"A single room, please," Dust requested, before jerking his thumb over his shoulder to add, "And an extra pillow for the Nimbat."

"I have a name, you know!" Fidget huffed, folding her arms as she hovered behind Dust. He ignored her, reaching into his pockets for some money.

The old fox behind the inn's front desk just chuckled and turned around to reach for a key from the rack behind her. Fidget wasn't sure if she was a gray fox or a grayING fox, but the innkeeper was certainly getting on in her years. "Here you are, dears, and I'll bring an extra pillow out for you, too," she said as she set the key down, taking the money from Dust.

"Thank you," Dust said gratefully.

"Thanks!" Fidget chimed in with a broader grin. At least someone around here knew how to treat her.

"Just down the hall on your left," the innkeeper directed, and Dust glanced at the tag hanging from the key before heading on. Fidget followed after him, glad that they wouldn't be roughing it out in some forest somewhere again. At least here she wouldn't have to worry about only having the fabric walls of a tent between her and whatever red-eyed sharp-toothed Nimbat-eating monsters were hiding out in the darkness...

Dust opened the door, revealing a rather plain room. There was a bed in the corner near a window, a rack for hanging clothes to dry, a very ordinary desk with a single chair in another corner, and a mat by the door where Dust promptly left his shoes, before setting down his backpack and Ahrah against the wall. The only other bit of furniture was a small round table close to the door with a tiny, prickly-leafed potted plant on it.

Fidget flew over towards the desk to get a closer look, but its surface was bare, so there wasn't much to see. It was the only large raised surface other than the bed, though, so it would have to do for her bed once the extra pillow arrived...

Her eyes spotted a drawer on the desk slightly ajar, and she flew down to peek while Dust set down his backpack and stretched his arms. Was there something in there? Curious, Fidget grabbed the handle on the drawer and flapped her wings harder, tugging the drawer open a bit and revealing the inside, with just a single book lying within.

Hearing the sound of the drawer opening, Dust looked over towards her. "What's that?" he inquired.

"Some kind of book?" Fidget guessed. The cover wasn't labeled with anything. Maybe it was a diary?

"Maybe another guest left it here..." Dust murmured, walking over and picking it up. The book wasn't terribly thick but it was almost as large as Fidget herself, so she certainly wasn't going to lift it.

Fidget flew behind Dust's shoulder to get a look as he opened it up. It was full of lined pages covered in someone's incredibly messy handwriting; all Fidget could make out were the dates at the start of each entry. "Looks like a journal of some kind," Dust observed, "or maybe a travel log." He began flipping through the pages, eventually finding blank ones, and worked his way back to the last entry.

As he did, there was a knock on the door, and he looked over towards it. "Come in," he called out.

The door opened, revealing the innkeeper, carrying a large pillow in her free arm. "Here you are, miss," she said to Fidget, holding up the pillow.

Dust reached out to take the pillow, holding the book in his other hand. "Thank you," he said, then held up the book. "Do you recognize this?"

The innkeeper leaned in close, squinting her eyes as she peered at the book, then shook her head. "I don't, no," she answered, "It must have been left behind by someone. It certainly isn't mine. You can take it if you like, or I'll get rid of it later. People are always leaving things here and then never coming back for them. It seems like people have no concern for their possessions, back in my day..."

As she rambled, Dust set the pillow down on the desk, and Fidget wasted no time in sprawling out on it. It was just a simple white pillow but it was like a big, soft marshmallow that her body sank into luxuriously. "Oh, this is nice," she mumbled into the pillow, then lifted her head up to look at the innkeeper. "Thank you!"

"Of course, dears," the innkeeper replied with a smile. "Is there anything else?"

Dust shook his head. "No, that's it. Thank you."

"You're welcome," she replied, and closed the door. Dust turned his attention back to the book, but Fidget had already lost interest, sprawling out as much as she could on the pillow to relieve her aching wings after yet another long day of traveling.

