until the body actually absorbs all the magic. The level of discomfort will vary depending on the severity of the zombification, but it_

shouldn't cause too much trouble.

now looking for Shaliza, a vial of the potion in his coat pocket, so that she can be healed.

muttering loudly to herself, rocking back and forth in an alley, rotting having spread to her arms and legs, slowly making its way up_

her face.

happy he's found her, but not happy about how much she's rotting. He slows down to a slow, cautious walk, and approaches her with a small_

smile. "Hey there Shaliza."

's head snaps up, staring him down and starts muttering louder, not recognizing him in the slightest.

continues to smile, still approaching her slowly. "'member me? It's Alfred, the one who was also becoming a zombie? The one who can't hold_

his liquor?"

scrambles up, further into the corner, and pulls out her gun shakily. Muttering loudly, the gun crackles with electricity. No idea what_

she's even doing..

's eyes widen and he stops completely, holding up his hands up where she can see them. "Shaliza, I'm not going to hurt you."

shifts the gun to one hand, and fingers a knife in her sleeve.

still for a long moment before lunging forward, aiming to push the arm holding the gun up, and the other to the side.

panics, screaming a spell and teleporting a few feet behind him. Something she picked up from watching that Mett girl...

shakily fires the gun, missing his head by a few inches

shocked by this, and whips around to face her, only pausing for a moment before darting forward again.

fires the gun again, hand shaking too much to hit him. Says a spell and a wall of electricity shoots up between them, the rotting climbing_

further up her face.

immediately mutters another spell to make it through the wall, not stopping in his quick pace. He reaches into his pocket and retrieves the_

potion, uncorking it and covering with his thumb so it wont spill.

mutters another spell, teleporting behind him, and holding the gun to his head, a knife to his neck.

leans forward to escape the reach of the knife, and drops down to a crouch, one leg swinging out and around to knock her off her feet.

falls on the floor, firing a shot into a nearby wall, before scrambling away.

quickly follows her, trying to grab the back of her shirt to stop her.

caught for a second before she rips away, and whips throwing knives in his direction.

curses as he falls backwards in an attempt to dodge the knives, one lodged in his shoulder. He's not going to give up though, and he_

quickly jumps to his feet, going after her again.

finds herself backed up against a wall, and out of bullets. Dropping it on the floor, she holds out her hands as they crackle with _

electricity.

lets out a frustrated noise and calls to her. "Shaliza, cut it out!" He then moves towards her again, fully aware of the danger he's_

putting himself into.

pauses, staring and recognizing him for a second, before her eyes glaze over again and she shoots a jolt towards him.

curses, the bolt burning a hole in his coat sleeve, barely missing the skin. "Shaliza, cut it out!!" He yells to her again, continuing_

to advanve.

advance*

backs up, flush against the wall, holding her hands out and staring at him intently.

takes this chance and lunges toward her, grabbing her jaw his with free hand. "Shaliza, c'mon, just drink this, and everything'll be_

okay!!"

shrieks, flailing and trying to kick and hit out at him, moving her head to the side.

forces her head to face him again, and opens her mouth, pressing the vial's opening to her lips and tilting up until it all drains. He then_

forces her mouth shut so she cant spit it out, ignoring the kicks and hits.

tries to scream, and chokes on the potion before swallowing it finally, still struggling.

presses his body against her's slightly to keep her from struggling as bad, and opens her mouth to check if she's swallowed the potion._

When he sees that she has, he sighs and grins, pocketing the vial again and stepping away. "There we go! That wasn't too hard!" Now that_

he's not focused on making her drink the potion anymore, his body starts to send damage reports to his brain, and he hisses lightly in pain_

from the knife in his shoulder.

pants for breath as she lies there on the floor, rotting across half her face by now. Face contorting in pain, she curls to her side and _

lets out a bloodcurdling scream, shaking violently.

frowns and lets out a sigh, kneeling beside her. "Sorry Shaliza, things have to get worse before they get better."

continues to shake violently, screaming in agonizing pain, clawing at the ground.

takes her hands in his own to keep her from injuring herself too much, and continues to watch with a concerned frown.

grips him tightly, starting to pant for breath, still letting out cries of pain.

her hands a squeeze, trying to reassure her. "Just a little longer, Shaliza, hang in there."

