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Lanolin did a quick stretch, and glugged down her water bottle.
She was just walking out of one of the Restoration’s gyms, fully in workout clothes. And she wasn’t one to brag, but she was really proud of her workout back there. Her arms and legs already felt like titanium, but after giving them a quick feel, she may have hardened them even more.
(Well, okay, they didn’t feel like titanium. It’s something people call an over-exaggeration.)
But anyway, now she was heading back to her room. It was her off-day, so she had no paperwork to worry about. She could just relax, and-
Something caught the corner of her eye.
She looked to her left, and saw a bronze object just left on a bench. And upon closer inspection, it was a helmet.
“Hm… did someone leave this here?” Lanolin asked herself, curiously approaching the bench and setting her water bottle down.
Then, she remembered a few days ago, when she and the rest of the Neos went to greet Amy and the friends she brought with her. One of them, Trip the sungazer, was the owner of this helmet, she recalled. And… huh. Was it just her, or did it actually get cleaned up a bit?
“Whatever the case, she should be more mindful of her belongings…” the sheep said. “Is she even in the Restoration right now?”
She thought for a minute, and shrugged. She could just take it to the d- to Jewel, and it’ll be there in her office where no one can take it.
She grabbed the helmet with both hands. “Alright, let’s get you t-”
She tried lifting it up. It didn’t budge.
“What th- maybe it’s stuck to the bench somehow?” Lanolin guessed.
She tried again, putting more strength into it. Still no avail.
The sheep inhaled. “Oooooh-kay. Maybe if I use my legs…”
Lanolin squatted down, and attempted one more time. She grunted and pulled with all she had…
…only for her to lose her grip, and fall on her back.
“Owww…” she whined, sitting back up and rubbing the back of her head.
Maggie, her wisp companion, popped out of her wool after feeling the impact of that spill. She floated to her caretaker’s level to see if she was okay.
“I’m fine, Mags. Don’t worry,” Lanolin chuckled, getting up and dusting herself off. “This helmet’s just stuck to the bench, is all.”
She looked back at the helmet and tapped her chin.
“So lifting it up regularly won’t do the job,” she confirmed. “Maybe if I took it by the eye holes…?”
She put one hand in each of the helmet’s eye holes, and took a deep breath.
“Okay… one… two… threeEEEEE-”
The sheep grunted, and this time used both her legs and her back. Maggie did her best to help too, by grabbing the helmet by one of the spikes. And to both their surprise, that still wasn’t enough.
But Lanolin was stubborn, and she refused to be beaten by a slab of metal.
Maybe… if I try walking backwards with it…?
To test her theory, Lanolin attempted to take a step back while still holding on to the helmet.
Wait… hold on, I think I moved it a little-!
She lost her grasp on the eye holes.
And Lanolin was sent stumbling backwards, until she fell, rolled over, and landed flat on her face.
Warbling in worry, Maggie flew to Lanolin to check on her. At first, the sheep didn’t respond.
But then, she slowly raised her fists in the air, and slammed them harshly on the ground. She looked back up at the helmet, growling.
This was no longer about returning the helmet to Trip. She was going to get that damn thing off the bench if it’s the last thing she does.
Lanolin got up off the ground, and took off her gloves. Then, holding on to them with her teeth, she took off her shirt.
“Maggie? Hold these,” she scowled, as the wisp took them in her tentacles. She watched the sheep with a concerned look as she marched back to the helmet.
Lanolin blew on both her hands, rubbed them together, and cracked her knuckles. To hell with the countdown. This time, she was going for it. Maybe picking it up the old fashioned way was the move all along.
So she squatted down, grabbed the helmet, and grunted hard. And of course, the helmet wasn’t budging.
“NNNGHHHH, COME ON!” she yelled.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. She got both her feet on the bench, and continued straining herself to lift the helmet up. All the while Maggie was cheering for her to succeed.
How in the everloving fuck was getting a helmet unstuck from a bench harder than lifting 160-pound barbells?!
I can’t let this thing beat me… I WON’T LET IT BEAT ME-!
“Oh! Th-there it is!”
Suddenly the helmet was swiped from her grip. And yet again, Lanolin fell on her back.
“Ow- what the-” she began as Maggie flew to her aid.
She looked back up, and the person who took the helmet was none other than Trip. She was holding it in her two hands, smiling in relief.
…wait, WHAT?!
“Thank g-goodness it was right h-here where I left it…” the sungazer continued, oblivious, fiddling the helmet in her hands. “I-I figured somebody would have t-taken it by now!”
SO IT WASN’T STUCK?!
Then, Trip set her attention on Lanolin and Maggie.
“Oh, M-miss Lanolin!” she realized. “You were watching m-my helmet for me, weren’t you?”
“I- it- You-” The sheep was at a loss for words.
“...sure. Yes, I was,” she answered, putting a hand on her forehead. “You need to keep a better eye on your things.”
“I know, I know,” Trip said, a little ashamed of herself. “Y-you want to know something s-strange, though?”
“What?”
“S-since getting back together w-with my friends and- and making new ones, they’ve all had t-trouble picking this up,” she explained. “E-even Amy has trouble with it…”
Lanolin and Maggie looked at each other. “...huh.”
Well, knowing I’m not the only one makes me feel a little better, at least…
“I-it just strikes me as odd, especially since m-most of my friends are- are a lot stronger than I-I am…”
The sungazer put the helmet on her head, content as can be. “Well, anyway… thank y-you for watching this for me, Miss L-Lanolin!”
Lanolin smiled a little. “It was no problem. But… you can get rid of the ‘Miss.’ Just Lanolin is fine.”
“O-okay!” Trip replied happily. “B-by the way, you should p-probably put a shirt on. Aren’t you c-cold?”
The sheep blinked and looked down. She completely forgot she had her shirt off, and was only wearing a sports bra.
She squeaked and snatched her shirt off Maggie’s tentacles. Thankfully, Lanolin, Maggie and Trip were the only ones in this specific area right now.
As Lanolin hurriedly put her shirt back on, Trip began to walk away, waving. “I’ll see y-you around, Lanolin!”
Finally getting her head through her shirt, Lanolin sighed and waved back, putting on another small smile.
As she and Maggie watched Trip get further away, humming to herself, Lanolin was still a bit surprised by Trip’s ability to pick up, and wear her helmet with no issue at all.
Clearly, there’s more to that lizard than meets the eye.