Art by the incredible squidboner Who was an amazing joy to work with and had a ton of great ideas for this! Definitely go show them some love! Original here.

“I could use a very very stiff drink,” Ankina muttered with a haggard and deeply heavy sigh. Visions of scotch and soda splashing into a sweating highball glass before her eyes, almost tangible against her lips. So, without delay, Ankina made a beeline for the shower instead.

She stood in the hot steam for a moment first, eyes closed and lungs full of steam, and only when her fur was just about already soaked did she step under the streaming water. The day fell away around her, rolling down her back and over her shoulders, streaming in tributaries down her body. She allowed herself some time to just enjoy it before settling in to scrubbing things down.

With Curlers in her hair and a body wrapped with a fresh warm towel, Ankina settled in after a (relatively) quick drying. The shower was a good starting point, but there was one more tool in Ankina’s de-stressing kit. Possibly the most important one.

There was something about painting her hooves that Ankina just loved; even more so than painting her nails. Sure, part of it was just the much wider and flatter canvas, but there was also the act of taking something that people may view as gross or hideous and owning it as a part of yourself. Making it beautiful just for yourself.

The polish laden brush slid across her hoof with a practiced precision. Almost muscle memory with how many times Ankina had done it. She’d started this regimen so long ago; starting out with a subtle clear base and top coat. Even now she could still remember the anxiety it used to cause her. The fear that someone would find out. She glanced at the bright purple bottle in her hand and grinned.

If there was one thing that Ankina knew, it was that happiness had to be found in a bottle, it was much more likely to be found in the bottom of a bottle of polish.