Categories > Anime/Manga > Naruto > The Affair
A/N: Howdy folks! This here is what I would like to call a "Filler Chap" or "Filler Ep", if you would. This happens a few days after where we left off... it does hold some significance to the storyline. Plus you get to see Sasuke interact more with his friends. This is dedicated to Shikan for asking why Sasuke doesn't take care of his pets. He does... it's just a natural thing for him that he doesn't get into it. Heh, but this chap is to explain what he does for his animals.
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kirara..this will be a added to my list of things that will be constant. DNAngel is a constant disclaimer of no ownership, and I do not own Jack in the Box. Pets World is a constant disclaimer too.. and yeah that should be it lol
Enjoy!
~~~~*
I woke up this morning, limbs spread all over except for my one arm wrapped around my snake, Kaidou. I stretched my body, feeling things pop and wincing at the initial shock of the pain.
I glanced around my room from where I lay in bed, checking out the animals in my room. Over on my shelves of manga sat my Bearded Dragon, Ryuujin. He was laying on his branch, still passed out. His beard keeps getting darker and darker the older he gets. I got him from my brother Itachi's friend, Diedara. He bought him from my store from me, but he ended up leaving him at my place for a week when he and Itachi went out on a float trip. He never came back to get it. So, now I got my big man, er, dragon.
Laying on her back, all sprawled out next to my bed on the floor, was my pup, Kyoudai. I rescued her from a family who brought the litter of pups in my store, two years ago this February. She is a gorgeous Akita/Shepherd mix. She mainly has the attributes of a Shepherd, but you can see the Akita in her eyes. She's a runt, so she only weighs around 50 pounds. Kyoudai is my dog. She listens to me, and is quite jealous of anyone getting near me. Shika has a hard time even getting close to me when she's around.
I rolled over to my side and glanced to my side table, next to my bed. There sat one of my Ball Pythons. This was the first one I got about a year ago. Nemesis. He's a little over 3 feet now. He's gorgeous. My first snake. He holds a very special place in my heart. He was making his way over to his water dish while I watched. I enjoy watching snakes drink. It just fascinates me. He dipped his mouth in, just enough to where his nostrils don't go in and he starts opening his mouth, his tongue slipping out and brining the fluid back in. So cool.
I sat up and turned to where I was on my knees facing my headboard. There I have four bettas in separate bowls lining the top. Behind them sits my reverse-blade sword. I got that for Christmas last year from Tsunade, my surrogate mother. I reached over and grabbed my betta food, as all four noticed me looking at them and were swimming around the front, showing off for food. I smiled fondly at them and dropped two pellets in a piece, before dropping a few more in. I repeated this process one or two more times, depending on how quickly they were consuming the food. I then put the food back in it's spot on a shelf on the headboard.
I rolled back around and stretched again before finally crawling out of bed. I went over to Ryuujin's cage and turned his lights on, telling him good morning. I grabbed the mister and gave him a nice bath and squirted his face for a bit, letting him drink the water droplets from his face.
I moved on to Nemesis' cage and repeated the process, but didn't mist his face; he drinks from his water dish, obviously. He hid under his log once I began misting the tank with the water. He really does hate that, but it's for his own good. Helps him shed later on.
I walked out of my room, stepping over Kyoudai, who then woke up and followed after. I took a pit stop in the bathroom before heading on to Tsunade's room. Tsunade doesn't really live with Shika and me anymore, but her room stays for when she does come back. In the bathroom, I had to step over Rocky, my oldest pet. He's a Shepherd/Collie/Wolf mix. He's a beauty. That's Tsunade's dog. But I've lived with Tsunade for as long as I wish to remember, so he's mine too. Kyoudai followed suit, but she just stepped on him when she came in. She sided up to me, begging for attention. I patted her on the head and scratched behind her ears before shooing her away. Once I finished, I stepped back over Rocky and made my way to Tsunade's room.
