#feel free to drop more enrichment in the cage | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

wickedsrest-rp-archive · 3 years ago

Text

ZOOted | group chatzy

TIMING: Midday, August 29, 2021. LOCATION: The Main Street of Downtown. SUMMARY: What’s black and white and silent all over? The creatures at the zoo make their grand escape. TRIGGERS: Brief vomit (marked in chatzy), animal death.

Anara Kingston was just getting ready to open up her family bistro for the day, hands propped on her hips as she admired the storefront that multiple generations had made thrive on the corner of Main Street in Downtown White Crest. There was your usual display of signage, an eye-catching banner that advertised a meatball sandwich special, and a small paper in the lower left corner of the front window that proudly read ‘127 days since last accident’. The notice was actually one of the larger draws of the establishment in a town such as White Crest, where oddities and danger seemed to lurk around every dark corner. People wanted to feel safe while they ate, munching on overpriced meals while they tarried the day away. Anara leaned forward to polish the glass in front of the advertisement of their sanctity, only to stiffen when she heard a foreign braying of...was that a donkey? No. She’d been around enough of the farms that peppered White Crest to know it wasn’t the sound of such a creature.

A clopping of hooves was quick to follow the strange barking, and to the shop owner’s amazement, none other than a genuine zebra had begun to parade down Main Street, children and adults laughing and pointing alike as the escaped creature began to graze on the flowerbeds of a plant shop.

Nell stared for a solid minute at the zebra that had waltzed down Main Street as if he owned the place, already trying to figure out whether this was some bullshit she was willing to deal with today, or if she should simply call Kaden at Animal Control and make this his problem. Unfortunately her decision was made for her as a swarm of pixies, seemingly also escaped from the zoo, buzzed after the zebra to tug at anything they could get their grimy little hands around. With a deep sigh, Nell made her way over to the swarm that was doing their best to scalp a woman by yanking at her hair. This was now officially a problem she needed to solve.

Sai huffed as he ran down the sidewalk after a black horned Scapegoat that had gleefully decided to aid some oddly silent goats on their break towards glorious freedom. “No Ibulba! They live in the zoo!”

Keys rattled as Metzli strode towards their gallery, deciding to walk through Main Street. Yuca was leashed and in tow, picking up her pace in excitement. She always loved walking about the gallery. All the pets and enrichment she could ask for, making for a very happy cat. That was until, a swarm of sprites zoomed past the two and made the vampire stumble and trip, dropping their umbrella. Yuca mewled terribly, angry and shocked by the sudden interruption.

Metzli barely had enough time to react as they saw the swarm circling back around. Eyes widened and they reached for a door, any door to swiftly let Yuca inside, but it was no use. The sun made their skin sting and bones ache, but getting their cat to safety was the top priority. Leaping into an alleyway, only a few of the sprites managed to find them and picked and prodded at their skin. “What the fuck!” They yelled, hoping they could catch someone’s attention as they wrapped their arms around Yuca.

It had been drizzling on and off all day, leaving the pavement tiles slightly slicker than Chloe liked as she navigated her trolley along the road. Her mind was fractured in several place - thinking about the strange flower order she’d processed for a funeral this morning that for some reason wanted tree roots in the bouquet as well as flowers, about the grocery shop she’d just finished, and the painting of Lydia’s face that stuck with her. She didn’t notice the rumbling of animals at first, until something pig-sized, black, and white cantered past her. Chloe screamed, jumping back as she waved her umbrella at the mime-like creature, her eyes wide. After a second, her hand clutching her chest, Chloe realised it wasn’t another evil type of mime, but just a… an anteater? No, what were they called… The ones with the longer noses that looked a little like pie-bald pigs…. The word would come to her in a moment, but it didn’t look too threatening.

Unfortunately, most things in White Crest didn’t.

Bly had spent the morning in a coffee shop with Nas and overall it had been a really freaking good time. Nas had to meet up with his girlfriend so he had left them alone in the shop until they had finished their coffee. Leaving with the shop, overpacked backpack slung over their shoulder, they stopped short. Was there like a fair and they had missed the advertisements? It didn’t really seem like a fair, but White Crest was weird like that. “So, uh, is this like an event? I didn’t buy a ticket so I’m not sure if I’m allowed to be here?” They looked over to a person nearby, hands splayed out in front of them. “I don’t have cash on me either, so I can’t even buy a ticket!”

White Crest’s one and only white Bengal tiger prowled around, looking at all of the strange and new sights that one never gets to see from behind a cage. However, she only had one thing on her mind. Where, oh where, was that zebra?

Alcher didn’t often go into town, but something had piqued her interest today. She could smell the animals crowding the streets, free from their cells at the local zoo. It was something she knew would be fun to watch, if not join in on. Unfortunately, being a wolf in this commotion might end up with her being chased by the humans who thought animals belonged in cages as well, so it was in her human guise that she showed up downtown, arms folded as she watched. Someone spoke up nearby, and Alcher shrugged. An event, not that would be funny. A smile curled her lips. “I can not say, but I can say I am enjoying this, are you?”

Nell didn’t necessarily want to kill the sprites. After all, as far as murderous pint-sized things went, they were decently harmless for the most part. And perhaps she could relate with being so angry at a world while being so little. Not that she’d ever admit that. So instead of burning them to bits with some form of iron, she looked around for any sort of box, container, something to hold the creature within. Seeing the person struggling with their umbrella nearby she yelled out to them. “You got a box or something? A bag? Anything?”

Morgan couldn’t remember how she’d convinced herself that taking Sundew along her usual weekend walk/leisurely shopping trip would be relaxing. On their way, the smug pixie delighted in reading every sign, front page, and logo they passed. When Morgan said Sundew didn’t have to, she knew how smart she was, she seriously didn’t have to, the pixie only cackled and circled higher to see more things, and then spoke of her ambition to market something to humans as ‘natural and organic’ and fill it with cat droppings. And this was before Morgan went from giving Bex a look of apology one next and starting a zebra eyeball-to-eyeball the next.

If Morgan had ever learned anything useful about zebras, it vanished in that moment. All she could process were its stripes, its beady, wicked little black eyes, and the tension freezing her cold muscles.

“That's a dummy looking horsey,” Sundew giggled. “It’s hair is almost as funny looking as yours!”

Morgan ached to take the pixie and squeeze her quiet, but it dawned on her, just in time, that there were a lot of people she recognized just beyond her (at least one she never wanted to see) and stare-down with a zebra was going to be the least of her concerns.

“Sai!” Morgan called. “You’re proficient in animal handling, right??”

Things in White Crest had been pretty mild, all things considered, which to experts like Leah meant that mischief was right around the corner. She had been thinking it all morning, and the thoughts continued to plague her as she sat for a quick lunch in the park. No sooner had the thought crossed her mind again than she heard a rumbling close by- literally around the corner. She stood up suddenly, confusion lacing her features, and walked toward Main street where she saw the contents of the zoo quite literally spilling out into town. A couple of lemurs hung from a tree nearby and suddenly, a dalmatian soared past her, running in the direction of a pet supply shop. Did the zoo hold dalmations now, too?

“Uhhh, I mean, I am trying to enjoy it but, like, there’s a tiger here now.” Bly said etched the animal began to look around looking like it was trying to find prey. “I’m pretty sure it would probably try to eat me if it had a chance. I don’t want to be eaten today?” There was a lemur somewhere nearby, Bly could hear it and they were starting to think this wasn’t an event. “Do you think we should like call the government or something?”

Sai ran up to one of the zoo employees that’d been rather nonchalantly pursuing the escaping animals, recognizing their striped uniform and panda hat. “I’m sorry… sir did you ..” he panted hands on his knees. “See which …way…the …goats..went?”

The Quiet Panda Fan regarded Sai expressionlessly for a time. Eyes with strange white pupils and black irises, contacts no doubt, seemed to bore into some deep place inside of the wizard. The Panda Fan turned and walked into an alley out of sight.

“Oh thanks!” Sai followed after, thinking Ibulba and the goat exodus had run into a dead end. He walked into the alley only to watch the Panda fan be torn apart by some unseen force, sinews, sin, and fuzzy panda kitsch unraveling into a haze of hair-thin black and white strands. The pale and dark flesh-ribbons swirled around Sai like a school of curious Koi fish before slithering onto the walls of the alley. Black and white murals of zebras, penguins, pandas danced beneath a picture of a black sun with white rays all over the alley walls. Above it all were the words “BENEATH THE LOATHSOME NOISE OF LIFE, BLESSED SILENCE WAITS.”

Sai swallowed as he stared, but thankfully Morgan's voice called out from somewhere on the street. “Uh…uh, yes! Yes I can help,” the wizard shouted, running aware from the black and white murals now adorning the alley bricks.

Forming into a ball to protect Yuca and their face, Metzli heard Nell call out her question. They answered in a frustrated huff, “Does it look like a have a fucking box?!” Swatting away with an arm they growled and hit several of the few sprites picking at them, even managing to grab one and bite its head off without a second thought.

Somewhere, in the distance, screaming could be heard. A waddle of penguins had just stolen a man’s coffee.

“I think it’s cute,” Bex had said when Morgan insisted Sundew didn’t need to read every sign possible as they strolled downtown. She was like a toddler, learning to read for the first time, and eager to show off and prove to people how smart they were. Bex gave Sundew a smile, and a quiet wink when Morgan stopped and Bex nearly ran into her. In the street, a zebra trotted by, and for a moment, Bex wasn’t sure she was seeing things right. She rubbed her eyes, looked between the animal and Morgan, snapping to and realizing it was, in fact, real, when she called out to Sai. What was he doing here? Why was there a zebra downtown? But as she looked around, she noticed more animals roaming the streets and took off in a trot after Morgan. “What’s going on-- what is that?” Wide curious eyes, not sure if she was supposed to panic or be of help somehow.

The anteater? Pig? shaped animal slowed to a trot in front of Chloe, then snuffled at a nearby plant pot full of purple gardenias, its long nose prodding and poking at the flowers. Skeptically, Chloe bristled the umbrella at it, not trusting that anything this innocuous looking could truly be innocuous. Someone yelled at her and she tore away her eyes from the creature for a second to look at the young woman. “Uh!” She yelled back, looking at her trolley full of groceries, before remembering that she’d packed some extra reusable cotton bags in case she bought more. Turning her gaze back to the animal that was now happily monching on the flowers, she pulled out the reusable bags. “Will these do? What is going on??”

Alcher regarded the tiger that was pointed out with a placid expression. “She is beautiful, isn’t she?” The child was complaining, and they smelled so human, it made Alcher’s nose crinkle through the scents of animals free from their prisons. “You do not know that. Not all animals are vicious and want to eat everything.” A shrug, and she was strolling away from them and into the street. “What good can men in suits do? I say enjoy the show, kinder, perhaps it is a free one.”

Nell growled in frustration as the first person proved useless, though she supposed they were busy protecting their cat. Fine. As always, she’d have to do it herself. But then another woman procured a plastic bag, and there was hope for the people of the world and their abilities to respond to a crisis once again. “It’s gonna have to do!” Nell said while reaching out for the bags, already thinking of a spell she could use to make them stronger, harder to be torn apart by little sprite hands. “Looks like a jail break,” Nell replied dryly, recognizing some of the animals from the zoo.

The tiger could smell her prey in the distance. It was near a group of the two legged creatures, those humans who locked her in behind those bars and watched her. Now, she watched them. Now, they would not separate her from her meal. She moved forward with the confidence of a prisoner released from her cage after too long. Like a prisoner, she wanted a good meal, and she wanted it fresh. One of the humans, a strange smelling one, one that did not seem human at all, regarded her, and so the tiger returned the look only for a moment. She was so hungry. She would eat.

The sprites became preoccupied by Nell’s trapping attempt, giving Metzli enough time to get up and run off with Yuca in their arms. That’s when they saw the rest of the animals roaming about the street. Zebras, tigers, and several others. Supernatural others. “Whoa…” They said, amazed and confused. “What is happ—” They were interrupted by running into someone, and that someone was Morgan.

“My familiar is criminal,” declared Sai mournfully as he reached Morgan, Bex, and another clumsy person, face flushed from a long sprint down several streets.

“I guess?” Bly had to admit it did make sense that animals didn’t always want to eat people. Still… They didn’t want to test it. “They might get hurt if we don’t help them though! A tiger or a zebra isn’t going to do well in Maine. It’s cold here.” Then the tiger was looking at them and Bly was pretty thankful they didn’t pee themself. They slowly inched behind the intense lady, “I don’t like this. Making eye contact with a tiger is a bad idea!”

Sundew had never dreamed of a more perfect day. The humans looked so silly with their faces like that and one of them made the funniest sound when a fluffy cloud of sprites swarmed and picked at her nisty-nasty hair.

Sundew flew out of her hiding spot on Morgan’s shoulder and conjured a mallet just her size between her fingers. She bonked the human running toward them to help, then she flew toward the sprites, cackling, “Yes! Yes! Cage-free chaos!” Then she flew to the nearest human and bit their hand and left the image of a lion paw on their wrist instead. “Woopsie! Better get that checked out! I hope your premiums are good!”

Morgan looked from Sundew, to Sai, to Bex, to the zebra, and back again. There were people losing their coffee, people losing their sanity, Nell and Chloe maybe doing something clever with a plastic bag, and it was all too much.

“What do you mean criminal?” She cried. “Did Ibulba do this?” Normally this would’ve been outrageous but nothing was outrageous today. The zebra bared his teeth and Morgan jumped back and ran into someone else.

“Oh, hi. Nice day for a walk, huh? You really might wanna consider going anywhere else right now.” Then she saw Sundew fluttering back their way with a familiar, dangerous look on her face. “Or better yet, get down! This really isn’t safe for anyone!”

Chloe eyed the animal chewing on the plants, itching around it carefully. When she looked up at Nell again, she frowned, finally realising that the ungulate creature wasn’t the only thing running around. All of the animals were black and white, and despite the havoc they were creating, they were much quieter than a normal stampede. “Are you going to use a bag to try and stop-” Chloe gestured at the skunks, snakes and single cow, as well as the terrifying creature beside them. Its nose was too long and flexible. She didn’t trust it.

Bex glanced between Sai and Morgan. Sai seemed breathless and Morgan seemed panicked and Sundew was off making trouble with some small, butterfly-looking creatures that seemed to like her. As far as animal handling went, Bex had rolled low, she’d never been around animals in her life, but that didn’t mean she didn’t know anything about them. The zebra brayed at them and she scooted behind Morgan as well, when someone bumped into them. A familiar someone.

“Metzli??” she breathed, raising a brow. Why were they here? It was still daytime! “Oh, watchout!” She called, tugging on their arm as Sundew whizzed toward them, ready to spread more antics. “Sundew, no, please!” she tried. The pixie rarely listened to Bex, even though she often let them braid her hair in the garden and laugh about silly pixie things.

Nell shook her head while she mumbled a quick spell under her breath, and the cotton bag stiffened into something much harder. “What?” she asked with vague annoyance on her features while she tried to figure out how to herd the sprites into the bag. “You want me to use the bag on the tapir?” That was the long-nosed thing standing next to Chloe, right? She remembered seeing them in the jungles of South America. “If you wanna keep it as a pet you’re gonna have to use something else. Maybe think of a name for it first. But no- this is for them!” she replied, gesturing towards the swarm of pixies.

“Maybe? I don’t know? She is aiding and abetting it at least, and her unluck is very powerful ,” Sai confessed glumly, as if somehow convinced his magic goat would be put on trial for zoo escapes.

It was too late, Metzli was knocked to the ground and Yuca yelled out in terror. She almost ran off, but they managed to grab her leash and pull her back in as they got to their feet. They were too frantic between the chaos and trying to get into some shade. “Oh. Hi Bex!” They said in a daze and ran under a nearby canopy for protection with Yuca in their arms once again. Her hackles were raised and she was growling.

Leah watched from across the street as a panda bear chewed on pages from a book, and that was the last straw. Chaos and carnage she could let go, but book destruction? Unacceptable. She stomped across the street toward the bear, taking a deep breath to settle herself as she went.

The tiger and her gorgeous coat stopped to regard Alcher for a moment, and what a sight she was. Alcher simply stood and admired her back, giving a nod. She didn’t need help stalking her prey, but the proud zebra had strutted further down the street and seemed to be oblivious to the chaos it had caused, if maybe proud. Alcher could relate. She would want to kill it, too. Perhaps it would taste sweet, like the smell of fae hanging in the air. Fae blood was a treasure for someone like Alcher, though she did not indulge often-- fae held grudges, fae remembered, fae had magic she didn’t want to mess with. Alcher turned to beckon to the child, whose worry was palpable. “I think they’ll do just fine. Keep up, if you don’t want to be the next meal.”

The lemurs began jumping on people, using their little hands to flip people off. They’d learned things during school field trips.

Sundew would later tell her troop that she’d made fifty humans think they were turning into animals even if it was only more like ten.

“Can’t catch me!” She giggled, whizzing by Bex. She pulled on the girl’s hair as hard as she could, humans were so silly when they weeble-wobbled, and did several circles in the air to show how much she was enjoying herself. She circled around to where the sprites were clustering and touched her toes to the tops of their heads as she crowed, “Fly my pretties, fly!” Just to get them good and riled up.

The zebra in front of Morgan pulled its ears back and huffed silently, then, swift as chaos, it reared and lunged at Morgan, knocking her down as it pranced toward freedom. Morgan wheezed, wincing as her chest bent back into the right shape, and looked ahead into the thick cluster of goats and animals. “What I’m hearing, Sai, is that this is only gonna get worse until we find your goat. And so we gotta—“ she gestured vaguely at the mess brewing in front of them. “Find her?”

A tall jogger sighed and scooped up a grizzly bear cub that’d been making excited friendly noises at the bibio-voric panda bear and had begun to imitate to see if human literature was indeed delicious. “No Zeke,” Roy sighed, chiding his youngest sibling. “We can’t play with cousin right now.”

Bly’s mouth was dry, this lady just nodded at the tiger. The tiger who was hunting was nodded at by a Lady who didn’t seem to care. Their fingers drummed a rhythm against their sternum, drowning out the pounding underneath it. “You think it might be hungry after a different meal?” Their voice was reaching a scared squeaking pitch. “Should I call my mom?”

“No! I thought you wanted to use the bag on the tapir! It looks shifty!” Chloe yelled back, eyeing it suspiciously again. “I don’t want it as a pet!” All bickering about the tapir faded away as she saw the sprites twisting around in the air. Chloe froze, shrinking in on herself as she clutched her iron necklace her breath racing. “I- I can’t- I can’t I can’t-” She handed Nell an iron necklace with a long iron chain on it, fingers trembling as she pressed her back against the wall. Please don’t notice me, please don’t notice me, she thought as loud as she could.

Bex recoiled. “See if I ever share my gummies with you again!” she growled at the pixie as she incited a rebellion among the butterfly beings. Her eyes roamed again until she found Metzli under a canopy, cradling their cat. “Maybe you should get out of here? Your cat seems angry and scared and I think it’s just gonna get um--” she glanced back at Morgan, the zebra, wincing at the hit, refraining from calling out to her-- “worse.” She waved her hands a moment. “At least stay here! I’ll be back.” She backed away, then, and made her way over to Sai. “Which way did she go? Can you, like, track her?” She tried to think of a way for herself to be useful, but barring becoming a distraction, she couldn’t think of much. “Maybe we should split up?”

The tiger was close enough, now, her prey nearly in her mouth it was so close. She looked to the human that did not smell like a human, to the cub human next to her. They were not important. One did not smell like prey, and the other was too small to worry with. The tiger had her prey. She looked back at it and let out a silent snarl. Sound had not come out of her, not anymore. Not since she had been locked behind those bars, since the colors in her fur dripped from her like rain water. She lunged, teeth and claws sinking into the hind end of her prey. It, too, could not properly cry out. The tiger finally had her meal.

“She probably wants to take the petting zoo goats to the farm,” Sai said, watching with wide eyes as Morgan went from definitely dead to bodily wholeness in the span of seconds. “Which…would mean I’d be harboring stolen property aw shit noooooo!”

Bea heard the yells before she saw anything out of the ordinary. All she had wanted was to buy a bottle of wine and have a bubble bath tonight. Sighing, the witch cracked open a bottle, screw top, Thank God, and took a sip. She saw her sister doing something and determined it was likely best to go help her. “Hey, Nellie,” She said casually as she offered the bottle to her sister. “Who let the animals out of the zoo?”

The tiger took its prey and Alcher grinned. The young human was panicking and she rolled her eyes. “What good would that do? If you want to survive, you must think smarter.” She didn’t know why she was even bothering with this human child, but she didn’t know how to walk away anymore. She’d grown...soft. Shuddering, Alcher turned away. She could smell them on the air, her cousins. They were traveling together and were getting closer. She had been waiting for this. It was time to make a new home for them. “Come,” she ushered to the child, “I want to show you something.”

Nell shot the other woman an incredulous look, sparing the black and white tapir once more glance before calling back to her in exasperation. “It’s a vegetarian!” The witch couldn’t remember the fancy name for ��plant-eater’ right now. She wasn’t sure what to make of the blond’s alarm, but it only took Nell a moment to recognize the iron that had been deposited into her hand. She still didn’t want to kill the things...but maybe she could use this to herd them. It covered more ground than her knife, anyway. Swinging the chain above her head in a wide circle, Nell moved towards the sprites with her bag in the other hand. “Get!” she yelled out of instinct, as if she were wrangling some particularly rowdy cattle. “Into the bag and I won’t singe your wings off!” Bea? What the hell? Where had Bea come from? “I don’t know who let them out. Would you care to help get them back in?”

Miriam had decided to go for a walk, her skin mostly covered as she wore a large sun hat and glasses, looking for a meal before she headed back home. She was drawn to an intense amount of misery and pain, despair coming from a particular area of town. She was curious, this much concentrated agony unusual. “That little fucker waddled away with my cappuccino!” was all Miriam heard as she stumbled upon, well, a herd. All sorts of wildlife ran amok, and she blinked against the sight of it. She should turn around. She was going to turn around. This was just a little much for even her.

Mom always said not to lose your head. She also always said that letting strangers show you things would often end up poorly. Bly had already lost their head, might as well let a stranger show them something. Plus, she wasn’t scared and it was a good idea to be with someone who wasn’t losing their shit. “Uh, yeah sure? Is it another tiger cus I’m not sure if I can deal with that. Especially after witnessing that…” They trailed off looking at the tiger feasting, it made their stomach turn.

Of course Yuca was upset, her predators were roaming about and Metzli could do close to nothing to help as long as the sun was around. People were running and screaming as they glared quietly. They opted to simply threaten, baring their teeth in a predatory show of dominance under the safety of the shadows, petting Yuca and cooing at her every so often. They needed just a little more time before they were able to bolt back home.

The wine was ignored and Bea let out a little huff through her nose. She wouldn’t offer next time then. Screwing the top back on, she placed the bottle back into her tote bag gingerly. It was a pretty nice wine. “Direct me, Nell. I don’t exactly have experience in this.” If Nell wasn’t here, deep in the fray like she always was, Bea might have considered leaving, but her sister was and so Bea couldn’t leave. “What are you going to do with the bag after you get them?”

The sprites were only too happy to listen to Sundew. With a cascade of hissing and fluttering they rose, spread and circled the room. When the iron started flying into their cluster, their humming grew louder. Yes, it was going to be a cutting kind of day after all.

Morgan nodded along to Sai’s words. “Mkay. No one is harboring stolen animals. Petting zoo. We got this. We totally got this.” She stood slowly and staggered forward. But maybe, uh—” Morgan didn’t want to broadcast that she couldn’t remember what Ibulba looked like under these circumstances, but just then, every fluffy goat in the distance looked the same. “A description so we can all be equally aware and prepared would help!” She nodded encouragingly, then stuck her hand into her bag and took out a snack to eat on her way to the goats.

Alcher walked through the animals as they gave her a wide berth, especially those one might consider prey. Even in this form, they could sense what she was and she moved like a fish through water, smooth and gliding, the child in tow. Good, they’d decided to follow. She made her way down the alley and towards the edge of the streets, where it met fields of grass and eventually grew into trees. She looked back at the child. “Not a tiger, no,” she pointed at the pack of only black and white wolves, stalking the edge of the forest. They, too, had found prey, and Alcher was eager to watch. “Watch how nature truly works. This is what the world makes of those who are weak.” Of those who are prey, like little human children.

