Chapter Text
"The jury has come to an agreement. While he would not be put into juvenile prison, he would be under heavy surveillance to prevent any attack towards innocent carnivores until we know for certain what caused his rampage."
Those were the last words the young colt remember of his trial from 2 weeks ago, having mix feelings regarding the whole ordeal as he still saw himself as a monster and a danger to any of his friends or any innocent beast, fearing that whatever curse he had could detonate at any moment, he was specially terrified of harming or killing Alejandro, not only because he was a carnivore, but because he was his brother of another species, the mere idea of shuch a thing happening hurt his heart greatly. As he sat on his bed, inside of the room of a mental hospital, the young zebra heard steps of someone coming as his ears rise up in response, looking towards the entrance as a female snow leopard nurse open the door of his room, her kind expression towards him making Sharik feel a little better.
Nurse: "How are you feeling today, Sharik?"
She kindly asked. The zebra had a hard time responding as he didn't want to sound upset.
Sharik: "I'm... conflicted, and scared... I'm still worried about turning again into that... monster." He responded, ears lowered as his sadness showed.
Nurse: "Is alright, sweetheart, you are not the only one who feels that way, yet your case is certainly a first." She then got close to the zebra and gently pet Sharik in the head to then put a hand on his shoulder, looking at him in the eyes. "Don't worry, we on this hospital are gonna do everything in our power to help you. You are not alone in this struggle. You have a loving family and good friends who want you to be happy and recover, and I am sure you will be able to." She said as she gave a sweet smile to the young colt
This made the young striped equid smile for the first time in days, feeling a glimpse of hope reaching towards his wounded heart.
Sharik: "Thank you. I needed to hear that."
Nurse: "You are welcome, now, how about you get some breakfast before starting our day? Your mother told me you love this dish."
Then the nurse brought up a cart on which there was the food tray for Sharik, on it there were 3 spinach quesadillas, a bowl of fruit salad with honey and and a glass of grape juice, at the sight of his breakfast, the young zebra suddenly became more joyful, his tail started waging and his ears perked up as he sit ready to eat, which he did by taking the fruit salad first, happily enjoying his food as the nurse smiled at the sudden burst of joy on her patient.
While typically, all patients ate at the cafeteria, due to Sharik's unknown condition and lack of knowledge regarding how it detonates, meant that he had to stay at his room while eating to prevent any accident or conflict, since the hospital he was admitted in had a majority of carnivore patients who were previously meat addicts, and many of these were also panthers, making it all the more important to keep Sharik isolated from them, which made other patients suspicious about the young zebra, believing either they kept him away because he was a herbivore, or that whatever he suffered from was extremely dangerous, but even so, Sharik never express any ill feelings anytime he was expose to them, while most of the ones he interacted with were nurses and his designated doctor, he always spoke to them openly and he even got as far as to offer his help if he thought it was needed. This gentle and noble nature made it all the more difficult to determine what was exactly the cause of his devastating rage or what this "Curse of Madness" actually was, as while he wasn't the first patient to have these mutations, none of the previous cases were taken seriously since it was believed that the cause were drugs made with carnivore parts, however, he being the youngest patient with this condition could give more clues on the matter.
While Sharik was enjoying his breakfast, in the office of the doctor in charge of Sharik were his father, wearing a gray polo shirt and some blue jeans, and his mother, Jasiri, a beautiful female Burchell's zebra with yellowish eyes, ondulated stripes on her face and dressed in a green blouse with golden brown pants, talking about the current state of the young zebra as well as what treatments he would be put through.
Doctor: "As of now, Sharik hasn't shown any aggression towards carnivore personnel. However, we haven't found yet anything regarding how this "curse" of him works or what effects does it has on his mind. He also has shown sings of posttraumatic stress, among those being night terrors and some sudden reactions."
That last part worried Jasiri greatly. While Akida nodded on a serious yet sympathetic expression, he knew that his son was going to suffer from that after the incident.
Doctor: "In addition, he mentioned someone called 'Jabari'. Is he someone related to him?"
