Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

So it seems that you're late on the uptake again, seeing as Bitties or is it Bittys, have been going on for three years without you ever noticing. How is that even possible? To your measly defense, you don't really interact with others nor do you keep track of any media. Having cable is overrated, not to mention expensive, and you only use your laptop to play some free games, listen to music, or stream something to watch. Any source of information you do get about the outside world is gained when you go out to do some groceries and your monthly book run. It's definitely not because your level of ignorance is triple digits…

This is probably just as bad as you not noticing that Monsters have resurfaced and had started to live in your town for about half a year at most, before you could tell. Sighing, you push your hair away from your face and behind your ears. A bit pointless seeing as they just fall back in front of your face. Still, old habits and all that. The weather has been pretty mild these past few weeks, for Autumn at least. The few trees that you spot on your walk through town have their leaves in reds and golds. The sky's a bright blue and there's hardly a cloud in sight. You take a deep breathe in and enjoy the moment.

It is because of this good weather that you had venture away from your home to come into town. That and the fact that you were finally ready to see what all the commotion was about Bitties. Some of the new music videos had a few of the little monsters dancing about. There was also that one series where the main protagonist had a pretty sharp looking skeleton on their shoulder. You had first thought that it was some really amazing computer graphics to make the show more interesting. The story was good and the acting was believable enough that you wanted to see who the actors were. One search later and you find that the little skeleton had their own page of other shows and movies he had been in. So down the rabbit hole you went into the latest fab and movement going world wide.

As you were reading up, you come to realize that not many places had Bitty Shelters. If someone wanted to adopt a little monster to care for, and woah was there a variety to choose from, they would have to travel some crazy distances. Each Shelter also had their own rules when it came to adopting. The most unregulated Shelter is the first ever Bitty Center own by a Rabbit Monster call Mama Crybaby. You’ve heard weirder names in your time so that hardly phase you. What did get you was that her center didn’t do any sort of background checks, didn’t ask for any payment, there was nothing for the person who wanted to adopt to do. Except walk into the place and pick a Bitty to take home. That was it. Granted her Center is right by the fable mountain and the travel fees getting there are super expensive. You figured only the rich or most determined adopters would go there.

A little more googling around and you see that there was a Shelter in your town. Since its location was nowhere near the market, library, or bookstore, you never noticed it. Now here you were standing in front of the Bitty Bones Adoption Center. The place is a simple beige rectangle of a building with two large windows on either sides of the motion sensor doors. The windows were mostly covered with tons of posters, some about Cherry's and Poppy's and Soft Bones. A part of you wonder not for the first time, if the person who first named these mini skeletons weren't hungry when they did. It got you to huff out in amusement when you see a tall, for a Bitty that is, furry pastel skeleton poster that says their species name is Teacup.

You stand by the windows reading the posters. Each one giving out the Bitties basic information. Their favorite foods, their personality traits, along with the kind of hobbies that they would commonly part take in. You can see between the gaps of the posters that there were quite a few people already inside. They all seem to be talking to one another, some had Bitties on them while other Bitties were walking about the place. There were so many people and your insides feel twisted and your palms get a bit sweaty. It was a pretty warm day for a long sleeve shirt under your vest all of a sudden, and perhaps coming out when you haven't eaten almost all day wasn't a smart idea.

Turning away from the window you spotted a small café right across the street from you, Eat My Meat. It took you a second for the innuendo to hit home, you could not believe that anyplace would be so daring. And you loved it. A relieved smile quickly crosses your face as you watch for cars while you head over. You had a sudden craving for some fruits, a bagel and a hot cup of flavored water. You check to see how many people were inside before you enter, but it looks to be a slow day. A deep breath in and you push open the door.

There's someone on their laptop on one of the café's couch and two other people in line, so you're feeling more comfortable with the quiet setting. Taking a look at what the café has to offer you don't see any berries to eat, the only fruits are apples and bananas which nope, not what you're craving at the moment. But the place does serve berry tea. Score! There's no bagel but that corn muffin is a damn good second choice. Now all you have to do is wait for your turn. It seems that the person in front of you is really chatting up with the cashier, you search for you headphones as you pull up your music app before….. fwduhgbfdkhbgjfsdlghojd

The phone fumbles in your hands as you push the cord all the way in. You hadn’t meant for your music to be heard by everyone in the store, the once quiet atmosphere gone as everyone turns to give you a quick look. A chuckle escapes you, ignoring everyone and place the buds in their respective earhole. The person in front goes back to chatting, but they seem to be almost done now. You just concentrate on the music that’s now safely playing in your ears only. Once it's finally your turn to order, you lower the volume of your music and place your order to the dude who's managing the cashier.

It takes you a moment to notice that the dude has some wicked fangs and snake eyes. And skin... Oh, it's a Monster and you're not going to stare at him. You pay the total with your card and not flinch when the dude's extremely long forked tongue flickers close to your nose. The action does halt you for a second before you're glaring at the dude. He's putting up an act like he's sorry but the air he's giving out is of someone who's just so done with their job. Though you get it, sort of, that doesn't mean you condone flicking random body parts at strangers just to get a rise out of them. You don't bother listening to him apologize and instead step to the part of the counter where it says 'Pick Up'. Good bet that's where you're supposed to get your tea and muffin from.

Ten whole minutes pass before the chick finally manage to get you your muffin and tea, an unopened tea package to go with your cup of hot water and stale muffin. You thank her anyways and turn to find a seat. A quick look around for a spot and you see that there's a perfect table for two right by the window. The sun is hitting it just so that your feet are taking you there faster than you're taking in the lovely sight. Sigh, now you can relax and watch as others walk by while you can look all hipster. And if your seat allows you to view the Center and everyone who goes in and out of it, well. You hadn’t plan that at all.

You're halfway through your tea and you've lost ten percent on your phone before you judge it safe for you to attempt another entrance into the Center. You’ve seen two humans walking into the building all cheerful only for one to leave with their head down, and the other skipping down the street. But no Bitties with them. Then some Monsters walk out and they’re chatting along with some Bitties. You were going to question it but then another human walks out the center with a Bitty on their shoulder. Huh.

The muffin is already settling nicely inside your stomach so all you have left is your tea. You chugged the last of it since it's a little past warm and now getting into cool temperatures, and your bladder regrets you doing that so much. One potty break later and you walk out into the brisk air and across the street. Now that the Center isn't as pack maybe the workers won't be eying you as you just try to take a quick look around. Because the thought of being watched as you do a look-see, since it's only an hour and a half till closing time, makes you shiver and think that maybe you should have brought a jacket with you.

Maybe this was a bad idea. Yeah, totally. You don't even need to sate your curiosity all that badly about the Bitties. And you already have a prior commitment to your dog waiting for you back at home. Not that you were even planning on adopting a Bitty anyways. Your dog is already demanding most of your attention and affection. Right, it'd be better for you to just turn around and go back home. No one has to know that you chicken out, not that you did!

Taking a step back, you bump into something solid that was most definitely not there the last time you checked. You can tell that the something you bumped into is a lot larger than you are, so you tilt your head up. There's a muzzle with pointy teeth and drool for you to meet. That something, which is this Monster's chest, starts to rumble and you think that they're mad and you're so screwed. Fuck.

The muzzle is moving and forming words, maybe, but your music is blasting and you can't hear anything but Green Day singing about shadows. Escape is the only thing you think to do and so you quickly take big steps past the doors that opens and hope that if you look at that interesting bookshelf by the back corner, that Monster wont want to bother with you anymore. Please don't mind me!

It's not till the end of the song, with your heart beating at a normal pace and you can finally read what the titles on the spines of the book says, that you get the courage to turn your head. You can see that the Monster, looks like a black wolf, is talking to a worker and being directed past the counter and into the back rooms. You let out a small breath when they disappear from view and lean your head on the shelf. You're tempted to gently bang your head on the wood to help battle off your embarrassment. Probably say sorry to the wolf Monster as well. Though really, you rather never see that Monster ever again for the rest of your life. You don't think you can handle the mortification your actions cause you.

Looking at the books, since you might as well, you pick a thin green one label, So You Want to Care for a Bitty, and quickly skim through it. You had bought and read, cover to cover, the more extensive version on your last monthly shopping trip. This thin version is nothing more than checking facts and seeing if they have any pictures that the other lacks. Which you're sad to find that yes, this book has an adorable photo of the owner of this town's Bitty Adoption Center surrounded with each of her Bitties. Your going to go to the nearest bookshop and you're going to spend that ten dollars with change just for that photo. Why are you a sucker for animal ears?

Putting the book down, you stretch your back and take a look around the inside of the Center. There's one worker who's sweeping the floors, and another by the counter on their phone. It's not the one who took that Monster to the back so you know that so far there's a minimum of three workers. The décor is pretty sparse with a welcome mat by the door that you didn't notice when you escaped inside. Though who can blame you. There's also some blue plastic seats by the right of the Center and a stand with some magazines. So a waiting area, for whatever reason. There's more posters on the walls and one framed photo. A quick look and you see that it's the Bitty Adoption founder, Mama Crybaby standing proudly in front of her Center. You can even see the famous Mount Ebott in the background.

The worker that's by the counter is looking at you now and it doesn’t seem to be a happy look either. Yeah, you figure that you're probably looking a bit sketchy at the moment. You shut off your music and take off your headphones as you walk over to the counter and okay, human male this time. The tag on his shirt says that his name's Jake, not from State Farm though. You hope he can't tell how nervous you are. You want to ask if it was possible for you to just see the Bitties or something really. You couldn't see any walking around the front of the store like you did before, so maybe there was a back room? The Bitties had to be somewhere, how else were people supposed to meet and talk with them?

The moment that you try to talk to him, the dude is already swinging that little door to the other side of the counter. You give him a weird look and he gives you a 'Hurry your ass up' look back.

The Monster from before had gone to the other side and has yet to return. It’s a weird thought to have in a Bitty Center, that once you pass through you might never come back. You blame last night's horror movie marathon bing.

"You do want to see them right? Then get over here and I'll show you to the back where you can meet 'em."

Oh, well then, uh. Awkward staring now. As you start to follow Jake to the back of the store, you can hear the other worker chuckling. Geez, they should get some AC up in here, you were heating up. Your eyes start to wonder about as you try to distract yourself. You can see a few doors that you walk by and can't help but wonder what's behind them. Jake leads you into a side hallway that has three large rooms to each side. Each room has a door that only come up to your waist, reminds you of the rooms that people who go to play with the pets that the animal shelters use. So these rooms might be where you get to meet and spend time with the Bitties. With the wall and attached door being short, its most likely meant as an easy escape for both parties. You remember that Bitties have magic and that most of the Sans and a Papyrus can teleport.

But the low door also allows you to get a good look inside. You pass through a few rooms that have Monsters and Humans inside with Bitties hanging off of them. It's sweet and you feel yourself smiling at the scene. Until you reach the last two rooms and one of those rooms has the wolf Monster in them. You see them on the floor with three Bitties on different parts of their being. A Punny is chewing on the wolf Monster's left ear and a Softy is dozing on their lap. There's a Baby Blue that's on their paw... and talking very excitingly about something? Odd, you can't hear any sound even though you can see the Bitty's mouth moving. Now that you think about it, with all the other people in their rooms, this hall sound be lively with conversation. But you can only pick up the sounds of your own musings. Jacks footsteps were pretty loud as well.

You look back at the other rooms, theories quickly spring in your head about advance soundproofing methods. The easiest and simplest answer would be magic. Since the wolf Monster and Bitties have yet to notice you, you quickly enter the unoccupied room and sit in one of the two available chairs in the corner. Jake held the door open for you as he walks in and sits on the only other chair. He's staring at you pretty hard for no reason you can think off. Was there something on your face besides the skin you were born with? Were there muffin crumbs you didn’t notice were there when you went to the bathroom? You want to merge with the seat to get away. It had felt like hours pass before he exhales and shakes his head.

"Seeing as this is your first time here-," Jake gives you a look for confirmation, so you nod-, "then I'm going to quickly lay down how this works."

He mumbles something and turns his head so he's facing one of the walls. Which is much better for your rattling nerves. Jack crosses his arms over his chest while he leans back on the chair. His posture seems to look like he’s relax, but the furrow of his brow doesn’t match. You attempt to mimic his style in your own awkward way in hopes to feel any sort of comfort with social interaction.

"Alright. So I'm sure you notice that you're only shown this hallway. It's call the Wait and See Hall. These rooms are called the Visiting Rooms. Everyone who comes to meet with the Bitties will be guided to an open room. Not every Bitty is for everyone and vice versa. So you're going to sit here and wait to see if there is any Bitty that has some interest in you. If you wish to adopt, then you are going to come back for at least an hour every day for a week, minimum, before any Bitty will go home with you.”

What he’s told you helps you better understand how this Shelter works. Though the online site did explain a bit of their process, there were no interior pictures and the descriptions were lacking. Rather than talking about the Shelter and their employees, the site focused more about the Bitties themselves and how to properly co-exist with them. There were albums of each Bitty that the Shelter had found homes for and the new family’s adventures together. It gave you a bittersweet feeling inside. Your doggy was cool with letting you hold on to him close as you browse through the pictures that night.

“If you haven’t notice, there are no cages or tanks or anything of that sort in the Shelter and there's a reason for that. A Bitty is not a pet. They are not a trinket or a toy or something *exotic* for you to show off to your friends. They are Monsters who are in need of constant care. Unlike other Monsters, a Bitty is a kind of Monster that holds too much love within them. They require bonding with another larger being to help them release their love in a healthy and functioning manner. And that's where we come in."

You snap out of your thoughts when Jake continues speaking. Hoping that he didn’t notice your lapse in attention, you stare at him as uncreeplied as you can manage. Blink. Blinking some more in case what you were seeing was just the lighting. Blink. Huh. So it’s not a trick of the lights, and you were really seeing a soft green hue surrounding around Jake. The more Jake talks about the Bitty’s magical makeup, their structural differences due to higher concentration of magic to average size Monsters, and any other tidbits of their culture and things, the green hue expands and gets brighter.

Seeing the passion and intense waves of Green that just pulsates from Jake as he's talking about respecting the Bitties as their own being, secretly takes your breath away. Which you totally agree with as you were nodding along with everything he was saying. Still, for such a grumpy looking human, his Kindness was exceptionally pure and strong. It makes you want to lay your head on his lap and see if he'll finger comb your hair. What an odd thought you won't ever act on.

" 'kay. Well it looks like you get it. Now I'm going to go and let the Bitties know that there's a new visitor. If you have any questions, just ask them. They know what they're looking for in a potential home and they're not afraid to reject you if you guys don't match up. They're also a good judge of character so I wouldn't try anything funny. They may be small, but they can take you down in seconds if they feel threatened."

The smile that Jake sends your way is anything but kind... Like sharp and sadistic. Those were some of the words that fit. You nod your head once more as you look away from Jake. He didn't notice anything weird about your heating face, nope he did not. You don’t notice his smile going away or the curious look he sends you. What you do notice is when he sighs and leaves. Now that you have time before anyone comes to the room, you can take a moment to rest. Your emotions have gone everywhere it seems and it's draining your energy reserves quickly. Taking a deep breath in from your nose, hold it, and then slowly release it from your mouth.

Five minutes have pass and you're starting to get sleepy with all this quite. There's not much to distract you in the room, the walls are painted a soft gray, the carpet is deep brown. Besides the two chairs, there's a low white coffee table that you're tempted to prop your feet on. And that's all. The room is so sparse that it's a little unsettling as time keeps going by.

It's so quiet. If there was something for you to do, this wouldn’t have been something to pay attention. But besides staring at the walls, you were stuck and bored. Maybe you should leave? Or stick around for the next 50 minutes contemplating the meaning of life. Nah. Getting up, you make way to the door when something shiny catches your eye. You take a better look at the room feeling your curiosity peak. There’s a shimmer of magic writing by the walls and a large one on that half door. So they were using magic! Knew it.

Finding out this little tibid is impressive. The only way to get a good look at the sigils is by being at certain angles throughout the room. Since Monsters and Bitties have surface, magic no longer became a fictional concept. Huge studies are starting to take off about the subject and mages are rumored to exist. The magical language and its proper usages have been long lost to humans, so there was a race going on with each country. Like how the space race was, but with magic.

This was something that the world was slowly getting accustomed to, but you didn't need to. Reading the sigils is as easy as standing on one foot while rubbing your head and patting your belly. It takes a while, but you get the gist of it. Huh, well you notice that this set of sigils is for a noise barrier like you guessed. So... No one can hear you scream.

You huff a laugh at the pop reference. Checking your phone, you notice it's been a total of 15 minutes since Jake left you. How long are you supposed to wait? Should you give it till half an hour? How quickly do Bitties even come to meet a visitor? Nnnnn, you were starting to get a bit anxious so you sat back down in the chair. Thoughts float around your head, you figure that you're probably not a match for any of the Bitties they have here, you're basically in a soundproof room, you can sing your heart out in peace here.

What? Singing has always been something that was fun. It was a private activity that you partake in every time you heard a good anime opening. But you had never done so outside the comfort of your home. Humming doesn’t count. So, should you be daring and do it? It was probably the fastest and most calming thing you could do to pass the time. A look at how much battery life you have left decides your fate. It was at 80 percent. The phone’s speakers aren't shabby, might as well just use them to blast it all the way up. It’s not like anyone was going to notice, it’ll also give you some coverage with the actual singers singing along. This has become a little thrill for you to sing in a place that's technically public, but safe in knowing that you won't be caught at all.

Let's do this!

"What I do to see a smile, even for a little while.

And no one loves you when you're evil.....

I’M LYING THROUGH MY TEETH!

YOUR TEARS ARE ALL THE COMPANY I NEED!"

You’re breathing hard as you finish your little dance and number. You're on your knees, arms spread wide open and your head tilt back, eyes closed and you can feel muscles that you don't often use burn. Oh man, you're going to take a hot bubble bath later and slather your whole being with some Hot 'n Cold. Your dog is not going to like the medical smell but you'll thank yourself for it tomorrow. You huff out a small laugh as you put your hands on your knees, head hung between your arms as you try to calm your racing heart.

"Bravo! Bravo!"

"YEAH! I could feel your passion to face your foes in your song human! Fuhuhuhu!"

"ENCORE! HUMAN! ENCORE!"

"Come on sweetheart. Why don ya shake yer pretty lil ass for us some more?"

"Th-th-those we-were some n-nice moves h-h-human."

Your heart has just suddenly stopped like a car crash. What’s this? You're not breathing so hard any more. Well, you sure as hell aren't breathing at all right now. You slowly look up and see that you have a pretty large crowd of all kinds of Bitties clapping their hands, some even wolf-whistling at you, and others yelling about how happy they were with your unknowing show. Apparently they wanted more.

With the speed you used to hide that pure look of horrifying shame on your face down, you are going to also smother a shit ton of Hot 'n Cold on your neck as well. Learning to breathe again before you die is a good idea while you're at it... Or not? This is the most embarrassing moment of your life hands down! You're going to die right here and you won’t have to deal with how you just want to hide away from the world. Perfect plan set in motion.

Fuck! How much did they see? When did you even start dancing? WHY did you think that it was a good idea to do that!? Panicking and not breathing and oh man oh shit… There's someone patting your leg. You force your body not to fling away from the sudden action. Only your eyes move just enough to see who is doing the touching. It's a little skeleton with a blue jean jacket and black basketball shorts with gray? Pink? A non-discernible faded pair of colored slippers on their feet. It's a Sansy and his signature smile is on his face. But his eye... holes… sockets.... are looking at you softly and with some concern. Smiles are nice. You smile habitually back, though it’s unsure if Sansy could see it. It’s an old trick you've mastered since you started to deal with particularly annoying people, a happy smile so they can’t see your inner drama.

Sansy stares a bit longer before his smile grows wider and he's nodding his head. You can feel yourself starting to relax the more you see his smile. The panic is still there but it's not so overwhelming, more like a soft hum under your skin. Huh, that was thankfully easy.

He gives your leg a final pat as he winks at you and disappears. Blinking a few times from the sudden Houdini trick, you look up to see that Sansy was with the other Bitties on the ledge.
"alright guys. this human seems like they're done with their show. so if you aren't interested in a potential home, it's best if you go back to whatever you were doing before hand."

You see that Sansy is shooing the majority of the Bitties away, while a few had stayed behind. The ones who stayed jumped into the room and onto the table. They were staring really hard at you as they settle themselves. You cast a quick peek to see if the helpful Sansy had left as well only to spot him on the door looking down at you from his perch. His... eye sockets... look very calm and at peace now, it makes you smile, more real this time, back up at him. Since you only moved your face up a small margin he might not even notice.

Suddenly, you feel a sharp pain coming from your hand that makes you want to scream out. You tense up instead and stare at the little fucker who still had your dominant hand between his teeth! OUCH DUDE. There's an Edgy biting at the space between your thumb and index finger with a shitty smirk on his face. Letting go would be wonderful right about now for your hand, and you hope he does so soon.

He doesn't. That asshole. Now that he knows he has your attention, he's biting down a bit harder. The first beads of blood are starting to well up. Oh this little shit wants to test you huh? Well two can play Nippy Teeth!

You swiftly yank your hand out of his bite, it cause the small holes to open wider but you don't care. With quick reflexes, you pick up the fucker with the same hand. As he was caught in your grasp, you use your free hand to take hold of both his hands and bring them close to your mouth. This all happen in a second and you never once let your eyes wander from his face. The shock in his eye sockets were noticeable as his smile disappear, only for his jaw to drop when he caught up and sees just where his hands ended up.

You don't waste any time and bite down on his hands before the little fucker could say anything other than, "SHIT!" You don't let go. Once he starts glaring, you bit down just a little harder and the profanity he's throwing makes you want to laugh. Now that you have made your point, you loosen your grip and he teleports three feet away, giving him a shit eating smile you wave your uninjured hand at him. His face is the same deep red as his shirt that you see from his open black leather jacket. It has a nice fluffy feather lining on its hood.

"Yer crazy, bitch! Who the hell bites ah Bitty! Wha’ tha fuckin’ hell is wrong wit ya!?"

You do manage to huff out a laugh at that. The little fucker's face just gets darker. How bright or dark can it get before he faints from it all? Oh man, this was just too much fun.

"now that's what i call a biting response."

"UGH! SANSY! NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR ONE OF YOUR PUNS. THE HUMAN IS BLEEDING AND IN NEED OF MEDICAL CARE."

"Meouch! That bite looks like it huurrrts. Did you happen to bring any bandages with you human?"

"Mwehehe! I Like This Human’s Spirit!"

Oh, right. There were other people in the room besides the Edgy. You judge how badly your hand is instead of look at them, the bite only looks worse than it really is. The Edgy didn't sink his chompers all that deep. If you hadn't moved so suddenly, the amount of blood you'd spill would have been just little drops. Still, it was worth it. You can feel a large and content smile floating to your mouth as you reach into one of the many side pockets you have on your left leg for a roll of gauze bandages you keep for emergencies like these. Well sort of. You didn't think you'd be meeting an Edgy but, eh.

There’s no disinfect though so you just put it in your mouth to suck off the blood and anything else your tongue can get. Mmmm, this is kind of like an indirect kiss... bite? You must have been more tired if this is what you're thinking now. Well, you start to clumsily unroll the gauze with your less dominant hand when small hands grab it from you. Huh?

"let me give you a hand with that." The Sansy has one end of the gauze pulled out while his other hand is palm up and waiting for you to give him your injured one. He has one of his eye socket closed and the other is half lidded, is he giving you the laziest wink ever? His causal stance seems natural and you can feel your shoulders drooping in response. This Sansy is something else.

