>>5809855>2, 6 for Natural PhilosophyUnfortunately, Hershy didn’t make this easy for you. Even with you projecting <Calm>, he squirmed and made croaking, hissing noises like a poorly-oiled door-hinge with each poke and prod, let alone any efforts to pull open his wing and examine the roots of the weathered feathers, or the smooth and amphibious skin underneath. Eventually, he snapped at you with such determined ferocity that you were forced to release him and let the little creature flutter back to his owner. Muffins watched him go with his two carnivorous head, and you instead turned your attentions to distracting his predatory instincts…
>16 for Sociability…But when you turned back to Zith-Zi, she was still looking at you, while soothingly stroking Hershy.
“What?” you asked warily.
“You really mean it, huh?” she asked. “You’re going to help me?”
“…yes?” you replied uncertainly., and then raised an eyebrow. “You mean to help ME, don’t you? It’s a business relationship, like you said.”
“But Hershy jumped right over to ya’,” she noted. “He doesn’t just do that for anyone, you know. Means you’re good people.”
“Well he IS that,” Pearce noted, breaking his silence since the blanket incident.
You felt yourself blushing a little under their attentions and praise. It wasn’t overlooked, either: both Pearce and Zith-ZI laughed at your reaction.
“Here,” Zith-Zi said. “Hershy’ll let me fuck around with his feathers more than you. I’ll hold his wing open, you check his…”
“Skin and joints?”
“Whatever,” she said.
“And around the gums,” Pearce chimed in, helpfully taking point on watching, diverting, and restraining Muffins. “I think I saw some spotting.”
“He hasn’t been gnawing bones the way he used to like doing…” Zith-Zi added in response.
Something of the atmosphere in the cabin warmed after that, as the three of you tended to the old animal and your shared concern for him. When you were done your cursory inspection, Hershy didn’t seem to much like you, but you knew a bit more about his condition and what required most immediate attention and amelioration… And the goblin-girl was a little less prickly, with Pearce and especially with you.