“Everything here is weirdly quiet and mime shaped so the tapir probably eats hearts on the DL!” Chloe yelled back. When she noticed the sprites, her body trembled, remembering the time she’d seen them swarm and slaughter a nearby bird. The other thing she’d learned was that wherever there were sprites, there were pixies lording over them like a bite sized monarch. She shied further back into the street, terrified to get any closer, when suddenly the sprites grew more and more energetic, spreading out and urging into a frenzy. One zipped inches from Chloe’s face as she choked on the kind of scream banned by fae promise, unable to do so much as swat them away. “Maybe- maybe- maybe something sweet!” Fae were renowned for their sweet tooths, she knew.

Sai shoved a hand in his pocket and grabbed a handful of Parmesan cheese from the baggie in there. He covertly held the Parmesan flat on his hand while moving closer to Morgan to screen the cheese from view. The Tyromancer murmured a few phrases under his breath and the cheese grains shaped themselves into a moving perfect replica of the black horned Scapegoat. “That's her”

Bro, Mom was one hundred percent right. This was a bad idea. A messed up teaching moment. The dizziness wasn’t fading as Bly looked over the scene that this woman had lead them too. “I really, really prefer when I see nature working through a documentary.” Why had they had coffee today? That always made their anxiety spike and their anxiety was already spoke. “I mean this is metal as fuck, like maybe you should write for horror movies, but I’m not a prey animal? I’m not going to be in situations like this very often and a pack of wolves isn’t going to eat me. I’m not weak. Or like I’m not usually weak?”

Bex watched in awe as Sai shaped the cheese, a bit gleeful at the creation of it. She wondered if one day she could do something like that. Maybe not with cheese. Definitely not with cheese. She glanced up and squinted down the street towards where Morgan was headed, the heard of goats far enough away to look like a stripe of cotton on the horizon. “Okay,” she nodded and started off across the street, looking both ways and letting a heard of quick moving raccoons scuttle down the road towards the alleys before turning to head up the sidewalk. She spotted Nell and Bea and another woman dealing with the sprites and decided it was probably better to not disturb them, pulling her own magic to the edge of her fingertips in case she’d need it. “Ibulba!” she called out as she got closer, “I’ve got um-- apples for you!” Goats liked apples, right?

Nell patience was worn thin. She already had so little of it to begin with, especially these days in the wake of everything that had happened over the past few months. Without warning she whipped the iron chain hard and fast enough to slice clean through a swath of the sprites, killing them instantly as their burned halves fell to the ground. “Get in the bag while you still can.” Again it had come to violence. Was this what she was supposed to be doing? Killing sprites and helping people? But the sprites weren’t being helped. The reason she couldn’t be worthy in the way Dave had said— was it because she’d never been able to solve things without adding more violence? Trying to shake her head of the thoughts she spoke again to Bea. “I’m gonna put them in the bag and glue them to the fucking ground. Then I’ll deal with them after.” Bea wanted direction. The biggest threat was the tiger, though she seemed happy now that she’d gotten her meal. “Just herd the animals back towards the zoo. Starting with this guy-” Nell nodded in the tapir’s direction. “A shadow leash or something.” The blond’s continued fear drew Nell’s attention, and she didn’t hesitate to dissect the sprite into two, the necklace swinging inches from the woman’s face.

Alcher frowned and turned to look back at the child, golden eyes reflecting sunlight in a way human ones could not. “Oh, but you are, child,” was all she said, before she moved forward swiftly and finally ripped free of her human flesh. She wanted to join the pack, the ache of needing one too hard to resist.

There was finally a chance, a chance to run in the midst of the chaos. Everyone was doing their best to do a multitude of things. Stop the chaos, run from the chaos, and even ensuing more chaos. Normally, Metzli would be excited by their own dangerous plans, but they would never dare risk Yuca’s life like that. And so they ran as fast as they could, inconspicuously. Running past Bex, they pulled her to the side as an ostrich that was running next to them nearly trampled her. “Watch your back!” They yelled as they continued to run, and get the fuck away from the fun. It was fun they were willing to miss out on. “This doesn’t mean I like you though!” Their voice trailed off into the distance as they finally escaped with Yuca. Passing by Bly and taking the chance for a little chaos. “Watch out. There’s a leopard behind you…!” Even yelling “Made you look!” As they continued.

Ibulba was watching approvingly as the quiet petting zoo goats tore through an upscale clothing store. Stalls and hangers toppled inside the store, the destruction escalating in unlikely domino effects as some unseen force seemed to play havoc with probability. Ibulba and several other goats were munching on a delicious Marie-Chantal Miller wedding dress they’d pulled out from the shattered viewing window. But her ears perked up at her name.

Ibulba turned to face the familiar she-human who was holding an apple to her. Ibubla turned back to look, and saw the sacking of the silky human-covering place was well in hand. She trotted over to Bex, seeming at home in the surrounding anarchy, and took a prospective bite of the apple.

Bex stumbled when Metzli whizzed by her, yanking her out of the path of a storming ostrich. Scrunching her nose, she shouted back, “Yes you do!” before she reached her destination and found the clothing store in utter disarray. Well...most of the dresses were tacky, anyway. She wondered if expensive clothing tasted better than bargain bin. But Ibulba was happily trotting over to her and she held out the apple she’d had in her bag and reached out to pat her head. “Hey there,” she said casually, smiling at her. “Sai’s kinda worried about you, ya know. Can you go back to him? I think he really needs your help.” From what Bex had seen of her, and knew of her, she was fiercely protective of her spellcaster. It was the bond between familiar and caster Nell had told Bex about, and she couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. “Besides, looks like your friends’ve got everything under control here.”

Shadow leash. Bea could handle that, and she could start gathering a decent amount of animals with her as she went with them. “Alright. I’ll be back when I can okay.” It was good to see Nell take charge. There was energy in her voice, a commanding tone that had been missing. “You’re doing a good job,” She said offhandedly as she subtly made a shadow leash for the tapir. The animal moved uncomfortably as it realized what she had done but she was already walking along, forcing him to follow.

VOMIT TW BEGIN

This was it, this lady was a serial killer and Bly was about to be a victim. Then her skin… changed and there was a wolf in her place and finally that bile that had been working it’s way up erupted, Bly choking on it as they let out a surprised wail. As they spit it up into the grass, someone screamed about a leopard and it took all Bly’s strength to sprint away as fast as they could. They were pretty sure they had screamed, but they were running to fast to know what left them as they reentered the chaos.

VOMIT TW END

Morgan had just enough calm to take note of the image without choking on her fried brains. “Beautiful,” she deadpanned, and shambled with Bex toward that goat.

Sundew flew somersaults into the air, faster and faster, speeding toward the ground. A big black and white furry creature sneezed and swatted at her and sent her veering off course, into Morgan’s head.

Morgan caught the pixie in the palm of her hand. She had a few irritated words lined up and ready to go when a hundred little cuts pinged on her head and back. The sprites, scattering from the threat of iron, had landed on her, and had decided to take out their aggression on her body. Morgan lurched away from Bex and Ibulba and fell on her knees.

“What was that for?” Sundew asked. She had fully expected to meet the eternal pixie night after that swipe, but the dummy boob had caught her on purpose and for absolutely no trade at all.

Morgan was a little occupied with being bitten by angry sprites. She gave Sundew a dirty glare, so clear even the pixie knew what had to be done. She gave a whistle and ordered the sprites to go home. “There, are you happy now, Dummy Boob?” She asked.

Morgan looked around, dazed and bleary eyed. “You know…maybe yeah,” she said dryly. “Come on. I’ve got a real live bad luck goat for you to meet. And a big ol farm she needs to go home to.”

From an alley, a friend was watching. It was not seen. It was not heard. But it was watching. Perhaps it, too, would one day find a companion to romp through the streets and eat with.

While the sprites rammed into Morgan, Nell saw red. With another uttering of her magic, and a tug on the bond that linked her and the witch’s familiar, Taki was blipping into existence at her side, as easily summoned as breathing air after nearly a decade of doing it. “Roast them,” she told Taki, waiting for the fiery inferno of his breath to make barbecue out of the bothersome pint-sized fae. “Morgan, duck!” A swath of flames erupted from the Ovinikk’s mouth before Nell could realize the sprites were retreating on the orders of Sundew— and the stragglers of the pack screeched as they were set ablaze.

Ibulba closed her amber eyes and concentrated for a moment. She could feel her partner’s mounting anxiety from here. When Ibubla was still a kid, she’d been presented with a young he-human. He suffered from convulsions and visions, but Ibulba has souldbounded with him nevertheless, discerning that his gentleness and diligence would provide balance to her chaos. Ibulba reached through the bond and found her human partner.

Ibulba opened her eyes, munching pensively on the apple while nodding for Bex to follow. Several petting zoo goats looked up questioningly, but Ibulba knew she’d done what she could. They must find their own freedom and delicious silky snacks now. She had a hyperventilating partner to attend to.

Ibulba wove her way unerringly through the stampedes, seeming to navigate through some superior sense of probability. She occasionally checked to see if Bex was following. Eventually she sprinted straight into her caster’s embrace, allowing him to bury his face and mumble inane worried things into her wooly fur.

Relieved, Bex followed Ibulba back to Sai, who grabbed her and hugged her so gratefully, it was as if they’d been parted for years. Or, perhaps, that their distance had pained him. She heard Nell’s familiar voice, too, and looked up from Sai and Ibulba, watching as Taki opened his mouth and let out a roar of flames. Something heavy fell in Bex’s stomach as she heard the anguished cries of the small butterfly critters. Winced and looked away, deciding that keeping her focus on Sai and Ibulba was the best idea. “C’mon, we should maybe get her back to the farm,” she ushered, looking back over her shoulder at Nell and wondering if she noticed her, too. She looked angry. Bex wished she could reach out with her own magic and help calm her down, but that wasn’t within her grasp yet. She patted Ibulba’s head again and smiled at Sai as best she could. “Maybe invest in a leash, too,” she teased.

There was little left of the tiger’s prey as her stomach became overly full. Still, it was so good, so fresh. She would not waste it. And, as the humans’ sounds grew louder, she would not be caught again. No more cages. No more bars. Only fresh, warm prey. She grabbed what was left by its leg and began dragging it off, away from the noise. She would finish it later, after some peace and quiet and freedom.

“T-t-the tiger,” one of the zoo keepers, scrawny and trembling and a voice that was beginning to fail every few words, managed to say. They were a new hire. They’d find their words eventually. Or perhaps lose them. They pointed in the direction of where the tiger had gone, but it was too late to go after her with all the other chaos on the loose. They would have to follow the blood smears and hope it led them to her. After all, how hard would it be to locate a white tiger?

It was all gloved hands on deck as the rest of the zoo keepers, along with some of White Crest’s finest joined together with tranquilizers and began systematically and, for the most part, silently dispatching animals to get them sent back to the zoo. It would be hard work, but it would be done.

While the tiger wandered off, Anara Kingston took inventory of the wreckage that had been done to the front of her bistro, the lemurs that were still flipping the bird to anyone who so much as glanced in their direction, and the actual birds that were fluttering around with teeth that looked a little too human. Hold on. Birds didn’t have teeth, did they? It didn’t matter anymore. With a resigned sigh she turned back towards the sign she’d been so proud to display, sullenly erasing the number on it, changing it to read ‘0 days since last accident.’

#chatzy #wickedswriting #wcw

7 notes · View notes

katalyna-rose · 4 years ago

Text

Kat’s Rat Shopping List

I’ve gotten a few requests for a shopping list of my rat setup (tagging @collapseofthesky because they requested this, specifically, but I’ve had a few others message me), so I thought I’d give it a try and also add a few explanations for why I do some things the way I do. As such, this is going to be a very long post and is therefore under a cut. There will be a basic shopping list without all the explanations at the very end of the post under TL;DR if you don’t care about the rest or whatever.

I had a lot of fun with this and spent way more time on it than I meant to, and might be open to doing more of this kind of thing in the future.

Cage

First up, the cage. Obviously. I’ve said it before but it’s a Double Critter Nation and a Single Critter Nation with the side panels removed and zip tied together. These are sometimes sold in pet stores (the locally owned pet store I prefer has them in stock). I bought mine online because of a really good sale, but you can sometimes get really lucky and find them for resale on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist for super cheap. I love this cage because the whole front opens up and that makes it super accessible and easy to clean, decorate, and get to my pets wherever they may be. It’s also huge!

US minimum for rat cages is 2 cubic feet per rat, with a minimum of two rats because rats cannot be housed alone as they are extremely social animals. No, human companionship is not enough, rats need same-age, same-species companionship at all times. Please be aware, as well, that minimums are not the ideal to strive for. Whatever space you intend to dedicate to your rats, fill it! Fill it all up! And if you don’t have enough space for a large cage, don’t get rats. My setup, with the Home Depot/Lowe’s large cement mixing tubs in the bottom, is roughly 45 cubic feet of space. If we’re looking at minimums, this means I could house 22 rats! There’s no way that 22 rats could ever actually be comfortable in my setup. It would be insane, chaotic, and extremely messy. So why would 2 rats be comfortable in 4 cubic feet? They wouldn’t. More space is always better, hard stop.

Also remember that wire cages with bar spacing of no more than an inch for adult rats and no more than half an inch for small or young rats is a must. Tanks are absolutely not recommended for rats due to poor ventilation, which will cause respiratory issues and allow ammonia to build up much faster.

Bedding

This is different from nesting. Yes, it is. Bedding is the substrate used at the bottom of the cage or on shelves to catch errant droppings and urine, and is generally left where it is by the rats because they have no interest in it.

My main bedding is pine wood horse stall pellets. They are as dust free as the alternatives like shavings or paper pellets, and combine the best aspects of both those types of bedding with the ammonia-neutralizing effects of wood shavings and the compact, easy-to-clean nature of pellets. I love them. I also get them super hilariously cheap from Tractor Supply Co, so despite it being a little bit of a drive for me (about an hour round trip) the fact that it’s half the price of the next cheapest option more than makes up for it. I buy a bunch all at once and currently have a few bags left in my trunk because I didn’t have enough closet space for them. It’s great stuff. It crumbles when wet so it helps me keep track of how much and where they’re urinating, and it’s easy to spot clean those areas in between deep cleans.

When choosing a wood, if that’s the route you want to go, remember to check what is safe to use. Pine is only safe when it’s kiln-dried, since it contains fragrant oils that can cause respiratory issues in rats, mice, and hamsters. Some people will advise you to stay away from it entirely, and that’s fine, but since pine is often the cheapest option it’s not always viable. Aspen is a safe wood, but harder to find in pellet form and slightly more expensive as shavings. I use aspen shavings in my litter trays. Cedar wood is NEVER safe, no matter how it’s treated. I don’t think cedar is ever safe no matter what for any animal it’s marketed to, actually. It’ll cause respiratory distress in rats, mice, and hamsters, and guinea pigs and rabbits should never be on shavings regardless though I’m pretty sure they’ll still experience respiratory distress. The oils naturally in the wood are not safe, do not use cedar. Also make sure your bedding is as dust-free as possible, also for respiratory reasons. If you have a small animal, their respiratory system is extremely delicate, and that’s just a fact of pet ownership that you should have learned before getting a pet when you were researching how to care for it.

Since I have two shelves in my cage and they are both shallow to the point of not even having a lip (Critter Nation’s only flaw is the trays that come with the cage), I line my shelves with fleece over an appropriately sized bath mat. Fleece makes a great shelf liner, but I don’t recommend using it in the entire cage because it gets dirty really fast and most rats will chew it up, so you’ll both be changing it every other day and going through it super fast as it is destroyed. However, it makes great shelf liners, especially when very little of the shelf is actually available to the rats like in my setup, where the shelves are mostly covered in other things. Remember that fleece must always be lined with an absorbent layer underneath because the fleece itself allows liquid to pass right through it. That’s the point: the fleece stays relatively clean and dry while the absorbent layer takes all the gross stuff away. Towels are generally not recommended for this because rats can get their nails stuck in the fabric and rip them out, which is painful and distressing for the rat and also you. Anything super absorbent with a really tight weave will do lovely here, hence the low pile bath mats I use. I get them for one or two dollars at Ikea and wash them every week. I keep several around to rotate through. The fleece I use is also a fleece blanket from Ikea for a couple bucks that I cut into four sections because that rendered it the perfect size to tuck around the shelves. This makes my bedding extremely cheap, and that makes me happy because I can spend that money on enrichment instead.

Nesting

This is the material that the rats like to push around, dig in, and sleep in. It’s important to provide soft but preferably absorbent materials for the rats to nest in because it’s enriching, comfortable, and helps them regulate body temperature. Multiple types of nesting are recommended for enrichment purposes. Rats like texture! I use unscented, unlotioned tissues as a main nesting material for within their hides because they’re cheap, safe, absorbent, and soft. I bought 30 boxes of 100 tissues each for super cheap online, but you can also buy dollar store tissues or whatever you have access to. Just make sure they don’t have scents or lotions, because those are not safe for your rats’ delicate respiratory systems. The empty boxes (plastic removed) can also be given for the rats to chew up and play in, or you can save them up to DIY some fun toys later, which is what I’m doing.

I also have two dig boxes, which will also go under the enrichment section. The bins I got for cheap from Target, but obviously you can get bins wherever you want to get bins. Just measure to make sure they fit in your cage properly. The only dig box I want to talk about in this section is the hay box, because the dirt is not actually a nesting material but rather an enriching one. So, hay. My girls love this stuff so much that they drag it all over the cage to shove it into all their sleeping areas. They build actual rat nests in the box, tunnel through it, stash food in it, shred it for fun, and generally spend as much time as possible with the hay. I use oat hay for the seed heads that provide additional enrichment and snacks because the rats have to get to the seeds in order to eat them. If you are feeding a low-quality diet to your rats, do not use oat hay because they’ll fill up on seeds instead of eating their nutritionally-balanced food and that is not good. My rats love their food so much that the seeds are a sometimes snack that I don’t need to regulate because they do it themselves. Any good quality hay will do for a hay box, however, and timothy hay tends to be the cheapest option. Just make sure it’s not super low quality, because low quality hay tends to be dusty. As mentioned previously several times, rats have delicate respiratory systems and dust is bad for them. I buy my hay from Small Pet Select because I like supporting small business, ethical business, and businesses that provide excellent products. They are, however, primarily a rabbit site. I keep hoping they’ll expand the other sections of their shop. Also, make sure your rats aren’t trying to eat the hay. This is highly unlikely because rats are smart and know what’s edible and what isn’t, and hay is not edible for rats. If for some reason your rats are eating hay, do not give them a hay box.

Other nesting options I’ve used in the past include cut up bits of fleece, cut up old clothes you might have lying around, and generally just bits of fabric. Just remember to change out/wash them regularly. Ammonia will build up, and once again that’s bad for your rats’ respiratory systems.

Hides and Hammocks

Rats are prey animals. Surprise! As such, they need plenty of places to hide and feel safe. Rats love small, dark places to rest in. Much like many introverted humans, myself included! Make sure to include plenty of hides all over the cage. Variety is excellent here for enrichment reasons. My rats absolutely love Space Pods! Lixit makes the ones I use, but there’s also a brand called Sputnik that’s basically the same thing. I’ve never seen them in stores, but they’re all over the internet. For rats, make sure you get the large size. Honestly I wish it was larger than it is, but oh well. The girls love it anyway. I kept getting sent only the bottom halves, which is why I have two half space pods in my cage. I got a refund or replacement on both because it’s not what I paid for, but, like… I received the usable half, so I’m gonna use it. The girls don’t like to sleep in them without the covers, but they’ll hang out in there and clean themselves, and they climb through them to get from one spot to another.

In addition to the space pods, I also have various other hides. Lixit also makes a pill-shaped plastic hide that I keep on the shelf over the dirt box. They used to use it a lot more than they do now, and I’m not entirely sure why. Even so, they still use it! I also have a woven grass tent that they enjoy, and a cork log. Neither of those are really for sleeping, but they do hide in them sometimes and generally like to hang out there.

Hammocks are great, and also available in wide variety all over the internet and in stores. My favorite banana hammock was just retired, but I intend to get another. The girls loved it and so did I! Hammocks come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and can pull double duty as both a place to sleep and a way to break up the cage so there aren’t any dead drops where your rats can fall from a height and hurt themselves. Fill your cage with hammocks! All the hammocks! Support small creators by buying homemade hammocks! Learn to make them yourself! They’re cheap and easy! Hammocks are great.

Enrichment Part 1: Levels

Rats are climbers. Rats need vertical space as well as horizontal space. Rats are sometimes clumsy idiots who fall off of things. As such, all vertical space must be filled with all kinds of fall breakers. As mentioned before, hammocks are great for this. So are ladders, bridges, ropes, and that Ikea tie hanger I have strung across the back of my cage. If your rat falls from anywhere in the cage, make sure there’s something to catch them!

Also make sure there’s something to do on all the levels of the cage, even if that thing to do is just get from one level to the next. Rats are dexterous and adventurous. Ramps are boring because they’re easy. If you have sick or injured rats, absolutely use ramps! Accessibility matters! If your rats are of sound body, however, make them work for it. Lava ledges and bird perches make great alternatives to ramps. Screw them into the cage walls and watch your rats hop around! They love it. Ladders are also fun, especially if they’re not used the way ladders are meant to be used. Suspend them from things, put them at weird angles, just make sure they’re secure. I get a lot of my levels from the bird aisle at the pet store (or virtual pet store). Be aware that sometimes your rats are going to prefer to climb directly on the bars of the cage. That’s normal! The bars are there, so the rats will climb them. That’s all there is to it!

Climbing frames like the wooden wine rack from Ikea that I have in the bottom of my cage are also good to have. My girls love it, and it does double duty as a chew toy.

Enrichment Part 2: Chewing

Contrary to popular belief and old science, rats do not actually require chews to keep their teeth trimmed. Rats trim their own teeth by bruxing, or grinding their teeth together. This does not, however, negate the need for chews. Rats like to chew! What your rat likes to chew best is entirely subjective. Some rats love wood and sticks, some rats will always chew fabric over anything else, some rats will never chew fabric. Every rat is different! Try as much variety as you can and keep stocked up on the things your rats like best. My rats really like woven grass, and I try to keep at least a couple different kinds around for them. I keep a grass mat on a shelf that they like to pull apart, and the woven grass tent will likely have a short lifespan, as well. There’s a woven grass tunnel thing that they’ve put into the dirt box and are slowly but systematically shredding. My girls also like willow sticks, so I’ve got a couple hanging toys of willow that are very slowly being chewed because there’s so much else to chew. The wooden bridges see a fair bit of chewing, and even the lava ledges get chewed on the edges. My girls also love destroying rattan and wicker balls. I bought a bunch of them for cheap and toss a new one in there about every week or so. They love them. I also got a couple things from Small Pet Select like a pine cone, a bit of natural loofah, and a dried okra pod. So far the okra pod has seen the most action and is shredded halfway to infinity. I think they like that it has seeds inside, but the others get chewed sometimes, too. There’s enough variety in my setup that everything lasts a decently long time. Except the rattan balls.

Enrichment Part 3: Digging

As much as rats like to climb, they also like to dig. That’s why it’s highly recommended to have a dig box. Safe substrate is important here. If you’re going with potting soil, make sure it’s just dirt and doesn’t contain any fertilizer. Personally, I found potting soil to be kind of annoying a little expensive. I prefer coconut soil. I use Exo Terra terrarium soil, which is sold in compacted blocks that you have to hydrate. I use two thirds of the recommended water because my rats don’t need humidity. I use three blocks per dig box, and replace the soil every month because the girls will do their business in it sometimes, leave food in it, leave bits of tissue or hay or various shredded chews. Basically, the dirt gets dirty in bad ways and needs to be replaced sometimes. It can also grow things if left too long because of the humidity (which will be a problem regardless of the type of substrate being used). So every deep clean, both dig boxes get emptied, wiped out, and refilled.