You huff at his pun, proud that you caught it so quickly. Placing your hand near Sansy, he starts to bandage you up. He's completely focus on the task so you decide to take a look at the other Bitties. The Edgy had move closer to you now, he's only a foot away but he's not looking at you. He kind of has a small look of guilt as he stares at your injured hand and then away. There's also a Papy and he's talking with a soft purple Teacup about the songs you sung and the moves you danced. You can even see the Papy mimicking some of the more, um, daring moves and the blood rushing to your face is obvious and you hate it. Did you really thrust your hips like that? You can’t recall and it’s better of that way.

Looking away you notice that there's one more Bitty that you're surprise has been quite. Baby Blue's are not known for being the silent type, at all. Still, this one is staring up at you with large... Are those stars in his eye sockets? Can Skeletons change the shape of their pupils? That is what the dots in their sockets are right? Brain is too fried to remember and so are you. Still, Bitty staring at you with starry eyes. Heh, good one. You're pretty sure the Sansy would have liked that pun.

Is that Baby Blue okay? He's just staring at you and it might be sending some warning signals up your deep-fried brain. He's clenching his gloved fists pretty tightly, if the way they're vibrating means anything. Actually, his whole body seems to be shaking. You know the signs of an adrenaline high and this little dude is about to explode mere inches away from your person.

"HUMAN! HUMAN! HUMAN! YOU MAY KNOW ME AS THE WONDROUS AND MAGNIFICENT BABY BLUE AND I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO BECOME YOUR BOND-MATE! THE REASON BEING IS THAT YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY A MIGHTY WARRIOR WHO IS PREPARE FOR COMBAT AND THE CHALLENGES AHEAD A WARRIOR'S PATH! THUS IT IS COMPLETELY REASONABLE FOR US TO BOND AND JOURNEY THE WORLD. WE SHALL FACE EVIL DOERS WHEREVER THEY MAY BE HIDING!"

The little tyke is going on about combat and where their journey may led them. How did you both end up on a remote island where they have to face volcano gods? Oh dear, the tyke is jumping everywhere now, doing some impressive kicks and flips. Ah! He almost fell off the table with that last spin kick. It's really adorable but you're pretty sure the blue tyke would completely drain you within minutes if you two actually bonded. How are you supposed to let him down?

"Neyh! You cannot already claim the human, Berry. This is just their fuurrrrst day, so they rrrequirrre an additional six days before they could even adopt anyone of us. Do calm down and stop being rrrude to my futuuurrre bond-mate."

Huh?

"TEACUP! NOT YOU TOO. AND HERE I THOUGHT YOU WOULD NOT TRY TO CLAIM THE HUMAN BEFORE EVEN KNOWING ANYTHING ABOUT THEM. IT IS JUST IRRESPONSIBLE OF YOU AND OFFENSIVE. BLUE, HURRY BACK DOWN HERE AND YOU BOTH WILL APOLOGIZE TO THE HUMAN."

Papy seems like the most reasonable of the all the Bitties as he lightly scolded the two. He had them on their knees with their heads down within seconds. It was amazing to watch it all happen. Still, what's all this causal throwing about bonding? That sort of magic takes more than the single week it takes for someone to bring home a BItty. The quickest bond to have been formed between a Bitty was within a month, while the average is three and a half months. The majority of those bonds were with other Monsters as well. Human’s require a longer time span of magic exposure before they could even attempt a bond. Yet here were these Bitties talking like it'd be just what? Days? Hours!? That's a life long commitment that you are not ready for. Like, at all! Thank goodness that Papy is there to calm the other two back into sense.

"BESIDES. IF THAT HUMAN WERE TO BOND WITH ANY OF US, IT WOULD OF COURSE BE ME THAT THEY WOULD BEG FOR. NYEHEHEHE!"

Well, so much for Papy. And who's begging here?

Now the other two are standing up and yelling about Papy being unfair. And really, you kind of agree with them. Can't be doing what you just said is rude and offensive Papy dear.

"what about me bro? gonna send me bond voyage now that you found yourself a human?"

"NYEH! FEAR NOT MY BROTHER! FOR I, THE GREAT AND WONDROUS PAPY WOULD NOT BE LEAVING YOUR SIDE. EVEN WHEN YOU TELL YOUR PUNS!"

If you weren't feeling like you were losing your common sense, you would have laughed. That joke had just sailed off of Sansy’s tongue so smoothly that you gave him some mental props. Heh, sailed. You look at your hand to see that it's badly wrapped, to the point that it was unwinding itself. You aren’t going to lose your shit over some badly wrapped bandages tonight.

You hear a scoff and you look up to see Edgy slowly reaching for you hand. His grip is light as he carefully unwraps the bandages, and re-bandages it properly. Color you surprise but you didn't expect that Edgy, out of all the Bitties here, to be the one to properly care for your hand. He doesn't let go once he's done, but he does growl up at you.

Very slowly, you move your free hand around him and adjust your position to hold him securely. Making sure that every move is being notice by him as you once again bring his hands to your mouth. This time you just place your lips against his hands and whisper if he was alright.

Edgy's face once again is aflame as he snatches his hands back from you. He's yelling that of course he's fuckin' peachy! Why wouldn't he? Is nah like your puny bite could actually hurt him ya know. He's sure damn stronger than ya can even handle so wha' the hell are ya worried about anyways. Tch.

The smile that graces your face just makes Edgy more fluster. You haven't been this happy, confused, tired, or this severely concern, in a really long time. It's not like you don't get happy or laugh or anything. It's just hasn't been this strong is all. Though your dog is damn godly at making your heart melt into a puddle of goop everyday. Maybe it has something to do with the cooked brain you have burning? Nah~

So you settle both Edgy and yourself down comfortably on the floor as you watch the other four Bitties goofing off. With the even view point, you can take a better look at them. You don't put too much attention to what's being said, the topic still being about bonding, but rather on the actions that each Bitty makes. The Baby Blue is still jumping around, in place this time. His face has a cyan flush in frustration as he's pouting at Papy and Teacup. The little tyke even stomps his booted feet a few times as he makes his point.

Teacup has the most devious smile to have ever grace this earth. It could be because they're kinda like cats. Evil little creatures, but Teacup doesn't seem bad. His lilac eyes are warm as he gazes at the other Bitties. With the low and soft swaying of his multi-colorful tail, you can tell that he's in a good mood. With his lazy hand gestures, or the way he's not afraid to look down his nose at even Papy is a big tell that he's a proud little darling. Mmm, maybe a diva? Nah, too chill. Looks like he's doing it more for the reactions than attitude, playful then.

Papy stands tall with his back straight, feet planted shoulders width apart and his hands resting on his hips. He's making the least amount of movement but that's because it's his eyes that are mostly speaking. They're a red ring instead of the dots the other Bitties have. He looks so content, like being with the Bitties is where he was meant to be. He's giving each of them equal amounts of attention and doesn't let one talk over the other. He narrows his eyes and a part of you wants to know what he's going to say, other times his eyes are closed like his laughter is just that consuming. When neither Teacup or Baby Blue are looking at him, his eyes gain a really warm look. The intensity they hold within them as he watches over the more energized Bitties, it's like a favorite blanket on a rainy day with no work or any plans for you to leave that comfort. You can't really look at Papy when he's making that expression so your eyes wander to Sansy.

It's a bit hard to get a read on Sansy. He doesn't need to open his mouth to speak and his default is that lazy grin. His eyes are also guarded so there's that blockage. Still, you do pick up some things. Like how Sansy won't really take his hands out of his jacket pockets if he doesn't need to. How he likes to rock on his heels when he said something that has the other three groaning. Or that he's always shifting from one foot to the other when any of the Bitties come too close to him. But not Papy, he's more than fine with letting Papy into his personal space. You even catch him nudging Papy every now and again when the taller Bitty seems a little too focus with what's being said. It was, challenging to figure Sansy out, but you couldn't seem to stop trying.

Sansy knows that you stare at him. Any time that you feel like you've watched him for too long, that's when he turns his head towards you and give you a lazy smile. He even winked a couple of times, before going back to his conversation. None of the other Bitties seemed to notice that you were watching them, so you don't think Sansy told them what you were doing. Today's venture has been more exciting than you were planning, and this relaxing moment you were having with Edgy was doing wonders for your energy reserves. Though maybe a small nap wouldn't hurt.

You feel a yawn coming at the thought but aren't quick enough to cover it. So you keep your face to the side so your not exhaling on top of Edgy's skull. It's not a deep yawn but it's still strong enough that you feel your chest tighten and your shoulders shake. Your eyes are closed and there's a very small tear at the corner of them. The moment Edgy looks at you as his brows creased is missed. Along as when Sansy had notice your state and nudged Papy.

Edgy is sitting on your uninjured palm as you rest him near your chest. He held your injured hand close and would nibble on your fingers every now and then. Each time he's gentle, you let your lips press gently against the top of his skull, but it's not a kiss. You still end up with little bite marks on every single finger, but none drawn blood so there's that.

He'll even call out to you when he feels like your paying the other Bitties too much attention. You're not sure how you should take your new nickname he came up for you. Being called Soft Lips is a first, but Edgy likes how you blush when he says it. The little fucker…eh you guess your mental pet name for Edgy could be better as well. He would even make smooching noises at you as a tease. But the joke's on! You just bring him close to your face as you nuzzle as much of him as you can. He scratches your cheek for that stunt but that won’t get rid of the victorious grin on your face.

There's loads of books on how to deal with an Edgy that you’ve read. What you should look out for during the first few weeks you get to know each other; tips on how to deal with their explosive tempers, what other Bitties mesh well with them and so on. However, no one mentioned a quiet Edgy. Well, a quiet and flirty Edgy. Pervy and bold yes, but not this innocent teasing you both seem to be doing. You're sure as hell ain't gonna look a gift horse in the mouth.

Suddenly, there’s a pop and an extra weight on your shoulder as a soft, deep laugh enters your ear. It tickles and you try not to shake your head. Sansy lightly holds onto your locks as he looks down at Edgy, who's glaring back at him. Sansy huffs and turns his attention to you.

"sorry for just popping up on you like that."

A small laugh is all you need to say for Sansy to get that it’s all's right with you. It only takes a few more moments before the other three are finding their own spots to sit on. Sansy stays on your shoulder, resting his body against the side of your head. Teacup curled himself around the back of your neck and purrs. Giving you small little shivers when the vibrations hit, yet it's comforting nonetheless. You carefully move your bandaged hand to pet his skull. The smile he gives you is blinding.

Edgy, on the other hand, was not happy to let go of his captive, even if it was for a second. The sharper bite he gives to your index finger proves it. He now has his arms wrapped securely around your hand. It’s adorable and weird how possessive he is about your hand.

Baby Blue is lying on his stomach on the top of your head. His arms are on either side of you as he nuzzles your hair with his face. For Papy, there had to be some adjustments as he wanted to lay on your lap. So with careful scooting you're able to lean your back against one of the walls at a comfortable angle. This lets you fully stretch your legs out for Papy, and the new angle helps you to keep Edgy closer to your chest.

You're not sure how long you all stay like that, but you wake up to someone patting your check. Someone else seems to be laughing into your ear. Nnnnnn, no it tickles, stop... You feel movement all over your body, making you curious. Opening an eye, the first thing you notice is that all the Bitties are staring up at you. Each standing on your lap, with different degrees of amusement on their faces. You're not sure you want to know why. Opening the other eye allows Jake, who is sadly still not from State Farm, to be seen standing above you. He seems to be puzzled about something. You blink a few times at him as your sight adjusts.

YIKES! That hurt!

Looking down, Edgy is no longer smiling at you anymore. Sansy smile isn't looking so happy either. Actually, that pain originated from Sansy who had pinch your uninjured hand. The culprit's hand is still resting on you and you wonder if Sansy is planning on pinching you again. Teacup and Baby Blue have a look that says, 'Really human? In front of us?'

Papy is just laughing his bony ass off at the commotion the other Bitties are giving you. The look he sends you once he's done makes you sweat though. It's a warning look and you don't want to know what he's warning you about. You really don't understand anything that's happening and it's sort of, really freaking you out. Jesus’s motorcycle! Weren't these Bitties, minus Edgy, suppose to be the more friendly ones of the bunch?

"Are you alright?" Jake is still staring at you like you're something strange. You want to tell him no. For some reason, more than just your life's on the line right now. You're not being over dramatic here okay? You just know it, damn it all!

Chapter Text

Through your internal panicking, Jake informs you that you’ve slept through the remaining twenty minutes of the allotted hour, as well as an extra ten minutes past closing. Time had passed so slowly before, every second felt like an hour. Once the Bitties appeared though, time slipped by faster than sand between your fingers. Sleep played a helping hand as well. You didn’t expect to have done so while you sat on the floor with them, you were usually careful about letting down your guard around others. Rubbing your face, you feel like groaning. That nap was just what you needed but at such the wrong moment.

Fuck. A small ball of guilt starts to form in the pit of your gut at the thought of holding up the Center’s employees. Bringing a hand to rub at the back of your neck, you roll your head to get rid of any crincks that had formed. That spontaneous nap felt much longer than the half hour it was, but still long enough to mess with your shitty internal clock. At least you felt better now. Minus the growing concern for the Bitties around you. Speaking of, they were still on your lap. Though, some had chosen to sit while others were standing.

Uh, how were you suppose to get up?

“wha’s te mattah, soft lips? can’t stand to leave me? heh.” Edgy had a smug look on his little skeleton face.

Why that little fucker. He knows he’s keeping you from moving and he’s proud of it. It’s obvious to tell by the way he’s standing, with his little arms crossed over his chest and the shit eating smirk on his maw. The others are in on it too based on their cheeky expressions. What the hell. You’re not sure what face you’re making at the moment, but it’s got them chuckling. The temptation to wiggle your legs to make them all stumble is steadily rising.

Luckily for them, Jake spoke up, “Alright you guys. I'd like to get home sometime today. You Bitties need to be get back to your rooms. Dinner is over so you should check with Sylvia before they head out. They were the one responsible for cooking this week. If you miss them, then you'll need to make your own food.”

The Bitties grumble as they slowly made their way off your legs. Pappy and Teacup were the first to move with Sansy following behind. Baby Blue and Edgy are the only ones that really look like they would rather not leave. The little tyke is walking up and down your thigh as he’s pacing. He looks like he’s concentrating really hard on something, but you can’t tell what.

Pappy calls for them halfway across the room. It gets Baby Blue to hop down, but he’s not making any move to leave. Edgy decides to be stubborn. He has his arms crossed and a part of his face buried into his hood’s feathered lining.

“Berry. Edgy. Come on now, it is time to go. The human is in need of some purrroper rrrrest.” Teacup has a soft smile on his furry face. His arms gently cross against his own chest as he leans on one leg. He was patiently waiting for the two stragglers.

“no.”

“Wha-what!? And why not? Do not be as foolish as others of yourrrr kind, Edgy.” The look of utter shock on that little furry Bitty face was both adorable and comical. A part of you wanted to snort at it. Teacup’s eye lights had enlarged to twice their size. His little tail had even poofed.

“shut yer prissy mouth up! i said no. get it through yer stupid fur brain.”

“Excuse me!”

“dude. its late. get your boney ass over here.” Now Sansy was getting in on it. He looks so done and tired. Huh, he didn’t look like that a second ago. Even his hands were back inside his jacket pockets as he stared at Edgy. The way his sockets narrowed so suddenly made you tilt your head in confusion. Was he squinting? No, he was glaring. You knew that the Skeletal Bitties had malleable bones, like their larger Skeletal Monster companions, compartments… no that’s the wrong word here.

Taking a peek at the only Bitty with some reason in them, you notice that Papy’s watching with his arms crossed. Why is everyone crossing their arms? Should you do it too? He’s studying the Bitty’s behaviors it seems. His red open circle eye lights darting from one loud Bitty to the other. Papy isn’t doing anything, and his relaxed stance seems like he has no plans to interfere. The most that Papy had done was raise a single brow, brow bone… Do they even have the equivalent to an eyebrow? What would it even be called? Either way, a single bone brow was raised when Sansy spoke up. Papy even looked down at the smaller Bitty before turning his attention to Edgy’s loud response.

“i ain’t movin’. an ya can’t make me!” Now Edgy was glaring and throwing his arms about, but not nearly as much as Sansy. The glaring part, not the movement. There was still that hint of smugness on his face that just rubbed you the wrong way. Would flicking his nasal bridge hurt him or annoy him? Could it send him flying if you put in enough force behind it... Maybe some other time.

Focusing back on the two clearly angry Bitties, you notice that their eye lights were no longer white. Uh huh. That’s not a good sign? A buzzing sensation grew along your leg as you saw Edgy envelope himself in red magic. Woah, hold on here. No Bitty was going to be throwing around magic projectiles around your person. Nuh-uh.

“HUMAN!” Baby Blue snaps his head up suddenly. Gah! You forgot about him for a second. Looking down you see that there’s a hard look in his eye lights as it borrows its way into your soul. Thankfully, Baby Blue’s timely shouting from beside your leg had broken the face off the three were having. “I Have A Task That Only You Can Fulfill. If I May Please Have Your Hand, There Is Something That I Must Lend You For This Mission.”

What mission? Like spy stuff? Why did it need your hand? Does it matter which one? As you ponder this sudden turn of event, you realize that Baby Blue had been quiet during the whole shouting-almost-turned-violent commotion. He hadn’t and still isn’t paying any attention to the other Bitties. Baby Blue stares up at you from the floor with a serious face, both hands clenched into fist near his chest. He moves his intense gaze down to his gloved hands. You weren’t sure what the little tyke was thinking about, but a gut feeling said it was something you were hoping you wouldn’t find out. This whole mission thing was seeming to be a bigger deal than you had thought.

Edgy snarled, “whatcha tryin’ ta pull ya damn brat? piss off! an take those fuckin’ loud mouths witcha!”

That was it. With the hand that he nibbled on, you scoop glowy red Edgy up. It startles him as he flails his tiny fists around for a second, cursing up a storm about cheap shots. When he realizes that it was just you however, he holds on instead. He’s back to grumbling, but at least he’s not yelling at everyone or covered in Red Magic. Now that he was settled, you turn your attention back to the floor where Baby Blue stood. You’re not sure what he wants, but you couldn’t see a reason to refuse his request. So you lay your free hand palm side up next to him. It’s just your paranoia telling you that you’re gonna be sorry that you did.

Ignoring the fuming Sansy and Teacup was also not in tune with your survival instincts. Thankfully they were in your peripheral so you could still keep track of them. Their eye lights were back to normal once you had Edgy in your grasp, so there was that. Teacup had his tail tightly wound up as he glared to the side of the room. He might be hissing, or he might just look like he was hissing. You swore you could hear Sansy mumbling the word ‘cheater’ but you’re not entirely sure.

Bitties are small, you know this, but having your hand next to Baby Blue, you really notice how itty Bitty they are. The little tyke could sit comfortably on your palm with room to spare.

Baby Blue stares at the hand you offered. He fiddles with his own before sighing. Turning his head so that he’s not looking at anyone, Baby Blue starts to take off one of his gloves. His arms are shaking when he’s done. Whatever this is, you already want him to stop, to take the glove and put it back on his hand where it belongs. “H-Human! Th-Th-This Is Yo-Your T-T-Ta-ah-ask.” He looks scared and on the verge of crying. “Ta-Take…”

Suddenly Baby Blue wipes his eye sockets with his arm, takes a deep breath, and lifts his face all the way up to yours. “I AM A WARRIOR! I DO NOT RUN FROM MY FEARS. I DO NOT GO BACK ON MY WORD. I BRAVELY FACE ANY CHALLENGE IN MY PATH. I LAUGH IN THE FACE OF DANGER EVEN IF, Even As I Shake In My Combat Boots.” They look more like blue rain boots to you. “HAVING SAID ALL THAT HUMAN, YOU NOW KNOW NAUGHT BUT A SMALL PIECE OF MY AMAZING BEING. MWEHEHEHE!”

You could almost hear the sounds of his little bones rattling, practically feel them quivering near your leg. Yet Baby Blue continues staring right into your eyes, his hands clenched at his sides. You’re not completely sure if he was shouting to you or himself, but you can see a cyan tint on his cheeks. There aren’t any tears forming now.

“Okay. What’s my task?”

The moment the first word left your mouth, you knew you made a mistake. The large starry eye light look Baby Blue sends you makes it hard for you to regret it. He just looked so happy that you accepted. Fuck.

“Your Task, Human, Is To Take Care Of One Of My Most Prized Possessions. These Gloves Have Seen Many Adventures Since They’ve Been In My Care. They Have Also Helped Me In My Time Of Need.” He looks at the glove in his clenched hand, releasing his grip to let it lay neat and flat in both hands. When he’s satisfied, he gently places it onto yours. “TAKE GOOD CARE OF IT HUMAN, AND RETURN IT TO ME ON YOUR NEXT VISIT!”

You nod your head once as you carefully close your fingers around the tiny glove. Despite its size, you can barely manage to move your hand to rest on your lap. The small, vibrant warmth still in the glove a sign of its importance to him. Even now, Baby Blue is trying to hide his bare hand under his other arm. This was a promise to see each other again. A feeling of trust, one that you hadn’t felt in a long time, took place on your shoulders. Your weren’t sure you could move.

“tch. show off.”

“Meow. Murrrre like conniving to me.”

Oh, now Edgy and Teacup were glaring at Baby Blue. Not that the little bundle of hyper energy could tell. It still looks like they’re squinting. Either way, two of the three battle crazed Bitties locked onto a new target. Sansy was leaning against Papy, no longer looking this way. You weren’t hurt by him ignoring the group, but were concerned with how run-down he looked.

With his mission given, Baby Blue hurriedly walks towards the other Bitties, too high off a job well done to notice the soured mood. Though not as energetic as before, his back was straight the whole way. With your tasked object safe, you attempt to distract your mind with something else. Like the Edgy Bitty still in your other grasp. Since he had calmed down, you figure now was a good time as any to get your ass moving. The plan was to release the bitey Bitty as you get yourself off the floor. It’s a simple plan, very easy to do.

You were doomed to fail before you began.

Every single muscle fiber in both your legs started screaming in protest. It catches you so off guard, you hiss before falling back onto your butt. You manage to keep in all the swears, but not the grimace on your face. Well, shit. Is there a plan B?

Your legs feel like a ton of bricks. It takes almost falling onto your ass twice before you can stand. Now you’re the one shaking all over and breathing a bit heavily from the exertion. You figure that moving on your own is a no go.

"Human, what is wrrrong? Is there something the meowter with youuurrr legs?" Teacup has a clueless yet playful look on his face. It was just a gut feeling, but if that little felinesque bitty wasn’t across the room from you, he’d probably start rubbing his head against said limbs as he walked between your legs. Worried that he might just do that, you shake your head no while attempting to lift up one leg. "Are you puuurrrfectly suuurrre human? Could it be that you are still feeling fatigued after that meownderful puuurrrformace? Puuurrrhaps you rrrequire a meowrrr rrresful slumber. It trrruly was lovely to have napped with the beating of youuurrr heart beneath me."

That playfully accusing tone… Teacup’s face was nothing short of impish. His wide cheshire smile showing pointed canines; the slow sway of his curling tri-colored pastel tail; even the pinpoints of his eye lights as if he had sighted prey and You were the prey! The palms of your hands weren’t sweaty, at least Edgy wasn’t complaining if they were. Still, you wiped your free hand against your pants just in case. This at least helped you realize Edgy was not letting go. Huh. This might be a problem.

“Can you walk?”

Jake’s voice startles you a bit. It was enough for Edgy to turn his head to look at you, then to start growling at Jake. It was a low sound, you felt it more than you could hear it. Ignoring the feisty bones, you look at Jake. He is rubbing his face with his hand as he sighs, loudly. He looks at you with the most tired expression. He was done with today and you couldn’t blame the guy even if you wanted to. It wasn’t your fault though.

