Veins and Arteries

by Rhino

Chapter 4: At another shop

Just as his sister and two friends are in one shop, Winter finds himself heading to another; a far different one, but a shop nonetheless. He walks in, a bucket in his left hand, and glances around for the owner.

He spots the normal-looking green unicorn stallion leaning back in his chair reading a small book. While not odd at first glance, the fact that a few glowing symbols can be seen on the legs of the chair as well as the fact that it is hovering half a foot off the ground does raise a few eyebrows to those unfamiliar with it. The rest of the shop has the basic design of a jewelry store, yet between some of the darker colors chosen and more mysterious symbols glowing on various things, the shop is clearly more than meets the eye.

Peeking up as he hears the door, the stallion smiles as he shuts his book. “Well, good morning Winter. Do you have another little custom piece for me to do?” As he leans forward, the chair gently floats to the ground, the symbols going dim and almost unnoticeable as he gets out of his seat.

“One or two,” the other unicorn replies simply before firmly placing the bucket on the counter. A rattling can be heard inside, and peeking in reveals an assortment of various unidentifiable metal objects. “Need all of these to be made more… durable. Resistant. Not break as easily.”

Peeking inside, the owner’s horn lights up, levitating each thing out of the bucket. “Hmm… anything specific it needs to be resistant to, or are we just talking force?”

Winter shrugs. “Force, mostly. But more specifically, resistance to any sort of liquid would also be good, so they don’t rust or something like that. And resistance to grinding, so they won’t wear out.”

“A couple of repelling wards should do the trick.” He nods to himself, bringing the objects over to a section of the counter that serves as his workspace. His next words are spoken clearly and concisely. “Tools out.” Turning back to his customer, he pays no mind as various objects including engraving tool, magnifying glass, and a notebook all levitate themselves from various cabinets and shelves over to their spots around the work area. “So, does the bucket need to be done as well, and to what strength would you like these? You don’t need to give specifics, just a general idea.”

“The bucket can be left alone. As for strength...” He thinks. “Just as strong as you can, without going into too extreme amounts. What I need is about as resistant as a suit of royal guard armour. That seem doable, Rhino?”

Nodding, the other stallion flips open a notebook, sketching something as he speaks. “Alright, I can do that. Metal is a fairly good magic conductor so a single charge of these should last you at least a month. Just touch up the energy with a bit of your own and you’ll be good to go.” He looks between the objects and his pad before erasing something small and sketching once more.

Winter nods as well. “Seems easy enough. How much will it cost?”

“Single enchantment, ten items, simple combination…” Rhino nods at his pad before picking up one of the metal pieces, a gear, and lighting his horn while a matching green glow appears on the object. “Let’s say… 125 bits. Sound fair?”

“Sure thing.” Winter pulls out his wallet, levitating out just about every bit inside. “Good thing I got paid yesterday...”

Setting down the first, he picks up the next. “You do seem to spend a lot here at my store. I’m not complaining, but it does make me curious what you need all this for. I assume a hobby or a project of some kind.”

The other unicorn chuckles nervously. “Hobby… yeah, a hobby.”

“Alright, I can see the privacy screen on that coming, I won’t pry.” He chuckles to himself as he moves to the third, his rhythm going since he is doing the same to all of them. “Luna knows I’m not exactly open about everything I’ve done a personal project on. You don’t want to know half the stuff I’ve done to the store.”

Taking the change of topic and running with it, Winter tilts his head. “Security systems, I imagine?”

“Oh yeah.” Rhino grins. “Most of them are that; I had a lot of fun with basic element application. I made sure to keep it non-lethal, but… well, I figure you have to be pretty stupid to rob a magic shop, so I made sure it’ll give them plenty to remember. Everything else is convenience.”

“Interesting...” Winter smirks. “I’ll be sure to keep this place off my hit list if I ever go into a life of crime.”

He smirks back. “Don’t you live with a sister that would kick your tail before you even got out of the house after that decision?”

