Anima: The Bird House Chapter 4
They were right. Living with the tail was a pain, but eventually, you got used to it. I spent a few days getting it caught on and in everything. From doors to knick-knacks on tables, nothing was safe from me. Add the irritation of knocking everything over to the itchiness of the feathers in my pants, and it was not a fun time. I ditched the pants and only wore my boxers around when I was alone in the house. This made it quite a bit more comfortable and easy, but I did have to avoid windows.
So that was my standing issue solved, but sitting was a new game for me. There was not a single chair in my house that I could sit in and lean my back against. I could sit on chairs sideways or sit on the armrest of the recliner or couch. Nothing we had was anything close to a design that would accommodate me.
Even laying down was a multi-step process. First, I had to sit with a slight lean forward. Then, I laid onto my side and rolled into place on the bed. This was the only way I could find that got my tail feathers to lay flat and straight against the bed, but it was what worked and my only real option at that point. At least the weird dreams had stopped. Honestly, I didn’t seem to have any dreams anymore; it was just eyes closed at night to eyes open in the morning.
I visited the AA crew the day after Jeremy arrived. Everyone was going about their typical day. Jeremy was quiet, though, which was different from how he was in the short time I knew him before the recent changes. It seemed his mouth never stopped moving. Now, he never even tried to say a word. Instead, he would only answer yes or no questions with a nod and point his hands to anything else. Anything beyond that required either texting or pen and paper. It was just odd to see someone trying to ask for something when they had no words. Sometimes, it seemed like he got left out of conversations without anyone realizing it.
Othertimes, when he was having difficulty getting his point across, he would repeat whatever motion or gesture he was using again and again, like a game of charades, but never-ending. When someone would finally guess right, you could hear him make those same odd sounds. It was his only way of making his excitement known when he was finally understood. Everyone was trying their best to accommodate him, but at times, it could be twenty minutes before you realized the simple thing he was trying to say.
After talking with Nash, I learned he was essentially the designated person to go out in public. Matthew, Damien, and Rylie just stayed put in the house. Nash almost thought that maybe Jeremy could assist with errands, but then, of course, what happened, happened. He thought that perhaps it would still be okay to ask Jeremy to help with a task that wouldn’t require communication like that, especially in public. I offered to help him do running, and he didn’t hesitate a moment on that offer.
It had been a week since my changes started. Nothing else had changed, and everything seemed to get into a groove. Nash picked me up from my house the following day, and we made our way to the local supermarket. Nash was an odd case when it came to his changes. Most people seemed to have had their modifications spread across their bodies. Not Nash, though. He was short, for sure, but he still looked like an average human. That is, if a normal human had the bright red and black head of a cardinal. Everything from the top of his head down to the bottom of his neck was covered in feathers. In the dead center of his face was a bright orange beak. His voice was slightly affected by it, not having lips and all, but his speech was surprisingly clear considering.
“Maybe I can leave the talking to you,” he said with a chuckle. “They see me often enough as it is. Maybe a new face with me will help a bit.”
“Is there anything special you have to do to go out, or do you have to do anything differently?” I asked him.
“Eh, not really. Some people just like to treat you a bit differently. Nothing awful, but they are not good at hiding it,” he said with a laugh.
“Well, I haven’t really been out since… this,” I glanced back at my tail.
“Yeah, it’s not as bad as people make it out to be. You’ll have people who stare, but not many will say anything,” Nash said.
“Do people… ever say anything?” I asked.
“Sometimes you’ll get the fella who decides that letting you know they don’t like your kind is better than whatever else they gotta do.”
“Does that happen often?”
“No, usually I pretend I can’t speak, and it makes it easier than saying anything back. Just ignore them and keep on your way,” Nash said, looking over at me.
“Sounds like you have a bit of experience,” I said.
He chuckled to himself.
We pulled into the parking lot of the store. Nash and I got out and made our way to the doors. Once inside, we walked to the grocery section. I couldn’t help but feel like something was off. Everywhere I looked, it felt like people were watching us. I could see everyone’s motions in super clear vision. They would look toward us, and as soon as I would look at them, they would quickly turn away. If we walked into the same aisle, folks would move to a different aisle. Maybe they couldn’t help but look. Not many hybrids go out in public.
“Are people avoiding us, or is it just me?” I whispered to Nash.
