“H-how does it look?” Plum asked anxiously.
Glenn couldn’t see her face from where he was, but he could tell she was frightened of the long tweezers he was brandishing. Plum’s ears had a fair amount of downy hair to keep objects like this from falling in. Also, there was a complicated fold that allowed her to accurately grasp the positions of reflected sounds. The hole itself extended from the base of her ear all the way up to this fold. It was larger than that of other animals to help with echolocation, but that also made it the perfect size for something to get caught in.
Owls were another animal with superior hearing. An owl’s earhole was so big that you could see its eyeballs from the back when looking in. Memé probably hadn’t realized that vampires’ earholes were so large. She never would have imagined that a piece of an earring would get caught inside.
“Okay, I’m going in now.”
“Mmm…aaahh.”
Glenn wasn’t sure what this response meant, but he carefully inserted the tweezers into her ear. If he made a mistake now, he could permanently damage her hearing.
I hope I can retrieve it.
The tweezers were actually more like a stick with a small grabber on the end. When he operated the lever by his hand, the grabber opened and closed. It was handy for wax buildup, too.
“Mmm…oooh… It’s like you’re cleaning my ears! Mmm…”
“Ha ha! You’re welcome to think that. Just a second…I think I’ve got it.”
Glenn operated the lever, but it wasn’t designed for spherical shapes. He couldn’t seem to get a good grip.
“Mmm, whewww…”
Every time the tool moved, Plum moaned with discomfort.
“Ahh, ahn, unmm…”
Hmm, what to do?
Memé didn’t cut corners, even on the smallest parts of earrings. The piece had been beautifully shaped and was as smooth as a pearl. Plus, it was wet from the storm, so there was very little friction.
“Here we go,” Glenn said.
“Ahh… Agh, mmm…”
Glenn tried again and failed again. He just couldn’t get a hold of the sphere. The treatment should have been simple enough, and he wanted to finish quickly for Plum’s sake. The earring had to be tickling her something awful.
“Mmm… H-haven’t you got it yet?”
“I’m sorry,” Glenn said. “It might take some time.”
“Really?” Plum sounded as if she was about to cry. “P-please hurry…”
Glenn didn’t want to rush the treatment, though he did feel bad that it was taking so long.
“Okay. I’ll try.”
For a vampire, perhaps a foreign object in the ear was especially unsettling.
“Err…” Glenn frowned, something that didn’t happen often.
The metal sphere slipped out of the grabber, deeper into the ear. Since it was made to connect to the rest of the earring, there should have been some sort of hole, some break in its smooth surface, but Glenn couldn’t see it from where he was.
“Mmmm, agggh…ooooh.”
It would be unacceptable to hurt any part of her ear, but damaging the eardrum would be catastrophic. If the drum were torn, they’d have to wait for it to heal naturally, which would take at least a month. But during that time, Plum would be in tremendous pain, and especially susceptible to the kinds of bacteria that could cause ear infections, long-term inflammation, and discharge.
He needed to remain vigilant.
“Mmm, ahh… Mmm, aggh!”
Glenn looked into the ear again, trying to come up with a good plan.
“Here we go. Mm, this is really difficult.”
He couldn’t use too much force, so it was hard to make the right adjustments. It might have looked and felt as simple as cleaning out the ear, but this treatment required a much more delicate technique.
“D-Doctor…” Plum was trembling.
He wondered if she was frightened. Was she thinking about the very real possibility that he might damage her ear?
“Hold still just a little longer.”
“I-I can’t. When you’re…when you’re this close, the smell…”
“Plum?”
“Ahhh…ahh…ahhhh!”
Plum’s breathing grew heavy. Her body wasn’t trembling with fear, but because she was holding back.
“The smell of blood is strong!”
“Plum, just wait a second.”
“Your blood is so delicious, Doctor!”
Now Glenn was trembling. Plum’s face was flushed and she stared up at Glenn. Glenn knew that look.
“I might not be able to keep myself from attacking you…”
Glenn finally realized where he’d gone. Plum hadn’t been afraid of the exam. She’d been afraid of losing control of her blood-sucking impulses. He’d been careless.
“Plum, calm down,” Glenn said, trying to keep his voice even.
“Oooh!”
She wasn’t calming. He began to hear a dripping noise. It was probably Plum’s drool. She spread her wings, preparing to feed.
I have no choice.
Glenn took the tool out of Plum’s ear.
“Huh?”
Her eyes were euphoric. The more she fought the craving, the stronger it would grow.