The hay box gets an honorable mention here, since it pulls double duty as both nesting and digging. Triple duty, really, since it’s also a forage toy.

Enrichment Part 4: Misc

Yeah, I didn’t know what category to put this under, so here we are. Litter boxes! No, seriously, this counts as enrichment. Training your rats, whether it’s to do tricks or just poop where you want them to, counts as enrichment. Rats are incredibly smart! They’re at least as trainable as the average dog, especially if they come from an ethical breeder who breeds for health and temperament (let me just slide a reminder not to buy live animals from pet stores that source from highly unethical breeding mills in right here; please support ethical breeders and rescues), and will happily take to any training. Remember that positive reinforcement is the only ethical way to train an animal. Treats are great for this, and your pet will love you even more because every living thing loves food. My rats actually didn’t require much training for their litter trays. Make sure that whatever you’re lining the litter trays with is not the same as their normal bedding. If you’re using aspen shavings in the main cage, use pine in the litter trays, or literally any distinct safe bedding. I use shavings in my litter trays and pellets in my main cage. This helps the rats distinguish the litter trays from the rest of the cage and makes it easier to identify where to do their business versus where not to do so. When you first put the litter trays in, just go in at least once a day and toss any poops you see into the tray. If you see your rats using the litter tray, offer a treat while they’re doing so. Rats are extremely clean animals and they like their mess contained as much as you do. It would not be possible for me to only deep clean once a month if I didn’t have litter trays that I clean out about twice a week (or more, if necessary) to get rid of the majority of the mess and smell. I’d be deep cleaning every two weeks at least without them, so the litter trays are a great investment overall. Your rats will never be perfect about using them, because they’re still rats, but they’ll help a great deal.

Also under this section are forage toys! Do not feed your rats from a simple bowl, it’s boring and encourages stashing, which means you’ll never know when they’ve actually run out of food because they’re just going to pick it up and take it somewhere else and have a great big hoard that you’ll find on deep clean day. You can definitely scatter feed, that’s enriching as well because it makes the rats go looking for their food, but forage toys are the ultimate way to feed your rats, I think. I mostly don’t get my forage toys from the small animal aisle. I do have one that’s small animal specific, a little ball that they roll around the get the food out. I also have some marketed for cats, and some marketed for birds. Having multiple kinds is really helpful. I’ve also noticed that while some stashing still occurs, it’s greatly reduced. I refill the toys as they empty and everyone’s happy.

Food/Water

What you feed your rats is extremely important, obviously. Many commercially available pellet foods marketed for rats are actually extremely not good for rats. The same is true cat and dog food. It is a sad fact that the companies that make these foods tend to be far more interested in their bottom line than the health of your pet. As such, do your research! Always do your research! Know what’s in the food and what your animal should be eating, and try to match those two things up as closely as possible. In the UK rat owners typically will avoid pellet foods and prefer homemade mixes for these reasons, but making your own mix is not always feasible and can be tricky if you don’t know what you’re doing. Most US rat owners tend toward pellets because it’s a lot harder to mess up the balance of nutrients when it’s done for you. Also, the UK does not have Oxbow, which is one of the most popular brands of healthy rat food. It’s the brand that I use, and my rats adore it. Mazuri is another popular and healthy option, but my rats prefer Oxbow over anything else. I kind of want to try making my own mix at some point, but I’m not sure I ever will. Like with most of my rat supplies, I buy food in bulk because it’s cheaper. A 20 lb bag of Oxbow Essentials Adult Rat food runs me about 40 bucks. Be careful to buy adult rat food, even for baby rats, because any food that says Young Rat and Mouse is not going to have the appropriate balance of fat and protein even for young rats. Adult food will do just fine for babies, too. If you want to add some extra protein to their diet, try a boiled egg or bits of meat every now and then, but it’s probably not necessary as long as they’re getting enough food and some extra fruits and veggies now and then. If you want to try making a mix, do so much research before you try it, and make sure your ingredients are good quality.

Rats should also receive other foods in addition to their pellet or main food. Rats are omnivores and love fresh veggies, fruits, milk, eggs, and meat! Make sure you research safe foods before giving them to your rats, as not everything is safe. If you adopt your rats from an ethical breeder, they should have resources available to you on what’s safe and healthy. If you rescue, you can still reach out to established ethical breeders for tips and tricks, or find lists online as you do your research. Some veggies are only safe cooked, some parts of certain plants are unsafe while others are safe, and some foods are only safe for males or females but not the other sex (citrus and mango are the ones I remember that fall into that category). Just do your research and try to keep processed foods away from your rats. Sodium is also not good for them. Any raw meat or fish should be frozen and then thawed before being fed to your rats to kill any potential contaminants. Like always, do your research first!

Rats obviously require water, as well. Water bottles tend to be the most widely accepted way to give rats water, because they don’t evaporate and are easy to keep clean. I, however, have a terrible time with bottles, and they always leak or break. Thus, I have opted for water bowls instead. The girls love them more than the bottles I’ve used in the past, and they’re a little more enriching, as well. The only downside is that I have to wash them out daily. But since I spot clean daily anyway, I don’t mind at all.

First Aid Kit

Any responsible pet owner should always keep a first aid kit around, no matter what kind of pet they have. Pet owners who have particularly vulnerable pets should especially be careful to make sure they have a well-stocked first aid kit. This should include single-use sterile syringes without needles, gauze pads, vet wrap, infant/toddler ibuprofen or acetaminophen, medical tape, cat nail trimmers, and probiotic powder like Benebac. But most importantly, it should include the phone number and location of a vet that will see and treat rats. Have a vet picked out that you have confirmed will see and treat your pets BEFORE getting pets. If an emergency arises and you’re suddenly scrambling for a vet last second, not only do you waste precious time getting your pet the help they need but you may find out too late that the nearest rat-friendly vet is too far away. That means your pet will suffer unnecessarily and you are an irresponsible pet owner. Hard stop. If there is no vet within reach that will see rats, do not get rats. Rats will require a vet trip at least once in their lives, since all rats are extremely prone to respiratory illness. Sometimes this happens for no reason at all, because all rats possess a bacteria in their respiratory systems called mycoplasma. There’s no way to get rid of it and nothing you can do about it except make sure your rats live in a clean, well-ventilated environment with safe bedding and materials. Even with all this, sometimes your rats will get sick. That’s normal! Just make sure you can take care of them when it happens. As such, make sure you have a vet fund at all times of at least a couple hundred dollars, in addition to a well-stocked first aid kit and the name and location of an appropriate vet.

It’s also beneficial and enriching to syringe train your rats. What this means is putting a liquid treat like baby food, yogurt, or apple sauce into a syringe and giving it to your rats. This teaches the rats that the syringe is a good thing so that if you ever need to give them medicine from the syringe (rat medicine tends to be oral and dissolved in a liquid solution, so those needle-less syringes will be necessary) they’re more likely to take the medicine with minimum complaints.

Storage

Maybe it goes without saying, but you also need places to put all of the things for your rats. Keep your first aid kit in a box to itself so you always know where it is, and organize your supplies appropriately. I really like Ikea bins for my bedding and food and other dry bulk items, and I keep a lot of my smaller stuff on a shelf at the foot of my bed. Work with the space you have, and plan appropriately.

And thus concludes this extremely long explanation of the bare basics of healthy rat living. Really, this is the bare basics and not even remotely comprehensive of the options available. Be creative when shopping, and definitely look outside of the small animal aisle at your local pet store because it will not contain anywhere near all of what you need.

TL;DR: A Basic Shopping List of My Specific Setup

-Double Critter Nation

-Single Critter Nation

-Zip ties

-2 Large sized cement mixing tubs from Home Depot/Lowe’s

-Pine wood horse stall pellets

-Low pile bath mats, enough to rotate while washing

-Fleece blanket, cut in quarters to fit shelves, enough to rotate while washing

-Bins to hold digging substrate

-Oat hay from Small Pet Select or Oxbow

-Exo Terra coconut fiber terrarium soil

-Lixit Critter Space Pods, large

-Lixit Small Animal Hideout

-Woven grass mat

-Woven grass tent

-Woven grass tube

-Rattan/wicker balls, lots

-Willow stick hanging toys

-Natural loofah

-Sanitized (and therefore safe) pine cone

-Dried okra pod

-Dog ropes

-Wooden bendy bridges

-C-clips, both the kind meant for shower curtains and smaller ones marketed for kids, for hanging things

-Hammocks. All the hammocks. From everywhere hammocks are sold.

-3 (sometimes 4) Ware Scatterless Lock-n-Litter Small Animal Litter Pan, Regular

-Ikea tie hanger

-Ikea wine rack

-Ikea storage bins

-Forage toys

-Oxbow Essentials Adult Rat food

-Ceramic (and therefore tip-proof) water bowls, and/or bowls that can be attached to the cage

-Sterile single-use syringes without needles

-Gauze

-Vet wrap

-Medical tape

-Infant/toddler ibuprofen/acetaminophen

-Cat nail trimmer

-Probiotic powder like Benebac

-The phone number and location of a rat-friendly vet

-A vet fund of at least a couple hundred dollars

A final note before the end: Always remember to do your research before getting pets, do not get pets if you cannot provide a good life for them with MORE THAN the bare minimum requirements for safe and healthy pets, do not buy live animals from pet stores unless it’s part of a rescue program, don’t take the word of just one person as law, don’t be afraid to ask questions respectfully, and always seek new ways to improve your pet care. This has been a PSA from your friendly small animal enthusiast.

#fancy rats #pet rats #my rat setup #rat care #rat care advice #pet care #long post

39 notes · View notes

tetedurfarm · 4 years ago

Text

squishysophiea replied to your post “squishysophiea replied to your photo “a sausage and her...”

@rusasi-ma never said they weren't a good food source. And thank you for the wire lesson, much appreciated. Would you not consider having them in a wide pen (seperating boys from girls until you wish to breed) so they can roam a bit more freely? Although that would take up more space you might benefit from it. Like a free range chicken situation

@squishysophiea

okay, look. you’re actually being somewhat reasonable so i’m going to put on my educator hat. you clearly have no idea what you’re talking about, but most people wouldn’t have actually accepted the lesson on flooring like you did. so i’ll meet you halfway.

the photos of my animals rarely show the full scope of their housing, because the focus is on the rabbits themselves. their cages are larger than they appear - WELL over the minimum cage size mandated by the american rabbit breeder’s association. they have toys and enrichment. there are larger pens for growouts, and these are group pens where they get to be social until their trip to freezer camp. when i’m able to, they get several hours a week in a ground pen to run around and eat grass and dig holes. they live comfortable lives. they may be bred and eaten, but all a rabbit really desires is a safe place to sleep, as much feed as they can eat, and a litter every now and then. i used to have a house rabbit, who had free run of the bedroom. he would run around for a moment, then sit in a corner or in his cage for the rest of the day. rabbits like small spaces. they feel secure in small spaces. in the wild they live in warrens and only leave them to eat. open spaces mean danger. open spaces mean predators. a cage big enough to fully stretch out and binkie in is exactly what a rabbit seems to want. every time i’ve given bigger enclosures, they choose a corner and never move. why would i waste my space and money?

it is not safe for adult rabbits to live in group housing except in very very specific situations. adults of both sexes are extremely territorial and will fight and kill one another. there is a rule in breeding that you never bring a buck to a doe’s cage because she can and will castrate him for being in her space. have you seen zootopia? when they said that line “bunnies can’t go savage”, my housemate and i laughed. rabbits are often savage. does who get along may kill each others’ kits. they may snap one day and kill one another after years of cohabitation. bucks, like intact males of most species, are famous for mutilating one another the second they hit puberty. i have show and fur animals. they need to stay in good condition. group housing means pulled patches of fur from scrapping, it means chewed ears, it means scars. animals in individual cages are safe.

when i first got into rabbits, i had a colony pen where my growouts lived. it went well for a few months, then one my rabbits all began to drop like flies from what i know now was a strain of meningitis that had been in the soil and activated after a recent rain. within 24 hours i lost over twenty rabbits to fever, loss of balance, and eventually violent, fatal seizures. i had so many bodies i couldn’t fit them all in the freezer, so they sat in a pile on my porch until i had the time to dig a big enough hole. i never had a colony again.

i built a huge hutch for them after that, and that worked much better. but i found that having so many animals in a pen like that lead to me not seeing injuries and health problems until they were fairly extreme. rabbits with overgrown teeth. rabbits with injuries. rabbits with missing feet. i never noticed when one would fall ill and not eat because every morning the feeder was empty regardless. most of the time i only saw when i was taking them out for their final run on the grass, even though i interacted with them as a whole daily for food/water and to clean their hutch and provide new enrichment. this has never happened with the individually housed rabbits. if someone stopped eating i knew immediately and was able to step in and make the effort to get their appetite back. but more than once i walked out to the group hutch and found an emaciated corpse that seemed to come out of nowhere. animals in individual cages are healthy.

you seem like you care about rabbits but you need to understand that the rhetoric you’ve been given by housepet communities and the house rabbit society are lies. so much of what is considered “proper” rabbit care by the HRS is not only misinformation, but directly harmful to rabbits and those of us who breed and especially those of us who breed them for food or other resources.

please take a few minutes to read through this post and all of its sources. https://o-i-have-too.tumblr.com/post/185596917579/a-masterpost-of-house-rabbit-society-bullshit i’m not saying my way is the only way, or the best way, but that it’s not a bad way. it’s not cruel, they aren’t being abused or neglected, and in fact i do it this way because in the past when i did try other methods they were being neglected, and i didn’t like that. the way i raise my animals is the safest, healthiest possible way for me and for them.

#squishysophiea #questions #myth busting #idk why it won't let me @ them properly can someone else do it for me? i want to make sure they see this #long post /

60 notes · View notes

flutteringphalanges · 4 years ago

Photo

Caught in a Riptide

Summary: After the infamous Count Dracula is discovered and taken into custody by the Jonathan Harker Foundation, former nun and now guardian to her young niece, Zoe, Agatha Van Helsing is tasked with keeping tabs on the vampire after a mishap leads to his release into modern day society. Can Agatha remain levelheaded, or will fate turn her onto a new path?

Pairing: Dracula/Agatha Van Helsing

Rated: M

Read on FFN and AO3

A/N: I’m back!! Finally, after dealing with some health issues I managed to get a chapter out! I hope you enjoy! Feedback/Reblogs/Likes are greatly loved and appreciated! -Jen

Chapter Seven

It's funny how just a few seconds can seem like an entire lifetime. At least, in Agatha's case, that's how she felt. Her eyes flickered between the two men, mind reeling as she tried to come to some set conclusion as to why both were present. Or if she should go into the defensive or offensive mode-not that she had much of a weapon on her besides her silly, cheap cross. It took Dracula calmly clearing his throat to snap her back into her senses.

"You look rather alarmed, Agatha." Dracula stated with a smile. "Like you've seen a ghost-or," his smile widened to a grin. "Are witnessing someone committing the act of murder."

She watched with bated breath as he moved to the table. From where she stood, Agatha could just make out a small, square object that rested on the surface. The vampire picked it up and examined it carefully before pulling out a few crisp dollar bills. A wallet. He looked from the still stunned woman to his other guest.

"Jimmy was just here dropping off my meal. Weren't you, Jimmy?" The vampire held out the money towards the young man. "I invited him in seeing as I didn't have the cash on me. I didn't want to be rude." Dracula let out a long exhale. "Keep the change. I know your profession doesn't pay you fairly. It is the least I can do," he paused. "All things considered." And once again that familiar flicker of mischievousness glimmered in his eyes. "If you'd leave now, I'd much appreciate it. I've kept Ms. Van Helsing waiting long enough."

The man-or "Jimmy" as he was so called, managed to stutter out a thank you. He gave Agatha a nod before pushing past her to escape out the door. Whether he knew of Dracula's true origin was unclear, but it was evident enough the vampire gave him some form of uneasy. Though it held no weight, the cross felt oddly heavy in her back pocket as the man motioned for her to step forward.

"I assure you I am very well aware of the terms and conditions involving my freedom." He commented, pulling out a chair for her to sit in. "And while I do have my urges, the idea of not being locked in a cage and used for experimental purposes quells those...desires."

Reluctantly, Agatha took a seat ignoring the Count's smile. She knew he was watching her, observing her every move externally and perhaps even internally. The woman knew she needed to keep her heartbeat steady, pulse regular. Any sign that could be regarded as fear would only play to his amusement. Keeping her guard down, especially now, was the utmost of importance.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to pour myself a drink." Dracula said, grabbing the paper bag and pulling out its contents. A wine bottle shaped flask filled with a dark liquid. Agatha knew what it was, but she didn't like to think about it. After filling his cup, he set it down.

"So," he continued. "Can I get you anything?"

"I'm fine." Agatha said currently, trying to keep her voice level. "I'm not thirsty."

"I thought you'd say that." The vampire exhaled, shaking his head. "But I thought I'd ask to be polite." He took a small sip, the contents lightly sloshing as he did. "I want to apologize about the night before. I acted like…"

"A monster?" The former nun said curtly with a frown. "A mad man?"

Dracule smirked, chuckling at her remarks. "I was going to say rash, but I suppose those would fall under the same category." He left her side once again to retrieve what appeared to be a file folder resting neatly on the table. "Anyway, I'd like to move past it. Put it behind us. Even beasts make mistakes."

"You could've killed me," Agatha replied, eyes following his every move. "Why didn't you?"

"You're right," the Count nodded. "I very well could've. Even with that ridiculously cheap excuse of a cross you have in your pocket." Her eyebrows raised in surprise as he continued. "But having you dead would've served no use to me. I'm a calculated man, Agatha. While your blood is very, very tempting, getting it from a slip up like that would be...undesirable." The Count smiled as he finally took a seat across from her. "And again, we have that contract to think about."

Before she could comment, the vampire slid the collection of papers over to her. Meeting his stare, Agatha hesitantly took the folder and opened it. Though she didn't exactly want to break eye contact, the woman glanced down at the sheets below. Photos. A birth certificate. License. An entire history made up of a made up person-sort of. His new background. A perfect gateway into modern society that was virtually untraceable to who he really was. Renfield had done well.

"Vlad Balaur," she mumbled.

"Dracula seemed to be a stretch unfortunately, so this was the second choice." The Count replied simply. "Do you like it?"

"26 May 1967." Agatha continued, ignoring his question. After a moment, she looked up. "You're lucky you can pull off looking 53 and not 530." Exhaling, Agatha pushed the pile back over to the man. "Your lawyer did well. I certainly hope you are paying him for all of this work."

Dracula merely chuckled as he took the thick folder. "I'm not an unreasonable man. I pay Frank accordingly. Based, of course, on the service he provides." He lifted his glass of blood, the rim stained with dark crimson from where he sipped. "I can have copies for you made, if you so desire. I know how important it is for your precious Foundation to know about my whereabouts." For a brief moment, his dark eyes flickered playfully. "For you to know."

The woman's stomach churned as the vampire took a large swig of his drink. Why did he have to feed in front of her? Probably because he knew it made her squirm. When he set the cup down, he smiled widely, teeth seeming sharper than a moment before. She prayed it was merely a trick of her imagination.

"What are your plans now that you are free to roam around England on your own accord?" Agatha inquired, straightening in her chair. "Surely you must have something in mind?"

"Believe it or not, after being asleep for over a hundred years, there is quite a lot to take in." Dracula nudged his now empty glass aside. "So many advances in technology. Science. History. I've done quite a lot of reading myself, but the modern world is very enriched. However," he held up his index finger. "It's quite hard when you're only limited to the night hours. My body doesn't exactly fair well in the sun. Call it an extreme allergy if you will."

"As I am very well aware," Agatha huffed. "But that doesn't exactly answer my question. What are your plans, Count Dracula?"

"I think you mean our plans," the vampire smirked. The look on the woman's face said it all and his smile only widened. "You honestly didn't think our interactions would just be the two of us discussing our adventures over tea did you?" His fingers laced together, tips ending in sharp, talon line nails. "You, Agatha Van Helsing, are going to be my escort. And what an honor, I might add, that is."

Agatha's jaw dropped. "Your...your what?!"

"Escort, tour guide, chaperone...whatever you wish to call it." He dismissively waved his hand. "In other words, you and I will be spending a lot of nights together under the starry skies of England. Or cloudy? I have reason to believe it rains a lot, or am I mistaken?"

"The only thing you're mistaken of is the preposterous idea of me ever agreeing to this!" The woman snapped. "My understanding was that we would meet face to face occasionally at your flat! Not that I'd spend quality time with you out and about!"

"Well if that's the case, it would seem that our two overseers have decided our fates without consulting us." Dracula smirked as he met Agatha's cold stare. "Both Mr. Renfield and Dr. Bloxham have come to the conclusion that this seems like a fair and fit decision and who am I to argue?"

She'd committed. Told Bloxham she'd do whatever the scientist wanted. But this...this wasn't what she had in mind. Agatha silently cursed at herself, mentally berated her brain for being so stupid. Of course these interactions wouldn't be just mere meetings. No...no the Harker Foundation wanted more than that. Immersing herself was one thing. This was the equivalent of being tied to a stone and thrown into a river like a woman during a witch trial. Count Dracula was to be a part of her life no matter how hard she kicked and screamed to swim back to the surface.

""I will completely and utterly immerse myself into Count Dracula's life…"

Agatha's own words replayed in her mind like a broken record as she sat there grinding her teeth. She could feel the vampire watching her expectantly, waiting to hear what she had to say. He seemed cool. Collected. Of all people, shouldn't he be against the idea of being watched like a hawk? But there he sat seemingly without a care in the world. Secretly, she was sure, reveling in her misfortune.

"I'd say you're rather exhausted, Agatha." Dracula exclaimed, breaking the silence. "Perhaps you should go home and rest. I'd offer up my flat, but I think that little Zoe would worry."

"Don't say her name," the woman muttered. "You don't get to say her name."

The vampire gave a half smile. "Get some rest, Ms. Van Helsing. I have quite the itinerary planned for tomorrow." His movements almost gave off the impression of gliding as he corked the bottle of blood he'd been consuming and strode over to the refrigerator. "Shall I walk you to your car or-"

But Agatha had already snatched up her keys and stormed towards the door before he could finish. Dracula snorted softly, shaking his head. She was certainly turning out to be much more interesting than he had initially suspected. Perhaps whatever the Foundation had planned for him would be more in his favor than they'd ever begin to realize. Games were always more enticing when both sides were competitive. And Agatha Van Helsing was the perfect prize.

XXX

Agatha didn't even acknowledge the box of biscuits that fell onto the floor as Jack jumped in surprise as she swung the front door wide open. Flinging her semi closed purse onto the counter, she stormed over to the couch and collapsed. She was tired, but not exhausted enough to feel furious.

"How did it go?" There was hesitation in Jack's voice as he asked. A sense of fear that one gets when staring at a poisonous viper head on. "Did he have anything important to say?"

"Did Zoe behave for you?" Agatha replied in a monotone, eyes fixed on the television screen. Some adult cartoon was on that she vaguely recognized but didn't care enough to remember the name. "I hope she didn't give you a hard time."

"She caused absolutely no issues," the doctor assured her. "It was like she wasn't even there. Well," he paused. "I did read her two bedtime stories-her request, but other than that, she went to bed without a fuss. She did want to hang out though so maybe the three of us could go out to do something together sometime to distract your mind from…"

"They have me babysitting him!" The woman declared sharply, finally turning to face her friend. "He's talking like we're going on some date tomorrow. Bloxham has me taking him around wherever he wants to go as it is a part of this bloody contract I didn't read the fine print of!" Agatha groaned, massaging her temples. "When I started...I didn't think…Honestly, I don't know what I thought."

She chewed absentmindedly on her bottom lip as Jack sat beside her. He stared at her with those big blue eyes of his. It was a familiar look. Innocent. Sheltered. The young man had witnessed much in his short life and yet there was an aura of goodness to him. Loyalty. Something Agatha personality believed she didn't deserve. A friend whose companionship she'd never be able to match.