In there, I was able to weasel in my Leopard Gecko, Aibo. I have started to run out of places for my animals, so Tsunade's room was the only option for him. This was another rescue mission. Nemesis was as well. People brought them in, not wanting to take care of them anymore, so I took them home. Aibo was walking around his basking rock when I walked in. I checked on his water level and how many mealworms he had in his bowl. He still had quite a few left, so I bid him a good morning and sprayed down his tank after turning the lights on.
I moved on to the dining room, stepping over Rocky who had made his way into the hallway between Tsunade's room and the dining room. I turned the lights on for Ra, my Florida Kingsnake, and Mamushi, my baby Ball Python, whose tanks sat on the window bench. Between their tanks were Tsunade's plants, so it gave a cool, wildlife atmosphere for the snakes. I reached in and patted Mamushi on the head, stroking his back a few times before closing the lid and spraying both tanks down.
Next to the bench, on the floor, was my newly acquired bunny, BuunBuun. I checked his water level, filled his food dish with the pellet food, and gave him a handful of Timothy hay. I played with his floppy ears for a minute as he munched on the hay. He really is a cute little shit.
I made my way into the kitchen where I checked on the dogs' food and water levels, filling what needed filled. Then I checked on the cats' food. I filled their bowls as well, before calling the dogs to go outside.
The two came running and I almost got knocked down the stairs as I opened the back door for them to go out. I told them to "go potty" before I went back in to grab a bag and headed down to the basement. Down here was the cats' lavatory. I cleaned out their box, spying Alana on the steps, spying on me. She was my first cat, but she adopted Tsunade in the end. Picky cat. She's really pretty though. I got her as a high school graduation present from Tsunade. She's grey and white, and is very soft and squishy. She's a bit of a chubster. Love her to death even if she could care less of my existence.
Once I was done cleaning out their box, I walked back up the steps (Alana jumping down, avoiding contact with me) and I headed outside with the bag. Rocky and Kyoudai were sitting by the door waiting for someone to let them in. But I made them follow me to the alley where the trash cans were so I could throw the stinky bag away. I clapped my hands, getting the pups riled up so they could let out some more energy, and that's what they did. Kyoudai took off like a Greyhound, and ran in circles around the yard. She'd randomly come nip at Rocky, or bark happily at me before taking off again.
I couldn't help but smile at her goofiness. I looked up towards the sky, feeling the sun's rays beating down on my face. I took a deep breath of the morning air. Ah, the day had just only begun.
Seeing the dogs winding down, I called for them to come in. Walking past the kitchen window, I grabbed the black, swinging tail coming out from behind the blinds and heard an unhappy meow at the action. I chuckled, knowing I hadn't pulled hard, but just enough to piss off my black and brown cat, Kirara. I named her after the demon cat in /Inuyasha/, because one minute she'll be all cute and loving, and the next she'll be tearing into your hand like a ferocious demon. She's damn cute. Tsunade got her for me too, since she stole my first cat. Damn good that did. Cat is nobody's. She did take to Shika for awhile, but now she just hangs on her own, coming to us whenever she wants her chin scratched. I patted her on the head to tell her I was only playing, but that just made her meow in annoyance at me. I just laughed it off and went to get my shower.
After about forty minutes of cleaning myself and putting the final touches to my "ready self", I went back into the kitchen and got out some frozen veggies. I warmed them up in some hot water, and then dried them off in a paper towel. I took the mixed veggies into my room and opened Ryuujin's cage. I grabbed a green bean and offered it to the dragon. He happily took it from my fingers. I hand fed him some more green beans before placing the rest of the veggies into his awaiting bowl. I then closed the cage and waited for him to attack his food. And he didn't disappoint. He threw himself off his branch and devoured his meal. Satisfied with the show, I moved my way to Nemesis. I removed the decorations I sit on his lid and took off the lid. He's a big snake, and I know he won't try to get out, but for Tsunade's sanity, I leave heavy objects on it. She has this thing about snakes. Really dislikes them. Thankfully, she likes me more, so that's why I have three.
