Hygiene is important

Chapter 59

Friday, January 23, 2014

8:05 pm

(Ivan's POV)

I look down at Michael as he appeared from beneath the poster. He looked up and reached for his blindfold. I quickly put my poster into my Inventory and walk behind him. I untie his blindfold, Michael looked around. He rubbed his eyes and looked back towards me.

"We're back in camp right?" I nod silently as I put the blindfold back into my Inventory. He sighed and rubbed the burns on his arms. He winced as skin peeled off. I stare at Michael not knowing what to do. Should I help him? I could but I don't know how Nuxiel would react. I look over my shoulder, there was a crowd of people walking by. If people see me with Michael injured, Coach will probably question me again. I don't think I can a good enough excuse to get away with it.

"Hey, Michael. You need help with those burns?" Michael looked down and brought up his arm to stare at it intensely.

"My brother will probably help." The last thing I want is for Michael to get noticed.

"Wait hold on." I take out a medium health potion out of my Inventory and hand it over to Michael.

"What's this?"

"You know that wine that Alice gives us when we get hurt?" Michael nodded. " I asked Alice to make me some. He popped the cork and chugged the whole thing down in less than ten seconds. I widen my eyes at the sight. How can he drink that fast? His wounds slowly stitched its self back together; the burns on his body returned to its natural color, soon his burns were nowhere to be seen. Michael looked around his body I ignore the sight and look down at his clothes. I take out a pair of old tennis shoes and think intensely. My clothes won't fit him. I grit my teeth as I hand him the shoes. "I know this won't fit you but... just take it." Michael took the shoes, he took off his shoes and put mine on. The ends of the shoes were crushed under Michael's feet.

I felt something crawl in my hair as Michael kept staring at his arms. I scratched violently at my hair, I felt something small skitter across my finger and back into my hair. I let out a tiny eek as the feeling of something crawling across my skin kept repeating across my finger. Michael looked at me strangely.

"You good?" Michael asked as he bent down and tried to readjust the end of the shoes. The shoes kept getting crushed back down no matter how much he adjusted the ends.

"I'm fine." My head flared up with a fire-like sensation. I wince as I kept clawing at my hair. The feeling would not go away. Why are lice a thing? "Michael, I really, really have to go," I say as the feeling got more and more intense.

"I'll guess I'll see you later then?" I nod as I turn around and quickly walk away. "Wait hold on Ivan!" I turn back around only for Michael to softly grab my shoulder. "Thanks, Ivan." He said sadly. His face quickly brightened. "How about we go somewhere else next time! Like a mirror maze, maybe a laser tag arena." Her face quickly turned to a frown. "We probably shouldn't though right?"

"We could but there's gonna be Yokai hunting us down."

"Yeahhh, it's a nice thought though." I nod silently and scratch my head. Silence loomed around us for a moment. "I'll see you later I guess." I turn to walk away.

"Yeah, see you later Michael." I quickly walk away and try my best to ignore the burning like sensation on the top of my head. I make my way to the forest.

I walked deep into the forest, I looked around before pulling out a poster over me. I drape the poster over me and snap my fingers. My vision whitened for just a second. I eventually found myself back in the middle of my room. I take the poster off my head and inspect it for lice. I smile as I saw no sign of lice. I put the poster into my Inventory and look in the direction of my bathroom.

I can finally get this lice off me.

8:25

I carefully feel my way through my hair as I look in the bathroom mirror. I grit my teeth as my head started to itch. I stomp my foot in frustration. I point my index finger at the top of my head and send a blast of air through my hair. I look at the floor for a sign of the lice. My head itched just a few seconds after. How did they survive that? A soft knocking sound caught my attention.

"You okay?" I heard Goldie ask through the door.

"I'm fine," I respond. I look back into the mirror and rub my hair. Should I just cut my hair? I could take a shower again, but if it didn't work the first time why would it work a second time? Doesn't combing help with lice. I walk out of my bathroom and into my room. I notice Goldie in fox form laying on my bed. "Hey, Goldie." She looked in my direction and quickly shifted into her human form.

"Yes?"

"Do you have a comb? I need it for something."

"I have a comb, but why do you need it?" I avert my eyes from her direction.

"I got lice."