After the doctor asked this, both parents were saddened at the mention of that name, Jasiri in particular started to sob and clung to her husband in comfort, while also hurt by the memory, Akida answer the question.
Akida: "He... was our younger son, and he and Sharik were very close on their relationship as brothers. Unfortunately, Jabari was killed when a predator attacked our home, Sharik tried to save him, but he was unable to."
The revelation was a very sad surprise for the doctor, who expressed his sympathies towards the couple. Then, after calming down a bit, Jasiri spoke.
Jasiri: "Since that day, Sharik has blamed himself for not having been strong enough to protect him, ever since then, he became more protective of his friends and even my third son, I believe this was somehow related to his outburst."
Doctor: "That could be the case based on that incident, when he saw his friends in danger that day, his "curse" must have activated to allow him to protect them, which might be a reason as to why he acted so violently, out of fear of loosing anyone else."
Akida: "It could be, yet I would like to know more about the Curse of Madness, I have noticed the abnormalities that it caused to his body, and I may not know much about chemistry, but it could be that these alterations are affecting his brain"
Jasiri: "Although we should not ignore his PTSD, is there any treatment that could help him recover from that?"
Doctor: "Yes, Mrs. Zaragoza, some therapies have been performed on him in order to treat that, however as of now, the priority would be to determine the physical and behavioral effects of this curse on him, for that, I consulted with a doctor that specializes on these cases."
Shortly after that, the door opened to reveal a big female spectacled bear dressed in a medical uniform, and a lab coat appeared and presented herself to both zebras. She was around 1.78 meters in height and had a serious yet maternal expression on her face.
Doctor: "She is Doctor Azumi Ishikawa. A pediatrician experienced in cases such as this. She will be in charge of analyzing how much this condition has affected your child."
Azumi: "First time I attend one that isn't a bovid or a suid, I hope he isn't a rude one."
Akida: "I can guarantee that he is a well-mannered boy." Said the stallion as he standed up to greet her. "I am Akida Fernández, and this is my wife, Jasiri, we are Sharik's parents." He then extended his hand in greeting, which the bear reciprocated.
Azumi: "It's a pleasure to mee you, have heard about you on the news, you are quite a famous cop. And you got quite the wife, hehe."
Surprised by the tone of the doctor, Jasiri couldn't help but blush at the comment of the bear, while Akida smiled with pride, if a bit bashful, due to these compliments.
Doctor: "Forgive Dr. Ishikawa, she tends to be a little too expressive sometimes."
Azumi: "What can I say? I prefer to say what I am thinking, providing it doesn't offend anyone, so where is the patient, Yamato?" She asked the brown hyena.
Yamato: "He is on Room 212. On the 6th floor, we have him isolated from most carnivore patients."
Azumi: "Huh, smart choice, hope he is not one of those who abuses this curse, I have dealt with some patients who actively use their condition to attack and kill any carnivore they saw, we lost a few patients and personnel because of it, they even experienced joy in doing so."
Jasiri: "Rex, that's horrible. It's sad that there are herbivores who think like that, but Sharik is not at all like that. Ever since the incident with the four panthers, he has been very scared of the damage he could inflict on them. Sharik has always tried to empathize and socialize with carnivores. That's how he met his closest friend, who is a black jaguar."
This caught the bear's atention as this was something new, none of her patients with the curse have had even a glimpse of tolerance towards carnivores, and here there was the youngest patient with this condition supposedly not only looking to empathize with them, but even befriending carnivores, needless to say, she was intrigued.
Azumi: "Well, in that case, he might be more responsive to the treatment. I will go to pick him up for his checkup, and then I'm going to run some tests on him."
Yamato: "Very well. Mr. and Mrs. Fernández, if you could please follow Dr. Azumi, I'm sure your son will be happy to see you."
Akida: "My thoughts exactly, come on Jasiri, our son is waiting for us." He said smiling as his wife reciprocated the smile.
Jasiri: "I can't wait to see him again."
