What followed was an annoying back and forth, where he yanked the slider up, waited for water to flow – a slow, stingy stream – then let go, bent over the barrel, and craned his neck to catch the last sip from the inlet, before the stream cut off again. There was, by now, barely a talon’s width between the pipe’s mouth and the surface of the water. As he angled his beak toward the inlet, his cheek and neck feathers dipped into the barrel. He was soaked instantly.
It was not worth it. The first attempt earned him little more than a mouthful. The meagre flow of water was not strong enough to hold the stone slider open on its own.
Yu wiped at his cheek and neck, and then he tried again.
He lifted the slider and waited for the water to flow and come out of the inlet.
He let go and bent down as it slid back shut.
He tilted his face. His check got wet. Stinging soap water got into his eye.
He got one sip of fresh water.
He wiped at his eye and tried again.
He straightened and grabbed the slider. He lifted and waited for the water to flow. He let go and bent down, tilted the head and kept the left eye shut. He still got wet.
One sip of water.
He did it again.
He wiped the soap off. Straightened. Grabbed. Lifted. Let go. Bent. Tilted, eyes shut.
Another miserable mouthful.
Again.
Wipe, straighten, grab, pull, bend, tilt, swear. More fucking soap and another shitty sip.
Again.
“Wipe the shit off, grab the fucking thing, pull the fucking thing —”
Yu yanked too hard. The slider went all the way out of the slot and then of course he dropped it.
For a moment, Yu just stood there, staring. He was so done with this whole shitshow process that he just did not give a fuck anymore. He bent down and drank deeply, at last. The water was cold. Shockingly cold. But it felt unbelievably good to finally get more than a trickle. He kept drinking until his throat stopped aching and his stomach felt almost painfully heavy.
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