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Chapter 10

The next day was rather uneventful, aside from the occasional little romp in the kitchen or shower or wherever we were both feeling giddy together. To this day I still don't quite know why but I can't stop thinking about how much I love feeling that wonderful penis safely embedded between my legs...I guess the best way I can put it is that it makes me feel whole, and not just physically. Back then though, all I knew was that it felt heavenly and if I could I would have had nothing more than to sit on his lap with him inside me all day. But, I had chores. With my lessons and our little togetherness episodes, I was neglecting a lot of the other rooms in the house, many of which I'd even forgotten existed. Now, granted, with only two of us there, there wasn't a lot of dust, but boy there were bugs everywhere coming in from winter's wrath. Bugs and spiders.

As mortified as I was of spiders, the more I encountered them while cleaning, the more they fascinated me, a point I've failed to cover up until now in this story. The only really significant event of this next day was that I found myself watching a colorful little house spider weave its web, wondering how it was able to produce so much silk and how that silk could be so strong. Come to think of it, in one of the storage rooms I'd found an old screwdriver suspended from a single strand of silk, the boxes it had rested upon having fallen out from beneath it. Spiders, upon second look, were actually really cool.

That night though, while Dad was taking a bath to soak and relax since his muscles were feeling a little stiff, I busied myself cleaning Alfred's work area. I thought he'd appreciate not having dust and cobwebs all over his supplies. I had an ulterior motive though. Most of the bottles here were of powder, at least the suspicious ones, or if they were liquid-based they were oil, which wouldn't freeze easily. I think my paranoia and suspicion served me well, for it occurred to me that if Dad was suspicious of his brother, the guy might have a way of noticing if things had been tampered with other than just casually being moved for cleaning. So, when handling these things, I wore gloves. Brilliant.

I snuck some of the most suspicious-looking bottles and jars out of the room and stuck them in the coldbox. After dance lessons I'd go and check on them and see if I could slip the labels off. That one label that had come off on its own though, I needed to find a magnifying glass to read the light-gray text on the inside surface. I tried under the kitchen light, but no amount of squinting would help me make it out. It wasn't just the text size or the color though...it didn't look printed. Rather, it appeared to be handwritten almost with a very fine-tipped instrument. Or maybe it was a cursive font. I couldn't tell.

Dad wasn't feeling well though after his bath, so I had to coerce him to stay in bed. He was adamant on teaching me some more dance moves, but he was shaky on his legs. As much as I wanted to dance with him, his health was more important. I found an old, slightly rusted and scratched magnifying glass in his room, and snuck it in my pocket. I needed something to pass the time with though before going to check the frozen jars... It took a bit of thinking but I settled on making dad some soup. After all, even if I was his daughter, I was still the mansion's maid and it was one of my duties to provide for him. It must have been a pleasant surprise for him; his eyes lit up when he saw me bring a large bowl of soup on a bed-tray to him.

"I'm being spoiled by my own daughter...it should be the other way around." He chuckled softly and shook his head, then hugged me with his wing. "Thanks, Anne. It looks delicious." His voice was a tad off, making me guess he didn't comment on the smell because his nose was stuffed up. I was silent, just giving him a smile and a kiss on the cheek before leaving the room to go clean up the kitchen for the night. I didn't realize I was naked again until I accidentally spilled water on my belly and it dribbled down to chill my clit. If I'd become this accustomed to being naked, this could spell trouble when Alfred finally got back. The thought reminded me of the coldbox's contents; quickly cleaning up the spill I went over to the box and put on my gloves, carefully extracting the jars. The labels slid off perfectly. I decided to inspect them one by one, leaving them in the freezer and only taking one at a time. I had to be fast since the glue would thaw. Wearing some closer-fitting gloves, I took one label off gently and held up the magnifying glass to it.

"This then exemplifies what the purpose of this organization truly is. We must eradicate-" The line broke off at the seam of the label. The next one down was illegible, and the others after that were rather smudged. Thinking quickly I looked around the kitchen, pulling out the utilities drawer. In the very back, as I'd thought I'd seen, was a small photographic device, an evolution of the camera enhanced by Draconic technology to create perfect holographic replicas that could be scaled up in size for closer detail inspection. I vaguely knew of this from reading so many books, and dad and I had touched on this technology when discussing scientific exploits of this world. It was a fairly straightforward operation. Since the glue on the paper was thoroughly frozen I could carefully unravel the rolled-up label, then I set it flat as it could go and snapped a picture of it. The preview worked perfectly, except that the battery was dying. Now I had to work quickly. I managed to peel off at least seven more labels and document them on the camera before its power cells died. I'd have to ask dad how to recharge it, back up the files, and ultimately put them onto another machine for closer viewing. I felt kinda proud of myself, yet as I carefully re-applied the labels as they thawed and the glue began to stick again, I was also very nervous. I hoped desperately that my tampering would go unnoticed. If something looked suspicious on those pictures I'd taken, I'd have to tell Dad and keep him in the know about his brother's activities. That word "eradicate" kept ringing in my mind after I'd put the jars back in his art room. I went back upstairs to find Dad reading a book, albeit with glassy eyes. He looked exhausted. When the door closed behind me he glanced up, then coughed.