Then the zebras and spectacled bear got out of the office and headed to the colt's room.
Meanwhile in his room, Sharik was reading some comics that he brought with him to entertain himself in between therapies, the one he was reading was an issue on the adventures of a diverse crew of autonomous robotic organisms on a ship called "The Lost Light" and he was on the issue #13. He was a big fan of this saga, and reading these comics made him feel more upbeat, remembering when his friends disguised themselves as their favorite characters for a costume party, feeling a little nostalgic for those times.
Sharik: ("I hope they are doing ok, bet they are still a bit fearful of me, especially Alex...)" He thought, getting sad when he remembered their faces of fear and shock. He didn't blame them one bit for that. ("I hope they can forgive me, I don't want them to see me as a monster... but... am I really one?")
All of a sudden, he was brought out of his thoughts when he heard steps closing in on his room, and while some were the already ubiquitous paws of the nurse taking care of him, he could hear planted feet and... 2 pairs of hooves! That last sound making his ears right up as he recognized them immediately, getting up his bed in excitement. Then, when the doors opened and the nurse greeted him, he darted out towards the pair of adult zebras standing behind her, giving them a great hug as he waged his tail in happines, a hug his father quickly reciprocated.
Sharik: "¡Papá, mamá, los extrañé mucho, no saben lo feliz que estoy de verlos!"
He said with teary eyes, like if he hadn't seen them for years, and his father didn't wait to reciprocate the hug.
Akida: "También te extrañamos hijo, es bueno ver que andas bien."
While indeed happy to see that Sharik didn't look as depressed as before, he was concerned at the way Sharik nearly cried when he hugged him, knowing this was part of his PTSD, it was clear that Sharik was still hurt emotionally. After that, Sharik went to hug his mother, which Jasiri corresponded happily.
Jasiri: "Me alegra verte más feliz que antes, corazón, nos contaron que haz tenido terrores nocturnos, lamento mucho que hayas sufrido algo tan horrible." She pet his colt as she comfort him. "Mi pobre angelito no merece eso."
Sharik: "Sí... fueron terribles, afortunadamente la enfermera Eileen y el Dr. Yamato me ayudaron a superarlos... aunque aun tengo pesadillas a veces."
As he spoke with his mother, the zebra colt noticed a female spectacled bear that looked to be a doctor. Maybe he was gonna be put into custody of another one.
Sharik: "Um... hello, were you assigned to tend to me?" He asked on a polite tone.
Azumi: "You caught up quickly. I am Dr. Azumi, I will be performing some tests on you to understand what you have and how it affects you, though, by looking at you right now, it seems that you were having it rough, you haven't been sleeping well, right?"
Sharik: "Not really, it's even being harder for me to go to sleep without assistance."
Azumi: "I see. It seems that the incident had a bigger effect on you than I thought, but don't worry, I'm gonna make sure you overcome it." She said with a smile, which comforted the young zebra. "Now follow me so we can start with the tests."
Sharik nodded and, along his parents, followed Azumi towards her office. During the way there, the colt remained clinged to his mother as he was still fearful regarding his condition, which Jasiri noticed immediately and gave him comfort by caressing his head to make her son feel better. As they walked through the halls, they heard something drop to the floor, and upon turning, the 4 animals saw that it was a nervous-looking dhole who had tripped and struggled to get up on his own, just when a nurse nearby was about to help the dhole, Sharik got there quicker, much to the surprise of his parents, and carefully lifted the carnivore back on foot, then he noticed a unoccupied walker nearby and gave it to the dhole, who was surprised yet grateful for the aid of the young zebra.
Dhole: "Thank you, little one. You are perhaps the first herbivore to help me when I'm down." He said while still surprised about what Sharik did.
Sharik: "No problem, always happy to help." He said with a smile, then he returned to his parents and took his mother by the hand.
This show of kindess made his parents quite proud, but also hopeful that their son wasn't truly an onsight attacker due to his curse, Azumi and the nurse were quite as well surprise, as were too many of the patients present on the living room, specially since it was the first time they saw the little herbivore of the rumors.
