Biff rested as best she could.. her huge lion-like body was curled up in bed. Her wing was really aching now, and she was feeling more then a little sorry for herself. Obviously she was more injured then she thought after the accident but she just couldn’t let someone start..poking and prodding at her. She still had recent memories of her hospital stay after the police accidentally tranquillised her.
“Why do I even have wings,” she wondered. They were.. useless. She didn’t exactly have an A in physics but even she knew her body was way too big to be able to fly. It was more like… decoration. Perhaps that was it- just something to convey how much of a freak she way-
‘Stop it!’ she growled at herself. ‘You don’t have to feel so damn sorry for yourself- I’m not one of those people. I can fight this… maybe it will wear off in time- and even if it doesn’t I can...’
Can what? She glanced back to her guitar and slowly dragged it out, resting it in front of her. She looked at it then at her giant paws, flicking out a claw. She played her favourite note.. though realised the guitar was now slightly out of tune. “Hm...” She had to tighten the string. If she could just turn the key a bit- she found she couldn’t use her paws they were just too big. She used her teeth holding the guitar down leaving a distinct.. impression on the plastic. She tried again, plucking it with her claw. It was difficult but.. she could manage it.
“How do I do a chord though...” She wasn’t entirely sure if it was possible. Her paws were just not able to do things that delicately. After a few attempts she just.. gave up. “Urgh! Stupid-” she pushed the guitar to the side of the bed where it clanged.
“Biff?” called out Miss Collins. She knocked on her door then entered a bit quickly.
Biff was caught off guard. “I- I just dropped the guitar. No biggie.”
Miss Collins picked it up and set it to the side of the wall. “Hm, how long have you been playing?”
“Since I was ten,” Biff admitted. “It made me feel good. I was hoping to get an electric one some day.”
“Heh. I dunno, I find acoustic guitars rather charming.” She looked to Biff’s wing. “How does it feel?” she asked gently touching the feathers.
“… it hurts a bit. I guess.” Biff curled away from the touch. Her huge lion body slightly exposed if not for the fur though. Biff realised she didn’t seem to care about it now. “You were right- I shouldn’t have bothered trying to wear any clothes. I’m just an animal. What am I hiding.?”
Collins gave Biff a sympathetic pat on her head. “Well, we did our best with what we had- It was never going to work. Clothes were.. meant for humans. It just doesn’t look right outside of a cartoon.” She looked to her a bit sadly. “I think you’re quite a pretty sphinx all the same.”
“Pretty?!” Biff’s wings flared outward making her wince in pain. “I’m just an animal! I.. I’m.. I’m going to be alone. Who’s going to even -want- to… to...” Biff felt her tears well up again and pressed her head on the pillow. “I- I can’t be either a girl or an animal- I can’t-”
Collins placed her hand on her hair again in a rather maternal way. “Try to give yourself time. You’re not the only person in the world changed like this.”
“Most of them are kids though!” Biff reminded. “It’s just you and.. the younger kids and..”
Then the doorbell rang.
“Ah! I think that’s the specialist I called. Mind if I bring him here?”
Biff haunched up a bit on her front paws. “Fine just- let’s get it over with.”
The fox woman nodded and walked to the front door. Biff listened to a few small greetings before the steps returned. His door opened again..
“Ah.. is this the patient?”
Biff gasped. It.. it was a wolf. His eyes looked unsettlingly human, though with his long snout and dark black nose.. the dusky fur around him.. it made the sphinx a bit unsettled. He was also quite tall at over six feet. He looked incredibly strong if Biff were to guess.
A long wolf tail stretched out behind him. Curiously enough he wasn’t wearing any jeans. Biff got the impression that this wolf was quite old.. then again that did make sense. He was smack in the middle of this weird Mist wave- so most people would be either very old, or very young. “Uh.. Hi...” she said.
“Let me introduce myself. “Doctor Ferris, It’s nice to meet you.” He gave a simple bow. “I understand you hurt your wing?”
“I was.. in a small car accident.”
“Well let’s take a look...”
Biff sighed and allowed it. He wasn’t sure what to make of Doctor Ferris- he never really thought the changed could be doctors. He noticed that he also had more paw-like hands then actual hands, and his feet were also paws. He didn’t seem to wear any shoes. At most he just wore a basic robe which seemed to keep most of his modesty.
“Did you have any trouble? Collins asked the Doctor.
“Nah. Well just some kids asking me ‘what the time’ is heh. I tell them lunch time… they laugh and move on.” He carefully examined the wing. “Nothing broken.. a bit of bruising. Hm.. the muscles seem quite weak though. Do you exercise your wings properly?”
“W-What?” Biff blinked. “No- I mean- I don’t fly. I don’t see the point.”
“Ah… new to having wings?” he chuckled. “Didn’t you read the pamphlets?”
“Pamphlets.. Oh.. yeah.. I.. well...”
“you threw them away without a thought.” The wolf doctor sighed. “I wrote about half of them you know. Its nice to see the hospitals still ues them.” He picked one of the discarded pamphlets. “The muscle weakness will make the injury take longer to heal, however it is nothing too serious. Simply flex gently each morning, and make sure to rest. I don’t think we’ll need to wrap it or anything, and that might be counter productive until you strengthen the muscle. Just stay off the wing for three days, then exercise.”
Biff gave a quiet nod. She couldn’t help but blush at being told off. “Um- are you really a doctor..” She asked.
“Of course. Well- I trained to be.” The old wolf gave an annoyed glance. “Unfortunately paws are a bit tricky to use in operating so I mostly became an ‘internet’ doctor offering advice. When the internet came around anyway.”
“Doctor Ferris has encyclopedic knowledge on the changed,” Miss Collins quickly added. “he helped a lot of people when I was younger. I’m glad you’re still around.”
The wolf doctor chuckled. “Oh your generation was easy compared to now. The Mist seems to be getting a bit more ‘inventive’ of late. An awful lot more gender changes too- very odd indeed.” he gave a little sigh. “Things do seem better now though then they used to be. If you need me just call me again. In the mean time young lady just rest up. I can get you some pain killers if need be.”
“Yeah.. thanks,” the sphinx girl muttered.
