The next day, Kost woke up determined to get the better of whatever it was that the strange linsang had done to him.
He grabbed the plastic bag off his dresser as he went into the bathroom to clean up. The employee working at the pharmacy yesterday had been male, so he hadn't had any problems getting ahold of what he needed to, even if his particular purchase
had
earned him a raised eyebrow.
From within the bag he withdrew a bottle of special fur shampoo intended for skunks and other mammals with rather potent odors who wished to mask them. Supposedly it worked just as well on canines. Not wanting to take any chances, Kost used about a quarter of the bottle in the shower as he cleaned up.
But that was far from the only precaution he'd taken. After he'd dried off with a fresh towel pulled from the linen closet, Kost grabbed the other supplies he'd picked up from the bag. First, anti-perspirant deodorant to make it so he didn't sweat a drop. Then, a scent spray thick with the smell of sandalwood to mask all hints of his natural musk that might come out. Lastly, a scented powder that he brushed into his skin that also smelled of wood.
Kost's nose recoiled of its own accord at the raucous assault of smells wafting around the small bathroom. He coughed several times, then opened the door to vent the room. It was a good sign - if he was overwhelmed by it, anyone he came into contact with would be as well. It was imperative that Penelope not get a single sniff of his natural musk. Seeing her driven into a frenzy by whatever was going on with him would be almost too much to bare.
Suitably prepared, Kost dressed and set out. Penelope attended the small Havart Community College across the bay, and normally Kost liked to drive across the bridge with the windows down to let the smell of sea swirl around him in his small car. Not today, though. The windows stayed up, leaving him to sit and stew in a cloud of chemical-based scents.
The logical thing he needed to do was go see a doctor. But what doctor would believe the truth?
Yes, hello, Doctor So-and-so, I started dreaming about a linsang with unnatural eyes and now every woman I spend more than a minute talking to wants to sleep with me.
He'd be laughed out of the clinic. Or worse, the doctor would question whether or not it was even a problem at all.
Kost was so wrapped up in anxious thinking he almost missed the turn to the campus, and quickly cut across two lanes to make it.
A short while later, he pulled into the parking lot of a Greek restaurant a stone's throw from the campus. Penelope was waiting outside, and she perked up at the sight of his car. Kost always felt guilty at the little pang he got whenever he saw her. She'd gotten so much of her mother's looks, with her light brown pelt with white patches, the little tufts of fur on the inside of her ears and her bright brown eyes. She looked like she'd just come from class, wearing a blouse and jeans.
He took a deep breath.
First sign of
anything
out of the ordinary, you leave. You get in the car and don't look back.
For a moment, he waited, expecting to hear the linsang's voice make a snide comment. But when it didn't happen, and Penelope tilted her head quizzically, Kost realized he must look the fool.
"Hey, Dad!" Penelope said, walking to meet him as he got out of the sedan. She paused, blinking at him. "Hey, what did you do to your fur?"
"I, uh, dyed it!" Kost said quickly, mentally chastising himself. Penelope was no fool, of course the first thing she'd notice would be his fur not being gray anymore. "Decided to try something new."
Her nostrils flared, and panic surged in Kost's gut. Her eyebrow shot up. "Is that why you smell like you took a bath in sawdust?"
Kost coughed, forcing a smile. "Y-yes! I liked the smell, so I decided to use a lot of it."
Penelope snickered, rolling her eyes. "Dad, next time, less is more. Got it?"
The panic vanished as quickly as it came. So far, so good. "Right..."
He held the door to the restaurant open for her before going inside himself. Good smells wafted around him - cooking meat, spices, freshly baked bread. But they only touched his nose for a brief moment before the cloud that Kost exuded brushed them aside. Several of the nearby patrons, particularly those with sensitive noses, were shooting him dirty looks. All Kost could do was mouth "sorry" sheepishly.
"Seriously Dad, did you go overboard on accident or on purpose?" Penelope asked as they stepped up to the counter.
"It was an accident, I swear," Kost said, as the nose of the badger taking their order wrinkled.
Kost ordered a gyro, Penelope some lamb skewers, and they sat down at a table in the back after Kost paid. He felt it was proper to give the other patrons some space owing to the smell. "So what's new with you?" he asked.