Azumi: ("This kid is quite intriguing. Even after all that he went through, he managed to help someone in need. Perhaps it wasn't hatred that fueled his rampage.") She thought while looking at the young colt.
A while later, the bear and the zebras arrived at her office, upon entering, Sharik felt a little chill due to how cold the office was compared to the corridor, but he quickly got used to it, after that, he sat down in front of desk along his parents, watching the doctor typed something on her computer, believing to be his medical profile. As she finished typing, Azumi started asking Akida and Jasiri about Sharik's health.
Azumi: "Does he have any allergies or other health conditions?"
Jasiri: "Well, he is allergic to dust, and on his abdomen, he has a scar as a result of a hippopotamus attack when he was 7."
Just the mere mention of that event made Sharik's blood run cold. That day made him terrified of even watching hippos from a distance. Such was his fear that he was oblivious to the rest of the conversation between his mother and Dr. Azumi, but he didn't take long to snap out of it.
Azumi: "Alright then, with all that done, let's get started. Sharik, could you please stand on the weighting machine? Remove your shoes to get an accurate measure."
Sharik: "Oh, ok."
The young boy took off his sandals as he alongside Azumi walked towards the weighting machine, the doctor standing right next to it as Sharik got on the pad. Once in there, Sharik stood straight in the platform as Azumi raised the height rod to just above his head, while moving the poise weights to reach the accurate weight of her patient, the results were quite surprising yet expected, as even before arriving at the office, Azumi knew by just looking at him that he was bigger than his age group by a big margin.
Azumi: "1.72 meters and 76 kilograms, you are certainly a very big boy." She said on a maternal tone, which made Sharik blush a bit.
Sharik: "Hehehe, thanks, my mother always said I was gonna get way bigger." This got a gentle laugh out of Jasiri.
Azumi: "Well, she wasn't wrong. Your growth rate is indeed enhanced, just like with the others, but you are on a more middle point. Now, this examination will include checking your body completely, that means I need to check your vitals, your muscle mass, and even your sexual development, so you will need to be naked at the end of the checkup, your parents agree to the terms but you have the last word about if you want it to be that way." She explained in detail.
While the idea of his genitals being examined made him blush quite noticeably out of embarrassment, he knew it wasn't gonna be anything bad or perverted, and a quick look at his parents, who nodded to him for reassurance that it was alright, the colt gave nodded and took out his shirt, pants, left only in underwear, though this revealed something that Dr. Azumi wasn't expecting, and that was that the body of the young zebra was covered in scars, of both teeth and claws. Seeing the body of their son with all of those scars made Jasiri and Akida grief at the pain that he went through, while Azumi had a sympathetic look on her face, gently caressing her patient on his head.
Azumi: "I'm sorry for what you went through. Those scars looked like they were very painful wounds."
Sharik: "They were... but other than the one in my belly... I... I want to believe I got them defending my friends... even if... if it meant turning into that monster." His ears lowered in sadness and fear of that memory, yet it quickly changed to a more determined and brave expression. "I want to know what it is and to control it."
Such a determination surprised yet made both Sharik's parents smile in hopeful joy, while Azumi smirked at the resolve of the young male.
Azumi: "You are very brave, little one, that's a quality many more herbivores should have. Now, let us continue with the checkup."
Sharik nodded as he went to sit on the exam table, moving his legs a bit as Azumi prepared her tools on a wheeled counter, similar to that of an operation room, and the first item she grabbed was the ophthalmoscope to check the eyes of the young zebra, watching the characteristic neon-green eyes that every mutant she examined had, though the green on Sharik's eyes seemed to be more neutral as opposed to the lighter tones of the suids and deer and the darker greens of the bovids.
Azumi: "Doesn't seem to be any anomaly. Have you experienced any vision trouble?"
