#bitty drabbles

(Hi! I’m not dead! Sorry for the SUPER long wait! I wanted to properly go through the adoption process with @dragonessloves to get three new additions to the family. I’ll be trying to update daily again, but be prepared for mini breaks as I adopt even more children. As always, don’t forget to give @vex-bittys the love she deserves! Without her, these drabbles wouldn’t be a thing; can’t have bitty drabbles without a bitty after all! P.S. be prepared for a post dump, as always, I’ve been liking things instead of reblogging so I don’t bury my previous post under an avalanche of stuff. If you don’t want to dig through my mountain of stuff, be sure to check out my Bitty Drabbles blog, it focuses around the drabbles and bitty topics. And without further delay, here’s the newest drabble! :3)

My victory was bittersweet. Yes, Crim knew that he wouldn’t like coming to work with me every day, but that meant that Crim would still be sad while I was at work. Yeah, he had Kin, but Kin wasn’t always great company. He never participated, only watched from a distance with calculating eyes. It was almost like not having anyone there at all. Almost as if on cue, my phone pinged.

I open it up and it’s a message from Vex. Well, message would be too personal. It was more of a poster. There was a new adoption area, though it wasn’t hers. Run by DragonessLoves. I almost overlooked it until I saw that she didn’t just carry lamia. Though Crim had run off to the TV once we got home, he seemed to sense that I was mesmerized by something and came over to my spot at the table. Kin followed close behind.

I lowered my phone screen to look through the available bitties and their bios. Crim seemed hooked. He scrolled through and skipped over the lamia entirely, but he couldn’t stop staring at the mer. I smiled down at him.

“Would you like to start an aquarium, Crim?” He tilted his head. “Think about it. We could get a few mer to keep you and Kin company while I go to work. We could convert your aquarium to house them. Your heat rock and sleeping area can go in the closet. I’m sure Kin would like that too, since he won’t be out in the open anymore.” I looked down at Kin who was staring intently at my phone screen. Crim contemplated carefully before questioning my motives.

“Not replacing?” I waved my hands immediately in dismissal.

“No, of course not! I just don’t want you to be alone while I’m gone for work. I was thinking of getting maybe a calm white? I know how much you like jokes, so you two could be joke buddies. Then maybe a Mother-tee.”

“You’re Mom!” I chuckled and stroked his skull.

“Yes, I know. I’m your mom. That’s why I want to get her. She could be the mom of the tank. That way you don’t need to worry about the Calm White taking me from you. She’s also supposed to be good with jokes.” Crim nodded and I mused, “I don’t really want to put too much technology in there, so maybe instead of a heater, we could get a Toatem. He’d also be like a small light source, so the room won’t get too dark. I know how you like to have the TV on at night.” Crim blushed and I patted his head again. He wasn’t afraid of the dark, it was easy enough to see for him, but he still liked it for comfort.

“Yeah, ok.” It was almost as if those were the magic words. A soft chiming sounded from the backyard, almost like a soft whisper. All three of our heads turned. Kin narrowed his eyes.

“Magic.” Magic? It sounded again, almost like it was calling to us. I picked up the boys and headed towards the sound. Behind the house, hidden behind the blackberry bushes, was a pathway. It shouldn’t have existed, usually there was a brick wall back there, separating our backyard from the neighbors’ but there it was. Wary of the thorns, I entered. Once I could stand, I was in entirely new surroundings. I looked behind me only to see that my yard was gone, replaced by forest. A woman stood before me, looking as if she were expecting us.

“Hello. Beige, correct?” I nodded dumbly. “Right this way, I have just what you’re looking for.” I followed tentatively, looking around. We were walking up to a series of pools. The trees seemed to grow even taller and more imposing over to the right, a symphony of bird calls echoing through the area. To the left was the mouth of a cave, the interior seeming to be lit by grooves in the rock itself. We were stopped at the edge of one of the pools.

“You said you wanted a mother-tee? I must warn you that most do not take kindly to fell bitties such as your chain.” I looked over to Kin resting on my shoulder. He had a glare on his face. Crim didn’t know how to look, he kept turning his head to look at everything.

“Are there any who might set aside their animosity to befriend Crim, here?” Crim suddenly looked up at his name being called. The mysterious woman gestured to the pool we stood before.

