Either way, she felt utterly drained. Using her magic had taken more out of her than she anticipated. She picked up her mostly forgotten bread and started to nibble on it again, nodding almost robotically in response to Jessica as she babbled on.
This seemed to jolt the whole mothering gene of Kaylee as she gasped, “Wait, what have you eaten today? You didn’t have any money, did you?”
“Uhm…Elisa gave me some soup. And I healed the little girl like you heard, so her mom gave me a bit, so I bought some bread.”
Kaylee tsked disapprovingly. “You poor thing. Why don’t you go up to your room and rest for a bit, and I’ll bring you some dinner. You must be exhausted.”
“That’d be nice, thanks.” Raphael was tacitly not saying anything, so she figured he was now an official, albeit unwilling, member of Team Jade, since he’d figured out she was a dual mage. She smiled wanly at the three of them, then got up and wobbled to the stairs, climbing them wearily.
She unlocked her door after it took what seemed like an age to get the key into the hole. Stumbling in, she left it unlocked behind her as she crashed onto the bed, lying there face down.
It was time to go through her notifications.
Chapter Nine – Protein
Day Two
Flat on her face, she started scrolling through the notifications, just counting them as she looked at the skills and ignored everything else. She had no idea which person was which, or what their stats might be like. All she could do was make guesses based on the skills shown to her. When she got to the 28th notification, she heaved a sigh of relief that she’d seen them all. It seemed the ones from this morning hadn’t disappeared either.
There was a knock at the door and Jessica entered quietly, coming in and putting a plate of food on her desk. She walked over and pulled Jade up, which she reluctantly allowed. “Come on; you need to eat.”
Jade nodded tiredly, still trying to deal with the blue boxes obstructing her vision. She let Jessica lead her to the desk, where she flopped down. Mentally minimizing the boxes when her stomach growled in anticipation, she smiled gratefully at Jessica and then started digging in.
She cleared the plate less than a minute later, sitting back with satisfaction. Jessica appeared a little startled, but she collected the plate and said quietly, “You should change and get some rest. You’ll feel better in the morning.”
“Thanks, Jessica. Have a good night.” She saw her out, locking the door behind her. Walking over to her closet, she chose one of the softest tunics and stripped out of everything else before going back to lay on her bed. Picturing her choices in her mind’s eye, she mass clicked. She vaguely saw the content of the blue boxes changing, a small whimper escaping as a terrible burning pain streaked through her body and she welcomed the black oblivion once again.
***
When she woke up, her room was dark and still. There was a tiny bit of moonlight coming in through the window, but her body was aching. Her stomach was demanding sustenance, and she realized she’d need to eat a whole lot to support the changes. Grumbling to herself, she felt her way to the door and started her trek to where she’d seen the kitchen earlier. She felt like she could literally eat a pig. She dismissed the notification telling her she’d siphoned a whole bunch of people and then started to feel her way down the stairs. Time to raid the kitchen! Thankfully there would be no one to stop her since it appeared to be the middle of the night.
***
“What on earth?” She heard Raphael’s voice behind her and turned to view him, a giant slice of ham halfway to her mouth. She stared at him guiltily, then slowly put the ham into her mouth and started chewing, all while maintaining eye contact. He had his sword out and looked seriously badass. There were even little fluctuations in the air around the blade, making her think that he was probably doing something with wind. Cool, she’d have to learn that.
“What are you doing?” He lowered his sword and the air currents disappeared.
She glanced down at the giant plate of meat in front of her and then back up at him. “Eating?” He fully sheathed his sword, coming over to sit across from her as she shoved another piece of meat in her mouth on the off chance that he was going to take the rest of it away.
“I can see that. Let me rephrase; why are you attacking a giant platter of meat in the middle of the night like a robber?”
She looked down at the plate, choosing to take another piece of meat and eat it quickly before she responded. When she swallowed, she announced, “Needed protein.”
“What’s protein?” She stared blankly at him. Right, dieting and nutrition were probably not a thing here. That only lasted for a moment before she quickly shoved another piece of meat in her mouth, chewing furiously. He sighed, running a hand through the glorious hair like he did when he seemed frustrated. “I’m not going to take it away from you. Now, will you please answer the question?”
Relieved, she stopped trying to shove food at the fastest speed possible into her mouth. Looking thoughtful, she shrugged and tried to expound, “It’s...a molecule.” He looked even more confused. She sighed and shrugged. “Medicine and nutrition were way more advanced in my world. Short and fast of it is, I need to eat a lot of food to support my changing biology, and meat is a big part of that. Well, that and it’s the first thing I could find. Eggs and veggies would be good too, but the meat is probably more important because it will support the higher cellular reproduction I’m experiencing.”
He just stared at her, so she started eating again, ignoring him. When she finally paused for a moment because she was thirsty, he asked simply, “Are you done?”
She reflexively pulled the platter towards her, protecting it. “Mine.”
He was staring between her and the platter she was protecting like a mother hen. “Can you even fit it in your stomach? You’re going to make yourself sick.”
“Nuh uh.” She kept eating, fearful that if she got up for water, he’d try to take it away again.
“Where are you even putting it all…?” He mused softly, and in response, she held out her arm. He looked stumped. “You’re putting it…in your arm?”
She shrugged. “Close enough.” Shove, shove, shove. The thirst was becoming unbearable though, so she stood up, pointed at her meat and instructed imperiously, “Don’t touch. Mine.” She then proceeded to wander through the kitchen, opening every door and drawer she could find.
He sighed and stood up. “What are you even looking for?”
“Drink.” She continued to rummage, cackling happily when she found some apples. She grabbed two and continued her search.
“Stop, okay! I’ll get you something to drink.”
“Deal.” She walked back to her meat and sat down, staring at him expectantly as she bit blissfully into an apple. He shook his head, staring at her for a second before walking out to the common room. She called out quickly, “Bring lots!”
He grunted in acknowledgment and she heard him rummaging around. He came back a minute later with a small cask and two glasses that seemed dwarf sized against his arms. He poured a pretty red liquid from the cask into each cup, and she grinned with glee. “Juice!” Before he could say anything, she grabbed one of the cups and immediately downed it, putting the glass down again after. “Juice!”