Sharik: "No, I can see very well, even in the dark. Zebras have better night vision than many other herbivores. "
Azumi: "Oh really? That's quite interesting, I didn't know that"
While this was happening, Jasiri could not help but to feel hopeful for how his son was now so upbeat and happy, even Akida, who usually was more serious about stuff in general, felt a bit more optimistic. After checking his eyes, Azumi turned off the ophthalmoscope and put them on the counter to then grab a small lanter and a metallic tongue depressor.
Azumi: "Alright, say 'Ahhhhh.'"
Sharik: "Ahhhhhhh." He opened his mouth as Azumi put the tongue depressor over the zebra's tongue, revealing 4 large fangs that had developed from his canine teeth, each measuring 7.5 centimeters much to the surprise of the spectacled bear, it was a wonder his lips could cover those fangs completely.
Azumi: "Wow, those are the largest fangs I have seen so far. Bet your bites are really nasty." She smirked. "Fortunately, your tongue doesn't seem to have been on the receiving end when you were chewing."
Sharik got a little chill about that, since it was one of his fears after he developed his fangs, if he wasn't for the counseling from Alejandro, he would have probably put some holes into his tongue by now. Once she took a good look at the rest of Sharik's mouth, not noticing any anomaly on his other teeth or the inner flesh nor that his fangs dug into his gums, Azumi got the tongue depressor out and turned out the lantern, leaving both items in the counter as she turned on another device that was close to the stretcher, it was a trapezoid CPU with a monitor on top of it and a metal bar with some chewable material covering it. Sharik had seen one of these before, when Alejandro was undergoing a checkup, though he didn't anticipate that this would be a part of his.
Azumi: "This is a bite force meter, I bet by the look on your face that you weren't expecting to be biting on one of this."
Sharik: "No, if I'm honest, although, did the other patients have a stronger bite force because of the mutations?"
Azumi: "Indeed, the muscle mass grows continuously throughout the body, that includes around your jaws, meaning you could now outforce some carnivores on that end."
That was a surprising revelation for the 3 zebras, Akida, while already knowing some of the symptoms of the curse, he never expected that it would also include the mandibles, believing that it would be focused on the limbs and torso of Sharik, Jasiri was too quite shocked, while there were herbivores with a stronger bite force than any mammalian carnivore such as hippos and gorillas, she never expected that her son went above some carnivores species.
Azumi: "Well then, now you know what to do, bite with everything you got, think that you are eating a very sturdy nut."
Sharik: "Jejeje, good idea."
With that mentality, he bite with all of his strength into the soft layer of the meter, and the readings were once again a big surprise as it registered no less than 850 PSI, surprising both parents and the young colt as well.
Azumi: "You are still full of surprises, little one, that has been the strongest bite force so far registered among my herbivore patients."
Sharik: "Thank you very much, hehehe. Hey, one question: were all of those other patients teens like me?" He asked, curious.
Azumi: "Yes, the former youngest was 14, others were 15 or 17 years old. As I said, you are the youngest."
Sharik: "Ohhh, that's interesting."
After that, Azumi turned off the bite force meter and handed him a dynamometer, which measured the strength of his hands, and based on that, she could get an estimate of his limb strength. Upon understanding what he had to do, Sharik pressed the dynamometer with great strenght and the measurements registered were quite outstanding, as he registered 89 kilograms pare square centimeter, meaning that his limbs were stronger than even above average individuals of his species at his age, becoming another surprise for Jasiri and even Sharik, though Akida recoiled a bit, remembering the damage that such strength could do.
Azumi: "Very well, it seems that you have become quite stronger than your age group, you may even become stronger as you grow, but you must learn how to control your strenght, little one." She said as she took note of this on Sharik's file.
Sharik: "I know, and that is something I am more than willing to do for my loved ones, though I always aspired to be stronger, so I can protect everyone else, just like what dad told me." He said, smiling with determination and admiration for his father.
Akida could only smile with pure paternal love for his son. The way he admired him was always so heartwarming.
Akida: "You are already very strong, hijito, more than I could ever ask for, just remember to be careful with what you do with it."
