Chapter 22 : Late Morning
"Miss Mica." called Solassi as she opened the door to the waiting area "We're ready for you now."
"...Mm, wish me luck. I guess." muttered Mica as she rose out of her seat.
"Yep. Have fun..." mumbled Fiona as she bobbed her foot in an impatience manner.
Following the floating psychai into the back rooms, Mica was lead to the same scale that Kianna had used before and was subsequently measured and weighed.
"It'll be just a moment." said Solassi as she held open the door to a vacant examination room and indicated Mica should enter "Feel free to take a seat."
"Thanks." said Mica.
Smiling, Solassi nodded as she closed the door.
Left to her own devices now, Mica hopped up onto the examination table and began to absently glance around the room as she waited.
Finding herself in a seemingly typical exam room, she gazed at the charts on the wall for a bit before turning her attention to the small counter-top that was outfitted with a bank of drawers, a few cabinets and a miniature sink.
After some time, she became bored with her surroundings and began to get a bit antsy. With her phone having yet to be replaced, she had no easy outlet to occupy herself with, and thus her mind turned to more mischievous thoughts.
Glancing at the door real quick, she turned back to the counter-top and, by stretching out her tail to them, began to tentatively open one drawer after another. Craning her neck so as to be able to peer inside, she was disappointed to find that they were each filled with nothing but mundane supplies.
She jumped and slammed the last drawer shut when a knock suddenly rang out from the door.
"...Uh, c-come in!" she stammered as she pulled her tail back to herself.
"Good afternoon." said Dr. Creek as she stepped into the room while wearing a new exo-unit and shut the door behind her "My name is Dr. Creek, and I'll be your physician today."
"Uh, hello." said Mica as she looked the strange plastic golem up and down.
"So how are we feeling today?" asked Dr. Creek as she glanced down at a clipboard in her hands "...Miss Mica?"
"Um, I'm good. I guess." said Mica.
"Nothing been troubling you then?" asked Dr. Creek as she made her way to the wall across from Mica and stood facing the kiochi.
"...No. Not really." said Mica as she creased her brow in question while registering the odd amount of distance the doctor had put between them "I'm fine."
"That's good to hear." nodded the golem "...So I see here that you've just recently become a charge of Mr. North....I'm going to guess that this means that you'd have gone through quite an abrupt change in your living arrangements lately?"
Blinking, Mica grimaced and looked off to the side.
"Yeah. I guess you could say that..." she muttered softly "Definitely a lot to get used to..."
"...Right....I know that for many people, situations like these can be very stressful." said Dr. Creek in a soft and understanding tone "And I want you to know that both your physical and mental well being is important to us here... So if there's anything that you'd like to talk about, please, don't hesitate to let me know."
"...Nah. It's fine. Honestly." mumbled Mica as she turned back to the golem and smiled thinly "I'm okay. You don't need to worry about me."
"...Was your situation truly a mutual decision then?" asked the doctor "Or, is this perhaps some kind of, "honor bound" type of scenario?"
"Huh? What do you mean by "honor bound"?" questioned Mica.
"I mean your enslavement, to Mr. North. I'm wondering if maybe he had defeated you in some manner, and in defeat, you acknowledged him as your better and then bound yourself to him." explained the doctor "In other words, I'd like to know if that was why you chose to belong to him or not?"
"Oh. No! Hell no! That wasn't why!" mumbled Mica "Why would I let myself be enslaved that easily!?"
"Well, not to be presumptuous, of course. But you are listed as a cubi here." said Dr. Creek as she indicated the clipboard "And allowing oneself to be enslaved by a determined better, wouldn't necessarily be abnormal behavior for a cubi."
"Oh. Yeah, right, well... I don't know if you've noticed or not..." said Mica as she coiled her tail up over her head in order to fully showcase the broadside of her bladed spade "But I'm not exactly that kind of cubi..."
"...Yes, that was something that I did notice." said Dr. Creek in a hushed tone as her golem seemed to stare at Mica's spade "...And I must say, today has been quite the treat....One first after another for me."
"Uh, what? What do you mean?" questioned Mica.
"...I mean, I have seen many cubi over the years, Miss Mica. Thousands, even." said Dr. Creek as she continued to watch Mica's spade slowly twirl through the air "But you are the very first of your kind that I've ever had the privilege of examining... And I must say, it's a rather exciting prospect for me..."
"...You've never seen another shinoccubi before?" questioned Mica "Like ever?"
"Never as a patient." said Dr. Creek as her golem brought its nonexistent eyes down to meet with Mica's "This is a first."
"...Okay? So, why exactly haven't you seen another shinoccubi before? If you've been a doctor for years, then why would that be the case?" asked Mica.
"Because while I do specialize in overseeing overly dangerous beings who have been enslaved, to which your kind would certainly qualify as such... Your specific race of cubi rarely ever exist as traditional charges." explained Dr. Creek "I have no idea why this would be the case, as one would think that charges that were as skilled as your kind is, would certainly be in demand. For some reason though, they are a very rare sight. Almost unheard of even. And this has me certainly curious about your situation... And your Master..."
"My Master? I don't have a... Oh, right, him..." sighed Mica as she rolled her eyes "Why are you curious about him?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" said Dr. Creek "Mr. North is quite the interesting individual. Somehow he has acquired not 1, but 3 extremely rare charges. 2 of them being the only enslaved examples of their species that I've ever even heard of. A species which supposedly can't even be enslaved, and yet he has somehow done this. And not only does he seem to have a level of control over these beings, but at least one of them is obviously quite attached to him. This is unexpected to say the least... And then there's you. And all the oddities surrounding you."
"...Wait, what? What "oddities" are surrounding me?" questioned Mica "What are you talking about!?"
Dr. Creek was quiet for a moment as she gazed at the kiochi.
"...You are listed as a mere cubi, rather than as a shinoccubus." she started as she indicated her clipboard "You also only have a first name here. Which, while that isn't necessarily unusual for a cubi. Your place of birth is listed as Terra, rather than one of the realms... Which leads me to believe that you might have a surname, and that your Master has chosen not to list it, in an effort to keep you at least somewhat anonymous... Is this perhaps, true?"
"...Even if it was." said Mica as she looked away "None of that is any of your business..."
