Chapter 18 #3
Before another half hour passes, the only sound filling the room being Sarah typing on the keyboard between trips to the back, the doctor emerges from the examination room.
Dr. Esmeralda Faunis is a little shorter than Hakeem, with a curvy build and an oval face.
She is a dryad, born of the Goddess of earth Gaia.
It’s evident from the way her skin turns to bark then hair at the side of her face, as well as the multiple blooms of flowers filling her wavy, chocolate brown hair.
Her hair is in a long pony tail that falls past her shoulder blades, her eyes the soft pink of falling cherry blossoms.
“Bien, who brought in the little raccoon?” Dr. Faunis asks the room.
Eddie is first to respond, “That would be us, Dr. Faunis. It’s been a while, hope you’ve been well.” Eddie had met the doctor a couple of times during Sarah’s internship and once or twice when she began working here full time.
“Ay, Eddie! Cómo estás, mijo?” Dr. Faunis is an affectionate woman, and stronger than she looks. She quickly makes her way to Eddie and sweeps him up in a hug, his feet barely staying on the ground.
“I’ve been good, Doctor. It’s good to see you too.” He can’t help his chuckle as he’s hoisted by the smaller woman. A reaction Hakeem and Jackson share.
“Aye, Eddie, you know you can call me Esmy. Doctor is for patients and my associates. That goes for your handsome friends as well.” She points to Hakeem and Jackson who stand tentatively to the side as she puts Eddie down.
“We’re his roommates. Jackson Nocturne, it’s a pleasure Doc-” She gives Jackson a glare paired with a raised eyebrow, “Esmy.” She smiles, satisfied.
“Hakeem Al-Najim, thank you for seeing us on short notice.” They both offer a hand, both of which she gladly shakes.
“Claro, okay, roommates it is.” The boys exchange a confused look as Sarah struggles to suppress a laugh, snorting in the process.
“And it’s no trouble, I have a bleeding heart when it comes to rescue stories.
Sarah told me how you and Eddie helped heal the raccoon enough for transport.
” At this point her stance turns serious.
“Want to tell me how untrained boys saved a raccoon from the brink of death?” The boys look amongst themselves, unsure of what to say.
Tentatively, Hakeem steps forward, “It was me, I granted a wish. Eddie and Jackson saw how upset I was and wished they could help me.” Eddie and Jackson place a hand on either of his shoulders.
Admitting to Esmeralda he was half-djinn so soon after what happened seems crazy, but he can tell she’s a good person.
From the way Eddie so easily let her hoist him up in a bear hug, to the way her eyes shine with honesty.
“I see, well then,” She turns on her heel, gesturing to the boys to follow suit. “Vámanos, did you want to see how well the little girl is doing or what?”
“Girl?”
“Sí, not even six months from what I can tell. She’s lucky you found her when you did.”
Dr. Faunis leads the group to the back where the raccoon sleeps soundly in Hakeem’s puffy jacket, covered in fresh bandages.
“I disinfected the remaining wounds and used some magic to help them heal. Food and rest will finish the job. Sorry about your jacket, Hakeem. she didn’t want to let go of it. ”
The boys huddle close as they steal a glance at the sleeping pile of fur snoring gently. “Awe, you’re okay little one.” Hakeem breathes a sigh of relief, as do the two beside him. The raccoon should make a full recovery in a matter of days.
“After she heals up we’ll hand her over to a shelter for the next few months as she finishes growing. Then they’ll release her back into the park,” says Dr. Faunis while she writes on a clipboard.
The realization feels like a weight has been dropped on the boy’s shoulders.
Of course the raccoon had to be released back into the wild, that’s where it belonged.
Did they think the little raccoon would come back home with them?
Did they think they could buy cat towers for her to climb and play on?
No, because that would be ridiculous. It’s a trash bandit that roamed the streets of the city, not a fluffy little baby to be pampered and adored by three grown men in a penthouse apartment.
Right?
A mutual understanding spread through the boys.
It’s a crazy idea, and would add to the responsibility and chaos of their lives.
But the alternative? Sending the little raccoon back to the park?
Where it hardly survived the first time around?
They can’t bear the idea, not after the morning they had.
Eddie and Hakeem turn to Jackson. It was his apartment after all, they were just renting rooms.
Jackson is far from thrilled at the idea of having a raccoon in the apartment, but something in his heart tells him to look at the sleeping critter and say otherwise.
After a deep, steadying inhale, followed by a long sigh, Jackson cracks his neck.
“Esmy, after a full checkup; paid in full of course, could the raccoon be released into our care?”
Dr. Faunis looks up from her clipboard, eyebrows raised to her hairline.
She clicks her pen closed, “Really? I suppose she is young enough she could possibly be domesticated. I’ve heard of raccoons being pets, are you sure though?
It won’t be easy, even if she does seem to like Hakeem already.
” As if on cue, the little raccoon snuggles deeper into Hakeem’s jacket.
“But, yes, I can do a full check up. But funny enough, she was oddly clean when you brought her in. Raccoons are cleaner than your typical wild animal, but it was as if any speck of dirt and filth was cleared off her. I couldn’t even find a flea. ”
Their minds jump to the spell in the park, could it have done more than heal up the initial wounds?
“I will keep her overnight to check on her progress but I can have Sarah give you the paperwork to register her as a pet. Only if you three are sure, though. I’m not entertaining this if she’ll end up abandoned in the park in a month.
” Her tone is firm as she stares the men down.
The boys share a look, oddly enough, they are sure.
They voice their opinion to Dr. Faunis, who shrugs and smiles warmly, “Claro, if you’re sure you’re sure.
I’ll have Sarah print a list of what you’ll need to make a suitable environment for this little one.