Sharik nodded happily, almost forgetting about his curse, but he quickly got back to what was happening when he felt a sphygmomanometer around his arm, turning to see Azumi put the earpieces of her stethoscope to then start inflating the device, once completely inflated, she used the diaphragm of the stethoscope to listen to his pulse and checking his blood pressure, getting a measurement of 126/85. Once she was done cheking that, she deflated and removed the shygmomanometer, leaving it on the counter.
Azumi: "Seems that your blood pressure has gotten a little higher, but it's not something to be concerned off, however, you should be careful into avoid sudden spikes of stress, it could cause you more harm during those periods."
Sharik nodded at that warning from the doctor, understanding that stress can be dangerous.
Azumi: "Very well, now, I'm gonna check your heart, so relax and let me listen." She said on a motherly tone as she placed the diaphragm of her stethoscope over Sharik's chest, listening to his heart as the zebra had a slight but noticeable blush during this part of the checkup. After checking to the aortic valve, Azumi changed the diaphragm to the tricuspid valve, carefully listening to each heartbeat of the young herbivore.
Lub-dub ~ lub-dub ~ lub-dub ~ lub-dub ~ lub-dub ~ lub-dub ~ lub-dub ~ lub-dub ~ lub-dub ~ lub-dub ~ lub-dub ~ lub-dub ~
As Azumi moved on to the pulmonic valve, she noticed that Sharik's heartbeats grew stronger and became more frequent, this was evidently one of the alterations of the curse, however, she knew that his heart had also grown a thicker myocardium given the evidence with her past patients, though it seemed that the zebra had the highest heart rate so far. All the while, Sharik watched as she moved the stethoscope across his chest.
Azumi: "Your heart sounds very healthy, but your heart rate has become quicker than normal. It appears too that it has become sturdier to better pump blood across your body, compensating for your higher growth rate and general increment of body mass." She explained as she listened to the zebra's mitral valve.
Sharik: "Wow, that's actually kinda cool. Now I have a very strong heart, jejeje." He said with a blushing smile. Jasiri couldn't help but feel tenderness over his son's reaction, though it still was intriguing how this curse also affected his organs.
Azumi: "I like that attitude. Keep it up." She said with a smile as she finished checking his heart. "Alright, now it's turn for the lungs. Whenever you feel the diaphragm of the stethoscope, I want you to inhale and exhale deeply. Alright?"
Sharik nodded as the doctor put the stethoscope's diaphragm over his back, and just as she requested, Sharik started to give deep breaths, repeating this each time Azumi auscultated his lungs through his back, fortunately she didn't detected any abnormalities, however she had a hunch that they also grew bigger just as his heart.
Azumi: "Sounds very good, now lay down for me to check your abdomen."
Sharik: "Alright, just be careful with the scar on my belly."
Azumi: "I promise I will." She smiled, which gave Sharik comfort as he laid down on the exam table, Azumi then placed the stethoscope on his belly to take a good listen, after a quick revision of his bowels and stomach, not finding anything wrong, the ursid doctor took off the stethoscope and put it on the counter and then she began to palpate his abdomen, being careful both with her claws and to not hit the big scar on the right side of the abdomen. As she did this, Azumi realized just how well developed was Sharik in terms of musculature, as his abdomen was surprisingly sturdy, even the part of the scar, though because of how damaged it was it became the most sensitive spot, evident by the zebra's pained reaction upon feeling the palpation on that spot, wich worried his parents a bit. After the complete check-up on his abdomen, Azumi stops and lets Sharik sit back up.
Azumi: "Everything is good on your abdomen, and it is quite hardy, too. Your muscular system has also had an increased development. You may prove physically stronger than what I speculate."
Sharik: "That's awesome... though I wish it hadn't come with this horrible curse."
His sad expression was quickly intercepted by the doctor, who gave her a reassuring smile, alongside his mother who came to give him a gentle hug and a kiss on his forehead, not wanting him to be sad again, which was successful on making the colt smile and feel better, then Jasiri release him from the hug as Azumi explained the last part of the checkup.