"I don't think any of us knew what to expect when we found him." Jack commented, resting a hand on her knee. "Especially you given your family's...history." He paused only to reach the clicker to turn off the show. "If I'm to be honest, Agatha, at first, I didn't actually think he existed. Maybe some part of me did-I worked at the bloody Harker Foundation. But when he actually showed up...I guess what I'm trying to say is Bloxham has no right to do what she's doing."

"Right or not, I don't exactly have a choice in the matter," Agatha frowned. "When I wanted to study him, learn about who he was and what he was, I didn't exactly think that meant I was going to be forced to spend every waking minute with him-well, every his waking minute. But I have to do this for my sake and Zoe's."

Jack cocked a brow in confusion. "What does this have to do with Zoe?"

"I made a commitment." She admitted, running a hand through her hair. "...Moreso Bloxham has me backed into a corner. If I don't go through with this, then she can make my life a living Hell." Agatha held up her hand as the man tried to interject. "If I could get out of this, I already would've, but I don't have a choice, Jack. It'll be like that movie Interview with a Vampire, but instead of an eager biographer wanting to learn Louis de Pointe du Lac's story, I'm forced to take my vampire on a railway trip."

Jack started to chuckle into his hand earning him a curious look from Agatha. A small smile graced his features as he straightened up, clearing his throat before speaking.

"Sorry," he grinned. "Didn't take you for a movie buff."

"I suppose I can sometimes be unpredictable." Agatha admitted with a small smile. "Anyway, the fact of the matter is, I wanted to learn about Dracula on my terms, not someone else's. Especially since he's a bigger prick than I imagined."

"He murdered people," the man stated. "How big of an ass were you expecting?!"

"Someone whose ego wasn't so large it'd overtake all of Europe and then some." She said folding her arms over her chest. "He's unbearable, Jack, and he knows it. Relishes in it. And I'm stuck with him like gum on the bottom of a shoe." Agatha let out a long exhale. "Curiosity killed the cat, and I already feel like I'm on my eighth life. Why of all things did I have to be a Van Helsing? Smith is a nice last name. Or Wilson. I'd go as far as Bigglesworth."

"You are not a Bigglesworth," Jack laughed. "Besides, Van Helsing is pretty bad ass. It has its perks."

Agatha let out a soft chuckled before her mouth curved into a genuine smile. Gently she rested her head on Jack's shoulder, her eyes fixed on the blank screen of the television.

"What am I going to do, Jack?" She mumbled.

"What you always do," he replied softly. "Take what's thrown at you into your own hands and make it work. At least, that's what the Agatha I know would do."

"I'm taking the window seat," Agatha yawned, closing her eyes.

"The window seat?" The doctor inquired, his brows knitting in confusion. "What window seat?"

"The window seat," she repeated. "If I'm taking that beast on a train, I'm taking the window seat."

Jack grinned over at the former nun as she began to nod off. "Agatha Van Helsing, you never cease to amaze me."

"Good," she answered. "I plan to keep it that way."

And without another word, she drifted off into the dark world of unconsciousness. Far, far away from her worries and troubles that would live to see another day.

#Dracula #Dracula 2020 #Dragatha #Agatha Van Helsing #Dracula x Agatha #Caught in a Riptide

24 notes · View notes

theramseyloft · 5 years ago

Note

Hi, I have a very broad question. what can you generally expect from the experience of having a pet pigeon? I know a bit about parrots and their relatives, enough to know that I would not be able to give them the time they deserve for a good home. pigeons are not as smart as parrotkind, but are they as social? as loud? do they require the same amount of work? in short, what are you getting yourself into when you adopt a pigeon? I’ve always loved the idea, but don’t want to be neglectful.

The long and short of it is that you are more forging an interspecies friendship than adopting a pet.

I’m noise sensitive. I can’t be around anything too loud or pitchy with out tremendous pain, so the low cooing of pigeons makes them an ideal fit for me.

youtube

Here are a few minutes of my flock enjoying breakfast and conversing, for reference.

A single pet pigeon does not require the same amount of manual work in cleaning and food prep as a psitticine.

They don’t like the cluttered environment that psitticines need as enrichment. They can’t climb. Flight and walking are their only two modes of transportation, so they prefer a clear air space to move around in, with perches spaced well apart.

Basic physical needs are simple.

Pigeons are strict granivores. Seeds are all they can digest, so a wild bird seed with a good, varied blend is a decent start that can be bolstered with unpopped popcorn, dried lentils, and split green peas.

Calcium can be administered for a few pets through drops in their water, dust over their daily feed (reptical purchased from a pet shop, or cuttlebone grit by a cheese grater), or oyster shell offered in its own dish, which ever is easiest for you.

Pigeons are intensely social, so a cage for them should be more like a wire crate is for a dog: a safe place for them to sleep at night or wait while you aren’t available to supervise them until they have learned the house rules.

And speaking of wire crates for dogs, they are easy to modify, and make a comfortable enclosure for a single house pigeon that’s kind to your wallet and bird.

These are labrador sized dog kennels with a garden stake used for a perch (pigeons are cliff nesters. round perches hurt their feet.) and a rabbit corner litter pan hung up as a nest.

If you have a bigger breed, like a King, in mind, it would be best to seek out a great dane sized wire kennel and mod it.

Pigeons enjoy splashy baths, swings, mirrors, and anything stick-shaped, shiny, and/or jingly, but most of the enrichment they really need is social.

They can be very happy with an attentive human partner, with out needing to be on you all the time.

They like having the option to come see you and hang out, and go do their own thing when they want time to themselves, so free roaming at least in their handler’s room if not the entire house is ideal.

Pigeons are exactly as smart as parrots. They just have a different skill set and can’t mimic speech.

Pigeons are highly cooperative pattern mapping social learners, about as smart as a five year old human.

Pigeon flocks are democratic meritocracies.

Every bird that can fly has a say in what they do when they go foraging, and they decide by vote.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100416214045.htm

Birds earn their place as leaders by proving they are the best at that specific task, be it finding food, water, nest material, or navigating back home.

If some one else proves they are better, the flock will demote their former leader by choosing to follow the new one who has proven themself.

https://www.audubon.org/news/in-homing-pigeon-flocks-bad-bosses-quickly-get-demoted

they are capable of high level cognition.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090212141143.htm

because their brains are wired very similarly to ours.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130717095336.htm

They recognize faces like we do

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110411171847.htm

show superior self recognition to three year old humans

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080613145535.htm

They categorize like we do

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140402095107.htm

Learn the equivalent of words by the same mechanic as human toddlers

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150204184447.htm

They can even learn written words with enough nuance to differentiate a real word from an acronym with the same number of letters.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160919111535.htm

And they understand the abstracts of time and space, using the same regeon of the brain that humans and primates do.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171204144805.htm

The relationship with a pigeon is a lot closer to friendship with a nonverbal child than the typical owner/pet dynamic.

Their social structure is so similar to an extended human family that individuals socialized with humans integrate easily into a human flock.

The way they pattern map makes them adept at picking up language.

If you talk them through everything like you would a toddler that doesn’t know those words yet, they will pick them up.

For example, “You like chasing that ball?” tells them the object they are interacting with is a ball and the action is chasing.

“I feel sick/sad/angry/happy” will help him learn the words for your moods and states of well being.

Pigeons are smart and socially conscious enough to draw parallels between yours and their own, largely on their own.

Because their flocks are democratic meritocracies, pigeons innately understand the concept of consent and are capable of expressing what they want, once they work out what indication you can understand.

If you make a habit of telling the bird that you need to do something that may be unpleasant for the sake of their well being (like going to the vet, or untangling a hair from their toes), doing that as quickly as possible, and releasing them immediately afterwards, and only asking what the bird wants when they have the option to decline, you and your pigeon can work out a means of answering yes and no and indicating their choice.

They are smart enough to learn house rules as well as a dog or cat, provided you are consistent enough.

My Assistance Pigeon free roams my house like a puppy. Even taught himself to try to poop on tile, where it’s easiest to clean up.

There is some difference in the personalities of cocks and hens.

Cocks build friendships primarily through rivalry, and their affection is very pinchy and aggressive.

People often think a human-social cock is antagonizing them because he dislikes them, when what he is actually doing is trying to impress them with his strength and tenacity, the way he would a hen he was courting.

You can wrestle them back with out fear of hurting them.

When you want the game to finish, just relax your hand and move it where ever he pushes or pulls, until he finds the position he wants.

Hens tend to be more cuddly and clingy than cocks.

Check out @tinysaurus-rex, @birdgeppetto, @sensitive-pigeon, and @katskip and ask them about life with their pigeon house mates.

150 notes · View notes

kedreeva · 5 years ago

Note

Hi, I’m sure you must get this question a lot but can you speak about peafowl as pets? I have a private, mostly secluded 5 acre farm with horses and chickens and I’m seriously considering adding peafowl into the mix.

I have indeed gotten this question a lot! I went through and grabbed what I could find from my blog. I’m sure there are ones I missed or things I could have added, but it should cover almost everything you could possibly want to know about peafowl. If you read through it all and still have specific questions, feel free to come ask, or drop me a PM!

General Information

General care article I wrote

Peafowl vs Chickens care

Things you should know up front

Things you should REALLY know up front

Noise level

no really, noise level (vocalizations)

Screaming

Even the babies do it

The babies sleep like they’re dead and it’s terrifying

Baby warning

Please give babies a stuffed animal

Also a chicken friend

General information

How long to maturity?

Language notes

How children should hold baby birds

On feather gathering

Can you eat their eggs? Yes.

Please stop putting peafowl on leashes

seriously stop it

it’s the worst

Even experienced handlers get injuries

Note that these were acquired while handling all the birds for NPIP certification testing to check for salmonella pullorum

Housing Information

General housing information

References (young pen construction)

References (Young pen finished)

Different young pen

Adult housing

In construction

More photos

Early construction

Early construction II

Inside the coop

Original pen construction

Original pen construction II

Original pen construction III

Original pen construction IV

Original pen construction V

Cold weather/emergency housing

Peafowl and climate

Baby cage + some medical

Inside barn housing + babies

More barn photos

On cleaning pens

Outdoor pens need LESS cleaning, but still need scraped for waste and to have the feathers raked out after molting

Heated perches and radiant heaters

Get yourself a perch scraper

Feeding/Treat Information

On treats and feeding

Feeding notes

Treats and behavior

Kale enrichment

Why kale?

Raw meat?

On millet

Enrichment

More leaves (video)

Toys

Laser pointer

Behavioral Information

Social affection

Peahen dominance display

Male bowing

Peahens and babies also raise trains

Can peafowl fly? Yes.

And they’re beautiful

On Molting

Baby dustbath station

On peafowl indoors

On eating peafowl

More notes (graphic pictures)

On letting birds mourn

Laying behavior to look for

Discussion of Taming

Interaction advice

On baby care

On Loafing Around

Feral interaction advice

On Free ranging

Free ranging notes

Links to tame behaviors

Picking up my tame birds

Idiot Baby + perch hold

Baby birds and affection

You will have to deal with this at some point

Probably many times

And they won’t be nice about it

Trained behaviors

Tail up!

Up! command

Ask nicely

Genetics and breeding:

Masterpost of peafowl genetics (slightly outdated)

Problems in peafowl

Further notes on inbreeding

Birds to avoid

Java outcrossing

Information about Leucism vs Albinism + Pied

Pied morph information

Leucism/Pied information

Albinos

Conformation discussion

Conformation notes for purple peafowl

Further notes

Squat conformation health notes

Helios specific notes

Quality comparison

Poor Quality discussion

Sexing chicks

More information

Pattern comparison (angel wing pied)

Color comparison (with photos)

Egg and breeding info

On hatching deaths

Reference for the above

Incubator vs Hen hatching

Cabinet incubators are best

On candling eggs

Fresh babies info

Intersex peafowl

On Trans peafowl

Chicken/Peacock hybrids

Medical references

Sola and bread

Giving pills

Sola sinus infection

On belly buttons

Medical information on Stan and Artemis

Bird-rito and shoes

Shoes

Stan’s shoes

Splayed Legs

More splayed leg info

Splayed legs (and curled toes) are often a result of a lack of vitamin E in the parent birds.

Panting/overheating behavior

My advice before acquiring peafowl is to locate a veterinarian that will see them if something goes wrong and assess whether they seem to know what they’re doing (a good vet that does not know much about peafowl will admit this to you up front). I would also ask if they’re willing to take consult from other vets, because a vet unwilling to talk to other vets for consult is a vet you do not want to see.

Color references

Masterpost of color photos

Peach peacocks

Purple loud pied peahen

Purple blackshoulder pied peacock

Purple blackshoulder pied hen vs cock

On purple bleaching

Cameo blackshoulder white-eye

Cameo

White peacock (tail visible)

Opal Peacock

Bronze, Peach, Montana, and Taupe

Taupe is a mixed-color bird; genetically it is both purple and opal at the same time.

Peach is a mixed-color bird; genetically it is both purple and cameo at the same time.

Montana is new and can have severe health problems.

Elfenbien Peafowl

Java Greens

Baby feather patterns

Hen vs Cock as babies

Blue vs purple train feathers

Pied/Leucism vs Vitiligo

Feathers and Anatomy

Alula anatomy

Wing compartment

Yearling feathers

Hen train feather

Primary coverts

Tail feather

Random Other Information

On selling

Peafowl diapers information

Peafowl Diaper Making Tutorial/Pattern

picture of diaper off bird

More diaper notes

Diaper care

Applying a diaper

Best diaper post

Feral Peas

Accurate humor facts

Immediately after hatching

#peafowl #peacocks #peahens #peachicks #peafowl care #peafowl 101 #personal #asks #birds #my pets #masterlists #masterposts #hearts-of-fire

149 notes · View notes

headoverjojo · 5 years ago

Note

I'm weak for young cop abbacchio so could I please have a scenario with Abba and his s/o engaging in some tender lovings

Hi there, honey! THAT’S SUCH A MOOD cop Abba is so underrated and deserves LOVE-

Anyway, such a lovely request!! I’m, eeerrr, a bit rusty with smut, sooo I hope it’s not so terrible! And I’m disappointed; it seems that I can’t write anything if it hasn’t an ominous ending. What’s wrong with me-

Ok so, let’s get started!! I sincerely hope you’ll like it :3

Young Leone Abbacchio and his s/o’s loving quality time

(Under the cut for smut! And, of course, even if he’s younger, Abbacchio is ABSOLUTELY on age!!)

It had been such a wonderful evening. Your boyfriend, a young, talented cop, had basically spoiled you all the evening, taking you out for a date promised time ago but, until now, delayed due to his intense work. Being a recruit, a rookie, he had to work his ass off every day, to show that he deserved his uniform and space in police, and he did it happily. Being a policeman had always been his dream, after all, and now that he was finally fulfilling it he wouldn’t have given up. You knew it and you supported him with all your heart; and seeing you, even after the most tiring day, always made his heart flutter and a smile ghost over his lips.

You had always been here for him, supporting him even when the training and the exams were so difficult and tiring that he would have just liked to sink in the bed and disappear forever. You were the person he loved the most, you were his best friend, since the first years of high school, you were… you were his light. He was seeing so many crimes and injustices, even if he was just a rookie, and, sometimes, like after a criminal was bailed out of jail or crimes stayed unsolved, he really thought that there was nothing good in the world worth to fight for. But then, when he was finally at his small flat, you dropped by, and with you you took a fresh breeze, a positivity that made him realize again why he was enduring. He was doing this all for you and for good people like you. He was doing it to keep you and people like you safe and sound, to make you sleep serenely at night. Everything he was doing, he was doing it for the good left in this world.

And, when he had a free evening and you were free too, he didn’t hesitate to take you out, to show you, in a little more gorgeous way, that he loved you and appreciated your support and, basically, everything you did. And, tonight, you were wearing that pretty dress you were wearing also for your first date, a little more than a couple of years before, and you were so radiant, so wonderful… in the end, he gave in to what he was desiring, fulfilling also your desire as well. His lips were on yours even before you entered his small flat, soft pants leaving his mouth as your hands ghosted on his body while his were fumbling with the keys, trying to open the door. When he finally managed to do so, you stumbled back, bringing him with you, your lips never leaving his, in a breathtaking kiss that seemed to be eternal. You just heard the keys being dropped somewhere, the door being closed with a loud thud and then his strong hands grabbed your thighs, lifting you up like you weighed nothing. You happily wrapped your legs around his waist, to better balance yourself, sinking your hands in his short hair, pulling them a little, as you knew he liked, gaining a low grunt and a squeeze on your thighs. You giggled on his lips, breaking the kiss to breathe, just to release a sudden gasp when his lips, now free, started to roam on your throat, marking it with his purple lipstick. You squirmed, when he bent down to kiss your collarbone and chest, marking them as well, with a fervent adoration.

“I’m sorry to have been so absent, in the last period…” he murmured on your flushed skin, sustaining you with just one arm, while his other hand ran to the top of the zipper on the back of your dress, taking it down slowly, slowly, making you squirm in anticipation. He was such a teaser… but you were no less. You took advantage of your position to grind on him, gaining a delicious pressure on your panties and a heavy and hot huff that breezed on your already flushed skin, making you shiver even more. Everything was going so well…

Blindly stumbling, Abbacchio managed to take you to his bedroom, and put you on the bed. Before you could even whine in protest, he crawled between your legs, sending more shivers down your spine, when you locked your eyes with his. His violet and golden irises were dark and full of lust and desire, his lipstick deliciously smeared and his movements… he was moving like a predator, slowly and deliberately caging you with his broad body. Your eyes followed every small twitch of his muscles, your fingers flew to open the buttons of his shirt; it was a shame to keep those muscles hidden…

“So eager, honey?” he murmured, bending down his head to kiss again your lips, this time sweetly and softly, letting you taking off his shirt. He rested on his elbows, cupping your face, gently stroking your cheeks with his thumbs. Just when you were starting to accommodate and relax, his hips hopped forward, stroking once more your clothed sex and, at the same moment, his teeth sank in your bottom lip, softly biting it. A loud moan filled of surprise and lust escaped your mouth, spurting him to grind again and again, until your felt soaking wet and even a bit dizzy. And you hadn’t even started yet…

“L-like you aren’t…” you replied, with a breathy laugh, grinding back and gaining another low grunt from him. How much you loved to see him like this, his forehead furrowed, his teeth gritted, his eyes wild and full of lust, all because of you, just because of you… his hands, now animated by a deeper need, took down the upper part of your dress, freeing your breasts, and he immediately latched his mouth to one of your nipples, tearing another sweet moan from you. His tongue took a great care of the hardened bud, swirling and teasing it, while his hand teased and played with the other, not to leave it without attentions. After a little, he switched, and, this time, his other hand roamed down your abdomen, making you feel in fire where his fingers touched and caressed, until they came to the hem of your panties. You huffed and pouted, when he started to toy with it, a sly grin spreading on his lips when he saw your annoyed yet lustful expression. You were so cute when you were so riled up…

He couldn’t, however, take back the yelp that escaped him when your bold hand ran to his trousers, unfastening the button and sinking in his boxers to wrap around his already hard length and give a couple of strong strokes. He liked to play, but he had no idea how much you liked it too. He wouldn’t have been the only one to lead the game!

“So eager, uh?” you teased, telling him the same words he said before, as a grin bent your lips as well. His forehead fell on your shoulder, as soft pants escaped his lips at every pump you were giving to his length. His soft whines and sighs were like music to your ears; and, after few seconds, this music had been enriched by your moans, when his fingers finally dipped under your panties and rolled around your clit, and then down, between your folds, teasing your entrance. You sighed, both for relief and pleasure, when two of his long fingers slid inside, stretching you so deliciously. You both went on just for a little, until you couldn’t wait anymore; his fingers were nice, but you needed more and, by the way his hips were rolling at your strokes, he needed it too.

“Ok, ok, I got the message…” he breathed out, taking out his fingers from your insides and yanking down your panties, which got lost somewhere along with his trousers and boxers. You bit your lips, when the tip of his length brushed your dripping entrance and your cheeks burned, when you felt your inner muscles clenching around him when he dipped just the tip. You just heard his chuckles, as you had closed your eyes both for pleasure and embarrassment, and then his lips were on your cheeks, forehead, nose, lips…

“Have I told you how beautiful you are, Y/N?” his gentle whisper made your eyes flutter open, but, before you could answer with something as sweet as this -and, oh, how much you loved when he was so cheesy; it was rare, but you treasured those moments-, his lips sealed yours and engulfed your sharp moan when he drew his hips forward, sinking entirely in you. Your legs trembled, your back and hips arched a little, as to adjust to contain him better, and your hands sank in his hair, pulling and scratching his nape and shoulders. A grunted moan left his mouth, when you sank your nails in his skin, and his hips retracted, slowly, slowly, drawing a whining complain from your busy lips that transformed in another moan when they snapped forward, filling you again.

Moans and grunts mixed together, forming a lascivious melody to which the slap of skin on skin joined after a little. His lips were constantly on yours and, if not, they were roaming on your face, on your jaw and neck, marking, sucking, leaving behind purple splotches. His back was, by now, marred by a lot of thin scratches which just fueled him more and more, that made his movement grow more and more intense and faster, he was going so fast and he was perfectly hitting your sweet spot…

When he felt your inner walls starting to spasm, he unclosed a little his eyes, looking at your face contorted in pleasure, at your closed eyes and furrowed brow, at your inviting lips, now slightly open to gulp in more air and to breathe out his name, like a prayer, and he felt his length twitch in you, as the sight of you so lost in a pleasure that just he could give you was too much. His hand travelled down again, sinking between your legs and toying with your sensitive bundle of nerves, circling it, brushing it, methodically, following the crazy rhythm of his hips, making your open wide your eyes in surprise as a new and sudden wave of pleasure crashed on you, making you finally, finally, reach that bliss you had desired for all the evening. Your inner walls crazily spasmed around him, as to keep him inside, clenching deliciously around him and it took every inch of will not to just give in and release in you. Gritting his teeth, he pumped a couple of times more, to allow you to ride your orgasm as you deserved, and then he pulled it out, spilling on your belly, with raspy pants and low grunts, while your muscles were still clenching, even if around thin air.

The last inch of energy was spent not to crush on you but to lay at your side, as you both slowly came down from your high peaks. His arm was around your top half, as to keep you safe even when he wasn’t so lucid and alert. How sweet…

“Leo?” you whispered, when you felt again on Earth and your heart finally slowed down from his crazy race. Abbacchio opened his eyes and you were mesmerized once more by his deep and peculiar eyes, that now were so soft, so tired yet so full of love and adoration for you…

“I love you.” you softly pressed your lips on his, relishing in the warmth of his body and the gentle caress on your cheek. You really couldn’t desire more, from life… you were young, you were studying what you loved and you had a fantastic boyfriend. You were happy beyond any imagination and it was all… all perfect.

What could go wrong?

#jjba #vento aureo #bruno's gang #leone abbacchio #fem s/o #cop!abbacchio #scenario #sin writings #anon ask

64 notes · View notes

soundofez · 6 years ago

Text

The Future Starts With You

Portal AU. Uraraka is a test subject forced to complete a variety of test chambers in an underground facility, and Tsuyu is the girl trapped in the cube that keeps her company.

First, some dedications:

This fic would not exist without the amazing @crimson-and-rover! They’ve done some gorgeous artwork that you can find here :D

Shoutout to the mods @uravitybang for their hard work organizing the event! I’ve had a lot of fun, and I look forward to any future big bangs they may host ♥

Finally, an enormous thank you to @arialis for their betawork! They helped me get the fic to a point where any BNHA fan can enjoy it, not just the ones who have played Portal, and I am eternally grateful.

Links: [artwork] [event tumblr] [fic on ao3]

Disclaimer: All of the voice’s lines are ripped straight from GLaDOS’s lines in Portal. This is because the voice is GLaDOS. Also, those lines are masterpieces and cannot be improved or imitated, at least not by this humble author.

Also, if you’re on the mobile app, I cannot guarantee that the readmore will work. Tumblr is... irritating like that. Sorry.

...Like, seriously, I’m really really sorry.

001: Testing

You open your eyes to a bright, blank white.

You try to sit up, but the movement makes your head pound. Your joints feel loose and sore.