As for his question, yes. Or rather… no. You can take a few steps at a time, but it’s not just your legs acting up. It felt like someone had lit a fire in your abdomen and arms. Keeping yourself standing while holding onto Edgy is all you think you can manage. What you wouldn’t do for some magically infused Monster food right about now. Hold the phone! ...or the Bitty in this case.

Searching through some of your many pockets for the item, you try hard not to move much. Ugh. All the pockets that you could reach without bending didn’t have what you were looking for. Maybe, it had to be in one of the calf pockets these pants came with. How were you suppose to get it?

“Look, if you can’t wal-”

“HUMAN! IS THERE SOMETHING THAT YOU NEED? YOU SEEM TO BE IN SOME DISTRESS. I, THE BENEVOLENT AND THOUGHTFUL PAPY SHALL ASSIST YOU.”

The look on Jake’s face turned to one of surprise. Yours probably did as well. Papy, the same Bitty that had made sure the others had a fair turn to speak. The Bitty that was so respectful and well mannered for the whole time you watched him. That same Bitty had just interrupted Jake so blatantly.

Papy was walking over towards you. With his stance tall and his strides long, it’s only a moment before he’s staring up at you from beside your leg. You blink, he’s almost at the right height to get into the bottom pockets. A smile slowly forms on your face as you stare down at the helpful Bitty. Edgy gives your hand a sharp bite but you ignore it. Didn’t even wince at the action.

“Yes, please. In one of my pockets, there is a packet of Monster Snacks. If you could toss them up, I’ll be most thankful.”

“BUT OF COURSE HUMAN. THIS WON’T TAKE MORE THAN A SECOND WITH MY AMAZING FINDING ABILITIES. NYE HEHE!”

The Bitty stares at your legs as he thinks. He’s not as tall as he would like to be, the pockets were just out of his arms reach. Summoning a few bones, he uses them as steps to remedy the situation. When his eye lights brighten as he summons the bones, you’re a bit surprised that the bones weren’t red. Just plain white bones of different height.

The flaps of your left calf pocket is unbuttoned, you forgot those had them, as Papy starts to rummage around. He pulls out a few odd items; small rocks, a couple of twigs, tan yarn that was frayed at the edges, and a tiny black notebook. You could tell that he was curious about what was inside the book, but Papy respects your boundaries and puts the book back in with all the other stuff. Buttoning up the pocket, he gives it a soft pat before pointing to your other leg.

You weren’t sure why he did so till the bones started to move. They carried him across the floor and up to your left leg not leaving any trace that they had moved. None that could be seen anyway. Papy had some impressive magic control.

He does the same with the other pocket. It only takes a couple of seconds, and three gum sticks, before he shouts out in victory. He has to lean half his body in to grab at the bag that had been all the way in the bottom of the pocket. Was that all you had there? Maybe you need a supply run sooner than planned. Shit, that was gonna mess up your schedule.

“I HAVE FOUND THE DESIRED OBJECT, HUMAN. A BAG OF MINI PUMPKIN RINGS. I DID NOT KNOW THEY HAD AN EVEN SMALLER SIZED OPTION. HOW EXCITING! YOU STILL HAVE ONE MORE BAG LEFT INSIDE, BUT I DO NOT BELIEVE IT IS OF THE SAME SNACK VARIETY.”

Responding with a hum, you catch the bag as Papy tosses it up to you. The action causes some muscle you weren’t aware was aching to scream in protest. Your tight grip on the bag made it crinkle but thankfully the tiny rings of halloween fruit were still safe and whole. Now to open the bag with just one hand… Before you can even make an inner joke about it, the bag is snatched away and then returned back into your grasp.

It’s open now.

You look to the Bitty still in your grasp, “Thank you.”

Edgy stares back at you. Just as you start to worry that something might be on your face, he calmly looks away. A soft smile on his face. As soft as a mouth full of needle sharp teeth owned by someone more than willing to draw blood could be.

Cute. Bringing the bag up you tip the contents into your mouth one at a time.

Chew, chew... swallow.

The rings disappear halfway down your throat as your body fully absorbs the magic. There were only three rings, but with two hit points each, your muscles didn’t feel so sore anymore. Still was, but you can move and walk around normally.

“You’re looking better, so can you please leave now?” The harsh tone in Jake’s voice grabs your attention enough to notice the scowl on his face. He wasn’t looking at you, but rather at Papy. The Bitty didn’t seem bothered with it so you didn’t put much thought to Jake’s behavior.

He was right though. It was way past the time for you to be heading back home. Nodding your head at Jake, even if he couldn’t see it as he lead the way back, you started to finally make your way out the room after the Bitties. As you pass by one of the many closed doors, the Bitties stop and turn to wave good night.

You wave back with the hand still holding onto Baby Blue’s glove. It’s presence prominent in your mind. There had to be a good place to put it down. Just not here, where you might lose it. Back home there were plenty of containers, boxes or perhaps a pocket. Something. You’ll figure something out. Continuing to walk down the hallway, a voice calls out.

"hey, buddy. sorry if i seem a bit on edge but aren't we supposed to leave with you after a week? now, i don’t mean to be sharp with you. just making sure, in case rules around here changed and it escaped my mind is all.”

What. Rules?

You ponder what Sansy said. So the whole, week of visitation wasn’t only a requirement for the person trying to adopt, but also for the Bitties? Okay. Maybe it was so that both sides of the deal prove that they were serious about the whole process. Something along those lines. But how would you know if the Center changed their policies or not? Their website isn’t really all that great for information gathering.

Maybe Sansy wasn’t talking to you, but to Jake? A glance Jake’s way and you saw the dude with his head on the wall. Uh… No, Jake wasn’t a visitor. And even though you had no plans to adopt any Bitties, this rule would only apply to you in this case. So what do you say? Sansy is watching every shift of your face as he awaits your answer. The other Bitties seem to have a realization as they squint-glare at you.

Rather at your hand.

You look at the hand they were squint-glaring.

….

Edgy!

Seeing the angry Bitty all makes sense now. What Sansy had said were all puns! About you forgetting that Edgy was still with you and that you were about to continue walking with the Bitty out the Center and back home. Clever but holy shit. That would have been really terrifying if that had happened. You had forgotten about Edgy since he hadn’t been biting or misbehaving after he opened the bag for you.

Now the Bitty was trying to make himself even smaller in your hold. His feathered lined hood was pulled up and covering his face. Was this the ‘can’t see you can’t see me’ method? It wasn’t working. Lowering into a crouch, ooohhh the pain, you place Edgy back on the ground. He wasn’t letting go.

He had his face pressed up against your fingers, his arms wrapped around your palm. He was saying something but you couldn’t tell what with the muffling. You did feel Edgy’s warm breath and the edges of his sharp teeth as he spoke. It tickled a little. Or a bite. Heh.

“yer comin’ back, aint ya?”

Well, yeah. You were. Had to bring Baby Blue his glove back. Then you were out of there and going back to your day to day life. Telling that to Edgy, with the other Bitties in ear shot wasn’t a good idea. You keep quiet.

“ya gotta. nah jus’ fer tha brat’s sake eitah.” With a swift motion, he’s leaving indents of his teeth into the flesh of your palm just above the wrist. “so I’ll see ya when i see ya.”

You’re shocked when he gives your hand a last squeeze and then poofs away. He appears right between Baby Blue and Sansy before he goes through the Bitty door you hadn’t notice was there. The other Bitties look a bit awkward now, but they follow suit. The last one to go through the door was Baby Blue. He gives you a wobbly huge grin then heads in.

Standing back up you follow Jake until your standing back outside the front of the store, you hadn’t notice the small walk to here. There’s just so much in your head at the moment that the rooms and hallway didn’t compute. It’s the sudden harsh tone in Jake’s voice that brings you back. Though you didn’t realize you had stopped to look back at him till you were staring at his face.

"You’re going to be coming back tomorrow." He doesn’t wait for your answer. "I don't know what you did, or how you did it, but those five Bitties have already become really attached to you. So when you come back tomorrow, don’t cause any trouble." Jake is taller than you and you just notice that. You can't believe you didn't notice this before now. How was that even possible? "Am I clear?"

You wanted to say that the reason you came here today was just to finally meet with a Bitty, or at least attempt to in case none came to talk with you. You weren’t expecting any of them to actually want a bond. Or be part of your life. You have your doggy waiting for you. That’s all you need to keep you going. Nothing else.

Baby Blue’s glove feels heavy in your hand...

Jake has this serious air about him, the pulsing of his pure Kindness emitting off of him is making it really frustrating for you. A small and calm part of you is nudging your thoughts towards reason. Blasted Green Magic side effects.

Those cute little guys did get pretty attached to you, why is a mystery. There’s a kind of small hope they were kidding about bonding. But Bitties don't kid about that sort of thing, ever. It's such an important part of their being that any stab at it would immensely hurt their feelings. So that whole conversation they had that you blocked out was really terrifying. One of many reasons why you didn’t want to come back.

One hand felt ready to drag you down. Another was burning up.

You made a promise. That’s that. You were going to come back.

With a nod of your head, you turn back and walk the rest of the way out the Center and down to the nearest bus stop. What kind of Kindness was that? Since when did Kindness mean demanding things from others? Nothing in the Center makes any sense and you really just want to be at home already.

At least your phone is still mostly charged so you can jam to your tunes to help pass the time. Thank goodness for small favors. Looking up when the next bus comes, you’re happy to see that there is still a bus running your route. However when you see that it was coming in an hour you want to bang your head on something flat and hard.

Hahaha… Why can’t you be at home already?

Chapter Text

The doors close behind you as the creaking and groaning of the hunk of metal continues down the path of near darkness ahead. You had stepped off the bus with your earphones in and music as your sole companion. Your phone battery was at 10%, and you thought it should be enough to last till you get home, maybe. Speed walking is a thing.

Some time later, you’ve become a panting, sweaty mess of a human being. Exercise can go and fuck itself in its toned asshole.

The road starts to tilt uphill, curving while changing from concrete sidewalks to a beaten down winding path. There’s a decrepit stone-wood bridge, though it’s easier to jump over the dried up river than to try stepping on those termite infested planks. Past it is the arching hall of trees with their seasonal colors. Not that you could really tell right now, moonlight doesn't let you see many details.

Going through it means that you have reached the middle of forest central, at least it seems that way. Neighbors are miles away from you, thank goodness. Wifi would be a bitch if you didn't have your own box thing that supplies you with it. Decent speed on most days. Storms make everything laggy, not that it bothered you. No one's really complained about the internet connections since you rarely have any guests over.

Unless you count all the odd animals regularly coming over to find your dog. Apparently they’re all his friends. You don’t really doubt it. It’s a hassle having to play host to them while your dog is out doing his thing. They tend to want to eat all your food. Especially the raccoon twins. At least they like to keep you up to speed with the local woodland news as they scour your home for anything of interest. You wonder if the cops will find that body the chipmunks were nagging about last week.

When the song you’re listening to stops mid chorus, you know that your phone's battery has finally died. Staring past the last line of trees, you see the red clay roof and tan stone walls of your home. All the stress and worries melt away as you walk through your front door. It’s safe here.

~*~

Sunlight filters through the window onto the warm thick blankets wrapped around you. It’s quiet besides the bed creaking as you shift around. Slowly, you open your eyes to stare at the blank wall to allow your mind to reboot. Certain memories make you groan, turning over to lie on your back. You cover your face with an arm to avoid looking at your nightstand. The intense feeling of just sleeping in for the day gives its daily temptation. Was there anything that needed your attention right this instant? There’s not much, and most activities could be done in the comfort of your bed. Like sleeping.

“Gruff.”

Oh shit. How long has your dog been in your room? Pretending to not have heard anything, you pull your blankets over your head. Today is bed day. The fates have foretold it in their prophecy. 'Active Day' was yesterday, and yesterday was something you had hoped to forget about today. At least the majority of it.

“Grr, Ru-uff!”

“No humans here. Please wait for the beep to try again.” The sounds of your muffled voice could barely be heard from under your winter blankets. A lovely benefit of Fall was the resurfacing supply of winter stuff. As the weather goes from chilly to down right freezing, your sheets and wardrobe were changing to keep you sick-free.

“Huff.”

The soft tapping of nails on hardwood floor informs you that Dog has given up on waking you, for now. Hm, it must not be that late in the morning since Dog hadn’t really bothered to get you up. Yet who really cares about time when there's sleep to be had? Pushing the covers away from your face for some fresh air, you sigh as your eyes start to close. If you were lucky enough you can get back into that dream you were forgetting about. It was maybe a nice dream. There were lots of cuddles happening, that much you could recall.

Boing!

Your eyes snap open as the force of Dog’s jump lifts you out of bed. Hovering in mid air for a split moment, you turn your head to see Dog with an accomplish look in his dual colored eyes. When you land, you're on the floor trapped in the blankets you had sought shelter in. Struggling against the confines of the soft material, you make your way out. The fast beating of your heart is all you can hear as you see, a Border Collie happily panting down at you.

The left side of his furry face is black with a blue eye, the right is white with a gold eye. This is your dog. Dog doesn’t have a name, that you can pronounce. Dog which is only referred to as your dog to save the both of you some hassle. The two of you are, in actuality, on equal footing. If you don't say he's your dog however, then other humans would start asking questions that you’d rather not bother listening to.

"You could have broken the bed." Your voice was hoarse, filled with drowsy reluctance. Dog just continues to pant, letting his tongue hang out to one side. Cute bastard. Then he gets off the bed and walks out the room. As if he did nothing wrong.

Now that you've been forced from your bed, it was time to face the day. Patting carefully around on your nightstand for you phone, you see that it's only half past 9. Would another half an hour kill him before waking you? Groaning, you get up and walk out your bedroom, letting the blankets still wrapped around your shoulders trail behind. The heater was working fine, but mornings are chilly. Spotting him sitting on his seat at the table, your stomach talks very loudly.

You both ignore it while you make something to eat. Dog gets a plate of mostly magically infused food, while you have a few slices of toast with, stuff smeared on top. It's very filling. Honestly. Stop looking at me like that Dog. Now it's your turn to huff as you shuffle your way out the kitchen. You head back to your room to use your private bathroom. The blanket was left by the entrance, it was time to hop into the shower and do other hygienic stuff.

Squeaky clean, you're picking up the blanket from the floor to return to your bed. By now, Dog should have left to go and mingle with the other creatures around the property. This was your chance to get back in bed out of spite. Was this you being petty? Nope. Looking up, you see Dog. Lying. On. Your. WHOLE. Bed.

Thatrazzlefrazzlefurbagofadorablenessshitdamnitthatsyourbedgetoff!

"Off."

His response to your demand is to wag his tail very slowly.

"Now."

Turning to lay on his back, he looks at you with all the confidence that he'll have his way.

"Dog!"

"Boof!"

Why is he barking back at you? That isn't… No? He needs to get off or scoot his fluffy tail over and make room. Attempting to forcibly remove him just makes him squirm around the bed and out of your grip. Then he's back to taking over all the space. You're not sure how long you try to take back your mattress but you have accomplished a streak of failures. In the end, you’re left to sprawl out on the hard, unloving floor.

"Ha-arf. Ruff ruff, groff."

You turn your head away from the bed. He was being logical. Using reason to keep you off the bed by reminding you that the storages were running low and that the guest bedrooms are in need of new quilts. You reason that there were enough supplies to last at least another week. There was a schedule to follow. A reason for those damn set dates for when you would leave your home to go out into the world. You weren't supposed to go out for another three weeks. THREE!

The quilts, like everything else, could wait.

"Bork."

That was a low blow from Dog. A heavy pressure could be felt from the other side of your bed from the nightstand. It was coming from a small capsule you got from those weird gacha machines at the exit of the grocery store yonks ago. It cost you a quarter to get the keychain you didn't want but still kept. Inside the plastic capsule now lays a singular miniature blue glove. Staring blankly at the ceiling is so much fun. This was you trying to mentally escape from responsibilities.

Going deeper into your head space. Getting farther and farther away from the knot tightening in your gut. Staring at the ceiling, then through it to see the nothingness beyond. Your breathing starts to become shallow until there is hardly any movement of your chest raising with your breaths.

You don't hear Dog getting off the bed or making his way towards you. He only gains your attention when he sits by your side, one paw coming to lightly tap your shoulders. Hands tightening, your eyes grow larger as you come back from that place in your mind. A loud gasp as your body informs you it’s need for more air. Panic starts to creep its way inside as you turn your head. Seeing Dog’s dual color eyes as he tilts his head to one side instantly relaxes you. Whelp, he gets his way. Again. Sighing as you stand up, you throw the blanket back onto the bed and start to get dressed. The loud happy panting Dog makes as his tail wags at a high speed provides a warm feeling.

Dog tells you that today was going to be a real nipple freezer so you should dress in more layers. Undershirt, long sleeves, then a thick sweater on top. You don’t want to wear the long johns under your pants, but Dog isn’t having it. Wearing two pairs of pants sucks.

In one of the large dresser drawers is a lot of shit other people would think was trash, random things you can’t help but need to take with you on outings. You fill some of your pockets with the usual rocks, twigs, random colored string, writing utensils, paper scraps, and coins. On top of the dresser are your, more important, things. Including your small black book. You stuff that in the kangaroo pocket of your sweater.

Your phone never leaves your side, but you make sure to grab a random pair of headphones, their tan colored today. Why was there only three pairs? Where did you put the other two? Eh, it didn’t mattered. Finished, you leave your room.

You pass by the two smaller bedroom on your left, both rooms have their own bathroom. The open concept kitchen is to the right of you, past that to the back of the house, is the dining room which had an exit to the backyard. Making your way to the kitchen, you go through the many cabinets finding random individual packs of snacks to stuff your remaining pockets. The living room is next to the kitchen, two smaller bedrooms with a shared bathroom down a hall on the other side of it, along with being the entrance hallway to the house. Just before the front door is the study that could easily be a fifth bedroom if need be.

There’s a second floor, but no stairway. There should be no reason to ever go up there. Normally. The attic is where all the seasonal items go when they’re not in use. The basement is part laundry room and part pantry. There is a garage, but you don’t drive.

You almost make it to the study before something hits the back of your knees and you reflexively take hold of a wall. The sudden attack had almost floored you. “What the hell was that for?” Instinctively you don’t turn around. Dog’s eyes burn through your layers to your soul from behind.

Righting yourself, you keep moving forward without looking at him. He growls at you before your hand could touch the doorknob. “I’m not forgetting anything.” You feel guilt pooling into your stomach once more. Dog only stares harder. It's unbearable to the point where your palms start to get sweaty.

“I’m not forgetting anything.”

You’re proud that your voice holds firm, despite your hand shaking as it hovers there, waiting to grab hold of the doorknob. The goal for today is a supply run. That’s all. Nobody believes the lie. Dog growls at you again.

“I-I’ll call the Center. Let the employees know without having Baby Blue find out.” His growling doesn’t stop. It doesn’t get louder either. “It’ll be quick, tell ‘em I’m busy. That is true. The shopping center is in the other side of town. I’m going to be carrying a ton of bags everywhere.”

These aren’t excuses. Today was just not a good day to see them, the bitties. You were... Today wasn’t a good day. That’s all. You couldn't handle seeing that expectant look in Baby Blue’s eyes. Being surrounded and climbed on. What if they get the wrong idea? You’d be misleading them into thinking you were going to adopt any of them. You couldn’t.

That… hurt? Did it hurt?

Why would thinking that hurt you? You know that your lifestyle wouldn’t allow for unknown variables. Nothing could make you stand out from the crowd. What ties you make had to be ones that could easily be cut without any to little concern from others. You have Dog by your side. You aren’t lonely.  

“Yer comin’ back, ain’t ya?”

You fall onto your knees, arms laying limp at your sides. You didn't want to see the bitties. This was selfish, you knew it was and you hate it. The basic level of curiosity you’d carried had already been satisfied yesterday. There’s no need for you to go out of your way to see them again. You can forget about the capsule, it’s nothing but a burden. Your eyes shut while you shake your head. It was an obligation that you never wanted.

“Ya gotta.”

Is this what being suckered into a shitehouse felt like? Your head thumps on to the front door. You weren't being fair to Baby Blue, or the others. He hadn’t forced you to accept his mission, even if you felt it was hard to refuse, you still could have, but you didn’t. You accepted the glove and now you have to do the right thing. Keep your word.

The hand that Edge had attempted to leave his mark on shows nothing but smooth skin. It lays on your lap as a ball lodges in your throat. Regret is filling you with anxious energy that leaves you stuck. This time, you're still aware enough to notice Dog coming around to lay half his body on your lap. He noses your hand so it lays on top his head. It's grounding, trapping, warm and his steady breathing is everything good in the world.

Today was not an active day, but you were going to do things. Mindlessly you stand with Dog, he leads you back to your room towards your nightstand. You pick up the capsule and don’t let go of it until you’re nudged into putting on a coat on top of everything else you’re wearing. The coat has zipper pockets, you zip one up with the capsule inside.

Dog leads you out the house, all the way up to the bus stop and waits until you're safely inside the hunk of metal. After paying, you go to sit in the middle row, next to a window. Habit has you pulling your headphones out to play any music for white noise. Looking out the window, Dog was nowhere to be seen.

~*~

People were everywhere. Stupid, clumsy, rude, CRACKHEADS-! Who just stepped on your foot!? Of course it’d be the one day you were not in the proper state of mind to deal with this shit, that you’d have to. Shoving your way through the crowds as best as you could, you try to make your way to the small, probably haunted, pharmaceutical store. The town does have one of the bigger pharmacy store chains that everyone goes to, but that in itself is the reason why you don't. Those stores didn't have what you needed anyway.

Some people rush past you. Others were on their phones. There's a few who seem to be searching for someone. It's a rainbow of colors that could hurt your eyes if you aren’t careful. Hints of orange, cyan and purple were the most prominent at the moment. A large flash of Patience blinds you to a stop. Squinting, you spot a small girl waiting next to an female adult who is yelling into the phone. The girl is just quietly holding her, maybe mother's, hand, watching the people walk by. You’re not sure why her soul had flared so suddenly, but she looks okay. Picking yourself up, you continue on your way. The shop was only a few more blocks ahead.

"I'm sorry messy Jess. Looks like it's just gonna be me and you today, but that's fine right? You always have a great time with your cousin Lory."

"Yeah. They're always busy, but you always have a lot of free time lordy Lory."

Their laughter blends in with the rest of the noise. You're not squinting anymore since the kid and her cousin walk in the opposite direction. There are a few more sudden spikes in color before you make your way to the shop. None were done in distress so those don’t catch you off guard.

Why did there have to be so many kids around with their bright solid souls. Wasn’t today a school day? Or was that yesterday? The adults were easier to handle, their souls tend to be more dull, some even mixed. A soft throbbing could be felt in the side of your skull as you make your way. Great, the start of a wonderfully damned headache. The rundown looking building of the pharmacy is slowly coming to view.

The moment you step in front of the store, all the colors that had been plaguing you finally dull out. Why this happens, you aren’t sure. Has to be some sort of spell or a.o.e.(area of effect) inscriptions. You couldn’t see any magic wording anywhere on the building, you’ve looked before. It doesn’t really matter much, right now you were thankful for the respite. An eerie sense of relief washes over you as you push the door open. There's no bell to ring for your arrival. The hinges don't squeak as you enter.

Despite the complete silence of your entrance, you knew that The Pharmacist was aware of your every step.

Little to no light enters the store. Everything is covered in deep shadows that warp just how large or small the shop actually is. Naked light bulbs dangle above giving enough light to let you see a hand in front of you. A heavy weight settles around your shoulders as a body leans against your back. The soft steady breathing of what you’ve come to know, sort of, as The Pharmacist’s lets you know they’re ready for you

"My favorite human! How are you? Missed me I bet. How could you not? We are the best of friends after all."

The first time you had come to this shop, The Pharmacist’s lack of personal space had caused a violent reaction. You had mange to shake them off you, and some, but hearing them speak from within the depths of the dark was worse than knowing their exact location. Now, you don’t bother with the extra baggage you carry as you make your way around the shop.