's eyes roll up as her breaths start to fade quickly, still whimpering in pain.

*roll back

really hopes this is over soon, he hates seeing his friend in this state.

stops moving completely, grip slacking as her breathing stops as well.

bites his bottom lip and looks away, not able to watch anymore. Watching this, and feeling as he did, he couldn't even begin to imagine_

what Arthur had felt when the potion's ability to heal at all was in question.

lays there for awhile, before her fingers twitch just barely, tips starting to heal.

glances back to her, and grins brightly, getting a bit impatient for the potion to heal her completely.

's fingers eventually heal, the potion's effects working its way up her arms, and down her torso and legs. Her neck and face however, stay.

waiting for her to heal completely before hugging her, fidgeting in his impatience.

's fingers twitch again, her neck and face not healing.

starts to frown at this, and continues to wait and see if it'll complete the healing process.

starts to breath shallowly, foot moving slightly.

removes one of his hands from Shaliza's to ghost over the rotting on her face, wondering why it wont leave.

suddenly inhales a strangled breath, turning over and coughing violently. Gripping his hand tightly, she continues to cough, gasping for air

grips her hand just as tightly in return, and helps her to sit up so that breathing will be a little easier. "How ya feelin', Shaliza?"

covers her mouth with the back of her wrist, trying to get her breathing under control. Glancing up at him, she pauses and stares at him.

just grins down at her. "Weeeeellll? How're ya feelin??"

blinks at him "Al? What are-" pauses and looks at her wrist, jolting slightly "I'm not..my hand, it's normal..."

smiles wider, nodding. "Yep~! Me 'n Artie found the cure!!! And it took a bit, but I finally got it in ya!"

stares in shock, and checks her legs, arms, and lifts her top a little "AL! My...holy shit...I actually have a body.." pokes at her torso,_

not believing it when he feels flesh instead of rot.

's smile widens impossibly so. "Yeah! Cool, huh? We're gonna try and give it to all the zombies we can!!"

her hand goes up to her face and pales "Al..please tell me I have gravel and dirt on my face and not..." is panicking.

frowns then, grabbing her wrist and moving her hand from her face. "I don't know, we'll have to wait and see if it heals as well. And if it_

doesn't, then I'll just force another potion down your throat!"

shudders at that "I don't remember much, but I remember that pain...no way."

sighs. "Shaliza, it wont be as bad as that. Now that you aren't on the brink of death, it'll just sting a little."

crosses her arms over her chest "I think I recall actually dying because of that stuff...I'm good thanks, I'll take the scarring. It can't _

be /all/ that bad...right?" It is...

gets a determined look on his face. "I'll fix it, Shaliza, I promise."

brings a hand to her cheek "Is..is it that bad...?"

glances away a bit nervously, not wanting to tell his friend just how bad it is. "It's really not too bad!"

frowns "You're lying...look at me and tell me its not that bad.."

's expression turns slightly guilty as he looks back at her, looking her straight in the the eyes. "It's....alright fine, it's...not too_

good..."

stares trailing fingers along her face, trying to feel what it looks like "A mirror...Al, I need a mirror.."

's even more worried at this, and shakes his head. "No, Shaliza, you shouldn't look, it'll hurt you so much."

scrambles up, looking at her hands "I can use magic now, right?"

stands as well, grabbing her hands. "I wouldn't for a while, just to make sure."

starts to panic "No, no, I have to see...Al I have to see.."

shakes his head. "Fine, I'll take you to a mirror, but you have to promise me you wont use magic yet!"

pauses "I have to promise?"

nods. "Promise!"

pauses

frowns at this, and squeezes Shaliza's hands. "C'mon Shally!" He uses Iggy's pet name for Shaliza, trying to get her to agree.

".......How long do I have to wait?"

"At least twenty four hours."

frowns a bit, and squeezes his hands back "Fine. For you and Arthur..."

sighs in relief and nods in thanks, starting to pull her towards the nearest reflective surface.

nervous, not sure if she wants to see her face, but knows she has to.