“Plum, look carefully.” Glenn lifted his shirt, exposing his stomach, which was fit from all his arduous activities.
“Waaaahhh! N-no, Doctor! You can’t show me that delicious stomach!”
Plum’s eyes flashed, like those of a carnivore stalking its prey.
“It’s getting in the way of your treatment, so I want you to focus on this for a minute. Suck my blood.”
“Ahh, i-if you say so… I…can’t…control myself…” Plum flew at Glenn.
She bit into his abdomen. Even though he’d offered, the pain when she sank her teeth into his flesh still shocked him.
“Mmm! Mm…ahh, ahhh!”
Blood gushed out of the marks left by her sharp teeth. She lapped it all up with her tongue.
“Ahh, ahh, ahhn! Mm, mm, slu-slurrrp!”
Plum wrapped both of her arms around Glenn’s body, pulling her face close. She wouldn’t let a single drop of blood go to waste.
There we go! That’s what I was waiting for!
Sure, it was a bit frightening to offer his stomach, one of the weakest points on the human body, to a vampire, but Plum just wanted the blood, not his meat. Although she had sharp fangs, her jaw was no different from a human’s, which meant there was little risk of her even accidentally tearing into any organs.
“Mmm! Smack, slurp, slurrrp, mmffn…”
She was completely preoccupied. With her face pressed up against his stomach, Glenn had a perfect view of the top of her head and into her ears.
I need to do it now…
Plum wasn’t paying any attention to her ear. Glenn quickly inserted the tweezers.
“Slurp, mmm! Ow, mmm! Slurp, ahhn.”
Glenn operated the grabber carefully. This was his chance to finish the treatment, while she was busy.
“Slurp, slurrrp! Ah, agh, ahn!”
“Er!”
But he still couldn’t grab the sphere. She moved as she slurped, squirming around his abdominal area, licking up every last drop of blood.
“Mmm, agh, slurp, slurrp…”
Glenn peered into her ear. The piece of the earring had shifted, and now the hole was facing him. He just needed to clamp the grabber onto it. It should have been simple, but…
“Slurp! Mm, mmm…mmm!”
Glenn couldn’t concentrate with all the loud, persistent licking.
It’s no use. I’ve got to focus somehow.
Glenn focused every fiber of his being, shoving the sensation of Plum’s tongue into the back of his mind and concentrating on the delicate operation of the grabber.
“Mmm, ahhn!”
Just when he thought he had it, Plum shifted. Glenn yanked the tweezers out of her ear.
“P-Plum, watch out!”
“Oooh, b-but…it felt like an electric shock!”
“Really?”
“Oooh, it’s sensitive! When I want blood, my body does weird things. Mm, slurp, mm.”
Even as she said this, Plum continued to lap up Glenn’s blood. When she was like this, she had no self-control whatsoever.
Glenn tried to think, despite the feel of her tongue against his skin.
More sensitivity during blood cravings… But why?
“Mm, ach, mmm, slurp.”
Perhaps the hunger heightens her five senses?
On top of that, it was more severe when she was wounded, since sucking blood helped heal her. It only made sense that when her survival instinct was heightened, her senses sharpened, too. Wasn’t that what was happening now? Which meant Glenn needed to be even more careful removing the object from her ear.
What to do?
His plan had backfired. He’d thought she’d be distracted, not more sensitive!
But…I just have to do it.
Glenn mentally prepared himself, then inserted the tweezers again, taking care not to touch the sides of her ear at all.
“Ahn, mm, slu-slurrp.”
It was possible that Plum didn’t even realize the tweezers were in there. If he could keep it that way, then he wouldn’t have any issues removing the earring. Glenn focused on keeping perfect control of the force in his fingers.
I can do it.
He managed to grab hold of the metal sphere.
“I…got it!” Glenn said, as he slipped the tweezers out of Plum’s ear. A small metal ball was clasped between them. He let out a sigh of relief. He’d successfully completed the treatment.
Plum, however, was oblivious, still licking Glenn’s stomach.
“Mmm…ah, smack…”
The pain in his stomach suddenly washed over him. He’d forgotten all about it while he was concentrating.
“Mmm, slurp, slurrrp…”
He looked down at Plum, her face buried in his abdomen, her rough tongue scratching at the wound. He wanted to pull her off somehow, but her arms were wrapped around him with super strength, and he couldn’t move.
“Fairies, will you call Sapphee for me?” he yelled.
“Yes, sir,” a fairy from the corner of the room answered flatly, caught off guard. “Don’t work too hard.” The fairy fluttered off.
Glenn laughed weakly at this warning.