Page 29 of Found in Obscurity

Lorin shifted on his feet. It was one thing to guess that the entire town was gossiping about him, it was another to have it confirmed. “Yeah, that’s me.”

“Wonderful to run into you,” she said, like they were long-lost friends. “I remember you running around when you were a child. Never thought you’d be gone for so long. It was quite the shock when you left.”

He shuffled awkwardly, a knot lodged in his throat. He didn’t really feel like explaining himself to people. “Circumstances change, you know,” he said finally, knowing they were just empty words.

She gave him another once-over and smiled. “And you got yourself a familiar and everything on the first try. How lucky, when a lot of us had to wait for several years for our familiars to appear.”

There was a slight bite to her words as she lifted her hand. Lorin spotted the pointy head of a snake poking out of her thick sleeve. It was clearly coiled around her forearm, tucked in for warmth and safety.

“I guess it all worked out in the end though!” she said, veiling her emotions with politeness.

“I guess it did,” he said, refusing to get into a discussion about what she considered to be lucky and what he considered to be turning his life upside down. He didn’t think it was the right time or the place. And he also didn’t think she’d ever see his point of view anyway.

“Wonderful,” she said. “All’s well that ends well, I always say.”

He nodded, looking around himself for a second when no other words came to mind. “I, uh, have an appointment I need to get to…”

“Of course, don’t let us keep you. Do you need any help finding anything, or do you remember?”

“I remember.” The town seemed like it had frozen in time, exactly the same in every way. “Unless the vets moved?”

“No, no, it’s still there,” she said, ignoring her child tugging to be free. “Sorry again for the delay.”

Lorin nodded and walked off with a quiet sigh. He looked down at Kit. “You okay?”

Kit licked the tip of his nose, then his mouth, and Lorin felt comforted.

Maybe he could hold on to Kit for just today. It wouldn’t harm anything right?

Mind made up, he walked along the streets, Kit’s head swiveling and tail swinging in front of them loosely. Heads turned to follow their path, people staring without shame. Lorin tried not to let it get to him. At least he wasn’t alone. It seemed like both Kit and him were stragglers in this town, moving against the flow of how life naturally progressed here. Maybe that was why they had connected.

He made it to the vets, the green building covered in ivy and carved depictions of various animals. He pushed through the heavy wooden door and was met with the smell of animals and medical grade sanitizer.

Kit tensed in his arms, huffing and puffing against the unpleasant scent.

“It’ll be okay,” Lorin said, looking down at the fox.

Something inside him felt pleased at the opportunity to soothe and comfort his familiar. He felt like he owed it to him.

“You’re good,” Lorin whispered, trying to avoid any stares. “We’re just making sure you’re all healthy and I’m doing everything I can to keep you that way. It’s more for me than it is for you really. I… Maybe you haven’t noticed but…I don’t really know exactly what I’m doing here.”

They held eye contact for a second before Kit nuzzled his wet nose against Lorin’s neck. He relaxed against him in somethinglike acceptance, and Lorin breathed out a sigh of relief. With Kit secure in his arms, he walked over to reception to check them in.

Kit

Yeah, he didn’t like the vet one bit. The woman was fine as a person, Kit supposed. She greeted Lorin very politely, didn’t ask about where he’d been, or why he was away for so long. She didn’t pry too much or make Lorin feel uncomfortable.

The mate in Kit was very pleased, because he could sense Lorin settling down and relaxing as the seconds went by. And the presence of the vet’s familiar made Kit relax too. The lazy-looking iguana was just chillin’ on one of the shelves, looking completely unbothered, and Kit figured that was the atmosphere they were going for. Just chill and relaxed.

But then the attention turned to Kit and all the appreciation he had for the young doctor went right out the window.

No, he didn’t want to get a rabies shot. He wasn’t rabid and he didn’t need one.

He got it anyway.

They took some of his blood, there wasn’t an orifice on his body that wasn’t poked and prodded, he was looked at from every imaginable angle, and Lorin had been given pills of some sort to combat parasites Kit might have picked up somewhere.

He was pretty sure he’d know if he had parasites.