“Try asking them yourself, however try not to get too close, the Mother-tees will adopt anything and would be likely to try and add Crim to their list of offspring.” I took her warning close to heart, stepping close to the pools, but not crouching low enough for anyone to grab the Coral from my shoulders. Many furry white heads had already broken the surface. Many were staring at Kin worriedly, however there were a few who only had eyes for Crim.

“Hello there. Would any of you be willing to come home with me? This is Crim, and he needs someone to keep him company during the day when I’m gone. Of course, Kin here lives there too, so if that’ll be a problem, then you shouldn’t come.” A few heads disappeared back under the surface, probably to go back to those they’d adopted, but several continued to stare. Finally, one of the mother-tees hoisted herself out of the water, sitting at the edge of the pool.

“Would you like to come home with us?” She chuckled and patted the hand I offered her.

“My child.” I blushed. She wasn’t talking about Crim. The mysterious woman gave a knowing smile as she began to walk again. I picked up the mother-tee before following.

“The Calm Whites are right over here.” The mother-tee seemed to perk up at this. Before I could bend down to have another meet and greet, the mother-tee leapt from my hands, diving gracefully into the pool. Many of the calm whites moved away, keeping a safe enough distance while also making themselves seem calm and aloof. Though Calm Whites and Mother-Tees are known to get along together according to their bios, mother-tees could be a bit stifling, and Calm Whites like at least some space to themselves.

One calm white didn’t bother moving away, and the mother-tee scooped him right up. He didn’t struggle as she swam him back to us.

“This one. He’s mine.” I smiled and picked them both up.

“Well thanks for helping us choose.” The calm white cracked open one eye, closing it again after taking in the situation. I took that to mean he was ok with going home with us. I turned to the woman. “And the Toatems?” She smiled and nodded, almost gliding through the area to yet another pool

“Be careful. Pick them up by their crater. They are made of lava after all.” I nodded and looked down to the slightly glowing pool. I could see several pairs of eyes staring back up at me. I waved with my one free arm.

“Hello there. I’m Beige. Would any of you like to come home with me? I wanted someone to light and heat up the tank for the other bitties. I’d understand if none of you would be comfortable with that though. Just let me know.” I waited for a few moments, but none of them said anything. Before I could stand again and just leave them be, a small lava ball broke the water’s surface, only to plop back down again. When I looked back, there was a toatem pointing to himself. I smiled as I bent down to scoop him.

The water wasn’t too deep, but it was fairly warm, probably on account of all the other Toatems in the same area. The other Toatems were courteous enough to try and scoot their craters away enough so that I wouldn’t touch them by accident. I held him carefully, my entire arm soaked, but I wasn’t too worried about that. Crim was staring intently at the three new additions to our household. The mysterious woman smiled as she saw how I stared as well.

“It seems everything is in order. You can leave wherever you want. All paths lead to the same place.”

“Wait, what is this place?”

“It’s where I help people find bitties who want homes.”

“Who are you?”

“I thought that was obvious.” She flashed me a toothy grin. “You can call me Dragoness.” DragonessLoves, of course! She gestured to the trees. “If ever you need me, the gateway shall reopen. Do take care though, if any of those bitties gets hurt,” Her pupils, so human before, flashed into dangerous slits, “you can kiss you life goodbye.” Her voice had dropped an octave lower, almost like a growl. Even Kin was too stunned to respond. A blink later and her eyes were once again normal, and as she spoke, so was her voice, almost too cheery after that outburst.

“Now go on, you have a lot to do to get that tank of yours ready, don’t you?” I nodded dumbly, walking to the trees before me. I turned around to ask something more, but the clearing was gone. I quickly turned once more to make sure we were on the right path, but instead of forest, I could see my backyard. I was mindful of the thorns once again and once I stepped out of the tunnel, it was once again a brick wall. I did a double take, and it was the Calm White that snapped me out of it.

“Well that was a turnaround.” I blinked down at him before chuckling at his joke.

“Let’s get you guys inside. We’ll give you the grand tour.”

(I should not be allowed in pet stores if I have the ability to actually adopt animals, because you bet I’ll leave with something XDDD Why do you think the first thing I did when I discovered online adoptions this happened? Thanks again @vex-bittys and @dragonessloves, I love my children. I hope you enjoy the second part of the recollection of the day where I had no self control. X3)

The bettas, they were so gorgeous! So many different shades of so many different colors! There were so many different fin types, from twintails to half moons. I was mesmerized. I looked at every single fish, gushing over each of its defining traits. Instead of being jealous, I think Crim shared in my enthusiasm, pointing them out.

