Susix, p.16
Susix, page 16
Pulling off shedding skin was like scraping a burn. It hurt. We rarely had injuries that required us to shed like that.
“Let me call Seethur. He can watch Huzzar for a few hours while you sleep.” Seph started to complain. “Don’t start with me. If you have one more night like last night, you will be in a sick bed too. Seethur has more patience than all of us combined. He will take great care of Huzzar.” I pulled him towards one of the spare beds. “I will have Hissy. Hix will have something to keep him out of trouble. We will all be taken care of.” I pushed him onto the bed. “Now you can take care of yourself.”
“Okay,” he murmured, “only because I know Seethur won’t be tempted to rip Huzzar’s skin off his body.”
“We’ve all been tempted once or twice,” I admit.
I let Seethur know that he was needed in the med bay. I started getting bags ready to take Hissy to the bridge while I kept an eye on Seph. I was close enough to Huzzar that I heard him stirring before Seph could.
“Hello, little Vispur. How are you feeling?” I helped Huzzar sit up. I tried to keep my touch light.
There were patches of flaking scales on every inch of visible skin. I could see the irritation in the areas that were still coming off. It looked awful.
The scales underneath the old set were bright and colorful. That was a good sign. I know Huzzar was worried that his coloring might be affected by the acidic water. I didn’t tell him. I didn’t want to get his hopes up just in case that was not true for his whole body.
“I feel like my skin is being vecking pulled off.” He ended the angry words with a snarl.
“Now I understand why Seph looks like rotten fesik meal. He’s been taking care of you and deflecting your biting words. That is exhausting.” I didn’t bother coddling him as I got him settled.
Huzzar lifted his nose but remained silent. I opened a nutrisphere and placed it in his hand. Neither of us said anything while he finished it.
Huzzar folded and unfolded the empty container. I waited for him to say whatever he was sitting on. When his head dropped, I knew I had him.
“Can you help me pop my eyecaps off?” He asked it quietly.
I didn’t move for a breath. “Will you stop being mean to Seph?”
Huzzar bobbed his head side to side in frustration. “I’m not trying to be mean. This hurts, and he won’t let me be. He wants to help, but his help isn’t helpful. He keeps trying to be soft. That is making the whole thing last longer. I don’t know why he is being so fussy about this injury.”
I sat down on the bed next to him. I rested my arm around his shoulder. I made sure to keep most of the pressure off of his skin. “He feels guilty. We all do. You were hurt helping us get the Crown. We hate that. So, Seph wants to try to save you as much pain as he can. We’re not very familiar with this type of injury. If he is making it worse, you need to tell him.”
Huzzar nodded.
“Seethur is staying in the med bay for at least a few hours. I will get Seph to sleep in his room while Seethur is here. I think he will be able to stomach helping you how you want to be helped.” I wasn’t joking too much when I said we took turns wanting to skin Huzzar. The Susix had more energy than sense. “Do you want to get the eyecaps off before he gets here, or do you want to wait?”
Huzzar glanced towards the bed that Seph was sleeping on. We could both hear his deep breathing. “Will you get him to stay in his room?”
“I’m in the captain’s chair today. I can lock his room. I might need to physically carry him there. He is pretty worked up.”
If Seph caught wind of what Seethur would be doing, then I would need to carry him out of the med bay. I would have a few new bite marks to show for it too. It wasn’t just that Seph was feeling guilty about Huzzar’s injuries. He was also viciously possessive of the little Vispur. Seph could be insufferable when he thought Huzzar needed him.
Seethur walked into the med bay and headed straight for where we were sitting. He looked between us and then said, “What’s the plan?”
I filled him in on Huzzar’s problem. Then I told him what strategy we had devised to tackle it. He stayed with Huzzar and Hissy while I took Seph to his bedroom.
Luckily, the Thusi slept the whole time. He was so exhausted that he didn’t even flinch under the bright hall lights. The instant I put him in his bed, he rolled over and coiled around himself.
