FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

_ Small-scale Surgery _

'Stopping off at the store later. What would you like for dinner?'

My husband's text half-distracted me from the patient file I'd almost finished up with. I'd not long since scoffed down some lunch, but that didn't stop me pondering over all sorts of pleasant, edible thoughts. The choice, ultimately, was easy.

'Your sausage pappardelle please <3'

I barely had time to press send before a knock beyond the ceiling distracted me from work fully. It'd been a busy morning, even by the standards of our practice. I really couldn't afford all these disruptions so close to the start of afternoon surgery.

I hammered out the final touches to my update, saved and closed, and answered a second round of knocking with a firm, "Hello?"

A light click and a sturdy thump preceded the steady slide of the ceiling away from above my desk. It revealed a smiling black and white muzzle first, then spectacles, culminating in a perked pair of speckled ears. "Sorry, Loic." Daniel, a fellow GP of mine, leaned down closer. "I wasn't sure if you were with a patient or not."

"No, I'm free." I pushed away from my desk, focusing up fully at my collie colleague. "Can I help?"

"I'm definitely hoping so."

"What's wrong? Got another patient that needs some Polcian expertise?"

"Not exactly." Daniel grinned on his way up to stand full height, leaving me and my surgery about level with his stomach. "Though I do appreciate what Polcian raccoons and their grabby paws can bring to the table when it comes to more intricate treatments."

"Just part of my repertoire." We shared a chuckle, recalling the panther we had in last week with an awkwardly broken claw. The knowledge of how many more patients we had waiting outside kept us from laughing too long. "What do you need?"

"I was hoping to call on your full repertoire this afternoon, actually." He adjusted his specs. "Magda has been called out on a home visit." The perk of his ears faltered. "Would you mind helping me cover her patients until she's back? I'd take on at least the bulk of them myself, but things have been more than hectic already today."

"Uh... sure." I couldn't well say no, even if I was already close to capacity, too. "Looks like I'll be venturing out of here more than usual this afternoon."

"Thank you," Daniel said past a sigh of relief. His ears regained their lift. "I appreciate it."

"It's fine."

"I'll let the girls out front know. Get them to send some your way."

"Sounds good." I reached back to rub my hackles, waiting for the ceiling to reset before putting a paw to my face. "Wonderful."

Oftentimes, even as a Maleni working in a predominantly Visoka neighbourhood of Sturanja, the days largely followed routine. Remained straightforward, whatever might be thrown my way. Busier days did their best to scupper that, and combined with times like this, being called upon to cover for my larger colleagues, things could certainly get... interesting.

I spun on my chair, looking past the examination table to the door out into the waiting room. My eyes then drifted right to the second door out from my surgery. "Let's get this started.

Back to my desk I turned. A press of my buzzer told the reception to send the next patient my way, along with their medical record via my computer.

Anto Loncar. Male. 33. Fox... A Visoka fox... suffering with lower back pain, according to the receptionist's notes. It seemed I would be taking that second door at the first opportunity...

I exited out onto the balcony attached to my office, greeted by silence and stillness here in the far larger office proper. Even with the impossibly high ceiling set above what'd be a massively grand hall back in Polcia, this 'main' surgery was on the small side when talking in 'full-size' Visoka terms; room just enough for an examination table, an empty desk, and a couple of chairs for patients. My second, small-scaled surgery meanwhile sat in a raised partition, here in the corner opposite to the looming main door. Even after five years of working in Bolstrovo, here at this practice, the initial adjustment to the change in scale never failed to take a few moments.

A knock rattled the large far door. My cue to take a seat up here on the balcony. "Come in."

Cautiously, the door crept open. The fox I was expecting stuck his pointed snout inside, then the rest of his head with a paw clasping the handle. His eyes wandered. They took a second to find me here in my seat across the room. "Oh... Hi."

"Hello, Mr. Loncar." I gestured to the chairs just inside the door. "Please, take a seat."

"I was expecting my doctor." The large fox rounded the door to bring himself fully into the room. "Dr. Milic?"

"She's on a house call this afternoon I'm afraid." Again, I offered a paw towards the free chairs. "I'm Dr. Guellec. What can I help you with today?"

He needed another moment to carry on gawking at me. Whether it came from me being a different doctor, or simply our difference in height, the fox stood quietly before me. Timid in fact. Unnerved wholly, I became more certain, by someone sitting about stomach high, barely tall enough to reach the base of his shin while standing. It was enough to slap a smirk across my muzzle. "Don't let my size fool you. I can assure you, I'm quite qualified to help."

