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[ecotone99]

[FN] Retention

Hi, all! This is my first post here, though I’ve been writing for a couple years.

This short involves a vampire dentist helping the werewolf protagonist of my main story, Kaitlyn, gain her fangs.

Here’s what you need to know before you read:

Werewolves possess a single set of fangs and two sets of carnassial (shearing) teeth in human form. They gain these teeth within the two years after awakening at age sixteen. Each set is four teeth.

Vampires possess a single set of retractable fangs. Both creatures are born and living, not made from a curse.

Both werewolves and vampires have deciduous (primary) teeth that shed before the permanent teeth erupt, like humans.

In werewolves, the fangs are connected to an ichor gland. Ichor is a substance that forms psychic bonds when introduced into the bloodstream. It’s released like a snake’s venom and is a voluntary action.

Without further delay, here’s “Retention.” Enjoy!

Dentist Scott Reed was preparing for his day’s appointments.

As one of the few supernatural dental surgeons and hygienists in his field, he dealt with patients of all ages, from toddler vampires with budding fangs to teenage werewolves with impacted teeth.

He leafed through the charts in his hands.

A three-year-old vampire with tongue thrust, a thirteen-year-old vampire with retained deciduous fangs, and a seventeen-year-old werewolf with a congenitally absent carnassial. Nothing he hadn’t seen before in his twenty-five years as a vampire practitioner.

A new name caught his attention as he skimmed over the remaining charts. Kaitlyn Brandt. Wasn’t that Pack Massena’s new addition, the mage he had heard about?

He examined the chart more closely. Age eighteen, almost three months awakened, with no eruption of the deciduous werewolf fangs.

He remembered reading the report before, though the age must have been incorrectly transcribed.

“Eighteen? I must be reading that wrong,” he muttered, squinting at the page. No werewolf he came across had ever awakened so late.

“No, that’s correct, Dr. Reed. Age eighteen, delayed awakening from Rainer’s disease,” Jenna, his vampire assistant, commented. “She has a two forty-five evaluation.”

“But still, Rainer’s disease? We knew it as mana imbalance, but it’s still rare nowadays.”

“Irony has a sense of humor, doesn’t it? Dr. Adrian Rainer will be accompanying her.”

Doctor Reed took a breath. Adrian Rainer, the twenty-four-year-old werewolf savant, would be coming here? He had finished his late father’s work on mana disorders and the disease was named after the young prodigy, despite the common misconception of it being named after his father.

The pattern of dying mages was so infrequent that no one could ever seem to determine a cause before Wesley Rainer began his study. When he died, his son found the missing biological link and created a course of treatment for mages who produced too much mana.

“Time to get the day started, anyway. I’m seeing the patient, not her future mate.”

It was only eight o’clock, yet a sense of dread filled him.

There was a reason he and others avoided Pack Massena. They kept to themselves, and for good reason. Despite being northerners, they followed the old ways, which meant they saw no qualms about handling those they disliked.

He could only hope that today, they would be in an agreeable mood.

* * *

Two-thirty came too fast for Doctor Reed’s liking as he and his assistants waited on Kaitlyn Brandt, sitting at the reception desk.

An X-ray was the first order of business. Hopefully, her human cuspids were only retained, preventing the deciduous fangs from erupting.

Retained teeth were easily pulled, but if that wasn’t the cause...

No. He stopped there. Congenitally absent fangs happened in what, less than one percent of all cases?

Absent first or second carnassials were more common, easily restored with specialized implants. Absent fangs, however, were not so easily replaced due to their critical connection to a werewolf’s ichor gland. These werewolves would never be able to bond naturally.

Most werewolves never worried about this, as a lost fang would simply be substituted with a replacement fang that the body developed.

The doorbell chimed and in walked a blond, slender girl. A man with auburn hair followed behind her. Kaitlyn’s orange eyes—a mage’s eyes—scanned the waiting room.

Adrian, however, trained his violet eyes on Doctor Reed. “Ah, Dr. Scott Reed. How are you?” he asked, his voice open and friendly.

“Well enough. And you, Dr. Rainer?” the man replied.

“Can’t complain, although Kaitlyn has us all a little worried. Hopefully, her human cuspids are only retained.”

“That’s exactly what I thought. Let’s get you checked in and then we’ll start with an X-ray.”

* * *

Internally, Doctor Reed sighed in relief as he looked at the image on the monitor. It had been exactly as he thought.

“Well, Kaitlyn, I see the problem. Your human cuspids are retained, meaning they didn’t shed when they were supposed to. But your four deciduous fangs are here,” he said, pointing to them, “and these are your permanent fangs, still developing underneath them.”

He showed her the developing carnassials and none of her teeth were impacted, meaning they would erupt normally.

“It looks so weird. They’re all stacked on top of each other,” she said, sitting in the exam chair and looking at the image curiously.

He laughed lightly. “That’s how all teeth develop, not just supernatural teeth like these. Now, would you rather have me pull your cuspids today, or during your next appointment?”

Kaitlyn looked at Adrian. “What do you think?”

“Sooner is better than later, Dove. I also think both pairs should be extracted during one appointment, not two.”

“Generally, I would disagree,” Doctor Reed began, “as my average patients aren’t medically supervised around the clock. But, in this case, I find it acceptable.”

He turned to Kaitlyn. “You’d also heal faster with both pairs extracted at the same time, and all four fangs would erupt concurrently.”

“If it’s best, then let’s just do it now,” she replied.

“Wonderful. We’ll start immediately.”

As Doctor Reed watched Jenna prepare Kaitlyn, while Adrian explained to her what was happening, his fears dissipated.

Maybe, just maybe, Pack Massena wasn’t quite the fearsome circle he had believed. Nevertheless, it was always a good idea to make friends. The opportunities to be had could be great indeed.

Edit: Corrections

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[sheila-gh]

One of the top 2018 wish list spots. Contact me to get your #bucketlist trips sorted! . . . . #lushlife #travel #instatravel #travelexpert #worldtraveler #adventuretravel #adventure #lifewelltravelled #sustainabletourism #ottawatravelexpert #followme #wanderlust #letsgo #traveldeeper #passportready #luxurytravel #photooftheday #tasteintravel Repost @naturalhabitatadventures (@get_repost) ・・・ A polar bear cub pads across the snowy tundra near Churchill, Canada, giving a small group of Nat Hab travelers the sighting of a lifetime. . Thanks to Expedition Leader Colby Brokvist for sharing this great photo! Follow him at @colbyoutdoors to see more pictures from his nature adventures around the world. . . . . #churchillcanada #polarbear #polarbearcubs #explorecanada #polar_bear #exploremb #polarbearlove #polarbearsofinstagram #polarbearcub #babyanimal #motherbear #bearwatching #bearviewing #bearencounter #polarbearsafari #bearsighting #wwftravel #polarbearwwf #mammabear🐻 #naturalhabitatadventures (at Churchill, Manitoba)