Advent Of A Gunslinger

“That I did,” said the white she-cat as she stood up, “Mio’s all caught up. I even told him about Zula. Shame we didn’t have time to catch a photo of her. If we could confirm that those scars are the same as the ones reported on the General…”

“We could have grounds to go in, and slam her for good,” Mona added, “But we need more evidence.”

Not one to stand idle, Mio would inquire, “If you don’t mind me asking--what sort of injuries does she have? I’ll need to know as much as I can.”

“Well, according to our notes…” Mona said as she opened her palm, and Leona placed it in her hand to which she took a closer look at, “Zula suffered permanent scarring on her legs as she ran through barbed wire that King Devon had set up around the castle.”

Mio’s expression turned flat for a moment as he flicked his tail with his ears flopping sideways. “Seriously? Did that puss-bag of a so-called king really not account for those under him at all? Or was she that insane and desperate to escape capture?” His ears perked upwards, and his eyes became more attentive as he replied, “I see. So if we find an abyssinian with those same scars, we’ll know it’s her?”

“Correct,” said Leona, “She has a mix of black and white fur, and a rare sabertooth-like overbite. Other than that, that’s all we have.”

“Even if she shaves her teeth down, they will constantly grow back,” Mona added, “So if you look at her teeth, it’ll be easy to figure out who she is. Sabertoothism is extremely rare among abyssinians.” Mona took out a pointer, and tapped a nearby poster on the wall that depicted the average abyssinian skeletal system, “Only about five percent of the population actually has the genes from our ancient Smilodon ancestors.”

That’s when Mio thought of something else. A key detail that tied into what he was being told. “...An unmistakable overbite akin to sabertooths?” he thought as he stroked his chin, “Could that be why the boss’s chair has always been facing away from us whenever we entered the room? Because she didn’t want us to identify her from her standout teeth that a very small sliver of the population has? If so, it could all make sense…”

“Something wrong?” Mona asked, turning her attention to the tom.

“Huh?” Mio snapped out of his thoughts. “No, not at all. I was just thinking about something that didn’t click until just now.”

Leona leaned forward with a curious glint in her eyes. “What do you mean?”

“The fact that my boss never faced us. The chair would always be facing away from us while the boss’s voice gave us our orders,” he explained, “I believe that could be the reason why she never showed her face. But even if it’s true, it’s as you both said, we’ll need more information.”

“...And if it’s true...there’s something scarily poetic about me unknowingly working for the one who ruined my life….”

In her hands, Mona had an official prescription document. “Even so, as your doctor, I can’t allow you to just run back out there and fight like this. So I’m prescribing you a medication designed specifically to treat second-degree burns--it’s a simple anti-biotic cream.” She offered it to Mio, to which the tom accepted. “But I want you to look over the side effects before you sign it. After that, you’re going to need to rest for a few days--so I specifically reserved a hotel room for you nearby right next to Spitha’s.”

Mio took the document and started reading over it. But he stopped halfway through when he heard Mona had placed him next to the dragon woman in a hotel. “...You what?”

The yellow doctor giggled. “Oh don’t fret. We know you’re worried about her, and that she’s worried about you, so…” she pet him on the head with a motherly purr, “We figured we’d help you both out, sonny.”

“...Right,” Mio reacted with a small, defiant mewl but couldn’t say much else. He continued to read over the document for his medication. The side effects included: Tingling sensations, slight muscle spasms, drowsiness, and ‘becoming frisky’--which caught his attention in particular. “Erm, what does this last one mean?”

Mona pulled her hand back, and explained. “That? You’ll probably feel the need to rub up against things. Your medicine contains trace amounts of catnip, so we want you to be aware.”

Thankfully, it was nothing painful. Mio was more than willing to agree to these terms, so he signed the document on the clipboard with the attached pen. “Alright. Understood.”

“Okay. With that being established, you’re free to head out as soon as you grab your new prescriptions, sir. Your new glasses and the ointment.” Mona accepted the clipboard back, and walked through the door and into the hallway. “Leona. Bring him to the front desk where he can accept his medication,” she said before she walked on.

“Yes ma’am,” Leona replied, and looked at Mio. “And one more thing, sir.”

“Hm?” he tilted his head as he grabbed his blue suit, “What’s that?”

Leona stepped forward, and gave him a hug. “...I want you to know that I feel your pain. As your sister in arms--we will rectify what has wronged us for so long.”

It took him a second to respond, but he eventually returned the hug with a relaxed expression. “As your brother in arms, I’ll return the efforts a-hundredfold.”

After the quick embrace, Mio was able to change out of his scrubs and into the blue suit he always wore. Due to his partial blindness, he stumbled a bit, but was able to reach the front desk with little issue.

Mona would then proceed to offer him a pair of glasses from behind the desk. “Here. Try these, and read the sign to your right.”

Mio put them on...and was able to read every letter flawlessly. The glasses were also half-rims like his previous pair, but were bronze instead of red. “...Yup. These are perfect. Thank you both.”

Both the doctor and nurse smiled.

“Happy to be of service,” Leona replied, “Be sure to come back if you need anything else.”

Mona would then push a white jar of ointment on the counter towards him. “Here you go. This should ease the swelling and reduce stress from that burn over the next three days. If you have any unforeseen side effects, please come see us immediately. And don’t you worry about insurance--Queen Bombay has insured universal healthcare for all citizens since she and her husband took control.”

That put Mio at ease as he took the container of skin cream. “Looks like the current rulers have done a great job of keeping Abyssinia intact after the war.”

“Oh, would you look at that,” Mona said as she looked out of the window, “Spitha’s already on her way back.”

“She is?” Mio turned to look, and sure enough, the red dragon lady was on her way there with a handbag slung over her shoulders.

Spitha stepped inside with a relieved sigh. “Oh, he’s walking! Thank you so much, doc--you too, nurse. It’s especially good because...I’m at a bit of a loss…”

Mio stepped up to her with a curious twitch of his ears. “A loss? How so?”

“Well…I wanted to go get you some food, but...” Spitha turned her head to the side ever so slightly, and idly scratched the left side of her face with her left index claw. There was a sheepish, awkward smile on her lips. “I...don’t exactly know my way around, so I was hoping you could show me some good places to eat around here?”

“Ah, is that all?” the tom chuckled, “Sure, I can help with that. Panthera’s a lively place that’s easy to get lost in.”

“Oh, great!” the dragon lady trilled, and stepped towards the door with an excited skip, “Lead the way, Mr. Mio!”

“No problem--”

From behind Mio, both Mona and Leona were purring with smug cat-like expressions on their faces--akin to sideways-facing 3’s.

The tom looked behind himself and asked, “What are you--”

“Oh, nothing--” Leona said with a quick giggle, and turned towards the main hall, “See you around...and stay safe.”

Mona echoed the sentiment. “Absolutely nothing at all. But she’s right. Stay safe, big guy. And watch out for the dragon woman, okay?” she said as she pet him on the head once more.

The tom huffed, and turned to leave. “Yes, yes, I will. Good day to you, Doc.”

As he left, Mona sighed as she leaned upon the counter. “Ah...good day, indeed. Go get ‘em, tiger.”