The Plague Doctor

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That next week, Vio was quick to grab an apartment for both Terra and herself, thanks to the newfound pay from becoming a Plague Doctor.

With a bi-weekly salary, and knowing their situation, Pierce was sure to compensate the siblings with worthy price. Enough to grab an apartment, as well as some decorations to spruce it up.

Terra was thankful for his new residence. However, showering that morning was horrible. That lukewarm water flowing against his bruised skin made him wince in pain, carefully cleaning his body. With every scrub, he had to dodge hotspots of pure pain.

After his shower however, Vio was quick to use her fae magic, mending his wounds as long as she could, before it was time for them to head out. With the magic of a fae, just about any physical mending and illusory power, was possible to her, albeit to mild impact. Such is the power of an Azure Fae: to support in time of need.

As the two of them began their trek to the precinct, Terra rolled his shoulder around to stretch it, sighing with relief.

"Thank goodness you're an Azure..." he said with a grin, "That's two times now that you've saved my life!"

Vio crossed her arms with pride, standing on his shoulder.

"It is my pleasure! After all, to watch over my brother can be fun!" she simply stated, sitting down carefully.

It didn't take long for them to make it there, quickly heading to their posts. Vio, back to Pierce's side. Terra... back to hell itself.

. . .

Before Bubbles could say a word to Terra, he immediately started his routine, dropping down and beginning to do push-ups. The olympian-looking man stared down at Terra. Staring... until a grin suddenly appeared on his face.

"Doing four-thousand, right?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes sir!!" Terra quickly answered, continuing his push-ups at a steady rhythm. He was... surprisingly consistent. Bub's grin turned to a smile, excited to see his progress.

"Go on then. Remember your routine!"

It took an hour and a half, but the push-ups completed. Next, it was sit-ups. Then, it was squats. Then, to jog around the block... one-hundred times. Such a workout would be brutal for the average man, even a Plague Doctor recruit. As Bub watched on at Terra's consistent physical performance, he was feeling inspired.

"Just a week ago, this maggot was getting beaten into the ground... Now he's running laps around some of the others. Just what is he...?" he thought to himself, watching closely at Terra's body. Sweat was trickling down the recruit's body made it clear he was still feeling fatigue, however... his eyes remained as determined as always.

"If this keeps up, he may even be as strong as..."

With a sudden shout, Bub called out to Terra, signalling him to run back to him. Terra briskly jogged over to his trainer, wiping the sweat off of his forehead and panting faintly.

"Y-Yes sir?" Terra said curiously, using his shirt to wipe his cheeks. As he did this, Bub quickly reached out, forcing Terra's shirt up still while staring at his abdomen. "W-What—?"

Bub hummed to himself lowly, narrowing his eyes to inspect the progress.

"It's... astonishing." he thought to himself, recognizing the drastic change from before. "In just a week, he's dropped three sizes. Even as he runs, it's clear that his clothes barely fit him. His abdominal area is practically fat-free. Does his body have this much potential...?"

As Bub spoke in his thoughts while scratching his chin, Terra awkwardly stood there with a blush, getting increasingly flustered from having his stomach showing out in the open for so long. Long enough for bystanders to gawk at him, it looked like. Eventually it was too much for him, stepping back away from Bub while covering his stomach, despite it being covered by the shirt already.