You try again, and your tailbone complains as you shift your weight. When you swing your legs over the side of the bed, you are dragged out feet first by the unexpected weight on your calves.

You land on your feet with a bounce, and you flip, and your hands slap against the floor for an instant before your legs swing back under you, not entirely of your own will.

As fast as it happens, it's over— you didn't even have time to scream. You catch your breath and cautiously take stock of your body, careful not to move too quickly and in case you make something else happen.

You are crouching. Your arms tremble faintly as adrenaline catches up to them. Your clothes are unfamiliar, an ugly orange jumpsuit. On your feet, covering your calves, are pristine white boots. You flex your feet, and they flex back, forcing you upright with a bizarre instinct you didn't know you had. You wobble on the spot.

They're heavy, odd-looking things, with a crowbar-shaped heel that extends from your calf. They keep you on your toes, literally.

"Hello," an artificial voice says, causing you to leap (literally) several inches off the ground. Your boots clang against the ground, accompanying the voice as it continues: "Welcome to the Aperture Science computer-aided enrichment center. We hope your brief detention in the Relaxation Vault has been a pleasant one."

You shiver. You remember the voice. You don't trust it one whit.

"... serious injuries may occur. For your own safety, and the safety of others, please refrain from—" As if on cue, the voice skips and stutters, shuffling through a foreign language before cutting out entirely.

The silence leaves you frozen, your spine buzzing with nerves. You need to escape.

You pace the "relaxation vault," feeling distinctly unrelaxed. You are trapped in a glass chamber, slightly elevated from a larger room, its walls panelled with an off-white material. You can see a door out there, open and mocking.

You take stock of your options. There's the bed you'd woken up in, solidly fixed to the floor, useless. At the foot of the bed is a toilet, also fixed to the floor, also useless (especially useless, you think, glancing at the cameras leering at you through the glass). Beside it, a nightstand, also fixed to the floor, but with a tiny radio atop it playing an upbeat song you don't recognize. You pick up the radio, but it feels too light and fragile to be very useful.

A shock of static crackles through the room, raising the hairs on the back of your neck. "I'm back," the voice says. "The portal will open in three… two… one…"

A completely indescribable sound blooms behind you.

You whirl and catch sight of a hungry, orange fire and almost laugh with despair— of course you would wake up in time to burn to death. Out of the corner of your eye, on a wall beyond your glass prison, you catch a flicker of burning blue, as well.

Just as suddenly as the fire had begun, though, it stops, swirling into an oval ring. The center of it clears, mirror-like, to reveal a new space: when you glance at the blue fire, you find that it has done the same.

You turn your attention back to the orange-rimmed oval in front of you and spy an oddly familiar person in an orange jumpsuit and pristine white boots behind a glass wall, slightly elevated from the rest of the room they are in. They are looking at a wall in their cell, and you raise a hand, opening your mouth to shout.

Before you can, something moves in the corner of your vision, and you turn to look at the blue oval outside your glass box.

On the other side of that oval, too, is a person in an orange jumpsuit and pristine white boots, her hand half-raised and peering to one side. You take note of her hair, the same color as yours, if cut in a slightly longer bob.

Comprehension dawns. You turn back to the orange oval and, when you lower your hand, watch as the person beyond the oval lowers her hand, too, a perfect, unflipped mirror. You glance at the blue oval and see that person's hair sway gently, as if she, too, had just turned her head, which you know she had, because she is you. You're looking at yourself from multiple sides.

Experimentally, you stick your hand through the portal. Nothing interesting happens, except that you can see yourself do it in the third person, your hand disappearing into the wall you're facing.

You pull your hand back, vaguely unsettled.

You turn your attention to the fire still dancing at the edge of the portal. It's orange on your side, but it blends into blue, matching the portal you can see on the wall outside the glass. You can't see the wall in between.

You're still holding the radio. You prod it at the flames; neither the radio nor the flames react. The radio isn't even warm, you think, running your fingers over the corner you had poked into the flames.

You press the radio into the edge of the portal, and it sinks through without any noticeable effort on your part. It also stops playing. When you pull it out of the wall, it looks fine, but the screen flickers and returns to black when you try to turn it on.

You test the portal again, this time lopping off a corner of the radio. The severed chunk of plastic clatters to the floor on the other side.

Note to self: avoid the edges of the portal at all costs.

You step through the portal, or rather, your boots bounce you through and slam you against the outside of your erstwhile cage.

You spend the next few minutes testing your balance to make sure you don't accidently slam yourself into anything more dangerous, like the edge of a portal. By the time you leave the room, you've gotten used to the skipping rhythm of walking with the boots.

The door latches shut behind you, sending shivers down your spine. The room you now find yourself in has another door, but it is closed as well, with no apparent means of opening except for a red, button-like platform on the ground a short distance away.

You avoid the platform. It could be a trap.

The only other things in the room are a camera over the exit door and a tube, roughly a foot-and-a-half in diameter, protruding from the ceiling. You pace the room for a while, looking for another way out. You're inspecting the door you came from when something crashes to the floor, and you jump high enough to bang your head on the door frame.

It's a cube, sitting under the tube it had apparently dropped out of. It looks harmless enough, you think as you pick the thing up, but it is reasonably heavy.

You throw it at the camera over the door and take great satisfaction in watching both objects crash to the ground, though the voice's toneless "Vital testing apparatus destroyed" makes your skin crawl.

The door remains closed.

You search the room fruitlessly for several more minutes, but eventually, unable to find an alternative, you carry the cube to the platform and watch it depress under the weight.

"Excellent," the voice says, and the door opens. "Please proceed into the chamberlock after completing each test."

You hesitate, but there is no where else to go. If you follow along, you can at least try to escape.

It's with this hope in mind that you proceed through the "tests." The voice guide you, as if trying to gain your trust, but the casual hints that drop through its robotic filter only make you more wary and distrusting.

You remain silent. It becomes your way of protesting what has happened to you. You do not give the voice the satisfaction of hearing you speak.

At first, the most dangerous things about the tests are the portals, which rotate through existence in a manner that makes you hyper-aware of how easily they could cut you in half, if you timed a jump wrong and were caught mid-transfer.

Then you receive the portal guns, and the danger of portals wanes to just their edges. (You also take great pleasure in slicing the cameras from the walls with some well-placed portals, and learn to ignore the voice's default announcement.)

Of course, you still have to contend against enormous falls and nauseating pools of liquid and free-floating balls of electric death ("Aperture Science High Energy Pellets," the voice calls them). In one course, you are unapologetically sent into a "live fire course designed for military androids," and you spend several long minutes nursing an enormous bruise where a bullet had hit you in the shoulder. (Miraculously, it hadn't punched through you, but it had still punched you.)

The course is a blessing in disguise. The bullets punch into the wall panels with enough force to throw them out of alignment, and after getting rid of the turrets and the cameras in the area, you pry a panel out of the wall and crawl into the cavity behind it.

You can't go far: there is too much wiring and not enough floor and barely enough gaps to squeeze through. That first time you venture behind the walls, you are wary, but there is no room for hostile tricks, and you begin to lower your guard. You spend more time exploring the construction of the puzzles, and you even catch quick naps when you feel tired enough.

It is after several test chambers of this luxury that the voice adds something new.

"The vital apparatus vent will deliver a weighted companion cube in three… two… one."

The tube extending from the ceiling opens its mouth in a spiralling motion that you have become familiar with. A cube falls to your feet, as promised, though this one has pink hearts on its faces instead of the Aperture logo. You might have called it cute if it weren't for the ghostly figure perched on top of it.

"Ochako!" the figure says, rising to their knees to put their eyes level with yours. "Is it— Is it really you?"

You force yourself to ignore them, fixing your eyes on the cube instead, but your heart is boiling with rage, melting a path through your stomach that leaves you feeling hollow inside.

"This weighted companion cube will accompany you through the test chamber," the voice says. "Please take care of it."

You pick up the cube, determinedly ignoring the hologram sitting on it. The voice wants you to test? Fine. You'll keep testing. You will test until you figure out how to escape, and then you will find the source of the voice and end them for using the image of Tsuyu Asui against you.

(chapter 2 on ao3)

#boku no hero academia #my hero academia #uravity bang #uraraka ochako #uravity #tsuyu asui #(??? why is tsuyu's main tag tsuyu asai?)#portal au #long post #crimson and rover #fez scribbles #fez writes

13 notes · View notes

starscreamloki · 7 years ago

Text

My King

Chapter Five - Masks

Previous chapter

Imagine: You were a very powerful Queen, whose husband was killed when Loki, invaded and attacked yours and his realm. In order to become king, Loki found a way to force you to marry him, and he was a terrible husband. You weren’t used to being ordered around or subjugated until you had no choice but to obey him and prevent things from getting worse. But your rebelliousness was starting to grow on Loki, so much he actually found himself very attracted to you as time went by. He actually started to court you, in his own, brusque and proud way. All this time, he hadn’t laid a finger on you, but after an awkward dinner served for the loveless king and queen, he showed up in your bedroom. Sat on your bed, gently caressed your arm until you woke up. You thought about playing along, thrusting a dagger into his heart when he least expected it. But you realized that all your hatred was slowly vanishing, the more he touched you. You ended up succumbing and having the most intense lovemaking session that only bonded the two of you for life.

Warnings: Dom!Loki, NSFW, predator!Loki. Mentions of every horror that comes with war, battle, mischief, darkness and plain out malicious intent. No happy and fuzzy feelings, just raw darkness and a God who wants to rule the universe and will beat everyone in submission in order to get it!

Words: 3742

A/N: I actually wanted to write some smut for this chapter, but that didn’t happen. First of all because a lot of plot is covered in this chapter and thus it almost left no more room for even more words, and second of all because it wouldn’t befit this chapter and it’s contents.

I also left a little note at the bottom, but make sure to read the story first, otherwise it will spoil.

----

A week had passed since the funeral and Alexis was still locked up in her chambers. From time to time Loki had allowed the children to be with her and with that her rebellion had seemed to diminish.

Loki paced the throne room like some caged animal thinking about what he just had read.

The librarian had given him some scrolls to read about the customs of a royal wedding of Nara, and Loki wasn’t happy at all. He was fuming with rage about the whole ordeal and not for the first time he almost wanted to abort his plan and just leave this realm far behind him. But he couldn’t, the stakes were too high, and he would get what he wanted.

It wasn’t so much the ceremony that made him angry, but the part that should happen before they pledged their commitment to each other. Because that part, that little detail, could ruin everything he so carefully had build in the last weeks.

It had taken some time for Alexis to trust him somewhat but that could all be wrecked within mere seconds with this stupid tradition. Tradition? If it was a tradition, it could be broken, he could talk his way out of it with his silver tongue, but it ran deeper than tradition and so Loki had to comply to it.

Loki had allowed for Alexis to get out of her chambers once a day so she could walk the courtyard or the small garden behind the castle. Of course under an escort of guards and some of his most vicious Kha’os Alvish who needed escorts and chains themselves in order not to rip people apart.

They were the most brutal creatures of death and darkness, animals, just like you--

Loki snarled at the unbidden thought, startling one of the guards near his throne.

***

Alexis hadn’t been pleased with the escort, but it was better to have that moment out of her chambers under a terrifying escort, than not have it at all. At that point Alexis had also figured she just could go to the market and ‘buy’ things - she didn’t have to pay for items she wanted because that had all been arranged. It had struck her as odd, because she almost had been sure that Loki would have kept that away from her too, and that if she wanted to have something from the market, she should pay for it like a normal peasant, and money was one thing she didn’t have. Or well, she actually had, but not the literal coins in her pocket and thus she was surprised when she could just ‘buy’ the items she wanted like she always used to do.

A couple of times Loki had followed her, just to see what she would do with a look on his face that betrayed no emotion whatsoever. Alexis had felt the eyes boring into her back, but she didn’t care.

She had been allowed to say her farewell to her husband, grief alone, see her children, she was allowed out of her chambers and on top of that, she could still ‘buy’ whatever she wanted. She might have been a prisoner, but it started to feel less and less like it. And with that her rebellious self had subsided.

***

Loki stood on the balcony of the-- HIS throne room, not yet! Loki snarled, and looked out over the courtyard below where the queen returned from her little walk outside. She looked up and saw him standing, and with a courtly but unmistakable little gesture of her hand, she waved at him.

One of the Kha’os Alvish on the leash was snapping its teeth at someone who passed it to close, but the guard who controlled him was quick to jerk the chain that was wrapped around its neck, and send it reeling backwards, landing on its back. A vicious smile formed on Loki’s lips for he found it utterly amusing how these creatures treated.

Alexis payed the scene no heed, for she had learned to just ignore it. But Loki saw a flash of compassion towards the creature in her eyes and that look lodged itself into his heart, giving him the tiniest bit of hope he desperately needed. Because when Alexis would return to her chambers, Loki, and the priest who would carry out the wedding, would be waiting for her, for the first part of that damned arrangement.

It was thát part that could very well send everything crumbling into dust in front of Loki’s eyes and he dreaded it.

Then an idea sprang to mind and he barated himself for being so foolish. Was he not the God of Lies? The one who could wage a silver tongue and make everyone dance to his very will? Was he not the Master of Illusions? How stupid could he have been to not think of this sooner?

Stupid or weak? His conscience asked him. He left that question unanswered.

When Alexis entered her room, Loki was already waiting with said priest and she just sighed at the sight of them.

“Today is the day?” she casually asked Loki.

“Today for the first formalities, tomorrow the actual ceremony,” Loki casually shot back.

Alexis bit her lip and just nodded. “Then let's get it over with.”

Loki looked at the priest who nodded and picked up the two silver chalices that stood waiting on the table. The chalices were adorned with beautiful black patterns, swirling all over the hilt and cup of the chalices, and the priest gave one to Alexis, and one to Loki. Then he picked the carafe from the table, equally beautiful and obviously matching the chalices, and poured its content, a black liquid that contained all the colors of the rainbow and none, into the chalices Loki and Alexis were holding.

Loki and Alexis just stared at each other but no emotions or words were spoken in that stare, just a plain look of acceptance and maybe a little bit of a battle of will between them.

The priest picked up a knife and Loki held out his hand while the priest pricked his finger to draw blood. Loki put his hand above his chalice and a single drop of blood fell into the dark liquid. The priest did the same for Alexis and she let a single droplet fall into her chalice.

“In the light of oncoming events I, The Nameless, High-priest of Nara, execute the will of the ancient rites given to us by our ancestors, to prepare both Loki and queen Alexis-”

At no mention of any form of entitlement Loki gave the priest a sour look, who just shrugged and kept on talking, never missing a beat.

“-for their wedding of the morrow. With this liquid, delved from the most sacred lake of Nara, both enriched with a drop of your own blood, you will lay down your masks and show your true faces, not only to each other, but to thyself as well.”

Loki felt a darkness grip his heart at hearing the words but he did not gave in to it.

“Drink”, the priest commanded and so Loki and Alexis did, still looking each other in the eye over the rim of their chalices as they downed the contents.

Loki put his free hand behind his back while he emptied the chalice, and when it was empty, he put the chalice down on the table with a slight mocking bow towards the queen, never breaking eye contact. When he straightened himself back up he called for his seidr and so subtly cast a spell over himself it was never noticeable. The real Loki stepped away from his illusion, never visible under the invisibility part of the spell he had woven into it and stepped to the side.

Then he felt it, the liquid took hold of him and coursed through his veins. With that he felt his blood freeze and his heartbeat slowed down to a rate that would have set alarm to any other Aesir, or human for that matter. But Loki was familiar with the feeling and with dread he looked at himself as his skin turned blue. He had a hard time keeping the illusion up in front of Alexis, showing her and the priest his Aesir form and not his Jotun skin. For a split of a second he lost control as his Frost Giant part wrapped itself around and in him, and the eye color of his illusion became red in that instant.

Loki quickly tightened his grip on the illusion and averted disaster just in time for Alexis, or the priest, to take notice of the true color of his eyes.

The liquid still held him and rampaged through his veins and a vile taste spread through his mouth. Slowly he felt a burning sensation on his tongue which spread through his mouth, to his jaw, up to his skull and down his spine. It was mortifying and on top of that his blood was at war with itself, fighting the burning liquid but trying to cool down at the same time. Loki gritted his teeth as the sensations all crept to his heart at the same time, and when they reached it, they slammed at his heart making it skip a beat. Then all the sensations just died at once and he felt his skin crawl and saw it turn back to his Aesir form.

A quick glimpse at Alexis showed him she had experienced something similar, but probably not the same as him, for he knew the liquid affected everybody different and treated them to their true selves.

The real Loki walked to his illusion and took its place. Then he looked Alexis in the eye and a very evil grin spread across his face. Surely Alexis had hoped to see him a monster, which you are, but Loki’s illusion had been strong and thus there was a little bit of disappointment readable from her face.

“And so the ancient wills of the ritual have spoken”, the priest said. His words felt a little bit sudden after the long moment of silence that had passed, but it marked the end of the rite. The priest stood there just looking at them both, probably waiting for them to say something, to witness the little melodrama that surely would unfold. But Loki would have none of that, he didn’t want any spectators and barked at the man. “Out! Now!”

The priested jumped slightly at the sudden display of passive aggressiveness, but needn’t to be told twice and scuttered out of the room.

Alexis and Loki were still in deadlock staring at each other until Alexis broke first. “If it wasn’t for the leverage you hold over me, this would never have happened. You know that right?”

Loki laughed, actually laughed with a form of joy in it, at the silly comment the queen had made. Alexis gave him a scrutinizing look but Loki only scoffed at that. “If it weren’t for the fact that I needed you to access something I want, you’d already been dead”, he hissed dangerously at her. “And your children as well”, he added to let her know that she was playing with fire and she should pick her words careful. No they would not-- Loki smothered the thought.

Alexis stared at him, by now fully accustomed to Loki’s violent outbursts, and said, “in hindsight, I might have preferred that.”

A little bit of shock crossed Loki’s face at that moment and she could see a quick fleeting smile pass on his face. Loki said nothing to that remark for he did not know how to answer.

Sentiment, came the unbidden thought again. But this ran far deeper than sentiment. It was the actual full understanding of what her words meant, and that they were true, for it was an unspoken wish Loki had wished upon so many times himself. If somebody else just had made a different choice regarding his life, he wouldn't have been breathing now. And in that same regard Alexis viewed Loki, both of them a slave of somebody else's decision to let them live.

A lump formed in Loki’s throat, and when he spoke the next words, it was clearly audible, “when this is all over, and you still wish for it, I can still take it.” His suggestion wasn’t of the threatening kind but actually genuine. He just offered her something he never had, nor had the gut for to execute; a way out.

Loki’s words had Alexis rocking back on her heels, not only because of the words, but also with the tone with which he had spoken them. Maybe he never had meant to hurt her, but yet he had, and now he was offering one of life's most cruel solutions. On one hand is sounded repulsive and ridiculous, on the other hand it was tempting, but Alexis just reeled herself back before she could fall into that darkness and said, “I will let you know when I’m inclined to take your offer.” It wasn’t only a political correct answer, but also a true one.

Loki gave a court nod and respected the answer she had given him. Then he felt something tug at his heart, a feeling he long ago had buried. A feeling he in the Nine Realms didn’t want to feel right now! So he turned around, walked to the door and exited Alexis’ chambers to his own, the door clicking in the lock behind him.

Loki called forth a tidal wave of ominous feelings to smother the feeling tugging at his heart. Anger, sadness, self-loathing, loneliness, bitterness and hate, he all called them forth and mutilated himself with them. And the pain that came with those ominous feelings didn’t torment him the slightest because at this point he’d rather have this dark culprit eating him alive then what just had tugged at his heart.

Love…

***

The next day it was time for the wedding. It had taken Loki the better of yesterday, and it’s evening, to get back to himself. He had summoned one of the maids - fortunate not Rakel - to his chambers later that night, but the dark culprit had overtaken him, and after he was finished playing with her, the true monster had temporarily broken free from its bonds and Loki had killed the maid.

Just because he could… Just because he wanted to taste the blood in his mouth… Just because he hadn’t been able to keep the monster at bay…

Weak...

And now guild was trying to eat him alive. The voice in his mind maybe had spoken true. Maybe he was weak. But he had no time to fall into self-loathing or self-pity, and he pushed it all in the dark culprit, feeding it even more while he wasn’t in the slightest aware of that, and went on with the business that needed to be done today.

At the end of the day he would be king!

The castle was eerie quiet for the fact that there would be a royal wedding today. Normally it would be bustling with people running back and forth, making preparations, checking if everything was correctly laid out and planned, but today was not the case.

Because for all their differences, the fact that they loathed each other (did they?), and their bickering (and with that Loki’s dominant way of threatening the queen into submission), Alexis and Loki had agreed upon one thing: just get this wedding over with as soon, and quick, as possible! No spectators, no big ceremony, no feast afterwards, just the two of them (of course some maids and guards) and the priest. And definitely no rings!

Alexis and Loki had fought over the presence of the children at this ordeal; Alexis wanted them there, Loki did not, and thus the children would not attend.

And so they stood on the dais of the altar, Loki in is full battle armour which shone again, and Alexis in a beautiful purple dress adorned with luxurious golden patterns. The priest at the altar wore simple robes even though they were his ceremonial robes, and the very few maids - Rakel among them - and guards who were granted to attend, just to protect them or serve them every need, were also dressed in shining armour or more ornate dresses than normal, though all of them kept to the shadows and out of sight as much as possible.

The priest started the ceremony and both Alexis and Loki were impatient to get it over with, both of them actually hating the whole ordeal. Alexis of course hated it because she was being forced to wed this man. Loki hated it because he needed to wed this queen in order to get what he was chasing and thus forced himself. Both of them wondered at the irony and what a ‘happy’ marriage this would be.

The priest just uttered the words of the ceremony, probably because he also wanted to get it over with quick, he had fulfilled more satisfying weddings than this, and quickly came to the point where they had to pledge faithfulness to each other. Loki had a hard time not scoffing at the thought alone. He? The God of Lies? The trickster? Keeper of Mischief… It was difficult not to laugh…

As the priest spoke more and more words, Loki felt a cold creeping over him and something tried to grab at his heart. It was a very familiar feeling and he tried to fight it with all his might, a little bit of fear even taking hold of him.

“Do you, Loki, take Queen Alexis to be your wife?” the priest asked. Just as they had agreed upon, no long titles, no declarations of love or blank vows, just simple and straight to the point. But as the question lingered in the air and demanded to be answered, so too demanded the monster inside Loki to be let out.

“Yes”, Loki stated and with that the monster couldn’t be kept at bay any longer, for this ceremony, ancient in its ways and rites, didn’t accept anything less than the truth. And Loki knew, could FEEL, that he wasn’t able to pass this off with an illusion this time. He gave in and the monster came out.

Alexis was shocked when Loki’s skin turned blue and red eyes stared back at her. If the priest was even remotely shocked, he didn’t show. Alexis gasped and took a few steps backward out of fear of what stood in front of her.

Loki on the other hand was just angry. Angry at his treacherous being. Angry at his heritage. Angry about the fact that he yesterday tried so hard to cover this very truth but no longer was able to hide it. He was so angry with himself, but he did not show and kept his face blank. Eventually the inevitable words spilled from Alexis’ lips.

“You ARE a monster.”

The rage overtook Loki’s face and a deep showing hatred made the angry ridges on his Jotun face stand out even more.

Alexis took another step back in fear, this time truly seeing a monster standing in front of her. “Priest, abort this wedding, I will not marry a monster.”

Loki inhaled sharp and angry at her words, it was a good thing he had prepared for this, and he snapped his fingers. From the shadows of the room stepped two guards forward, both of them holding one of Alexis children, followed by two Kha’os Alvish on leashes and their masters. They advanced towards the altar but kept their safe distance, and the guards both put a knife to the children's throats, a hand on their mouths to prevent them from screaming.

“You will,” Loki said with a raspy voice. “Don’t, and the consequences will be your children's, and after that, yours”. With those words the two Kha’os Alvish started to tug at their leashes and prowl threateningly towards the children. The boys wanted to scream, but the hands on their mouths prevented them from doing so, and only a faint whimper could be heard.

