Chapter Title: Worm Welts

Series Title: Unlikely Brothers

Ages in this chapter: Tanner (13) Dashen (19)

POV: Tanner

Chapter Summary: Tanner deals with an animal that maybe doesn't appreciate him as most others do.


"It's a worm!" I said to my brother, excitedly holding the small pinkish creature in my palm.

"It's a snake." My brother said to me, trying to grab the small pinkish creature from my palm. Probably to smash it and send it to an early demise. Dashen wasn't a fan of animals in general and the animals knew it. If he wasn't being bit, scratched, stung or threatened by one, it was considered a good day. So naturally, he saw a viscous poisonous snake in a harmless gentle worm.

I held the worm safe in my hand.

"It's a worm, dummy. Not a snake. It doesn't have teeth, claws or stingers. It can't possibly harm you."

"Oh, it can harm me. Secrete some weird drug from it's skin or something. Put me in the hospital for a month, fighting for my life and unable to function after."

I stared blankly at him. His imagination was insanely insane at times.

"Dash."

"No, Tanner, no. I'm not falling for your all animals are creatures worth saving and whatever nonsense you spew about them. They want to hurt me. All of them. Even your harmless little worm friend."

"You're not going to smash it. I'll let it go somewhere far away from here."

"So it can sneak into my room and chew on my toes in the middle of the night."

I loved my brother. I did. With all my heart, I did. But he really, truly was an idiot sometimes.

"Okay. So, this itty bitty worm will somehow find it's way back to the house, crawl up all those stairs, navigate to your room specifically, figure out how to get onto your bed, into your socks, just so it can chew on your feet."

Dashen's face lacked expression as he thought far too hard about what I'd just said. "Sure. It could happen."

"You're an idiot."

"Maybe so, but it's not your life on the line when someone dies of secreted worm poison."

"There is no worm poison! It's just a harmless creature wanting to live it's life and not get smushed by ignorant humans who can't see the value of the lives of all creatures. A simple, harmless worm." I held my hand out at a safe distance. "There, see?"

Dashen looked again at the worm and raised his eyebrows. "Harmless, huh?"

"Yes, harm... ah... well..." Glancing at my hand, there were long red streaks that were quickly blistering. Worm trails. Apparently, this worm... ah... secreted the poison from it's skin and...

"Uh huh. You better drop that thing, Mouse. Right now it's only your hand."

"If I drop it, you smash it, so no."

"I won't smash it, promise. Just toss it over there in the bushes."

"You're not afraid it'll sneak into the house and eat your toes?"

"Nah," Dashen gave a quick shake of his head and pushed me by my elbow toward the bushes not far in the distance. "I was only saying that to annoy you. Worked too, didn't it?"

My feet began moving in short quick steps toward the bushes as the worm's welted lines on my hand began to itch, pulse, and leak putrid green pus. Probably a bad sign.

I kept my cool though. Even with this new information - a worm that certainly wasn't as harmless as I'd spouted - it was still a living being. It was defending itself and I saw no reason to harm it. Still, I moved fast and shook the worm off my palm when it wouldn't slide off willingly. Dashen was there to grab my hand before I could overreact and wipe the poison onto any other bare areas of my skin.

"No touching!"

"It itches."

"You and your harmless creatures. I figured one would come back to haunt you and your peaceful Jedi self one day. Of all things, a tiny pink worm. You're a sucker, little brother."

We began walking home, my hand braced outward to resist the temptation to touch my skin, or to strangle Dashen for rubbing it in. I'd strangle him later.

We had to wait at the hospital ward. Apparently there'd been a blaster battle in town after rival pilots competed for prime location at the nearby spaceport. They'd taken their quarrel beyond the spaceport and into crowded areas of town. Blaster fire flew free around the block, people were hurt and crowded into the ward for treatment.

Thankfully, Fen Kaveri, Quin's second-in-command for healing purposes saw us sitting and waiting and motioned for us to go out and through the side door. Normally locked, she met us there and had us inside and back into a just-vacated exam room. Colton payed good money to keep Quin (and in effect, Fen) on retainer and to keep me out of harm's way if possible. A group of angry injured pilots and equally upset and injured townspeople, while not a direct threat to me, wasn't worth taking a chance.

She had us safely hidden away behind a secure door, with me sitting on the hospital cot. Her jet-black eyes were always friendly. Today she wore a pink rag to cover her short dark hair. Strangely enough, it matched almost exactly, the same color as the worm. I laughed.

My laugh stopped when Fen jabbed my hand with a hypo-needle to sample the puss. There was only one way to find out if my reactions would go any further than inflamed itchy hands.

She had her sample then turned to treatment. Dashen gave her the overdramatized version of what happened. Words like evil, vindictive, psycho pus worms the size of a space cruiser came out of his mouth. I just glared at him before giving Fen the actual story.

My hand was cleaned, salved, and wrapped. "I'll have a reading back on the puss by tomorrow. Most likely you'll suffer no further ill effects, but anything out of the ordinary, let me know. And Dashen? Stop being paranoid of every little creature, even if you were right about this one. And Tannerlin, perhaps you might be a bit more careful when handling creatures you are not familiar with."

There, she'd managed to chastise both of us in two simple sentences. I was okay with it and I learned something today, not afraid to admit it. Small pink worms, not always the harmless sort.

Fen sent us on our way. We left through the side again and walked home. Dashen slapped me in the back of my head.

"Who's the idiot now, little brother? Huh?"

I'd have slapped him back but he was taller than me and I had a gimpy hand. Instead, I accepted the fault.

"I admit, the worm caught me off guard. Perhaps I'm a little too trusting in assuming that every animal likes me."

"That's what I want to hear. Welcome to my world."

"Dash, that's not really the same world. But I get it. Not every creature is harmless to me."

My brother put an arm around me. "True, but I know you, Mouse. Give it a little time and it's likely that the worm and all his slimy friends will end up being your best buddies."

I elbowed him in the ribs. Hard.

"Ow!"

"Keep it up and next time, I'll set the worm lose in your bed. Then it will eat your toes."

That shut him up.

The arm around my shoulder squeezed tight. "How about we get home, I'll figure out dinner and you figure out what type of worm it was. Get your data pad research going and do what you do. Read, learn, all that boring stuff. Then you can throw it at me while we eat."

My brother was voluntarily willing to let me babble on about worms. There was a switch. He felt badly for me. Not so much because of the injury, but because I'd trusted that the critter wouldn't hurt me, and it had. Not intentionally, but still.

"You'll listen to me talk about research I've done about worms?"

A pause. He was thinking it over. A lot.

"I will."

"You either really love me or you just want to rub it in that there's an animal out there that does not love me."

"Eh, a little of both," he shrugged and ruffled my hair. "Race you home!"

"Hey!"

My shouts went ignored as Dashen's long legs carried him quickly away from me. I sought my revenge later during dinner. There was a lot of information about the small pinkish worm that secreted poison through it's skin and caused welts on exposed skin. Definitely, not harmless.

Dashen listened until he fell asleep. During dinner. Face planted right into his plate of food.

The sight of that alone made this entire day worth it. Worm welts and all.


END