//------------------------------// // Wolf Worms // Story: Chrysalis & Mirage // by Zobeid //------------------------------// “Servant! Servant! Come here, I need water!” A very irritated looking feline entered the room. “My name is Mirage, not Servant. And I already brought you water. Wait… Why is the floor wet?” Chrysalis whinged, “My legs itched, so I poured water over them. Now I require more.” Mirage frowned and peered at Chrysalis’s forelegs, where they dangled over the edge of her cot. The thin fur was still damp and matted, the skin dotted with large knots or swellings, each with a wet hole in the center and some of them seeping a milky fluid. She pointed and asked, “Has your royal physician looked at those?” “My what?” “Your doctor. Have you seen a doctor about your legs?” Chrysalis snorted dismissively. “Changelings do not have doctors. We do not believe in coddling the weak. And besides, all my changelings have these holes in their legs.” Mirage sighed. Then she offered, “May I examine your legs more closely?” Chrysalis narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but then extended a front foot. “You may.” Mirage dabbed at a few of the holes with a soft cloth, peering into them and tugging at the edges with her needle-sharp claws. A pinprick caused Chrysalis to jerk her leg back and growl. Mirage let go and shook her head, and she said, “I believe I know the cause of this condition, and I can treat it. I can end your discomfort — but the treatment itself may hurt a bit.” Chrysalis pulled her legs closer. “You will not torment my royal person!” Mirage rolled her eyes. “It’s up to you. A little discomfort now, and blessed comfort later is what I can offer. Also, I’m not giving you more water to just pour out on the floor.” Chrysalis scowled at her, then looked at her forelegs. She was quiet for several moments, and then said, “Very well. I shall give you a chance. But if you betray my trust, you’ll know far greater pain.” “If you say so. I need to collect some things; I’ll be back in a moment.” When Mirage returned, she arranged the cot and table so that Chrysalis’s foreleg was supported and easily accessible. Then she opened a jar and began dabbing a pasty substance onto each of the leg holes. As she worked she explained, “Normally I would put some salve on your legs to dull the sensations, but I have nothing suitable here. Also, I’m forbidden from using magic for healing.” Chrysalis wondered, “Forbidden? Why?” “Because reasons. Don’t ask me about my past unless you want me to ask about yours.” She finished wiping the remaining grease from her hands. “Now a short wait. Don’t move about, and I’ll return in a few minutes.” It was roughly ten minutes later when Mirage returned and looked at the leg. She nodded and said, “That’s working. Now hold still. What I’m about to do may feel unpleasant.” She chose a hole and began worrying at it with the sharp tips of her extended claws, stretching and enlarging the opening, then reached in deeper to fish around in it. Chrysalis cringed, first looking away, then trying to see what Mirage was doing — but her hands were in the way. After several long seconds of this, Mirage exclaimed softly, “Aha!” Chrysalis sucked in her breath, then yammered, “eeeuh… No! Stop it, stop it! I command you to stop!” She flinched and whined, trying to pull back her leg, but Mirage held a firm grip with her other hand. “Be still!” she growled. A few seconds later she released the leg and huffed. “Done.” “What did you do to me, witch?” Chrysalis demanded. Mirage replied by holding up a dark object in front of Chrysalis’s muzzle. The shapeless mass wriggled and pulsated sickeningly in the grip of her claws. Chrysalis stared, wide-eyed, and flinched back. “What… What is that thing!?” “This is what’s been eating you,” Mirage answered. Chrysalis breathed heavily as she stared at the squirming horror, then she rasped, “Get them out of me! Get them out! All of them!” Mirage dropped the fat worm into a bowl. “They have to be removed one by one. It’ll take a while.” She went back to work, and started picking at the next hole with her claw tips. She commented, “You said all your changelings have these? Is your hive so filthy? Do you have no sanitation?” “Changelings do not share the pony obsession with cleanliness,” Chrysalis muttered. Mirage shook her head and tsked. “You must have known this wasn’t normal.” Chrysalis shrugged. “When our legs itch and burn, we go to the pools in the lower levels of our hive, and we step into the cool water for relief.” “I see. They probably release their eggs into the water. Then the larva hatch and are ready to bore into the next living thing they encounter. You get a feeling of relief and don’t even know you’re spreading these to everyone else who enters the pool.” After she’d cleared all the worms from that leg, she bandaged it. She opined, “From what I know of similar parasites, these holes should heal up well, though perhaps not quickly. We must keep them clean and not allow any infection to take hold.” She started on the next leg, dabbing on grease as she had done before. She explained, “This closes off their air supply. After a few minutes they worm their way to the opening of the hole to try and breathe. It makes them easier for me to grab.” Treating all four legs was a lengthy ordeal, and the bandages left Chrysalis looking like a polo pony. Exhausted, she flopped onto her side and slept.