Learning Death

It had taken him three days before his body felt like actually moving more than a few inches at a time. He had eaten far more meat than he normally would have in an entire month, but he was finally feeling a little better.

His vision had mostly cleared, but he still lacked the ability to communicate verbally. It wasn't hard for him to think the words, but when his mouth opened and he tried to speak them, nothing but a quiet moan came out. He didn't even sound like a normal zombie, either. Fin said that he was closer to a sad dog than an undead.

His attention turned toward the door as it swung open, then closed immediately behind Fin. He hadn't brought any food with him for the first time in a while, making Daiya wonder why he had returned. Even if he was going to sleep, he would always bring at least a few pieces of meat to feed him.

"Come, Daiya. We will be seeing how well you manage outside today." He said as he walked over and offered him a gloved hand.

He had dawned the gloves, he'd said, because they take away some of the warmth, and yearning, that came along with the contact. It was true that it did take away some of the heat, but to Daiya, it simply made him want for the contact more.

Most zombies would try to take it by force, and likely end up killing the human either by mistake or intentionally. He didn't quite feel like that was a valid option, though. He desperately wanted to feel warm, but the only human that held his interest was Fin. He'd thought about other humans that surely must have body heat as well, but his mind refused to consider them.

With his normal blank expression, Daiya reached out and grasped his proffered hand. It took a minute to be able to stay steady on his feet. Fin refused to help him besides that one hand, but Daiya was determined and managed after a few slight sways.

"Very good. Let's be off, shall we?" Fin said as he headed, not for the door, but for the large window with the faint crack in its pane.

Daiya inched his way closer once Fin had hopped up onto its sill. He wasn't sure how they would get down, though he hoped that Fin would not choose a literal fall. He was already dead, but that still didn't sound very good for his already-troublesome body and Fin likely wouldn't be able to manage the height.

He was just leaning a little closer to look outside as the window opened when Kovash suddenly appeared before him. Fin snarled, jumping slightly at the creature's abrupt appearance, but Daiya just blinked. He did not think Fin would have let the beast remain walking among the living, yet it now stood before him, clinging onto the window with its sharp claws as it leaned its head inside to nudge at Daiya's face with its cold, wet nose.

Master, it pains me to see you in such a state.

Did it really cause him physical pain? Tilting his head, Daiya reached up to set his hand on the beast's large head, then tapped it a few times. It took some effort to keep his balance while doing so and the pet looked a little more like a slap, but it was a success either way.

I will help you find your way back to the world of the living, master Daiya. Kovash said into his mind before Daiya felt strong hands grasp beneath his arms and lift him up onto Kovash's back. He instinctively dug his hands into the beast's fur, holding, possibly, too tightly, but Kovash didn't complain. When Fin moved closer, Kovash raised his lip to snarl.

"Don't give me that, beast. What do you think will come of him if I am not there?" He asked as he flashed his own fangs, then swung up onto the zombie's back to sit right behind Daiya.

Feeling the faint warmth radiating off the man as he leaned over and Kovash carefully started maneuvering down the keep's walls, Daiya couldn't help but release the hold his left hand had and turn slightly, grasping Fin in an awkward half-hug before he turned the rest of his stubborn body.

"Daiya, now is not the time." Fin growled, though the warning fell on deaf ears.

Even through his clothing Fin felt far warmer than he did. Pressing his face against the man's shirt brought a sigh to Daiya's lips at the same time his arms locked firmly around Fin's back, having slid beneath his fancy jacket.

You should have known not to get so close to him. You are lucky that he is not violent. Kovash thought, evidently to them both, as he continued to descend.

"I am still a necromancer. The dead would not challenge me." Fin said as they finally reached the soft mossy ground.

I challenged you many times, and even as a ghost my master fought against you. Kovash returned, making Fin growl quietly but not speak. He tried a few times to remove Daiya's arms from around him, reminding him that he needed to get used to not being warm, but after a few minutes he gave up. If he tugged at Daiya's body too much, he could easily break it apart. And while he was very good at raising bodies from the grave, mending ones that were already walking wasn't quite his specialty.