You know there are shelves and stands filled with The Pharmacist’s merchandise somewhere around. Maybe. Those shapes at least look like bottles and boxes. It doesn't matter since you couldn't see them or what they hold anyways. Not for the first time, the thought to take your phone out to use the flashlight app crosses your mind.

"Why are you here? For the usual? It's early. Why are you here so early?” You could hear the sounds of The Pharmacist sniffing. It’s not the oddest thing that has happened so you don’t put much thought into their actions. “You smell different."

The air around you shifts as The Pharmacist moves around your person. The sniffling gets louder but they don’t hinder your aimless strides. "Ah-ha. It's here. You smell different here."

There a tap against the pocket that held the glove. You're quick to put your hand over that spot and hasten your steps. The only part of the store that you could clearly see is the entrance, and across from it lies the counter. You purposely bump into the counter to signal you're ready to pay.

The weight of The Pharmacist is gone. No footsteps, no creaking floors, you just know they’re now standing in front of you, behind the counter. "I see you've found everything that you were looking for. That'll be 10g or 50 human dollars total. Your pick."

Taking out the little black book, you place down 3g and $35 on the counter. Instantly a small bag hangs off your other hand and you turn to leave. The Pharmacist’s, "See you soon," catches your attention before the door closes behind you. It was different from their normal farewell.

The sun is still high in the sky, it’s light almost blinding as you adjust. Walking away, the pharmacy shop looks like it’s been abandoned for decades. There is a sign on the old door saying it's closed. Should someone jiggle the handle, they’ll discover that the door is locked.

With the small plastic bag in hand you make your way back through the loud colors to the nearest bus stop. Your next destination is the local bookstore. You’d normally walk there, but with how crowded the streets were, you’d rather take the bus this time.

~*~

The bus was crowded as well. All the seats were taken so you had to stand along with the other passengers. At least no one here could step on your foot. Being close to this many people is uncomfortable. Gross, someone in here stinks like sweaty cheese. Two more stops and freedom.

By the time your stop has arrived, you have leveled up your holding breath skill. You don’t take any breaths until the bus is behind you. That was horrible and people suck. You weren’t sure what was worse. Having your foot randomly stomped on, or being surrounded by body odor?

The bookstore was, thankfully, just down the block from the bus stop. It had mossy green walls and black trimmings around the large front windows. The cursive was too loopy for you to tell what it was called, so you dubbed it Feather Quill. Seeing as there was a fancy feather pen as the stores logo.

It’s a two story building that was tall rather than wide. Pushing the door open, a small bell rings above your head. Inside is warm lighting with rows of bookcases lined up in neat order. This place gives off a sense of comfort as you walk on the plush grey carpet.

“Sorry! I’ll be right with you!”

There’s a loud feminine voice that calls from the back of the first floor. That must be Daisy. She’s the store’s niece who works when she’s not busy with her schooling. It seems she was preoccupied with shelving at the moment. You just keep walking towards the spiral staircase that leads to the second floor.

The more mainstream books were sold on the first floor with bright signs about new releases and discounts. There were a few book series you were waiting for their next release, as well as a handful of authors you’d like to check up on. But since you were here ahead of schedule, you know there wasn’t anything you’d be interesting in reading on the shelves.

The second floor was more for those to read their newly purchased books and buy a small snack from the café in the front right corner. There are also those who use the quiet atmosphere to do their projects or crafts. You head to the back end of the other side of the floor where the shelves were more densely packed.

The books sold on the second floor were more informational base. So they were pretty heavy books. They were also a bit dusty since most customers hardly came to this part of the store. The air tickles your nose enough to bother you, but not make you sneeze. Great.

Past the shelves is a small counter by the left wall. A lanky man that looks to be in his mid forties is hunched over an old book. A pair of gold rimmed, templeless glasses lay on the tip of his straight nose as hazel colored eyes skim the pages.

“Hey there, Mr. Barclaw. I’m here for a check up.”

You start going through your pockets as you try to locate your little black book. Mr. Barclaw’s eyes look, he takes off his eyewear, placing it within his shirts breast pocket, before sitting up straight. Running a hand through his pepper salted hair, Mr. Barclaw reaches out for your book. You place it in his hand once it’s located.

He turns the book one way, examining it closely, slowly flipping through the pages. “Hm, the spine seems to be holding well. You’ve been writing with too much force again it seems.” His voice is deep as he speaks slowly at you. He gives you a searching look before putting his attention back on the book. “There are still enough blank pages until the proper appointed time. Just keep it out of wet surfaces, and stop using that red pen. It bleeds into the inscriptions and messes with the pages limits.”

He hands you back your book that you stuff into one of your pockets. Since he hadn’t done any maintenance work on it, you don’t have to pay him. “Sure thing Mr. Barclaw. Any news on the letters?”

“No.” The aged man rubs the bridge of his nose. He makes the shooing motion with his hand signaling that he was done. You walk away with miffed and grudging acceptance.

Heading down the stairs, Daisy spots you. She smiles warmly as she tries to make polite conversations. There’s really not much you know about her, and you make sure to keep it that way. She wasn’t like her uncle Mr. Barclaw, The Pharmacist or you. Daisy, as well as most everybody in this town were people you couldn’t get close to.

When that was done with, you head out and towards the bus stop. Checking your phone, the battery was at 85%. Getting your headphones in place, you wait for the bus to come. It was gonna take a few transfers to get to your next stop.

Normally, you’d go to the grocery store next. Then after head straight home with your bags of food things. Normally, you wouldn’t feel a heavy weight in your zipped up coat pocket dragging you down.

When the bus finally comes, you’ve gone back into your headspace. Working on automatic, you pay your fair, get your transfer, and sit on the available middle seat by the window. The music playing is your ears is nothing but muffled sounds. You were going to the Bitty Bones Adoption Center.

Chapter Text

The bus drops you, amongst other people, off in the more quiet part of town. There are more homes and apartments that outnumber the shops. Leaves still hung desperately on the trees as the wind blows harder than the day before. Huddling into your protective layers, you rush to the beige rectangular building of The Center.

This was going to be an in and out situation, you tell yourself. Looking through the window, you see that there's already a small crowd inside. That makes the beating of your heart speed up, but this could also be a good thing. They could be your cover. Walking through the automatic doors, you head straight for the counter.

There are mostly Monsters, lounging around, but you find an empty spot to stand. Looking to the side, the waiting area had a couple of humans sitting on the plastic blue chairs. You don’t see any of the workers here which is only mildly concerning.

Plowing ahead, you dig through your pants’ pockets for a scrap of paper and something to write with. You should really organize where you put your random shit, why can’t you find anything? Ah, you pull out a crumble up yellow stick-it-note and half a pencil. Thankfully it’s the half with the point, but what happen to the other half? Who cares.

Putting pencil to paper, your hand freeze. What were you supposed to write? Hey, it’s me. The human who stayed well past closing the other day? That didn’t sound weird at all. Should just write your name down… Did you ever give the people here your name?

How did you spend so much time here and not give out your name? You want to thump your head against your hand, but that might cause a scene so you hold back. Still, the urge is there so you scowl at yourself instead.

Taking your eyes off the post it, you notice a change in the tense air. You search for what might be the cause, since it wasn't you this time, only for your eyes to wander back to the humans.

One of the humans gets up with nerves spiking the orange that surrounded him. He started to pace as he pulled at his hair. Okay, not weird. The human was anxious about something. Watching him was helpful to distract your own mind. Seeing how the human’s orange glow was about to brighten up with resolve, a worker finally comes out.

“Hey dude. Sorry for the wait. Rooms ready for you to-woah! Chill dude! Your Boss ain’t going anywhere!”

The worker had barely reached their side of the counter before the human had just jumped over it and rushed to the back. The Monster’s were having a good inside laugh about something. One made an Alice joke about being late. The other humans just sighed as they waited for their turn to see the Bitties. The worker, not Jake, is a human named Rick. Almost as tall as yourself, give or take an inch or two. Was it the shoes? Were his shoes making his height that way? Why was he staring at you?

Maybe, just a hunch, but probably because you were staring at him first. Not that you could help it. Humans looked the same unless you stared at them long enough. You didn’t want to call Rick, Jake by accident. Hell, even the Monsters tend to look the same within their own sub-species. Would it kill their evolution to have some diversity within their group?

“Okay there bud, you’re giving off some freaky vibes right now. Do I got like, a second mouth or something? The hell you staring at me for?” Rick is leaning on the counter now as a Monster walks through the little door on the side to leave. There’s a look in his eyes, not that you could tell anymore, you looked away from embarrassment the moment Rick started to talk. “I get it now. It’s alright, happens to me all the time. You just fell for my dashingly good looks. Handsome men must be your typ-OW! WHO BONED ME!?”

You jump back a little as you saw Rick reach an arm over his shoulder. He picked out a small bone, bringing it to the front to glare at it. He pockets the bone, before he starts yelling towards the back about rules. You weren’t really listening as you walked as far away from Rick as possible. You can faintly pick up the sounds of muffled laughter and small tapping feet around you. But when you look down, there’s nothing there. Huh…

The Monsters and humans around you don’t seem bothered by the unseen Bitties. So, this might be a common thing. Though how you felt about the Bitties flinging random magic attacks, so long as they aren’t aimed towards you, its was slightly alright. To keep safe, you kept your vigilance up. Maybe now is a good time to leave.

Placing both hands into your pockets, you remember your reason for being in the Center in the first place. One hand brushed against the capsule, the other had made a crinkle sound with the note and pencil. Right. Babyblue. You couldn’t leave without at least giving his glove back.

Sighing, you pull out the note and try to write something again. A hello, a sorry, throw in some lame joke, scribble it out because it was too lame, then rip up the note in frustration before throwing the pieces into your plastic bag. Time for round 2.

Four attempts later, there’s no more scrap paper or old recites, you still have nothing to show for your time. Everything you’ve tried to write just came out so, fake and cold. By now, there are fewer people in the room waiting for their turn.

Banging your head onto the counter, you take deep breaths to calm down. Since writing a note on the spot wasn’t working, then you were better off just coming back some other time. That way, you can formulate your thoughts to Blue and the others as well.

Okay, that is a solid plan. With that thought, you look up and turn towards the door. You manage to take one step before a familiar voice reaches you.

“Where do you think you’re going? The rooms are back here.”

All your small hairs stood on end. There was no mistaking that voice. Jake has spotted you, and his damn Green magic was shielding off your path. Fuck. Did he even know what he was doing!? Though it was a pretty impressive size shield, more like a wall, the amount of intent in it wasn’t much. Enough to make his point, he did not want you to leave. But with just a push from your end, there really was nothing stopping you from going out.

Except for the rows of very strongly intended blue bones interwoven into the wall. There was no way a mere human could summon any type of bone attack, and only one type of Monster could. This building was filled with different Skeletal Monsters who seem all too trigger happy to unleash some magic today. Apparently humans as well.

Turning your head to face Jake, you were able to spot where the source of the attack was coming from. A Softy Bones was resting on the top of Jake’s head. One of his eye sockets was open, fuzzy eye light staring straight at you. Now that, that explains absolutely nothing about why this Bitty was helping Jake out.

“mmmm. they really do like to stare.” The Softy yawns as he pulls the yellow blanket tighter around himself.

“Hush now, you’re supposed to be resting.” Jake makes a soft expression, that imagine was too weird that your thoughts halted. Gruff, pushy Jake. Looking all docile for the Bitty he couldn’t even see.

“i am. this is me sleep talking. zzz.” The Bitty rubs his eye socket as he lets out an actual yawn. He blinks once, twice, and a third time before turning their head away.

Those two seem to be close. The air was harmonious as it covered Jake and the sleepy Bitty. It was a soft white light that seem to float around the two like wispy smoke. A very unnoticeable small smile forms on your face as you watch the transparent tendril seem to pool around the center of Jake’s soul. Wah… Shock hits as your eyes register what you were actually seeing. Some dark colored Green magic was being taken in to the Softy Bones, while the Bitty gave slow pulses of his own white magic in return. This was the closest you’ve come to seeing an almost formed bond. Woah.

A human’s soul contained so much concentrated magic, the matter of their bodies keeping it from leaking out. Normally, as a human grows, their soul trait starts to dim and change. No adult is just one aspect of magic. Yet, without any outlet, the magic inside them starts to rot away. The more a human is true to their nature, is caring and shows compassion, the longer it takes for the magic to spoil. It’s why children have such vibrant souls.

It’s why seeing Jake’s bright Green aura was so mesmerizing. With his age, a dull to murky soul would have been a common sight. Or not, such a soul would actually been rare to see, since they’re so infused into the body. Any sort of attempt the soul makes to release the excess magic by discharging into the body’s cell could potentially equate to odd cell mutations and diseases. Maybe, or not. You weren’t a magical biologist.

Yet a Monster’s body has no trouble having magic envelop their entire being. Not only that, as humans lose water as time goes by, Monsters would lose magic. Their pure unfocused traits not only continuously replenishes what their soul lets out, but also affect their very surroundings. This all refers to Monster’s that won’t fit comfortably into the palm of your hand of course.

Bitties seem to have the same amount of magic in their soul, without an equal balance of output. Instead of naturally having their excess magic dissipating from their bodies, Bitties seem to need to focus magic into every task. Hench their need to be around other’s much larger than themselves. You’ve read about it, in the stack of books you have in your home, written by people who knew their shit. Or had the papers that claim that they did. The concept and idea was interesting to imagine during those long nights staring out the window.

Seeing it happen right in front of you was something else. White soft tendrils were leaving the Softy Bone’s body as they seem to nudge against Jake’s Green aura. Little by little, the White tendrils would poke around his body, picking up different spots to bring back to the Bitty. Then the Green aura starts to expand and thin out as it fades into the air by the White tendrils. This process happens in seconds as the two talk to one another. Were they aware? Can the Softy Bones see or feel what was happening? Why did it’s magic act the way it does for Jake? What was their story, the reason?

You were so transfixed by the wondrous sight, you didn’t realize what was happening around you.

“Just wait here. The gang’ll be with you any second. Don’t cause any problems now.” Another tiny part of Jake’s Green aura was gently pulled away from the mass to be released into the air. It was only the dark colored parts. You couldn’t spot any dull Green being pulled out.

“i’m pretty sure it’s not the human we need to worry about. heh.” The Bitty was hardly keeping his single eye socket open as he watched his surroundings. His head was plopped on his palm, his banana yellow blanket covering the rest of his body like a burrito. Jake hardly moves his head, as when he turns, he also moves his whole body. The action was fluid.

“Come now. They ain’t that bad Sneaks. Give ‘em some credit.” There was a name drop. So the Bitty is called Sneaks. Alright then.

“this is why i’m stuck with you. you think too highly of every monster. you’re too kind!” You would like to question that Kindness. Even if you could see how pure it was becoming.

The memory of Jake basically bullying as you left last night coming to mind. There’s also that wall that was weakly summoned not that long ago. Now that you weren’t distracted, why weren't the Monster’s in the room surprised like you were about the summoned wall? You took a seat in the only chair in the room as you ponder this.

The banter of Jake and the Softy Bones, Sneaks, was shut off as soon as the small half door was closed. With it, the silenced magic sigils were activated and you were envelop in quiet. That was what brought you back to your senses. Frantically looking around, the room you were in was the same room from yesterday. Shit! Shit shit shit shit! You weren’t ready for this!

How did you even get here?

This was bad, really bad. You had to make your escape before Blue shows up. You had to do...something. Walking out was the obvious choice. The thought made you feel like a dick though. A flash of desperate hope passes your mind. You had visited the Pharmacist before coming here. They tend to like giving out surprises. Not always good or helpful ones though.

You bring the bag onto the coffee table and start to rummage around in it. There were small Monster snacks, tiny vials filled with different colors, lucky you got a nearly filled Yellow one. Looks pretty pure too. Rare loot. You really didn't think you need more of the red one. Oh! There were a few pairs of broken glasses in here. Nice. You find a few scraps of what might have been from different ribbons. Were you supposed to sew them together or something? What did the ribbon even do again...

Ancient Human Monster armor is just weird. Thankfully, you just needed to collect them. Nothing else really. Could use them so long as they were the surplus. But, what for. Your life doesn’t require you to need armor. Theses days with Dog were safe.

"whatcha doin there soft lips?"

Fuck. This little fucker had found you first. Better than Blue being the first one to spot you. But Edgy was a close second you wanted to avoid. Your healed hand tingles where he had bit you. They clench while you face the Bitty.

Little dude got his jacket open again. Different sweater this time around. Wasn’t wearing the common shorts but rather some loose slacks and sneakers. Looking good there Edgy. To show your approval of his get up, you give him a thumbs up.

"What? Bitty got yer tongue?" He squints at you as he ignores your praise. He knows he looks good. He always does. Just, today he felt like wearing something different. Were you too lazy to say he look good? C’mon!

Was he mad? At you? Or is that Edgy’s resting bitch face. “No. You look sharp, Edgy.”

“heh, ‘course i do.” There’s that shit eating grin. It suited him better, even if you did want to wipe it off his face at the same time. “so when ya gonna answer mah question?”

Edgy walks up to where you have the bag open. You’re not sure if it was alright to close it before he sees. Might be more suspicious if you did that. You didn’t like trusting in the Pharmacist, but here you go. Tapping against the bag, you open it wide for Edgy to see.

He stares into the small plastic bag, rummaging around. There’s some muffled comments but you don’t bother to puzzle them out. Once Edgy was done, he closed it up and took hold of your hand. “should bring some jerky next time if yer gonna bring snacks. chicken is the best. and something besides juice. at least some soda.”

The white shimmer of the bag went unnoticed by him as Edgy climbed your arm and clung unto your chest. You watch him make his way up, wondering if you should just have your hand under him in case he fell off. You don’t, the way his sharp hands were making small holes in your clothes said you wouldn’t mind if he fell off. Still, you lean back enough so that Edgy could stop making the holes bigger as he holds tight. He rested at the same spot he had when you held him the other day.

The two of you sit there. Edgy didn’t seem to be much for words. Was that a common thing? Edgy Bitties, as far as books have told you, are loud. But that doesn’t mean talkative. This, wasn’t awkward. You both maintain eye contact. Neither of you saying a word as he just lays his head on your chest. Okay.

“see pap. told you we could find him hanging around the hall.”

“YOU SAID NO SUCH THING SANSY! AND KEEP YOUR PUNS AWAY FROM OUR HUMAN PLEASE.”

“ain’t yer human. the hell ya two doin’ ‘ere?”

You could feel the tiny fingers puncture another layer of clothing when Edgy’s grip tightens. Thankfully they’d yet to reach your skin. You do look over to see the two newcomers. You didn’t like how Papy just called you theirs.

This misunderstanding needs to be fixed.

“ ‘ey! ya don’ need ta look at ‘em, soft lips. you’ll see. ya need me more than i’d need ya.”

It’s the tugging of your shirt that makes you feel like you’re being pulled down. Not what Edgy just said to you. That statement almost has you trying to pull him off you. The way these Bitties were acting was really scaring you.

It’s the shaking eye lights behind his scowl that stops you. You lift a hand to rub the back of his skull with your thumb, making small circles until those lights steady themselves. He only slaps your hand away after he feels better, his cheeks holding a pink tint to them.

Now with Edgy calmed down, you bring your attention back to the other two. Sansy was busy looking off to the side. He was wearing some comfortable clothes along with his jean jacket, that you wouldn’t mind lazing around in yourself. Do they have that top in human size? Papy looked like he was dressed for casual Friday at an office building. Very different from the battle body armor he’d worn last time, something most Papys tend to wear. Though he’s kept his shin and elbow guards on.

Papy smiles as he watches you and Edgy interact. It’s that tender, hard to look at, look again. He didn’t seem to mind that you just had a moment of sorts with Edgy. If anything, it was like Papy approved of it, which is weird. Most Bitties, even the more softer tempered ones, tend to appear jealous at times. Yet Papy wasn’t showing any signs of it.

You rested your hand on Edgy’s back. He tensed, thinking you’d try to pull him off. The thought had crossed your mind, but with the way he was holding on, you’d thought it best to avoid any further damage to your clothes. When he realized your intention, his smug smile returned and he settled back into place.

“spoiled.”

The smug smile stiffens as his red eye lights turn to the floor. He starts to growl softly as he intentionally rubs his cheeks into your clothes. Sure, he could admit he was acting like one of the newly aged Edgys, with his demands and clingy attitude. That’s just what Edgy’s do though. What was Sansy’s excuse?

“so what if i am? what, jealous?”

Uh. You didn’t like where this was going. Now Sansy and Edgy we’re having a glaring contest. “So… The weather is, nice?” That was a good attempt to change the topic.

“IT IS HUMAN. THE WIND IS A BIT STRONG, BUT NOTHING THAT THIS AMAZING PAPY CANNOT HANDLE.”

It worked! You smile as you try to think about something else to talk about. “Did you leave the Center? Or did you hear it from the other visitors?”

Papy laughs as he shakes his head. “NO HUMAN. THE OTHER BITTY’S HAD COMPLAINED WHEN THEY CAME BACK TO THEIR ROOMS.”

That was right, there were Bitties in the front this time. Probably because it was still far from closing time. You hum as part of your attention keeps watch over the other two. Sansy had made his way towards your feet. Edgy was alternating between growling and snarling whenever Sansy got closer. Unsurprisingly, it seems like the little fucker didn’t want Sansy too close.

“you wanna back down there, edgy.”

“or wha? wha’cha gonna do, nothin’.”

A flash of blue glints in Sansy sockets before he makes a sharp u-turn on his heels. He shuffles back over to Papy’s side, his weight to one side. “hey pap, sorry to interrupt, but i could use a hand or two.” Sansy looks relaxed, as far as you can tell. Dude doesn’t really move his face much… Relying more on body language.

“I HAVE A BAD FEELING THAT A PUN IS COMING, BUT I WILL NONETHELESS HELP YOU.” Papy waves at you as he turns his focus onto Sansy. You weren’t missing the feeling of his attention or anything. Not with Edgy turning his body enough to leave some scratches on your hand. No blood shed thankfully.

“nah papy. i just knee you to give me a lift onto this here human’s leg. i didn’t finger you would accuse me of-”

“ENOUGH!”

The hell! Papy just grabbed Sansy by the little guys shoulder and then, flung him towards you. A lazy, smiling skeleton sails through the air and almost lands on the sharp bend of your knees. By reflex, you straighten it out to flatten Sany’s landing. That could have been dangerous. Funny if this were a cartoon or something, but it’s not. Why did Papy do that?

“HM, YOU WERE RIGHT SANSY.”

About what!?

Red magic grabs your bewildered attention. Edgy seems to be readying himself to launch an attack. His body was once again surrounded by his Red magic as he wiggles in your hold. You think he wants to get down so you try to let him, but he just bites your hand as he changes position. “get the hell off ‘em! ya aint comin’ up ‘ere!”

Fuck this, now was not the time to be a silent bystander. This is your bottom line, “ Don’t even think about using your magic while you’re on me.” The three Bitties stop what they’re doing as they seriously look up at you. Possibly surprised by the tone of your voice. You stare back at them, stern and unmoving. It doesn’t take long before they look away.

Edgy looks to the side, feeling the other two’s eye lights on him. He was the only one trying to use magic. “...sorry.”

The red glow dims but doesn’t disappear as Edgy frowns. Your hand rubs the top of his head as best as you can. It was fine so long as Edgy, or any of the other’s don’t try something like that again. He huffs and you huff back.

Something shuffles along your leg and you almost reflexively fling it off before you remember Sansy. He had moved to straddle your leg. It was kind of funny to see that his legs couldn’t even reach either side of your leg to hang off it. It looked more like he was attempting to do the splits. Thinking of that, how flexible were skeletons? Oh, now he’s scooting his boney ass across your leg.