"Hey, no. Sorry." At last. He closed the door behind him. Fully at the mercy of the Maleni raccoon in the corner. "Just surprised is all."

I stayed quiet, watching and listening to him heave his slouched, obviously tender frame over to and down into the seat closest to the door. Weight settled, his tail frizzed as he sucked air through his teeth, reaching around to rub the small of his back. Evident as it was, I still had to make the formal, token gesture of asking, "What seems to be the trouble?"

"It's my back," he answered, wincing as he stretched to arch his back forward. "It's been hurting for about a week now."

"Whereabouts exactly?"

"Here." The fox rubbed at it someplace out of sight. He failed to find issue with that.

"Okay, and where's 'here'?"

"Just above my tailbase. It's stiff. I get twinges if I move too far or too fast."

"Alright. And how would you describe the pain?"

"Well... Twinges, like I say. They come and go."

"Yes." I scratched at my neck. Patience with the patients was always a prerequisite. "Are they sharp pains? Are they dull? An ache?"

"More like... sharp. Like a shock or something. Starts at my back and sorta... spreads out to my sides."

"Okay." That was more like it. "When did it start? Have you have a fall, or an accident of some kind?"

"No, no. I just woke up with it. Everything was fine when I went to bed, but when I got up... Pain and stiffness from nowhere."

"Right--"

"I've never had nothing like this before," he continued, ears splaying, voice twitching and barely holding steady. "I mean, I've had the odd ache and click in my back, but this isn't-- It's been a week and it's barely getting better, if at all, and I can't help thinking I've done something stupid and..."

"Okay, okay." I stood up from my seat, stretching a smile in the hope it might settle him down. "Let's get you up on the table, shall we? See if we can get ourselves a better idea of what's going on."

With the push of a button, a narrow ledge began to extend from beneath of the balcony. Folding guardrails unfolded. In a matter of seconds, a short bridge formed beyond a gate in the railing, granting quick and easy access to the examination table.

"Take off your shirt please," I called on my way across. "Lie yourself on your stomach."

He obliged, slipping off his white t-shirt in the time it took to make it to the table. A gangway ran the length of it, allowing smaller individuals like myself easier movement.

"Ugh..." He stopped halfway out of his seat. A visible wince accompanied his groaning.

"Take your time." I reached into the open box of gloves set atop the supply shelves. "There's no rush."

There really wasn't. I still needed a moment to get the table's harness attached. With it, I could walk freely, but also have something to catch me should the worst happen up here. I hadn't needed to rely on it yet, but no chance was I about to risk being unprepared. Safety first, always, even if this particular aspect wasn't part of any syllabus back at med school in Brezonia.

Gradually, after a few more moans, a shadow cast itself over me. I grabbed hold of the gangway guardrail, steadying myself against the rocking my Visoka patient created with his uneasy clambering. Hands came first, followed by his knees. A grumble accompanied each of them. His head moved closer to my position at the far end of the table, imposing more and more of his white and orange frame upon me. Instinctively I gripped the rail tighter, prepared for the shudder of the supports and the blast of air that came from his groaning flop down to the padding. "Okay... All set?"

"Yeah," he croaked, still shifting and stretching to get comfortable. The added trembling sure made the short walk down the gangway that much more of an event. "It kinda... twinges then fades."

"Alright." It sounded a lot like a strain. But, I still had to get a feel and make sure there was nothing untowards going on here. I took the high step up onto the padding proper, then a few more careful ones to bring myself to the side of Anto's hip. One eye stayed on his brush draped over his leg. A heavy twitch of it could've easily been what called on my harness to make its debut.

Even when lying flat, his sheer size took the small of his back up level with my chin. No matter how experienced one might be with them, you could never really appreciate the scale of a Visoka until you got up close and personal with them.

"You know, once upon a time, I could've made it up there myself." The paper sheeting crumpled and the padding sank as he shifted to peer back past his shoulder at me. "Unfortunately, I'm not quite as young and agile as I once was."

"Seems like I'm not, either," he retorted with a snort.

"I'm sure there's hope for you yet." I turned away from the orange wall of his side. "I'll get my stepladder..."