Huzzar and Seethur had moved into the shower area. I checked in on them. There were towels and tweezers laid out on the countertop. Huzzar was sitting on a stool while Seethur put on gloves. I left them to it.
Hissy was sleeping when I bundled her onto the med chair. It was still early, so I wasn’t too concerned. I switched shifts with Hix and was going over our ship’s diagnostics when I heard her moving around.
She popped her head out of the mountain of covers she was inside. Her face was flushed and a little swollen. She blinked and then made a noise.
“Good morning, Hissy,” I said.
I watched her wake up fully. She was slow in the morning. Or maybe it was her illness, but she didn’t move for a while. I thought she might have fallen asleep again. Until her mouth opened wide, she made a strangled yell, and then her whole body shivered. She looked at me and made another noise.
I held out one of the nutrispheres. “I have food right here.”
She didn’t bother with it. She hopped off of the med chair and began wandering around. She walked the edges of the room, pressing every surface she could.
“Oh!” I jumped up, suddenly realizing what she was doing. “You’re looking for the bathroom.” I waved my tail. “Follow me.”
We walked out of the bridge. Hissy was right on my tail while I walked down the hall to a communal bathroom. She walked in by herself. Then walked back out once she was done.
When we got back to the bridge, Hissy grabbed one of the nutrispheres and went right back to her bed. She ripped it open, getting most of it on herself. She hastily gulped it down and then slammed back onto the bed.
If I was a little disappointed that she hadn’t come to sit with me, I didn’t admit it. I went right back to work. I couldn’t deny that I perked up when I heard her wrestling with her blankets a little while later. This time, I only let her toss and turn for a bit.
I went over, picked her up, and rearranged her on my lap in the captain’s chair. She found every uncovered scale on my arms as she tried to find relief from her fever.
I felt her warmth working its magic. My muscles were loosening. I could feel the morning sluggishness melting away.
I puffed out a satisfied breath. A deep sound vibrated from my chest. Hissy sighed and relaxed even more.
“Good heat source,” I purred.
We spent most of the morning like that. Occasionally, she would wake up for food. I had to set her back onto the med chair while I went to help Hix with something. Other than that, we stayed in the captain’s chair.
After my mid-shift meal, I felt her body temperature drop. She wasn’t scorching my scales anymore. She was still hot, but after her fever, it felt manageable.
This time when she got up, there was comprehension in her eyes. She straightened and looked around. The first thing she noticed was where she was sitting. She stared at my lap and then slowly shuffled off of me. I didn’t say anything. She rubbed her eyes and lifted her hands above her head.
“If you’re feeling up to it, maybe we should head back to the med bay. Seph has been sulking since he realized I locked his door. He won’t respond to the neuro-comms. We can pick him up on our way.”
I piled the med chair with Hissy’s bags. I pointed for her to stay sitting. I took off to Seph’s room.
I didn’t bother comming him. I unlocked the door, and it slid open. Seph had a mound of things on his bed. He was scrubbing his shelves. When he saw me, he threw the cleaning rag down.
“Oh, thank you, can I go now?” He didn’t wait for my answer. He bowled past me into the hall. He didn’t acknowledge Hissy. He booked it to the med bay.
I grabbed Hissy and followed him. “Did you sleep?”
“Yes, for two whole heartbeats,” he didn’t break stride as he joked. He was determined to get to Huzzar.
I reached out, forcing him to stop. “Seph, stop.” He rolled his shoulder, brushing my hand off of him. He finally stopped. He did not look like he wanted to hear anything I was about to say.
“Seph, you were being Huzzar’s lover when he needed you to be his doctor.” That broke down some of Seph’s attitude. “He told me that the soft, gentle method hurt him more. He needs a firm hand right now.” My tail wrapped around his. “Don’t let the guilt stop you from helping Huzzar. You are what he needs. I know if you take a second, you’ll remember that.”
His head dropped back. “I don’t think I can use a firm hand right now. Listening to him whimper while we tried to clean up his back made me sob.”