"My apologies, Anne...I'd prefer it if you didn't sleep with me tonight. I don't want to get you sick with this." I ignored him and climbed into bed beside him, snuggling up against his side. He sighed and wrapped his wing around me, continuing to read. "Heh...guess this is your way of saying 'too late'." After a little while he closed his book and yawned, stretching, then slid under the covers with me, giving my forehead a gentle kiss. "Thanks for the soup sweetie...it was delicious." I smiled back and let him hug me to his chest, wrapping my tail around his and purring happily.

"Dad...what did you mean when you said you were frail?"

"...When did I say that?"

"When I first met you."

His eyes darkened a bit and he sighed. "It's complicated."

I propped myself up on my elbow and gave him a glare. "Would you just tell me already what the deal is with your brother? So I know why I'm having to be quiet?"

"Anne, please...not right now."

"Why not? Now's the perfect time. He's about to come home."

"I will tell you when the time is right, and that's that." I flopped down on my pillow and scowled at the ceiling. He startled me by leaning over and softly suckling on my nearest nipple. "I know it's frustrating but when things make sense to me, then I'll let you know."

"Can't I help by investigating or something since you're always trapped up here?"

He paused, seeming to think it over. Finally he gave a defeated sigh. "Lemme think about it then..." He lay back on his pillow. An awkward silence fell between us, but I couldn't say anything more so I just rolled over and closed my eyes. Just as I was drifting off to sleep I felt him roll over and drape his arm over my side, softly pulling me close. I didn't feel his erection poking at me, he must have been too out of it from his sickness to feel aroused. Didn't really matter though, for once I was too tired to have sex anyway.

Day came around too quickly for my liking. Dad was sound asleep when I woke up, which puzzled me. Usually he'd stir a bit when I sat up. Feeling his forehead I grimaced; he was burning up. It felt like I couldn't move quickly enough, so hurried was I to tend to him that every step felt too slow. I got him a cold compress and set about making some more soup, but then made a rather bad discovery. We were almost out of soup broth. I'd have to go buy some more. There was just enough left to make Dad some breakfast, so I used that and brought his soup up to him. He was still asleep, his breath a bit shallow and raspy. I'd have to get some medicine too while I was out. I gently shook him awake. The way his arm limply rolled around under my hand was disturbing.

"We're out of soup broth, I'm gonna go buy some more. And some medicine."

He just nodded and closed his eyes again. His face seemed to relax some, probably out of relief that I was there for him. He smiled a bit when I kissed his cheek.

"Anne...sorry...you have to do all this..." he hoarsely whispered.

I was silent as I headed back downstairs, grabbing his money card. Boy it was nippy outside, I thought to myself as I stepped through the door. One step into the snow told me why though, sending me rushing back upstairs to my closet. I was still totally naked! "That's it, these aren't coming off," I told myself as I got dressed. I'd have to re-acclimatize to wearing clothing. Not wanting to go through the woods again and scare myself, I flew from the front door into the sky, watching everything shrink below me. The higher I went, the colder it got, but...it was quite peaceful up here with just the wind. Now that I wasn't rushing around, I just glided towards town. Dad would be okay, I told myself. I didn't need to rush to get the medicines. The feeling of the chilly wind in my hair was really refreshing, I felt a little younger as the buildings slowly came into view. Deciding to be a little showy I folded my wings a bit, plummeting towards the street, then backwinged as I came in for a landing by an alley entrance.

Not smart.

All at once, before I could even tell what was going on, I was tumbling along the road with someone else, having swept right into them at full landing force. When we finally rolled to a stop, my head was still spinning and it was hard to sit up without flopping to the side.

"Sorry...my bad..." I grumbled, rubbing my temples.

The other guy groaned, then I heard him pause and laugh. "I didn't think you'd miss me that much that you'd have to glomp me."

What the-? Looking up in surprise I found myself staring right into that wolfboy's eyes again. Calin. He gingerly stood up, wincing as he rubbed his knee, then helped me up. I was a little dizzy but he held me steady.

"I honestly wasn't expecting to see you again, especially not this soon."

"I should've been more careful..." I was about to ask what he'd been doing in the alley, but one look told me right off the bat. A small homeless family was standing there watching us with a newly-bought meal in their hands. Calin had given them food.

"We're okay, it was an accident," he explained to them. They just headed back into the alley. He turned back to me. "What brings you back here...uh...Anne?"