Of course, we looked through the males first, but then when we got to the females, there was one that I just couldn’t tear my gaze away from. Of course, being a female betta, her fins weren’t as long or luxurious, but her coloration was gorgeous. She was a halfmoon, so her fins ruffled out elegantly.

Her body and fins were a deep, but shining, navy blue, but the tips of her fins, they were the most eye-catching shade of red that faded right into the blue seamlessly. I picked up her painfully small container to examine her further. The store had to be feeding these fish bloodworms for their colors to be so vibrant, and I just couldn’t seem to put her down.

She was pretty cheap for a halfmoon, even if she was female, but I think Crim liked her too. He actually crawled from his spot in my scarf to climb my arm and examine her in her container up close. Before I could put her back down, Jay came over looking dejected.

“She got adopted. The kitten I wanted, she got adopted before I could get here.” I walked over and patted his back with my free hand.

“I’m sorry, Jay. Do you wanna look at the other cats they have?” He shrugged and I took that as an ok, so I grasped his hand in mine and walked him back over to the adoption area, fish still in hand. When we got there, the woman in charge of watching the cats in their enclosures noticed the fish and had me place it at her desk before entering. I felt that that was fair.

Each cat had its own description. The kittens all seemed to be highly energized. I let the woman know about Kin and Crim. As long as they weren’t part of the store’s stalk, they were ok to be in there. She thought it was a good idea that we’d brought them, as she agreed it might be a hazard to bring a cat home if you didn’t know if it would attack other already established pets.

Jay went off on his own, looking at all the cats they had available. He kept his eyes on the kittens. I went over to the older cats. You never knew what you’d be getting with kittens, but older cats already had their personalities mostly worked out. I made sure to hold up Crim to see the cats’ reactions to him. Any who seemed like they wanted to pounce I moved away from. It was safe since they were all in cages.

There were only two older cats who seemed mellow enough around Crim. They glanced over and just went back to lazing about. Both had been there a while and probably didn’t have much hope of leaving any time soon. The male, Big Jack, was all black. He was a big boy and his description reminded me of the corny’s from back when I adopted Crim.

The girl, she was a gray tabby named Tilly. She spent her time gazing out of her enclosure and through the glass that separated her from the rest of the store. Her paper said that she hadn’t taken well to being put in the small cage, but back in the foster home, she was a cuddle bug. I interrupted Jay’s search through the kittens to suggest the two.

Jay waved me off at first, but after going through each of the kittens’ bios, none seemed to be what he was looking for in a cat. Yes, they were cute, but they also had boundless energy. We wouldn’t be able to keep up with them, and in boredom, they would undoubtedly tear up the house. I was finally able to wrench Jay away from their area and pull him over to the adult cats.

He didn’t want Big Jack. Even if he was super cuddly, males had a chance to spray, and neither of us wanted that. The woman was surprised when we asked to see Tilly, but he complied and opened up the cage. It took a little coaxing, but once Tilly realized that we wanted to pet her and show her attention, she came right over, rubbing her face against us. That was all Jay needed to fall in love.

Papers were signed, things were bought, and we soon had a cat to our name. Then I remembered the fish, going to the desk to pick her up. I held her up tentatively to Jay. He chuckled lightly at me. He may not have had enough money to get Tilly himself, but he did have enough to buy my fish. I still hadn’t gotten my paycheck yet, so I was over the moon.

We were both satisfied as we walked back to the car. Jay had a new cat and I had a new fish. Crim had pet Tilly’s fur, against the wishes of a tense Kin, but once Kin saw that Tilly was a gentle giant, he relented. He still glared and kept a close eye, but Tilly didn’t know he was being hostile, so no harm done. Crim stared at the fish as we were driven home.

“Name?” Crim was pointing to the fish. I hummed and stared at her.

“I think I’ll call her Undyne.” Crim smiled. He seemed to like that name. I thought it fit too. Jay and his dad spoke about Tilly the whole drive back. I was just super excited about Undyne. With how Crim stared, I’m sure he was too.

