The treatment began in earnest, , a hesitant dance around the unfamiliar territory of the male form.
Penelope, her movements slow at first, began the delicate task of removing Kiba's clothing.
This was the first time she had ever seen a man unclothed, beyond the stylized depictions in ancient murals that portrayed men as monstrous beings. The reality that lay before her was a stark contrast – a powerful physique marred by a network of crimson gashes.
A tremor of fear rippled through her, a primal aversion to touching a male form.
Circe, sensing Penelope's apprehension, offered a gentle reminder.
"Time is of the essence, Penelope! Focus on cleaning the wounds!"
Penelope took a deep breath, steeling her nerves.With trembling fingers, she unbuttoned his shirt, revealing a breathtaking expanse of toned muscle, a testament to his immense strength.
Tempest, mirroring Penelope's actions, took up a leaf soaked in a special cleaning solution and began gently wiping the blood from one side of his torso. Penelope mimicked her movements on the other side, their expressions etched with grim determination.
Minutes bled into one another as they meticulously cleaned the upper half of his body, focusing on the wounds inflicted by the self-inflicted lightning whip. A curious silence filled the room, punctuated only by the soft gasps of Kiba's ragged breathing.
Tempest's gaze drifted across his well-defined chest, her brow furrowing in confusion.
"So, men don't have the soft globes that protect our chests!" She mused to herself, her ingrained perspective momentarily challenged. Her eyes then traveled further down, encountering a sight that sent a jolt through her system.
"And they have these lines as well!" she exclaimed, mistaking his sculpted abdominal muscles for a unique male characteristic.
Circe, who had been busy preparing a potent healing solution, chuckled softly.
"Those, Tempest," she explained, "are what we call abs. They are muscles that contribute to core strength."
She then gestured towards Penelope, whose own powerful physique was disguised by her tribal garb.
"Penelope have abs as well. Even you have, though they are not as visible."
Tempest's face flushed crimson as realization dawned. "So, a man's body is fundamentally similar to a woman's, except for the lack of… globes!?" she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper.
The realization sent a wave of confusion washing over her.
Their initial terror of a monstrous "demon" was slowly giving way to a newfound understanding, albeit a very skewed understanding at that.
Circe absentmindedly nodded, her attention now focused on the concoction bubbling in a nearby cauldron.
The cleaning of his upper body complete, they reached a new hurdle – his lower half.
Blood had soaked through his pants, rendering them useless. Penelope, ever the leader, approached the garment with trepidation.
"Tempest," she stammered, "how do we… open this… garment?"
The modern clothing Kiba wore was a far cry from the flowing robes of Eden. Neither Penelope nor Tempest had ever encountered anything like a zipper or a belt.
"Haa!"
Circe, who had been silently observing their struggle, let out a sigh that bordered on exasperation.
"Goodness," she muttered, "sometimes the simplest things…"
Her voice trailed off, then she barked, "Just tear them!"
Penelope's eyes lit up with sudden understanding. With a resolute nod, she ripped the fabric down the seam, exposing his thighs.
Thankfully, the blood loss seemed less severe in this area.
Circe, having retrieved the necessary healing concoctions, left them to continue the cleaning process.
Penelope's breath hitched as her gaze landed on a previously unseen part of Kiba's anatomy. There, nestled between his thighs, was a thick mass of flesh unlike anything she'd ever encountered.
Her mind raced, searching for a reference point, a scrap of knowledge in the vast emptiness of her understanding.
"What's that!?" she blurted out, her voice laced with a mixture of fascination and fear.
Tempest followed her gaze.
"What in the name of Mother Trinity is that?!" she exclaimed, her voice laced with a mixture of curiosity and sheer terror.
The only one who could have perhaps provided an explanation had left.
Penelope's mind raced, desperately searching for an explanation.
A vague memory surfaced – a story told by a Dryad who had ventured beyond Eden's borders.
She spoke of strange, handheld devices men used to inflict harm. These devices, she recalled, had a long, cylindrical barrel and a rounded base.
A horrifying realization dawned on Penelope.
Could this… appendage… be a weapon permanently attached to Kiba's body?!
It certainly bore a resemblance to the device described by the wayward Dryad, with the two rounded protrusions at the base resembling ammunition chambers.
"This demon… no, this holy man!" Penelope thought, her mind reeling, "is even more mysterious than I first imagined! He has become one with a weapon!"
Driven by a morbid curiosity, Penelope hesitantly reached out with a single finger, gingerly touching the fleshy appendage.
A jolt of warmth shot through her hand, followed by a faint pulsating sensation.
A gasp escaped her lips as the appendage, seemingly responding to her touch, hardened considerably.
Penelope's eyes widened further.
Was this some kind of self-defense mechanism!?
Or perhaps it was simply reacting to her presence?!
Her limited knowledge of men left her completely in the dark.
Panic began to rise in her chest.
As the appendage grew rigid, it also grew in size, its length far exceeding anything Penelope could have imagined.
It strained against her grasp, finally pushing free from her trembling fingers with a soft throb.
"It's… alive!"
Penelope shrieked, her voice filled with a mixture of terror and a strange, unfamiliar tingle.
The appendage pulsed with an otherworldly heat, and Penelope swore she could almost see a faint tremor running through its length.
Her mind conjured images of sentient weapons from forgotten legends, weapons that could choose their targets and unleash destruction at will.