(takes place a few nights after the events of 'Building New Bridges') The past few nights had been tough. The boy was more than willing to eat and she managed to break his fever before nightfall, but when dusk brought out the beast’s face, it seemed to spike all over again. Even with the progress she'd made in gaining some of its trust, it seemed delirious enough to try and attack her. It had actually bitten her when she tried to feed it more stew that first night after having him brought inside from the orchard. She'd left the room quickly, barricading the door so the creature couldn't escape to try and attack her again. It had been this way for the past three nights, and each night the poor thing would whine pitifully behind the door, breaking her heart all over again. She couldn't imagine what the poor lad was going through with himself, unable to control the beast nor hardly even remember what happened the night before. But what could she do when it would lunge at her when she