(Hey! I hope @dragonessloves is ready for another ask, because this chapter introduces a new potential addition to the family. A family that was started by @vex-bittys X3 I hope you enjoy!)

A few days passed and things were becoming routine. I’d go to work and when I’d come home, I’d be greeted by everyone. I did notice a slight change in demeanor from the tank though. Tiki was the same as ever, but then Maki started cracking less and less jokes.

Depression is a bit difficult to spot in the best of people, but it’s a little easier when you know what to look for. These were classic signs in regards to sans-type bitties. It was only further supported by the way I caught Mamati glancing over her shoulder at him, checking up on his condition.

I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, so I waited for a day when Ella could sufficiently distract Crim, and by extension Kin, in the kitchen. Even then, I tried to tread lightly. Maki was lounging on the basking rock.

“Hey, Maki?”

“Hmm?”

“Are you ok?” His classic smile dipped for a moment.

“Water you getting at?” I didn’t laugh at his attempt at lightening the situation.

“You’ve seemed down the last couple of days.” He looked away a bit, then sighed.

“I miss my brother.” This was news to me.

“You had a brother?” He nodded. Mamati looked on sadly. Maki didn’t seem like he was going to continue talking, so Mamati took over for him.

“Maki and I were friends, that’s why when you said you wanted a Calm White, I picked him. When we first met, we just told jokes to each other from different pools. Then I decided that I wanted to adopt him, so like any good mother, I went to go pick him up and bring him home.” Maki seemed to crack a small genuine smile at that.

“After a while, he became sad. I asked him why, but he wouldn’t tell me. Eventually, one day, a Prancing Pony came to our pond. The other Mother-Tees and I were so stunned that someone came to us alone that none of us went to claim him immediately.  He scanned the area quickly and when he spotted Maki he yelled at me. He demanded that I return his brother at once.

“Of course I was ready to protect my young, but Maki tensed up. He demanded that the Prancing Pony leave before it was too late. I took in the situation and realized that this was probably the reason why Maki was so sad all of a sudden. Right then and there, I declared both Maki and his brother as mine.

“Before much more could be said, I grabbed Maki and swam up into an adjacent pond. There, we struck a deal. Maki and his brother would be under my protection, whether it be from other Mother-Tees or actual hostile mer, and I would be able to visit Maki in his pond to tell jokes every now and again. Both were grateful that I was willing to claim them from a distance.

“I’m sorry, Maki, I didn’t mean to take you away from your brother for a second time.” I was almost in tears myself. What a heart-wrenching story, and now it was my fault for their separation. I had to make this right. I told the two that I would be right back. Mamati began to console Maki, who wasn’t even putting up much effort to smile anymore. A rarity for any Sans bitty. I hoped that I could fix this situation.

(Sorry for not posting guys! Wednesdays are my long days at work and I pretty much passed out right when I got home! It was just supposed to be a quick nap, but Jay [yes, he’s real, I just alter his real name for safety reasons] decided to let me sleep in. Granted, I needed it, falling asleep right when I got home actually gave me the eight hours of sleep I’m supposed to get [the perks of having to wake up around four in the morning, yes, that tidbit from the work drabble is also true], but that meant I couldn’t post for you guys like I said I would! Maybe Wednesdays will be my no post day, but taking that nap was a freak occurrence so probably not. Anyways, sorry about that and onto the drabble. Ah, and as always, be sure to check out @vex-bittys and @dragonessloves :3)

Jay was surprised when he got home, but he wasn’t upset. I told him I would pay him back for the supplies I bought, but he just waved me off. He thought Tiki was cool and loved the setup. He was surprised when he heard that Crim had picked out the gravel color. It was my favorite after all. Tiki’s light was just right for us to sleep to as well.

I had work the next afternoon. I would be learning how to close. Thanks to that fact, I didn’t have to wake up at an ungodly hour. I still woke up before Crim did, though I suspected that Kin would be awake by now. I made my way over to the tank. Maki was basking in the heat lamp. Mamati had her arms on the floating island, and the two were quietly throwing jokes back and forth. They stopped when I approached.

“Hey there. I have work in a bit, so I was hoping you guys could keep Crim and Kin company? Mostly Crim… He gets lonely without me here. That’s actually why I came to Dragoness’ forest. Would you be ok with helping Kin keep him distracted while I’m away?” Tiki made a single nod and the other two just smiled.

