Chapter Text
All of the survivors were spending time inside of the main cabin with each other, as the round just ended and everyone hadn’t gone off to their own cabins yet. Elliot was in the kitchen preparing dinner along with Noob, Guest, and 007n7 who volunteered to help him. Dusekkar and Taph were having a conversation near the stairs about who knows what, Taph signing rapidly. Dusekkar was the only one who could understand it when he signed that quickly, and Chance was ranting to Two Time upstairs near the slot machines, probably about gambling or something.
Shedletsky sat on one of the couches near the fireplace wiping his sword off idly with a cloth, grinning to himself like an idiot because of the amount of slashes he got the previous round. As he heard heavy footsteps approaching from behind him, he let his grin falter to not be seen as insane to whoever was about to strike up a conversation with him.
“Hey, Shed, can I talk to ya' about something?” Builderman asked, sitting down next to him. “Yeah, sure Buildsy!” Shedletsky replied, his eyes still glued to his sword. Builderman stared at him for a moment, visibly cringing at the unexpected nickname. “Err…” he began, deciding not to comment on it, “...it’s about yer' wings.” Shedletsky finally stopped focusing on his sword, and turned to look Builderman in the eyes. Even after Shedletsky’s wings were usually dirty and impaired, nobody ever really said anything about them. After taking a quick glance back at his wings, he looked back at Builderman.
“What about ‘em?” the winged man asked, a confused expression creeping onto his face. “Well, for starters, they’re filthy,” Builderman flatly responded. Shedletsky looked back at his wings again, actually focusing on them this time. Sure, there was some dried blood, and dirt, and out-of-place feathers, but that shouldn’t be a big deal… right? “And..? Are you suggesting I don’t shower?” he asked half-jokingly, his usual grin reappearing on his face. He did shower, just whenever he seriously needed to, since they never really helped with his wings much. Sure, showers got most of the dirt and other substances out, but they usually messed his feathers up even more, which annoyed him a lot.
“No–it’s not that. After nearly every round, ya' sit in this exact spot on the couch, and it’s…” he paused and looked away before continuing, trying to say it in the most polite way possible, “...it’s beginning to get really dirty. And it's kinda' starting to reek too.” He mumbled that last part, just quiet enough for Shedletsky to miss it. Builderman glanced back at Shedletsky, who had an eyebrow raised. “Mhm?” He hummed, waiting for the gray-haired man to continue.
“Can ya' just clean 'em before settling down anywhere?” Builderman finally asked. Shedletsky sighed, a little too loud, since Taph and Dusekkar both glanced at the two sitting on the couch before dismissing it and turning back to each other, resuming their conversation. This was the question he dreaded most–now he had to explain why he didn’t shower as much as everyone else. Or, he could give up his favorite spot in the entire main cabin. Yeah, not happening.
Builderman stared at Shedletsky, waiting for a verbal response. “You see…” Shedletsky finally began, “err… I…” he mumbled, the man in front of him waiting patiently for him to string a sentence together, “Can we talk about this outside?” he asked, wings on his back and on his head curling inwards a bit, as if to conceal himself. He did this when he was embarrassed or scared–Builderman took note of it. “Of course.”
As they stepped outside, they were immediately met with the feeling of chill air against their skin. Freezing nights were uncommon, but apparently luck wasn’t on their side. As they found a spot on the porch to settle down on, despite the cold, Shedletsky could already feel the heat creeping up his neck. They both sat and stared at each other awkwardly as Builderman patiently waited for the winged man to speak up.
“First things first, I do shower. Just not… as often as you guys…” he began. God, this is so humiliating, he thought. Builderman nodded and waited for him to continue. Shedletsky thought for a minute, before he decided that he just wanted to get things over with. “My wings are… they… err.. I don’t shower too often because my feathers always get messed up. It’s super uncomfortable and irritating for me, and… I try to preen them, I really do, but I just can't seem to get the ones at the base of my wings. I’ve never been too flexible, haha.” he admitted, trying to lighten the mood. Builderman only stared for a few moments, trying to process all of this information.
“So… why don’t you get somebody else to preen them?” he asked. Because I’d probably pounce on them! No, Shedletsky couldn’t say that. “Well,” he started, rubbing the back of his neck, “they’re really sensitive. Also, I’m not sure anyone else knows how.” He did it! He finally explained it to Builderman, and it wasn’t even half as bad as he thought, ignoring how hot his face felt.
“I could learn. Ya' can teach me how, Shed.”
Fuck.
Before Shedletsky could come up with an excuse, they noticed Two Time peeking out from the cabins front door. “Dinner’s ready,” they announced, then slipped back inside before either of them could respond. “Shit! Guess we have to go eat dinner, huh?” Shedletsky insisted sarcastically, already halfway to the door. “Wait!” Builderman called out, stopping Shedletsky in his tracks. “So, will you teach me?” Shedletsky looked conflicted, and Builderman noticed. “Well, if you want me to try helping, feel free to reach out. Not gonna force you if you’re uncomfortable,” he concluded with a soft smile. Shedletsky smiled back and nodded, before continuing his journey to the dining table, Builderman trailing behind him a bit later.
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After having dinner with the other survivors and showering, he sat and dried his hair on the couch of his own cabin, occasionally shifting his position due to the discomfort of his wings. Should I really teach him? I mean, he’s one of my closest friends, he thought. Shedletsky told Builderman that his wings were extremely sensitive, but he didn’t mention in which way they were sensitive. That might become a problem later as well. After what felt like hours of thoughts along with irritation and uncomfort, he was finally at his limit. Shedletsky stepped out of his cabin into the chilling night, making his way toward Builderman's cabin. He just hoped that he was still awake-Builderman was usually one of the earlier sleepers.
As soon as Shedletsky closed his cabin door, he immediately had an urge to turn around and go back into the warmth of his cabin. He quickly disregarded it. Shedletsky would definitely rather semi-suffer in the cold than keep on shuffling around on his couch. His hair wasn’t completely dry, which left an uncomfortable chilling feel. He began his trip to Builderman’s cabin, which wasn’t too far, thankfully. In an attempt to distract himself, he looked up into the eternal night sky. The moon never moved, always in that same spot directly above them. The sky was beautiful, sprinkled with stars, but nobody could deny how much they missed the sunlight.
Oh.
I’m here!
And there he stood before Builderman's cabin. Thankfully, light was still peeking through his windows.
Let's see how this goes.
After a few firm knocks and a little bit of time, the cabin door slowly creaked open as a groggy gray-haired man peeked out. “Shed?” Builderman smiled. He already knew why Shedletsky was there, and he was happy that he trusted him enough to let him learn. “Hey..! So, you still wanna learn?” Shedletsky asked, and Builderman invited him inside. As he entered, he was met with the warmth of the indoors and the scent of Builderman, which was surprisingly pleasing. As Shedletsky looked around, he saw that it was relatively organized, aside from the large amounts of papers and blueprints scattered across his desk.
Shedletsky’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a chair being dragged across the wooden floor, and he turned around to see Builderman prepping a stool right in front of his own couch. Builderman noticed his staring, and gestured for him to have a seat. As Shedletsky sat down, he heard the faint creak of the couch behind him as Builderman got comfortable as well.
“So..! Let’s get started, shall we? Tell me what ya' need me to do, Shed.” Builderman spoke.
“Oh! Err.. well…” Shedletsky stammered, why was he so nervous? “You pretty much just realign out of place feathers, maybe get some dirt I missed while showering, y’know, stuff like that. Just… be gentle. Please,” Shedletsky realized he might have been talking for too long.
“Got it,” is all Shedletsky heard from behind him.