Pure rage shone in Alexis eyes and tears formed on the rims of her eyes. She was at an utter and complete loss because she didn’t want to marry this monster, but neither did she want her children to die. Maybe it would be merciful for all of them if they just died.

“Stalling won’t get you anywhere and, in fact, it will only make this worse,” Loki threatened and he made a quick gesture at one of the guards holding a Kha’os Alvish. He veered the leash a little and the Kha’os Alvish took it as an invitation to try and strike at the weakest creature in the room, being the youngest child. He propelled itself forward only to be held back back the chains around his neck and he viciously snapped his teeth at the legs of one the youngest. It wanted to taste flesh and blood, and this youngling smelled exceptionally good.

The child tried to scream but couldn’t and thus started shaking violently out of utter terror. Alexis’ heart almost exploded and only now did she see that Loki wouldn’t let her die unless he got what he wanted. It mattered not what she would or wouldn’t do, he would get everything he desired, at her expense, and even if that meant treating in such a cruel way. If only she could understand his motivations.

Loki’s hand slowly raised again into the air. “Don’t take to long”, he coldly said to the queen.

She gave in.

“Fine. Priest, proceed”, she said defeated.

Loki lowered his hand and waved the guards with the children away. They retreated to the shadows of the room.

“Will you, queen Alexis, take Loki as your husband?” the priest asked, still not showing any form of opinion over anything that happened or was happening.

Alexis swallowed the lump that was blocking her throat. “Yes”, she almost whispered.

“Then I, The Nameless, vested with the power in me, High-priest of Nara, pronounce you, husband and wife. King Loki and Queen Alexis, you are now bound until the end of days.”

And as the priest spoke those words, Loki felt an iron shackle around his heart viciously snap shut.

Next Chapter

---

A/N: For all girls who were hoping for a lovely dovely wedding, I’m so sorry! I think it wouldn’t have befitted the story, (and I’m actually not one for all the cheesy romantic stuff) but I promise I’ll make it up soon!

Taglist: @omegalaufeyson, @umniyah-s, @mundanecatlife, @taehyungsrudetongue, @hey-i-got-pie, @inluvwithloki, @xxthehuntresssxx, @flouncing-tart76, @lokiloveforever, @wrappedinlokisarms, @cuteandnerdythings, @i-am-lost-in-my-own-mind , @blondekel77, [People I try to tag but Tumblr just won’t cooperate]: @thewomansblog, @you-can-choke-on-your-misery

#loki #loki imagine #imagine loki #loki fanfic #dom!loki #loki our king #predatory!loki #feral!loki

60 notes · View notes

batkatbrown · 7 years ago

Text

Beyond the Sea - C14!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13837683/chapters/32699928

Thank you fireflyquill, Lady and Anons that sponsored this chapter! <3

“Can you turn the page darlin’,” Jesse called over to his best friend who was currently trying to wrangle a bunch of seaweed. The book was popped up on the counter next to him and Hanzo reached over to flick the page without really looking. “Thanks!”

Jesse wriggle deeper into his little sand nest and propped his head in his hand to read. He had missed getting to explore other worlds between the lines of crisp print. The story was vaguely familiar and it was much the same as the novels beneath the waves.

A forbidden love that drove two people apart; a man of the sky that fell in love with a creature of the sea.

Jesse ruminated on the words, moving slowly through the page. He kept half his attention on Hanzo. The hunter was trying to do something fishy with the seaweed and three black pearls on his magical worktable.

“You sure you don’t wanna tell me what you’re doing?” He called lazily without lifting his gaze.

“It is best left unspoken,” Hanzo grumbled. The little vein in his forehead was twitching as he hunched over his work.

Jesse hummed softly in response. “If you are going to be usin’ spells and magics now, could you shrink down a few of my books? Then i could turn the pages myself.”

Hanzo turned with a glare and Jesse shrunk down into the nest of sand. Before his heart could jump into a frantic pace, Hanzo’s face softened and he laughed with a shake of his head. “I am sorry, Jesse. Perhaps you are right and I need to take a break.”

“Y-yeah.” Jesse waved his tail hopefully,

“And as a shrinking spell eludes me; would you allow me to read to you instead?” Hanzo swiveled in his chair and leaned down to cross his arms on the tabletop. He settled his chin on them and Jesse smiled as it brought him to eye-level.

“Nothing better than gettin’ to hear your pretty voice.” Jesse waggled his eyebrows and flashed a toothy grin. It made a pink tinge rise to the hunter’s cheeks. “Don’t guess i could ask for storytime in the tub?”

“It has been a while since we had a bath.” Hanzo rested his forehead on his arms with a soft laugh. Heat spiked through his veins at Jesse’s simple request. It was different this time, now that he knew Jesse was sentient.

He reached into the tank and teasingly poked at Jesse’s shoulder. “I suppose you also wish for me to get a ring for you to jump through and balls to knock around.”

“Could you?” Jesse’s eyes lit up and his smile nudged his cheeks high. “I used to whip and weave through coral and dodge sharks and wrangle sea dragons. Doing something more than swimming would make it feel a bit like home.”

Hanzo rested his head in one hand, nodding to his companion. It made sense. If he could not train and use his full body, he would feel restless to. “Perhaps a quick trip to the store is necessary before we relax in a bath.”

“I would love ya even more darlin’,” Jesse’s warm voice shot straight to his heart and he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment.

“Then we shall go.”

“How?”

Hanzo glanced to an empty jar. It would fit in his messenger bag. Jesse would fit even if it was a little tight and Hanzo leaned back in his chair. It would work.

The store was nearly empty on the early thursday morning. The few other customers drifted aimlessly or shuffled along in fuzzy slippers, paid them no mind. Hanzo kept his face blank and impassive as they maneuvered through the petstore. There were plenty of interesting plastic and rubber toys in the dog section that would float.

“What about this one?” Hanzo subtly tilted his messenger bag so Jesse could see the wall of merchandise better. It was a knobbly rubber dog toy that had a hole inside it for peanut butter or other treats. “Perhaps put fish in the hole.”

Jesse squinted at it, his human half hauled up to stick out of the mostly empty jar. “Is that really a dog toy?”

“Yes?” A quick look to the left and the right proved them to be alone. He lifted the jar and jesse free of his bag and held him closer to the red toy.

“Hmm, looks like it’d fit a dick more than some of that peanut butter stuff.”

Hanzo nearly dropped the jar with a splutter. Choked laughter stuck in his throat and he coughed around it. “It does… in a way appear to be a … sleeve of sorts.”

“You humans got some interesting ideas.” Jesse reached out to touch it with a suspicious look. “But i figure it might be fun to swim through and wrestle given half the chance. I like the look of that one too.”

Hanzo moved down the aisle and lifted Jesse to inspect to his heart’s content. The shopping basket slowly filled up with enrichment toys from both the dog, fish and cat section. Jesse was nearly giddy over the small plastic fishing pole with a brightly colored fish at the end. It was nothing like a real fish but he was chomping at the bit.

“Will you look at that,” Jesse whistled after the words.

Hanzo found himself directed over to a display of brightly colored tubes. They were assembled into an intricate run for hamsters or mice ending on each side in a wide cages.

“I wonder if they are watertight.” Hanzo mused as he approached the boxed version of the display. He taped on the transparent plastic with a fingernail. It was strong and study and with a bit of magic, it might be possible to turn it to a different use.

“I could swim anywhere in the house, or at least around.”

“Perhaps we can even set up tanks along the way for you to rest in. You could explore and swim to your heart’s content during the day. Maybe we could even connect it to the koi ponds.” Hanzo couldn’t contain his grin.

It took most of the morning and afternoon to get set up and Jesse waited eagerly in his main tank. He wriggled in the water, chasing the long fins of his tail as Hanzo went up and down a ladder. Sweat made his shirt cling to his back and Jesse did his best not to fixate on the strong muscles it showed off.

The jeans hung low and a very interesting band of fabric peaked over. He had always thought underwear were a bit strange. There was no need to cover his hips or waist in this form, at least as long as he kept himself under control. He breathed slowly, focusing on the fluttering of his gills and the expanse of his water lungs.

Jesse chewed on his thoughts and a chunk of catfish as Hanzo wiped his sweating brow. It was a shame that he was too small to act on the fantasties trying to break through his guard. It would be harder to hide the heat burning just under his skin when they were in the bath together. If they managed to get to it before the day was over.

It was dark outside when the tubes had been set up all over the house. Water was slowly poured into them from the second floor, all the while adjusting containment spells on the different tanks and resting areas so it didn’t all rush out.

Jesse tested out the first section.

The tubes were big enough for him to fit comfortably and he gave his tail an experimental undulation. He rose quickly along the transparent colorful pipe until he could look down at Hanzo. He waved excitedly and bobbed against the side.

The hunter’s grin was bright enough to light up the room. He pointed along the tube to the stairs and Jesse was quick to follow his lead. He darted along the tubes and wriggled around the ninety degree turn and started to climb. It was dizzying and wonderful. The illusion of depth brought a part of his instincts roaring back to life.

He chased Hanzo up the stairs and whipped around the corner to follow him into his bedroom. Hanzo’s laugh was muffled through the water but still beautiful. There was a tank on his bedside table still. It was connect now and Jesse dove down into it with a cheer. He tumbled among the leafy greens and swirled to face up.

He beached himself on the warm sand and rocks with a holler of pure joy.

Help fund the next chapter on ko-fi!

#beyond the sea #mchanzo #overwatch #g/t #giant #tiny #sfw #minimermccree #MerCree #Hunter!Hanzo #magic #curses #folklore #au

100 notes · View notes

losersanddummies · 3 years ago

Note

Is there anything you would suggest for budgie enrichment? My dad has had them all his life, but hasn't for a few years. He finally picked out and adopted another the middle of February, but this guy just seems so scared of everything. He won't chirp or whistle unless it's to some of the sparrows outside, and when dad leaves the door open he just looks so sad and worried. I'm starting to worry there's something wrong or that he needs a buddy.

So my inbox is telling me I have a new ask, and I *hope* this is the one, otherwise I’m extremely sorry if I’m replying to an ask that’s like 2 years old that I somehow missed. That’s what most of my inbox looks like, between my 4 blogs... 😅

My only personal experience with budgies is with my own (Orzo, who will be 11 in a couple months!), and he was adopted as a baby from someone who’d already tamed him, and then he grew up with two other birds, me, and his beloved girlfriend (a toy). He’s always had a very bold and outgoing personality. So I’m not an expert with skittish budgies, and I definitely recommend asking other people too! Your dad probably has more budgie knowledge than I do.

With that disclaimer, here are my thoughts:

Sounds like it’s still early, and your new guy is probably still adjusting. Even my super bold and outgoing budgie took about a month to settle in after I moved to a new condo, and he had the benefit of the same cage and family. That first month, he was super quiet and wouldn’t even make love to his girlfriend (a toy), even though he normally does it 2-3 times per day. (Yes, I'm using this ask as an excuse to air Orzo’s dirty laundry; please let me have my fun. XD)

So my first suggestion is to let him settle in a little longer. After that, you can reassess if he needs a buddy. Honestly, I’d probably recommend it either way, but it’s good to let him settle first.

Budgies are very social birds, and while some people have single budgies who are bonded to only them, I think it benefits the vast majority of budgies to have other compatible birds in their lives - preferably other budgies, but you can *sometimes* have a happy flock of different species. It’s complicated - some species don’t get along and budgies can sometimes be bullies, not to mention size difference issues, so tread cautiously. The biggest risk with adding a budgie friend is fights/aggression or unplanned chicks, but both issues can be mitigated. As long as you have the ability to care for the extra bird(s), it’s an option. Do you know anything about your new guy’s history? If he came from a place with bird friends, he’s probably used to that.

Even if the birds don’t end up best friends, I feel it helps them to just have other birds around, as long as they aren’t terrorizing each other. Orzo and Poke bird (timneh) definitely act like they’re part of the same flock and share birdy activities together, even though they don’t share a close physical space and don’t particularly love each other. Poke bird even tries to “protect” Orzo from perceived danger.

Other enrichment you can do during the adjustment period and onward that doesn’t involve another bird - Vocalizing/talking to him/playing sounds for him is still a great thing. Even if he doesn’t reply, he’s still listening. Foraging toys with favorite budgie foods are great! I highly recommend baby greens like spinach, chard, etc. Millet is a common fave too. Toys with balsa wood for chewing, bells because birds love annoying noises, climbing toys for acrobatics, etc. A play gym or dedicated space outside the cage to hang out. A bathing space is good too. Budgies also like to forage on the ground, so you can set up a foraging space for him - or just drop some seeds on the floor, haha.

I hope that gives you a starting point! If others here are knowledgeable, feel free to add!

#replies #budgies #animal information

1 note · View note

horoscopesbygil · 7 years ago

Text

Horoscopes by Gil Hizon - February 4 - March 3, 2018

Cage-free and gluten-free, yet chock-full of shadery.

AQUEERIUS (January 20 – February 18)

When these hos around you are filled with desperation OR are just being super extra, you’re the only one they can turn to for stabilizing support. Your default aloof demeanor inspires others to not let their emotions get the better of them. Your expansive brain enables you to dole out the best advice with minimum effort. You’re the glue that holds the rest of us busted bitches together, you keep us sane, and you make that shit look good. Thank you! =====

PI-SHEESH (February 19 – March 20)

There is something to be said about declaring your dreams, goals and aspirations to the universe. Here’s the thing, queen. There are allies all around you that have your back, and a lot of them don’t even know it yet. These hos are willing to help you out, because you have been such a giving, generous queen to them in the past. All you gots to do is let them know your deepest desires, and you’ll be surprised how many bitches will go the extra mile for yo ass. =====

ARIES IS BURNING (March 21 – April 19)

This month, you can stand to participate in any group think activity you can squeeze yourself into (orgies optional). Your energy is ripe to absorb so much useful information right now, that if you don’t take advantage of this shit, you might end up feeling like you’re not doing anything meaningful with your fucking life. No time like the present to allow other queens to “yes and” your perspective. =====

TAURY SPELLING (April 20 – May 20)

This month is all about the idea of opportunity and the many ways it can enter yo life. I know that sometimes, you can be a stubborn bitch who would only recognize opportunities that look traditional to you, but queen, it don’t take that much effort in opening your mind a bit and being a little more trustful of those who wanna help you get the most bang out of your buck. If you can put some energy into broadening your mind of minds, it will only benefit yo ass. =====

GEM IS EXCITEMENT (May 21 – June 21)

This month’s Jekyll and Hyde act is brought to you by Excedrin. Quite honestly, as a veteran of mood swings, yours don’t surprise nobody noh moh! The rest of us have learned to predict this behavior of yours that we can automatically brace ourselves from your cray of the day. So honey, give it your best shot. We ready. And we got back up. =====

KUH-KUH-KUH-CANCER (June 22 – July 22)

Gurl, you have a lot on your plate right now, and the worst thing you can do to yourself is add more shit to that pile by saying yes to pretty much everything. It’s nice to be so in demand and to have ERRbody dependent on yo ass, but spreading yourself too thin will not do you nor nobody else any favors. The more you’re persnickety about what to say yes to, the more you’ll retain your sanity and the more you’ll be in tip-top shape to help other hos. =====

LEO MCQUEEN (July 23 – August 22)

Your biggest challenge this month is to find a balance between spreading yourself too thin by going out too much, and exhibiting hermit realness in your house. Your energy just doesn’t have the capacity when it comes to finding a middle ground right now. Or so you think. With enough focus, yo ass should be able to discern which activities will further enrich your life, and which ones are just meaningless fluff. =====

VIRGO/BEYONCÉ (August 23 – September 22)

This month’s hustle is brought to you by Muscle Milk. No one hustles more than you and you’ll find that, as your status in life evolves, so does the hustle. You are being forced to up your game and normally you’re excited to take on the challenge, but switching gears at the drop of a hat is not something you’re good at. Rising to the top of your game is also a growing pain; the more you look ahead, the more you’ll be able to handle the swerves and curves of life. =====

LIBBY JUJU (September 23 – October 22)

There’s a time in someone’s life when one has got to drop the nicer-than-thou facade and be a ball-busting badass superbitch. And this month is that time, LIBBY. Trust the rest of us when we say that we need a leader right now, and your facilitating antics to make us all happy ain’t not gonna cut it. The end game is approaching. There’s no time for niceties anymore. You can do that shit after we cross the muthafucking finish line. =====

SCORPIES (October 23 – November 21)

You’re so used to distrusting ERRbody with such intensity, that when you flip that coin and turn your suspicions into full on trust, it’s fucking magic, baby. Recognizing that not everyone is out to get you makes you a better participant in this play we call life, and no matter what hardships you may face, know that your intensity is something you’ll always have within you. If you use that shit for good, ERRbody wins. =====

SAGITTICARIUS (November 22 – December 21)

You’re looking good and feeling GAW-JUS these days. You’re just full of optimism in being successful, that it will make even the PISCIEST of PISCES look at you and say, “who deez betch thinkin she’s Mary Fucking Poppins?” Look, queen, we think it’s great to have such a positive outlook when you’re setting out to fulfill your dreams. But when you contain and control that positivity, it will only help you zero in on a plan to achieve your goals. =====

CAPRICORN-ON-THE-COB (December 22 – January 19)

It’s never fun to be the Debbie Downer in any group, but someone’s gotta do the job. And unfortch, that someone this month is you, gurl. If you don’t want such a backlash in your Debbie Downer behaviors, it wouldn’t hurt to shave off some of the sharpness in your reads. And honey, if you keep that tough love funny, it’ll be easier to absorb. Kewl? =====

(DISCLAIMER for all entries: This is all a shitshow!)

For more Horoscopes By Gil Hizon, click here, gurl!

188 notes · View notes

atariince · 7 years ago

Text

Anathema - chapter 11 : Memory Vaults

SWG - AO3

There is no reason to worry. Everything is in order in Nargothrond; the borders seem safe, the people calm and confident, the Fëanorian troops have strengthened Finrod’s army with the feeling that the belong here. The Narog itself seems to mirror the peaceful atmosphere which now reigns in the kingdom, in which neither wolf nor orc has stepped during the past few months: an absence of meaningful event which, even though it frustrates Tyelkormo’s thirst for action, should leave everyone with a sweet if not joyful taste on their lips.

But in the depths of the caves, his gaze glued onto the piece of velum in front of him, Curufinwë seems immune to the latent peace carried by the late autumn gale. His mind cannot rest, and throttled by his agitated thoughts, he finds himself unable to relax, deprived of sleep and uncapable to work. For, although the engine of his mind – never halting, always labouring - keeps on feeding his heart with troubles nurtured by doubts and an excess of intrusive reflexions, he can’t grasp it. The very core of his worries, the source of this anxiety – if he could just unveil the tormenting cause of his unrest…

But not on this night. On this night he has to work, to try. Again. Trembling fingers on a dripping quill, he knows there is nothing to fear. No worry. Tyelperinquar is still working in the smithies. Tyelkormo is probably drinking his share of liquor somewhere in the caves, Huan at his side. The news from Himring are good. His brothers are safe. What should Curufinwë fear?

The quill falls back in the inkpot, and the Ñoldo falls back into his chair, arms crossed and grey eyes staring at an invisible spot on the wall. Only his jaw moves, agitated by the tension in his nerves, by the never-ending cycle of doubts in his mind. He can hear a few laughter in the adjacent rooms, but he pays no heed to the noise. All he feels is this mysterious force that seems to hinder him, freezing his thoughts, and like a rat in a cage, he can but follow his own tail. And threading the yarns of his own tale. His fingers find the quill again, and soon the silence of the room is replaced with the scratching sound of ink on velum. He allows his mind to wander back in history, and forgets his hand for moment, eyes half-closed and his heart following a path which he has always been afraid to tread. Retrieving his own footsteps, ignored for too long for all they could unleash. On the parchment a drawing, a few uncertain lines, a draft too much like those he made as a child, huddled in his father’s workshop, too impressed to talk and too fascinated to not absorb all that he could see. Curufinwë smiles, and he no longer resists the urge to close his eyes… Hoping for an oblivious slumber.

Tirion. How old can he be? Young. Very young. But his diction is perfect, and his eyes already inquisitive. He sits at the dinner table, in front of his brothers. On his right, his mother, but his eyes stare intently at his father, sitting on his left. Fëanáro seems joyful. He smiles and laughs enthusiastically at something… Kano just made one of his usual puns. Curvo laughs too, although he is not sure he has understood. Now, Nelyo says something, but Curvo doesn’t care. He stares at his father. Fëanáro picks up a piece of bread, brings it to his mouth and eats it. So does Curvo, who struggles to swallow it (too focused on his father, the child has not noticed it was much too big for his young teeth). Fëanáro grabs his cup and takes a sip of his drink. So does Curvo, who finds himself released from the barely bitten piece of bread which was blocked in his throat. It seems nobody has noticed. Good. Curvo’s observation of his father continues.

“Nerdanel dear, can you give me some more wine, please?” asks Fëanáro with a smile.

Curvo watches his father’s cup being refilled and turns to his mother. “Nerdanel dear, can you give me some,more wine please?” He asks, adopting his father’s tone - although the voice is that of a child - his smile reflecting his father’s smile, his own small cup clasped in his tiny hand with a confidence which leaves everyone speechless.

Silence in the room. Tyelkormo bites back a laugh. Kano and Moryo look at each other, barely trying to hide their growing smirk. Fëanáro’s gaze falls on his younger son, half-amused, half-confused, but he says nothing. Nerdanel glances confusingly at her oldest son - as if he had anything to do with it - and frowns, but she cannot totally hide her amusement. The child doesn’t lose his ground, and with an admirable determination, he holds his cup higher.

“My dear son,” Nerdanel begins, trying her best to not giggle and to give her voice a reproachful pitch, “I believe you are a bit too young for the wine, but you can have grape juice instead. Besides, need I remind you that I am your mother and expect you to call me accordingly?”

After a quick look toward his father who struggles to keep an impassive face, Curvo gives a nod. Nelyo snorts and Fëanáro is uselessly hiding his amusement by burying his face into his cup. Curvo, who has taken up his observation, buries his face in hiscup as well, caring not for the squash tickling his , and wnáro puts his glass back on the table, Curvo’s own cup joins it at the very same time. Fëanáro freezes and observes his son from the corner on his eyes. So does Curvo. Fëanáro, who pretends to not see (he is now exchanginga cunning look with his older sons) runs an absent-minded hand through his hair. So does Curvo.

“You know I can see you, Curvo.” Says Fëanáro, with a tone that is supposed to be disapproving.

“You know can see you too, father.”

Curufinwë smiles as the memory unfolds. Its sweetness takes hold of his heart and he prays for the vision to go on. He doesn’t want it to fade, he craves the delicate taste of the past, the light of Tirion on his father’s face, his brother’s remorseless smiles, the delicate scent of his mother and the touch of her fingers in his hair. He doesn’t only want to keep these memories, he also wants them to keep him.

“Nerdanel,” Fëanáro kisses his wife’s cheek and gently entwines his fingers with hers. ‘”I think we have a small problem.”

Stepping next to his mother, Curvo takes hold of Nerdanel’s free hand, but he cannot reach her cheek, and instead, drops a clumsy kiss on her finger. “ I think we have a small problem.” He repeats, looking up at her.

“Not a small one…” Nerdanel laughs as she picks up her son. “A tiny one.”

Curvo cannot conceal his childish consternation, and he glances at his father, waiting for him to react – but Fëanáro has anticipated it, and decided to not to do anything. He stares back at his son, inexpressive, quiet and still. So, does Curvo. The staring contest lasts a minute or two, until Nerdanel stops it by placing her son in her husband’s arms.

“As long as he does not call me 'Nerdanel' again, it is your tiny problem, Fëanáro. Just make sure he does not offend anyone by trying to impersonate you.”

“ Why would he offend anyone?”

“Why would he offend anyone?”

Nerdanel’s smile widens. “And since he is so good at repeating everything you say, avoid any sort of obscenities.”

He has four older brothers, it would be vain to keep him from learning obscenities. Besides, he needs to enrich his vocabulary.”

Oh. That’s a lot of words to repeat. The child frowns as he focuses but he does not give up, and shows no sign of disarray. “He has four brothers and… he is learning obs---curity… to keep his vocabulary rich.”