“Maybe they are avoiding you. I haven’t been paying attention,” Nash quipped.
“No, I mean people are staring and actively avoiding us.”
“Well yeah, I told you that’s how they’d be. Just don’t pay them any attention, and you’ll be fine,” Nash kept walking and grabbing things as he went.
We kept navigating the store. Nash grabbed everything from cereal to fruit to sirloin. I could still feel people staring. I’ve never been one for attention, but this was just creepy. We made it to the self-checkout lanes and walked toward one of the open terminals.
“Wait!” Nash said. “I forgot the damn nuts. Ehh…Lyall, can you go get a thing of unsalted peanuts?” Nash asked me.
“Oh, sure. Unsalted nuts,” I said as I walked back toward the grocery section.
I made my way to aisle fourteen, which was the snack aisle. I found a large tin of peanuts, but they were salted. I searched the shelf until I found a large tin of unsalted nuts. I started to walk back when I heard a voice yell out.
“Find what you need?” a male voice asked from behind me.
I turned to face him to reply, but I saw his expression was not exactly a friendly one. He had a slight smirk and was looking me dead in the eyes.
“Getting some nuts, shifty?” he said in a heavily sarcastic tone.
I froze. With no clue how to react, my body did the first thing that came to mind.
“What?” I said blankly.
“You heard me, shifty.”
“Nuts? Yeah,” I said, stumbling over my words.
I felt a warmth rising up my back. I was getting worried. What if he was to do something? Do I run away? Do I fight him?
He had an odd look overcome his face. He just stopped suddenly, turned around, and walked away quickly, briefly looking over his shoulder at me. He rounded the corner and was gone. I turned around and started walking back to the register, still feeling hot. I saw Nash’s redhead as I got closer, and I handed him the container without saying a word.
“Oh, you’re finally back. Have trouble finding ‘em?” he said, looking at the can.
He looked up at me, and after just a moment, the feathers on his head stood up.
“Dude, you feeling ok? Did something happen?” Nash asked worriedly.
“I’m good. Just a thing. It’s nothing,” I said back, trying to calm myself.
“It ain’t nothing, dude. You got feathers all up your cheeks, man,”
I reached my hands up to my face. I could feel them. Soft, tiny feathers sticking out of my skin and laying back towards my ears. They ran off my face and down the sides and back of my neck. They continued going down my shoulders to my biceps and down my back to meet my tail. My legs were also burning and itching.
“Dude, you need to try changing back NOW.” Nash said quietly, but in a serious tone.
I froze, afraid the people in the store could see me changing. I didn’t want to make a scene, but worrying myself was not helping as the sensations grew stronger.
Nash hurried along and finished ringing out. He grabbed me by the arm and practically dragged me to the car. He opened the side sliding door and sat me down inside.
“Lyall, you’ve gotta push them back!” He was basically yelling at this point.
Now outside of the store, I tried to concentrate on myself. I tried to think about how I looked before, specifically the smooth skin on my back. I could feel the feathers on my face slowly fall out, but they were not making haste as they ever so slowly fell. I felt my arms cool off, followed by my shoulders. The inside of Nash’s van was quickly covered in small brown and white feathers, but he didn’t seem to care, or at least didn’t right then. He lifted the back of my shirt and looked at my back, brushing feathers off.
“I think you got ‘em, buddy. Maybe a little bit of growth upwards, but nothing terrible or really noticeable,” Nash said, relieved.
“Ok, that’s fine. I can deal with a tiny bit more,” I said back.
However, I could tell something still wasn’t right. My pants were irritating my legs like crazy, and it felt like sand in my pants was irritating my skin. I wanted so badly to just pull them off and get all the loose feathers out, but in public, that’s not really an option.
We drove back to the AA house. The drive had the combined irritation from my tail feathers and the loose feathers in my pants. Once we got parked, Nash told me to go ahead and get myself cleaned up. He worked on unloading the few things we picked up, and I made my way to the upstairs bathroom.
Once inside, I pulled my pants off and stood in my boxers. My legs and pants were full of loose feathers. I tried brushing the feathers off my pants as best as possible, but they just clung to the fabric. Once they were decently clear, I started on my legs. Brushing and picking feathers off was easy but tedious. Once I got to the tops of my legs, I dropped my boxers to my ankles and brushed all the feathers free, well, except for some. Light cream-colored feathers replaced any hair in my groin region. These feathers also extended around my thighs to my rear, where they met with my tail.