"That's really easy to get rid of, you want me to help?" I nod my head silently. She got up and walked to the door that led to the main area of the house. Before she turned the knob she looked in my direction. "Just wait in the bathroom, I'll be there soon." She said as she turned the doorknob and walked out. I turn around and walk back into the bathroom. I walk over to the mirror and stare at myself in the mirror. My hair was a mess, it reminded me of what a spider's nest would look like. a bundle of hair rested on my shoulders. Maybe I should cut it. I grab the hair over my shoulders and smoothen it out. My body jumped as the door opened.

I look over to the door and see Goldie walk in with a weird looking comb and a plastic container. The comb was in the shape of a disc, the prongs were tiny but the number of prongs was doubled. Goldie walked over and stood behind me.

"Just keep facing the mirror." I nod as she began touching my hair. She rummaged through my air with a soft touch. She lifted a long strand of hair into the air. "Wouldn't it be better if we cut off the hair?"

"I think we should cut some off." I stared at myself in the mirror. "I would want it shorter but I don't want to be bald.

"I could cut it for you, only if I can these lice though." She put the comb into my hair and softly ran it through my hair. She held up the plastic container with her tail. She brought it close to her chest and put something white into the container. Were those the eggs? She lowered the container and put the lip on top of the container with another one of her tails. She ran the comb through my hair again.

"You were a fox once right?" She hummed in response. "Did you ever get lice when you slept outside?

"Well, I never got lice but I did get it a few times whenever I was human. I don't think I've met another fox with lice. I do know that the foxes in Alaska get lice. I only heard that from an old friend."

"How did people get lice out from back then." She was quiet for just a moment. I look in the mirror and at her face. She looked like she was lost in thought.

"I don't really remember," I notice that her tears watered for a bit. "I don't think we did. I know some people died because of the diseases they got from the lice. I think they had to cut off all their hair to get rid of it."

"Oh." I let her rummage through my hair for just a bit. She took the lid off of the container and raised the container to her chest again. I notice that only two lice fell into the container. She closed the container and burned it on the top of her tail. The container was engulfed in flames, it burned for a few seconds before the fire went out. Once the fire went out, I saw that everything that was in the container was burned up. The container had no burn marks or any other sign that showed that it was once burned. Goldie lifted up her hand with her fingers close together. She spread her index and middle finger apart. She gently grabbed the part below my shoulders. She put my hair between her fingers and closed it. Pieces of hair fell off and landed on the floor. She repeated the process until my hair was above my shoulders. She started to work on the sides. We stayed silent for a few moments. My eyes widen as I remember about school.

"Hey Goldie, you told my school that I was going to be absent?"

"Yes, I put your homework on your desk. I also got rid of the lice off of Sombra." I looked up at her eyes in the mirror.

"How did you know about Sombra's lice?"

"I noticed that Sombra was acting weird, so I checked for lice and found some."

"How did you get lice from Sombra acting weird?" The sides of my hair were now closer to the side of my head. Her hands went back to grab the hair behind my neck. I felt pieces of hair being chopped off as she responded.

"Well, I noticed something about animals when I was a fox. They act weird when they're either injured or sick. One example is the raccoon and rabies, usually, raccoons run away or tend to stay away from humans. But if they're infected with rabies they won't run, they just wander around. The same behavior can be seen with boars. Boars usually fight back when they're getting attacked. But if they're not attacking or their attacks feel weak, then that boar is most likely sick." Her hands grabbed the hair on top of my head. She stretched out her index finger and made a fist. She lifted my hair up into the hair and slowly touched my hair with the finger. Her finger easily went through my hair.

"Are animals aware of their actions or do they just exist?" Goldie's eyes wandered around for a bit before answering.

"Animals, they are aware of some things but not as much as humans. We feel pain, we avoid pain, but we don't think about morals or laws. We just..." She pondered as she rubbed her finger against the hair on the side of my cheek. The hair somehow was falling off, her finger was kind of acting like a hair clipper. "We rely on instinct. It's like how most people run or fight in a dangerous situation. You don't think about it you just do it. But you're also kind of aware of what you're doing. That's the only way I can describe it."

"Actually I'm kind of curious about this how did you turn into a Kitsune?"

