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Okay, Wifies knows he's said he doesn't hate the ocean.
He's not scratching that from the record just yet, but he will say that he's starting to get very tired of it.
The anger that Wifies feels right now is familiar to the first time he trusted Hummer in the elevator. Except this time, they've lost a valuable well of information that Wifies would have liked more time to look through. Maybe even talk to Arronax or something.
So yeah. He's upset. Again.
And worst of all, his wings are a mess. Again.
Already grimy from his last drowning, the extra layer of sea salt has done nothing to help. So he's irritated, to say the least.
They meet back up on the Hummer's server. He tells Wifies that the reason Levi didn't appear was because of the potion. And Wifies just tries not to sigh, exasperated.
He needs a shower. Like. Real bad. The salt in his wings is irritating in a way that another preening won't help.
So it's another trek back to Hummer's little house by the shore. The robot is noticeably quieter, has been since Arronax's museum. Annoyed, maybe, at Wifies' lack of faith. He doesn't know, doesn't care to puzzle it out past the discomfort that keeps itching at him.
"Do you have a bathroom I can use?" Wifies asks as they step out of the boat, trying not to let his wings drag behind him. They're shivering a bit, soaked through and heavy. Even heavier out of the water.
"Uh, I have a bathroom, but I don't think they'd… well, you won't be able to clean your wings easily," Hummer says with a shrug. "It's kind of small."
Wifies sighs, trying to shake his wings out again. "Figured as much. Do you have a pond nearby, then? I can wash them out in there."
"I do, but… well, I also have one of those outdoor shower things so you can wash sand off your feet and stuff. The head is detachable as well, if that helps?" Hummer asks, motioning to a corner of of the house.
Wifies perks up a bit at that, "Oh, that's perfect, actually. Do you have an ender chest that I can use?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll go grab it. One sec." Wifies watches as Hummer walks away, long strides taking him inside.
He sighs, closing his eyes and tilting his head back. What a hassle this whole thing has been. Wifies knew Hummer would be intense but. This is something else.
He knows that Hummer means well, at least. Just wants Wifies to see the Leviathan, wants them both to.
But, still. Intense. Very much so.
"Ready?" Hummer asks, and Wifies jumps, eyes cracking open. He hadn't heard Hummer approach, at all.
Wifies can almost feel the amused grin the other would wear if he could. Still, a hand beckons him over, starting to walk towards the shower he talked about earlier.
The ender chest is placed down and Wifies taps at the interface a few times until it shows his cross world inventory. He nabs the soap he uses and, after a brief moment of consideration, a pair of swim trunks.
Because, loathe as he is to admit it, Wifies knows he's going to need help with his wings again.
"I, uh. I'm gonna need some help with washing my wings. If you don't mind," Wifies says, still poking around the chest. He might be a bit embarrassed, but anyone would be, okay?
"Oh, uh. Yeah, I can help," Hummer says, sounding a bit surprised. "Call me over when you're ready, I'll just be uhm. Around the corner. There's a curtain as well, so you'll have some privacy."
"Cool, cool. Thanks," Wifies replies, pulling away from the chest, soap and clothes clutched in his hands. They're awkward, both of them.
There's a sharp spark of static, Hummer's version of a sudden inhale as he turns on his heel. "Okay, well. I'll be going. Yep."
"Yep," Wifies agrees, waiting for him to round the corner before looking at the shower. It's tucked into a corner, stone walls and wooden floor with gaps between the slats so water will drain. He'll still need to keep his wings shut, but it wouldn't have been as tight a fit as a normal bathroom not made with avians in mind.
He strips quickly and steps inside, tucking his wings loosely against his back. The warm water that comes out of the pipes is a little surprising, startling a quiet chirp out of him, but he adjusts quickly. It chases away the chill of the sea, relaxing his muscles.
He sighs, savoring it. It's been an eventful few days and promises to be an eventful few more. Wifies can't say that the smallest part of him is looking forward to it, though. There's a thrill to the more hands-on mysteries that he likes. Chasing a lead rather than sitting in a pile of books and posts, searching for hints that don't exist.
His back sends a little pang of pain his way and he sighs. Soaked wings aren't kind for too long, and he doesn't want to deal with back pain for the next week or so. He hurries up showering, making sure to wash his hair out well so it doesn't feel all gritty.
And then he's clean, mostly, grabbing the towel Hummer had left and drying off before slipping on swim trunks. There's a high chance his clothes get wet again, and while Wifies usually doesn't mind it, he's tired of wearing wet clothes after his last two impromptu dips in the ocean.
Plus, he's gonna have to be sitting in the shower so Hummer can access the showerhead, so. Makes no sense to be sitting on the wet floor in clean clothes.
"Okay, I'm good now," Wifies calls out, grabbing his soaked clothes and going to shove them in the ender chest. The Wifies from after debunking the Leviathan can deal with them.