So I pulled out the heavy snake, and he immediately curled around my arm. I pulled him close to my body and began talking to him. I always talk to the snakes. I think that's why I don't get bit as often as everyone else. I'm not sure, but in my own mind, I feel they are able to hear the vibrations of my voice and detect the 'non-predator-ness' of it.
Nemesis started to make his way up my chest, so I raised my arm to bring him eye to eye with me. His tongue stuck out and tickled my nose. I chuckled at him and brought his head down and placed a kiss right on top of his head. He's so used to it, he doesn't even flinch.
I walked out of my room and put my sandals on that I had left in the dining room. I grabbed my keys off the table, my wallet, and double checked the house to make sure all things were picked up so Kyoudai didn't get into anything she shouldn't be. Shika was still sleeping, so I didn't bother him for where I was going.
I hopped in my black car; cursing about how hot it was. I rolled down the windows, put my CD player on Voodoo Too by Godsmack, and backed out of the driveway. Nemesis and I were going to go up to Pets World. I was off today, but I needed some food for my animals.
Nemesis was quite the good snake on the ride there, staying still on my arm as I drove. We got to the store and went in, getting a few stares here and there from customers going in and out of the store. I'd just walked through the doors when Temari, my best friend at the store, walked up.
She's one of those, 'don't mess with me if you care to keep on living' kind of people. She loves me though, so I get away with shit no one else would be able to with her. When the two of us work together, we're quite the scary pair. We, as of late, haven't worked together as much as we used to. But we do have a few nights a week still.
"Snake!!" She immediately started unraveling Nemesis from me.
I just had to laugh at her struggles. Animals always have this sense of... fear, when it comes to her. She's a bit rough when it comes to the animals, but she does know what she's doing. "You know he's going to put up a fight, Temari," I said, grinning.
"Yeah, but I always win," she boasted.
I rolled my eyes at her as I began walking, her following, still trying to pry him off. "What are we getting?" she asked once she was able to get Nemesis off my arm.
"Crickets for Ryuujin and Aibo, need a frozen fuzzy for Ra, and a frozen mouse for Mamushi. And the usual five of the fattest mice for Nem here," I said, petting his back lovingly.
"Alright, well you go get what you want. You work here. I'm going to keep Nem for a bit," she said, walking away with my damn snake.
"Right," I said, rolling my eyes and walking to the back to get my crickets. I bagged a couple dozen large crickets for my reps and then went to the freezer to get my mice. The freezer being back in aquatics, I went and grabbed the phone behind the counter to call for assistance in small animals. Even though I work there, I prefer to have an associate stand by me so customers don't just see some random person sticking their hand in the cages, even though I just must scream "Pets World" because people approach me even when I'm in my civilian clothes when I'm up there.
After I made the page, I worked my way up to the small animal cages. Temari met me over there and unlocked the cage so I could get in and pick out what I needed.
Before I left, I grabbed a bone for Kyoudai, some chew sticks for BuunBuun, and a new cat toy for the kids to play with. I checked out, and went to find Temari so I could get my snake back.
"Alright, give him up," I said, holding my hand out, smiling at her.
"Ok. Ok. Here you go," she unwrapped him from her arm and handed him to me in a ball. I slipped my hand through a gap and he squeezed to hold on to me.
We stood and talked for a few more minutes before she got called away to aquatics. "Call me later," I called out to her, before she got too far.
"You know I will!" she said, turning back toward aquatics.
I headed out, bags and animals in hand. Loaded up my car and headed back home. I stopped off at Jack in the Crack, I mean, Box, before heading home. I ordered Shika and me some food for lunch.
The guy at the window asked if Nem was real, and asked if he could pet it. They always ask, "Does he bite?" I mean, who would seriously go walking around in public with a snake that bites? I mean, there is always the possibility of him doing so, but he never has. So I know it's ok to take him places, he's used to the attention. I know it's just because people are ignorant about snakes so they automatically think they are vicious creatures who will bite off your hand if you get too close. Anyway...