All of my parts down there seemed intact, just surrounded by feathers. I reached up and felt above my tail, and I discovered I had feathers below, above, and around where my tail hung from my back. While I felt for the extent of the spread of feathers, I noticed my butt was seemingly slimmer.
I pulled my hand out from beneath my tail as the whole idea of what was going on there weirded me out. I tried to pick up all the small feathers off the ground and put them into the trash can, but while doing so, there was a quick knock on the door.
“Lyall? You almost done?” Rylie asked through the door.
“In a minute! Trying to…do a thing,” I quickly replied, trying to think of something to say on the fly.
“Is everything ok? Do you need Damien?” she asked.
“Yeah, no. I’m ok. I’m fine,” I shouted.
I tried to pick them up quicker, but with the small size and the vast number of them, it was not easy. It felt like as soon as I got a decent number, they would fall out of my hand as I picked more up. I started just shoving them in the little trash can, but they quickly took up too much space.
There was another knocking on the door.
“I’ll be done in a sec!” I yelled out.
“Lyall, is everything fine?” Damien asked.
The last thing I needed was him worrying about me right now.
“Nash told me about what happened. Did anything stick?” Damien asked.
Well, the cat was out of the bag. I dropped the small number of feathers in my hand, got up, and walked to the door. I unlocked the door and swung it open to see Damien standing against it. Behind him were Rylie, Jeremy, and Benji.
“Anything stick, dude?” Damien asked.
I saw Rylie turn around to face away from me.
“Not his pants, apparently,” Rylie said loudly.
I looked down and realized I was standing nude in front of them. I reached my hand to cover myself. As I did, I felt Damien grab my shoulder and lightly push me into the bathroom. As the door was shutting, I heard a sound from the hallway from Jeremy.
The door slammed shut. Damien turned, locked the door, and flipped a switch on the wall. The droning sound of the exhaust fan started.
“Anyways, did anything stick?” Damien asked, looking down at me.
“A little bit. Could have been much worse, though,” I said, looking down at my hand and covering myself.
“Looks like a little on the legs and crotch. Did your body change anymore?” He asked, gesturing down.
“Uh.. yeah, it’s all still fine. I think,” I said back to him.
“Well, that’s up to you to find out. I really don’t want to know any specifics,” he laughed as he looked away.
“It’s up my back a little too. It was way worse in the store, like to my face and stuff,” I said, trying to remember.
“Not a big deal. Get dressed, and we can get back out there,” he said with a pat on my back.
I turned around and started pulling my boxers up.
“My advice, though, is you may want to skip the boxers. They may feel uncomfortable with your pants, and I won’t tell anyone,” Damien said while looking away.
I took the boxers off my legs and pulled my stretchy jeans up. I turned around, and watched Damien pick up the last feathers and throw them in a bag. We stepped out to find no one at the stairs, and everyone in the main room was sitting and talking, or at least trying to.
I sat down, but Damien stayed standing and walked over to Nash.
“Nash, you mind driving Benji and me? We are already a little late,” Damien asked, looking at Nash.
“Sure thing, D.” He quickly stood up and walked towards the door.
Benji stood up and started making his way to the door slowly. Damien walked beside him and put his arm around his shoulder.
“We will be back later. If we don’t make it back before y’all sleep. G’night,” Damien said as they walked out the door.
The door shut with a click, and it was silent in the house for the moment.
“So it’s just us tonight, then? Does anyone have any ideas?” Matthew asked the little group of us on the couches.
“Kind of burned out from movies,” Rylie said.
“I’m just along for the ride,” I said to him.
We looked at Jeremy, who, of course, didn’t say a word and just stared.
“Great idea, Jerm! Let’s order food and go from there,” Matthew said with a wink to Jeremy.
Jeremy looked at Rylie and me with a confused look. Matthew flipped out a phone and started typing on it.
“Usual for you, Ry?” he asked Rylie, who simply nodded.
“What about you?” he asked, looking at me.
“I guess whatever you’re getting,” I said back.
“And you?” He looked over to Jeremy, who just looked at him.
Jeremy reached out a hand and was handed Matthews phone. He typed something in and handed it back. Matthew typed some more on his cell phone before telling us it would be here soon.