Four steps up my ladder took me to its short upper platform. A fifth then carried me up and onto Anto's back. If the padding had taken a moment of getting used to, having flesh and fox fur underfoot took another and then some. Both of us rose and fell with his steady, thankfully shallow breathing. Arms half out for balance, I took another four short steps to the centre of his sprawling back, not far above his tailbase.

He shifted a couple more times and did a lot more grumbling as I got down onto my knees. The latter of which continued, sharper and louder, once my paws slid down through his pelt. "Is this hurting?"

"No... just tickles."

Tickles? I had barely even started. Despite deep, orange fur blocking my gloves almost completely from view, I began to work them in circles, over and over, focusing close to his spine, then slowly outwards in opposite directions. All my force and weight went into it, really grinding down to get a good feel, literally, for what was under his skin. He rocked and reeled, maintaining a constant, low growl as I worked.

"Is any of this hurting you at all?"

"No."

"Not at all?"

"Not at--ey." The sharpest jolt of all came completely out of nowhere. I had to grab two big clumps of fur to stop from getting bucked too high or too far. "Just a lotta tickling, still."

Inspecting the back of a Visoka, unsurprisingly, required a lot more time and a whole lot more energy compared to that of a Maleni. I was half panting by the time I'd covered the full extent of it. Who needed a gym membership when this was the day to day?

"Okay." I took my time getting up to my feet, wary of any more sharp movements that might bounce me up and all the way off of him. "I can't feel anything out of the ordinary here."

"Good." He sank with his sigh; a far easier foundation from which to climb back down from. "So what now?"

"Now..." Stepladder folded up and under my arm, I walked the short walk back to the gangway. "...I need you to roll over onto your back." I clamped my paw to the guardrail. "Carefully, please. I'd prefer not to test this harness out."

"Heh." He began to push his broad self upwards. "Got it."

Shivers travelled all through the table for the duration of his shuddering, cumbersome movement. His stiffness, the obvious attempt at keeping his back straight and rigid, did a lot to prevent any semblance of subtlety. That wasn't even to mention the near constant yipping.

Another gust of air and another heavy tremble announced his return down to the table, tail up and curled over his stomach.

"Are you done?"

"Yeah." Anto glanced at me, raising the corner of his mouth. "Was I a little rough there?"

"I've had worse." I moved down the gangway, heading towards his feet. His fear and worry didn't sound too apparent any longer. "It's par for the course around you Visoka."

"So I've been told," he shot back, tremors keeping me focused as he made himself comfortable.

"I'm going to ask you to raise and move your legs now," I announced. "Nothing major or overexerting. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Good." Beside his right knee seemed as good a place as any to stop. "Alright. Keeping your left leg straight, I want you to lift it to a thirty degree angle."

"Thirty degree?"

"Around about the amount you'd move it if you were taking a step forward."

"Oh." He rubbed at his cheek, partially out of view beyond his shoulder. "Now?"

"Whenever you're ready."

Timid, uncertain, and slowly, he followed my instruction. His large left leg rose from behind his right leg closest. The sucking of air and murmurings of discomfort resumed about halfway. A subtle twitching of his leg was much more evident at this size.

"Okay... and relax." His leg dropped with a breathless sigh. "Now your right leg, please."

The air moved enough to ruffle the fur of my face; a light tickle from the raising of his closest leg alone. This time, he offered much less of a moan, holding until once again I gave the signal for him to rest.

"And once more for me." The air and the table remained still. "Once more, please." Still, he gave no movement. A glance up his long frame to his half-hidden face offered nothing.

I hopped up onto the padding and took a couple of steps towards his leg. "Mr. Loncar," I called louder, reaching out to thump just above his chest-high kneecap. "Again, please."

"Oh!" He shook with shock, making up for lost time with his speed of movement... Too bad it was his right leg that moved again.

"Ack!" He lifted me off my feet with absolute ease. I rushed my height and a half from the table in the blink of an eye. "Down, down, down!"

"Oops!"

"Quickly..." I put my so called 'grabby paws' to good use, clinging on for all my worth. "Down. Now. Please."

We fell even faster than he took us upward. Thanks to the padding for catching my tumble down onto my backside.

"Sorry about that." Anto shot up, resting on his elbows with a clear grimace.

"I was expecting you to move your left leg again."

"I'm sorr-- argh!" That grimace became short, twisted scowl.

"Careful."

"Oof." His paw moved beneath himself to rub the small of his back. "Moved too fast."