I pulled into the drive way and honked my horn, knowing Shika should be up by now. Sure enough, he opened the door for the barking dogs and let Killer 1 and Killer 2 through the doors. Killer 2 ran straight over to me, yipping happily at seeing me. I ordered Kyoudai to go potty and she took off into the yard to do so. Rocky, I mean Killer 1, was already doing so.
Shikamaru walked over to me and I handed him some of the bags and he walked back in the house. I waited for the dogs to finish their business and then we all went in. I double checked everyone's water, and then got a paper towel out and put the frozen mice on it and covered them with another towel. I went and washed my hands and then grabbed Nemesis' box, and put it in the living room with me and Shika.
Shika, in the meantime, was getting our food out and separated while I got the snakes ready to eat. Shika grabbed the box of live mice and threw one in the box while I untangled Nemesis from my arm. I then set him in and we watched him strike at his food. He caught it by the head and wrapped his body tightly around the animal. Thank God. If he doesn't catch it by the head, then I sometimes have to stick my hand in there and hold the mouse's head back until he dies. Otherwise, there's the possibility of it injuring my Nem, and that is not an option.
Satisfied that he can eat his meal on his own, Shika and I go and wash up before sitting down to our own meal at the coffee table. We sat on the couch, pulled the table all the way up until it touched the couch, sitting Indian-style, and began to munch on our burgers. Once Shika was done eating, he tossed another mouse in to Nem. Again we checked to make sure he was alright. Finally, I finished my meal. I am, like, the slowest person in the world when it comes to eating. Very rarely am I the first one done.
I tossed in Nem's next mouse, and then went to check on the status of the frozens. They were thawed, but I let them sit out a bit longer to be safe. Don't want the snake to have trouble digesting something because it was still frozen. By the time Nem was on his fourth mouse, I got out Ra and Mamushi's boxes, placed the now thawed fuzzy (baby mouse with fur) in Ra's box, and mouse in Mamushi's box. The two attacked them immediately. I closed the lids on them and went back to Nem. He was still swallowing his fourth, so I went and grabbed the bag of crickets left on the table.
I went into my room and grabbed the calcium dust and knocked some into the bag after I untied it. I shook it up like a shake-n-bake, and then opened Ryuujin's cage. He was looking at the crickets with wide eyes. I dropped about 3/4s of the nasty little things in his cage and he went crazy going for them. He's such a predator!
I took the remaining guys and put them in Aibo's cage. One fell right in front of Aibo and he gave it no mercy. He tore right into it, shaking his head as he closed his jaws tightly around it.
I threw the bag away in the bathroom and went back to check on the status of the snakes.
"I just threw the last one in," Shika said. "He straight up snatched it out of the air too!"
"Really? Wow, he was hungry," I said, awed at the snake's hunger. "I really don't want to up him to rats though," I said, looking down in sadness.
"I know man, it's cool. He gets by just fine with the mice," Shika said, reassuring me.
"Yeah, I know." I don't feed my snakes rats because of my pet rat I had. I find them to be too intelligent of creatures to kill. That's why Nemesis gets five mice in a sitting, an equivalent to a medium rat.
I walked over to Ra and Mamushi. Ra already finished his. I picked up his box and lowered it a few inches from the bottom of his cage, then tipped it over, letting him fall out. Ra does not like to be messed with after eating. Ra doesn't like to be messed with period. Ra was another rescue that was brought in, and Temari took it home for awhile, but just couldn't get him to calm down so she gave him to me. He is much better than before. I left Mamushi to finish and checked on Nem. He was close to being done.
"What do you want to do today?" Shika asked, flipping through the channels. "I want to watch some sort of anime today at least."
"Fine by me. What do you want to watch?" I sat down beside him and watched as he flipped through the channels.
"I don't care, what do you want to watch?"
"I don't care what do you want to watch," I asked, a smirk gracing my lips.
Shika chuckled beside me and said, "Seriously, what do you want to watch?"
"Mm, why don't we break out the DNAngel boxset you bought three weeks ago," I said, giving him a knowing sidelong glance. We tend to get things, and take forever to watch them even though we say we'll watch them as soon as we get home.