Slipping from Kovash's back, Fin stumbled backward a bit, doing his best to keep the young man in his arms and not let his legs hang down uncomfortably.

"Daiya, please release me." Fin said as Daiya looked up at him, pursing his lips.

"How can you still make that face when you are dead?" Fin complained, drawing a confused frown to Daiya's face.

Fin sighed, staring up at the sky for a moment before looking back down.

"Fine, I promise that I will let you hug me later, okay? So please release me."

It took a lot of effort to make himself let go. The warmth was dangerously tempting, but he managed to release Fin and take one awkward step backward after a few tense moments.

"Good. Now then, let's see how well you can get around." Fin said as he began walking away from the keep, heading toward the bog.

The ground was very soft and gave way far too often for Daiya to keep himself upright. He stumbled about like a one year old trying to find its footing. He fell more than a few times before he managed to fumble his way up to where Fin had stopped about twenty feet away.

"Good, you are learning to balance better." Fin said as he began walking backward along the edge of the swampy area.

Daiya followed him but needed to focus on where he was putting his feet, so he only looked up every so often to be sure that he was still going the right direction.

When he finally made it to Fin again, who had stopped near a large fallen log that was partially submerged in the cold water, he looked up to meet his eyes.

"Are you still not able to speak, Daiya? Can you not say my name?" He asked, earning a frown and quiet moan from Daiya before he tucked his head, appearing embarrassed, even though the emotion wasn't truly there.

Fin shook his head, then reached forward and lifted Daiya's chin so that their eyes could meet.

"Do not worry. You do not need speech to survive well out here." He said with a reassuring smile.

Daiya wanted to focus on his words, but the small amount of warmth coming through his glove, that was still pressed against the bottom of his jaw drew all of his attention. It took every ounce of control to keep from reaching forward and wrapping his arms around the man again.

"Resist, Day." Fin said quietly as he kept his hand where it was, clearly testing his will.

Daiya's attention split between the heat from Fin and a strange feeling in his non-beating heart at the mention of his old nickname. He had not heard it in so many years, that it seemed to have startled him a little.

When he didn't respond or react for several moments, except for letting a tiny line of drool begin at the edge of his slightly parted lips, Fin leaned closer, his brows creased with confusion.

"Daiya, come back to me. Do not lose your focus."

Perhaps you should use some food for this training exercise. If only to be able to keep his mind on the tasks you wish him to perform. Devil projected into their minds from somewhere nearby.

"I do not need your help. I have trained countless undead." Fin said at the same time Daiya finally managed to regain control of his thoughts... and promptly stumbled forward to wrap his arms tightly around Fin's middle.

Warm.

There was a dark snicker in the back of his mind before Devil commented again. Oh yes, you are doing a lovely job. You should just be happy that he doesn't seem to have an aggressive bone in his body and keep him safe with you.

Clearly frustrated, Fin tried to remove Daiya again, but the newborn zombie refused to budge.

"I am not going to keep him! If you keep bothering me about it then I will send him away this evening and be done wit him!" He hissed at the same time Kovash stepped closer and bared his own needle-like teeth in warning.

You will not throw out my master like the trash that you are! He growled.

Fin sneered and set one hand on top of Daiya's head, patting his hair with a growing smirk on his face.

"Your master prefers me."

Only because you are warm. If I-"Well, you aren't. So be gone until we need to return to my room." Fin said, cutting off Kovash's thought as he worked on coaxing Daiya to release him.

It took another promise to finally get him to let go. Now he owed Daiya two separate contact times... and they had only been working outside for less than hour. Of course, he didn't intend to actually intentionally spend time just letting him hug him. He had important things to do, and dealing with Daiya was only important until he could manage for himself. Then he would be gone from his life for good.

"Come on. We have a lot to learn yet." He said as he gestured for Daiya to follow him, glad that Devil's presence seemed to have vanished for the time being.