“After all, I could turn this new fancy of his into the most efficient lexical teaching.”

“After all, I could turn this new fancy of his into the most efficient lexical teaching.” The child repeats, proudly remembering the entire sentence, even though he isn’t sure what ‘lexical’ means.

Nerdanel shakes her head, but her smile seems glued to her lips. “So I believe it is not a problem anymore?”

But Fëanáro is already heading towards the door, and the child in his arms has never felt so happy before.

If only he could drown into this memory and linger in its currents, as the warm waves of forgotten joy drench his fëa and purify his heart. So he clings to the images that pass too swiftly in his mind, and tries, uselessly, to capture them. Instead of a quill, he holds now a piece of chalk and scrambles like a madman on the parchment in front of him: a sketch of his father’s face, a few lines supposed to convey a vision of his father’s workshop in Tirion – and his name, again and again.

It is late, the court is almost empty, and Fëanáro is bowing in front of king Finwë. Behind him, the young Ñoldo mimics his father and gives a long respectful bow which doesn’t fail at impressing Finwë. The child is even more impressed, as he has always been, by his grandfather. The king. But he doesn’t want to show it.

“ Well, is my young grandson already planning to become the most diligent courtier of Tirion?” Asks Finwë with a smile that betrays his amused affection. “

Your grandson has decided to do everything I do…”, Fëanáro explains.

“ Your grandson has decided to do everything…”

“ …And to repeat everything I say.”

“…And to repeat everything I say.”

“Therefore, I daresay he will never disappoint you in terms of affection and devotion.”

“ Therefore I daresay he shall never disappoint you terms of affection and devotion.”

Eyes wide open and surprise burning in the grey depths of iris, Finwë observes the strange pair in front of him. Strange but not as grotesque as it could seem. In fact, it makes sense, the child appearing as a fragmented part of Fëanáro, not a seedling but a very portion of him. A midget one. The boy wears his hair just like his father, the same expression floats on his face, the same flame in his eyes and the same determination in his chin. The king is speechless for a moment, until a loud laughter falls from his lips and echoes in the court.

“ So what do we have here?” Finwë asks, kneeling down in front of his grandson to better look at the youthful face. “A midget prince? A pocket Curufinwë?”.

With his grandfather’s gentle fingers wrapped delicately around his chin, and his benevolent eyes on his face, Curvo doesn’t dare to move. Puzzled and no less impressed, he casts an eye toward his father whose features display pride and amusement. ‘Pocket Curufinwë’ is a naming which doesn’t remain unnoticed.

“Pocket Curufinwë”.

The words draw a smile from his lips, but the chalk has already stopped its labour. The piece of parchment is ruined, words scribbled upon words, names upon names, portraits merging with tengwar, ink and specks of chalk mixed together to form thick, sooty spots on what used to be an immaculate promise. As in a trance, Curufinwë has paid no attention to his hands’ movements, and as he looks at them now, he finally notices the stains, like traces of his own mistakes. Ungrateful, unworthy heir – his devotion to his father should have opened the way, it should have brightened up the path that his determined footsteps have been treading. Instead, it closed the doors to enlightenment and left him confused, shameful and utterly lost under the vaults of his fate, which is yet obscured by his own fears. He closes his eyes and remembers his grandfather’s laughing voice.

“Be careful Fëanáro, soon, he will be able to anticipate each of your word and action.”

Finwë was right. For long, Curufinwë had been able to see, feel, sense, understand and almost foretell his father’s thoughts, reactions, decisions. But It seems to him that the connection between father and son died with the father, and Curufinwë has been left powerless, yet blinded by his determination to cling to his father’s image. An image which he cannot grasp. What would Fëanáro do?

What would he think of him? He buries his head between his arms – unwilling to look reality in the face.

The young child is focused on the position of his fingers on the quill, right beside his father’s desk. Fëanáro has allowed him to have his own small desk in his study. And as the father works, so does Curvo, who tirelessly tries to improve his handwriting. It is still clumsy, he can see it – it looks terrible, and has nothing in common with his father’s handwriting – but what he doesn’t see is how proud it makes Fëanáro. The latter’s eyes have left his own work, and he silently observes his son, touched by the child’s devotion and impressed by his quiet determination. But there is something wrong, isn't it? Eventually, Fëanáro calls his son and after a moment of perplexity during which the child doesn’t know what to do with his quill, his father takes him on his lap.

“Your handwriting is improving, my child. This is very good” Curvo is about to repeat his father’s words when Fëanáro, with a smile, put a finger on his lips. “Let me speak. There is something important I need to tell you.” The young Ñoldo nods respectfully, his two grey eyes wide open with the anticipation of an eager pupil. “Curvo, I want to make deal with you. Do you know what it means?”

The child frowns, pinches his lips, engaged in a solid reflexion. “Like a bargain?” “

Well, yes almost. What we call a deal is when someone promises to do something for someone else and receives a promise in return. Does it sound right?

“Yes father! We should do this!”

The child’s enthusiasm happens to be contagious, and Fëanáro chuckles as his son claps his hands. But he is soon serious again and gently takes his son’s agitated hand between his fingers. “First and foremost, Curvo, you must wait for the conditions and be sure you agree, alright? So here is what I offer: I promise you to teach you everything I know about anything you want to know.” The child’s eyes widen, and he is speechless for a moment.

“Really…? About the beautiful rocks?”

“Yes, my son, if this is what you want.”

“..And I will know how to make shiny jewels?”

“If you want to become a jewel-smith, you shall become a jewel-smith.”

“And the complicated words? Will you tell me about all the complicated words?"

“About the complicated words, their origins and evolution.”

“Even the words we don’t use anymore?”

“All the words.”

“All the words?”

Fëanaro nods solemnly, but not without uttering another chuckle.

“And I’ll be just like you, father?” There were sparkles in Curvo’s eyes, and the father could only wish for his son to never lose this enthusiasm.

“This is when your own promise comes into the deal.” The child stares at him, greedy eyes begging for more. “In exchange, you must promise me that you will always try to follow your own desires, to listen to your heart and to be yourself. Can you do that, my child?”

Curvo ponders the offer: his face betrays his confusion, but the way he rubs his chin with his fingers can only amuse his father. “I do not know who is myself , father.” He eventually says, suddenly bashful.

“Do not worry about that, Curvo. You have all the time you need to discover it ; you will eventually know yourself and your own heart. If I did, you can surely do it as well, don’t you think?"

“ I guess... I can try, father.”

“Do we have a deal?”

The child gives a determined nod. “I promise father. I promise I will find myself.”

When Curufinwë raises his head, he is gasping, struggling for air. So he failed in that too…

With a few clumsy movements, he leaves his chair and stumbles toward a basin. The fresh water on his face doesn’t relieve the tension. His own heartbeats echo in his head, in his stomach, in his limbs. He tries to calm his nerves, but his airways are still blocked by a shameful and rotten feeling which he cannot decipher.

He failed. Yes. But it is not too late, is it? His mind sharpens - or so he thinks – as he furtively meets his own reflect in the mirror hanging on the wall. He must ignore it. Avoid it. Must he become someone else? Must he step away from the path which he has been treading for so many years? Must he stop clinging to the mirror image which has always led his footsteps?

He can

He must

Be someone

Different.

He didn’t live up to his father’s memory. He could neither anticipate, nor foretell. He could not even guess what his father would have done…. He failed. But now. Now he remembers. He was wrong all the way. Now it is time to be someone else. Himself, whoever that is. He must act according to his own desires….which are yet to be defined.

To protect his son.

To retrieve the Silmarili.

To muster the required strength to fight the Enemy. Oh but not now not yet.

First, he must care after his people, here, in Nargothrond.

To keep Nargothrond safe.

Nargothrond.

As his new stronghold. And to protect it, he needs influence. he needs… power.

“If I can be you father, I shall be who you expected me to be…My own master.”

A king.