"Hmm..." he mused aloud after a few moments. "The last entry is from over a month ago. I think it's been in that desk for a while."

<Is there a name on it?> Ahrah asked them.

Dust checked the inside front and back covers. "No, not even some initials," he mumbled. "I'd return it if I could, but whoever this belongs to could be anywhere in the world by now, and we have nothing to go on."

"It can't be that important if they didn't come back for it," Fidget pointed out, stretching her arms out in front of her, and her legs and tail behind.

"I have to agree with you on that one, Fidget." Dust snapped the book shut with an air of finality and tossed it onto the small table next to the potted plant. "Besides, we should go get something to eat."

Fidget wiggled a little on the pillow, but her desire for food won out over her desire to be lazy. "Yeah, I've had enough of trail rations for a bit, I want a real meal."

"One wine-cup of stew for you, then," Dust joked.

Fidget huffed as she rose up into the air with flaps of her wings. "At least I'm not some greedy-guts who needs an entire bathtub of it to satisfy my appetite."

"Is this about me not letting you bathe in the cooking pot again?"

"I'm just saying it would have been a perfectly acceptable way for me to have some hot water while we're out in the wilderness!" Fidget protested.

"And a great way for me to find Nimbat fur in all of my food afterwards," Dust retorted. "Anyway, let's get going. I saw a tavern on the way in."

-------------------

Fidget sank deeper into the pillow. Dinner had been just what she needed after their travels, and now she'd get a chance to relax. For one night, at least, before Dust went off somewhere else. Assuming he didn't find someone in town who needed his help first. He had a good heart, but it was matched only by his tendency to immediately find the biggest and most dangerous problem in the vicinity and throw himself at it. Sure, she could head home at any time, but she didn't want that oaf to go get himself killed. Where would he be without her? She needed to stick with him and stop him from getting in over his head.

Raising her head, she glanced over at the bed where Dust was sitting, with various pieces of parchment unrolled and spread out around him. Sighing, Fidget spoke up. "Do you ever relax?" she asked rhetorically. "It's always prepare this, travel here, fight that."

Dust shrugged off her comment as he kept his focus on the maps. "If you'd rather I don't check the maps and prepare a route, that's fine. I'm sure it won't be a problem if we get lost and end up in the Forest of Suffering..."

Fidget's green eyes widened and she put her paws over her mouth. "Y-you're joking, right? I-I mean, we've been to a place called the 'Sorrowing Meadow', sure, but like... th-that's not a real place... right?" Dust didn't answer as he reached into his backpack and pulled out another map. "...right?"

"Let me figure out a route and we won't have to risk finding out," he answered curtly.

She grumbled and returned to her lazing, silently convincing herself that he was just teasing her again. She dozed off briefly, unaware of how much time had passed when she was brought back to her senses by a pang in her lower belly, making her grimace. She'd felt the vague need to pee when they'd gotten back from the tavern, but had ignored it in favor of giving her wings a break and enjoying the soft pillow. But now it was getting to the point where she couldn't simply ignore it much longer.

And that was the one bad thing about being in town for a change. At least when they were out camping, she could take care of her own needs. But in town, when she couldn't even open the doors herself, she had to ask Dust to let her out, and he always had to ask her why instead of taking the hint that sometimes she needed to go out and... go. It was even worse having him actively standing around waiting for her to finish, probably even listening in, if she wasn't able to get back by herself either.

She glanced at the door. This would be no exception. He'd have to let her out of the building and then wait by the back door. It was just a small town and there were plenty of trees just outside of its boundary, but even if she flew out of sight and earshot, he'd still know what she was doing and how long it took and...

With a frustrated sigh, she put it out of her mind. Maybe if she waited until he was asleep she could sneak under the bed and see if there was a chamber pot or something. For a little while she lay there, but Dust had started sharpening Ahrah and the scraping sound combined with the pressure in her lower belly kept her from dozing off again. As subtly as she could, she shifted the arm that Dust couldn't see underneath herself, gripping between her legs to try and stave off her growing need to pee, closing her legs around her hand.

