An Unusual Upgrade: Feather Boa #167 Tryout

"I'm not sure about this, Mau..." Adam mumbled, holding his friend's arm tightly. Mau huffed, and Adam assumed he was grinning. He'd never been able to see it, but their other friends had explained the other Feather Boa's signature grin to Adam. It always meant that he was planning something. And if he was wearing that grin now, then Adam was very, very nervous.

"Ah, come on, Adam," Mau replied. "This'll be just fine! I figure since your cane broke, we should get you a really cool upgrade."

"An...upgrade?" Adam questioned, taking note of the excitement in Mau's voice. It was usually low and rumbly, like the engine in a sports car, but when Mau got excited it became a little higher pitched with shorter spaces between the words. "What do you mean?"

Mau led him around a corner, and Adam could tell that they next went through a door. The place smelled weird, like some kind of garage. But he could hear the crunch of carpet under his shoes, so he knew this had to be a store or someone's house.

"I've brought you to see a friend of mine. I think he can help you out," Mau explained. Adam gripped his arm tighter, hearing the lizard that Mau apparently carried around skittering in its tank. It seemed as though everyone except Adam was excited about this.

"Oh hey! Mau! Glad you could make it, this must be the friend you were telling me about."

It was a voice that Adam didn't recognize. The owner was male, and he was older, Adam could tell. His voice gave away his age; older voices were almost gravelly like well-trodden dirt paths. Fyodor's was deep, but not in the same way as Mau's. It reminded Adam of the people who narrated books or nature shows. The stranger walked towards them, and Adam took note of his heavy steps. Maybe he was the reckless kind? Mau walked in the same fashion, though his steps were faster.

"Yeah! Fyodor, this is Adam. Adam, meet Fyodor," Mau introduced them. Adam nervously extended his arm, offering Fyodor a handshake. The stranger took it and shook hard, almost knocking Adam over.

"Pleasure to finally meet you," Fyodor said. "I hear that I might be able to help you out."

"Ah, yeah," Adam murmured. "Hey, sorry, do you mind describing what you look like really quick? It helps me visualize you better."

There was a pause, which Adam was used to. He knew that it was a pretty weird request. But Fyodor suddenly started laughing.

"Oh sure! Good thing my wife isn't here; she'd hate me talking about myself. Says it goes right to my head."

Adam snorted and smiled, feeling himself start to relax. It was nice that Fyodor was so cool about it; people usually brought up Adam's blindness right away and became nervous about upsetting him.

"Well, I'm a Kalon for starters. Brown fur, blue markings in stripes down my legs. Signature mustache on my face, it's pretty much the manliest thing ever. Blue eyes, about average height and with the sexiest dad-bod ever. That's about it, I think?"

The description of colours didn't mean much to Adam, as he'd never actually seen them. But he knew what a Kalon was like. He had friends of the species, and he new that they generally had small ears and weird, harder growths on their tails. Adam nodded gratefully, smiling at some of Fyodor's comments, then turned back to Mau.

"So why'd you bring me here?"

"Like I told you before; an upgrade! We're gonna get you something that's even better than your cane, right Fyodor?" Mau explained, though it didn't make much sense to Adam.

"You're gonna love this, hold on," Fyodor said, his heavy steps growing quieter as he walked away, presumably to grab whatever this "upgrade" was. They grew louder again as he came back, and Adam could hear something swinging which he guessed Fyodor was holding. It sounded like some kind of fabric, perhaps like that of a seat belt?

"Would you mind trying this on?" Fyodor asked, pressing the object into Adam's hands. "Mau gave my wife your shirt size, so it should be ok, but I can have her make alterations if it's not. It should be pretty comfy! It's made with the softest seat belts we could find."

Adam laughed, but he was still pretty confused. He turned the belt - no, it seemed like a series of attached belts - over in his hands. They seemed to have little nubs attached to them in certain places, and as Adam ran his finger over them he could tell that they were a mix of plastic and metal.

"Oh here, let me help you," Mau said, gently taking the object from Adam's hands. "It's a harness, but it should slip right over your shirt. Let's see..."

Adam held his arms out as Mau moved around him, attaching the harness over his shirt as gently as he could. Adam stiffened as the belts and nubs settled against him. They made a weird scratching sound against his shirt.

"Ok, there's a switch right above the clip in the center of your chest," Fyodor explained. "Try turning it on?"

Adam slowly reached up and pressed the button. Immediately, there was a high pitched beeping noise, causing Adam to shout in surprise and step back. A different beeping suddenly sounded, which made him step forward again.

"What is that?!" he hissed, reaching out and trying to find Mau again. Someone touched his arm; the rough pawpads identified the person as Mau.

"Easy, Adam," Mau said, the excitement in his voice replaced with the much deeper tone of worry. "That's just the sensors."

"The sensors...?" Adam questioned. Was that what those nubs were?

"We figured that the cane you had may have been kind of cumbersome, so Mau thought you might benefit from something that could keep your hands free," Fyodor explained. "They're actually parking sensors meant for cars. When you get too close to something - or in this case, when we got too close to you - they make a noise. The sensors on each side make slightly different noises, so you can tell which direction is the problem."

"...huh..." Adam hummed, turning around and listening to each sensor sound off when it detected Mau. "That's...really cool actually."

"Looks good on you," Mau chuckled. "Shame you can't see it."

"Nah, I like the way it feels and sounds," Adam replied. "I don't need to see it." He turned to where he was pretty sure he'd heard Fyodor move to, smiling excitedly. "Thank you, really."

"Hey, it was fun to put together," Fyodor told him. "Go ahead and try it out! Let's see if you can't get through the door by yourself."

Adam nodded and turned around, using his feet to navigate the place. The floor in front of doors was always the most worn, and Adam found the flatter part that sounded different under his shoes. He followed it until the sensors from the front of the harness went off, then tentatively reached a hand out. He met the wood of a door, running hand down it until he found the handle. He turned it and pushed it open, causing the sensors on the front to stop. As he stepped through, the sensors on both sides went off, allowing him to stay centered as he stepped outside. His feet hit the asphalt of the pavement, and tears of happiness ran down his cheeks. This was a whole new level of independence for the blind Feather Boa.