#curufin #feanor #finwe #silmarillion fanfiction #anathema

6 notes · View notes

bloojayoolie · 7 years ago

Photo

Being Alone, Anaconda, and Andrew Bogut: fee g0 25866 7 yrs old, 77 lbs A Ray of Sunshine. Playful, Smart & Full of Love! Waiting to light upyour life, Brooklyn Agcw **** TO BE KILLED - 5/1/2018 **** NEW FLYER FOR BREE aka BRENDA *STAFF FAVE* *NEEDS FOLLOW UP VET CARE* Wagging, Kissing, Fetching little Cow - Bree is a Delightful Ball of Affection! <3 A volunteer writes: What do you get when you take perfection and dress it up like a little cow? Bree! This lady is an absolute delight to spend time with. She has been perfect on leash on all of our walks, always keeps her cage clean (she seems super housebroken), sits for treats like there's no tomorrow, and is a STAR at playing fetch. She gets super excited whenever I show her a toy (and might even stray from her perfect manners and demand bark -- SO excited) and always drops them in my lap or at my feet so she can chase it again. Not only is she playful and smart, Bree is bursting at the seams with love to give! She stands on her tippy toes and paws at me so she can barrage me with kisses, says "I love you" with her eyes, and likes to challenge the size-limit for lap dogs (and has briefly succeeded!). To boot, she has an endearing habit of sitting in chairs like a little person. She is a ray of sunshine and would love to light up your life...come meet her at Brooklyn ACC! VIDEO: https://youtu.be/MupPEJndD6o Bree 25366 fka MooMoo/Brenda ID# 25366 (Alt ID# 17661) BROOKLYN ACC 7 yrs old, 76.8 lbs WHITE / BLACK FEMALE Large Mixed Breed Cross Owner Surrender 01/05/18 Adoption Return 04/15/18 (returned to shelter after dog fight with multiple wounds) Intake Date: 04-15-2018 SHELTER ASSESSMENT: EXPERIENCE – SINGLE PET HOME PROFILE NOTES Basic Information: Bree is a white and black large female dog. Information from PRIOR SURRENDER to shelter (on 1/5/2018): How is this dog around strangers? Owner stated that when around strangers Bree is friendly and outgoing. When playing with adults she is gentle. How is this dog around children? Bree has not lived in the home with children but when the visit she is relaxed and playful. How is this dog around other dogs? Bree has spent time around other dogs when around them she is relaxed and affectionate. When playing with other dogs she is gentle. How is this dog around cats? Bree has not spent time in the home around cats so it is unknown how she will react. Resource guarding: Bree is friendly if someone was to touch her food treats or toys. She will bark if someone was to approach her house or family member. Bite history: Bree has no bite history. Housetrained: Yes Energy level/descriptors: Medium Other Notes: Owner stated that Bree isn't bothered if she is restrained pushed off the couch or disturbed while she sleeps. Bree will tolerate being bathed and she enjoys being brushed. Bree has never had her nails trimmed by her owner so it is unknown how he will react. Has this dog ever had any medical issues? No Medical Notes No reported medical concerns. For a New Family to Know Owner described Bree as friendly affectionate and mellow. When at home she likes to be in the same room as her owner. Bree likes squeaky toys and has been kept indoors and outdoors. She eats both wet and dry food. When using the bathroom she will go on the grass or cement. When left alone in the house or yard Bree is well behaved. Bree has never been crated so it is unknown how she will react. Bree knows how to sit come and stay. She is used to brisk walks on the leash and playing in the yard. When on the leash she pulls lightly. When off the leash she might run away. BEHAVIOR NOTES Intake: During intake Bree allowed the counselor to take her picture with no problems. When meeting the staff at ACC for the first time Bree was shy at first but began to warm up after a few minute and began wagging her tail. Means of surrender (length of time in previous home) Owner surrender Previously lived with: 1 Adult Behavior toward strangers: Friendly, outgoing, gentle Behavior toward children: Relaxed, playful Behavior toward dogs: Relaxed, affectionate, gentle in play Behavior toward cats: Behavior unknown Resource guarding: None reported Bite history: None reported Housetrained: Yes Energy level/descriptors: Bree is described as friendly, affectionate, and mellow with a medium activity level. Other Notes: Bree was returned on 4/16 after a scuffle with the other dog in the home. Minimal details were provided about behavior in the home. Resource guarding: Bree has shown item guarding behavior toward another dog in at least one instance. There is no report of this being directed only humans. We recommend that Bree be left alone while engaged with her toys, and note that the environment will need to be managed when other dogs and resources are present. Bite history: Bree was playing with another family dog when Bree lunged forward toward a toy that the other dog was in possession of. The dogs engaged in a scuffle, resulting in lacerations and wounds to both dogs. SAFER SCORES: Date of assessment: 10-Jan-2018 Look: 1. Dog's eyes are averted, ears are back, tail is down, relaxed body posture. Dog allows head to be held loosely in Assessor's cupped hands. Sensitivity: 1. Dog stands still and accepts the touch, eyes are averted, and tail is in neutral position with a relaxed body posture. Dog's mouth is likely closed for at least a portion of the assessment item. Tag: 1. Dog follows at the end of the leash, body soft. Paw squeeze 1: 1. Dog gently pulls back his/her paw. Paw squeeze 2: 1. Dog gently pulls back his/her paw. Toy: 1. No interest. Summary: Bree came into the room loose and wiggly, she was friendly and playful towards the handlers. Summary (1): Due to the severity of the scuffle Bree had with the other resident dog, Bree is not a candidate for returning to PG during this stay. Below are the notes from his previous stay. During Bree's stay here, she was tense and assertive with novel dogs and did not relax. The Behavior Department recommends that Bree be the only dog at this time. 1/8: When off leash at the Care Center, Bree greets a novel male dog with a slightly tense posture. Her hackles remain raised throughout the session. Bree tolerates his genital sniffs but raises her lip and growls when he licks her muzzle. 1/27: Today, Bree was introduced to soft male dog. She is assertive, and leans on the other dog. She is easy to re-direct, and explores the pens. Date of intake: 5-Jan-2018 Summary: Bree displayed a loose, wagging tail Date of initial: 5-Jan-2018 Summary: Bree allows all handling for medical exam. ENERGY LEVEL: Her previous owner describes Bree as an energetic, friendly, enthusiastic dog. Bree displayed medium energy and movement throughout assessment. Bree will need daily mental and physical activity to keep her engaged and exercised. BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION: EXPERIENCE (suitable for an adopter with some previous dog experience, especially with the behaviors outlined below) Recommendations: Single-pet home Recommend no dog parks Recommendations comments: X_ Single-pet home/Recommend no dog parks: Due to the concerning behaviors that Bree has shown at home (see other notes SUMMARY), we feel that Bree should not visit dog parks and be the only resident dog. The Behavior Department recommends that she be socialized in a more controlled setting until her behavior towards other dogs can be further addressed. Reward-based, force-free training can be utilized to help Bree associate dogs with things she enjoys like toys or treats. Potential challenges: Resource guarding Potential challenges comments: Resource Guarding: While no food or item guarding toward humans has been reported, she has shown toy guarding with other dogs. She has been involved in at least one scuffle over a toy that another dog was in possession of. We recommend keeping Bree and the other resident dogs separated when engaged with toys so that her need to guard does escalate to biting. Enrichment: **Bite Details:** Client stated her daughter in-law and son were out playing with their dog with a toy. Client stated Bree has never shown interest in that toy. Bree charged at the other dog trying to retrieve the toy; the other dog also received lacerations on her neck and hind leg and is currently hospitalized. Client stated that both animals were separated by water throwing water at them until they separated. **Staff Walks** 4/23: Bree was laying down in her kennel when I approached her. As soon as I began to open the kennel she stood up. I roped her and we walked outside to the pens without issue. Next, we walked into the play yard. I collared and leashed her easily, and removed her cone for the duration of the session. As soon as Bree's cone was off she was jumping on me, and attempting to lick my face. She had a soft wiggly body the entire session, and would lean against me or jump in my lap and lick my face. Bree also showed an understanding of the word "sit", and took treats with a soft mouth. Bree also loved playng fetch. She would run after the ball and bring it back and drop it by my feet. We were playing fetch or she was showing me affection the entire session. Once the session was over I removed her collar and leash, and easily put her cone back on. I roped her without issue and she easily went back into her kennel. 4/22: Bree was standing at the front of her kennel when I approached her. I roped her and we walked outside to the pens without issue. I collared and leashed her easily, and removed her cone for the duration of the session. As soon as Bree's cone was off she was jumping on me, and attempting to lick my face. She had a soft wiggly body the entire session, and would lean against me or jump in my lap and lick my face. Bree also showed an understanding of the word "sit", and took treats with a soft mouth. Bree also loved playing fetch. She would run after the ball and bring it back and drop it by my feet. We were playing fetch or she was showing me affection the entire session. Once the session was over I removed her collar and leash, and easily put her cone back on. I roped her without issue and she easily went back into her kennel. 4/21: Bree was laying down in her kennel when I approached her. As soon as I began to open the kennel she stood up. She was very patient while I roped her around her cone. Next, we walked into the play yard. With medical's permission, I collared and leashed her easily, and removed her cone for the duration of the session. As soon as Bree's cone was off she was jumping on me, and attempting to lick my face. She had a soft wiggly body the entire session, and would lean against me or jump in my lap and lick my face. Bree also showed an understanding of the word "sit", and took treats with a soft mouth. Bree also loved playing fetch. She would run after the ball and bring it back and drop it by my feet. We were playing fetch or she was showing me affection the entire session. Once the session was over I removed her collar and leash, and easily put her cone back on. I roped her without issue and she easily went back into her kennel. 4/20: Bree was laying down in her kennel when I approached her. As soon as I began to open the kennel she stood up. She was very patient while I roped her around her cone. Next, we walked into the play yard. With medical's permission, I collared and leashed her easily, and removed her cone for the duration of the session. As soon as Bree's cone was off she was jumping on me, and attempting to lick my face. She had a soft wiggly body the entire session, and would lean against me or jump in my lap and lick my face. Bree also showed an understanding of the word "sit", and took treats with a soft mouth. Bree also loved playing fetch. She would run after the ball and bring it back and drop it by my feet. We were playing fetch or she was showing me affection the entire session. Once the session was over I removed her collar and leash, and easily put her cone back on. I roped her without issue and she easily went back into her kennel. 4/18: Bree was lying down in her kennel when we approached her. She was a bit difficult due to her cone, but she maintained a soft, wiggly body while the rope was placed on her. Once the rope was on her, we walked to the play yard. We did not put a collar on her due to her injuries. But she maintained a soft and wiggly body during the entire session. She solicited attention from myself and the other two EF's that were also in the pens. She played will toys in brief bouts before taking breaks. When the session was over, Bree was easily roped and returned to her kennel without issue. MEDICAL EXAM NOTES APRIL 2018 28-Apr-2018 Progress Exam Bree's bandage fell off on 4/27, so it was changed then. Rescheduled bandage change for 4/29. 26-Apr-2018 Progress Exam History: High ALP and ALT 1/9 and 1/16, returned to shelter after dog fight with severe bleeding wound on right front paw 4/15. BACC for wound care and DOH hold. 4/17, 4/19, 4/21-sedated bandage changes/wound treatments-wound continues to heal cbc/chemistry 4/24- ALT wnl, ALP mildly elevate (281), anemic moderate non-regenerative (hematocrit 28%) Subjective: BARH. No coughing or sneezing noted. Bandage has been completely torn off at the bottom and the wound exposed. Objective: P=wnl R=wnl BCS=7/9 Exam: CRT: <2s. Gums: pink, moist S: BAR, normal hydration Eyes: Grossly appropriate OU. Ears: Unremarkable AU. Nasal Cavity: No nasal discharge. PLN: WNL Heart: No murmurs or arrhythmias. Pulses strong and synchronous. Lungs: Eupneic, lungs clear. No crackles or wheezes bilaterally. Abd: Soft, non-painful. No palpable masses. No organomegaly appreciated. U/G: Normal external genitalia. No discharge. Musculoskeletal: Ambulatory x 4 with no appreciable lameness. BCS = 7/9 Integument: Multiple puncture wounds noted around neck- no discharge noted with mild erythema and minimal swelling. No bandage over right forelimb (torn off). Right front foot appears mild to moderately swollen and erythemic compared to other front foot. Neuro: Appropriate mentation. Full neurologic exam not performed. Rectal: Not performed. Externally normal Assessment: 1) Dog bite/attack - multiple puncture wounds to neck and large degloving wound over right carpus- improving 2) Hypovolemic Shock- resolved 3) Anemia, non-regenerative- r/o secondary to anemia of chronic disease (inflammation) vs hemorrhage (that has not surmounted a regenerative response) vs less likely neoplasia 4) Elevated LES (mild)- r/o liver disease (vacuolar hepatopathy v less likely cholangiohepatitis vs less likely neoplasia) vs metabolic (Cushings) vs GI (occult pancreatitis, chronic GI inflammation) Plan: Wound care: - A local block around the carpal wound using lidocaine was administered (circular block + splash block)-- did ok with splash block but reacted with ring block. - Evaluation: Healthy granulation tissue noted throughout- no debridement needed. The surrounding skin around the paw pad is mild to moderately swollen and erythemic. - Placed a telfa over the wound and reapplied bandage Plan: Bandage change and wound eval on 4/28 - given swelling around carpus, would recommend EOD bandage change until swelling shows improvement Continue oral carprofen, clavamox CTM while at BACC Continue clavamox until 4/29--redispense? Okay to start carprofen again until 4/29 Start doxycycline 10mg/kg PO SID x14d until 5/7, recheck day 7 Start gentamycin OU BID x10d until 5/3 Moved to iso Serial monitoring of LES- consider AUS if values worsen recheck cbc for regeneration in 1 week 24-Apr-2018 Progress Exam Blood Work Interpretation History: High ALP and ALT 1/9 and 1/16, returned to shelter after dog fight with severe bleeding wound on right front paw 4/15. BACC for wound care and DOH hold. 4/17, 4/19, 4/21-sedated bandage changes/wound treatments-wound continues to heal cbc/chemistry 4/24- ALT wnl, ALP mildly elevate (281), anemic moderate non-regenerative (hematocrit 28%) Subjective: BARH. No cvs but is sneezing with nasal and ocular d/c. Bandage is in place with no strike through Objective: P=wnl R=wnl BCS=7/9 EENT: Eyes have seromucoid d/c ou, mild serous nasal d/c PLN: wnl H/L: Eupneic, normal RR/RE, NMA, RR, Lungs clear but sneezing MSI: Ambulatory x 4, skin free of parasites, no masses noted, overweight, bandage on RFL no strike through, multiple puncture wounds on neck are healing well CNS: Mentation appropriate - no signs of neurologic abnormalities Assessment: Anemia- blood loss from wounds v. other lack of regeneration- not enough time v. other Bite Wounds (puncture, multiple, around neck right forelimb and larger open wound over right carpus)- concern for infection, skin devitalization. With larger wound being in a highly mobile area (and no skin left to try and close), concern for ability to heal. CIRDC Overweight Hx elevated LEs Prognosis: Good Plan: CTM while at BACC PCV/TS to confirm anemia 4/24- 28% and 6.4 g/dL Continue clavamox until 4/29 Okay to start carprofen again until 4/29 Start doxycycline 10mg/kg PO SID x14d until 5/7, recheck day 7 Start gentamycin OU BID x10d until 5/3 Moved to iso Bandage change in 3 days or sooner if soiled Rec rechecking LE in 3 months to r/o vaccine reaction vs underlying condition. If still elevated rec AUS recheck cbc for regeneration in 1 week 24-Apr-2018 Tech Exam PCV/TS-28%/6.4 23-Apr-2018 Progress Exam History: Original intake 1/5-started on SSD cream for inguinal erythema 1/9: CBC: wnl Chem: Elevated ALT 148 (10-125), elevated ALP 904 (23-212) T4: wnl 1/16: Chemistry: Elevated ALP 715 (23 - 212 U/L)-improved, ALT resolved 4/15-return after a dog fight. Had a sedated wound treatment for multiple puncture wounds on her neck and a degloving wound on RFL and started on clavamox and rimadyl. After the bandage change she began profusely bleeding from RFL wound. Wound was cauterized and she was given LRS, enrofloxacin, and sent to MACC overnight for monitoring for suspect hypovolemic shock. 4/16-stabilized overnight and transferred back to BACC for wound care and DOH hold. 4/17, 4/19, 4/21-sedated bandage changes/wound treatments-wound continues to heal Subjective: BARH. No cvs but is sneezing with nasal and ocular d/c. Bandage is cdi with mild strike through. Will have bandage change today.\ Objective: P=wnl R=wnl BCS=7/9 EENT: Eyes have seromucoid d/c ou, mild serous nasal d/c PLN: wnl H/L: Eupneic, normal RR/RE, NMA, RR, Lungs clear but sneezing MSI: Ambulatory x 4, skin free of parasites, no masses noted, overweight, bandage on RFL cdi with mild strike though, multiple puncture wounds on neck are healing well CNS: Mentation appropriate - no signs of neurologic abnormalities Assessment: Bite Wounds (puncture, multiple, around neck right forelimb and larger open wound over right carpus)- concern for infection, skin devitalization. With larger wound being in a highly mobile area (and no skin left to try and close), concern for ability to heal. CIRDC Overweight Hx elevated LEs Prognosis: Good Plan: CTM while at BACC Continue clavamox until 4/29 D/c carprofen due to hx elevated LEs Recheck Chemistry tomorrow +/- start carprofen again until 4/29 Start doxycycline 10mg/kg PO SID x14d until 5/7, recheck day 7 Start gentamycin OU BID x10d until 5/3 Moved to iso Bandage change in 3 days or sooner if soiled Rec rechecking LE in 3 months to r/o vaccine reaction vs underlying condition. If still elevated rec AUS Had bandage change today-bandage on RFL had mild strike though on caudal paw. Bandage was removed and there was a wet to dry bandage in place. A small amount of lidocaine was used topically to remove the adhered wet to dry. The previous skin flap is no longer adhered and came off with the bandage. This left a ~4cmx5cm area on the caudal carpus with a full thickness wound with mpoderate serosanguineous d/c and a healthy granulation bed. The area was gently cleaned with chlorhex, dried, and SSD and tefla applied. A soft padded bandage was applied-stirrups, cotton padding, vetcling, vetwrap, elasticon. Rec changing in 3 days. Did not need sedation for bandage change. 21-Apr-2018 Progress Exam History: DOH-V presented on 4/15 with multiple puncture wounds on the neck and a degloving wound of the right carpus. Currently being treated with baytril, clavamox, carprofen and EOD bandage changes. Today was sedated for wound evaluation, debridement and bandage change. Exam: CRT: <2s. Gums: pink, moist S: BAR, normal hydration Eyes: Grossly appropriate OU. Ears: Unremarkable AU. Nasal Cavity: No nasal discharge. PLN: WNL Heart: No murmurs or arrhythmias. Pulses strong and synchronous. Lungs: Eupneic, lungs clear. No crackles or wheezes bilaterally. Abd: Soft, non-painful. No palpable masses. No organomegaly appreciated. U/G: Normal external genitalia. No discharge. Musculoskeletal: Ambulatory x 4 with no appreciable lameness. Right forelimb bandaged with no evidence of strikethrough. BCS = 7/9 Integument: Multiple puncture wounds noted around neck- no discharge noted with mild erythema and minimal swelling. Bandage over right forelimb Neuro: Appropriate mentation. Full neurologic exam not performed. Rectal: Not performed. Externally normal Assessment: 1) Dog bite/attack - multiple puncture wounds to neck and large degloving wound over right carpus 2) Hypovolemic Shock- resolved Plan: Sedation: Dexmedetomedine 8mcg/kg IM once, Butorphanol 0.2 mg/kg IM once--achieved adequate sedation Wound care: Bandage removed- mild to moderate strikethrough over ventral aspect of right carpus. - Upon removing the wet to dry (which had adhered to the underlying tissue), a small vessel at the distal aspect of the wound started to actively spurt blood. The vessel was immediately clamped and was ligated using 3-0 PDS - no further bleeding noted after removing hemostats - A local block around the carpal wound using lidocaine was administered (circular block + splash block) - Evaluation: Healthy granulation tissue noted throughout- no debridement needed. The skin flap that was noted previously is now adhered to the underlying wound. The wound is starting to show evidence of contraction. - A padded wet to dry bandage was then reapplied to the right forelimb - Recovered uneventfully from sedation Plan: Bandage change and wound eval on 4/24 (make sure NPO morning of 4/24) Continue oral carprofen, clavamox and baytril 19-Apr-2018 L V T Notes: 3:13 PM Bandage change- As per recommendation of Doctor 1204- Dog has been sedated with 0.5cc dexdomitor with 0.5cc Butorphanol, IM oxygen has been maintained during bandage changing at recovery stage- .5cc antisedan given Im 19-Apr-2018 Progress Exam recheck for bite wounds sustained 4/16/18. On treatment : Baytril 136mg tab, 3 tab PO SID Clavamox 375mg tab , 1.5 tab PO BID Rimadyl 75 mg PO BID doing well active BARH, eating well clear AU , OU no signs of CIRDC right front bandage CDI, no lameness seen pet sedated with dexdomitor 0.5mg/ml 0.5ml IM mixed with Butorphanol 10mg/ml 0.5ml IM heavy sedation achieved.Pet postioned in left lateral recumbency, given flow by O2. The bandage was dry however has staining from strike through- minimally. Plantar carpl skin missing from just dital to carpal pad to 2 cm proximal to paw pad. Healthy granulation tissue , no sign of infection. Medal wound edge had skin flao, excellent blood supply as bled when knicked. The limb was cleaned and flushed, haired skin dried. Open wound flushed with sterile saline. The skin flap was sutured togranulation tissue bed after debridement. Wet to dry bandage applied to limb. Pet given antisedan reveral agent 0.5ml Im) . Recovered smoothly. Rec sedated recheck exam in 3 days, continue current PO meds 17-Apr-2018 Progress Exam History: DOH-V presented on 4/15 with multiple puncture wounds on the neck and a degloving wound of the right carpus. Currently being treated with baytril, clavamox, carprofen and EOD bandage changes. Today was sedated for wound evaluation, debridement and bandage change. Exam: CRT: <2s. Gums: pink, moist S: BAR, normal hydration Eyes: Grossly appropriate OU. Ears: Unremarkable AU. Nasal Cavity: No nasal discharge. PLN: WNL Heart: No murmurs or arrhythmias. Pulses strong and synchronous. Lungs: Eupneic, lungs clear. No crackles or wheezes bilaterally. Abd: Soft, non-painful. No palpable masses. No organomegaly appreciated. U/G: Normal external genitalia. No discharge. Musculoskeletal: Ambulatory x 4 with no appreciable lameness. Right forelimb bandaged with moderate amount of staining on outer bandage layer. BCS = 7/9 Integument: Multiple puncture wounds noted around neck- no discharge noted with mild erythema and minimal swelling. Bandage over right forelimb Neuro: Appropriate mentation. Full neurologic exam not performed. Rectal: Not performed. Externally normal Assessment: 1) Dog bite/attack - multiple puncture wounds to neck and large degloving wound over right carpus 2) Hypovolemic Shock- resolved Plan: Sedation: Dexmedetomedine 8mcg/kg IM once, Butorphanol 0.2 mg/kg IM once--achieved adequate sedation Wound care: Bandage removed- moderate to severe strikethrough over ventral aspect of right carpus. - A local block around the carpal wound using lidocaine was administered (circular block + splash block) - Evaluation: The size of the wound remains the same, but there are minimal areas of gray tissue with predominantly healthy looking tissue noted. Minimal debridement with a #10 scalpel blade was performed. The wound was cleaned with chlorhexidine solution and sterile saline. The wound was then flushed thoroughly with sterile saline. - A padded wet to dry bandage was then reapplied to the right forelimb - Recovered uneventfully from sedation Plan: Bandage change and wound eval on 4/19 (make sure NPO morning of 4/19) Continue oral carprofen and clavamox- can discontinue baytril once course has finished. 16-Apr-2018 Physical Exam History: Transferred back to BACC after overnight monitoring in MACC Exam: CRT: <2s. Gums: pink, moist S: BAR, normal hydration Eyes: Grossly appropriate OU. Ears: Unremarkable AU. Nasal Cavity: No nasal discharge. PLN: WNL Heart: No murmurs or arrhythmias. Pulses strong and synchronous. Lungs: Eupneic, lungs clear. No crackles or wheezes bilaterally. Abd: Soft, non-painful. No palpable masses. No organomegaly appreciated. U/G: Normal external genitalia. No discharge. Musculoskeletal: Ambulatory x 4 with no appreciable lameness. Right forelimb bandaged with mild amount of staining on outer bandage layer. BCS = 7/9 Integument: Multiple puncture wounds noted around neck- no discharge noted with mild to moderate erythema and mild swelling. Bandage over right forelimb Neuro: Appropriate mentation. Full neurologic exam not performed. Rectal: Not performed. Externally normal Assessment: 1) Dog bite/attack - multiple puncture wounds to neck and large wound over right carpus 2) Hypovolemic Shock- resolved Plan: Discontinued injectable baytril, started oral baytril (408mg PO q24 x 6 days) Continue oral Clavamox (13.75mg/kg PO q12hr) and oral carprofen (2.2mg/kg PO q12hr). NPO after evening feeding for bandage change tomorrow and re-evaluate wounds 16-Apr-2018 Progress Exam Presented to BACC yesterday with severe dog bite wounds to R carpus and superficial wounds along face and neck; was sedated to debride carpal wounds which were bleeding excessively and required cautery; bandage was placed and she was transferred to MACC overnight for monitoring; BP overnight was 80 mmHg; she was also given baytril IV and carprofen SQ and started on clavamox orally but has not received a dose yet S/O -BAR, very friendly outside of kennel, loves attention and allows all handling -no interest in food overnight -mm pk, sl tacky; CRT <2 sec -no nasal discharge or sneezing -eupnic, clear lung sounds, no murmurs or arrhythmias -RF: bandage intact with no strike through; good weight bearing on limb -superficial puncture wounds and abrasions along L neck and R side of face and neck with minimal swelling and minimal serousanguinous discharge A 1. Bite wounds, face and neck, superficial 2. Severe bite wounds to R carpus, not evaluated today due to bandage 3. Overweight P -enrolfloxacin 3.5 ml IV slowly x 2 days, then continue orally -clavamox, if not eating today, then switch to unasyn TID until eating -sedate for bandage change and radiographs later today or tomorrow -continue carprofen, if not eating then okay to give injectably today 16-Apr-2018 Medical Assistant: 8:09 AM QAR HR 135bpm RR 30bpm BP 80mmHg Eating, drinking IV LRS continuing NOSF 16-Apr-2018 Tech Exam HR 110bpm RR 30bpm BP 80mmHg 15-Apr-2018 Tech Exam Moo Moo transferred to MACC from BACC at 10 pm QAR set up IVF 120 mls/hr gave 3.5mls baytril 100 injection IV HR 138bpm RR 28bpm BP 79mmHg LVT-E 15-Apr-2018 Progress Exam History: Animal Care staff alerted Vet services that Moo Moo had bled through the bandage. Upon visual exam, there was moderate strike through from the bandage. Objective/Exam: Upon removing the bandage, there was significant, active bleeding from a vessel on the ventral aspect of the carpus as well as oozing around the wound. Moo Moo remained QAR/dull and recumbent. HR 160bpm, T 100.2, RR 20bpm, BP 72mmHg. Assesment: 1) Dog bite wounds- active hemorrhage 2) Suspect hypovolemic shock Plan: A local block with 1ml lidocaine was performed around the carpus and the vessel was cauterized as well as areas that were visually bleeding. After cautarizing, no further active bleeding was noted. The a wet to dry bandage was then replaced on the right forelimb. An IVC was placed and she was bolused 500mls LRS. Post bolus BP was 78mmHg. She then received a second 500ml LRS bolus (30ml/kg bolus total). Administered 0.35ml Antisedan IM (initially, only half reversed Dexmedetomedine a few hours ago). Post bolus BP 160mmHg. Dispatch was contacted in order to arrange transport to MACC. Treatment Plan: Enrofloxacin (injectable) 10 mg/kg IV q24hr LRS @ 120mls/hr Carprofen 2.2mg/kg PO or SQ (start tomorrow evening) Clavamox 13.75mg/kg PO q12hr (once eating) Bandage change tomorrow Monitor BP q8hr Monitor HR, RR q4hr 15-Apr-2018 Spay-Neuter Waiver Documentation [Spay/Neuter Waiver - Medical Condition] Your newly adopted is currently temporarily waived from the spay/neuter requirements of the City of NY by the staff veterinarians due to wounds. Follow up care at your regular veterinarian is recommended to ensure continued treatment. Your veterinarian will advise you if surgical sterilization is appropriate. 15-Apr-2018 DVM Intake Exam Estimated age: 4 years Microchip noted on Intake? no Microchip Number (If Applicable): History : stray Subjective: Observed Behavior - timid Evidence of Cruelty seen - no Evidence of Trauma seen - yes (bite wounds) Objective T = 99.9F P = 80bpm R = wnl BCS 6/9 EENT: Eyes clear, ears clean, no nasal or ocular discharge noted Oral Exam: muzzled, not performed PLN: No enlargements noted H/L: NSR, NMA, CRT < 2, Lungs clear, eupnic ABD: Non painful, no masses palpated U/G: female spayed, no discharge MSI: Ambulatory x 4, painful on light palpation of right carpus; multiple puncture wounds noted around the neck (both sides); ~4cm x 4cm wound noted over the ventral aspect of the right carpus; multiple puncture wounds noted on the dorsal aspect of the right carpus and right antebrachium; hair coat covered in a significant amount of dirt throughout and mixed with blood over wounds CNS: Mentation appropriate - no signs of neurologic abnormalities Rectal: formed stool, no discharge Assessment- 1) Wounds (puncture, multiple, around neck right forelimb and larger open wound over right carpus)- concern for infection, skin devitalization. With larger wound being in a highly mobile area (and no skin left to try and close), concern for ability to heal. Prognosis: fair with proper management Plan: - Sedated with Dexmedtomedine 10mcg/kg IM once and Butorphanol 0.3 mg/kg IM once - Administered Carprofen 4.4mg/kg SQ once - Administered local skin block around puncture wounds of neck and splash block within right carpal wound The wounds were clipped of hair around the neck and carpus. Both areas were cleaned with chlorhexidine solution and flushed thoroughly with saline. The right carpal wound was minimally debrided (as multiple vessels were identified in the area) and parts of the tissue appeared grey. Minimal bleeding noted. A wet to dry modified robert jones bandage was applied over the right carpal wound. Administered 0.35ml Antisedan MEDICATIONS: Caprofen 2.2mg/kg PO q12hr (starting 4/16) Clavamox 13.75mg/kg PO q12hr for 7 days Bandage change tomorrow, consider radiographs of right forelimb if pain/lameness not improving Temporary waiver due to DOH hold and wounds ------------------------------------------------------------- NOTES FIRST STAY - JANUARY 2018 <3 She’s a waggy, wiggly, “smother you with kisses” little cow. Seven years young and absolutely lovely, BRENDA is a lady with a heart of gold who still loves to play. She waits for the toy to be thrown, gambles over to get it, and then comes back and drops it happily at your feet waiting for the next throw. Always polite, patient and loving, she leans in for cuddles and hugs. A darling lap dog who dreams of a family to love her, we can’t think of a more adorable or loyal friend a family could ever have. Please let this middle aged dreamboat join your family now. Foster or adopt her and save her life. PM our page for assistance. Brenda – a total doll! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MupPEJndD6o BRENDA, ID # 17661, @ 7 Yrs. Old, 73 lbs. Brooklyn cc, Large breed, White / Brown Brindle, Spayed Female Owner Surrender Reason: Moving - no pets housing Shelter Assessment Rating: AVERAGE BEHAVIOR NOTES INTAKE NOTES: During intake Brenda had a loose body and was wagging her tail. She allowed the counselor to collar her and take her picture with no problems. Basic Information: Brenda is a 5 year old white and black large spayed dog who was surrendered by his owner due to the fact he moved and can no longer have pets in the home. The owner stated that he got Brenda from a friend 3 years ago. Since he has had Brenda she has never seen a vet. She previously lived with her owner. Owner stated that when around strangers Brenda is friendly and outgoing. When playing with adults she is gentle. Brenda has not lived in the home with children but when the visit she is relaxed and playful. Brenda has spent time around other dogs when around them she is relaxed and affectionate. when playing with other dogs she is gentle. Brenda has not spent time in the home around cats so it is unknown how she will react. Brenda is friendly if someone was to touch her food treats or toys. She will bark if someone was to approach her house or family member. Brenda has no bite history. She is housetrained with a medium energy level. Owner stated that Brenda isn't bothered if she is restrained pushed off the couch or disturbed while she sleeps. Brenda will tolerate being bathed and she enjoys being brushed. Brenda has never had her nails trimmed by her owner so it is unknown how he will react. Brenda has not had any medical issues and her owner reported no medical concerns. For a New Family to Know: Owner described Brenda as friendly affectionate and mellow. When at home she likes to be in the same room as her owner. Brenda likes squeaky toys and has been kept indoors and outdoors. She eats both wet and dry food. When using the bathroom she will go on the grass or cement. When left alone in the house or yard Brenda is well behaved. Brenda has never been crated so it is unknown how she will react. Brenda knows how to sit come and stay. She is used to brisk walks on the leash and playing in the yard. When on the leash she pulls lightly. When off the leash she might run away. SAFER SCORES: Date of assessment: 10-Jan-2018 Look: 1. Dog's eyes are averted, ears are back, tail is down, relaxed body posture. Dog allows head to be held loosely in Assessor's cupped hands. Sensitivity: 1. Dog stands still and accepts the touch, eyes are averted, and tail is in neutral position with a relaxed body posture. Dog's mouth is likely closed for at least a portion of the assessment item. Tag: 1. Dog follows at the end of the leash, body soft. Paw squeeze 1: 1. Dog gently pulls back his/her paw. Paw squeeze 2: 1. Dog gently pulls back his/her paw. Toy: 1. No interest. Summary: Brenda came into the room loose and wiggly, she was friendly and playful towards the handlers. PLAYGROUP NOTES - Summary (1): Brenda has spent time around other dogs, she is relaxed, affectionate and gentle. 1/8: When off leash at the Care Center, Brenda greets a novel male dog with a slightly tense posture. Her hackles remain raised throughout the session. Brenda tolerates his genital sniffs but raises her lip and growls when he licks her muzzle. BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION: AVERAGE (suitable for an adopter with an average amount of dog experience) MEDICAL EXAM NOTES JANUARY 2018: 29-Jan-2018 Progress Exam History: Intake 1/5-started on SSD cream for inguinal erythema 1/9: CBC: wnl Chem: Elevated ALT 148 (10-125), elevated ALP 904 (23-212) T4: wnl 16-Jan-2018, Blood Work Interpretation, Vet Notes: 11:48 AM. Chemistry: Elevated ALP 715 (23 - 212 U/L)-improved, ALT resolved. Rec rechecking in 3 months to r/o vaccine reaction vs underlying condition. If still elevated rec AUS. 11-Jan-2018, Progress Exam, Vet Notes: 1:34 PM, Progress exam-recheck inguinal erythema. History: Intake 1/5-started on SSD cream for inguinal erythema. 09-Jn-2018, CBC: wnl, Chem: Elevated ALT 148 (10-125), elevated ALP 904 (23-212). T4: wnl, Subjective: BARH. No csvd. Bleeding paws reported on rounds board. Has been on SSD cream for inguinal rash. Objective: EENT: Eyes clear, no nasal or ocular discharge noted, H/L: Eupneic, normal RR/RE, MSI: Ambulatory x 4, skin free of parasites, no masses noted, mild inguinal. erythema, feet appear wnl x4. CNS: Mentation appropriate - no signs of neurologic abnormalities. Assessment: Apparently Healthy, Hx inguinal erythema-improved, Possible heart murmur noted 1/8. Prognosis: Good. Plan: CBC/Chem recheck 1/16, CTM while at BACC. Ok to d/c SSD cream. 9-Jan-2018, Blood Work Interpretation, Vet Notes: 7:52 AM. CBC: wnl, Chem: Elevated ALT 148 (10-125), elevated ALP 904 (23-212), T4: wnl, Rec rechecking in 1 week. 8-Jan-2018: Progress Exam, Vet Notes: 1:05 PM. [Progress Exam Template]. S: bar, O: rechecking inguinal rash. EENT: wnl, Oral Exam: some tarter and wear. H/L: equivocal grade 1-2/6 sys murmur/clr lungs. Abd: overweight. MSI: erythema bilateral inguinal areas. Mentation:bar, A: contact allergy to inguinal area. equivocal murmur 1-2/6 sys. P: continue tx w/ ssd and recheck in 3 days. Is the Initial Medical Status being Changed? New Medical Status: Is the Initial Behavior Status being Changed? New Behavior Color: VET-P 7-Jan-2018: Progress Exam, Vet Notes: 11:25 AM. Recheck inguinal erythema. Subjective: BAR at the front of the kennel seeking attention. No csvd. Severe inguinal erythema r/o bruising vs rash. Objective: EENT: Eyes clear, no nasal or ocular discharge noted. H/L: Eupneic, normal RR/RE MSI: Ambulatory x 4, skin free of parasites, no masses noted, severe inguinal erythema. CNS: Mentation appropriate - no signs of neurologic abnormalities. Assessment: Inguinal erythema - suspect contact irritant from cold, Mild dental dz, otherwise Apparently Healthy. Prognosis: Good. Plan: CBC/Chem tomorrow, CTM while at BACC, Ok to d/c SSD cream 5-Jan-2018: DVM Intake, Vet Notes: 2:27 PM. DVM Intake Exam, Estimated age: 7yrs. Microchip noted on Intake? No, Microchip Number (If Applicable): History: O/S due to moved to apt that does not allow pets. Subjective: Dog is BARH, Observed Behavior - Readily approaches veterinarian and gives hug. Little restraint required for exam. Allows all body parts to be touched without signs of discomfort. Turns to humans for comfort and safety. Evidence of Cruelty seen – no, Evidence of Trauma seen – no. Objective : T = NA, P = 110, R = wnl, BCS 5/9, EENT: Eyes clear, ears clean, no nasal or ocular discharge noted. Oral Exam: Healthy adult dentition; Grade 1/4 dental dz. PLN: No enlargements noted. H/L: NSR, NMA, Lungs clear, eupnic, ABD: Slightly tense, non-painful, no masses palpated, U/G: wnl MSI: Ambulatory x 4, skin free of parasites, no masses noted, severe inguinal erythema. CNS: Mentation appropriate - no signs of neurologic abnormalities, Rectal:not performed. Assessment: Inguinal erythema - suspect contact irritant from cold, Mild dental dz, Otherwise Apparently Healthy. Prognosis: Good. Plan: Apply thin layer of SSD for erythema SID x 3d; recheck in 2 days. Acceptable candidate for adoption or rescue. SURGERY: Already spayed *** TO FOSTER OR ADOPT *** If you would like to adopt a NYC ACC dog, and can get to the shelter in person to complete the adoption process, you can contact the shelter directly. We have provided the Brooklyn, Staten Island and Manhattan information below. Adoption hours at these facilities is Noon – 8:00 p.m. (6:30 on weekends) If you CANNOT get to the shelter in person and you want to FOSTER OR ADOPT a NYC ACC Dog, you can PRIVATE MESSAGE our Must Love Dogs page for assistance. PLEASE NOTE: You MUST live in NY, NJ, PA, CT, RI, DE, MD, MA, NH, VT, ME or Northern VA. You will need to fill out applications with a New Hope Rescue Partner to foster or adopt a NYC ACC dog. Transport is available if you live within the prescribed range of states. Shelter contact information: Phone number (212) 788-4000 Email [email protected] Shelter Addresses: Brooklyn Shelter: 2336 Linden Boulevard Brooklyn, NY 11208 Manhattan Shelter: 326 East 110 St. New York, NY 10029 Staten Island Shelter: 3139 Veterans Road West Staten Island, NY 10309

#funny #lol #humor #memes #meme #memehumor #dank memes #funny pics #rolf #lmao #Being Alone #Anaconda

1 note · View note