More time passed, and Fidget's need inevitably grew. Dust didn't open the window or doors, step outside, nor give her any other opportunities to take care of her problem with more tact and dignity than simply asking him directly. Finally, she called out to him as a stronger twinge in her bladder reminded her that it would only get worse. "Dust?"

"Yes, Fidget?" he asked, not looking up from the backpack he was arranging the contents of.

Fidget opened her mouth, but no words came out. Resolving to ask, and actually asking, were two very different things. What would she even say that would let her at least maintain some shred of respectability? She couldn't just simply-

"Did you need something?"

"Oh, um..." Fidget began, inwardly sighing as she backed down. "Did you find a route around the Suffering Forest?"

Dust snorted in amusement without looking up at her, not that he was ever particularly big on making eye contact. "Oh yeah, we'll be taking a shortcut through the Valley of Torment, no big deal."

"Duuuuuuuust!" Fidget whined.

"Yes, Fidget, I found a route, don't worry," he answered with less levity to his voice.

"Okay, good," she murmured, exhaling. She looked over at the door again. It had a knob rather than a lever handle, so she wasn't going to be able to open it herself. Maybe she could make up some other excuse, like going to ask the innkeeper for something. But no, he'd want to come along for that. Maybe if-

Suddenly Dust entered her field of vision, and she saw his hand reach out and grasp the door knob. "I'll be right back," he announced, carrying Ahrah in his other hand.

"Huh? Hey, wait-" Fidget began, but he had already closed the door by the time she started speaking. For a moment she laid on the pillow in stunned silence, then gritted her teeth in frustration. This was so like him! Just leaving her behind without even telling her where he was going or for how long – and worse, she was effectively trapped in the room now.

But maybe there was a silver lining. He'd taken Ahrah with him, at least. Fidget got up, keeping her hand between her legs as she flew down and peeked under the bed. Unfortunately, there wasn't a chamber pot to be seen; the inn must have had an outhouse or something out back and she hadn't thought to check earlier. Grumbling, Fidget flew up and perched on the bed to look around the room and consider her options.

Stupid Dust! She hadn't even had the chance to ask to go out with him while he was leaving! Or even just to fly out without saying anything. That would have been a good way for her to get out, but noooo! Even if he came back soon and she was able to ask him to let her out then, he'd probably get on her case for having not asked him before, as though she was supposed to have his kind of absurd reaction time. She wasn't the one that fought monsters all the time!

She groaned a little, her legs wobbling as she struggled to hold back her bladder. It was getting worse, as was to be expected after the big mug of apple cider she'd had at the tavern, but it was fresh and local and tasted so good! She wouldn't have minded going for another cup right now, actually, if not for her current predicament. She couldn't even get out of the room! What was she meant to do?

But then, a thought occurred to her. Did she actually have to leave the room? What if she could find another option? Not that there was a whole lot in the room. But she at least had some privacy, so long as Dust didn't return immediately. She flew over towards the door and tried to listen at the keyhole, one hand cupped around it while the other kept holding herself between the legs, but she couldn't hear anything. No voices meant he wasn't talking to the innkeeper. He must have left the inn entirely...

Fidget turned her head. The bed was too obvious. She could go underneath it, maybe, or perhaps in that drawer on the desk. But the innkeeper had been nice to her, and she didn't want to make a mess for her. She could take something of Dust's, but he'd definitely find out, and the whole point was to make sure he didn't find out. There was the potted plant, but its leaves were all prickly, and definitely not anything she wanted anywhere near her sensitive bits...