I brushed off my jacket and looked up the road to the store. "Gotta get soup broth and some medicine for my-" I almost said "father". "-employer. He's sick."

He cocked his head at me, the lower ear tilted down. He looked cute like that. "You take care of your employer?"

I nodded. "I'm a maid for him. I live there now. Makes it easier to work for him."

"Must have been either a recent employment or low pay with the clothes I last saw you in."

"Recent employment. I've only been there for about three months building up savings."

He followed me as I started walking to the store. "Might I ask what he's sick with? I might be able to help you find the right medicine."

"I don't know what it is."

"Symptoms?"

That made me pause, my mind blanked for some reason. "Huh?"

"What's wrong with him? Can you describe his conditions?"

"Um... Fever, fatigue, sore throat...I don't really know other than that. He was burning up this morning and couldn't get out of bed or really even talk much."

I heard his footfalls stop. "Anne...how hot did he feel?"

"Why?" I asked, turning to him. His eyes were dark and his expression grim.

"There's a recent mutavrius going around that I don't think you'll find a cure for at the store. I know the cure though, my oldest sister did a ton of military biological research. After you get the broth and stuff, mind if I go back with you to diagnose him?"

Of all the things possible, why did it have to be something possibly drama-inducing? I already had enough drama on my plate with Dad's issues with his brother... As usual, I was silent, but just nodded. I didn't want him to come with me, but something told me it had to be done.

Being the gentleman he was he carried the bags for me. We ran back to the mansion, though as we drew closer he slowed down, looking around.

"Wait...Anne, you don't...happen to work up at the old mansion here do you?"

"Is that bad?"

"No! No no, I'm just...wow. You actually live there and work for its owner?"

I just nodded, leading him up the driveway. Again, the forest around us seemed to be drawing in on me...watching intently. I thought it was just me, but when I looked over my shoulder to watch Calin, he too seemed on edge, looking around. As we drew up to the door he lay his hand on my shoulder.

"Anne, I might need you to fly back to get some specific items, but only if he really is sick with this mutavirus. You'll have to be fast too."

I just nodded and let him in. His eyes almost bugged out of their sockets when he saw the interior.

"...Whoa. My gosh. I was expecting it to be all dingy in here!"

"It was when I arrived." Not saying anything more on the topic, more worried about my father, I led Calin upstairs, then turned to him before opening the door. "The owner doesn't like others knowing who he is, so don't tell anyone you've met him. At least not until he's up and about by himself."

"Um...I don't get it, but okay." I let him into the room, guiding him through the mess over to my father's bed. Just now I suddenly realized that Calin had a good sense of smell, would he smell my scent on the bed next to dad? I sure hoped not! I suddenly felt very awkward, especially since he had to lean over my spot on the bed to feel dad's forehead. He also took dad's wrist and checked his pulse, then to my confusion bent down and smelled his breath a few times. He stood back up and looked at me. "It's the virus all right. Anne, I'm gonna need you to head into town and...hang on." He pulled a piece of paper and a pen from his pocket, scribbled a few things, then handed it to me. "Go to the pharmacy down by the orphanage and hand the pharmacist this list, tell them Calin sent you."

I wasted no time getting outside after locating dad's card, which I figured I'd probably need for the purchase of these drugs. I knew the way back to the orphanage quite well, angling myself in the air straight towards it. I just hoped the pharmacist would have what Calin needed... This time I was more careful with my landing, making sure there was no one in the way. I was so rushed though that I nearly ran into the pharmacy door headfirst.

"Is that Anne I see?" the pharmacist called from the back. She had a perfect view of the store front, spotting me immediately when I came in. "Hey! Long time no see! Where've you been? I heard you found a place to live finally!"

I just nodded and handed her the list. I used to do housekeeping for her as well, but she was a little...eccentric at home. Not very good memories to be dragging up at that time. "Calin sent me for these."

"Calin, huh?" she asked with a grin. "He's a real sweetheart." She turned to the shelves behind her, looking over the many boxes and bottles of substances. "Ever since he moved here 5 years ago he's been helping everyone he can, in whatever way he can. Never asks for a reward, nor does he really accept any rewards or compensation for his time and effort."

This made me start thinking about him. He was really sweet and kind, but he'd been doing this for 5 years without more than a "thank you"? Was that why he froze when I hugged him? Now that he was at my house, I needed to find some way to properly thank him...not just for helping me, but for helping everyone. The pharmacist came back with a bag of things.

"Here you go." I handed her dad's card and she swiped it over a small sensor on the desk, then handed it back to me.

"Good luck, it was nice seeing you again Anne. Tell Calin I said hi." I nodded and turned to go. "Good luck with him!" she called after me with a silly grin on her face. As usual, I was silent. I didn't openly react, but as I flew back home, I started to wonder just why people kept pairing us together. I barely even knew the guy.