Hummer peeks around the corner, as if to check that the avian is, in fact, decent, before walking over.
"Okay, so. How do I do this?" he asks, motioning to. Well, all of Wifies.
He tries not to laugh at that, instead grabbing the soap and handing it over to Hummer. "It's a bit similar to preening, you just work the soap over and between the feathers and try to pull out any gunk. I'll need to reapply preening oil to the feathers after because well. The soap is gonna wash that away, too."
Hummer nods, taking the bottle and popping the cap. "Should… I rinse them out first?"
"I mean, you can. They got a bit wet when I was showering but it wouldn't hurt," Wifies says, settling on the floor. He's facing the wall while Hummer nabs the showerhead, letting his shoulders relax and wings droop onto the shaded floor.
Warm water runs in little rivulets down his wings as Hummer passes over salt-sticky feathers. Fingers cards through, making sure the feathers are saturated with fresh water before pulling away.
Hummer's usually cold hands have warmed with the water, and they're pleasant when they start to work the soap through his feathers. It's similar to preening, just a bit more of a massaging motion involved. The little crooning sound that it brings out of him seems to startle Hummer a bit, but he doesn't pull away.
Hands continue after his wings shuffle back, nudging insistently. Wifies doesn't even have it in himself to be embarrassed, relaxed and enjoying the sounds of water in the distance. It's calming, all of it.
"It's nice, isn't it? The sounds of the waves?" Hummer asks, seeming similarly relaxed, fingers scrubbing at a particular spot that leaves Wifies a little mindless. Brain getting coated in the soothing fog that comes with preening.
"Yeah, it's nice. I take it that you like the ocean?" Wifies mumbles, chin now resting on one knee. The hand moves on, lithe fingers prying stubborn feathers apart with surprising ease.
"Obviously. Wouldn't live next to it otherwise."
Wifies shrugs a bit. "Not gonna lie, I thought you moved here only because of the Leviathan."
"I guess that's part of it. But nah, I uh. Don't think I'd be able to live without being near a beach, to be honest," Hummer says after a moment of thought. Fingers drift closer to the feathers near his back, and Wifies shudders a bit. "Sensitive?"
"Those usually are. Something left over from uh. Birds only letting mates or family preen that area," Wifies mutters, feathers fluffing as best they can.
"Oh. That's why you freaked out last time?" Hummer asks, hands pulling away just a little. Wifies squawks a bit in protest, wings once again moving back to chase the sensation.
"I mean, kind of. It's been a while since someone else had preened my wings so, you know. Kind of forgot how it felt," he says, settling as Hummer returns to sorting through dirty feathers. "And, for the record, I didn't freak out. Just was startled."
"Uh-huh."
"I was!"
"No, no, for sure," Hummer breaks first, snickering to himself. Wifies smiles a bit, hiding it against his knee. "Do you?"
"Hm?"
"Like the sea?"
Wifies winces at that. "Well. I don't hate it. It's just. Kind of there, you know? And it's always a bit of a hassle for me, as you may have noticed."
He lifts a wing and shakes it a little, as if to emphasize his point. Some suds are flicked onto the floor as he does, and he lets it settle again as a muscle twinges in protest.
"My wings just aren't made for it. Owls are more woodland than aquatic, and their wings prioritize silent flight over being waterproof as well, so. Just guess I'm not made for the sea." He's trying to cushion Hummer's feelings, he realizes belatedly, the silence from the man behind him pulling at him weirdly.
"I guess that makes sense," Hummer replies finally, and his voice a bit odd. Wifies tries not to slump or take it to heart, if him not liking the ocean offends Hummer then it's not on purpose. Not like he went and told the guy the ocean sucked and should be drained dry for the betterment of everyone.
Though, Wifies will admit that he's thought it in one of his less than proud moments.
"Not that it'll change your mind, but maybe after all of this, I can at least try to show you why I like the ocean so much?" Hummer asks, fingers still working at the feathers on his back, and Wifies melts a bit, tension seeping out.
He croons, wings slumping. "Uh, yeah. Don't see why not. But no more drowning, got it?"
Hummer snickers, finally pulling away from the soapy down. "Yeah, got it. No drowning allowed."
The shower head turns on, spray facing away at first and then is brought to his wings. Fingers help wash out any soap that tries to linger, making sure it's cleared of any suds before the water turns off again.
He lets his wings try to fluff up and then watches soaked feathers lay flat. "Mm, back up."
"Uh, okay?"
Wifies stands while Hummer moves away, heavy wings pulling on his back. And then he shakes them out, some feathers drifting to the ground, pulling out any water that he can.
Wifies frowns, barely feeling much of a difference. Owl down, what a joy.