We all sat around for a bit and tried to make small talk. We decided to try and at least make an attempt to involve Jeremy. We tried pen and paper, which was tricky as conversations could move too quickly. Eventually, he quit trying and just continued to sit quietly. I knew the elephant in the room was what happened at the store. Rylie tried her best to ask about it without just asking about it. After a few questions, I just told her.
“I can just tell you what happened if that’s easier.”
“Sure, why not?” She asked while chuckling.
I told them everything I could remember, about the nuts, the guy, the warmth, and the feathers. I did leave out how far the feathers stuck, but told them the extent of the initial changes.
“Sounds like he didn’t like what he saw. Probably better for you anyways,” Matthew said.
“Same reason I stay at home. I don’t understand how Nash can deal with it,” Rylie added.
“Nash doesn’t seem to notice anything, and he just goes without paying anyone any attention,” I said.
The doorbell rang. Matthew looked around at the group before pointing at me.
“You get to answer the door this time,” he said, looking at me.
“Why do you say that?” I asked him.
“You are the most human and dressed,” he said with a smile.
I got up and answered the door. The delivery driver handed me a large bag. He seemed a little surprised at first, maybe a little hesitant, but I thanked him, and he was on his way.
Matthew opened the bag and started distributing the food. I wasn’t entirely sure what it was or where he ordered it from, but it smelled strongly of spice. Mine and Matthew’s was some kind of pork or chicken in a thick orange sauce. Matthew ate a piece, so I figured I should at least try it.
I put a piece in my mouth, which was about the hottest thing I had eaten. My mouth was burning from the spice, and I felt my eyes tearing up. Matthew ate a second piece before looking at me with a funny look.
“Lyall? You ok there, dude?” he asked me.
The heat was more of a painful sting than any flavor. I tried to drink some water, but nothing helped. The heat was burning my entire mouth and throat.
“It’s HOT!” I yelled to Matthew.
“It’s got spice, but it’s not hot to me,” Matthew said, shrugging.
Rylie reached over with a fork and grabbed a piece. As soon as she put it in her mouth, she started saying the same thing.
“Damn, dude! That’s really hot!” Rylie said, trying to spit it out.
“Jerm, want to try a piece?” Matthew said, laughing at Jeremy.
Jeremy shrugged and ate a piece. After a few moments, he did not react. He just tilted his head and gave another shrug.
“So either you guys can’t handle anything spicy, or Jeremy and I are just the gods of spicy food?” Matthew was laughing, and Jeremy started giggling as well.
“Whatever, freak,” Rylie said, still trying to get rid of the burning in her mouth.
I could feel my phone vibrate. I pulled it out to check the notification, which was a text from Kole.
“Need to talk soon. Let me know when you can,” the message read.
“Everything cool?” I replied.
“No,” the reply said, followed by a quick, “More changes.”
I’m not sure what seemed off, but his texts seemed different from the usual ones. They were not like how he would typically text, so something must be wrong.
“I’ll be over,” I sent back.
“You guys know when Nash is getting back? I asked the group. “I need to get to my friend’s place. Seems like it may be urgent.”
“No, but neither of us can drive,” Matthew said, looking over to Rylie. “Can your Mom give you a ride?”
“She’s working, so I don’t think she will for a while,” I said to Matthew.
“Erhrhrh?” Jeremy said, looking at me while pointing at himself.
“Are you able to drive?” I asked him.
“Erh,” he said back while nodding.
Jeremy drove me to Kole’s, and I told him I would find a way home. He grabbed my phone and pulled up the passcode screen. I unlocked it, and he opened up the notes on it. He put down his number and a short message.
“Let me know if you need a ride. Just text, don’t call :)”
I walked up to Kole’s door and knocked, and there was no response. After waiting a bit, I knocked harder. This time I got a text from Kole.
“Come in,” it said.
I opened the door and looked inside. I could see Kole’s head sticking out from the couch. The couch was sitting with the backrest facing the door and blocking my view of his body.
“You alright?” I asked him.
“I’m trying my best!” he said in a half-joking tone.
I walked around the couch to look at him. The sight was shocking. Kole was wearing no pants and his lower half was covered in white and brown fur. His hands and feet were now fully hooves. His nose had turned black, and a black fur ring went down and around his chin.
Kole looked up at me with a face full of worry.