"I noticed."

"Apologies."

"No, it's my fault." I picked myself up and dusted myself down. Adjusting my shirt let me feel just how hard my heart was thumping. "That will teach me for not being clear."

"I guess, uh..." His ears splayed. Flat onto his back he returned.

I retreated to the gangway; a safe distance from which to start over. "Raise your left leg, please."

Things went just as before, minus my unexpected liftoff; another grunt and more moaning while he heaved his far leg upwards.

"Where does it hurt?"

"Sorta..." He gripped a paw around the back of his thigh. "Around here. Like a pulled muscle, but not, rising up to my hip."

"Uhuh." I watched him watch me. "When is it most painful for you? What time of the day?"

"Usually after sitting a while, when I stand up. After the twinging, it's stiff and achy."

"Mhmm... Okay. Thank you, Mr. Loncar." I pointed to his still hanging leg. "You can sit yourself up now."

He did so, disturbing the table far less than on previous movements. "That's it?"

"That's it." I could feel inquiring eyes from above. Understandably, they refused to look anyplace else. "From what I can see, and from what you've told me, it's highly likely that it's just a strain, along with some irritation of your sciatic nerve." His right ear raised. The other twitched. "It's really very common. The price we pay for walking upright, sadly."

He seems less bothered about my philosophy behind it than holding his back and exhaling hard. "Good."

"Relieved?"

"Could say that for sure." His big brush flicked out next to me onto the gangway, over the rail to hang down from the table.

"Keep yourself active and carry on your day to day. Don't be afraid to rest if you need it, but try not to sit around for too long at a time."

"Got it."

"Also, maybe have a look into getting a new mattress, if yours isn't supporting you well enough, or you've had it a long time."

He rubbed under his muzzle. "Can't actually remember when I got it."

"One of the most important things to do is to try not to worry. Backs can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to recover, depending on the severity of the strain."

"I'll do my best," he said past a snicker.

"If it does get worse, or if there's no improvement in a month or so, come back and see us, and we'll take it from there." I gestured over to the door. "Okay?"

Anto hopped off of the examination table with far more spring in his still cautious step. His tail kept up its swaying as he paced over towards the door, retrieving his shirt from the chair he'd first taken. "Thanks for your time today."

"You're welcome, Mr. Loncar. Take care."

The fox's ears flattened from his shirt collar passing them, not wasting any time in perking up to match his broad smile. Even after all this time, being able to brighten worried faces remained one of the biggest bonuses I could ever get from this job.

With my first Visoka patient of the afternoon closing the door behind him, I freed myself from the table harness, started the automated replacement of the paper table cover, and returned to the less hazardous surroundings of my scaled-down surgery. I might not have had much in the way of detailed notes to add to Mr. Loncar's file, but I certainly appreciated a few minutes to rest and recover from getting bounced and pulled about by him. Here went hoping that my next patient would permit me a far less eventful examination...

The time came again to jab my buzzer through to reception. Just like before, they didn't wait long to send the details of who they would send my way next.

I brought up the file for a Jan Skoric. Male, 24, and a wolf. The receptionists made it two in two by sending another Visoka patient.

The accompanying notes they provided contained a little more detail this time round. Apparently this young guy came with complaints about an injury to his footpaw. Severe cuts to his sole and pads... possibly debris lodged in them, too.

I sensed I'd need to call on more of my skill set for this appointment. In more ways than one.

I took position out on the balcony, in my chair, waiting for the big door to budge. Usually, it didn't take long for a patient to arrive after reception got the signal. A minute, perhaps. Maybe two. Added to the time I spent finishing up my notes in my office proper, I began second guessing myself. Had I really buzzed through? Best to go double check, I reckoned.

I'd stood up, making it halfway to my office door before I heard a clunk from its larger counterpart.

The door crept open about as slow as it could do. I'd returned to my chair, settled and got comfortable before I got a proper look at my next patient. He slinked in with ears flat and tail stuck practically rigid to the back of his legs. Anxious patients were by no means unfamiliar to me, but this lad seemed ready to turn tail and run... his notable limp, and a handheld passenger permitting.

"It'll be okay, c'mon, don't worry..." I didn't get to see the second Maleni in the room until the Visoka he accompanied had sat down and placed him in his lap. Another wolf, lighter grey than his larger kin, and talking more than enough for the two of them. "...You'll see. It'll be fine. Nothing to be scared of--"

"Good afternoon," I called through their one-way conversation. I had a schedule to keep to, after all. "Mr. Skoric, isn't it?" The bigger wolf gave an awkward nod. "How can I help you today?"

