is a chance it'll work and stop the infection from spreading. There is also a chance it will do absolutely nothing! Do you want to try?" I asked.
"Anything! Please, do anything! Just make it stop!" he pleaded. I nodded. Bringing my head closer to his back, I took a deep breathe. I was really going to try something impossible!
"Here I go," I mumbled to myself. I stuck my tongue out, placed it at the center of his back, and ran it up to where the wound ended. Eren flinched. I felt him shiver. It was gross to have my tongue on someone's sweaty back.
I lifted my head to look at the painful wound. Nothing happened. I tried again, bringing my head down to his back and licking. Lifting my head back up once more, I watched. Nothing. It wasn't working! The infection was still going at it with his cells, killing them. I sighed and felt a heavy weight come over me.
"It didn't work. I'm sorry, Eren. There's nothing I can do," I said in a sad tone. I closed my eyes.
"Ahaha, why is my back tingling? It tickles!" Eren giggled. I opened my eyes suddenly.
"What? I have never felt a tingling sensation when I lick my wounds. Let me see," I told him. Looking again at the dreadful slit on the werewolf's back, I saw something that made my jaw drop. I watched in fixated wonder as Eren's flesh slowly but surely knit over itself. It was working! He was healing!
"Holy crap," I commented almost breathlessly, "It worked! It actually worked!" I backed away from the giggling boy and jumped up and down. I giggled and squealed like a little school girl. I smiled and clapped my hands together as if I had just watched an amazing play. "I just figured out to heal werewolves with werecat saliva. That's amazing!" I laughed.
"I'm still covered in cuts and blood, ya know?" Eren stated from the couch. I omitted an 'Ah' and walked back to him.
"Alright, this is gonna be weird, but we've got a lot of work to do," I said, rubbing my hands together. And, a lot of work indeed.