❖ AN IRIS-ISTABLE GIFT ❖ (Iris/Aeluri)

"I don't know what you're pissed about~" Iris pouted, tapping the jar of freshly enucleated eyes on the bar counter with irritability rivaling his ex-boss'. "These eyes are plenty nice! Me taking them is exactly why we have this nice thing that will let you see again. I'm doing you a favor. I don't just give eyeballs away to just anyone, Ahote. This is my thing! Show a little gratitude, yeah?" continued the peeved man, still riding that strange angry high from the festival. Iris was volatile right now. Unpredictable. Nothing bothered him more than a pair of ruined eyes. Ahote had no idea how much he wanted to find who ruined his friend's gorgeous hues and take their eyes in return, then chop their body up so finely that not even the flies could find a piece large enough to snack on.

With a leg bouncing as erratically as his mood, the lilac man's peeved frown slipped into something much more jovial, though hardly reassuring. The smile overtaking his lips was wicked and euphoric as the question of his ocular collection was brought up. While even the most carnal of interactions failed to bring a true blush to his cheeks, thinking about all the pretty eyes he'd snatched rose an infatuated blush to his flawless cheeks. "I keep them in crystal jars in my pocket dimension~! All in a row, organized by color like a rainbow~ My collection is extensive, and I can look at my pretties and use their delicious magical powers whenever and however I please. I usually keep them all to myself as my priceless treasures. I just can't resist a pretty pair, especially mismatched ones~!" gushed the space dust, reaching over the counter to get himself a strong drink, "It is an absolute tragedy about yours. It makes me sick, Ahote. Literally ill to my stomach, they are so ruined. I had admired them since the first time I met you and you go and let them be sullied this way. Your eyes were gorgeous! You should have told me sooner," Iris switched to chiding now, downing a shot and training his fiery purple peepers on the fumbling, warm-water sipping young man with those icky ruined trashballs in his sockets.

"I intend to replace those," he started with obvious disgust and a vague gesture, refusing to call the clouded orbs in his head 'eyes', "with some nice new ones that girl in the maze was so nice to part with. I'm sure I told you this earlier."


[422]

"Filters are for coffee," retorted the agitated spaceman, now foregoing the shop glass in favor of sucking down the blueberry vodka straight from the bottle. Again, a behavior not typical of the booze enthusiast, who was usually a snob about consuming his favorite drinks the correct way to maximize flavor and enjoyment. "And if you hadn't tried to keep it a secret for us to notice as you bumbled through the festival like a fruit bat, it wouldn't have ruined your plans at all. I could have taken care of it and you could have enjoyed the games without schlepping around cuddling plushies. So if we're gonna blame someone for timing..." he trailed now, not going so far as to speak his blame, instead choosing to simply heavily imply it out of pettiness.

It went to show how much Ahote had come to know his comrades in their time in Basilisk Fang. The blinded bambino didn't need to see Iris to somehow envision his strange display of agitation. The drumming of fingertips on the bar or on the quickly emptying bottle. The subtle raspiness in his voice and changes in speech pattern. The speed of the words leaving his mouth had increased, and annunciation was sharp. Iris was fit to be tied, and all of it seemed to come to a head when Ahote mentioned the intended plans for the rest of the day. The wicked smile returned, and in a flash, he'd slid the alcohol out of the way and vaulted over the bar. He approached the brunette, slender fingers gently caressed his chin. The index finger beneath it lifted his face ever so slightly if he'd allow it. "Did you really think I'd offer such a gift if I didn't know exactly how to do it? I've learned many things in my time on this planet, and eye surgery is just one of them~" he purred, eager to fix this whole unacceptable situation. "You'd be surprised of all I'm capable of, Ahote~ Just leave it to me and I'll make you beautiful again."


[wc: 345 || Iris Total: 767]

"How many years do you need to know me before you trust me, Ahote?" the lilacette asked, not even hiding the fact that he was elated to do this surgery and fix the blinded man, "You should know I function far better intoxicated than I do sober~! I have far more experience this way." It sounded like a typical Iris tease, but he was actually serious in this case. Iris was rarely sober, and unless he was absolutely black-out drunk, liquor seemed to serve the same purpose as oil in an engine. He could think quicker and clearer. His hands were steady. In all honesty, it was sober Iris people needed to watch out for.

Iris stepped away from Ahote then, looking to take stock of the offerings Aelu had gathered for the sacrificial surgery. "Oh, great! Thank you, darling~" he purred, placing a quick kiss atop her head. As he pulled back he suddenly looked thoughtful. It'd truly been a long time since he'd done something like this, but all the knowledge was there when he needed it. Despite what most might think, Iris actually had a very good memory. He could do this procedure without help, but why not just be extra careful for Ahote's peace of mind? He knew he had a set of surgeon's eyes that had once been particularly useful. Opening a small hole into his dimension of meticulously arranged jars of eyes, Iris navigated to the section of baby blues. Blue eyes were quite popular, so there the selection was vast, but he remembered exactly who and where every set came from. Within seconds he reached an arm in and plucked out a jar containing some gorgeous cerulean orbs, which he promptly magically switched out with the ones he had in currently. Placing the jar back into the pocket space, he closed it up.

Blue-eyed Iris had an entirely different countenance, which is what usually happened and he requipped eyes. While he retained his memories and such, his personality and thought process shifted dramatically with each set. Sometimes his own emotions triggered and eye change if they swung too drastically, but generally, it was the other way around. This Iris was very professional. His posture was impeccable and his face was serious, going well with the scrubs and gloves he was now dressed in. As he manifested an entire wheeled-cart of surgeon's tools and made sure everything was in place, he spoke again to his patient. "It won't hurt. Please, situate yourself on top of the cloth on the counter," he instructed with a coldness only a doctor could muster. A syringe appeared in one hand and a cotton ball moistened with rubbing alcohol popped into the other. "This will take care of the pain. Should you wish to be unconscious for the process, I can accommodate that, as well. Shall we begin?"

[wc: 479 || Iris Total: 1246]

"Actually, it is usually required that the patient be awake so the eye doesn't jerk and move around during normal surgery, but I have no such restrictions," Doctor Iris informed him, picking up a syringe and squirting a little of the liquid out to make sure there were no bubbles. He couldn't be killing his friend and patient with an air embolism.

Iris proceeded to do exactly what he said he would. Ahote was mercifully put to sleep and with a deft quickness and a steady hand, the man removed the disgusting blind eyes and plopped them into a jar while Aeluri watched. Would he keep them? Sure. He wanted to see if he could reverse the damage in some way since he'd always admired them and was disappointed that they'd ended up in such unusable shape. As they were, though, they'd remain on the bad shelf of shame.

"Hm," the doctor muttered, hesitating. Implanting the new ones he'd acquired just for Ahote was slightly more tricky. Not because of attaching the delicate nerves, but because Iris, even in his professional mindset, still had a hard time parting with perfectly good eyes. In fact, he'd never ever given a pair away before. Even in the middle of surgery, his nature fought him hard. But Ahote was his friend, and he couldn't have his friend being blind. Not on his watch. Defeating his own desires and powering through, Iris implanted the eyes, finished up, and gave his patient another shot to wake him up. With the help of his magic, there was little to no recuperation time. The brunette should be able to see again as soon as he opened his eyelids. "The procedure is complete. Welcome back, Mr. Laspor."


[wc: 289 || thread total: 4017]