Penelope sighed and slumped over with an exaggerated motion. "Classes are kicking my butt, that's what. Seems every moment I'm not in class I'm in the lab with my psych professor. Lady doesn't know what 'free time' is seems like."
"That's college for you," Kost offered.
Penelope gave him a dry look. "Real reassuring there, Dad."
"Sorry."
She laughed and straightened up. "I'm just yanking your tail, calm down. How's the dealership?"
"It's been okay," Kost said, lifting his arms as a server brought them their food. "Already met my numbers for this month, so I can just coast this next week if I want to."
"Sounds awesome," Penelope said. "Taking the week off?"
Kost shook his head. "I'll still go, help out everyone else. Keeps me occupied."
Penelope chewed a bite of lamb for a long time before swallowing. "How long has it been since you took a vacation?"
"I honestly don't remember."
She frowned. "Dad, that's not good."
Kost sighed and took a bite of his gyro. "I know."
"Look, I know you don't want to talk about Mom. God knows we talked about her a lot after... after she died. But ever since the funeral, you keep mentioning her less and less." She reached out and put her paw atop his. "It's beginning to freak me out a little. As far as I can tell you just wake up, go to work, eat at Maggie's for lunch, then go home and sleep."
The mention of Maggie's brought back memories of the bovine humping back against him, her thick ass jiggling with every crack of his hips against hers. Kost quickly smothered the thoughts. "I mean, that's it, more or less."
Penelope's paw squeezed his. "And that's really not good."
"I know," he repeated.
She sighed and went back to her food, tugging bits of meat off the skewers with sharp motions of her teeth. "I mean," she said after a moment, "please don't get mad for me suggesting this, but have you thought about dating anyone? You're only fifty, you've still got plenty of time left."
Kost shook his head. "No. I'll always be in love with your mother."
"Dad, I'm not saying you have to just leave her behind, forget about her. It's possible for you to love more than one person romantically in your lifetime, you know? I don't want to just watch you live the rest of your life alone. Mom would want you to move on."
"I can't just
move on
," Kost said, his tone growing tense. Who was Penelope to suggest he just throw in with some other woman that wasn't her mother? Who gave her the right to suggest such a thing?
"Okay," Penelope said softly, her ears pinning back a little. "Sorry."
Kost realized he was snarling a little and clenched his jaw, biting back the sound. Though the scent masking seemed to be working, evidently there were still other parts of this condition that weren't reliant on scent. "It's okay," he said softly. "I just still miss her. Very much."
"I know." Penelope offered him a small smile.
Kost seized the opportunity to shift the focus. "What about you? Any handsome men in your life right now?"
Penelope coughed, her ears swiveling from side to side. "Ah, no. Too busy in the lab."
It seemed like a quick, hasty answer, meant to conceal something from him, but he couldn't fathom what it was. "Probably for the best if you're so busy," Kost said. "You can worry about that after your degree."
Penelope laughed. "That's true!"
They made small talk while they ate the rest of their food, Kost relaxing more and more as time passed. His overzealousness with the scents seemed to be doing the trick, as Penelope hadn't made even the slightest overtures of inappropriate attraction to him. So far, so good.
As they finished, Penelope's phone rang in her bag. "Oh, hang on," she said, pulling it out to answer it. "Hello? Hey, Cinth, what's up?"
Cinthia was Penelope's roommate and close friend, so there was no telling how long their chat might last. He gathered up their plates and silverware, taking the trash over to a nearby garbage can and setting the washable utensils in a small bin on a shelf next to it. As he turned, a flash of spotted gold caught his eye.
Sitting at one of the tables for two by the window was the linsang. He was wearing an Oxford shirt and slacks, looking directly at him. However, rather than the usual smug expression he wore, his face was now far more malicious. His eyes were black through and through, his fur ruffled by an unseen wind.
"I was
really
looking forward to this one," he said, loud enough to be heard over the chatter in the restaurant. "But she had to ruin it for me."
Kost's head snapped towards Penelope, still taking on the phone. When he looked back, the linsang was gone, vanished into thin air. He screwed his eyes shut and rubbed them before opening them up again. What in the world had that been about?