“Lime? If I said I was becoming a criminal, she’d go to her room and come back with an all-black suit asking when we start.” He laughs. “Silk would be the one to try and stop us, I think.”

“Silk?” Rhino’s eyebrow raises at the same time as the sixth object. “Why would she do that? I didn’t think you would be one to go to her shop enough for her to know you.”

Winter blinks, then chuckles. “I haven’t gone to her shop. She’s renting our spare room as of yesterday.”

“Oh… well, I certainly didn’t expect that,” he muses as he enchants. “She did say something about downsizing her living arrangements, but I didn’t know she meant that. I guess that means I know what the topic will be when we next talk.” Casting a curious eye over to Winter, he asks, “How is it, living with a lingerie designer? Especially one as… provoking as Silk?”

“Lingerie designer…?” He tilts his head, then smirks. “Thought so… hadn’t confirmed it yet, though. As for your question, it’s… odd.” He blushes a bit, averting his gaze. “Already had an… embarrassing encounter this morning… she’s a nice mare, though.”

Nodding, Rhino sets down the second-to-last piece. “That she is, and a good friend. She’s probably already teasing you relentlessly and trying to be a better friend all at once, isn’t she?”

“Yep.” He sighs, though not in full annoyance. “This morning she went back and forth between trying to convince me to be more confident and pointing out my… er… wood.” He blushes even more. “My fault for not grabbing a robe, but still...”

As he works on the final bit of metal, Rhino shakes his head. “Yeah… I can totally see her correlating those two things together, using both for an argument on either. She’s crafty like that, she just hides it under her teasing.”

Winter shakes his head as well. “No, she just noticed and mentioned it, conversation went down, she tried to bring it back up, and closed it out with one final reminder that I wasn’t exactly conspicuous.” He frowns. “Almost worried for when she gets home.”

As he finishes the final piece, the shop owner offers a last bit of advice. “If you want to take control of conversations with her, try doing or saying something she doesn’t expect. It usually throws her off pretty well.” He levitates all the items back into the bucket. “There you are.”

“Well, if me walking into the kitchen the way I did didn’t throw her off, I’m gonna need a wrecking crew.” He chuckles, taking the bucket in his hand. “Thanks.”

“Not a problem.” Rhino leans on the counter. “Good luck with your hobby, and Silk. You’ll need it for both, I think.”

“I’ll let you know when I figure out which one’s more difficult.” He walks to the door, waving goodbye over his shoulder. “Seeya.”

***

Silk unlocks the door to the house, the sun setting in the sky. Her wings stretch a final time before folding against her back as she walks in. “Ah… good to be home…” She shuts the door behind her.

The sound of the door closing echoes through the apparently empty household; no voices call out in greeting, no other doors open and close, no footsteps. It’s almost creepy how quiet the house is now…

Thud. “Gaaah!” Both the sound and the cry of pain come from below her.

Her ears flick as she looks down, tapping a hoof hard on the floor. “Winter? Is that you hurting yourself down there?”

Another cry, somewhat quieter, answers her. A moment later, a door can be heard opening and closing, and then Winter walks through a doorway to the side of the living room. His shirt is off, he has one hand grabbing the back of his left shoulder, and he’s sweating profusely. “...hi.”

She openly stares at him, unable to come up with a response for quite a few seconds. “Hello… are you alright?”

“...yes?” He winces. “I think so...”

Her eyes look him in his own, discerningly. “You sure you don’t want ice or the first aid kit?”

“Just a shirt...” He sighs taking his hand away and looking at it. He blinks upon seeing blood. “...okay, maybe a first aid kit.”

Sighing, Silk heads out of the room and soon returns with the white box. “And now I question leaving you alone in your basement of secrets. Apparently, it’s dangerous too!” She starts getting out things for him.

“It’s fine… just a small cut.” He sits down on the couch, at an angle so she can get at the injury. He mumbles to himself. “She fights back… I’ll have to be more careful next time...”

The only ‘she’ in the room raises an eyebrow at him as she raises a damp cloth. “She?”