"That is fine by me," he said. "So, what do you want to do until then?"
"I dunno, what do you want to do?"
"I dunno, what do you want to do?"
"I dunno, what do you want to do?"
"I dunno, what do..."
TBC...
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kirara..this will be a added to my list of things that will be constant. DNAngel is a constant disclaimer of no ownership, and I do not own Jack in the Box. Pets World is a constant disclaimer too.. and yeah that should be it lol
Enjoy!
~~~~*
I woke up this morning, limbs spread all over except for my one arm wrapped around my snake, Kaidou. I stretched my body, feeling things pop and wincing at the initial shock of the pain.
I glanced around my room from where I lay in bed, checking out the animals in my room. Over on my shelves of manga sat my Bearded Dragon, Ryuujin. He was laying on his branch, still passed out. His beard keeps getting darker and darker the older he gets. I got him from my brother Itachi's friend, Diedara. He bought him from my store from me, but he ended up leaving him at my place for a week when he and Itachi went out on a float trip. He never came back to get it. So, now I got my big man, er, dragon.
Laying on her back, all sprawled out next to my bed on the floor, was my pup, Kyoudai. I rescued her from a family who brought the litter of pups in my store, two years ago this February. She is a gorgeous Akita/Shepherd mix. She mainly has the attributes of a Shepherd, but you can see the Akita in her eyes. She's a runt, so she only weighs around 50 pounds. Kyoudai is my dog. She listens to me, and is quite jealous of anyone getting near me. Shika has a hard time even getting close to me when she's around.
I rolled over to my side and glanced to my side table, next to my bed. There sat one of my Ball Pythons. This was the first one I got about a year ago. Nemesis. He's a little over 3 feet now. He's gorgeous. My first snake. He holds a very special place in my heart. He was making his way over to his water dish while I watched. I enjoy watching snakes drink. It just fascinates me. He dipped his mouth in, just enough to where his nostrils don't go in and he starts opening his mouth, his tongue slipping out and brining the fluid back in. So cool.
I sat up and turned to where I was on my knees facing my headboard. There I have four bettas in separate bowls lining the top. Behind them sits my reverse-blade sword. I got that for Christmas last year from Tsunade, my surrogate mother. I reached over and grabbed my betta food, as all four noticed me looking at them and were swimming around the front, showing off for food. I smiled fondly at them and dropped two pellets in a piece, before dropping a few more in. I repeated this process one or two more times, depending on how quickly they were consuming the food. I then put the food back in it's spot on a shelf on the headboard.
I rolled back around and stretched again before finally crawling out of bed. I went over to Ryuujin's cage and turned his lights on, telling him good morning. I grabbed the mister and gave him a nice bath and squirted his face for a bit, letting him drink the water droplets from his face.
I moved on to Nemesis' cage and repeated the process, but didn't mist his face; he drinks from his water dish, obviously. He hid under his log once I began misting the tank with the water. He really does hate that, but it's for his own good. Helps him shed later on.
I walked out of my room, stepping over Kyoudai, who then woke up and followed after. I took a pit stop in the bathroom before heading on to Tsunade's room. Tsunade doesn't really live with Shika and me anymore, but her room stays for when she does come back. In the bathroom, I had to step over Rocky, my oldest pet. He's a Shepherd/Collie/Wolf mix. He's a beauty. That's Tsunade's dog. But I've lived with Tsunade for as long as I wish to remember, so he's mine too. Kyoudai followed suit, but she just stepped on him when she came in. She sided up to me, begging for attention. I patted her on the head and scratched behind her ears before shooing her away. Once I finished, I stepped back over Rocky and made my way to Tsunade's room.
In there, I was able to weasel in my Leopard Gecko, Aibo. I have started to run out of places for my animals, so Tsunade's room was the only option for him. This was another rescue mission. Nemesis was as well. People brought them in, not wanting to take care of them anymore, so I took them home. Aibo was walking around his basking rock when I walked in. I checked on his water level and how many mealworms he had in his bowl. He still had quite a few left, so I bid him a good morning and sprayed down his tank after turning the lights on.
