Veridis Quo

Chapter 5 - Promise

"Fascinating," the doctor mused, pulling out the flat wooden stick from my tongue.

"You've used that word a lot, Doc."

"I have?" He asked himself, "I have! It's a good thing! A lot of things actually like, for example, your teeth!" He slides to his desk, sorting out the dozen disorganized tools, most harmless even to me. "They are so familiar yet so... different."

"Why am I even here? I thought you said I was perfectly fine," I crossed my arms, begging Miya for help with my eyes. She gently shook her head, her feathers a smidge puffed.

"And you are! A little on the light side, but as healthy as a.. human can be! Ha. Ha." Did he really just say that? He struggled to open a drawer, taking out a few black and white photographs. Approaching from behind, I leaned over his shoulder, humming at the familiar set of teeth. A week ago, they took me to those special rooms where dentists take x-rays, lead vest and everything. It left a dull taste in my mouth.

"But why go through all of this... again?" He didn't jump at my proximity, clearing some space with a sweep of the arm across the desk. Placing the three photos next to each other, the right and left ones were mugshots of aforementioned sides, the middle one a front view of my shiny whities. The toothpaste they gave me tasted like smoke and grass but it's done its job so far.

"As if I know. Orders higher above anything I'll ever achieve in my lifetime! Probably just want to make sure Johnny-san is absolutely rid of any pesky, vile, rotten diseases," he shuddered, his back hunching.

"... Oookay, sure," I glanced at Miya, neutral as always in public, however small the gathering. "So why the teeth?"

"Oh? Teeth? Those gorgeous pearls? These symmetrical treats? The-" Doc coughed into his hand, "sorry, got, uh... mm..." Now I felt like the bad guy, stretching my cheeks upwards in a half-squint.

"I-"

"Back when I was... younger, I found the oral cavity a most intriguing subject. One thing led to another and I received the qualifications for an excellent orthodontist, it had come true..." He stared dreamily into the ceiling, sobriety crawling back into his frontal lobe, "but... some dreams... don't come true..." His head hung high, muzzle down, "But! It's a hobby, and a useful one for off-the-record favors! So, please, don't mind my enthusiasm, it's not every day I get to take a close look at the teeth of an ex-" He coughed violently, but only once.

"Are you okay?" In multiple ways, I wanted to say, but refrained after hearing his life story, too personal if you ask me.

"Yes, yes, definitely. Now, allow me to explain why I react the way I do." No, please, no. Miya, help me you oversized lazy bird! One look her way filled me with betrayal, she was sleeping with one eye open! Sighing, I pulled a swivel chair from the doctor's other side, plopping down with my entire weight.

„Ugh... my life, man..."

"As you know, there are two kinds of animals; herbivores and carnivores... excluding life in the sea, they aren't really intelligent like us," I raised an eyebrow, the narrative suddenly uncomfortable to the moral compass, but I let it slide. "An easy way to identify which group an animal belongs to is the teeth!" Gesturing with a hand to move closer, I did.

"Okay?"

"Take a look," he holds up the middle photo, another genetic lottery won by yours truly, "do you see anything... odd?"

"What? No, didn't you say they were 'divinely crafted' one time?" Two weeks ago to be exact, during one of our weekly, thank God for that, check ups. He'd gone on an external monologue and said more than he could chew. Some of the things I heard were... questionable.