A Dubious Welcome

by Maonyman

CH4: A Small Distraction

As Anon pulled his blanket up to the mare's neck, he couldn't help but smile when she let out a contented little sigh and cutely wiggled the tip of her muzzle under a fetlock. Truth be told, he wasn't quite sure what to do with a patient that was actually sentient, but at least she seemed friendly.

Leaving the bedroom door ajar, he began putting the kitchen back to normal, restocking the medical bag and returning it to his office, sliding various kitchen items back into place, and setting the decorative basket in the middle of his now pristine island countertop.

Next he opened the freezer and began to rearrange the samples he had hastily placed inside, sliding them one by one into a neat row along the side of the freezer. However, the moment his fingers touched the vial containing the horn core sample, his mind was abruptly filled with warped visions of the disturbing hallucinations he had suffered earlier.

Anon recoiled violently, stumbling backwards and catching himself with an elbow on the counter, but the unsettling images left him as suddenly as they had appeared, leaving him impotent and slumped against the counter. his breath came in short ragged gasps as he watched the freezer door slowly swing shut with a muted thump.

He passed a hand over his face and muttered quietly to himself, "Gonna be fun trying to sleep tonight..."

Wishing nothing more than to forget the aimless terror that still clawed at his chest, he forced himself to take a deep breath and stand up straight. Then he glanced at the microwave clock and rolled his eyes--it wasn't even noon and he'd already been through at least three days' worth of stress!

Rubbing his throbbing elbow, he took a good long moment to calm himself down, then pulled out his phone and dialed his assistant at the clinic.

"Hey Sally, it's me. Listen, something came up and... yeah yeah, I'm fine, just, uh... do me a favor and apologize to Mary-Ann, would you? Yeah, with the calico. No, that's not for another week, it's just I was gonna check on that infected claw later today. Eh, probably not, but still. Yeah, 'course. Alright, thank ya much."

He hung up and let out a heavy sigh, intensely relived to know he wouldn't have to head in today. Well, so long as no more emergencies came in at least, but really, three in one day would just be silly. With one look at the freezer, he decided the samples were just fine the way they were. He grabbed a bagel, walked out into the living room, put on some soft music, and picked up the book he had started last night.

All he wanted right now was a good distraction.

Author's Note:

Why this short bit is included makes more sense later in the story. Why it's its own chapter is because of the POV changes.

Comments

[LonePigeon]

As Anon pulled his blanket up to the mare's neck, he couldn't help but smile when she let out a contented little sign and cutely wiggled the tip of her muzzle under a fetlock. Truth be told, he wasn't quite sure what to do with a patient that was actually sentient, but at least she seemed friendly.

sigh

[Poparakelis]

That was... A weirdly short and unnecessary chapter.