//------------------------------//
// VII. Love 
// Story: Love the Costume, Vinyl! 
// by SkyLovesPie 
//------------------------------//

	"Unh..." groaned a voice from the bed beside me. I sat in a red velvet chair next to Moonlight's bed, where he was, evidently, waking up for the first time in a week. I looked up from my Equestria Daily to find him sitting up. "What happened?" The stallion's voice was slightly slurred, having not spoken since Hurricane bit him. 
"...You don't remember?" I questioned, my brow furrowing.
"Not at all. Something with... Hurricane, and you, and..." Confusion crossed his face as he looked deep into his mind, attempting to fill in the void where the past week's events were. He rubbed his head with his hoof, mussing up his tangled forelock more so than before. Suddenly,  shock took its spot upon his face. "She bit me?" he whispered quietly, just loud enough for me to hear. I nodded, both relieved and worried. Then, finally the question I had hoped he wouldn't think to ask.
"Did she turn me?" 
Four little words. It shouldn't be enough to make me stiffen in anxiety. I should be fine with just four little words. But it was those words that did the trick. In truth, I couldn't answer one way or the other. We didn't know, and until the hospital released him, we wouldn't know for a while. For a minute or two, we just sat there, staring at each other. It hung in the air, the dread washing over me. He blinked his ice blue eyes, once, twice, thrice. Finally, I broke the silence.
"We don't know." It echoed around the room before dissipating.
"You... don't know?" he said, tilting his head, attempting to wrap his weakened mind around the words. "So she might have...? I might be...?" I could only lower my head to look at the floor. The right words to say were stuck in my throat, forming a lump and making it rather difficult to breathe. "Oh, Celestia..." Those were the same words he uttered when I told him about myself. He looked up at the tiled white ceiling, hooves in the air, as if to ask  Why me?. I could see his tail twitching underneath the covers on his hospital bed. The smell of blood still lingered, but now it was diluted with disinfectants and... something more. It was familiar, but I just couldn't name it. Whatever it was, it was strongest around Moonlight. There was still the delicious flavor of blood in the air around him, but the other scent was stronger. For some reason, it was very unsettling.
"So, I might be, but I might not?" he asked cautiously.
"Yes. We know... even less than you do," I replied. "After all, we aren't you. Do you feel a burn in your throat?"
"Uhm... kind of?" His tone made it a question, which didn't help. "I feel a bit queasy, actually. Do you have water?" I pushed a button to call the nurse.
"Hurricane's outside. She thought it'd be better if I was here instead of her. She feels terrible. Are you up to visitors?" I asked. He nodded, and I went to get her.
"Oh, Melody, can I have that newspaper?" I levitated it to him on my way out. "Thanks." I closed the door, and trotted down the pristine white halls, with the floors so clean that I had a near-perfect image of myself staring back at me. I stopped for a minute, fixated on her beautiful, round eyes. I shook myself out of my stupor. I had to go get Hurricane. As I walked, I thought about how I hadn't been able to see myself in the mirror, yet in the floor I could. I got into a slight rhythm with my hoofsteps. Every time one clicked on the floor, I would move my other hooves accordingly. I worked rather well, and I got to the lobby relatively fast. Hurricane was pacing about nervously, and when she saw me she ran towards me.
"Is he okay? Does he want to talk? Is he mad at me? Does..." 
"Whoa! Slow down, Hurricane. He's..." I shrugged. "Okay, that works. Yes, he wants to talk, and he doesn't remember what happened."
"Oh," she said quietly. The siblings seemed to share the habit of going extrordinarily quiet whenever the mood darkened in the slightest. "Did you tell him?" I nodded, and she groaned. 
We walked back to his room in silence, save for the clip clop of our hooves. Her ears drooped slightly, and her expression was sad, and even her eyes had lost that sparkle. She truly was repentant. Her wings, perhaps one of the most important things about her, were unfolded and dragging along the ground.
"Your wings won't get dirty that way?" I asked. She looked up, somewhat startled and bewildered.
"Oh, I, uh..." she mumbled. She picked her wings up, and folded them. It was silence the rest of the way to his room.
When we stepped inside, he was sitting upright, water in hoof, staring off into space.
"Hem-hem," I coughed noisily. He jumped slightly and looked away from the wall. He met my gaze, and for a second, I thought he might cry. Again. 
"Uh..." Hurricane whispered, very out of character. Her eyes flicked to the wall, to a painting, to the window, to her hooves. Anything except Moonlight. Her cheeks were flushed, as were his. She scratched the back of her with one hoof. "I'm sorry?"
"Um, okay," he mumbled. "Apology accepted. I guess. I don't really know anymore." Surprisingly, Hurricane cracked a small smile.
"This reminds me of that one time that we tied a balloon on Red Maple to try and help him fly, don't you think?"
He grinned. "Yeah, yeah I guess it does." For a brief moment, the pair shared a memory, obviously a fond and funny one, based on the giggles. "Oh, er, Melody? Can I talk to Hurricane? In private?"
"Oh, sure." I stepped out of the small room, and tried not to eavesdrop, but it was difficult with my increased hearing. Through the door, I heard them talking in hushed whispers.
"Hurricane- you know how water usually quenches thirst?" A pause.
"Yes..?" She didn't sound sure of this fact, though it's well proven.
"Well, this time, it didn't."