“stop! the fuck ya think yer doin’ ya pile of shit?” Seems you weren't the only one who noticed. While Edgy still had his magic out, it was much calmer than before. Despite the small spikes as he growls and yells at the Sansy.

“ scootin’ it be obvious? i’m climbing.” Once he was on your thigh, you bend your leg to a more relaxed position. Good thing too, you thought your muscles were gonna give out before Sansy made it.

Papy groans at the pun. Papy reprimands an unapologetic Sansy as he reaches the base of your stomach. He sends you a lazy wink as he grabs a handful of your sweater and pulls himself up. You note that Sansy doesn’t leave any holes, but he does use the ones that Edgy made when he gets tired. Edgy continues being a grump you pet whenever he gets too loud.

“Why Did No One Tell Me That We Were Training With My Human!”

A heavy pressure wracks your body. You don’t dare look down as you unconsciously hold Edgy closer. He was busy yelling, probably more curses or something. You couldn’t hear it. You can feel the ends of your pants being tugged as Blue scrambles his way up. He’s rushing like he’s in some sort of race with Sansy. Though Sansy seems to be fast asleep on our chest. He past Edgy by half an inch, you have to keep Edgy from making more holes in your clothes. You’re not sure what’s holding Sansy up, but you don’t want to move in case it caused him to fall.

It seems like almost the whole gang's here. The Teacup from before, you aren’t sure if he had come and you’re too nervous to look around. You don’t want to see Blue, who is already climbing up to your shoulders and oh shit where is he going that’s your head!

Don’t shake.

Don’t Shake.

Don’t Shake!

“YES, I DO BELIEVE THAT IS ENOUGH.” Papy’s calm voice helps you ground yourself to the present before you can drift off into a panic. He claps his hands three times as the other Bitties stop to look down at him. Papy had moved from the floor to the coffee table.

“Why, I do agrrree. How did none of you notice how uncomfurrrtable ourrr human has become?”

Three neon colored balls of yarn, the same colors as Teacup, were flung towards you. Or rather, at the three Bitties on you. It startles you to see them, enough that you moved to the side and curled around them. You were able to keep Sansy and Edgy safe in your grasp as you fell off the chair. There wasn’t anything you could do for Blue other than hope he was quick enough to hold on tight.

“heh, knew ah like ya fer a reason. ain’t just fer yer soft lips e’tha.”

“Shut it, you little fuck. Ow, that hurt.” You’d landed on your elbow, the shock traveling through the incredibly not funny bone. Not to mention the pain in your hips, might not want to move for a while. How could you forget to tuck and roll? Stupid surprise magic attack.

“WOWIE! Human, That Was Some Amazing Reflexes!”

Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!! Your ears! Why did Blue feel the need to scream into your ears!? Sansy was easy to remove, though the dude had this strange look on his face. Bet he wasn’t expecting any of those magic attacks either. Edgy wasn’t as difficult as he could have been, but the holes he left were pretty big. Then you scramble to get Blue away from your head and with the others. The tyke was climbing all over your head and shoulders until you caught him.

You were done. This was too much for you to handle and you cannot stand having magic being thrown around your person. It happened, and you’re on edge. Not literally, you’d already fallen over it literally. It’s just your nerves. You know what you mean, damn it!

“Good bye.”

Those were the last words you said as you rushed out the room, down the hall, and over the counter. You didn’t bother waiting for the bus stop as you ran. Past houses, past parks, past parked cars and barking dogs. You ran.

And you cried. Just a tear, or ten.

When you finally stop you notice that you were almost back to the other side of town. Your feet had taken you down the bus’ route and to a familiar area. You sat on the bottom step of a nearby stoop to catch your breath. Today was supposed to be a cold day, but after that... Shit, it felt like summer, you could hardly breathe.

You were supposed to go to the grocery store today. This late in the day, and how much colder it was going to get once the sun set, you really didn’t feel like it. There were hardly any other people around. The bus stop home was just around the corner. Might as well just head over once it was about to get here and go home.

What a horrible day. You need Dog and some movie background noise. Yep, good plan.

With shaky hands, you pull out your headphones and started to listen to your music. Deep breath in, hold, deep breath out. Calm and soothing thoughts... You continued this as you made it off the bus and walked back home. Dog had waited for you at the front door, his barks soft as the small Pomeranian jumped into your arms. You held Dog like you held Edgy and Sansy, safe and secure.

Dog nudges his cold wet nose against your cheek. He wasn’t much for tongue slobbering kisses, but you liked the lack of spit on your face. You place him on the bed, which he jumps off of before heading to the living room. You do your nightly rituals, washing, changing into sleepwear, and giving a deep sigh of relief that the day was over. The usual.

Glancing at the pile of clothes that you had worn today, you decide it was too much of a hassle to fix all the holes in the sweater. You tossed it to one side of the room. You’ll throw it away some other time. You put the rest of the clothes into the hamper and hang up your jacket. Now it was time to relax!

A gold eye and a blue eye stares at you from the couch. You ignore them as you gather up some snacks. A cinnabunny for Dog and a bowl of dog salad for yourself. The monster food would do some good to get rid of the last few aches in your body as well as lift up your mood. Dog raises a brow at your bowl but makes no comment.

The movie Dog chose was something about time traveling. Looked oldish. Probably from the 90’s or early 2000’s. Graphics are shit, the lines were cheesy, plot was okay. All in all, an alright movie. Nothing like today’s quality, that’s for sure. You chose the next one, it was an action movie in a foreign country. Lots of normal hand to hand combat. Your shoulders loosen as the movie went on and you paid attention to the actors body.

“Grruf.”

“I’m always staring. What’s new.”

“Rrr, ra-ah.”

“I was not. I was paying attention to their technique.”

“Rrr.”

“I don’t need an interrogation from you, Dog. Today sucked. Everything about today from before this point was all fucked up. Okay? Now can I watch the movie?”

“Huff. Arrf ruff.”

The rest of the night went in silence as two more movies played. Soon, Dog trot his fluffy, curly tailed butt over to his room sending you a bark good night. You yawned one back, stretched, and knocked out on the couch.

You dreamed of a large blue glove chasing you. Bright, shaking red lights staring you down. Guilt, fear and shame clash around you as claps of thunder rumble above you in threes. The nightmare continues through the night as you mumble incoherently.

Dog comes back late into the night and jumps into your arms. It doesn’t stop the nightmare you’re having, but you do stop mumbling. He whines as he tries to help you through it.

Today really was a shit day for you. You should have slept in your bed instead.

~*~

Your first thought when you wake up is, “SHIT! I left my bag at The Center!” Shortly before you plop back down, asleep.

Chapter Text

Sansy watched as the human ran away. He can’t say that this was the first time he’s seen a human bolt out of The Center. Though they were usually accompanied by Bitties chasing after the offending humans. Sansy’s eye lights dim as he recalls the human’s face just before they left. He lets out a small sigh as he fights the urge to rub the back of his skull, choosing instead to stick his hands into his pockets and look for Pappy.

He shuffles along the table, mind lost in thought as he goes to stand by Pappy’s side. They still don’t know the visiting human’s name, and it’s not the human’s fault that they left. Sansy looks at Teacup and thinks, nor is it Teacup’s. The thought, no matter how true, did not bring him any comfort. Why he needed comforting, Sansy wasn’t sure.

Pappy was busy listening to Baby Blue’s rapid speech, yet he still spared a glance to let Sansy know he’d noticed him. Sansy smiles as he comfortably hunches into himself, the exhaustion from climbing now getting to him. He stays quiet to save what little energy he has left, and to listen to the others talking around him. 

“Pappy! The Hour Has Not Even Started And They Have Already Left! Worst Of All, I Had Just Magnificently Arrived.” Sansy noticed the way Baby Blue kept looking back to the space the human had been, fidgeting with the red glove he’d borrowed. The action seemed to be a new habit Baby Blue picked up after lending his glove to the human. 

Teacup wasn’t faring any better. He was standing to the side, ears half lowered and tail wrapped around one of his legs. Still, the Bitty tried to look self assured as his hands were lazily placed on his hips. Sansy wondered if the feline Bitty was even aware of the contradicting body language. Given the cat like nature of Teacups, Sansy was pretty sure the answer was no.

So far, the only Bitty that wasn’t concerned with how the visit had ended, was Edgy. That BItty was slowly pushing the plastic bag the human had forgotten across the table. If Sansy wasn’t so tired, he would have called out to him. Once Edgy had the bag near the edge of the table, he enveloped it in red magic. Slowly, with sweat dripping down his skull, Edgy lowers the bag to the floor. Edgy soon followed after it, and started pulling the bag out of the room.

“It’s Just So Odd. I Had Thought We Were All Having A Good And Fun Time Together. The Human Was Even Playing Along, Artfully Dodging Teacup’s Attack Action.”

The sound of Baby Blue’s voice was oddly soothing to hear, even if the Bitty’s tone was more confused at the moment. It was probably due to the Bitty’s Bravery trait. Monsters who could wield orange magic tended to exude security and confidence. Still, Sansy preferred the calm and cool feeling from those of the Patience variety, like Pappy.

“Why Did The Human Leave, Pappy? Were They Overwhelmed By My Show Of Prowess?” Baby Blue looks down at his temporary red glove. “Or Was It Because Of Something Else?” He scrunches up his brows as his red gloved hand clenched into a fist.

Pappy kneels before Baby Blue, placing his own red gloved hand over his and gently holds it. Then, with the same hand, he slowly pulls the upset Bitty into his arms for a hug. They stay like that for a few seconds, before Baby Blue softly pushes Pappy away.

“ARE YOU CALM NOW?” Pappy asks as Baby Blue nods his head. Pappy stands back up and gives the other Bitty his space. “NOW I UNDERSTAND YOU ARE VERY CONFUSED, BUT I BELIEVE WE SHOULD HAVE THIS TALK IN OUR OWN ROOM, INSTEAD OF HERE.”

Sansy could tell that Teacup was starting to feel left out of the conversation. It was obvious by how his eye sockets were starting to scrunch up around the corners.

“But of courrrse Pappy. Baby Blue, let us go.” Teacup goes to stand by the Bitty’s side, still trying to act like the disorienting sequence of events hadn’t bothered him. They both jump off the table and make their way past Edgy. They stop to offer their assistance, but Edgy just snapped at them. With a shrug of their shoulders, they continue out of the Visiting Room area.

Pappy lets out a tired sigh when it’s just the two of them. Sansy yawns as he slumps against the taller skeleton. “SANSY, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE HUMAN?” Well, that was an unexpected question. Sansy looks up at Pappy before he makes his own way off the table.

“HELPFUL AS ALWAYS, SANSY.” Pappy lets out another sigh before he follows after. When they reach the hallway, they see Edgy laying on top of the bag. Sansy raises a brow as they catch up to the Bitty.

Before either of them could say a word, Edgy is up and snarling at them. “i don’ need yer help!” Pappy nods his head and walks past Edgy. Sansy on the other hand, stands by the angry Bitty’s side.

When Pappy notices that he is alone, he looks back at Sansy. Sansy just waves Pappy on ahead. The taller skeleton had a faster walking speed Sansy didn’t feel like matching today. He also didn’t want to hold Pappy up with the other two waiting on him. Pappy understands what Sansy means, so with large strides he hurries down the hallway and back to the Bitty’s room.

It takes a minute for Edgy to start pulling the bag across the hall once more. Edgy completely ignores Sansy as he pulls the bag. It’s almost comical, how large the bag is compared to the Bitty. While most Edgy Bitties were on the heavier side, that didn’t equate to them being physically strong. This Edgy was a little on the thinner and smaller side though. Something about poor magic intake or lack of magical care. Sansy wasn’t going to ask, and he's sure that Edgy wouldn’t even answer.

Sansy lets Edgy get a foot ahead of him before he starts walking behind. He watches, again, as Edgy slowly drags the bag. There’s the rustling of plastic, the soft bumps and thuds as the items within are jostled.

“is there glass or something, in the bag.” Sansy wonders out loud. He's not expecting an answer from Edgy, he’s not sure that the Bitty could even hear him. He needed to speak to get his own thoughts in order. There were a lot of things he’d noticed today. About the other Bitties, about the human, and even about himself. So he needed to distract himself with something simple to let the words out. Hence the bag. Well, most of his attention was on Edgy. There was just something… something off that he couldn't put his phalange on.

It could be something with how much of a hard worker Edgy was being. That was strange for sure. Edgys and Sansys tended to be more on the lazy side. There were still moments that would cause them to put in the effort, mostly when they were provoked.

Someone had to take the bag with them. Edgy just got there first, or more like ran there first. Probably had to due with his tendency to be overbearingly possessive. The bag belonged to the human, so in Edgy's mind, he of course had to have it. That made sense. What isn’t making sense is how Edgy was showing that trait of his.

There’s something odd with the way Edgy is pulling the bag. With both hands fisted around the hand loops, each step measured with every tug. Even before he was pulling the bag, Edgy displayed immense care in lowering the bag down from the table. As if he actually cared about not breaking the items within.

There’s too much care, and that was the point. It was bothering Sansy on a deeper level than he would like to admit.

So he distracts himself from the thought, “why not just use your magic to carry it?” Sansy knows what kind of reply to expect from Edgy as soon as he finishes talking.

“fuck off!” Hostile.

“no. but i would leave you alone if you answer a question.” There’s silence as the two can finally see the door that would lead to the Bitty’s living center. One of the employees, Rick, walks by with a Monster guest. They don’t pay much mind to Sansy and Edgy, they just step around them and continue to the Wait and See Hall. 

“or at least let me hel-”

“i said - huff - i. don’. need. help!” Edgy stomps along a few steps before he goes back to his methodical pulling. “shoot and leave.”

It takes a second for Sansy to get what Edgy means. Shoot. Ask and get out. Sansy mulls the words over in his head before he speaks, “the human seems sort of interesting. they have contradicting behaviors, loud one moment, quiet the next. slow with subtle hints, yet quick reflexes.” They also have nice safe hands to be held in, but that didn’t need to be said or acknowledged. “i get why everyone is interested in the human. even though it’s day two and we still don’t even know their name yet. s’ pretty funny, actually.”

He’s not sure why, but the last thing he’s worried about the human is their name. He’s more interested in their soft facial expressions; the way their eyes narrow, how their mouth turns down at the corners, their nose scrunching up. It’s more fun catching them staring when they think no one’s looking. Sansy is always looking. Once they’ve reached the door, Sansy goes to hold it open for Edgy. He’s still not happy about Sansy helping out, but he’s not refusing this time either. He just grunts and continues to pull the bag into the Bitty’s room.

The room is loud, the more active Bitties running or walking about. The place is set up like a miniature metropolitan city. There are districts for the different kinds of Bitties. With the room actually being three average sized rooms in one, there’s more than enough space for all the Bitties needs.

There’s the city-like center of the room where most Bitties tend to live. The buildings are skyscrapers with one side built as a rock climbing wall. The more daring and energetic of the Bitties use that wall, while the more sensible Bitties used the stairs or elevators. The city also had buildings meant for more recreational purposes. Such as knitting, painting, reading, cooking and so forth.

Then there are the more town like sections of the room. For the Bitties who are more in tune with their communal nature. Each house holds about four to five Bitties together, while the houses in the rural-like sections would only have one or two shy or reclusive Bitties within. The town is also the place where the parks are located. The parks included places to swim, hike, bike, skateboard, jog, and any other sport to take part in.

Edgy was making his way towards the city section. He lived in one of the lower levels in building 30a with a room all to himself. Sansy also lives in the city, but he shares a room with Pappy in one of the middle levels of a different building. Teacup lives in the same building as them, but resides in the top level. Baby Blue lives in the town section, but often visits the city for activities and to meet up with other Bitties.

If Sansy had to make a guess where the other three had gone to, it would have to be the room Pappy and him share. It’s closer than Baby Blue’s place while also being larger than Teacup’s single room.

“having said all that, there’s something that i, don’t get.” Sansy pauses for dramatic effect, or to piss Edgy off. It’s hard to tell at this point.

“yer question, damn it.” It’s definitely mostly to piss Edgy off, who does Sansy think he’s kidding. He chuckles as Edgy growled under his breath. Edgy is trying to look intimidating with the bullets of red sweat cascading down his skull. The Bitty is panting outside one of the buildings, probably where Edgy lives. They’re standing off to the side of the door so as not to block the entrance.

“why do you care?” Edgy whirls around with his sharp teeth open, ready for a biting remark, but he doesn’t make one. Instead, he shuts his mouth and glares at Sansy. Then he turns to the bag, gives it a kick, and starts to carry it inside the building. “i can’t help it. i jus’ do.” The door closes behind Edgy as the elevator begins to take him up to the third floor.

Sansy is left stunned. Before he could realize it, he slowly makes his way to his building, shortcuts his way to the fifth floor, and walks into his room.

~*~

Pappy reached the fifth floor of building 17d to see Baby Blue and Teacup sitting on the floor in front of the door. He was glad to note that Teacup’s tail had gone from its tight coil to simply flicking about. The two seem to be in a standoff, Pappy was unsure as to why. What he did know was that neither of them seemed to have noticed his presence. His red eye lights brighten with glee as he quietly clears his throat. With a glorious leap toward the two, Pappy yells, “AND THE EXTRRRAVAGANT PAPPY HAS ARRIVED! PLEASE, PLEASE, CONTINUE YOUR APPLAUSE.” Pappy clapped as he applauded the scare, looking from Baby Blue’s wobbly impromptu battle stance, as he would call it, and Teacup’s standing fur. Neither of them we’re clapping, but that's alright. He could do so for five Bitties.

Teacup was already calming down as he crossed his pastel arms. He stared at Pappy and scoffs, “I would not call yourrr outfit extrrravaant. It is poorrr in orrriginality.”

Pappy pretended to take some offense to the comment. He fixes his post entrance bunched up polo as he makes his way to the door. Pappy knows, without a doubt, that he looks god damn smashing in his clothes. “That Was Uncalled For, Pappy.” Baby Blue soon relaxed as well, “We Were Waiting For You This Whole Time.” “We could have been waiting inside. But someone insisted we wait out herrre.”(Note: I want to make this purr more but don’t know how) Teacup rolls their eye lights as Pappy opens and enter the room, following after.

Baby Blue enters last, flabbergasted. “That Would Have Been RUDE! Teacup! We Cannot Just Barge In And Make Ourselves At Home Without the Host’s Attendance.”

Pappy leads them to the living room where the two arguing Bitties sit on the couch. "It is an inconvenience to otherrrs when we loiterrr in the hallway."

"We Were Not Loitering. We Were Being Proper Guests. Anyone Who Would Have Passed By Would Have Understood."

Pappy goes into the kitchen to prepare some yellow flower tea. He could easily hear the two argue in the other room. Though having guests over brings him a sort of comfort.

"Meow we arrre assuming otherrrs rrreactions. How typical of a Baby Blue. They arrre all talk when it comes to chivalrrry."

Baby Blue stutters in shock before he could find the words to retort, "Th-That Is Not True! Th-That, H-How Could, I-I Am Not… W-Well Is It Not Typical Of A Teacup To Think Of Only Themselves!"

When the tea is done, Pappy pours it into his good tea cups, chuckling at the objection. He walks with the cups back to the living room and places them onto the wooden coffee table.

"Do you call that a rrretorrrt? Ha! I have hearrrd worse frrrom a Meek Bitty."

Taking a seat on the loveseat, Pappy clears his throat to grab the two Bitties attention. “AS CHARMING AS IT IS, LISTENING TO YOU TWO BICKER LIKE HOUSEWIVES-” “We Are Not!” “We arrre not!”

“-I DO BELIEVE WE ARE HERE FOR A PURPOSE.” That shuts them up quick. A smug like air seems to spill from Pappy. Now that he has their full attention, Pappy goes to tell them about what had transpired before they had arrived. They listened, making small commentary as he spoke, but only started asking questions after Pappy was done.

“So What You Mean To Tell Me Is, Before Teacup and I Arrived, The Human Was Already Tense.”

“And that furrr some rrreason, they have a dislike towarrrds magical attacks?” Pappy shrugs, “IT SEEMS SO. THEY DID NOT HAVE THE SAME REACTION WHEN I THREW SANSY AT THEM.”

That had Teacup confused, he couldn’t see why Pappy would ever agree to do such a thing. “What everrr possessed Sansy to be thrrrown in the firrrst place?” For a minute, all was silent. Pappy had his head tilted to one side, as if he were unsure how to answer the question. Baby Blue was busy looking between Pappy and the curious Teacup.

“I AM NOT SURE, TO BE HONEST.” The words come out slow as Pappy talks. “SANSY HAD TOLD ME THE DAY BEFORE, THAT THE HUMAN WAS MORE PERCEPTIVE THAN A PUNNY BITTY.” Here, Pappy looks off to the side, his gaze far away, “HE WOULD NOT TELL ME WHY, OR WHAT HAD BROUGHT ABOUT THAT CONCLUSION.” With a deep sigh, Pappy’s gaze comes back to Teacup and Baby Blue. 

“Typical Of A Sansy. They Never-” The sound of the front door opening stops Baby Blue from finishing. All three turned to see who had walked in. Sansy tiredly makes his way to the kitchen with barely a wave to the occupants of his living room. He takes out a mini hot cat from the hot box, and stands at the entrance to the living room. “yeah? never what?”

Baby Blue stutters as he tries to find his words. He wasn’t insulting any of the Sansy, just stating a fact. Not like when he was having his heated discussion with Teacup. Sansys rarely ever let others into their thoughts. Only when it suits their purpose. But with every second that Baby Blue flounders about, the worse it got. He was acting suspicious and he didn’t want Sansy to think ill of him. It’s the sound of Sansy chuckling that get’s Baby Blue to stop.

“chill- cat ,” Sansy says as he holds up the half eaten hot cat. Teacup lets out a small huff of amusement, he had a weakness for feline puns. “i was just yanking your chain. no worries.” With that said, Sansy finish the last bite of his snack before heading towards his room.

None of the Bitties tried to stop him, they understood that Sansy had expended more energy than most his kind tended to. Baby Blue and Teacup stood around a while longer, having polite conversation before they bid their own good byes. Pappy saw them out, waving as they made their way to the elevator. When he could no longer see them, he went back inside. He cleans up the cups, and brooms the crumbs from Sansy snack before he heads into his own room to rest. Or rather, do some quiet reading before dinner. 

~*~

Baby Blue jogged all the way back to his temporary home in town. He lived with a Punny, a Cherry, and a Poppy Bitty. The house was always alive with activity, mainly from the Cherry Bitty worrying about some notions or other. Not that Baby Blue minded. He was mature enough to be able to sit down and listen to the Cherry’s worries, no matter how silly they seemed to Baby Blue at the time. Still, it was great that Punny was just a huge cuddler, and that Poppy was better at consoling the nervous Bitty. 

It let Baby Blue be able to enjoy the noise and still feel a part of something larger than himself. Now that was a funny thought to have. Most everything outside the Bitties Room was larger than himself.

But it didn’t feel like it. It just felt like a challenge to tackle and overcome. Nothing felt connected or grounding to him. Nothing made him feel secure.

Entering the house, Baby Blue saw that Punny was once more wrapped around a tired looking Cherry. Cherry didn’t seem to notice that Baby Blue had entered the home, but Punny’s ears twitched as they swivel in his direction. Baby Blue whispers a hello before going up the stairs to the second floor. His room was to the left of the house, the middle was Cherry’s, and the right was Poppy. Punny prefered to curled up on the couch rather than a bed, for reasons Punny didn’t feel like sharing with the rest.