The next three hours they spent together were filled with what to do and what not to do. Mainly, what things were good sources of food, and easy to catch, as opposed to what weren't. Daiya had a lot of trouble keeping his attention away from squirrels, though it was clear that they were something he would never be able to catch. They looked very warm and he wanted to taste one, but Fin wouldn't even help him catch one, and his mobility skills were quite lacking to even try.

"Daiya, you are no dog. Nor are you able to hunt like one. You need to choose things that you can easily get a hold of." He said, gesturing to a fallen log that likely hid a large amount of different insects.

He didn't mind the idea of eating them. He could even move the log easily with his undead strength, but there was just something about eating a warm, delicious mammal that called to him.

Without really thinking, Daiya stepped up to Fin and reached forward, taking his arm, gently, at first.

"What are you doing? I said that we could be close later. Now isn't the time."

Right as Fin finished speaking Daiya lifted his sleeved arm to his lips and hesitantly bit down just a tiny bit.

Before he could process what had happened, and that he had gotten shoved, Daiya was sinking into the cold swamp water. He tried to remind his body how to swim, but his limbs weren't coming even close to doing what they needed to, and he couldn't figure out a way to make himself stop sinking, even though he was taking in air.

Can my lungs not hold air at all now?

It wasn't really surprising, but it was inconvenient. He sighed out the breath he had taken and let himself sink to mucky bottom. Once he had settled, he looked up, squinting a little at the faint light coming through the murky water.

I need to get back up there...

Of course, he supposed that he didn't, but he doubted that remaining in the water for a long period of time would be a good idea. He tried one more time to swim upward, but there was no way that was going to happen. So, he slowly moved until he was awkwardly standing in the thick mud. If his balance had been bad on land, it was twice as terrible in the water. There was just enough fluctuating resistance and give that he had a lot of trouble staying up, but when he fell, it was in slow motion and just kept putting him back where he had started.

After several failed attempts, he looked around, glad that his eyes didn't seem to mind the dirty water. That way? He turned his body while still on the bottom, then started crawling toward a slope, that he hoped, lead up to the surface.

The mud started to thin out the higher he managed to get, and after ten minutes or so, his head finally managed to breach the surface. He took a few seconds to blink away most of the dirt particles that had gotten into his eyes, then realized that Fin was sitting just a few feet away from him on the bank, a half smile on his face.

"Not bad. As I'm sure you now know, water is not your friend. If you fall into somewhere that's too deep, you might never be able to get out. Be wary of any body of water you come across." He said as he stood up and walked over to him, offering him a hand as he knelt close to the edge of the water.

"And do not try to bite me again. I will never be food to you. If you do that again, your punishment will be worse than this." He said as he helped Daiya from the water and back up onto his feet.

The scent of the swamp came with him, clinging to his skin and the minimal clothing Fin had given him. Looking up at the man, he noticed that his nose was wrinkled and he clearly was not happy with the scent he coming off of him now.

"Let's get you back and cleaned up. You learned enough for right now." Fin said, whistling as if calling a horse or dog.

Kovash appeared from their right, having not even been hidding.

Do not call me in such a degrading way. He growled before leaning down and allowing Daiya to climb onto his back.

Before Fin could join him, Kovash straightened and bolted for the keep, easily scaling the walls, seemingly having had practiced quite a bit. When they got up to the window, Kovash was very careful about leaning inside enough so that Daiya could slide slowly from his back. He took so long to move his soggy limbs that Fin had time to walk all the way around and through the keep to get back to his room right as Daiya's feet were hitting the floor.

"Come, you need to wash." He said, picking up Daiya without waiting for any kind of response.

When he was deposited in the small washroom next to a tub of cold water, Daiya looked up at Fin, only to have his minuscule clothing removed abruptly.

"Get in." Fin said, pointing to the bath as he grabbed something on the counter near the washbasin.

Daiya did as told, settling in the cold bath and leaning his head against the tall side closest to Fin.

"Just stay still. I'll clean you up, then you can rest." Fin said, making Daiya close his heavy eyelids without thinking. He had not realized how tired he was until he drifted off right in the middle of Fin gently scrubbing soap into his messy hair.