"So uh...why are we doing this on the couch?" asked Lana. She and Leah stood in Arin's living room. Leah had spread a soft waterproof blanket on the couch while Lana covered the floor in squares Leah called "pee pads." Leah didn't keep them in her infirmary, but seemed okay with using them in the captain's quarters.
"Arin is really um...particular," she said. "The massage won't work as well if she's on a cold tile floor." Leah sighed. Her waist-length green hair was braided back, held up with what looked like a plastic hair net. She wore a set of old, stained and heavily mended pajamas, patterned with faded manatees.
"She can't just sit on a towel? Or pee before?" asked Lana.
"We've tried having her evacuate her bladder," said Leah patiently. "It uh...doesn't prevent anything. And the tile floor is uncomfortable for her wings, not her butt."
"If you say so," said Lana, shrugging. She placed the last pee pad and stood up, stretching her back. "And why is it always pee with her?"
Leah snorted, "It's pee for *so* many people here. It's almost like we're all characters written by the same person."
"Sure," Lana sighed, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, want a glass of water? I'm going to the kitchen."
"Yeah, thanks. Just leave it for me on the counter," said Leah while Lana hurried across the room. "But don't take too long, she'll be out any second."
As Lana stepped into the small kitchen, she heard Arin's bedroom door creak open in the hallway. She pulled a pink headband into her pocket and used it to bind her shoulder-length yellow hair up. She poured Leah's water before filling her own mug, and chugged her water before adjusting her plain blue scrubs and returning to the living room.
Leah sat cross-legged on the couch when Lana entered, looking up the hall. She turned to Lana. "Sit. If she's not out in a minute or two, I'll go and see what's keeping her."
Lana resisted the urge to say something snarky and sat down. She'd been cooped up in Arin's quarters for three days, had seen no one except Leah in most of that time, had exactly none of her questions answered, and didn't know how much longer she would be stuck there.
Arin padded out into the hall in her bathrobe. She looked much better than the last time Lana had seen her, just after they managed to return to their ship somehow three days ago. Arin blushed bright red when she saw Lana, and it clashed spectacularly against her dark crimson hair. Lana sat down opposite Leah on the couch, offering Arin an awkward smile.
"Have a seat, Captain," said Leah.
"Did Leah uh...tell you everything?" Arin asked Lana, shuffling her large tawny sparrow-colored wings behind her.