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Emily raised her bat over her shoulder before turning to Dove, "Infections, huh? Nothing a little antiseptic can't fix, right?"
The pair had decided to take a break from their usual brand of chaos and instead visited a laboratory for a fun little excursion – just the two of them, nothing special. The laboratory itself was labeled as 'infected' for a reason that only became evident once the two actually entered the place. Puddles of several different colored liquids were found throughout the corridors, and several rooms were complete messes.
Dove facepalmed before groaning, "Not that kind you dork! Like… you know how a werewolf works?"
Em nodded, "You know I'm a-"
"Not the important part. You know Changed, right?"
"OH. Shit, that kind of infection, got it," Em pulled her leopard mask over her face before continuing, "so maybe if I look like them, they won't try shit…?"
"Don't bet on it; it is just a mask after all, and they seem to retain whatever intelligence they had as humans." Dove raised her own bat as the two stepped into a large cavernous area that the lab must've used for some sort of mining operation. It was lined with crystals and had puddles of a magenta-reddish glowing liquid scattered around.
Emily carefully examined a puddle before backing away from it, "Nope."
Dove looked over at Em with a bewildered expression as her walk slowed to a stop, "What do you mean, 'Nope'?"
"I mean nope. I'm not doing it. You can beg me all you want but I ain-"
"Why would I beg you?"
Em rolled her eyes, "Because I know you, dingus."
Dove snickered before noticing a decent-sized box. She jumped into it like a cat and just sat there watching her friend. Emily squinted her eyes as she glared at her.
"Why?"
"Why not?"
"Because you don't know what could be in there!"
Dove rolled her eyes before stepping out and gesturing for Em to go in her stead, "Okay, well how about you investigate it?"
"Sure. Better me getting hurt than you, being a demigod and all." Emily hopped into the box and started checking inside for anything that could cause any form of harm to her or Dove.
There was nothing in the box.
"Well that was a load a-" She was suddenly doused from above in what she could only assume was latex due to how it clung to her skin. She collapsed into the box from the sudden weight, inadvertently pulling the flaps closed as well.
"EM!"
"FWUACK- GHK-HCK…" She regretted attempting to speak, feeling the latex force itself down her throat to try and convert her into something she…
Who am I kidding? This is the whole reason I came here. I… Whatever.
"E-Em?"
An untouched-by-latex hand raised up to pull upright the rest of the… untouched Em? She'd literally been covered in the stuff not even a minute ago, where'd it go?
"God… M' 'ead 'urts… fuck… Dove?"
"Where'd it go?"
"Where'd wha…" Emily looked herself over and found no trace of the latex, "What the fuck what the fuck what the fuc-"
"This could either be really bad or really good. It either died because you weren't a good host, or you're a really good host and it's trying to figure out how to best use you."
"Well thank you for the simultaneous compliment and condemnation. Guess we'll see which is wh-ICH FUCK!" Em whipped her hands up to her head in reaction to a sudden burst of pain, tail wagging out of pure stress and a need to move that she couldn't fulfill.
It felt like she was bleeding from everywhere. She was used to having bloody noses, simple scrapes, paper cuts, and other miscellaneous injuries, but this was beyond anything like those. It felt like suffering in hell – NOT REAL NOT REAL NOT REAL HELL ISN'T A REAL PLACE – as she fell to her knees and felt the latex that had started pooling around her climb back over her.
It stayed this time.
She wanted to scream, shout, call for help, do anything except let this happen, and yet she remained still and silent, allowing the latex to cover and bind to her body and mold her as it wished. Her tail twitched only slightly as it was taken over and fluffed out with the same dripping fur that was already on her body. Feeling the latex creeping towards her neck, a sudden burst of adrenaline rushed through her, enough that she found her vocal cords to work again.
"Dove…"
"W-what?"
"Illie."
Dove nervously smiled, "Illie too."
The two dripping ears freshly formed atop Em's head drooped at the affection and she smiled back, "Ehehe… thanks…"
Her mind didn't seem to be affected by the latex at the moment – or at all – so she decided to try and stand up and not get Dove covered in anything.
Which she almost succeeded in.
"Okay, weird question, but can I… pet y-"
"Why???"
"I don't know! It just… popped into my head!" Dove shrugged, snickering slightly.
"Fine, but if anything happens, that's on you, got it?"
Dove didn't respond, only placing her hand onto Em's head and petting her gently, hearing her struggle to hold back a pleased purring.
"C'mon…"
"..."
"You like it, admit it!"
"... no."
"Goofball."
"Hey, at least I'm the one who got it and not you! Hurt like hell!"
Dove stepped back in surprise, "It… hurt?"
"Yeah! Fucking… felt like I was bleeding lava or something! I'd rather take that than have you go through it! And fine… I like it, now will you continue?"
Dove blinked before smirking, "Whatever you say, Birdkisser."
Emily huffed and resigned herself…
Before realizing something.
"WAS THAT A SHITTY BOYKISSER PUN ABOUT DOVES BEING BIRDS!?"