Azumi: "You may be wondered from earlier why it is necessary that I check your sexual development, and that's because the curse affects that too. Now, it happens in 4 different ways: either they become completely sterile, they become infertile, their genitals get deformities, or, as you may expect, their fertility gets enhanced, which is why this is part of the checkup.
Now understanding what she wanted to check with his private parts, Sharik nodded a bit embarrassed as he lowered his underwear, revealing his genitals to the doctor who closed in and started to inspect them thoroughly.
After the genital examination and a sample extraction done privately by Sharik himself, as well as taking a blood sample for later analysis, Azumi allowed him to dress since the checkup was over. With all the data gathered, the young colt went towards his parents while the spectacled bear sat on her desk, adding the information into Sharik's file.
Azumi: "Well, Sharik, you are in very good health, while parts of your body have certainly being altered, there have been so far positive, and it your sexual development hasn't been affected in the slightest, of course, that is as of right now, as you grow more, these mutations could change too, so we will have to keep an eye on how your body mutates with this 'curse' of yours."
Sharik: "Oh, well, that's good to know, I was worried my body was badly altered." He said with a kind smile while Jasiri gently hugged him around the abdomen.
Akida: "So now that his check-up is done. What is going to be the next test?" Asked Akida curiously.
Azumi: "The next test is gonna be in a couple of days after I finish analyzing his blood sample. They are going to consist of different exercises to determine his physical capabilities as well as to discover what triggers his rage state." She said in a more serious tone.
That last part made Sharik quite nervous as he was very scared of becoming that rage-fuelled monster, however, with some comfort offered by his mother and also by his father, Sharik got a bravery boost and nodded in acceptance of those tests.
Akida: "When would these tests be realized and where? I hope it is going to be in a controlled environment."
Azumi: "Yes, it will, I have a special room dedicated to these kinds of tests. Your son will begin his in around 2 days. Until then, he will undergo therapies to treat his PTSD. I will send you his results on his blood and semen samples once they are done alongise the rest of his file."
Akida: "Very well, thank you very much, Dr. Azumi, your help is greatly appreciated."
Azumi: "I know, and you're welcome." She said with a smug smile as the 3 zebras left the room, Akida and Jasiri wishing to share some time with his son before they had to go, leavinf Azumi to start examining the samples collected.
Later that day, Akida and Jasiri went back home after spending time with their colt and a long afternoon at work, just as Jasiri was taking a bath, Akida wad on the living room, talking through his cellphone with a private contact.
Akida: "Everything in order?" He asked his contact.
Contatc: "Yes, it is, nothing out of the ordinary." He responded back, seemingly in hiding like a spy. "I know you are very worry about him, sir, but I feel this is a bit too much, this hospital has a very strong security team, and based on what you told me, he is not the kind of kid to look for trouble."
Akida: "I know, but I prefer to be sure that he is completely save in there, the hospital admits plenty of meat addicts and I fear that they would try to do something to him, not to mention the possibility of him entering on that Primal Rage state again, and I couldn't trust anyone else with this task."
Contact: "I know, old friend, and I understand your concern perfectly, I will probably do the same on your place." The contact sighed slightly. "He is a special kid, Akida, a shame such a kind soul has this awful curse."
Akida: "I know, which is why I want to help him however I can so this doesn't torture him anymore, but... if for any reason he loses control..."
Contact: "I got the tranquilizers ready. He will fall asleep the moment they hit. And I will be close by when it happens." He assured him.
Akida: "Very well, I contact you in a couple days to see if anything happens, just make sure to remain vigilant and hidden, this operation is very extra-curricular and I already have a lot on my plate at the station."
Contact: "Hehehe, you know you can always count on me, Akida, good night."
Akida: "Good night, Oxyotl." And with that he hung the call, and later return to his room, thinking about his son, on the way there, he saw a picture of Sharik and his now dead brother, a picture Akida caressed as he remembered those beautiful moments his 2 colts shared together. ("Don't worry Jabari, your older brother is in good hands, and he will recover soon, I promise. ").