I moved on to the dining room, stepping over Rocky who had made his way into the hallway between Tsunade's room and the dining room. I turned the lights on for Ra, my Florida Kingsnake, and Mamushi, my baby Ball Python, whose tanks sat on the window bench. Between their tanks were Tsunade's plants, so it gave a cool, wildlife atmosphere for the snakes. I reached in and patted Mamushi on the head, stroking his back a few times before closing the lid and spraying both tanks down.
Next to the bench, on the floor, was my newly acquired bunny, BuunBuun. I checked his water level, filled his food dish with the pellet food, and gave him a handful of Timothy hay. I played with his floppy ears for a minute as he munched on the hay. He really is a cute little shit.
I made my way into the kitchen where I checked on the dogs' food and water levels, filling what needed filled. Then I checked on the cats' food. I filled their bowls as well, before calling the dogs to go outside.
The two came running and I almost got knocked down the stairs as I opened the back door for them to go out. I told them to "go potty" before I went back in to grab a bag and headed down to the basement. Down here was the cats' lavatory. I cleaned out their box, spying Alana on the steps, spying on me. She was my first cat, but she adopted Tsunade in the end. Picky cat. She's really pretty though. I got her as a high school graduation present from Tsunade. She's grey and white, and is very soft and squishy. She's a bit of a chubster. Love her to death even if she could care less of my existence.
Once I was done cleaning out their box, I walked back up the steps (Alana jumping down, avoiding contact with me) and I headed outside with the bag. Rocky and Kyoudai were sitting by the door waiting for someone to let them in. But I made them follow me to the alley where the trash cans were so I could throw the stinky bag away. I clapped my hands, getting the pups riled up so they could let out some more energy, and that's what they did. Kyoudai took off like a Greyhound, and ran in circles around the yard. She'd randomly come nip at Rocky, or bark happily at me before taking off again.
I couldn't help but smile at her goofiness. I looked up towards the sky, feeling the sun's rays beating down on my face. I took a deep breath of the morning air. Ah, the day had just only begun.
Seeing the dogs winding down, I called for them to come in. Walking past the kitchen window, I grabbed the black, swinging tail coming out from behind the blinds and heard an unhappy meow at the action. I chuckled, knowing I hadn't pulled hard, but just enough to piss off my black and brown cat, Kirara. I named her after the demon cat in /Inuyasha/, because one minute she'll be all cute and loving, and the next she'll be tearing into your hand like a ferocious demon. She's damn cute. Tsunade got her for me too, since she stole my first cat. Damn good that did. Cat is nobody's. She did take to Shika for awhile, but now she just hangs on her own, coming to us whenever she wants her chin scratched. I patted her on the head to tell her I was only playing, but that just made her meow in annoyance at me. I just laughed it off and went to get my shower.
After about forty minutes of cleaning myself and putting the final touches to my "ready self", I went back into the kitchen and got out some frozen veggies. I warmed them up in some hot water, and then dried them off in a paper towel. I took the mixed veggies into my room and opened Ryuujin's cage. I grabbed a green bean and offered it to the dragon. He happily took it from my fingers. I hand fed him some more green beans before placing the rest of the veggies into his awaiting bowl. I then closed the cage and waited for him to attack his food. And he didn't disappoint. He threw himself off his branch and devoured his meal. Satisfied with the show, I moved my way to Nemesis. I removed the decorations I sit on his lid and took off the lid. He's a big snake, and I know he won't try to get out, but for Tsunade's sanity, I leave heavy objects on it. She has this thing about snakes. Really dislikes them. Thankfully, she likes me more, so that's why I have three.
So I pulled out the heavy snake, and he immediately curled around my arm. I pulled him close to my body and began talking to him. I always talk to the snakes. I think that's why I don't get bit as often as everyone else. I'm not sure, but in my own mind, I feel they are able to hear the vibrations of my voice and detect the 'non-predator-ness' of it.