Once entering his room, Baby Blue flopped, back first, onto his bed. He lets out a large breath as he stared at the ceiling. He let the day’s events replay over and over in his mind. All in all, he guessed it wasn’t a bad day. It could have been a lot better, he could have gotten his glove back, maybe. He lifts up his borrowed red glove. He had gotten it from a Razzy Bitty that lived three houses down the block. The Razzy Bitty was almost as old as he was, but has left the Center for their potentially permanent home a few times. Unlike Baby Blue. No, Baby Blue was waiting for the right Human or Monster to come his way.

And they did! A Human, his human, had found their way to him. A surprise since Baby Blue had always figured he would have had to go out into the world himself to find his future Person. Another surprise, his human seems to not be able to feel the pulling of their soul. Which their soul has to be doing. Baby Blue could barely keep his soul from escaping its chamber within him everytime he sees his human.

He did hear that Humans weren’t as in tuned with their souls like Monsters were.

He did hear that Humans needed time, a lot of time, before they could feel the faintest of their soul pulse.

He did hear, that not all Humans were in actual need of a Bitty. Not like how a Bitty needed someone with a larger soul to help regulate their magic.

Not like how a Bitty needed them.

Another sigh escapes him as Baby Blue lowered his red gloved hand back down and he turns to his side. It was going to work out. His human was going to come back. They had made a promise. He clenches his fists and decides that some sleep might be all that he needs for the rest of the day.

Chapter Text

The next time you wake, it’s with a heavy feeling in your chest. You realized it was more, on your chest when you tried to sit up. Tilting your head, you found that it was Dog’s head, currently in the shape of a German Shepherd, laying on top of you.

You call to them but Dog just huffs as he continues sleeping. Out a window you see that it was still pretty dark out. Not sure what hour it was, but you should probably still be sleeping. Too bad you didn’t feel like it. So you lay there, listening and matching Dog’s breathing. Not thinking about anything just for a little while.

Unintentionally, your mind creates colors, then turns those colors into shapes, and shapes to people. Specifically, five very different people. The Bitties have popped up and started to run amok in your head. You groan lightly as past events start to come to the forefront of your mind. Like the mission from Baby Blue you’d failed to complete. The bites that Edgy kept giving you that never seemed to leave marks. Or the dynamic duo of Pappy and Sansy.

What really stood out was Teacup’s Magic attack.

It was unexpected and honestly a little frightening, but how you dealt with it was even worse. How could you just run away like that? You knew, knew that Teacup hadn’t meant any harm when he launched those attacks. Thinking back, you could even tell that they weren’t aimed at you.

Which is probably why you instinctively defended the Bitties that were still on you. From a potentially harmless attack. Crapping, crap shit, fucking, hell... Screw it! You messed up. Again. Not only did you overreact in front of the Bitties, but you also forgot to give Baby Blue his glove back. Stupid… Careless...

“Raf. Huraf.”

“I’m not crying…”

You bring a hand up to your face to see that yeah, you were right. Still, you were thankful for Dog’s timely interruption. You still felt like a low life, but you weren’t berating yourself anymore. You rub Dog’s head and he allows for a few seconds of bonding before getting up to stretch, hopping off the couch and heading for his room. You don’t know what he does in there, but you respect his privacy too much to intrude.

Sitting up there’s a few pops as your back straightens out from sleeping on the couch. With a groan, you get up and make your way to your own room. It was time to change clothes and take another shower. It’s an hour before you’re out of your room feeling refreshed for the lazy day. A feeling of dejavu hits you, but you shrug it away. Making your way to the kitchen, you see that Dog was already sitting on his seat at the table. He was still in his German Shepard shape, but his fur looked freshly brushed and glossy.

What to make for an early breakfast? We’ve got some eggs and a pitcher of Spider Cider in the fridge. Oh right. You hadn’t finished shopping. Scrambled eggs or over easy? It was easier to infuse magic into the eggs when they were scrambled, so that’d have to work for now.

With your mind made up you started to prepare everything that you needed. Looking at the cabinet with the vials of magic you see that you were running very low on all the colors. Where did you put the bag of vials you got from The Pharmacist? You try to retrace your steps.

Three seconds pass before you bang your head against the cabinet door.

“I forgot the bag at the center!”

That feeling of dread returns as you realize what this means. Not only do you have to do some grocery shopping, but you also have to make a stop at the Center. And not a quick in and out either. You’d have to ask if the place had a Lost and Found.

Slowly, you get back to making food. You don’t answer Dog’s barks as you take one of the remaining dark looking yellow vials. Justice Eggs it is, at 30% purity. It ought to taste passible, but Dog was sure to make a face. Whatever. He could deal with it for one day. Or two, you didn’t feel like going back outside.

On the other hand you made some toast topped with whatever you could find, again. There was no way that you were ingesting any magic infused food that wasn’t made by a Monster. Sure, the artificial kind tasted just as good, depending on the human’s cooking skills, but you’ve had enough of it forced down your throat for this lifetime, not to mention the side effects.

Which is why when you remember how much Dog likes the stuff, you put most of the credit on your cooking. Many years of forced necessity tends to give you room to boast. You’d take learning a new skill over what magic had done to you.

Dog looks up from his plate, raising a brow as his dual eyes stare into your mind. Not noticing any negative shadows wriggling around in there, he huffs and goes back to eating his breakfast. This plate was just enough to last him till dinner, but he wanted to go into town today. The thought of going to a place full of people and their clashing energies was tiring enough. He would definitely need some treats. The things he does for his human.

After breakfast was finished Dog went back to his room. It was strange, normally he’d head straight outside. The dishes that needed cleaning prevented you from questioning it for long however. They were seriously starting to pile up more than you were willing to live with anymore. Nothing some soap and tunes can’t fix.

It isn’t long until you’re mumbling the lyrics to yourself, and not much longer after when you’ve started belting your heart out. An inevitability for most.

Just as the sixth song begins you turn in time to see Dog’s amused expression. This isn’t the first time he’s caught you during a performance, and likely won’t be the last time either. Yet every time he walks in on you dancing around, rocking on an air guitar, he can’t help but smile. Now wasn’t the time for it though, there were things to do today, so he starts herding you back to your room.

“Hey! Just because you’re a shepherd doesn’t mean I have to be sheep, Dog.”

The words coming out of your mouth hardly match your actions, as you let Dog do just that. You were curious. He usually tried his best to get you out of your room, so what brought this on?

“Raff, grr raff. Boork.”

You stilled. Going into town? What the hell was he talking about? Sure you needed some food, but was it so important that it couldn’t wait? You’ve already gone out twice this month. That was once too many times already. That’s when you finally notice the bright yellow raincoat he had put on.

Sighing, you sit on your bed. You didn’t bother arguing as Dog walked around the room, nose to the floor as he made his way to a pile of clothes. He sniffs at a sweater full of tiny holes, and sneezes at it. Gross. Then he trots over to where you’ve hung one of your jackets. He sniffs at the pockets before pawing one of them. Dog doesn’t whine, but he does give you a look filled with sassy demand.

You chuckle at the expression as you get up. You weren’t sure what was in the jacket that he wanted but how could you say no to that face. Putting your hand inside, you felt...

Regret.

Your hand comes out of the pocket with a familiar capsule. You don’t look down at it as your hand clenches around the plastic. Instead you look down at Dog again and notice the service harness he was also wearing under his raincoat.

Nodding his head, Dog sits and starts to pant. Today was a bit humid for all this fur, but he needed to be a big breed. Smaller breeds tend to be too welcoming. Dog barks at you to get moving while there was still enough time to make the first bus. Hearing the plan, your eyes widen as you try to take your phone out to see the time.

He continues to bark about how if they leave now, by the time they make it into the city the shops should be opening up. Being the first ones in meant less of a crowd for the both of them to deal with. That reminds you of the suffering you had to go through the last time you ventured out. You absentmindedly nodded your head along with Dog’s plan.

Suddenly you’re shaking your head. Sure Dog’s idea was sound, but it also required you to leave your comfy home. Which is a big no. The weight in your hand grew heavier. You let it pull you, slowly sitting on the floor in an attempt to make it stop.

“What am I going to do, Dog? I don’t want to go into town any more.”

Dog gives a soft whine as he places his paw onto your lap. He nudges the underside of your chin before he goes to nudge your clenched hand. You open it and Dog gently picks up the capsule with his mouth before placing it into one of his vest’s many custom pockets.

You could argue. You could ignore his stares. Actually that’s a lie. Your best record was roughly ten minutes before caving in. You didn’t really want to do that again either. So you reluctantly get up and head towards your closet. After a quick question about the weather, and being told about some potential light rain, you grab a long moss green trench coat and a small retractable umbrella.

The two of you gather up the usual random objects to fill your pockets before heading out into a light fog. Dog shakes his detachable hood on as you walk down the winding path. Other than the odd mumble between you, the walk is quiet. It’s comfortable, as you listen to the pitter patter of the rain drops falling from the leaves.

It’s part luck and part Dog’s well managed time that the bus arrived mere seconds after you made it to the bus stop. He hates riding the bus, but he had to this time around. The bus driver gives a look at him, but you step in and pay for two before walking to the middle row with Dog. The driver grunts but doesn’t say anything as he closes the door.

~*~

As you step off the bus, you open your umbrella as it is now starting to rain. Dog is the first one off the bus once your stop gets here. It’s not really tugging but you do cough to remind him to keep to your side. Still, you understand Dog’s dislike of the bus. Sort of, not really. You find the bus to be a comfortable ride when there’s little to no people on it. Which was the case since it was early in the morning.

The streets seem to be desolated as well, there were a few who were covering their heads as they sped down the sidewalk. You and Dog keep out of their way for the most part. Since there was practically no one around, Dog would talk to you.

“I’m doing alright. The weather is really helping keep me centered.”

“Arf rrr.”

“Yeah, the humidity sucks. Thankfully the Center seems to have an air conditioner. Though maybe a heater would be better since it is raining.”

You shrug your shoulder as you round the corner. Though you were the one that should be leading, Dog was the one taking charge. He was following the scent of your magic instead of your odor. With how dull nearly all humans were with their magic, your magical scent blasted like an air horn at church.

It didn’t take long till Dog had led you both to your destination. So this was the Bitty Center. It didn’t look impressive as Dog had made it seem in his head. But the smell of magic that was coming and going from here was intense. He couldn’t help but sneeze roughly at all the different magic signatures in the air. Before going in, he made a stop to go into one of his pockets to grab a dog treat. It was filled with white magic that helped calm his senses. These were hard to come by, even for The Pharmacist’s skills. So he ate the one instead of the three he wanted.

“You okay?”

Your worry was nice, but Dog could handle this. Once he was done eating, he brought you inside. He shook his body now that they were out of the drizzle. You complained a little, but couldn’t help but shake as well. Especially your umbrella before you closed it. Looking up, you see that there was Rick again at the front, you could tell because you read his name tag. You couldn’t see any Bitties this time, which you’re glad for. This might be good. Walking up with Dog, you try to smile something friendly before you ask about a bag that might have been found the other day.

“A bag huh.” Rick let out a large yawn that he partially tried to cover. “I don’t remember there being a bag handed in, but I could show you our lost and found box. Nice dog by the way. What’s ‘er name?” Rick lays on the counter as he half leans down to bring up a cardboard box.

“His name is Dog. He helps me with my anxiety.” Your voice is soft as your hands start to rummage around the box. There were some sunglasses, a t-shirt (who would leave their shirt behind?), some shoes (again, same question), and a backpack. The backpack was feather light so you knew there was nothing inside it. Well shit. Where was your bag?

“He would have been really helpful yesterday huh.” Rick picks at his nails as a small secretive smile grows on his face. “Not finding what you were looking for?”

“Uh, no. Are you sure that this is all you have?” Behind you someone enters the Center, you turn around to see that it was a weird bird-like Monster. They wave at you so you wave back before turning your attention back to Rick. He’s just shaking his head slowly as that smile of his grew.

“That was all that was handed in, yeah. But I think I know where what you’re looking for ended up going.” Now the smile on Rick’s face turns into a smirk. You weren’t sure as to why he was like that, but you had a bad feeling seeing it. “You don’t seem to want to see the little fellows today, huh. That’s fair, not everyone feels the same way about Bitties.”

There was a snide tone to his voice as he talked to you. Your hand went straight to Dog’s vest and you clutch at it. He was right, and there was nothing wrong with you not wanting to see them. So why did he say it as if that fact was an insult towards himself?

“It’s too bad, really.” He waves his hand and you follow it to see him pointing to the back. “For the little guys, getting attached to a human who doesn’t get their worth.”

Dog growls. He knows he shouldn’t, but this human Rick was going too far for his taste. You bend to your knees as you pull the hoodie down Dog’s head. You give his ears some soothing rubs as you whisper to him that you’re alright. A little hurt, but fine all the same.

“Your, uh, your dog isn’t gonna bite me...is he?” There was some apprehension as Rick looked at Dog. You hid the smile while Dog happily panted.

Getting back up, you face Rick once more. “No, Dog doesn’t protect us unless either he or I get provoked.” Now, you could fall to Rick’s level and say it with some snide, but you don’t. Instead just stating it matter-of-factly. “Now about my bag. There’s some really important stuff inside.”

Rick gives Dog a stare before he replies to you. “Then you shouldn’t have left it behind. Well, it doesn’t matter now. You’re going to have to wait till the little guys wake up. One of them has it.”

He doesn’t say any more to you as he turns his attention to the Bird Monster. He has a different tone of voice when he speaks to them but you hardly notice. Instead, Dog leads you to the waiting area. The moment you sit down, you realize you should have asked when the Bitties wake up, but Rick and the Monster seem to be deep into their conversation.

There’s a whacking at your leg so you look down. It’s Dog’s tail hitting you in a steady beat. He does this when he needs you both to keep calm and be patient. Nodding your head, you pull out your phone and play some soft music on low. It was your contribution to keeping the both of you calm. With the light whacking of Dog’s tail and the comforting melody in the air, you close your eyes. Dog was here to keep guard, and you were starting to feel just the tiniest bit tired.

~*~

Edgy wakes up to the sound of something crinkling underneath him. He wasn't sure what it was until he rolled over to see something white. A very large something white made of...plastic? Oh, he must have fallen asleep on top of the bag. Huh. Rolling back over, he went back to sleep.

Knock Knock Knock!

Or, he would have. If there wasn’t this insistent knocking on his door. Groaning, Edgy get’s up and stumbles his way off the plastic bag. His body aches as he circulates his magic through his system. He’s feeling somewhat awake when he opens the door.

“Hi Edgy! Isn’t It A Most Wonderful Morn-”

He slams the door close and turns around. Before he can take a step, the knocking returns. Only this time, it’s louder. It’s more of a banging really.

“go away ya damn brat!” Edgy shouts as he starts making his way towards his room.

“Edgy. Edgy! Open The Door. We Need To Talk!” Baby Blue shouts back as he keeps banging at the door. It lasts for a few minutes before the banging stops. Then there’s some mumbled shouts as the neighbors yell for it to be quiet. “Sorry.”

There’s dark laughter as Edgy enjoys the embarrassment that damn brat must be feeling. Then he’s cursing under his breath as the knocking returns. Only softer this time, more of a light tapping on his door.

Well, whatever. The annoyance can stand at his door all he wants. Edgy wasn’t going to let him into his place. With a huff, he goes to change his sleepwear into some day clothes. He debates if he wants to wear just his sweater before grabbing a plain yellow t-shirt. Before he heads out, he grabs his jacket that he threw on the floor to put on too.

He doesn’t look at Baby Blue, who’s a few centimeters taller than him, when he opens the door as he shoves past. Edgy ignores the brat as he presses the button for the elevator heading downwards. It was time to get some breakfast before he did anything else. Maybe some flavored chisps to go along with some soda. Afterall, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Baby Blue had taken the stairs and had beaten Edgy to the first floor. Not that Edgy noticed or cared. He just continued walking out of the building, his destination instead the communal kitchen near his block. While there was the cafeteria where the humans would cook something for the Bitties, Edgy normally wouldn’t make it on time. So instead he ate the food that the other Bitties made.

“Edgy! Where Are We Going? Let’s Go To The Cafeteria To Get Some Food. If We Hurry Now We Can Make It Before It All Runs Out.” Baby Blue was looking around as he walked next to the sharper Bitty. His suggestion was made lightly, if Edgy used his magic he could get there within a few minutes. While Baby Blue would take a while longer since he would have to run there.

“fuck off. we ain’t goin’ nowhere.” Edgy quickened his steps as he rounded the corner. There were still two more blocks before he made it to one of the recreational buildings. “don’ need ya taggin’ along and crampin’ mah style.”

Baby Blue gave Edgy the hardest look Edgy has ever seen, which caused Edgy to flare up in anger. What right did the pipsqueak have to judge him? Who cares who’s actually taller, height meant nothing compared to the sheer amount of attitude that Edgy has within himself. The longer that the bothersome Bitty walked by Edgy’s side, the angrier he got.

By the time the both of them made it to Edgy’s destination, he was a stomping mess. He went towards one of the Bitties with a cooking apron on. It was a Brass Berry who had just walked out from the back. He didn’t take too kindly to Edgy’s attitude, and started to mock Edgy. Then the two started to do a stare off. Baby Blue was wondering if he should step in and prevent a fight from happening.

Loud laughing stopped Baby Blue from even taking a step forward, instead bringing his hands up to cover the side of his skull. “You fuckin’ bashtah! Where've ya been all tis time?” Brass Berry threw his arm around Edgy’s shoulders, having to bend down quite a lot to do so.

Edgy laughs back as he lightly punches Brass in the metaphorical gut. “been busy. got mahself ah stubborn human on mah hands.” Then he throws Brass Berry’s arm off.

“Oh ho! Ya ol' bashtah fahnally found yer self ah human huh.” Brass stood back up as he rubbed his gut nonchalantly. “So, yer here fer some grub. Wha’ ‘bout yer friend ovah there.” With a tilt of his chin, Brass points at Baby Blue. If he wasn’t mistaken, this Blue was also the same ancient age as Edgy.

“he ain’t mah friend.” Edgy didn’t bother to look at the irritating existence as he made his way towards an empty table of three. Brass follows, with Baby Blue behind him. They each took a chair, Brass across from and Blue next to Edgy. “ya jackass, why don’ ya get me some chisps an ah soda. ‘M starvin’ ovah here.”

Brass just huffs as he makes a weak attempt to hit Edgy over the head, only to miss as he gets up and fetches the food anyway. With Brass gone, Blue turns to look at Edgy with large eyes.

“I Did Not Know You Had Friends, Edgy. How Did You And That Brass Berry Come To Meet?” Baby Blue was all excited to hear the story of how two hard-to-get-along with Bitties manage to overcome the obstacles and join together as good friends.

Seeing the look on Baby Blue’s face, quick emotions flicker past Edgy’s eye light. Finally, indulgence settled on his face.

“sure thing, ah’ll tell ya.”

“Really? Yippie!”

Edgy chuckles before he beckons Blue to scoot closer. When Blue does, Edgy pushes Blue hard so that he falls off the chair. Blue shouted in shock as he landed on his ass. It didn’t hurt since Blue was used to falling on his behind during training. That didn’t excuse Edgy from pushing him though!

“That Was Uncalled For, Edgy!”

“is wha nosey bitties get. mind yer damn business next time.” Edgy smirks from his higher position before looking away. He puts his elbows on the table as he waits for his breakfast to arrive.

Baby Blue dusts off his shorts as he picks himself up. When he goes back to his seat, he moves the chair so that it’s farther away from Edgy. This only makes the other laugh in a mocking way as Brass Berry returns. In his hands is a tray filled with a huge bottle of soda water and plain flavor chisps.

When Edgy sees what he’s being offered, he curses at Brass. The taller Bitty just has a smug grin on his face. He doesn’t stay to chat as more Bitties come into the building. Left in grumbled peace, Edgy opens one of the bags of chisps and starts to chow down handfuls.

Disgusted by the lack of manners, Baby Blue keeps quiet. Instead he watches the other Bitties and how they interact with the Brass Berry. Some, well most really, are frightened by him but manage to ask him for the food that they want. The braver Bitties even try to go for some small chat with him. Brass is all teeth as he talks with the other Bitties. He doesn’t hide his dominating presence, rather flaunts his superiority instead.

‘Now I Am Really Curious. This Brassy Does Not Seem Like The Open Book Type.’ Baby Blue muse as he turns his sights to Edgy. The Bitty was still wolfing down his...meal of sorts. It was so unbalanced and full of junk! He wanted to sigh but held the desire in. ‘While Edgy Is Just As Closed Off.’

He couldn’t put two and two together but perked himself up. This was a mystery that he’d one day get to figure out. Maybe he should try to spend more time with Edgy before their human takes them to their new forever home. Yeah! That was a swell plan.

Edgy felt odd vibes coming from the side of him. It left him feeling that the bothersome Bitty had some weird idea again. First it was giving his human one of Blue’s gloves. Stupid really. His human would have come back without it. Edgy was sure of it. Giving his human that glove just added stress and force. Stupid brat probably thought he was so clever.

The anger in him made Edgy chomp down on his food with more gusto till there was nothing left. After he chugged the bottle of soda water, he let out a loud belch. Most of the Bitties turn to look at the source of such a magnificent sound. There were some who did not understand the glory that Edgy had bestowed upon them, while the other’s clapped and even cheered. Brass Berry felt smug that it was his food that had satisfied Edgy so.

Getting up, Edgy stretches and circulates the new energy through his body. Cleaning up after himself, as was demanded after being served here, Edgy left the building and headed back to his place. It was time that he tackled carrying the bag to the front of the Center as he waited for his human to be placed into one of the rooms.

“Wait, Edgy! We Still Need To Talk.” Blue, who had been in shock at the display of crudity, had shaken himself out off his stupor and hastened to follow the leaving Bitty. “Edgy. Edgy! Edgy Are You Listening To Me?”

For the whole walk back to his place, Edgy ignores the annoyance with ease. Once they reach his door, Edgy shuts Baby Blue out before Blue could even attempt to set his foot indoors. Which surprised Blue a little. He didn’t think that Edgy would be quicker than him on reflexes. This just proved that Blue still had some ways to go on his training.

Sulking, Blue decided to lean against the wall next to Edgy’s door to wait for the other. This time, he lets out the sigh. He just wanted to talk to the other about their human’s behavior the other day. Oh well. Blue could be patient when he needs to be. At times…

He went back to knocking on the door.

~*~

Bitties were starting to come to the front of the Center. You and Dog watched as some sat on the counter, others talked with Rick, and a few walked along the floor pacing. You counted at least thirteen Bitties so far. Which is a lot of them. Mmm.

Dog rests his head on your lap. He had been the one to nudge you awake when the first Bitty had shown up. Then the two of you had to deal with the growing stares as more Bitties eyed you both. You guess it had something to do with Dog being here. You were pretty sure pets might not be allowed in the Center. There wasn’t a rule in the website, but it could be heavily implied. Not that Dog was a pet.

Though the Bitties were curious about you two, none came up to you. Instead you heard conversations about you two from them. They were generally short; some try to guess Dog’s breed, there were jokes about Dog wanting to chase walking bones, and those that question if Dog should even be allowed in the Center.

You kept quiet, pretending not to hear any of their remarks with the excuse that you still had your music playing. Maybe you should dig out your headphones now. With that in mind, you see that Rick was starting to make his way towards you.

“Hey, so the fellows told me that your gang is awake now.” Rick points over his shoulder towards the back hallways as he tells you to follow him. He also motions for the Bird Monster to follow as well.

So the two of you are led to the Wait and See Hallway. Instead of the room all the way in the back, you were led to the first room to the right. The Bird Monster was the first room on the left. You couldn’t help but look at the back room you were used to. Dog bumps his head against your thigh to make you walk into this new room of sorts.

You make your way to the chair in the room as Rick closes the door behind you. Once he leaves completely, Dog starts sniffing every inch of the place. He could smell the concentrated magic, now he just had to figure out what the smells mean.