A brief moment of pause in the talking. The pair of them looked at each other, cutting me out of the equation. My patient sat with ears still folded and mouth still clamped shut. His associate meanwhile, back to me, tried encouraging him with a couple of sharp head movements. There was nothing doing. My turn to try easing the tension. "Are you two friends?"

"Boyfriends," the Maleni wolf barked, tail whipping as he turned. "We're partners."

"My apologies." I shifted my gaze upwards to the largest and quietest of us. "There's really nothing to be... worried, or nervous about." Up from my seat I stood, taking a step to the edge of my balcony. "Take your time."

"It's my foot," he muttered, bookended by heavy breaths. "I've hurt it."

"Alright. And how have you hurt it?"

"Think... I got something stuck in it."

I felt more like a dentist than a doctor with how much this was like pulling teeth. Before I could pry deeper, his partner piped up again.

"He stepped on something in our bedr--"

"Around the house," Jan corrected a half second too late, scolding his boyfriend with a grumbled, "Stipe."

"What? Accidents can happen anywhere." Stipe looked back to me, arms folded. "Isn't that right, doc?"

"It is." The satisfied flick of his tail drew a quick thrash of mine. "Though hearing a little more detail around exactly what happened really would help a great deal."

"Our room's a mess at the moment. Lotta junk around, and I guess Jan went and found a particularly sharp piece when we went to bed last night."

"Right." If this was the full story, then I was a Visoka. No use in trying to push much further. Best to get my own eyes on the prize instead. "If you'd like to come take a seat up on the exam table please, Mr. Skoric, then we can get a better idea of what's what."

Standing from his seat was the first thing he did without hesitation. A steady, albeit uneven walk brought him over to the table, his partner still a passenger in his paws. I felt half obliged to suggest it was only the larger of the two wolves I'd been referring to. Not that it really mattered. The support, outspoken as it was, was helping to keep my patient calm. A small price to pay.

Jan had himself ready and waiting by the time I made my way across onto the gangway, shoes off, sock removed and footpaw already in wait. Sat upright, he'd left me enough room on the table to work without much risk from the far edge. Even so, I made sure to double check the secureness of my harness before stepping up onto the paper-covered padding. After all, a stray twitch from a foot a toe's length longer than I stood tall would pack a fair wallop, no doubt.

"It'll be something that can be taken care of right quick," the partner called. "Won't it, doc?"

My jaw clenched. I let it rest before answering, "We'll know more once I've had the opportunity to examine it."

A few more steps bought me to face the Visoka-sized sole head on. I didn't have to go searching to find the damage; a series of puncture wounds dotted all around the underside of his paw and pads. Most weren't all that bad. The kinds of cuts that'd heal by themselves over the course of a few days. Others however, most notably those on the ball and heel, were pretty nasty.

"Keep as still as you can please," I asked as I slipped on my magnifying glasses, placing gloved paws to his in order to properly assess the damage. His complaints crept out here and there, bitten back and muted, but aside from the odd twitch, he honoured my request. "That's it. Good."

It was easy to identify the very worst of his wounds; a gash the length of my arm, hovering at eye level, just beneath the starts of his big toe. "Here we go..."

A huge squeal overtook the room. His footpaw flicked and kicked, forcing me into a retreat. A few steps back gave me sight of his partner, offering a comforting rub of the hand clasping him to his chest.

"I know it hurts, but do your best to keep from moving, okay?" He managed to nod. I returned a smile. "Thank you."

I could hardly blame him for his reflexes. After all, the reddened, broken flesh surrounding this cut must've been awfully sore. Not to mention what might have been lodged and hidden inside.

Jan restricted himself to a series of pained gasps as I resumed my assessment. The occasional word of reassurement from his boyfriend seemed to help keep him level.

"There's definitely something still in here," I called, pressing close to a metallic shimmer shifting with each shift and toe flex. That won a small whimper and a thankfully far softer paw twitch. "Lodged a fair way in here, in fact."

I hoped that might prompt something more by way of an explanation. Again, I only got silence from the wolves. This whole merry-go-round of question followed by nothing, followed by another question and yet more nothing was beginning to wear thin.