“...never mind.”

Frowning at being stonewalled again, Silk still wipes the blood off his shoulder. “Not even telling when it hurts you, hmm?”

“It only hurt because I wasn’t careful.” He sighs. “And no, not telling you. Not yet, at least.”

Her frown shrinks back to a neutral expression as she peeks through his coat. “Well, I do like that I’ll get to know eventually, so I’ll drop it. The cut doesn’t look too bad, but you did get nicely sliced.”

He raises an eyebrow. “I’m a pony, not a carrot. No slicing on me is ‘nice’.”

She pokes him with a finger firmly. “You know what I mean. It could have been worse, but it isn’t. Now don’t move while I work on it…” Leaning around him, she grabs the hydrogen peroxide and cotton balls.

Winter sighs again, staying as still as he can. “Once you’re done, I’ll probably need to take a shower to get this sweat off me, so hold off on any bandages unless they’re waterproof.”

“Hmm… I’ll have to hold off on the antibiotic cream too…” Her hand braces against him, fingers splayed on his back as she dabs the peroxide on him. “Am I going to need to stand outside the bathroom in case you injure yourself in there, too?” You can almost hear her grin.

“I think I know how to take a shower, Silk,” he deadpans before his expression softens. “...now you’ve got me worried, though… you can wait out here or in my room, since you’ll need to finish my shoulder afterwards anyway. I’ll leave the door unlocked, so if you hear anything you shouldn’t hear from a bathroom, you can come in.” He narrows his eyes. “If you come in just to get a look...”

A soft yellow hand comes forward and pats his cheek. “Now now… even I have lines I don’t cross. I already saw plenty this morning, I don’t need to see more.” She sets down the peroxide and used cotton ball. “Just try not to extend your shower by thinking thoughts of me as your nurse, hmm? I have outfits for such fantasies.”

Slowly, his face goes red, and slight stiffness can be seen in his pants. “...well, now those fantasies are already there.” He rubs his temple, trying to fight off such thoughts.

“Aww, you flatter me, hun.” She gives him a quick hug from behind. “Now go get yourself taken care of so I can finish you off.”

He chuckles, standing up. “Right… I’ll try not to take too long.” Once he’s released from the hug, he starts heading upstairs, already unbuckling his belt as he goes. He doesn’t go any further until he’s disappeared into the bathroom.

Sniffing the air, Silk wrinkles her nose. “Hmm… slightest bit of mint beneath the musk and sweat smell.” Shrugging, she grabs an air freshener and spritzes it a few times before heading upstairs, making a small detour to her room to grab somethings.

As promised, the unicorn doesn’t take too long. Remembering to leave the door unlocked, he starts the water, keeping it an oddly low temperature rather than turning it up and waiting for it to warm. He quickly strips and steps in, wincing as the water hits his shoulder, but tries to ignore it as he soaps himself up. After a couple minutes of quick washing, he turns the water off and steps out, grabbing a towel to dry himself off.

Once he’s suitably dry, he grabs up his clothes and wraps the towel around him, stepping out and heading to his room to dress. He comes back out shortly, with just black sweatpants and no shirt, heading down to the living room.

Silk greets him, now completely out of her previous clothes and into a knee length white nurse dress. A red cross sits above her heart while the outfit shows just a small amount of cleavage. Her legs are bare except for two white slipper shoes. Finally, the whole thing is topped by a white nurse’s cap.

She looks to him with a smile. “Is the patient ready?”

His face is already back to a bright red, but thankfully he doesn’t seem to be having as big a problem further down as before. “Uh… y-yes?” Slowly, as if on automatic, he walks over to the couch again.

As he sits with his back to her, she leans next to his head and whispers, “I thought I might take it easy on you and put on the tamest version.”

He actually cracks a smile and whispers back. “Honestly? I’m almost disappointed.”

She giggles. “Oh, really? Well, why don’t you lay down on your stomach and see if my medical services ‘disappoint’ you.”

Chuckling, he does so, his tail noticeably moving to cover his already-covered rump. “I’m all yours, nurse.”