“I’m sure he’s got a great poisonality, I’m really hard to hiss off.” Mamati and I both laughed at Maki’s jokes, but Mamati reassured me.

“Do not worry, he will be safe and happy with us.” I sighed in relief.

“Thanks. I’ll be back around eight tonight.” They nodded, resuming their back and forth punning as I started getting ready. Crim was awake before I had to go, and to make things better, Ella arrived. I, may have neglected to tell her about the new additions to the family. She nearly exploded in excitement when I told her I got even more bitties. I had to introduce her before I left.

“Oh, they’re so cute!” All three mer smiled and chuckled at her observation. Introductions were made quickly as I had to go and catch my bus. I made sure to give Crim a good cuddle before leaving out the door. Seeing Crim try and more thoroughly introduce Ella to the aquarium dwellers made my heart swell. Yeah, they would be fine.

I was exhausted when I got home. Jay opened up the door for me. Ella would already be gone by now. I needed to sleep, but my priority was checking up on everyone in the room. Jay started on microwaving something while I went to open the door. There was giggling coming from the other side, so that was good.

“I’m home.”

“Beige!” Crim slithered to the edge of the table facing me, opening up his arms wide. “Welcome home!” I smiled and walked over, scooping him up into my arms.

“You’re quite chatty tonight, what’s up? How was your day?”

“Titi teaching me!”

“Titi?”

“Mamati. Teaching me talk better. I teach her signing.” I walked over. Tiki was in his usual spot. Maki seemed to be taking a nap on the surface of the tank, just floating on his back, Mamati was right up against the glass, as if she and Crim were talking before I came in. Looking around, I spotted Kin leaning back against the side of the tank opposite to the door. We caught each other’s gazes, but his wasn’t sharp like usual, just… lazy? It was strange seeing him so calm, usually he was on high alert.

“So, you’re teaching Crim to speak better?”

“Indeed. He tried to communicate to me using his hands, but quickly found that I didn’t quite understand him. He had a bit of trouble explaining their meanings, so I offered to help him with his speech. He seemed excited at the prospect.”

“And the Titi thing?” She blushed minutely.

“That is a nickname he came up for me. His tongue would get a little tied if he said my full name too much.”

“Ok, Titi.” The blush deepened. “I have a few books in the house you can use to help him. They’re not like english textbooks or anything, but they’re something.” Her eyes seemed to shine at the prospect. I took that as an affirmative and left to go grab them from a shelf in the living room. Crim came with me naturally. I set them next to the tank. I didn’t get any books too big for the boys to open themselves. They could just sit on the pages to keep them open.

“You mind helping Kin out too? He’s not very talkative himself.” Kin seemed to get a little rattled at that, but he responded well enough.

“I learn. Don’t worry.” I put my hands up in defence.

“Ok, ok, I won’t say anything more. How was everyone’s day though?” Crim, of course, was the one to answer, giving me all the details of what happened while Ella was here, what happened after she left, and what his lesson of the day was like. He seemed happy, and I was happy for him.

I was glad that I was able to find more friends for Crim. I wouldn’t be able to thank them enough for keeping him entertained. It was my second ever best decision, topped only by the adoption of Crim himself. He was certainly a guiding light in my life. I wouldn’t have traded him for anything else in the world.

[So, I found this really neat blog { @vex-bittys }, and one of the things they do is adopt out lamia tale bittys (they have a better description, you should really check them out), but I just wanted to share a little tidbit I wrote about my own experience. I opted for a coral Bitty (UnderFell Sans) and I wrote this before I knew whether I would be getting it or not. I hope you enjoy!]

I wandered into the adoption center warily, not really knowing what to expect. I was amazed at the variety they had. Each enclosement had a description of the Bittys’ general temperaments. I immediately distanced myself from the full sized Bittys. Even a Pigmy Bitty would be far too large for my meager home.

The miniatures were just like their full-sized counterparts, just, smaller. I read around, each Bitty having a general difficulty rating. It was really helpful how they explained which Bittys had the potential to get along with other Bittys, good for anyone like me who might decide to come back for another companion.

I read through even more reviews from people who had already successfully adopted their Bittys. It only made me more excited. Finally, I decided what I wanted.