"I just lived until I was fifty."

"That's it? I thought foxes only live for a like 4 years. How'd you do it?"

"I don't really know, I just kind of lived like I normally lived. Nothing special."

"Okay but you just didn't know how to use your powers one day." She removed her finger to reveal the hair near my ear being barely visible while the uppermost part was visible. Goldie created a ball of water in the palm of her hand and slapped it onto my head. Strangely the water didn't drip down onto my face. The water stayed still on top of my hair.

"That's exactly what happened. I just woke up one day and found myself as a baby." Goldie moved my hair to the left. My hair stuck up but not straight up, my hair leaned to the left. It was kind of what I imagined a mohawk if it was combined with someone combing their hair to the side. My hair on the sides was way shorter than before but the pieces of hair faded out the lower you got. Goldie backed away as I turned my head. I nod in approval. I look over my shoulder to look at Goldie.

"Did you stay as a baby, or did you change back?"

"Before I actually could learn how to change back, an old couple found me." She smiled at the thought. "I can still remember how they carefully picked me up like I was their own. I can even remember the scent the wood gave off and how the dirt felt beneath my feet."

"Dirt? Didn't they have floors, back then?" I turn back towards the mirror. I felt tiny pieces of hair on my back. I put my hand in my shirt and reach for my back. I notice Goldie shake her head in the mirror. "They actually didn't have floors back then?" Goldie sighed before nodding her head. I send a wave of air into my shirt, I smile as I felt the hair fall off my back. I look back at Goldie. It sounds like a horrible way of living if they had dirt on the floor. I felt Goldie's stare on the back of my head.

"If you're thinking it's terrible, I can tell you that being inside that cabin was one of the best days of my life. I'm sure you're fond of some memories that many people would consider boring or terrible." I felt a light pressure fill the air as she finished her sentence. Sweat dripped down my head as I responded.

"I never thought of it as terrible, I just thought how different things were back then." I quickly try to change the topic. "You did a good job on this." I point to the side of my head. "I like how it fades right near my head."

"I saw it in a magazine, I liked how it looked in the magazine and wanted to see how it would like on someone else." Her tails waved in the air. She walked to the door and looked over in my direction. "Ivan, I'll be in the kitchen." She pointed to the hair on the floor. "Can you pick the hair off the floor and put it in a bag?" I nod my head as she opened the door and walked through.

I walk over to my desk with the intent of starting on my homework. There was a pile of papers stacked on top of my desk. I look down at the papers and looked at the first page on the top. The paper was in the shape of a tiny slip of paper. The paper only had a few words, there weren't even enough words to create more than three sentences. I pick up the page and look at the top. I felt my body tense as realized that the paper was from Nuxiel. I pull back the chair at my desk and sit down. I set the paper down on the desk and start reading.

Ivan, don't worry about other's people's mistakes. Don't get mad at other's people's mistakes either, we all make them.

What's he talking about?

Saturday, January 24, 2014

8:32 am

I walk up to the Fūjin's cabin door and walk into the cabin. I stand in the middle of the doorway and look around for Qaid and Jax. It took me a second to see Qaid and Jax along with several others huddled around my laptop. I saw a flash of red appear on the screen, Qaid looked over at Jax and pointed to the screen. Jax nodded as Qaid moved his finger along the touchpad.

I shut the door behind me and walk over to my siblings. Jax was the first to notice me. He looked up at me and stared at the top of my head.

"Nice hair," was all he said.

"Thanks." Qaid turned his head to look up at me. Some of my other siblings took a quick glance and looked away, most of them just ignored me. "Qaid what are you doing?" Qaid looked back at my laptop then looked up at me again.

"We're editing footage for... an ad? We want more people to start working for us, but we have to make it interesting." I nod as he kept talking. "Me and Jax were actually thinking about doing a movie night to get some attention."

"You think Coach will let us?"

"Maybe you can talk to him? He already let us create a lake. I'm sure he's gonna let us show a movie."

"How about you talk to him? I don't have to do it."

"I'm already editing the footage, this is the least you can do." I suck in air through my teeth. "Fine. But this better not be a waste of time."

"I'm pretty sure it will, it's not like the people in the camp have a lot to do anyway.