"And you just stepped on... whatever it was that you stepped on, is that it?"

"Yeah, yeah," Jan blurted. "Yes... I was just walking around."

What I had there in front of me was way too much damage for a simple step. The debris from whatever he'd trodden on had practically slashed its way inside. Not only in the cut near his toe, but a number of the others dotted around his paw, too.

"Can you get it all out?"

I wondered the same, honestly. This wouldn't be easy by any stretch of the imagination. "What was it that you stepped on?"

He fell flatter still, ears folding near horizontal, unable to look either myself or his partner in the eye.

"Does it really matter?" shot the smaller wolf.

"I'd say so," I jabbed back. "I'm never displeased to have a full understanding of what it is I'm dealing with. Plus, I need to know if there's any risk of whatever he's stepped on causing longer term problems."

Jan's eyes crept wider. His huge grey tail moved across the table, closer and tighter to his side. "It was a model car."

"A car--?"

"By accident. I stepped on it by accident."

We all took a moment. The bigger wolf brushed and tugged at his headfur, wearing a look that asked for the ground to open up and swallow him. The boyfriend meanwhile squirmed from the bad taste I figured I'd put in his mouth.

"Some of these cuts are quite bad..."

A tense tremble travelled from Jan and down through the table. "Hospital?"

"No... No, I don't think a referral will be necessary." I patted the side of his paw. "We should be able to get you on the mend here and now."

Back to the gangway I went, gathering up everything I needed from the supply shelves: my waste material bin, a wheel-based waist-high bottle of antiseptic spray, my adapted, pole-length surgical pliers, and of course, a big box of tray-sized plasters.

In the process, I asked Jan to set his partner down and let him take a seat over on the balcony. Now, I didn't particularly want to offer it up to him, but I much preferred that option than risk seeing him dropped while I carried out the treatment. The practice was busy enough without creating more patients on-site.

Equipment retrieved and displeased spectators moved, I returned to the foot of the bed, and to the foot that needed fixing up.

"Do you need a hand?" Jan asked as I shifted to step back onto the paper-topped padding.

"Not for now," I answered, leaving the waste bin, plasters and antiseptic primed over on the gangway. With both hands free, I could get a good grip on my pliers. "But thank you."

"Is that clean?" The partner asked from the balcony.

"It is." My tail frizzed. "It came from the disinfecting tub. The same tub it'll go in once we've finished and it's washed."

"Huh... Never seen a Maleni doctor treat a Visoka before, that's all."

I paused in position at the big wolf's sole. Keep chirpy, I told myself. "I'm an equal opportunities doctor. No patient too big or too small." A short snorting cackle from my patient helped me smile up at him. "Shall we get started?"

Jan's nod was keen, but his cheer proved short-lived once I warned him that, "This might sting a little."

I targeted that nasty wound near to his big toe first, aiming to be as delicate and as gentle as I could to reduce the pain I'd inflict. Realistically, the sheer soreness and depth of the cut would make that near impossible, as proved by his wheezing shout, and his grabbing and squeezing at both sides of the bed.

"Watch the gangway."

"S-ah!" Another groan, but he obeyed my request, muzzle creased and eyes firmly closed. The longer length handle to my pliers enabled me to delve in and get a good grip on the offending debris, all while keeping a fair distance from understandably shivering paws. What's more, its mechanism allowed me to open and close the plier head with one hand while maneuvering with the other. Again, this wasn't something I got trained for as a junior back home in Kerdronnet.

The procedure got off to a tricky start, and only proved to get trickier. I got my pliers firmly fixed to what needed to come out... but that 'what' seemed determined to put up a fight. Delicate pulls, subtle shifts sideways, flicks of the wrist to angle upwards and down: none were enough to make it reverse along the route taken in. All the while, everything I did drew growing shifts and spasms from Jan's paw. Not a chance I could keep doing this for long before those movements became too much to work with.

He yelped out in pain, hands slapping down atop the table. I had to move fast to correct my feet against the harsh vibrations he sent out.

"Is everything alright?" called the partner. I wasn't sure which of us on the table he'd asked. Regardless, I took the plunge, if only to try and settle the both of them down.

"Everything's fine." I mustered the most neutral, diplomatic glance I could for him. "I want to make sure I get everything... and for that, I'm going to need some time."

All these gripes had me musing to myself whether I might've made the wrong call. Did I? Perhaps a referral into the city for treatment would have the better option... This would have been an awful lot more straightforward on someone my own size.