“It went quick, dude. It started and just wouldn’t stop,” he said.
“How much changed?”
“Well, all you can see. I haven’t looked too far, though. Been both too tired and just can’t bring myself to look,” he said, looking at his hooves.
I sat down on the arm of his couch.
“I get ya, man. I had a scare at the store earlier. Luckily I had Nash with me.”
“Nash is the… crow?” Kole asked.
“Cardinal. He’s the cardinal. The crow is Matthew.”
“You know, one day, I gotta meet these guys. Maybe if I’m around them, I can turn into a sparrow or something,” Kole said, laughing. “Would take that any day over this.”
“I’m sure you’ll meet them at some point. Just let me know when you feel up for a trip.”
We talked for the next few hours and watched TV. I told Kole about Jeremy, the incident at the store, and my new minor changes. Kole spoke about a few things that had happened at home; Him getting stuck in the bathroom because hooves and doorknobs don’t pair well; Falling down the wooden stairs because hooves don’t grip well. Mostly, it was just him venting about his hooves. I just listened, as it seemed he just needed to let it out.
“I dropped out. Mom wasn’t happy, but I can’t do the classes,” Kole said with a change of tone.
“Yea, I quit going. I haven’t dropped yet, but I’m pretty sure I’m done,” I said.
Following that was a period of silence until we heard the door open. Kole’s mom stepped in the door, and her eyes went straight to me.
“Lyall! Great to see you!” she said as she walked in front of the couch. She looked at my tail and gasped.
“Oh my! When did that happen?” she asked, stepping around for a better look.
“A few days ago. It’s been a royal pain, though,” I said, looking over my shoulder at her.
“It’s gorgeous. Such a nice brown color!” she said.
Kole’s mom seemed super chill about the changes. She almost seemed excited to see mine. Don’t take it the wrong way, but it’s different than most. Most people see them as horrific things. It’s refreshing to hear her excitement over others who always pity you over changing.
I tried to feel for the one muscle I wanted. I could feel my tail swaying, then I found it. The tail flared out to a large semi-circle, then came back into place. It shook involuntarily, getting all the feathers to sit in the right spot. Learning how to control the new parts of my body had been a fun side activity. Doing so had helped keep my tail’s weird balancing motions to a minimum, or at least enough to keep them from knocking things over.
“Fancy tail work!” she said in a dramatic voice.
Kole laughed and rolled his eyes. He laid down on the couch, trying to get comfortable. His legs hung off the end, and his arms pulled in close to his body. Crossing his hooves, he just laid there watching his mom and I. I looked outside to see the sun was starting to set.
“I think I may need to head home. It is getting a bit dark out. It turns out these eyes are sharp, but I can’t see hardly anything at night,” I said, standing up.
“Do you need me to give you a ride home?” Kole’s mom asked.
“I wouldn’t say no to it.”
The drive home was pretty relaxed. Kole’s mom asked questions about how my mom was doing and how I was dealing with the changes. I told her that my mom had come around to what was happening, and I was trying to keep moving. She dropped me off, and I made my way into the house.
“Lyall, is that you?” I heard my mom yell out.
“Yeah,” I yelled back. “I’ll be upstairs if you need me.”
“Sounds good! I have dinner in the fridge if you want to reheat some of it,” she said back.
I made my way upstairs and into my room. I closed the door and sat down at the end of my bed. I rolled over onto my side, then onto my back. I laid there looking up at the ceiling. I couldn’t use any furniture at the house because of the tail and laying on the bed was the best option other than standing. I did have a plastic folding chair that I could sit in, but hard plastic started to make me sore after a while.
My pants had been rubbing on my feathers all day. Now that I was in the privacy of my room, I thought maybe I could get away without them. I pulled them off and threw them to the floor. It felt wrong to lay there with no pants on, but it felt good. This was the first time today I had been able to actually relax. I closed my eyes for a moment and let out a sigh.
“Lyall, I’m going out. Is there anything you need?” I heard my mom say through the door.
“No, I’m good.”
It was weird that she was going out this late. Usually, when she’s home for the night, she never leaves. I opened my eyes and looked at the ceiling. The room was brightly lit, much brighter than just a moment ago. I looked out the window, and it was sunny and clear outside. I must have fallen asleep and not realized it. I got out of bed and made my way to the bathroom.
