#molting

Marvin Branagh was concerned. How could he not be? Something was very wrong with Leon. Considering everything that has happened to him(Marvin wishes he had the chance to throttle Irons before his untimely yet poetic karma), Leon deserved at least a little bit of a break. Between his training and moving up to Alaska, Leon and him hadn’t really had a moment to really sit and breath. Then a week ago, Marvin noted how stiff Leon had become, and it got worse as the week progressed. 

It was little things at first, stiffness and soreness of the muscles, even without the intensive training Eriks put him through. Leon was also getting lethargic, some days both him and Alice(another of Leon’s ‘handlers’, the other soldiers called her ‘Ass-kicking Alice’) had to quite literally drag him out of his bed. And his carapace had started to dull, which was strange. Then Leon stopped eating, that really concerned Marvin. Both AJ and Alice admitted that it’d been longer than he’d intentionally realized that Leon hadn’t eaten anything for the past few days. Eriks even mentioned that the kid was off, and that was saying something(from him it was).

“Worried about the kid?” Marvin blinked, noting the mug in Alice’s hand being offered to him. “Hot off the pot. Can’t get any fresher than this.”

“Thanks.” Marvin muttered, taking the cup as Alice.

“Any word from the kid?” She asked softly, sitting down next to the man.

“Not a peep. Even after Amanda went in and took his temp.”

“How was that?”

“Elavated compared to his normal. She’s not sure either.”

“Hm.”

“He didn’t look that great yesterday.” Mike piped up, bringing over his plate of eggs. “Like…. Almost like he was bloated or something.”

“What, like he’s on his ‘period’ or something?” Anders(Marvin thinks) laughs, and Alice whips her head around to him.

“Lock it down, or I’ll knock you down a peg!” She hisses out, causing the offender to bow his head and the others in mess to turn and voice their mockery at him. Marvin snorted and shook his head. “Got nothin’, old man?” Alice teased, poking his shoulder as she resettled into her seat and sipped her coffee.

“I know better than to mess with you Alice. I’ve seen you flip people twice your size.” Marvin chuckled, earning him a toothy grin from the woman sitting next to him. But the laughter died on his lips, mind drifting back to the kid.

“You really care about him, huh?” Alice asked softly, and Marvin felt her hand press against his back.

“Was with him in Raccoon.” The woman hummed softly at that. “Not only that, he’s still a kid… What's happened to him-”

“Isn’t fair.” Alice said, again her voice soft. “I get that.”

“And on top of that…” Marvin didn’t even have to say the words, and Alice nodded, wincing a little. Then paused, as if in thought. “What's going on in that head of yours girl?”

“Mike, you said he looked ‘bloated’?” Alice ignored Marvin in favor of her question, pulling the man's attention to her.

“Maybe more like a balloon? Not sure, all I know is he didn’t look right.” Came the muffled answer as he spoke through eggs. Marvin pulled a face as Alice pressed for more. Mike paused, in thought. “Carapace looked discolored?” Mike again nodded before raising a brow at her thoughtful face. Marvin shared his confusion, and just as he was about to say something, her eyes widened as stood up abruptly. “Molting.”

“What?” Marvin asked dumbly, followed by Mike’s confused grunt.

“He’s fucking molting. SHIT! Why didn’t we see that!? Come on!” Alice hissed to herself before slapping Marvin’s shoulder, prompting him up and out of his chair and chasing after Alice.

“Molting?! How or rather why do you think Leon’s molting?!” Marvin belted out, chasing after the woman.

“Had a pet bug once! Go! I’ll get the eggheads, you check on Leon!” Alice yelled, turning on her heel so fast and bolting down the hall. Marvin didn’t argue, but started to run. It didn’t take him long to skid to a stop in front of Leon’s door, fist knocking a little harder than he would have liked.

“Leon?! It’s Marvin! Can you hear me?!” His call was met with silence, and he swore. “I’m coming in, kid!” It was a quiet mercy that the door wasn’t locked, and swung open with a soft squeak. Marvin wasn't, however, expecting for Alice to be right. Leon was on his knees, looking somewhat damp(as if he’d just showered) and down at a discolored, papery shell that was once him. Leon’s eyes were wide, throat bobbing as if he was still processing what he was staring at. “Leon-” His rookie's head snapped up at Marvin, fear in his eyes.

“Whats happening to me?” Leon’s voice came out a lot smaller than it seemed he wanted it too, and Marvin didn’t know how to respond. Instead, he stepped into the room and closed the door. 

“Comeon… Let's get you outta that.” Marvin hummed softly, stepping over to Leon as he looked down at the shell that Leon was still kneeling inside.

After a bit, with some cursing, Leon was now in the shower, furiously scrubbing the slime that coated him off, and Marvin was trying to get the slime that Leon had accidently flicked onto his clothes off of him. Every now and again, Marvin heard the soft ‘What the fucks’ spill out of Leon, along with distressed thrilling and chirping.

“Christ on a stick, you’d think we would have found a manual when we were down in that lab!” Marvin hissed as the goo he was trying to wipe off stretched out, pulling a disgusted grumble from his throat. Leon barked out a laugh, high and nervous. Good, something to keep the kids mind off the current situation.

“Yeah, would’ve liked a heads up for this bullshit!” Marvin laughed, finally swiping away the last bit of slime off his shirt. “Could have prepared more!”

“How do you feel now?” Marvin asked, curious and concerned at the same time.

“Fuckin’ starving!” Leon said, poking his head over the stall wall. “More awake now too, just-”

“Well you didn’t eat anything for 3 days.” Marvin pointed out, and Leon winced. “Thought you were sick, kid!” Again, Leon winced at his words before dipping back behind the stall wall. “It was Alice that figured it out.”

“Ass-kicking Alice?” Leon asked, followed by a wince. “Sorry. Carapace is really soft right now.”

“Given how wet you looked beforehand, I believe it.” Marvin said, leaning back against the sink and crossing his arms. “I’m just glad your ok.” Leon weakly chuckled, sounding half unsure of himself. “Try not to take up all the hot water, kid, still have other people on base.” Marvin snorted out, stepping out into the hall as a couple of the scientists walked by, discussing something that he didn’t quite get(He caught words like, shed and study).

“I think I got it all off now.” Leon muttered, and the sound of the shower head losing pressure. “Fuck I still feel…. Wrong.” Marvin winced at the word. What happened to the kid was wrong, everything that had and has happened to him was wrong. He still remembered watching Leon’s eyes widen in confusion as the tranqs stuck to him, then blink as he stumbled and fell to the ground. He remembered watching soldiers rush his fallen form, pulling out a muzzle and chains. He still remembered being thrown to the ground after punching the soldier trying to muzzle his rookie like a god damned animal. Marvin felt the anger start to stew in his stomach.

 Everything that has happened since Raccoon City was a nightmare. More than once, Marvin had to fight for Leon. Despite how he looked, the kid acted like a normal human being(albeit with some minor quirks), and the government treated him like an animal, a weapon, something to put under a microscope and study.

“Marvin?” Leon’s quiet voice pulled him from the angry thoughts and back to reality, making him blink.