"Did you just… try to shake yourself out like a dog?" There's a barely disguised laugh in Hummer's voice, and Wifies turns to stare pointedly at the man. The barely disguised laugh becomes very apparent when the man doubles over, and Wifies crosses his arms.
"Sorry, sorry, it's just. You're very…" Hummer waves a hand, still chuckling. "Uh. In swim trunks with wet hair and feathers and it's definitely. A little hard to take you seriously right now."
"Okay, well-" Wifies starts. Stops. Inhales deeply and tries to will away an embarrassed flush. "Do you have a blow dryer that can blow cold air?"
Hummer pauses, tilts his head to the side. "I mean, yeah. But are you gonna-" Another pause. "No. You're really going to blow dry your wings?"
Wifies can hear the laughter creeping up in his voice again, and he flicks his wing at the other. Water droplets are flung at him, and Wifies only relishes in the resulting yelp a little.
…Maybe a bit more than a little.
While Hummer goes to grab the hair dryer, Wifies takes a moment for slip on a fresh pair of clothes. A white t-shirt and jeans and his sneakers. The back of the shirt gets wet pretty quick, but he'll change it out later.
"You're gonna have to come inside, dude, I don't have any outlets out there for it," Hummer calls as Wifies finishes up.
The library is still the mess that they both left it in, Wifies having gone through a bunch of Hummer's books. They're littered on a table, some on chests/shulkers that Hummer hasn't cleared up.
"You know, despite asking, I wasn't expecting the TV head dude to actually have a blow dryer," Wifies remarks, going to settle where Hummer points him.
"Ha ha, maybe don't poke fun at me when I currently have the ability to cook your wings like a chicken," Hummer grumbles, letting a blast of hot air rustle Wifies hair. The other man ducks away from it, snickering.
"I can dry them myself, don't worry," Wifies says, hand out for the blow dryer.
"Hey, I was joking, don't take away my wing privileges," Hummer whines, clicking the setting to cool. Wifies blinks a bit, not really having expected Hummer to want to help take care of his wings past what was needed.
Still, as the cool air starts buffeting his wings, he finds that he doesn't mind it. It's nice, having someone to care enough about the state of them, besides himself.
Even if Hummer can't seem to keep his hands off them now, fingers brushing through feathers as they slowly dry. He's straightening them as he goes, making sure they're not settling in a way that will make Wifies uncomfortable.
It's very sweet.
Wifies isn't sure what to do with the little bundle of emotions that bloom in his chest because of it. Instead, he settles down and lets himself croon birdsong as best as he can. Owls are a bit too screechy for it, but Wifies is still human enough to puzzle a way through.
There's a bit of a pause before Hummer hesitantly hums along, trying to twine their voices together. Wifies lets him, the two of them trying to anticipate where the other will take the melody.
And drying his feathers goes like that, birdsong and humming and melodies broken by laughter when one of them messes up.
When his wings are dried and Hummer puts the hair dryer to the side, Wifies chirps his content, wings finally, finally clean.
None of the cloying sea salt or clinging kelp. He feels good, invigorated.
Ready to finally close the case on this mystery.
Hummer's hands find his wings once more, though, and Wifies looks back in confusion.
"Uh, the uhm. Preening oil or whatever. You said it needs to be reapplied after?" Hummer asks, pulling his hand back slightly.
"Oh, yeah. You can probably do that quickly, if you want. Doesn't have to be a perfect job," Wifies says, settling again. Good thing that Hummer remembered, at least. It'd be embarrassing trying to fly and the wind doesn't manage to glide over his wings quite like it should.
Despite what Wifies says, though, Hummer takes his time. Hands brushing carefully over feathers and making sure each one is coated evenly. Wifies finds himself focusing a bit too hard on his breathing again as fingers near his back.
Wings twitch and settle as he works over coverts and secondaries and scapulars. Fingers lingering at the feathers that cover where normal skin would be on a non avian. They're fluffy, closer to what Wifies would think is baby down for a bird.
Some avians don't have the feathers that trail from the nape of their neck to their lower back, following the curve of their spine. He's not really sure why some do and others don't, but he's gonna guess something with genes and hormone levels.
All this to say that Hummer lingers over the soft down curiously, unlike last time.
"Do I… have to put preening oil on these as well?" he asks, fingers still petting over his scapulars.
"No, they're fine without. They usually get covered up by my shirt anyway," Wifies sighs out, crooning a long, low note of satisfaction.
"Okay, then. Think that's it," Hummer says after a moment, hands pulling away. "Ready to go?"
Wifies hums, stretching his wings out. He shakes out slightly damp hair, trying to get that fuzz out of his brain and put himself back on track.
"Yep. Mystery to find the answer to and apparently, you have a shot at making me love the ocean after everything," Wifies says, turning around to face Hummer with a small smile.
As far as the avian can tell, the other man smiles back at him.
"Well," Hummer says, motioning forward. "Lead the way. I'll follow."