My tail wound around his as I wrapped him up in my arms. “Oh, Sephie.” I held him while he cried. His tears made a hot trail down my shirt while we both rocked in the hallway.
His wracking sobs trickled down to hiccups eventually. I leaned back, looking down at him. “Do you feel better?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, but somehow I’m even more exhausted than before.”
I nodded my understanding. “Then this is a good time to let you know that Seethur and Huzzar have been working on his shed while you’ve been gone.” I held firm when he tried to get away. “Hold on now. We knew this was hard for both of you. We also knew it had to happen. You and I are going to go in there and be helpful. We will not make this about us by stomping in there in a huff.”
Seph straightened out of my hold. He pulled his practice coat on straighter. “I am not in a huff.”
“Good because you can’t go in there if you are.” I got behind the med chair and gestured for him to lead the way.
The med bay wasn’t destroyed when we walked in. The lights were dimmed. The temperature was raised. Seethur sat at Seph’s desk. He raised a hand when he saw us. He gestured to the bed.
A giant mass sat under a blanket. The white mound rose and fell gently. Huzzar was asleep, at least.
That did not deter Seph. He had a look in his eye. He sprinted to Seethur. Seethur turned his chair so that he was facing his coming opponent.
“What happened?” He demanded.
Seethur didn’t let Seph’s tone perturb him. “We tried a few methods to loosen the scales,” he said calmly. “Eventually, he soaked in the water tub while I used a tweezer to lift sections off. He’s mostly done. There are a few patches that need more time.” Seethur looked at me for an instant before looking away. I braced for what he was about to say next. “We got his eyecaps off. His vision is sensitive. I wasn’t sure what to tell him.”
Seph nodded absentmindedly. He was staring at the floor, already thinking things over. “We’ll have to scan him when he wakes up. I wonder if the acid damaged more than we thought.” He looked at Seethur. “Thank you, Seeth. I appreciate that you stepped in for me.”
The big Kithhari stood up and nodded. He slapped a hand on my shoulder. Then he wrapped his tail around Hissy before leaving.
Seph was glued to his computer. He was already looking for explanations about Huzzar’s eyesight. I was going to have to force him to sleep again.
I got Hissy set up on her bed. I piled some nutrispheres at her feet. It wasn’t that I thought Seph would forget about her. These were just in case. While she was much more aware than she had been for the last few days, she didn’t have much energy. She made a few sounds as I finished up.
“Goodbye, Hissy. I will see you tomorrow.” She lifted her hand as I walked away. I raised mine too. Her lips spread, and her eyes squinted in a huge smile.
Chapter Ten
Cece
Meyer was looking brand new. The dusty, gross flakes covering his skin were mostly gone. He was back to his bright, flashy coloring. Something settled in me when I saw him get out of bed that morning. I had been more worried about him than I had realized.
Unfortunately, his mood was worse than ever. He ran into a desk on the way to the bathroom and kicked the thing within an inch of its life. The whole day had gone downhill from there. Everything made him upset.
He got huffy and puffy about being forced to stay in bed. He snapped at the doctor about lunch. Then he whined about the lights.
I was not spared. Meyer kept making that annoying “hssee” sound while waving his hand at me. It didn’t matter if I was asleep or if I had just walked away; he made the noise constantly.
He dragged me around the room too. Meyer used me as a cane if he needed to take more than one step. I wouldn’t have minded helping him, but he kept wrapping his whole tail around my body when he did. I had to penguin waddle to get around.
He finally wore the doctor’s patience down. After lunch, they started bickering about something. It had happened a dozen by then. Usually, the fights ended with the doctor making a long hissing sound and walking away. This time something made him snap.
He turned on Meyer and flashed him a pair of bone-white fangs. He hissed at Meyer so viciously I saw spit. His body inflated as he stood his ground.
Not to be outdone, Meyer flung his blankets to the ground. He stomped to the bathroom in a move I hadn’t seen since I was thirteen.
