Surprisingly enough, my prediction was spot on. This time around I actually notice as the little sneak jumps in from the window to make herself comfortable on the bed. I'm not awake enough to do anything other than mumble an incomprehensible greeting though.
We both get in a little more sleep before it is time to get up. Well, in the end it is time for me to get up. Sour Cream just meows softly in protest, as I extract myself from under her, and then goes right back to sleep. Maybe that is for the better. Applying the tincture should be much easier when she is napping.
After extracting myself from the sheets and the cat that didn't quite want to let me go I took a moment to stretch. There was no sense dallying. It would be better to get this over with quickly.
I grab the bottle and activate my appraisal skill to check it out, just in case.
[Pest Bane Tincture, Quality: Common, A tincture that will keep a multitude of common pests, like ticks, fleas or lice away for the duration of two weeks. Any such pests that are already bothering you will either flee or die in short order. Still good to use for another 28 days.]
Good. Nothing has gone wrong during the medicine's creation. This should work just fine.
I put the bottle down at the chest at the foot end of the bed and sit down at the edge of the bed myself. Taking great care not to jostle my feline house guest too much. Then I take a deep breath to calm myself. I'll have to act fast now. Fast and decisive.
The cat's purring almost makes me falter. It takes all the resolve I can muster to keep going. I grab the potion bottle, break it open and dip the thin piece of wood into it.
As I turn around to drip the tincture into sour Cream's neck, I realize that she is not nearly as fast asleep as I had hoped. Not at all in fact. She is staring at me with wide eyes, almost as if she is very much aware of what I'm about to do.
I can see her muscles tense. Before she can bolt though, I grab her. I move my free hand under her and quickly lift her up just enough, so that she can't simply take off running.
“Mrow!”
Oh my, that is no happy sound. Not in the slightest. The deep growl that follows is not better either. Still, I don't let it discourage me and position the piece of wood above her neck before I can make a mess of my bed.
It takes only a moment for the two drops of the medicine to land in the short creamy fur in the nape of her neck. That is enough time to transform the adorable cat into an incarnation of righteous fury though. Before I can let her go she starts kicking with her hind legs, with her claws out.
“Ouch!”
I finally let go of the angry cat as her claws bite deep into the unprotected flesh of my arm. As I pull away there are several deep rents running down the length of it. Some blood is dripping down onto the bed as well. So much for not making a mess.
Curiously enough Sour Cream is not running away though. She turned almost immediately. Now she is arching her back and growling at me.
I try to reach out to her, but she immediately swipes at my outstretched hand. Before I can earn myself some more scratches I withdraw my hand again with a sigh. Instead I blink at her slowly and try to calm her back down with a soothing voice, despite the deep, painful scratches.
“Calm down, dear. I'm sorry, but you really needed something to help with those nasty little ticks.”
Even as I talk, the one sitting in between her whiskers falls off. It twitches a few times. Then it lies still.
“See? It is already helping. You won't have to worry about new ones for a while either.”
She still doesn't look convinced. Not entirely at least. At least she isn't growling at me any more though. She shakes and a few more of the nasty little things fall off. More than I initially knew about.
I wince a little as the dead pests land on my bed sheet. Yuck! I'll have to get rid of them later. The medicine is working though. Thus I decide to count this as a victory, even if it is a costly one.
“Look I'm doing it too.”
Sour Cream tenses back up a little, as I grab the potion bottle with the medicine once more. The tension is replaced with confusion, at least partially, as I push my hair aside to drop some of the tincture on my own neck. She really only calms back down though, when I put the stopper back into the bottle.
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“Meow?”
I grin ruefully at the tentative sound.
“It really isn't very pleasant. Say, maybe I could enchant a ribbon for you. Or maybe a choker? Something to match that creamy fur of yours? I think I should be able to draft up an enchantment that can keep ticks and other nasty, creepy crawlies off our back. Then we wouldn't have to bother with that icky stuff any more.”
“Meow!”
That sounds almost accusatory, as if she wants to know why I didn't do that to begin with.
“Well, I'll have to study an example to make sure I get it right. We wouldn't want to antagonize the bees around the house after all. Anyway, I think I'll grab a healing potion for myself now. You go back to sleep in the meantime. How does that sound?”
She seems to agree with that suggestion as she makes herself comfortable again, giving both the dead ticks as well as the bloodstains a wide berth in the process.
I quickly gather up the former and throw them out. A shiver runs down my spine as I do so. The bugs are dead, yet they still make me deeply uncomfortable. I'll have to see about washing the sheets later though. Right now I can't do anything about the blood stains.
At least the scratches aren't bleeding anymore. That doesn't mean that they don't hurt though. It is a deeply distracting dull ache.
I head out into the still closed shop and grab a healing potion of the shelves. It is one from the very front. According to grandma's system this should be one of those with the shortest remaining shelf life.
I uncork and drink it. Within moments the pain ebbs away and I can watch the scratches close. They don't heal completely though. It seems that will take a little longer. Apparently my little feline house guest has some pretty good claws.
Well, at least I won't have to make another potion to cure any diseases for myself. The healing potion should be good for that much at least. Neither the grinning death nor cat scratch fever are a laughing matter after all.
Just as I return to the backroom to get my things for a quick trip to the bathhouse a knock at the door interrupts me. A moment later Krystina's voice reaches my ears.
“Good morning! I have some delicious sour cream for you!”
I'm not the only one who takes notices. All thoughts about napping are quickly forgotten as the cat jumps onto the window board to greet our guest.
“Meow!”
Krystina laughs in return and comes over to pat the cat.
“Obviously, it's for you and you know that. Huh?”
Well, these two obviously know each other.
I open the door to let Krystina in.
She has to be careful not to trip over the cat, as it brushes up against her legs, tail swishing about excitedly.
Without further ado I get a clean bowl for Sour Cream's treat and Krystina pours a little from the jug she brought into it.
“This should last you for today and tomorrow. Don't pour too much at once. Wouldn't want it to draw too many flies or worse. The little cutie can always let you know when she wants seconds.”
Then she notices my arm. Or maybe the bloodstains on my night shirt.
“Oh my! What happened with you?”
I gesture at the blissfully ignorant cat which is now entirely occupied with her treat.
“We had a little argument about ticks and how to get rid of them. Say, are the beds at your parent's inn enchanted? You know, against bedbugs and similar pests?”
She nods as understanding dawns upon her.
“I think so. Why?”
“I was thinking about enchanting a choker or a ribbon for Sour Cream. That way she doesn't have to bother with unpleasant medicine any more and I won't get scratched again. I'll need to study a similar enchantment first though, as I don't know a working one off the top of my head.”
As I talk I gather up my bathing supplies and the clothes for the day as well.
Krystina in turn nods in understanding.
“Sure. I'll talk with my parents about it. Some adventurers might be interested in something like that as well. If you think the ticks around here are bad, you should see some of the nasties from the Twilight Forest.”
I close the door behind us and we start heading in the direction of the bath.
“Marvelous! Say, can you prepare a quest for gathering Twig Wight Sap for me? I'll drop by after lunch with the money.”
That puts a smile on her face.
“Sure thing!”