Upon Wings Of Change

Chapter 23

I once more sat on Taureen's shoulder as I looked around the building. The smell was the only reason I knew where I was; this was the veterinary clinic. I didn't see any other animals, although I could scent them. We were guided to a room with a bizarre machine in it, and the lady gestured towards the machine.

Taureen walked closer to it and held his hand up to me; I nervously stepped onto it. He lowered me to a long table before twisting his hand, indicating that he wanted me to step off. I stepped down and looked around nervously. He secured my leash to a knob on the table before backing up. Noticing my unease, he said, "Relax."

Right. I just got tied to a table in a building that smells like chemicals and animals, and you want me to relax. If it hadn't been for the fact that I was pretty sure that this machine had scanned the break in my wing, I would have been much more nervous.

The lady turned the machine on, and I instinctively flattened myself to the table as it slowly passed over me. Technically, there was no need to duck since I couldn't have reached the moving machine arm even if I had jumped. When it had finished its pass, Taureen came forward to collect me and put me on his arm.

I watched as the lady pulled up an odd 3D image and rotated it several times. "It looks like the wing has completely healed. I will take the cast off and wrap it with a piece of cloth for now. Try to keep her from using it during the next few days."

Taureen nodded and held me still while she removed the cast. I didn't even have time to get nervous before she passed a small gadget over the edge of the cast and it separated.

She swiftly wrapped my wing up in a piece of cloth. It was a bit looser than the cast had been, but not by much. I could probably get it off tonight, although I would take care the next few days though, just to avoid straining it. Overworking the muscles or straining my wing would delay my release, and possibly hinder my escape if I managed to get that window open.

Once we got back to Taureen's place, he sat on the couch and put me in his lap before he started to untie the knot on the cloth that was binding my wing. Huh. Well, if he takes it off, that makes my job much easier. I watched as he untied the bizarre knots and removed the cloth.

I blinked in dismay; I had never seen my scales that dirty. Ever. They were covered with such a film that they were hazy and cloudy. Taureen held me on his lap while he gently extended my wing. Stiff and weak muscles protested lightly; I narrowed my eyes, but didn't do anything.

He picked up an odd, bumpy sponge-like object and gently ran it over my wing. The rough surface felt a lot like a sand bath. I relaxed slightly while watching him closely. He slowly and carefully scraped the film off of my scales. Once he finished that, he took a damp cloth and wiped away the last traces of anything that didn't belong. My scales shone once again.

I sighed in relief, kind of glad that I didn't have to be the one to try and get everything off. The amount of twisting and rubbing I would have had to do probably would have overworked the muscles that had been weakened by inactivity.

Taureen picked up the small bottle of oil, and my mood lifted. I had grown to love the oil and the massage. It would be one of the few things I would miss once I got out of here. Taureen placed a small bowl of fruit where I could reach it before he started to gently work on my wing with the oil.

I get to feed myself? Awesome. I made short work of the tasty pieces in the bowl. Once I was done, I lowered my head to Taureen's knee as he kept massaging the wing muscles. I twitched occasionally if he found a sore spot, and he would pass it by for a bit before returning with lighter pressure.