And don’t worry about the fee, consider this a preview for all the times I’ll be seeing this one in the future for routine check ups.
” She says gesturing to the snoring fluff ball.
The boys share a laugh and nod in agreement.
The next little while won’t be easy, adapting to life with a young raccoon in the apartment, but they are sure they want to go through with it.
Wendy was more than happy to go shopping for the new apartment pet, at Jackson’s expense of course.
Eddie insisted on grabbing items off the list as well, at least ones that Wendy deemed didn’t require her eye for aesthetics.
Jackson dreaded what she’d pick, but the idea of Hakeem and Eddie doting over a raccoon with him in their apartment warmed a deep part of him.
Hakeem wanted to contribute as well but was promptly shut down by both Eddie and Jackson saying he already gave up his jacket to offer comfort when the little raccoon was hurting.
As they head to the vet clinic to pick up the raccoon, they bring with them a shiny pink collar picked out by Wendy, with the name Princess Bandit engraved on the tag.
The name was picked at random from a list of names the boys spent the previous night after work writing down.
It was a mixture of a name Eddie and Jackson had entered into the pile, the combination instantly winning Hakeem’s approval.
That was more than enough for both of them.
The raccoon is full of life when they arrive, far more active than Dr. Faunis imagined she’d be.
As if recognizing the three men who saved her, she scurries into Hakeem’s arms, holding on tightly.
A trill comes from her that makes Hakeem melt, he’s lost to the furry creature.
She has a clean bill of health, all cuts healed and no parasites.
Eddie offers chin scratches and the raccoon swoons at his touch.
As Jackson slowly approaches, she jumps out of Hakeem’s arms onto the top of his head.
“Fuck!” Jackson yells as he falls onto his back, the raccoon landing on his chest with a thud, knocking the air out of him.
She stares down at him curiously, and waves.
“Did she just wave at me?” asks Jackson, craning his neck to stare at his assailant.
Eddie and Hakeem can’t hold back their laughter, neither can Sarah and Dr. Faunis.
“Don’t make me regret this, Princess.” Jackson grumbles, as he gets onto an elbow and holds out the collar.
As if understanding, Princess Bandit lets the collar be placed around her neck. Jackson holds her in his arms, still on the floor but shifted into a sitting position. “For a miscreant, you are oddly accommodating.”
She squeaks in agreement.
Jackson hands her off to Eddie and accepts Hakeem’s hand in getting up. Princess curls up in Eddie’s arms and clings to him tightly like a child to their parent.
“Raccoons are usually solitary creatures after they fully mature, but this one might get clingy if she treats you three like this from day one.” Dr. Faunis shakes her head as she chuckles to herself at the sweet scene unfolding before her.
“Maybe that spell did more than we think, but she’s healthy and I expect to be notified of any change in her demeanor and come in for a check up in a few months.
Usually it’s every six months but I want to be safe considering the state Princess Bandit was in just recently. ”
The boys thank Sarah and Dr. Faunis for their help once more and leave to bring Princess Bandit to her new home.
They have a cat tower set up, it was more like a miniature castle in fact.
They got the recommended food for a raccoon of her age and a litter box and pee pads for the first couple of weeks that are bound to be stressful and messy.
Wendy even got a plush pink dog bed, truly too big for the small creature, that she insisted would go perfect with the rest of the apartment.
Jackson’s originally mostly black and white apartment. But he doesn’t care, he’s oddly excited to welcome Princess Bandit into their home.
In the week that follows a few things became apparent.
First was that Princess Bandit is extremely clever. Litter training was a breeze and she learned how to reach her snacks by climbing on the handles of the kitchen drawers.
Second: she could and would nap anywhere she could get comfortable, which was everywhere. The island, the terrace, the boys bedrooms and even their bathroom sinks.
Third: how she treated each of them. While affectionate to all three men, Princess Bandit was calm as she watched Hakeem work on his research.
Was extremely cuddly and demanded scratches from Eddie.
And most of all, she was hyperactive when it came to Jackson.
She would jump from the top of high places (much to the boy’s horror), land on his head and wrestle him to the ground for cuddles.
It was as though he was a walking jungle gym for the small creature.
She has learned to NOT do that while he was holding things, which didn’t spare him from her surprise love tackles.
Princess Bandit seemed to be adapting to life as a pet rather well, almost too quickly. Concerned, Eddie and Jackson ask Hakeem if there was any after effect on Princess from the spell in the park that saved her, since Dr. Faunis assured her the small critter was healthy.
Hakeem shifts through grimoires for an appropriate spell. A wish could do the trick, but he enjoys the process of finding what he needs himself. Jackson lends him some mana before he whispers a spell in an ancient tongue and waves the wand, coating Princess in a gentle silver glow.
“Well, that’s curious.” Remarks Hakeem.
Eddie and Jackson stand by his shoulders as he examines Princess. Eddie tilts his head, “What is?”
Hakeem removes his glasses, wiping them with a cloth from his pocket then returns them to his face. “It would seem a faint mana signature is radiating off our dear Princess Bandit, potentially affecting her growth. But that’s not the most curious part.”
This time Jackson leans in, “And that would be?”
“The signature seems to resemble an amalgamation of all three of ours, and it’s tied to her.”
“What does that mean?”
Hakeem ponders the question, scratching the stubble along his soft jaw, Princess mimicking the motion with her paw. “Technically, it resembles the type of signature a child would share with their parents. Almost as though Princess Bandit was our… well, our daughter.”
All three boys tilt their heads to the side, Princess copying with a tilt of her own head. Only one word came to their minds at the diagnosis: “Huh.”
Princess chitters happily in response, not a care to be had. She just seemed happy with the idea of three doting dads.