Sugar and Chemicals

           Zupzerp is fairly used to the quiet of the city, nothing to keep her company but the soft gusts of wind rattling off the buildings and the occasional hum of insects. Unfortunately for her, today was not a quiet day, somebody was screaming down the street about bugs.
           “Why would someone complain about bugs, of all things? They rarely bother me, why would they bother this fool?” She thought, her thoughts seared from years of little interaction, empathy is not her strong suit. Slowly stomping over, Zupzerp suddenly got hit by the pungent stench of something overly sweet. Her body suddenly recoiled at the new scent before realizing that the person up ahead is a raptor with a strangely pink and blue coat, and what she believes is the source of this odor.
           “Hey! Why are you screaming and yapping about bugs? Don’t you know other people live here? You’re so disruptive and your smell is giving me a headache,” Her voice was scornful and loud, probably an overreaction but she didn’t care at this point. She quickly noted how out of place the raptor seemed, the pink and blue coat of theirs clashing with the gray and green of the dead city.
           “THEY WON’T GET OFF OF ME! WHY ELSE WOULD I SCREAM ABOUT BUGS?!” His reply was equally harsh, which was fair from the treatment he’s getting, “ALSO! There’s little critters as well! Not just bugs you fool!”
           “Well my bad!” She finally reached the pink and blue mess, the scent of what she believes is called candy assaulting her senses, “If I help you, will you stop complaining and then leave?”
           “Yes? Why would I want to stay here or deny help?!” He was aggressively swatting at the air during the conversation, unfortunately doing nothing to cease the attack on his feathery coat.
           “Alright, come with me. I know a spot with something that may help you,” Without saying another word, she simply began marching to the location in mind, an old and decrepit camping supply store. Of course she doesn’t know what a lot of the objects in there are used for, but she understands that some of the strange metal cylinders inside repel insects very well.
           They moved slowly across the city, Sugarsweet taking several breaks to try and rub off as many bugs as he could on street lights before giving up and continuing. Zupzerp often huffed impatiently during these attempts, wanting to just get going. For once the buzz of insects was getting on her nerves badly, coupled with the scent. She was starting to get a headache from everything going on, she already deeply missed the quiet she was accustomed to.
           “We’re getting close, hope you can hold out a bit longer before going completely mad. Oh, what’s your name too? If you don’t answer I might have to start calling you Pinky,” Her face proudly displaying a sly smirk while talking to him, clearly enjoying the potential opportunity to call someone Pinky of all things.
           “My name is- ACK! My name is Sugarsweet! These damn INSECTS! I’d appreciate you- OUCH! Not calling me Pinky!” Struggling to get a sentence out while also fighting the swarm off, apparently some of the bugs attacking him do actually bite, deciding now was a great time to nip. Zupzerp was tempted to continue poking fun but ultimately felt bad at his predicament, realizing that she’d also be incredibly angry and loud if she was swarmed like that. At least she didn’t smell like some of the strange bottles of fluid she’s found in some of these ruins, and also had a thick enough hide to generally shake off bug bites.
           “We’re near, hopefully I’ll be able to find one of the strange metal tubes bugs hate, apparently the liquid inside makes them run away?” She wasn’t quite sure why the bugs hated it, but she was pretty sure the scent was one of the reasons, hopefully Sugarsweet doesn't freak out about smelling even more weird.
           The store was gray and rectangular like the rest of the buildings, but one thing stood out, it had a strange shape of what she believed was a tree right by its broken sign. She didn’t know what any of the shapes at the front of the structure meant, or what this place was used for, but she could guess. The one thing she did know for certain is that there’s strange things inside that make bugs go away. She pushed the partly damaged doors inwards, carefully entering and ushering Sugarsweet in. They both were hit with a dank scent, usual for an abandoned place such as this.
She heard whimpers from him, guessing he was anxious about going into such a gross, dark place. She simply huffed and continued in, it was dark but she used the smell of the strange liquid to guide her to their prize. She stepped lighter than usual here, not sure if the old structure was entirely stable, although she doubted it was moments from collapsing. It was simply better to be safe than sorry with these things.
           “Hey, you have better vision than me in the dark, right? If you see these weird green tubes with metal at the bottom, pick one up,” Her tone was hushed, still trying to be careful to not disturb anything more than she had to.
           “Yes, I’m pretty sure I do- hold on, I found one!” his hushed tone quickly turned into a shout as he dashed over to grab one of the canisters of bug spray. He gripped the canister hard as he quickly made it out, not wanting to dwell in such a disgusting place for long.
           Zupzerp just sighed before yet again carefully walking through the building, quietly muttering to herself about how frustrating Sugarsweet’s impatience is. She could understand it though, relate to it even, but it still irritated her greatly. She finally made it outside, seeing the sun setting over the towering buildings, something that she always enjoys watching. She then remembered Sugarsweet existed, hearing him whine about not being able to make it work.
           “What if you just poked a hole in it? Should allow the stuff inside to leave then?” Tilting her head as she asked, not exactly sure how to make it function as well.
           “Uhm alright then,” said Sugarsweet, eyeing the strange object. He noticed the bugs didn’t follow him in but he was anxious about the swarm gathering again to attack him. He was at his wits end and decided to risk it just for some relief.
           Without much care, he poked a hole inside the can with his claw, while also holding it directly in front of his face and snout. Near instantly, his face was flooded with a strange liquid, getting up in his nose and mouth, even his eyes. He immediately dropped it before coughing, sneezing, and wheezing. He quickly found a fresh enough puddle to try and clean his face with, while still trying to get the gross stuff out of his mouth and nose. Even resorting to dunking his entire head in to try and stop the burning. As he was working on that, Zupzerp noticed the can spraying on the floor, thrashing around as the pressurized fluid escaped its confinement.
           Not exactly sure what to do, she decided the best idea was just to crush it, but unfortunately it was still right by Sugarsweet. As she applied pressure to the can, it ended up completely popping, splatting even more fluid onto Sugarsweet’s hide, and even covered her underside. She didn’t particularly care but his hide was now damp with a fluid that gave him an odor somewhat worse than the sweet aroma he had previously. Apparently the old dried up fluid smelled only mild compared to the chemicals still fresh enough in the can.
           “GAH!” shouted Zupzerp, she remembered the can was metal right after stomping it, and felt some metal imbed itself into her foot. She quickly managed to rip it out with her beak, but now she was bleeding and Sugarsweet was coughing and gagging. After a bit of time, both the coughing and bleeding stopped. Sugarsweet’s nose was incredibly runny but they both eventually noticed that the bugs did not return, it seemed to have worked.
           “That was probably the singular worst moment in my entire life… but at least the damn bugs are finally gone. Thank you, uhhh, I don’t think you ever gave me your name?” His tone was grateful but also a bit dry, not exactly happy about coughing and heaving for minutes on end.
She glanced at him, before saying, “Oh, right. My name is Zupzerp. I guess you’ll be on your way now that the bugs are gone?”
           “Yes, I’ll be going now. Good riddance to those bugs, also you should work on your speaking skills if you ever want anyone to tolerate you,” said Sugarsweet, incredibly bluntly. He let out a final cough before walking away, incredibly exhausted from today’s adventure and from being insulted by Zupzerp. Finally happy to be rid of the bugs and of her. She was simply watching him walk away, glad to finally return to her silent peace.