Looking over myself, I didn’t see anything that wasn’t there before—a small number of feathers on my lower body, but no more than yesterday. My face looked the same with just my golden eyes. Everything was fine, and there was nothing new this time.
I changed my shirt and made my way downstairs. I poured out some cereal and unfolded my plastic chair. Right before I sat down, I heard the kitchen door open. My mom walked in hurriedly and grabbed her bag off the counter. She turned to look at me, looked down at my lower body, and quickly turned around.
“Oh my. Maybe warn me next time!” she said.
“Sorry! I thought you had left already,” I said, embarrassed and covering myself.
“Not to be nosey, but are those feathers new?” she asked, still looking away.
“I’ll have to tell you about it later. It’s really nothing new,” I said, turning around.
She left and shut the door. In a way, I wish the feathers would finish covering my privates. It would solve the pants not fitting right, along with the boxers rubbing the feathers. The more I thought about it, maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad idea. No pants, no discomfort, and perhaps easier walking.
I SHOULD be able to control it, right? Jeremy was able to. Sure he had issues, but that was from trying to revert it. I just want to go a little bit further in one area.
I looked down at myself. I just need a little more, right? If I revert by thinking of what I usually look like, then if I think about what I would look like with the feathers, they should come? Sounded like a solid idea. I walked to the dining room, where there was a tall mirror. I looked at my reflection and thought. What could go wrong? It’s just a little change. It’s not like I’m changing my whole head or something crazy.
I closed my eyes and imagined myself with feathers covering my lower body. I didn’t feel anything. So I tried to concentrate as hard as possible, seeing them grow in my mind. I started to feel a warm sensation. My crotch area and rear felt extremely warm for a bit, then the feeling stopped, and the warmth faded. I opened my eyes and saw exactly what I expected.
Cream-colored feathers covered my lower body from my hips to just above my knees. They laid down, forming a flat, smooth-looking surface broken up only by the edges. I turned around, and my rump was covered in the same feathers. The pants issue was now solved, or at least it was less of a problem.
I walked around, looking at my reflection as I did. Showing off my handiwork to myself. I was able to control it and make myself change for the better. Proud, I went and finished my now soggy cereal and went to the restroom to get ready for the day. I brushed my teeth, brushed my hair, and put on my socks. Almost ready to head for the AA house, I thought maybe I should try and revert the changes. You know, to make sure I am able to. What would Damien and the others think If they saw me like this? Did I think this through? Did this shorten the amount of time I had left?
It was possible that I could revert the changes, but enough would stick to cover myself up. That way, I’d be covered, but it wouldn’t be as obvious. But then again, not wearing pants was pretty obvious already. I closed my eyes and thought of my body before. Nothing happened. I tried to clear my head, the only thing I could think of was my featherless body. Again nothing happened. I tried over and over, but nothing changed back. The changes were stuck, burned in now.
That’s when I began to worry. What story can I make up for what happened? My mom knows I didn’t wake up like this. Will Damien figure me out? Now I have to go partially naked everywhere! My anxiety was going rampant. My stomach started to feel tight and rumbled. I felt a little sick. I tried pacing around, but it did not help at first. After walking around the bathroom a bit and finally getting myself calmed down, a very quick and sudden urge came about me. I NEEDED to use the bathroom. Not a slight feeling of it, but a feeling like it had to happen NOW!
I sat down on the seat sideways to make room for the tail, ensuring I was positioned right as usual. I’m not sure how to explain this without sounding gross, but when my head gave the signal, my tail lifted slightly, and then in one rapid act, I went. It felt incredibly alien to me. It was a quick push then it was over. The time from the feeling to going was only moments. It was a particularly shocking and surprising feeling.
I stood up quickly, and my tail instinctively shook. Still shocked by what happened. Without looking down, I flushed and looked at myself in the mirror. I started to think about it. Using the restroom before was just like any other time. Did I change more than I initially thought? What could have changed to do this?
Looking down at the perfectly smooth feathers covering my groin, I noticed there wasn’t a single ripple in them, which shouldn’t be possible. I reached my hand down and laid it on the feathers. They were soft and moved easily with just an easy nudge from my hand. I dug my fingers into the feathers as they pushed away and in between my fingers. My hand touched my skin, which was smooth apart from the quills going into it. I ran my fingers further down and expected them to contact my genitals eventually.
But there was nothing there to find.