An Unexpected Trip Pt. 06
Thunder rumbled over Arthur's head. He sat alone in an unpopulated area of the bleachers, with his shoulder-length dark hair in his traditional renoige ponytail. He even wore his obsidian clip. His crow-like black-feathered wings were preened to the best of his ability, if a little dry. He'd wanted to look his best that night: he wore his favorite purple hoodie and trendy blue skinny jeans, only to find that the opposing team's colors were blue and purple when he arrived on the field. Arthur had just turned nineteen, young and gangly, and politely clutched his wings to his back as he made his way to his seat.
Arthur had bought two beers from the concessions stand, oddly having to explain to a skeptical cashier that he was buying drinks for two people. One was for him, and the other was for his best friend Rabb, whose team was playing in the game that night. In addition to the beer, Arthur had bought himself a large cup of tamarind and violet tea for the game. It was late August, and though the days could get hot, the first cold tendrils of fall gave the air a creeping chill after dark. It made Arthur glad he'd worn his hoodie.
Though Arthur had never been into sports, he found himself following the action, especially when Rabb was playing. She attempted a lot of daring saves and missed more than half the time, but seemed to be enjoying herself immensely. Arthur was almost disappointed when everything stopped at halftime.
Rabb made her way up the bleachers, stepping out of the glare of the stadium lights. Her cream-colored hair, streaked with hints of yellow, black, and orange, had been tied up in a neat bun. She was Renoige: humanoid, with a mix of white and orange tabby fur, catlike ears, ice blue eyes, and a long but muscular figure underneath her green and yellow team uniform.
"Arthur! You made it!" Rabb plopped down next to him. It jostled him, reminding him that he'd need to pee soon, and he tried not to show it on his face. "How have you been? Mom said you quit your job at the brewery last month?" Arthur was even more tanned than usual under his dark freckles, and hoped it was enough to hide the blush heating his face.
"Good for you, really," said Rabb. "That place is horrible."
The buzzer marked one minute left of halftime. Arthur didn't think to ask Rabb where the bathroom was, but he didn't need to go that badly yet. He took a sip of his tea and found that he was down to the ice cubes.
With the tea gone, Arthur poured one of the beers into his cup. It was gone before the end of the third quarter, and Arthur didn't hesitate to pour in the second beer. It didn't seem particularly strong, and he sipped it steadily like the tea, telling himself he'd just get Rabb another beer after the game.
"Arthur?" Rabb approached him again between the third and fourth quarter, wearing an ice pack around her shoulders. "...What happened to those beers?" Her eyes lit on the cup that had held his tea and widened. Arthur still had about half a beer left, and Rabb snatched it away and poured it out under the bleachers.
"What did..." Arthur tried to stand up, only to feel his head spinning. He dropped back to the bench. "What did you do that for?"
Rabb groaned. "You worked at a brewery for two years, Arthur. Have you seriously never tried Renoige beer?"
Arthur shook his head. "I was underage, and Mr. Chantrus is paranoid about emplo-" It struck him that he needed to pee; the only thing keeping him from flooding his pants was how tight his jeans were. It was uncomfortable but kept an otherwise serious leak to a sporadic drip. A small wet spot bloomed on the crotch of his pants.
"Oh shit, we need to get you to a bathroom," said Rabb quietly. There were just over four more minutes until the next quarter, ticking down on the digital display on the scoreboard. Arthur tried to stand up again and sat back down, dizzy and leaking. He grudgingly admitted to himself that Rabb had been right about how strong the beer was.
"I can't get up," whispered Arthur. "I'll pee everywhere."
Rabb glanced around. They sat between the lights under the cover, and there wasn't anyone sitting close to them; Arthur had picked that spot so that he could sit without his wings blocking anyone's view.