Saoirse's Adventures Pt 9
"Try to hold really still, okay? I'm squeamish," said Arthur. He took a long drink of water before bending over Saoirse's leg with a pair of tweezers. In her quest for interesting rocks, Saoirse had somehow picked up about a dozen blood-sucking water ticks on the lower portion of her legs and ankles.
Arthur was naked except for his swim trunks; his t-shirt and hoodie were still drying outside in the sun. His heavily-freckled chest and shoulders had a dark tan from working shirtless outdoors at the nearby archaeological dig, his dark shoulder-length curly hair was damp and slicked back, and his black feathered wings were dewy but hadn't really gotten wet.
"I can do this myself though," said Saoirse. She sat on the rolling chair in the small basement office that made up her base camp, with her leg propped up on the nice mahogany desk. "Here, give me the tweezers."
"What am I supposed to do, then?" Arthur shivered. The temperature outside had been about thirty-five degrees Celsius, while the lower levels of the building complex maintained a constant twenty.
"Distract me?" suggested Saoirse. "Tell me about the time you had an inconvenient emission on that medication you're taking-"
Arthur had been raising his water bottle for another drink and set it down. "Inconvenient emis-...you didn't even pause you just said it," he giggled. "It's super inconvenient though." Arthur huddled up under the blankets on the office's weirdly convenient couch bed before he continued.
Arthur stood in line in a stuffy old medical station, sipping a cup of hot apple cider. The station and its attached pharmacy had had to restart their entire computer system when he'd been second in line, so he had about an hour to take in his surroundings. Everything around him had a distinctly brown, speckly beige, and yellow color scheme. The smell of disinfectant was so heavy in the air that it seemed to accumulate in Arthur's mouth, and he periodically took extra sips of his cider to wash out the taste.
It had been almost two and a half years since Arthur had broken his wing, and he'd put off his visit to the pharmacy until he'd been out of his pain medication for two days. His wing throbbed hotly in the clammy fall weather, and he had a vague sense that he needed to pee but hadn't acted on it because he didn't want to give up his place in line.
"This place is going to look so dated in a few years," declared Rabb, stepping into line next to Arthur. Rabb was full Renoige, covered from head to toe in medium-length orange and white tabby-patterned fur with catlike ears, a long ringed tail, and a lean, athletic build. She was completely soaked, having just been rained out of the sports field at her weekly practice. She'd gotten herself a rice bowl at the station's canteen, expecting Arthur to get through the line before she was finished eating.
Arthur was too preoccupied to agree or disagree with Rabb either way. The constant, hot pounding in his bad wing ate up most of his concentration. It occurred to him that he should ask Rabb to save his place in line and go to the bathroom when a voice called, "Next!"
"That's you," Rabb patted Arthur's shoulder. "I'll wait for you next to the canteen. Want another cider?"
"Yes, please," said Arthur. He took a sip of the almost-lukewarm cider in his cup, leaving enough to take one of his tablets with as he approached the counter. Arthur was unpleasantly surprised to find out that his usual pain meds weren't available, and was given a substitute, made from a mutant strain of dagger root.
"But I'm nineteen," said Arthur. "I'm underage!" Since it was toxic to most humanoid species, infusion of dagger root was a tightly-controlled substance, only available to Andynes over the age of twenty. Arthur was Andyne, but he was only nineteen years old.
The pharmacist read something on her computer screen. "Mr. Deepuin, the only alternative I can give you is extra-strength ibuprofen. The dagger root is a specially-bred medical strain. It's not without its side effects, but in your circumstances it's legal. Your doctor has it noted as the next best option if your usual prescription runs out."
Arthur sat through the pharmacist's explanations of how to take the medication and its side effects, and moodily swallowed his first tablet as he and Rabb left the facility. Rabb's home was a ten-minute walk away over the grid of boardwalks on the rainy streets. They were able to stay out of mud puddles, but still got soaked by the rain.
When they splashed up to the door at Rabb's house, the lights were off, the family restaurant's "closed" sign was up, and all the doors were locked. Rabb patted down her coat pockets for her keys, only to come up empty-handed.
"Today's Saoirse's swim meet!" gasped Rabb. "You stay here, Arthur. I'll climb up to my window. Once I bust in, we'll change and sprint down to the school." Rabb strode purposefully around the side of the house.
Arthur's wing was already starting to feel better, and though he was suddenly aware that he was about to piss himself, he didn't mind it at all. He stood within the front hedge that separated the house from Rabb's family's restaurant, sheltered from the street, and couldn't hear anyone but Rabb around. Under his coat he was dry, but his pants were already soaked through.
"I can't wet my pants if they're already soaked," Arthur snorted to himself. His jeans flooded with hot urine, the rushing noises barely audible over the sound of the fat raindrops all around.
A thump came from the roof, and Rabb stood up on it. "I'm up!"
"All right!" said Arthur, trying to be casual but encouraging. The second word mutated into a low moan of relief. There was some splashing through the rain gutters above, and everything was suddenly quiet.
Arthur stretched his wing. It popped a little, but it wasn't sore at all, even though he was freezing. He enjoyed the heat still running at full blast down his leg and reached into his pants to reroute the flow and warm his other leg. His dick was starting to get hard, and it took a lot of willpower to pull his hand back out.
The front door opened, and Rabb stepped out with a note in her hand. "I got in," she announced. "I have good news and bad news: which do you want first?" She looked up at Arthur when he didn't immediately hurry inside. "Why are you just standing there?"
"I'm peeing," said Arthur, unable to hold back a long sigh. He knew better than to lie to Rabb - she'd know once he got in either way. "I'm almost done though."
"Oh. Uh. Good," Rabb hesitated. "Bad news first: Saoirse's swim meet is an hour away and we missed our ride. But the good news is that we have the house to ourselves until they get back."
"W-wonderful," said Arthur. His teeth were starting to chatter. "I'll dry off and m-make us some p-pizza rolls."
