Rebirth of the Wonderbeasts

48 - Wheels and Easy

It's been twelve days since the events of Prahm. Twelve, plus more for Wheels, long days without full consciousness. One day since the first mute was brought back.

Wheels snapped awake, her legs and spine stinging. All they were doing was laying down, but their bones ached. Laying down was all she could do. Any movement and pain would shoot up her spine.

They panted, looking around the room. There was one human and one mute. She didn't remember who the human was, but she did know the mute. She was a Scooter Skunk, just like her.

"Where..." Wheels muttered, their voice raspy. She helplessly looked at the eyes of the other skunk-mute; she doubt being freed would help the pain in her lower half, but it would at least make her comfortable.

"Wheels... It's me, Loretta. You remember me, right?" The Scooter Skunk asks, her ears lowered. "You remember what happened...?"

Wheels nods their head in response to the first question. She pauses, processing the second.

What happened? Well, she vaguely remembers it. They knew something happened, but couldn't manage to pinpoint what exactly happened. The only thing Wheels could remember right now was the weird feeling of her mind being disconnected from her body. There was a word for it, she knew that, but couldn't remember it.

"I... Think so? There was the death ivy wall, then the humans breached, then... It was loud... Then..." Wheels trailed off, shutting her eyes. "I can't remember. Why can't I remember?"

The human woman slowly walked up to her. "Not sure if you remember me, but my name is Song. You're the second mute to be cured from Emilia turning you all into animals."

Wheels blinked, looking down at the human's hands. The doctor carefully unclasped them and backed away. The Scooter Skunk sits up, quickly backing away before wincing in pain; they pause, shutting their eyes.

"Wheels, hey... Only make necessary movements. You don't want to make anything worse, okay?" Loretta placed a hand on her shoulder. "Here, lift your arms so I can put this on." She said, unfolding a hospital gown and lifting it over the other skunk-mute.

Wheels does as Loretta asks, sucking air through her teeth. "First Mute, is there anything I can take for the pain?" She grumbles, flicking an ear; they stick their arms through the sleeves, wincing again.

"Lio, my husband, can give you a prescription for pain because every mute in the program is getting some, but he's working with another mute at the moment," Song explains, wringing her hands together in nervousness. "But once he's done with that, I'm sure he'll give you something to relieve the pain."

--XXXX--

"It's okay," Lio said with emphasis, tiredness glazing his words. Here this little Humming Bomber was, clasped down and making high-pitched screams and tweets at him. Who knew a mute this small could be so loud; Lio's ears felt like they were ringing, and the droning sound of Easy's wingbeats and screams made him tired. It was already enough of a struggle to get him in a hospital gown when he freshly turned back into a mute, but he was still struggling against his restraints for some reason.

"Easy," Mulholland said in a soft voice, placing his hands together. "Take it easy, Easy. Breathe, relax... You're okay here. You're alright."

The Humming Bomber breathed, pausing his screaming and chirping for a short moment. He was fine. Sure, he didn't remember or knew the human and mute in front of him, but they didn't seem to pose a threat -- not like they were all that threatening to begin with.

"That's right. Calm down..." Lio says softly. {You've been screaming for ages now, surely you would've ran out of breath.} He lets out a small sigh of relief, reaching over to unclasp Easy.