Okay. There's a lot going through your mind right now. You quickly go over what you already know about Ashton's condition.

She was drooling at the sight of a piece of severed human flesh.

The blood test said she had an excess of vitamins and minerals in her blood that are common in organ meat.

Her blood is apparently filled with mystery cells that the doctors couldn't analyze.

Her oxytocin levels are anomalously high.

Whatever her deal is, her biology has been significantly altered from the human baseline. She's not experiencing any obvious health side effects from her unusual diet, after all.

You'd imagine you should've heard something about her killing and eating people. Either she's amazing at hiding her unique 'appetite' or she has another way of managing her 'hunger'. Whatever the case is, she doesn't seem like a threat, you think?

A stupid thought pops in your head. Your mind constantly yells at you that, no, the last thing you should do is hug her. You're alone with a girl who thought a hunk of human meat was a tasty snack. What if she rips your throat out since "nobody" is around?

Another part of you points out that, if she was going to hurt you, she would've done something by now instead of playing a week long con. She's been suspicious, sure, but never outright malicious to you.

Fuck it. You lean forward and wrap your arms around Ashton, pulling her into a hug. You might get your throat ripped out but you're going to trust your gut here. This is a gamble: To see how much control she has over her hunger. For all she knows, you two are alone.

And, well, you're made of meat after all.

In the corner of your eye, you can just about make out the Man's expression. He watches on with fear and confusion etched in his expression, like he's watching you hug a rabid tiger. What the FUCK are you doing, he hisses through his teeth.

>2 SUCCESSES!

"oh!" Ashton doesn't immediately know how to respond to the impromptu hug. "aren't we supposed to study the m..." She attempts to redirect your attention back to the research you're supposed to do but the words die in her mouth.

She turns her attention away from the meat sample. She closes her eyes so she can fully take in the moment. Her body relaxes in your grasp, as if relieved that she can focus on something besides the piece of human flesh.

She immediately returns the favor by hugging you back. Her sturdy arms tightly close around your body, making sure you can't break out of the hug any time soon. The hug feels a lot better than it did yesterday. Neither of you are hurting anymore so both of you can focus exclusively on the hug itself.

Her body, especially her arms, is a lot warmer than you remember it being. You can't say it feels bad, though, it's...comforting. You find it hard to describe it in any more detail. The stress of everything that happened this week vanishes as if it was never there.

The Man grumbles under his breath.