She hummed in thought. The plant wasn't an option, but what about the book? She grimaced briefly and squeezed her legs together to fight off another wave of desperation, flying over to it. Anything was worth investigating at this point. She certainly didn't care about it, and neither did Dust, nor the innkeeper. It was probably just going to be thrown out regardless. Making up her mind – a process hastened by the growing pressure in her abdomen – she reached out and grabbed the edge of the cover.

Opening it was a struggle for her, especially one-handed. It was a battle to push while flapping her wings, without losing control of her own body along the way. With great effort she managed to lift it all the way up, and then it became easier to push it back down by just putting her weight on the inside of the cover. Several pages came after it as the cover was flattened out, buffeting her with the paper, and she scurried free. Flying around again she grabbed the lowest of the lifted pages and pushed it up, having a much easier time than with the cover, so that she could give herself a big flat surface to work with.

Or flat enough, anyway. The pages were still curved upwards a bit on both sides, and they met in the middle at a low point. Would this really work? Fidget winced and her knees buckled a little as she shook her head. It had to. She was running out of time and options.

After getting control of herself again, she straddled the middle of the book, risking taking her hand away to hold both her hands and wings out for balance. If Dust came back now she'd never live it down, so she had to be quick and hope that he was slow. With her eyes glued to the door, she stopped fighting her straining bladder and kept her legs apart as she squatted down, unable to stop a quiet groan escaping her when her release began.

Pale urine gushed from her slit and down into the trough where the pages met, soaking directly into the paper and darkening it considerably. Fidget trembled a little with relief and let it flow out from her, tipping her head back for a few moments. Eventually she glanced down, glad that she had had the foresight to spread her legs, as her pee was soaking through the pages and spreading along them, making the ink run. Her satisfaction was short-lived when she realized she had saturated the area where the pages joined and her urine was starting to flow towards the ends of the book, where it would spill onto the table...

Thinking quickly, Fidget adjusted her footing, raising her hips a little and shuffling to her right to send her stream splashing down much closer to the center of the page. The dry part of the parchment quickly began soaking up her pee, and even when it went through, it simply soaked into the pages underneath. Fidget breathed a sigh of relief from having avoided a spill; there was still some pee in the middle channel but it was gradually soaking into the pages as the wetness spread throughout. "That was a close one..." she murmured to herself.

She held the position as she breathed deeply, glancing between her stream and the door. Having held it in for so long now meant she had so much more to let out, and she was getting concerned as the growing wet spot on the pages approached her right foot. The other half of the book was still available, but she couldn't simply shuffle back over there without getting her foot wet...

Biting her lip, she clenched her muscles to stop the flow of her urine briefly, though it left a very uncomfortable tingling sensation behind. Staying bow-legged, she raised her right foot and pivoted to get both feet onto the dry half of the book with a very wide step, squatting down again and immediately releasing again the moment she was in position. With a quiet groan she unleashed what remained in her bladder onto the page below, hearing it start to splash once she soaked the topmost page through. Fortunately she didn't have much more left in her and once her stream trickled off to a series of droplets, she clenched and squeezed to get the rest out of her – the book was already ruined, after all.

The very corners of the pages were still dry, so she moved off the page and stood next to the book, carefully lifting the page and pressing it against her slit without rubbing, soaking up the leftover moisture. With a satisfied exhalation, she looked over the mess she had made: utterly drenching the middle of the book and the pages on one side, with the other half being less totally soaked yet still thoroughly wet in the middle. It had all been contained... but it was still very obvious.

Fidget moved to the opposite side of the book to grab the cover again, able to lift it with both hands now to make it easier than before. Pushing the cover up midway, she delicately set it down instead of simply letting it fall; it would be awful to go through all that just to end up accidentally squeezing all her pee out of the pages and all over the place.

With the crisis averted, Fidget flew back to the pillow, grinning to herself a little as she settled back into the Nimbat-shaped depression on the top of it. She wouldn't be able to do it again, but at least just this once, she'd been able to keep Dust's stupid nosy nose out of her private business.