Tempted to tell Dog what you already know about the sigils, you hold back. There was nothing to do in the room besides sitting and contemplating your next mistake. Mmrrr, maybe you should just pay attention to Dog’s wagging tail.

“Boork bork. Arruf grruf huff.” Dog turns his head away from the door he had been sniffing to tell you what he had discovered.

Snapping out of your daze, you retort with, “Wah?” You turn to look at the three walls surrounding you. Tilting your head one way, then the other, you concentrate really hard. But no matter how hard you looked, you couldn’t see what Dog was smelling.

“What do you mean there’s strength enhancing sigils on the walls? I don’t see anything.”

Dog huffs at you as you get up to stare closer at the walls, your eyes squinting. Was there a glimmer of magic on the walls that you couldn’t see? How odd as you pass your hand over the wall. If that was so, then that meant that the amount of magic used was either so small it couldn't be detected or masterfully done. Wonder why those were there. You had no doubt about there being magic sigils if Dog said there were.

“WHY ARE YOU STARING AT THE WALL, HUMAN?”

The loud voice startles the shits out of you enough that you jumped away from said wall.

“ wall do you know. we bailey got here and already you got them jumping in joy.”

Turning around you see that nearly the whole gang was here. There was Pappy, Sansy, and Teacup. You weren’t sure where Baby Blue or Edgy was, but you were sure those two would show up soon.

“I THINK BAILEY IS STRETCHING IT A BIT, SANSY.” Pappy was once more wearing attire that suited casual work clothes. A white button down shirt tucked into tan slacks with a black belt and loafers.

“what can i say? i have to extend my vocabulary.” Sansy, you notice, was also wearing a white button down shirt under his blue jacket. Instead of basketball shorts, he’s wearing jean shorts and a pair of fluffy slippers. It was grey this time, you were sure of it.

Pappy stomps his feet at the continuous puns, but he doesn’t look the least bit angry. Instead there’s a smile on his face. You smile yourself. Something about the duo’s act was always so cheerful.

Turning your attention to the other Bitty, you couldn’t really see Teacup, since he was hiding behind Pappy. Oh. Was this behavior due to how you reacted yesterday? That...that wasn’t good. Scratching your head, you wonder how you were going to fix the awkwardness between you and Teacup now.

But did you have to?

Dog walks up to your side before he sits on his hunches. He’s taking in each of the Bitties and their smells as he matches them to the scents he had caught on you. Dog knows that there’s two more of these tiny Monsters, since there were five different scents on you the first and second time you came home. Since you didn’t really want to talk about your time at the Center however, he didn’t push you.

“SO HUMAN, MY QUESTION. WHY WERE YOU STARING AT THE WALL, AND WHO IS YOUR FRIEND HERE?” Pappy gives a wave towards Dog as Dog concentrates his gaze on the loudest Bitty.

“This is Dog. He helps me with my anxiety.” Okay, that was easy enough to explain. “Uh, I was, um...you see there was this thing.” Your hands were starting to get sweaty as you groped around till you touched the back of Dog’s head. “On the wall.”

“A THING, ON THE WALL?” Pappy says this very slowly, as if he was talking to a child - or an easily nervous human who skedaddles when spooked. Though, with this Dog here, that might not happen this time. “YOU HAVE A FORTHRIGHT NAME, DOG. IT SUITS YOU.”

Dog flicks an ear but otherwise, sits perfectly still. The fact that Pappy was speaking to Dog, like how you do made you happy. The respect that Pappy showed Dog made Dog wag his tail softly.

“Yeah. I was trying to see if there were...markings?” Now why did you sound so unsure of yourself? You weren’t lying. But you were also trying to avoid telling them exactly what you were doing. You could ask them about the sigils, but what if they start to ask you questions? As far as humans were aware about magic, sigils weren’t a thing they could make or even see.

If you were just like other normal humans out there, you wouldn’t know of sigils existence. You’d be oblivious to the magic in the rooms here. So how do you act like a normal human being?

“so.” Sansy starts to move closer to the coffee table in the room. Dog keeps an ever closer eye on Sansy while also being aware of the other two Bitties. “was your spot check a success, mark sman?”

When Sansy reaches the leg of the table, he shortcuts his way to the top. Dog catches the change in magic in the air. He knows exactly where Sansy plans to appears so he stares there. This startles the Bitty, but only for a moment. He and Dog give each other long stares as they size up one another.

While the two of them were doing that, you made your way back to the chair. “N-nope. Didn’t see anything of interest.”

For about a second, Pappy eyes Dog himself. Then he’s making his way towards the table to jump on it. Along the way he stares at the walls. You weren’t sure if he could see the magic...maybe he could. Maybe all the Bitties and Monster could see the magical writings. You didn’t know but you wanted to.

“YES, THESE WALLS ARE RATHER DULL.” Pappy doesn’t say anything else as he places himself next to Sansy.

Meanwhile, Teacup had followed closely behind Pappy. But he gave some space when they made their way to Sansy’s side. The pastel Bitty hadn’t said a single word yet, but you didn’t know the right words to say either.

An awkward silence falls upon you all.

Then Dog sneezed so loudly it was a cthulhu roar. It broke the stare off between him and Sansy. Even though Sansy had won, he didn't feel victorious. Rather he felt like the canine had let him win. It left a sour feeling in his soul.

“Gesundheit.” A soft whisper was heard from behind Pappy. It was from the still hidden Teacup.

“Teacup…” You didn’t know what to say. How do you coax Teacup from his hidey hole? Not figuring out a solution, you address Dog instead. “Dog, are you okay? This is the third time you’ve sneezed.”

He turns his head back and up towards you. His face expressed a question, ‘Why are you counting how many times I sneeze?’ With a shake of his head, he then goes to ignore the Bitties as he lays at your feet.

“...why?”

Huh? Was that Teacup? His voice was oddly soft. You try to stretch to see over Pappy to no avail. 

“I don’t get it. Why?”

There was something off about his voice. Pappy turns his head as far back as he could manage. It was to the point that he even turned half his body trying to see Teacup. The furry Bitty had his head down, ears pointed, tail lying limp, and fist clenched. Pappy did his own raised brows at the sight. He did not like where this might be leading to.

“ Why did you bring a mutt to our time together!?” His fur bristled as he shouts.

Teacup doesn't bother to look up as he storms his way closer to where you're at. He could hear your heart beating a mile a minute, the sharp intake of breath you made piercing his ears. That wasn't what he wanted to ask. Not really, and definitely not in this anger.

He fucked up.

He didn't know about your dislike for Magic Attacks. Which is fair, they could be dangerous. He didn't know you enough to know better. You didn't know him enough to notice that his magic wouldn't have hurt you or the other Bitties.

He was planning on apologizing today. That was what he thought was gonna happen until he saw that dog. Then he was filled with fear. Fear that he screwed up past redemption. That he screwed it up for the others as well.

Was what he did the straw that broke the camel's back? Did being around them make you anxious? Could saying sorry, being honestly repentant, help patch things up?

Dog had become the focus of his insecurities and dislike. It was burning him so much that he screamed.

"I hate yo-oof!"

Teacup was slammed onto the table. There was a heavy weight on his back as he struggled to get free.

"Let me go. Let me go neow!" He fought with all his might but it was like a boulder was placed on his back. No matter how he moved, he was pinned to the table.

"No! You're Going To Say Something You Don't Mean."

Blast that Baby Blue. Being right just made Teacup more frustrated. It was to the point that he was close to tears.

Knowing that there was no way he could escape from Baby Blue's grasp, he gave up. Laying still, he tries to calm his ragged breathing. His thoughts were a jumbled mess.

'Why, why why!' He could fix this, swear to the Angel he could! He just needed to calm down, but his Soul refused.

"an' they say ah'm the hot head." Edgy had just shortcut himself on top of the table. He was putting his focus on lifting the bag up, yet couldn't resist throwing his two cents in.

There was a grunt of agreement from Sansy, which Pappy shoved him for. Pappy hadn't stopped Teacup as he was preoccupied with preventing his adoptive brother from casting blue magic on the pastel Bitty. He not only had to step in front of Sansy, but also grab the other's hand to disrupt the magic. Honestly, these Bitties were a handful, but he wouldn't want it any other way.

You, on the other hand, seemed ready to leave. Again.

Though not because you were frightened this time. No, it seemed like what Teacup had said, and how he had said it, had crossed another type of line you had. Pappy was worried that they might lose you completely now.

It would crush Teacup. He would blame himself and the others that cared about your continuing returns might even blame him.

Dog rested his upper half onto your lap. He was heavy enough to make it hard for you to stand up and storm off. Like you wanted to. You were hurt, on Dog's behalf. Really, there was no way that you could get along with these Bitties if they couldn't get along with Dog.

There could have been something, Pappy was respectful, but not enough to disregard Teacup’s hurtful words. How dare he call Dog a mutt!

"Rrr."

No! You would not calm down. You had every right to be angry. Dog should be angry too! Why wasn't he? Why was it just you? Oh who cared at this point. You wanted to get up, take your now visible bag, leave and never come back.

"Rrr ruff."

Fuck deep breaths! So you were huffing in your chair. Your heart is pounding in your ears. Sweat beading down the side of your face.

Oh… shit. Yeah, deep breaths. Don't want to go into a panic attack. Clutching where your heart was, you try to calm down. Deep breath in through your nose, hold for five seconds, release through your mouth slowly. Repeat.

It took three attempts and four breaths before you felt safe. You bend over to hug Dog's body as thanks. It might have been a bit of a tight hug, but Dog wasn't complaining. Were you still angry? Yes. Can you think clearly? Sort of.

"Human…Are You Okay?" Baby Blue's voice was shaky as he got off Teacup's back.

Were you? Not really. Even though you weren't going to go into an attack, you felt that one was just around the corner. While still holding onto Dog, you took another deep breath.

“I will be.” Letting go of Dog, you reach into your pockets looking for something to wipe your sweat with. In one of your shirt pockets, you find a half--filled travel-sized tissue packet. Using one to wipe the side of your face, you let off a long sigh. It was getting easier to breathe as Dog continued to lay on you. “Okay, I think I need to stretch my legs.”

As comfortable as it was to have Dog’s weight settle on you, it was cutting off your legs’ circulation. Nothing that standing up and quick stretches wouldn’t fix. Once you nudge Dog off, that’s what you did. The Bitties, now quiet, all watched you as they were sure you would leave. All except Edgy. He was panting next to the plastic bag.

You ignore them to the best of your abilities. Which wasn’t much as you kept glancing at them as you stretched. How awkward. When you were done, you felt something cold touching your hand. Looking down, you see that it was Dog’s nose. Now that he has your attention, he goes into one of his service vest pockets. You’re surprised when you remember what it was that Dog was holding for you.

The glove!

Chapter Text

You were happy to see the small capsule for a change. If Dog hadn’t stopped you from storming off, you’d have, once again, forgotten to return Baby Blue his precious glove. With a large smile on your face, you give Dog a thumbs up. He just rolls his eyes as he presses the capsule into your outstretched hand.

There was some spit on the plastic, which was gross. You touched it with your bare hands! Wiping some of the slime onto your pants, you open the capsule. With a shrug, you decide that the best method to keep it clean of slobber was to just place the open capsule next to Baby Blue on the table.

Your hand stops as you notice he was standing next to a still fuming Teacup. You drop the smile and equip a blank stare. The pastel Bitty flinched before lowering his sights away from yours.

You weren’t gonna feel bad about that.

Instead, you focus your sights on Baby Blue. Slowly, you place your hand palms side up next to him. He has a questioning look on his face as he looks between you and Teacup.

Rubbing his skull in frustration, Baby Blue lets out a loud, “ MWEH !” The sound startles you into smiling, albeit only barely. When Blue is done, he turns to look at what’s in the capsule.

His shoulders tense, the blue gloved hand goes to grab onto the red gloved one. Baby Blue stares dumbly happy at his dearly missed glove. With quick movements, he’s reaching out to hold it.

“You Brought It Back To Me! Oh, Human, You Did Not Forget About Your Mission.” There are stars in Baby Blue’s sockets. Carefully, Baby Blue removes the red gloves, folds it neatly into his pocket, then puts on his sorely missed teal glove.

"Dog helped, of course." You had to give credit where credit was due.

“i glove to see you so happy bud.”

“SANSY!” Pappy swings their still interlocked hands. “DO NOT RUIN HIS REUNION WITH YOUR PUNS.”

Sansy just chuckles. He just wanted to lessen the tension he could still feel amongst the others the only way he knew how. It was what he was best at. For his efforts, not only was his hand squeezed with thanks from Pappy, but he even got a small huff from you.

Edgy seemed to be the only one not bothered by the atmosphere. He was resting against the bag watching the show with a certain smirk on his face that Sansy wanted gone. Like there was a secret only the sharp Bitty was privy to.

When Edgy saw Sansy peeking at him, he made a show of getting even comfier against the crinkly bag. Even crossing his arms behind his head.

In the meantime, your mood was getting a bit better the more you ignored Teacup. Even so, you wouldn’t change your mind. "Mission accomplished. Sorry it took a little long for me to return it back to you." It wasn't fair to the others, but that mishap was probably the excuse you were looking for to stop visiting them.

Something inside you hurt at the thought.

Ignore! You weren't in a safe space to analyze it.

You were good at ignoring your pains. It was a survival tactic, sharpened through the many years of living. Until you were alone with Dog, or back home, you'd just take note of it.

"Well, since you have your glove back and I see my bag is here too. Think it's time for me to go." You go to reach for the bag only for a wall of bones to appear.

There's surprise in your eyes at the magic. You take back your hand, and as you do so, the bone wall disappears. Since there was a red glow around the white bones, you knew exactly who summoned them.

"hour ain't up yet, soft lips. stick around till then an' ah won't cause ya no problems gettin' this bag back tah ya."

"Edgy!" You bristle at his words. "You can't hold my bag hostage like that." 

"heh. can, will, an’ just did." Edgy chuckles as he continues to lay comfortably on your bag. 

In contrast to his lax attitude the other Bitties tensed at the show of magic. You run a hand down your face. That air of tension surrounding magic use, was your fault. Maybe you should explain. Just so they wouldn't feel like they’re walking on eggshells because of it.

"Guys, I'm not mad about Edgy using his magic like that. Relax." You try to act as chill as possible. It was true, sure it startled you but that was all.

"Why Are You Okay With It This Time? Why Not Last Time?" There was honest curiosity in Baby Blue's voice. The others seem to have the same look on their faces as well.

"Because it was defensive." You didn't like Attack Magic in general, but if it was an attack done for the sake of defense then perhaps that was alright too. "Does that help?"

"so you're okay with defensive magic." Sansy says as he let's go of Pappy's hand. "but how can you tell the difference between attack magic or defensive magic?"

You almost started to answer, ‘Years’. As in years upon years of being afflicted by spells from magic casters. But that wasn't something you wanted to talk about. So your mouth hung open, a weird squeak of a sound escaping from you.

Dog licks your hand to snap you out of it. The wet sensation does the trick but it was also disgusting. "I don't appreciate the slobber Dog. But thank you." You wipe your hands on your pants again. Well, you needed to do laundry anyways.

You continued not making contact with Sansy and the others’ sockets, "It's just intuition, I guess, Sansy." You were hoping that they'd stop asking you questions now.

You can already tell by how their stances relax that Sansy and the others accepted your answer at face value. Now that you were on the subject of magic, you guess now would be as good a time as any to address the elephant in the room.

“Teacup.” The Bitty flinches and refuses to look at you. Well, here goes nothing. Taking a deep breath, that the other Bitties seem to take as well, you say, “I’m sorry.”

There was a collective, “What!” from Sansy, Pappy, and Baby Blue. Teacup whips his head up to stare wide-eyed at you. He tries to speak but only stutters.

“You didn’t know about my aversion to Magic Attacks, Teacup. And when I thought back to it, I realized your intent was playful.” You run a hand over your head as you speak to him. “I shouldn’t have overreacted and ran away like that yesterday. Instead, I should have… I don’t know. Not run? I should’ve given you and the others a chance to explain, or something.”

You look away from Teacup. This was the most you’ve ever spoken to these guys. You coughed into your hand to hide how uncomfortable this situation was making you feel.

Chancing a look at the Bitties, you see that they were staring gobsmack at you. Were they surprised that you apologized? Were they, not expecting that or something? You turn to Dog. He was back to laying on the floor, resting his head on his front paws.

By the way his tail was wagging as he watched, you could tell he was proud of you though. That meant you did the right thing. The tightness in your chest lessened.

"Human… I, I, I don't know what to say." Teacup finally sheds a tear. Out of all the feelings inside, guilt was the most prominent.

"ya could say sorry yerself." Edgy growls out.

Teacup's eye lights flicked between Edgy and you before he nods. His back straightens, "My… no. Human, I have done you and your dog an injustice ." Teacup copies the breath you’d taken. It seems to help, "Sorrry, is not enough to make up furrr it. What can I do to appease you?"

You blink.

The anger you felt had mostly faded. Teacup still treated Dog as if he was just a pet, which is probably why you weren't fully okay. But if Dog wasn't bothered by it there was nothing for you to do.

Though, what did Teacup mean? Just an apology was enough. You couldn't think of anything else. Maybe a request to not insult Dog again. Treat him with respect like Pappy had before.

Yet, such a request would mean you were going to come back again. That, was not happening. You gave Baby Blue his glove back. Once the hour was up you’d get your bag back. Your curiosity for Bitties was more than satisfied at this point. There was nothing left holding you to them. So why is it that something always seemed to want to drive you back here?

That pain in your chest came back. You tried not to show it. "That's alright Teacup. You've already done what you could." You two share a small smile. Teacup’s being a little strained.

Checking your phone you see that you have about ten or so more minutes to go. You wonder what to do. Now that everything was cleared up, there wasn't anything left that you could think to say.

"whaz yer favorite cullah?"

You answer without even thinking, then froze before looking at Edgy. He smiled sharply, proud of himself. Sansy and Pappy shared a look.

"DO YOU LIKE PIZZA?"

"what tickles your funny bone?"

What was going on here? You answer their questions cautiously.

"Oh Oh! My Turn. What Sports Do You Play?"

What kind of strange survey was this? Did sleeping count as a sport? The look on Baby Blue's face said no. Well, you tried.

"Um, human. What is yourrr name?"

You answer again. Were they going to ask for your age next? You hope not. You'd have to ask Dog how old you were gonna be this year. You lost track after… some time ago.

"The name suits you verrry much." Teacup's smile seemed more natural that time.

"yer still ‘soft lips’ tah me." Edgy grumbles loud enough for you to hear. He stands to stretch his arms.

In your own head, Edgy was known as ‘the little fucker’ so being called that didn’t bother you. Still, Pappy and Teacup went to give Edgy a stern talking to. Edgy didn’t even pretend to listen. He didn’t give a single fuck to what the taller Bitties had to say.

Sansy seemed to have fallen asleep where he was standing. Meanwhile Baby Blue was doing some weird jumping jacks while calling out your name.

Once he knew he had your undivided attention, he asked, “Can You Pick Me Up?”

That was a first. Normally they would climb all over you without hesitation. Though you prefer them asking for permission, having one actually do that felt oddly distant. You nodded and placed your hand next to Baby Blue. He eagerly climbs on and settles on your palm.

“Up! Higher! I Would Like To Give You Your Reward.”

How far up did he want to go? Just to mess with him you brought him higher than your head, it was as far as your arms could go. He playfully slaps your hands with his own as he tells you to lower him. So you did. Till he was at stomach level. Baby Blue couldn’t stop giggling as you two kept up the charade. At last you had him at face level, where he wanted to be.

Next he wanted you to turn your face to the side. With a smile on your face, you oblige. It wasn’t hard to guess what your reward was going to be. So when you felt Baby Blue press himself against your cheek, you were only a little surprised. You had thought he might have given you a smooch, but instead it was his full body hug.

“Thank You… partner.” His voice was so soft at the end. Almost as if he didn’t want you to hear him as he smoosh his face against your skin.

Partner. Was that what he was going to call you? Honestly, it was a decent nickname. Though you couldn’t understand why he’d call you that. Was he going to be like Edgy and only call you that? Would all of them do that?

'What does it matter? It's not like you’re going to ever see them again.'

The thought vanished as quickly as it appeared, but the pain it brought stayed. This was the third time! What the hell was going on here?

Dog, noticing you were starting to recede into your head, sat up to paw at your legs. Baby Blue had felt something was wrong and started to call out to you. When you finally snap out of it, you see the other Bitties staring at you with concern. Even Sansy had woken up.

Sighing, you move your hand with Baby Blue away from your face. He was reluctant to let you go, but had no choice. You place him back onto the table as you try to reel in your emotions. You didn’t want to answer any questions pertaining to how you were doing. So instead you went to check on your phone.

“Hey, Edgy. Looks like the hour’s up.”

When you reach out to grab your bag, nothing stops you. Other than Edgy standing on the bag. Didn’t the little fucker say that he wouldn’t cause any problems? He didn’t seem like he had any intentions of getting off. You grab hold of the bag handles and the moment you do, Edgy springs into action. He grabs your wrist and gives your hand a large chomp. You hiss instinctively but keep your hand still. Edgy lets go and finally walks off the bag.

Well, you should have expected the bitey Bitty to give you a bite farewell. He didn’t break the skin, but it was clearly going to bruise. At least those were temporary. Even more so for you.

With the bag in hand, you stare awkwardly at the Bitties. How does one say goodbye?

“see you around pal.” Sansy yawns into his hand as he shortcuts his way off the table.

“YES. TILL NEXT TIME.” Pappy jumps down from the edge of the table to follow him.

Teacup gives you a shy wave as he too starts to head out. Baby Blue and Edgy didn’t seem to want to move anytime soon. So you grabbed hold of Dog’s harness and started to walk out the room with him.

“Wait!” Baby Blue calls, hand outstretched. When you turn around, you see the concern filling his eye lights. “I Just Wanted, Will You Be, Um.” His hand lowers and he starts to fiddle with it. When he opens his mouth to speak, Edgy buts in.

“don’ make us wait fer yah too long.” With that said, Edgy grabs Baby Blue and starts to shove him off the table.

The whole time, Baby Blue is arguing with Edgy about his rude behavior but compiles. When they leave the room, a human you hadn’t met before peeks in. The name tag read, Christaphor. His voice was deep, his words short and simple before he left, “Hey. Time’s up.”

You look to Dog as he looks up at you. With a shake of his body, he starts to lead you out of the room, down the hallway and out of the building. It was starting to actually rain when you stepped out. Thankfully, you brought your umbrella. Once you open it, Dog starts to walk you down the streets with his hood back on. You both retrace your steps to make it back to the bus stop. It wasn’t as empty as before.

Staying a few feet away from the group, you pull out your headphones to listen to music. It doesn’t take long until the bus arrives. Inside, you manage to find a seat as out of the way as possible.

It wasn’t a comfortable ride this time around. As more and more people were getting on rather than off the bus. When the bus finally got to your stop, you and Dog were quick to get out. You two were now in the busy district of town.

It was the center of all the little shops and big business owned stores. Just like before, you ignore all the crowded places. Dog helped keep people at bay as you two walked down the street. Even with the rain, there were still so many people out. Their colors mixing with the grey scenery would normally be considered beautiful. It made all their usually dull colors brighter in comparison.

The grocery store you were headed to was Monster owned. So thankfully, less humans. You check your pockets for your little black book once you’re inside. You flip through it as you walk.

When you land on one that had seemingly random numbers scribbled all over it, you stop. Running your finger over the page, the numbers start to rearrange themselves. Soon it’s revealed how much money you had both in cash and in Gold.

Assured that you had spending money, you look up, grab a cart, and start walking through the aisles. Cans of food, cereal, box cakes, and muffins. These were things you could easily infuse magic into for Dog’s enjoyment. Of course, you’d have some regular ones too.