“Let’s see…” She leans over his back, a few locks of her mane hanging down and brushing his back. “Looks still clean, and the bleeding has stopped. Let’s apply some ointment.” Looking back towards the first aid kit, she fetches everything she’ll need.

He squirms a bit from the tickling hairs, but doesn’t move aside from that. “Didn’t know there were so many steps to patching up a cut… I used to just wash it with warm water, slap a bandage on, and call it a day.”

She tutts, patting his head. “That’s a good way to get an infection, Mister Solstice. Always disinfect and use a bit of ointment to accelerate healing as well as prevent scarring. Not all mares think ‘scars are cool’.” Taking a bit of cream on her finger, she strokes it along the cut.

He pauses. “...are you one of those mares who thinks they are?”

“I’m a nurse, hun. I like a stallion who can take good care of himself.” She pats his back as she wipes her finger. “I think a nice bandage over that and in a week it’ll be like it was never there.”

“A week, huh?” Winter looks back at her. “...any chance you can help change it? I can’t reach back there very well, and it’s bound to fall off sooner or later.” He smirks. “Plus, it’d give you more chances to see me shirtless.”

Ignoring that he has magic, she applies the bandage, kissing it after. “I think I could add that to my duties.”

“Thank you.” He smiles, sitting up once she’s done. “Hopefully this won’t happen again.”

Tucking a bit of purple mane out of her face, Silk stands up and folds her hands in front of herself. “Is there anything else you need?”

He chuckles. “Keep being adorable.”

“Adorable, hmm?” She moves her hands behind her back, leaning forward and batting her eyelashes. “I can do that… among other things.”

Winter smiles, standing up and scratching her chin. “What other things might those be?”

“You’ll just have to either figure it out or find out, won’t you?” She grins, nuzzling his hand before giggling and sashaying away towards the stairs.

Blinking, he pauses a moment before starting to follow her. “Wait, how would I go about doing that? Now you’ve got me curious.”

She climbs the stairs, tail swishing as she calls back, “Why not consider me an experiment?” She shows him her grin. “Gather your thoughts, form theories, test them.” She winks as they reach the second floor as she heads toward her room.

He sighs, still following, but slower. “That’s how I got cut.”

She stops in front of her own door. “Perhaps… but I believe I have shown that I’m good at patching up small injuries. I assure you, I can be gentle enough to never cut you, and my bedside manner is very effective.”

“Maybe, but if I ‘experiment’ on you, I might not be the one who gets hurt,” he replies solemnly.

“I trust you, hun, and I’m a strong mare. You’ll figure it out.” She opens her door, slipping inside and peeking out. “Now, why don’t you go enjoy thoughts of the fact that I’m changing out of this?”

“...you and your tempting fantasies.” With an amused sigh, he heads back to his own room. “Come get me if you need anything.”

“I will… now go relax so your shoulder can rest.”

He nods with a small smirk. “Yes, ma’am.” Opening his door, he quickly disappears inside.

Comments

[Moongaze14]

Nice to see Rhino appears even if it's as a supporting character. It seems he already met Silk beforehand. Can't wait to figure out how Silk and Rhino's relationships is like in this story. Also, I enjoy the fact that Winter behaves more confidently around Silk. Keep up the good job.

[Wacuire]

Changeling in the basement? Gel? O-o (based on hearing 'she')

[tsaukpaetra]

5465040 what's to say "she" isn't a mechanism of some sort? Genders are often assigned to inanimate objects for some reason after all.
Actually, barring some really interesting turn of events, we don't really expect to see Gel at all this time.... At least, if the story summary projected plot are anything to go by.

[tsaukpaetra]

I can say it's nice Rhino has his own shop finally. How things can be so different...
Keep going! ;)

[Wacuire]

5466309 you do have a point... (I know that you can refer to a boat as a she... At least in my language)

Buuuuut... I hope Gel will show up soon (Silk's friend?)

Anyways, keep up the awesome story Rhino