"Stipe," the larger wolf barked, helping me to shoot down his smaller partner before we all got too stressed for one reason or another. "I'm okay."

"You don't sound okay."

"I am. Stop worrying."

"That easy for you to say. You're not the one who has to sit over here and watch and listen to you in pain."

"I know." Jan smiled. The tension departed their conversation just like that. "I just wanna get fixed up. Let him work."

I most certainly appreciated the support, and the vote of confidence. It helped me to refocus. This damn shard in front of my face wasn't about to best me. Size be damned. "I know it's sore, I do, but please try to keep still."

"Got it." He seemed to focus, too. His thick hands took hold of the table. A gentle grimace emerged as he squeezed his eyes close.

Just like that, we restarted proceedings. Like a proper first attempt following an aborted trial run. Grip tight on my pliers, and by extension the debris in my patient's thankfully far steadier paw, I put everything I could into my attempts to pull them both away, all while maintaining caution. The very last thing I wanted was to cause more pain or damage.

For the longest few seconds, ones that extended into minutes, I'm sure, I still got no luck, no movement. The only thing I did get were a couple of fidgets and a gentle moan of discomfort.

"That's good." I suppressed a grunt. The sensation of movement finally, albeit slight, helped to lift my voice. "Keep steady. We're nearly there."

Slowly, surely, I pulled my pliers back, and at long last brought with them the offending article: a crumpled, blood-tinged strand of metal... with a plastic attachment that definitely resembled a car's wing mirror. I couldn't help but peer up at my patient, who knowing or unknowing, avoided eye contact.

"There we are," I announced, delighted to take a couple of steps and get a rattle from my waste bin. "That's the first."

Jan went loose, shoulders sagging, letting out a massive sigh, even for a Visoka.

"Feel better?"

"And then some." He flexed his toes. "Thank the gods."

"There's still a few more pieces to pull free down here. That should be the worst of them, though."

"Go for it, please." He settled back, calmness matched by his partner watching from my seat, even. "Thank you."

As I hoped, the other chunks of plastic and metal proved far more cooperative. In fact, compared to effort and fuss around that first piece, everything else was almost child's play. To think I had myself in two minds over making a referral. What nonsense. I'd handled it with ease... mostly.

My tail saw fit to sway with the remainder of my work. I dealt with stopping the stray bleeding that the removals had caused, causing one last round of paw-shuddering stinging with a liberal spraying of antibacterial lotion across his wounds. Finally, I dressed them up with a few platter-sized plasters. A job well done, if I did say so myself.

"Keep the cuts clean," I told the both of them. "They'll heal up within a week or so."

"Thank you," they answered in unison.

"And try treading a little more carefully around the house."

I got nothing by way of response to that. Jan climbed off of the table, taking a couple of tender steps over to collect his partner from the balcony. Best to break the news eventually.

"If you could head back to the reception desk before you leave, please. You'll need to get yourself a tetanus shot. Just in case."

The big wolf's ears flicked downwards. The smaller one turned to ask, "They'll know about that?"

"I'll send them the details." Gloves off, I pulled out my tablet. "The nurse will see to you."

Jan eased his shoes back on before taking steady, mindful steps towards the door. He looked back to offer me his, "Thanks."

Before I could respond, his partner spoke up from his paws, just within earshot. "We'll be more careful next ti--"

He shushed his smaller wolf silent, upping the pace of their departure. The last thing he gave me was a glare the equivalent of static, quickly closing the door behind them.

Alone, free to chuckle to myself, I tidied up and retreated back to my office. With the note sent about the tetanus shot, I still had to write up the patient file proper.

Settled in my chair, looking to my computer, I mulled over the best way to summarise 'Play-rampage-sex-game gone wrong' in the most delicate, least embarrassing cause of injury possible.

"Puncture wounds to the sole of right footpaw... caused by home accident. Removal of foreign plastic and metallic articles required..."

I sat back and snickered again. Poor kid. That'd be an embarrassing tale to maybe tell one day. Not that I was about to judge him...

I glanced over to my picture of Martin and I, settled at the back of my desk, smiling bright in our matching suits as he held me in his paws on our wedding day. Perhaps tonight, once we had our dinner out of the way, I could tempt him into playing 'big, stompy raccoon' for me... Though maybe without anything metal involved.