I heard the sand bath run for a long time after that. The doctor didn’t go in and make him stop or anything. I’m pretty sure the doctor was happy that Meyer was out of the room for a little bit.
The doctor went to the very back of the hospital area and started pacing. His tail slapped the ground angrily. He took a sharp turn towards a line of coats hanging on the wall. He grabbed one and bit it. His head whipped back and forth as he growled. It looked like the snake man equivalent of screaming into a pillow.
“Yeah, doc,” I said, “that was intense.”
Meyer came out of the bathroom after a while. His hair looked more put together. He still radiated a foul energy. He even glared at the doctor as he walked to his bed.
The room was tense. When the door opened, I was relieved that someone else was there. I didn’t care who it was.
The King Cobra walked in. He looked at the other men in the room. They were literately in opposite corners. He looked at me and said something. He smiled afterward, so I smiled back.
He walked over to Meyer and formally bowed. I was suddenly very interested in what was going on. Meyer sat up straight.
The King Cobra tucked his hands behind his back in a very militaristic stance. His tail was suspended perfectly still behind his shoulder. He spoke to Meyer in a deeper voice than he usually used.
Meyer nodded at whatever his leader had said. Then the pair spoke back and forth.
By then, the doctor had wandered over. He stood at the edge of the conversation. He had a look on his face that made me think it was only a matter of time before he interrupted.
Meyer started making gestures. He mimed holding something and lowering it. Then he spoke animatedly to the other man.
The doctor made a single noise. Meyer’s face dropped. His teeth flashed. The doctor snarled right back at him. The King Cobra hissed. His hood expanded slightly. The other two settled down.
The cobra turned to the doctor. The doctor said something. The cobra nodded, then replied. Meyer looked smug. The doctor tried to argue, but he got shut down.
That was the end of it. The King Cobra got the floating chair for Meyer. Meyer got himself seated. The doctor hovered. He couldn’t help himself. Meyer was being a grade-A brat, and the doctor was still worried.
Meyer started waving his hand and screeching, “Hssee!”
I rolled my eyes. I ignored him out of spit for two more off-key shrieks. I barely stopped myself from stomping over to him. When he reached out to grab me, I dodged. I had come over like a dog. I drew the line at being pet the whole time.
We walked out of the hospital and headed down a familiar path. As we got closer, I double-checked everyone’s faces to double check we were actually going where we were. Sure enough, Meyer leaped out of the floating chair once we got into the refrigerator room.
He pulled a drawer open and started rummaging around. The cobra man and I stayed back. Meyer’s tail danced when he found what he wanted. He brandished a bag of that awful-smelling stuff the bald guy had jettisoned out to space. I shuddered at the memory. Meyer practically danced back to the chair.
I leaned over and took a cautious sniff. I couldn’t smell anything. My shoulders relaxed. Maybe the bags kept the smell in.
Then we were off. This time, we headed towards the crew’s hall. We didn’t go into anyone’s rooms. We walked past them.
The chair stopped in front of one of the many storage closets along the hallway. Meyer’s lousy mood was nowhere to be seen. He got up from the chair, set his bag down, then shimmied to the door. He playfully tapped the glass screen to open the door. He bounced while he waited for the door to open fully.
Then he stepped into the closet. There were boxes of pale sand on the bottom shelves. There were bottles filled with different colored liquids filling most of the shelves. The highest ones were stacked with fabric.
Meyer stopped right inside the door. He knelt on the floor and started moving boxes of sand. He cleared a space under the shelf. He reached his hand under and began fidgeting with something. I heard a pop.
Meyer leaned back. He reached forward with both hands and pulled a piece of the floor out from under the shelf. Then he reached right back in. He had to press himself against the floor this time. I heard him exhale when he grabbed whatever he was looking for.
He pulled out a very delicate box. It was about the size of a piece of paper and only about an inch thick. It was a black color that caught the light with iridescent flashes.
Meyer handed it back to the King Cobra. He took it and held it close to his chest. Meyer stood up and got the bag of gross stuff. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I knew that whatever was inside those bags smelled awful.