Nemesis started to make his way up my chest, so I raised my arm to bring him eye to eye with me. His tongue stuck out and tickled my nose. I chuckled at him and brought his head down and placed a kiss right on top of his head. He's so used to it, he doesn't even flinch.
I walked out of my room and put my sandals on that I had left in the dining room. I grabbed my keys off the table, my wallet, and double checked the house to make sure all things were picked up so Kyoudai didn't get into anything she shouldn't be. Shika was still sleeping, so I didn't bother him for where I was going.
I hopped in my black car; cursing about how hot it was. I rolled down the windows, put my CD player on Voodoo Too by Godsmack, and backed out of the driveway. Nemesis and I were going to go up to Pets World. I was off today, but I needed some food for my animals.
Nemesis was quite the good snake on the ride there, staying still on my arm as I drove. We got to the store and went in, getting a few stares here and there from customers going in and out of the store. I'd just walked through the doors when Temari, my best friend at the store, walked up.
She's one of those, 'don't mess with me if you care to keep on living' kind of people. She loves me though, so I get away with shit no one else would be able to with her. When the two of us work together, we're quite the scary pair. We, as of late, haven't worked together as much as we used to. But we do have a few nights a week still.
"Snake!!" She immediately started unraveling Nemesis from me.
I just had to laugh at her struggles. Animals always have this sense of... fear, when it comes to her. She's a bit rough when it comes to the animals, but she does know what she's doing. "You know he's going to put up a fight, Temari," I said, grinning.
"Yeah, but I always win," she boasted.
I rolled my eyes at her as I began walking, her following, still trying to pry him off. "What are we getting?" she asked once she was able to get Nemesis off my arm.
"Crickets for Ryuujin and Aibo, need a frozen fuzzy for Ra, and a frozen mouse for Mamushi. And the usual five of the fattest mice for Nem here," I said, petting his back lovingly.
"Alright, well you go get what you want. You work here. I'm going to keep Nem for a bit," she said, walking away with my damn snake.
"Right," I said, rolling my eyes and walking to the back to get my crickets. I bagged a couple dozen large crickets for my reps and then went to the freezer to get my mice. The freezer being back in aquatics, I went and grabbed the phone behind the counter to call for assistance in small animals. Even though I work there, I prefer to have an associate stand by me so customers don't just see some random person sticking their hand in the cages, even though I just must scream "Pets World" because people approach me even when I'm in my civilian clothes when I'm up there.
After I made the page, I worked my way up to the small animal cages. Temari met me over there and unlocked the cage so I could get in and pick out what I needed.
Before I left, I grabbed a bone for Kyoudai, some chew sticks for BuunBuun, and a new cat toy for the kids to play with. I checked out, and went to find Temari so I could get my snake back.
"Alright, give him up," I said, holding my hand out, smiling at her.
"Ok. Ok. Here you go," she unwrapped him from her arm and handed him to me in a ball. I slipped my hand through a gap and he squeezed to hold on to me.
We stood and talked for a few more minutes before she got called away to aquatics. "Call me later," I called out to her, before she got too far.
"You know I will!" she said, turning back toward aquatics.
I headed out, bags and animals in hand. Loaded up my car and headed back home. I stopped off at Jack in the Crack, I mean, Box, before heading home. I ordered Shika and me some food for lunch.
The guy at the window asked if Nem was real, and asked if he could pet it. They always ask, "Does he bite?" I mean, who would seriously go walking around in public with a snake that bites? I mean, there is always the possibility of him doing so, but he never has. So I know it's ok to take him places, he's used to the attention. I know it's just because people are ignorant about snakes so they automatically think they are vicious creatures who will bite off your hand if you get too close. Anyway...
I pulled into the drive way and honked my horn, knowing Shika should be up by now. Sure enough, he opened the door for the barking dogs and let Killer 1 and Killer 2 through the doors. Killer 2 ran straight over to me, yipping happily at seeing me. I ordered Kyoudai to go potty and she took off into the yard to do so. Rocky, I mean Killer 1, was already doing so.