As you continued grabbing what you needed, a hunched figure ahead of you made the both of you freeze. It was a human, about as human as you were, and someone you both knew.

Joyce was muttering to herself again.

“Hey there Joyce.” The two of you calmly walk up to her. You tried to make sure your presence was obvious but-.

“AHH!” Joyce yelps as she drops the price tag machine. She quickly turns to you both and apologizes. A lot. “I’m sorry! So sorry. I didn’t mean to yell like that. I hope I didn’t startle you. Sorry again.”

“No, it’s alright.” You try to calm Joyce down as you see that she’s almost close to tears. “We’re good.”

That’s when she actually looks at you and Dog. She sniffles a little as she tries to stand up straight, only to hunch in on herself again. “Oh, it’s you two. Not that I’m not happy to see you! I am! Honest... Sorry.”

Joyce tended to explode into a rant of apologies for the smallest reasons. You’ve tried and failed multiple times before to reassure her, so you’ve come to accept this as just a part of her personality. How she managed to survive so long, you’re not too sure. Instead, you seem to find that a gentle smile or a soft okay works the best.

“It’s good to see you too, Joyce. Any sales today?”

Meanwhile Dog looks through the aisle you’re in, fruits. He thinks about the banana pancakes you made that one time and starts to drool. There were even pears to dip in honey. Ah shit, he was getting hungry.

Looking around, he saw that there was no one nearby. He quickly dug into his pocket and ate another treat. Okay, back to acting like a proper service companion.

Joyce stops to think. Then she pulls out a sheet of paper to read. "The price for apples have gone down, while crab apples went up. We just got a shipment of fresh spider donuts." She looks up and starts to point out where each item was. "Um, it also seems that we have a deal on chocolate syrup. Oh! Today's special item is the starfait."

As she talks, her posture relaxes. When her list is done she lets out a breath and wipes the sweat beading on her forehead. You thank her and quickly make your way to the starfait. Those were so hard to come by these days. Most magic foods were difficult to obtain, so you made sure to buy a surplus when possible. It helps that they don't spoil like other food.

By the time you were done shopping, Dog was carrying two of the lighter bags while you had four bags in each hand..

It wasn’t long before the two of you ducked into a shady looking alley. It was best if no one saw you do this. Placing the bags down you went through your pockets for a blue pen and your black notebook. Opening to an empty page, you draw the sigils needed to unlock the way to your inventory.

Grocery Bag x 10

They're filled with food

The notebook glows as you point it towards the bags. It swirls out of the pages, encircling them before a flash of light. The bags were gone, turned into pictures sitting next to the words inside the notebook.

After a short wait to make sure the coast was clear, the two of you leave the alley carrying nothing but the bag from The Pharmacist. By the looks of the sky you believe you should make it home by dinner!

~*~

Once home, you help Dog out of the harness and raincoat to hang them to dry.

You warm up some Patience milk at 25% purity for Dog. It would’ve been the last of the vials you had for the Light Blue Magic left if you hadn’t already picked up more. You noticed you were down to three of the only other colors left on the shelf.

Determination, which tends to give food a spicy kick. Integrity, that made cooking slower for some reason, and Kindness which smelled like herbs.

Their lower purity level also changed the effect somewhat but otherwise, the colors were pretty dull. Must have come from adults then. Inside your bag however, were shiny bright vials. Still not as bright as they would be, were they from a child, possibly from teenagers.

You try not to think about exactly how The Pharmacist collected the magic you and Dog needed to sustain your forms. It only made you remember other things you shouldn’t.

The Pharmacist was on your side. That was all you needed to know.

It took roughly an hour to sort all of the other items, both magic and not. The worst of which were things needing to go into the attic you couldn’t even access without climbing the outer wall up to the second floor window like some kind of knockoff Romeo. At least the footholds would prevent another fall.

Almost immediately after finishing your thoughts on what to make for dinner were interrupted by a loud series of hoots coming from the barn owl casually perched in your kitchen. You tried to ignore it, for as long as you could. You really did. 

But being invited over by Dog didn’t give it the right to boss you around. 

"We are not eating live mice! You get pellets or you get nothing ."

The owl ruffles its feathers before finally quieting down. You reach for the older bag of Dog’s magic snack pellets and pour them a small bowl.

Dog returns when the food finishes cooking. It's Bravery pumpkin soup tonight at 87 percent. You pour a bowl of it for Dog before grabbing a starfait for yourself. Dog rolls his eyes at your choice but knows that the magic in the treat would be more than enough for your reserves.

Once everyone is done eating, you all move location to the living room. The barn owl flaps its wings towards the coffee table in the center of the room. Settled, it grooms its feathers as a white glow starts to peek out from its center. It envelops the owl's whole body before settling back into nothing. The owl gives a body shake as it twists and turns its head.

“Hoo! I never do get tired of feeling so powerful, hoo.”

You plop yourself onto one half of the sofa as Dog takes the other half. You lay there comfortably as Dog and the Owl have a talk. Dog’s side of the conversation is still barks and woofs, but the owl speaks in the human tongue. Even if their beak doesn’t move at all. This isn’t anything new to you. In fact, this is also part of your monthly routine. Once or twice a month, Dog will invite a wild animal that might have news that could be considered important. It took almost a year to gain the animals' trust before they were willing to come into the house; another year before they were trained to differentiate actual news instead of where one squirrel hid their nuts early and what trees a beaver cut down.

Now, generations later, the animals all compete to find anything worth mentioning to have some of Dog’s pellets. Ew, that wording makes it sound rather disgusting to you. Mentally shaking your head, you instead focus back into the two’s conversation.

“Those hunters are back again, hoo. They’ve been trying to track the wolves down, hoo, blaming them for some odd human reason. The raccoons have been making bets, hoo, to see how much of the hunter’s food they could steal, hoo, before getting caught, hoot. Of course, hoo, it is the young that dare to mess with these hunters.”

“Arf, rrr roff roff.”

“Yes, hoot! I think I shall teach them to be more cautious, hoo.”

You liked it when it’s the owls who have news to report. They had such a calm and soothing voice. It almost sounded British to you. Not sure as to why. They were also rather polite, for being birds of prey. Not nearly as cocky as some other predators you’ve had the unfortunate luck to meet.

“But I do believe, hoo, that that is enough of the small chat, hoo. As the humans like to say, hoo hoo.”

Dog nods his head and this is when you really start to pay attention. The owl starts to go in depth about the air currents that would bring a cold winter this year, about the illegal deforestation and fighting for territory increasing. The owl then talks about them . Humans that didn’t smell right. Like yourself. They were getting closer and would probably reach your location after the first snow falls. Seeing as this is the beginning of Autumn, you weren’t going to be expecting them anytime soon.

Getting up, you headed back to the kitchen. You take a small burlap drawstring pouch from the button draw. With the item in hand, you go back to the living room and hand it over to the owl. It hoo’s excitedly as it takes the pouch into its talons. Dog opens up the back sliding doors for the owl to leave. Most likely, this owl will have a clutch that it was preparing for. The better fed an animal was, the healthier their offsprings tended to be.

Dog closes the door as you tidy up the place. This owl was nice enough not to defecate inside your home. Still, you gave everything a wipe down before calling it a night. Going about your nightly routine, you find yourself ending up sitting on your bed. Dog had asked if you needed him with you tonight, but you declined. There was some serious personal reflection you needed to do.

Breathing in deeply, you placed both your hands onto the center of your chest. You meditated with your eyes closed for an unknown amount of time. There was darkness behind your lids. Once upon a time, it was the scariest thing to you. Now, it brings you comfort. You delve deeper into the dark searching for the light. It wasn’t hard. The light pulled you towards it.

First spotting it, it looks no more than a small flicker. A wisp that could easily be blown off. As you near it, the shape of a heart slowly forms in front of you. It’s swirling blotches of mixed dull colors stood out against the pitch darkness. You smile sadly at your soul as you reach out to hold it within your palm. On the surface, there seems to be nothing different. No matter how you looked at your soul, it was still it’s Frankenstein self.

Tenderly you run a finger down the middle. Closing your eyes, you took a deep breath and entered your soul. You couldn’t stay inside it for long, or you risk losing yourself in all the history that made you who you are today. Thankfully, the memories you’re looking for are from earlier today, so you didn’t have to go far in. Once you’ve found them, you push the memories out of your soul to play against the backdrop of the dark. Then you exited out as well.

You were able to notice that all three memories you were looking for, had to do with leaving the Bitties. You weren’t sure as to why, but that's why you were in this meditative state. So, with a thought the memories started to play. There was no point in paying attention to them, what held your attention was the soul within your hands. As the first memory plays, you feel more than see your soul shiver. It wasn’t till the second memory plays that you can actually see the small soul shake. By the third one, your soul also starts to dull to dangerous levels that leave you very concerned. Through it all, you felt the same pain and twinge as before.

It wasn’t making much sense. With how your soul was reacting, you should be feeling more than just some discomfort. Then again, your tolerance for most types of pain was pretty high. So long as your soul wasn’t actually cracking again, you were pretty sure you could handle it’s reactions no problem.

You turn your soul over as you replay the memories once more. The same reactions happen in the same order, albeit on a notch higher degree. But that was all that happened. You couldn’t see as to why not seeing the Bitties any longer was affecting your very being, your source of life. Sighing, the soul floats away from your hands to hover just out of reach. It spins in place as the memories go back within its being. You didn’t get any answers from this meditation, just confirmation on one thing.

The Bitties will be your downfall.

Dramatic as that was, it was probably fact. If just spending three hours with them already has them affecting your soul, then what would happen if you spent a day? A week? Even a whole month? No, you couldn’t have anything or one tying you down like this. Not even the thought of leaving Dog hurt. Not on a soul level.

Your soul dims as you reinforce the idea of never seeing the Bitties again. You were sure that given enough time, your attachment with them, as mild as it was, will weaver and end. With that, you breathed in, held it, then opened your eyes. As you let go of that breath, you lay down with a plop on your back. Arms spread out and staring at the ceiling, a serene quiet filling the room. It lulls you off into a dreamless sleep. 

Chapter Text

Day One

You wake up from your slumber well rested and hungry. You skip most of your daily routine, just really brushing your teeth before heading to the kitchen. Scratching at your head you wonder what you were going to cook for Dog today. With the kitchen restocked there were many options.

Waffles. You were going to make Integrity waffles at 15 percent purity. Maybe add some fruit you had gotten as well. With a goal in mind, you started to gather the necessary ingredients and equipment. Without knowing it, you started to hum a little tune.

Dog was headed to your room before he heard the noise coming from the kitchen. He bounded his way towards the sound in his miniature Doberman form. He cocked his head to the side when he saw you by the waffle iron. Sniffing the air, he felt his hunger awaken.

“Yap yap!”

The small barking would have startled you once upon a time. Now you were used to any form of sounds a dog would make. You wave your hand at Dog without turning your head. There were cut up strawberries and blueberries, flour and glops of batter mix all over the counter. On the table was a small stack of already made waffles. They had a tint of blue in it. Not strong enough to notice if you weren’t paying attention.

“You need to finish up the last of the old batch Dog.”

Dog shook his head in dismay, his left paw raised in the air. He understood that, but the old vials wouldn’t go bad. It’d only lose what little magic it already has, making the color turn a muddy shade of brown. Then you’d have to drink it cause otherwise it’d hurt Dog. If he could, Dog would sigh. As is, he just huffed and leaped onto his chair.

“You’re always so dramatic when you're a smaller breed. Did I ever tell you that?”

Placing another waffle onto the pile is the only reason Dog didn’t growl at you. You have, at least twenty times since he’s known you. But who’s counting? Besides, he was not dramatic. He was just honest with his feelings. Right now, he was feeling hungry so he started to chow down.

He heard you chortle as you walked away to finish up the last of the batter. There were a total of six waffles, three with strawberries and three with blueberries. Despite his small size, magic food didn’t go down the same way normal food would. It’d quickly get completely absorbed into the body. Artificial magic food mostly gets absorbed, there was still some food that needed to be digested, but it’s a small amount. So, while Dog ate six waffles, it was really like he ate two. Since the purity was low he needed to eat larger portions to get the same effect. Which translated to using up the whole vial.

The empty vial would then shimmer out of existence. There was a theory that The Pharmacist put a return sigil on the vials. Dog hadn’t noticed any sigil on the vials, but that was the only theory that made sense.

As Dog was eating his breakfast, you were cleaning up your mess. The slight tune is still playing on your lips. Today felt good. You were going to dig into some of the pastries you got yesterday. It wasn’t on sale and was probably the most expensive item you bought. Then again, pastries from Muffet’s Dozen Spiders were never cheap.

After eating two cruncssants and a glitter donut, you felt energized and ready to take on the day. Staying in your sleep clothes, you make your way towards the living room. Turning on the tv, you open up Netflix and start watching the entirety of an anime. There were tears and laughter as you reacted to the show.

Dog had gone back to his room once he was done. Guess today was going to be a lax day for him as well. So for the most part, you stayed in the living room watching random shows or movies that caught your interest. Only stopping to make dinner, Determination curry at 21 percent, and getting a bite to eat yourself. Which was Leftover Spaghetti. You’re not sure why it was named that, but it tastes fine to you.

When the day came to an end, it was time to do your nightly routine before heading off to bed. Sleep came easy with no dreams. Today was a good day.

Day Four

You’re laying on the couch watching some show on Hulu that just went to commercial. The little timer said it’d be a minute before your show would continue. The actors on screen were in the middle of their dialog when the ads started. You were munching on those mini pumpkin rings, when the second ad came on. It was a Soft Bones Bitty sitting next to a large MTT energy sports drink. Well, it looks like the little fella was propping himself up with the drink. It was sort of cute. A straw was angled to rest against the Bitty’s face that the Bitty then grabbed a sleepy hold on. It took a sip, then two, his little sockets shot wide open as he smiled into the camera. 

“drink ghost fruit cherry.” The Bitty yawns as he stands up, showing that the can was just a smidge taller than him. He waves at the camera and then your show starts back up.

You look down beside yourself, about to say something, when you realize that no one was there. Looking to the other end of the couch you see Dog, where he always sits, chewing at his paw pads in his terrier form. Which one, you weren’t sure. It was medium hair though. Smiling, you go back to watching the show, forgetting what it was you wanted to say, and to who.

Day Six

That day it rained. There was the pitter patter on the window of your room as you lay in your bed. It was a dark day, you didn’t want to do anything. Grabbing a pillow, you curled around it and sigh. Dog was out there, somewhere, in the rain. He said he likes the way the falling water felt against his fur. On good days, you could go out there and sit on the back porch. You’d grab some Monster T, listen to nature’s music and relax.

Today was not a good day. You wanted someone there with you, but you didn’t want to spoil Dog’s fun. Turning on your back, pillow still in your grasp, you stare at the ceiling. Guess today is a sleep in day. Until Dog comes back and asks you for food. That was really all you were good for on days like these. Cooking.

Cooking and sighing.

Time passes, you’re not sure what hour it is. Dog comes in as you hear the tip tap of his nails on the floor. Hm, he might need a trim soon. Turning your head to the side away from the door, you frown. The water in the bath turns on and you can hear a light commotion in the bathroom. In this quiet, it’s easy to hear a pin drop on the other side of the house.

Dog doesn’t need you. He lets you cook for him to give you a purpose. But Dog doesn’t need you. You were the one who needed someone, anyone, to latch onto. Like a parasite. Your left hand clenched up at the thought. These thoughts weren’t true. Dog was…is your friend. He cares about your well being just like you care about his.

Besides cooking though, you couldn’t really think of how you could help Dog. Everything felt heavy, but you managed to roll yourself out of bed. An idea struck you, shopping! You hated it, but that was something you could do that Dog couldn’t. So you were needed. Even for something so small, at least it was something.

“Ruff! Arf argf.”

“Spicy or mild?”

“Ruuuuu.”

“Okay okay. Extra hot, got it.”

There was splashing coming from Dog’s bathroom, and that managed to crack a smile for a second. Then you were back to a neutral face, neither happy nor sad. Trudging out of your room to the kitchen is a hassle. Your feet are dragged across the cold floor, at least you can still tell the temperature. So you weren’t that far down the hill, emotionally. Mentally?

To make chicken curry with a good dose of Kindness sounded like a good idea. Have to add a harty dash of some Bravery to amp up the pepper's heat. You’re still cooking on autopilot when you hear the bathroom door open and close. Looks like Dog is done. He comes up to you, nose sniffing the air when he lets out a large sneeze.

“You wanted it extra hot.”

Dog doesn’t remark as he sees that it’ll be some more time before dinner would be ready. So he sits by your side, huffing as he tells you about the newest rumors and info he gathered from the animals. Listening, you feel a small weight fall off your shoulders.

The rest of the day, you two curl up in your room as Dog watches over your sleep. The rain easily lulls you to sleep.

Day Nine

It’s easier today to do things. So you take advantage of the uplifted mood and start cleaning the place up. Dusting and brooming the whole place takes a couple of hours, not to mention mopping and wiping all the windows. You don’t go into Dog’s room of course. Besides that, and the attic, you do everything else saving your room for last.

You pick up the clothes on the floor and into the hamper, certain ones you don’t think much of. With the hamper overly stuffed, you go to the basement to do your laundry. Darks first, then colors, finally, whites. Laundry takes the whole day but you do other things between each load. Like change the sheets on your bed, vacuum the crumbs and colony of dust bunnies, and even spray some air freshener as a final touch. Done.

Dog stayed out of your way by staying in his room, not feeling like going outside for a change. Making your way to his door, you tap against it and let him know it’s safe for him to come out. The door creaks out, only a snout coming out before zipping back into the room. You laugh as you make your way to the living room. Plopping down, you take your laptop and plan on gaming.

You’re in the zone, nothing catching your attention until you beat the floor’s boss. Exhaling as you lean back, you smile largely. Turning to look at the clock, it was time to start cooking. Saving your progress, you get up only to see that Dog wasn’t with you. Not surprising, but he’d at least tell you when he was hungry or what he wanted to eat.

“Hey, Dog! You okay?” Asking at his door, your hand resting against the wood.

“Wuu wuu.”

“What! A stomach ache!?”

You’re about to hurry into the kitchen to grab some of the vials to help Dog, when you hear a very soft whimper.

“...aoo…”

That stops you. Turning your head to stare at the door, you can’t hold in the laughs. It was mainly of relief but also at the hilarity of Dog’s situation. The poor boy had a bad case of gas. Must have eaten some of those berries outside. He never learns, stubborn Dog.

“I’ll make you some Earl Grey tea then. Are your windows open?”

“Ruf!”

“Hehe, okay hehe. Was just making sure you don’t suffocate yourself.”

As you make Dog his tea, you wish there was someone there you could share in the humor. The wish is fleeting as you’re once again chuckling. Tea in hand, you are allowed entry to Dog’s room. You spend the rest of the day rubbing his head as he lets out gasses.

Day Eleven

Dog’s Observations

Scratch, scratch at the itchy ear. Shake the ruffled fur back into place. Pant as the heater keeps the house too warm. Check the thermostat and see that it was only in the low 70’s. Too high for the amount of fur currently on. Paw at the thermo till it says mid 60’s. Much better.

Look around, see that you were once again pacing. Nothing to be concerned about, as that was really the most exercise you did willingly. Instead, scratch back on the rug in the living room. Much better.

“Dog.”

I’ll perk up the ears so you know I’m listening, but won’t stop scratching.

“I think there’s something wrong with me.”

I noticed. Instead of mentioning it though, how about those quilts?

“Those can wait another week. This can’t."

Stop mid scratch. Turns over to lay on stomach and cocks head to side.

“Rwuu rwuu?”

“Ha, ha. Very funny.” You do that thing with your face to show that you’re in deep thought. Patience. Many faces later and you’re back to talking. “I feel like I’m missing or forgetting something.”

Like those quilts that you keep wanting to avoid.

Scratch at the back of the ear. Shake head to fix fur. See that the face you’re making is a concerning one, you are thinking too deeply again.

“Awroo!”

Don’t laugh at how startled you get by that. Oh, you’re scowling now. Look behind to see who has made you mad. Seeing no one there, then you must just want to make another face. Human faces are so expressive. Too much sometimes, it was hard to tell what face was what in the beginning. Just had to learn that humans are not like me, and then they are not like you either.

Jump on the couch to get comfy. Ear twitch when you sigh. Don’t have to look to see you turning to someone who isn’t there. Yet. Sleep, knowing that you’ll figure it out on your own.

Observation End

Day Fourteen

Loneliness. That was the emotion that you were feeling. Have been feeling it for a little over a week now. But it wasn’t the normal kind of lonely feeling. You knew you weren’t alone. Dog is the best companion and friend you could have ever asked for. During the darkest of times, you had each other’s backs. But now… No, that still hasn’t changed.

The friendship with Dog is still going strong, but now there was something you wanted, something that Dog couldn’t fill. He was an independent being who needed time on his own and was filled with a purpose. He told you once, that it was to protect his pack. That meant you and the home you two had managed to make for yourself.

What was your purpose?

Like Dog, to protect the family and home. To live with the past behind you. Looking forward to fulfilling days of freedom.

That’s what you have been doing for so many years now and you wouldn’t change it for the world. So many wonderful memories were made. Yet something grew inside you. Everyday you wake up and expect someone to be there when you turn your head. You make breakfast and you want to hear chatter or footsteps behind you. Dog getting sassy with you and you want to playfully groan with someone on your side, another victim to Dog’s clever wit.

You weren’t sure why this happened. So many years of being happy and content and now you were restless? How could you ask for more than what you already have? Wasn’t that being greedy, unappreciative of what you have?

Sitting in front of the backyard’s glass door, watching the first of the leaves to fall from the tree. You wonder how that owl from last time was doing. There wasn’t much to do until your unwanted guest finally made their way to your home. It would be a rowdy couple of months, at most, of a full house till they had to leave again. Maybe this time, you wouldn’t be challenged. It’d be nice, not having to fight and argue with the guests, but you’d doubt that.

Dog was somewhere out there, doing a patrol of the perimeter as usual. He’ll be gone till dinner is served. Which gives you a three hour window since lunch was just had. In the quiet, you stare outside before closing your eyes.

Diving deep into the dark, letting the light pull you deeper still. Seeing your stitched up soul again, you note how slowly it spins around in place. Gently, you hold it in your hands trying to note any changes. Still dull, murky, bruised and hardly healing. Sighing, you let your soul go back in place. So it wasn’t your very being that had changed at least.

Opening your eyes, it takes a second for you to refocus on your surroundings. Your ass had gone numb, as well as your legs, for sitting in the same position for so long. Looking at your phone, you see that you still have an hour before you have to start cooking dinner. Getting up to stretch, you hobble your way to the couch to get on your laptop. You were pretty sure you already had the information memorized but you wanted something to do.

Looking at the Bitty Center’s adoption website, you feel a sense of relief within yourself. It almost shakes your resolve but you hold fast. Having made up your mind, you check the Center’s hours and see that they’re the same as ever. Nodding your head, you close your laptop, pull some music from your phone and place it on the counter in the kitchen as you go about making dinner.

Dog comes home, happy after a day of exercise. You welcome him home as you set his plate on his place. He’s slurping up the Kindness Soup you made him with gusto. Dog has been shifting into furrier breeds when he plans to stay the day out. Must be getting colder then, as the fall weather continues on.

When supper is over, you ask Dog to stay as you clean up. There was some news you wanted to talk about with him. It doesn’t take long before you’re sitting across from him on the table. Your air is solem while he is open and accepting. Taking a deep breath you start off.

“I think I should see the Bitties again.”

Not sure what you were expecting, you wait for Dog’s reaction. He doesn’t have one, just staring at you as if you stated the obvious.

“Maybe with the intention of adopting.”

Still with the same expression, Dog just calmly sits there.

“...You’re anticlimactic, you know that?”

Dog sneezes.