Chapter 17 : Early Afternoon
"See how important this can be?" said Anton as he held out the soiled cotton ball "With your darker skin tone it isn't always going to be so easy to spot the grime right away."
Kianna gawked in disgust at the layer of brownish tan crud that seemed to appear out of nowhere, and was smeared over the alcohol soaked cotton ball that Anton had just run down the length of her sister's long ear.
"Ew!" cried the dark elf as she lowered her own ears "That's so gross!"
"Yes, it is." said Anton as he set the cotton ball down on the corner of the tray that was farthest away from everything else "But it's not abnormal, and I wouldn't be surprised if your own ears were similar."
"Ew! I hope not!" exclaimed Kianna as she watched him pluck another cotton ball from the bag and douse it with a splash of alcohol "I shower everyday so they shouldn't be!"
"Does Fiona not bathe daily?" asked Anton as he took hold of the top edge of Fiona's ear and began to run the cotton ball up and down the grove that ran along the upper portion of her inner earlobe.
"Well... Yeah!" said Kianna as she glanced at her still magically entrapped sister "At least I think so?"
Fiona's entire being remained dull and nearly lifeless as she continued to stand motionless and unresponsive to everything but her Master's commands. With her mind held back by her collar, she did nothing as Anton worked to clean her sensitive ears.
"Even if she did, it really wouldn't make a difference if she doesn't actually scrub her ears properly." explained Anton "Just letting water run over them isn't going to be enough to actually keep them clean."
"...Oh." said Kianna as her brow pinched nervously "Really?"
Anton smirked at the seemingly embarrassed dark elf as she immediately laid her ears even further back against her head in an effort to hide them from sight.
"Still feeling confident that they're clean?" he asked.
"...Yeah." muttered Kianna.
"Oh, would you like to make a bet on it then?" asked Anton as his grin spread across his face.
"...No." mumbled Kianna.
Anton laughed as the dark elf hunched in on herself and began to pout.
"It's not funny!" she whined as she looked back at her sister "You don't understand! They're really sensitive! And it's really easy to make them feel weird!"
"I do understand. That's why I'm making such big deal about it." said Anton as he met her eyes "But it's very important that you understand, just how very important it is for you as a dark elf to keep your ears clean! I know that they're sensitive and that your first instinct is to never touch them. But unfortunately for you, that isn't going to be an option anymore."
"I really don't like to touch them though!" whined Kianna as she began to pout again "I know it's weird but it just never feels right when I do!"
"That's not that weird at all?" said Anton as he gave the dark elf a perplexed look "That's perfectly normal, all elves are like that."
"They, they are!?" cried Kianna as her eyes went wide "Really!? Why!?"
"...I keep forgetting just how clueless you two are." sighed Anton "Although this really should have been something you would have learned in school. Did you not take Sex-Ed?"
"Uh, yeah!" said Kianna as one of her ears cocked upwards in a curious manner "But we never talked about my ears!?"
"Hm, well that's an oversight..." mumbled Anton as he moved around to Fiona's other side.
Turning quickly so as to followed him, Kianna held the tray out to him so he could prepare a fresh cotton ball.
"Are you ticklish?" asked Anton as he began to work on Fiona's limp ear.
"Um, kinda, I guess? Not really though." answered Kianna as she shrugged her shoulders "Fiona is!"
"Really!? You don't say..." said Anton as his eyes narrowed mischievously "Well, we'll just have to put a pin in that little factoid for now!"
Kianna couldn't help but to smile at his obvious glee.
"Anyways, you still understand what being tickled feels like though, right?" asked Anton "That's it's a very unpleasant feeling?"
"Yeah." nodded Kianna.
"Okay good, well, normally a person can't really tickle themselves." explained Anton "And if they can the feeling still won't ever be as intense as it would be if someone else were tickling them."
"Right!" said Kianna as she continued to nod.
"Well an elf's ears actually work in a similar but reversed way." continued Anton "It's a very unpleasant feeling for any elf to touch their own ears. But the unpleasant feeling isn't nearly as intense if someone else touches their ears, and if the right person touches them, then the whole thing comes all the way around the track and it can be a very pleasant and even blissful experience."
"...Wait, seriously?" questioned Kianna "...Why is it, like that?"
"Because this is how elves strengthen the bonds they have with their mates." explained Anton "Their minds and bodies are both hardwired to be this way for that very purpose"
"...Wha!?" cried Kianna as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards "W-what do you mean!? How does that work!?"
Anton chuckled at the dark elf's confused expression before continuing.
"In the minds of elves their ears are the most vulnerable part of their bodies." he explained "This isn't actually true of course. Since an injury to the ear doesn't come anywhere close to being fatal for them. But since their ears are so sensitive, they can't help but feel this way. Right?"
"Yeah, pretty much." mumbled Kianna as she shifted her own ears back and forth.
"Right, so, elves have an extremely sensitive body part that the last thing they'll ever want to do is touch. Unfortunately for elves though, ears are still the inlet for one of the main senses and are still necessary for their quality of life, and even overall survival. So they still need to have them groomed. And all elves do have an innate desire to have they're ears groomed, they just don't want to do it themselves. Because this is an extremely sensitive body part that unlike all your other extremely sensitive body parts, is not an erogenous zone... Or at least not normally." explained Anton as he grinned and gave her a pointed look "You see, when a pair of elves become mates, they'll groom each others ears. And by exposing what they consider to be their most vulnerable body part to each other, they'll start to build a bond. Their ears are still extremely sensitive though, so this experience can be very intense for them. But unlike the carnality that sex can be. This experience is almost always one that is gentle, attentive and loving. Regardless of the intensity. And the bond that can be created through this act is considered one of trust and reliance."