Shikamaru walked over to me and I handed him some of the bags and he walked back in the house. I waited for the dogs to finish their business and then we all went in. I double checked everyone's water, and then got a paper towel out and put the frozen mice on it and covered them with another towel. I went and washed my hands and then grabbed Nemesis' box, and put it in the living room with me and Shika.
Shika, in the meantime, was getting our food out and separated while I got the snakes ready to eat. Shika grabbed the box of live mice and threw one in the box while I untangled Nemesis from my arm. I then set him in and we watched him strike at his food. He caught it by the head and wrapped his body tightly around the animal. Thank God. If he doesn't catch it by the head, then I sometimes have to stick my hand in there and hold the mouse's head back until he dies. Otherwise, there's the possibility of it injuring my Nem, and that is not an option.
Satisfied that he can eat his meal on his own, Shika and I go and wash up before sitting down to our own meal at the coffee table. We sat on the couch, pulled the table all the way up until it touched the couch, sitting Indian-style, and began to munch on our burgers. Once Shika was done eating, he tossed another mouse in to Nem. Again we checked to make sure he was alright. Finally, I finished my meal. I am, like, the slowest person in the world when it comes to eating. Very rarely am I the first one done.
I tossed in Nem's next mouse, and then went to check on the status of the frozens. They were thawed, but I let them sit out a bit longer to be safe. Don't want the snake to have trouble digesting something because it was still frozen. By the time Nem was on his fourth mouse, I got out Ra and Mamushi's boxes, placed the now thawed fuzzy (baby mouse with fur) in Ra's box, and mouse in Mamushi's box. The two attacked them immediately. I closed the lids on them and went back to Nem. He was still swallowing his fourth, so I went and grabbed the bag of crickets left on the table.
I went into my room and grabbed the calcium dust and knocked some into the bag after I untied it. I shook it up like a shake-n-bake, and then opened Ryuujin's cage. He was looking at the crickets with wide eyes. I dropped about 3/4s of the nasty little things in his cage and he went crazy going for them. He's such a predator!
I took the remaining guys and put them in Aibo's cage. One fell right in front of Aibo and he gave it no mercy. He tore right into it, shaking his head as he closed his jaws tightly around it.
I threw the bag away in the bathroom and went back to check on the status of the snakes.
"I just threw the last one in," Shika said. "He straight up snatched it out of the air too!"
"Really? Wow, he was hungry," I said, awed at the snake's hunger. "I really don't want to up him to rats though," I said, looking down in sadness.
"I know man, it's cool. He gets by just fine with the mice," Shika said, reassuring me.
"Yeah, I know." I don't feed my snakes rats because of my pet rat I had. I find them to be too intelligent of creatures to kill. That's why Nemesis gets five mice in a sitting, an equivalent to a medium rat.
I walked over to Ra and Mamushi. Ra already finished his. I picked up his box and lowered it a few inches from the bottom of his cage, then tipped it over, letting him fall out. Ra does not like to be messed with after eating. Ra doesn't like to be messed with period. Ra was another rescue that was brought in, and Temari took it home for awhile, but just couldn't get him to calm down so she gave him to me. He is much better than before. I left Mamushi to finish and checked on Nem. He was close to being done.
"What do you want to do today?" Shika asked, flipping through the channels. "I want to watch some sort of anime today at least."
"Fine by me. What do you want to watch?" I sat down beside him and watched as he flipped through the channels.
"I don't care, what do you want to watch?"
"I don't care what do you want to watch," I asked, a smirk gracing my lips.
Shika chuckled beside me and said, "Seriously, what do you want to watch?"
"Mm, why don't we break out the DNAngel boxset you bought three weeks ago," I said, giving him a knowing sidelong glance. We tend to get things, and take forever to watch them even though we say we'll watch them as soon as we get home.
"That is fine by me," he said. "So, what do you want to do until then?"
"I dunno, what do you want to do?"
"I dunno, what do you want to do?"
"I dunno, what do you want to do?"
"I dunno, what do..."
TBC...
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