They’re not particularly calm or easy to handle, and they’re known for being highly venomous, but still, I knew. Not many people were willing to adopt these particular Bittys, so there weren’t many reviews to see, but even being a beginner, I thought I could handle it.

The corals had their own separate enclosures due to their venom and temperaments, but that only made me feel more sad for them. Yes, they are known to like space away from others, but it was just so opposite from the Pigmy Bittys who frolicked together just across the room in their large communal pen.

I settled on one Coral who looked particularly lonely to me and filled out the necessary paperwork requesting him. I didn’t know when I would find out if I could keep him until they messaged me, but I was hopeful. In the meantime, I decided to ready the house, just in case. I might even make him a little sweater as a welcome gift, though I’m not sure how he’d react to the texture of knitted yarn.

I crossed my fingers as I left the building, hopeful and giddy.

(I’ve never tried to tag anyone before, so I’m not sure if it worked, but if it didn’t, you can look up vex-bittys and their blog is the one titled Bittybones and Fanfics)

Going to try and link the next part, I hope it works!

(Shout out to @vex-bittys for helping me along the way and thank you to @dragonessbones for keeping me motivated!)

While Ella and Crim caught up, or, while Ella caught Crim up on all the latest gossip at her job, I turned my focus solely on Kin. He didn’t look happy, diverting his gaze from me to Crim every so often, checking up on him. I sighed and got his attention.

“Look, I’m sorry, ok? I wasn’t good enough. I didn’t make Crim feel as important as I thought he felt, but that doesn’t make me love him any less.” Kin folded his arms as I continued. “I love Crim, like my very own child, and I respect that you’re mad at me, heck, I understand exactly why you’re mad at me, and I’d be mad at me too if I were you, but you should know that if you were in my shoes, you’d blame yourself just as much.”

Something flashed in Kin’s eyes, but only for a moment. He then looked to Crim and Ella, motioning for me to pick him up. Surprised, I did, cradling him carefully. He then pointed at the door. I got that this was something that he wanted to talk about in private. I nodded, telling Ella we’d be stepping out for a minute before bringing Kin to the spare bedroom. He seemed content after the door was shut.

“Crim fell.” What?

“Where did he fall?”

“Cold water. Was so scared. Didn’t wake up. Wasn’t close enough, couldn’t catch in time.” This must be how he ended up back at the Adoption Center. “Tried warming in sun, still wet. Vex could help. Did help. Why Crim alone?” He was accusing again, eyes sharp.

“A joke was said. Someone said they thought Crim was a placeholder for children. It made Crim feel like once I did have kids, he would be left behind. That’s not true of course! But, he must’ve thought so. He ran away from home after that. Believe me when I said I searched for him! Had my friends, and my friends’ friends out looking for him! I put up posters and searched high and low, but I couldn’t find him.” Kin nodded, digesting all the information.

“Strong, but sad. Never gave up. Persistent.” I nodded.

“Yeah, he puts on a cold front at first, but he’s really sweet. Underneath it all, he’s self-conscious. Always worried about what others think. What I think, what Jay thinks, what Ella thinks. He couldn’t care less what strangers think, but if they’re close to me, then I think he cares a little too much. I just want him to be himself, to relax. If he doesn’t want to do something, he shouldn’t have to, but sometimes he feels like he does have to, for me. That’s the last thing I want!” Kin seemed to relax at this, and saying it out loud, I got an idea.

“Hey, Kin?” He looked up curiously. “Would you help us with this?”

“Help?” He seemed intrigued.

“You live here now, as long as Crim wants to be here, right?” A tiny nod. “Then how about every time things get a little too stimulating, you convince Crim to go back to the room with you?” He blinked a few times, but I continued. “Sometimes things can get a little intense when lots of our friends come over, and I can tell that Crim gets uncomfortable in big loud crowds, but he never listens to me when I suggest he wait it out in my room.” With Kin so calm, I almost forgot that he didn’t like me much.

“I think he might be afraid of being alone, but he has you now. Knowing him, he won’t wanna go at first, but how about you say you want to leave? He might be stubborn about accepting you, but I know he cares, otherwise he’d be a lot more hostile. He wouldn’t let you be all by yourself, and you could give him the excuse he needs to step away from it all.” Kin looked away for a moment, but instead of berating me more like I thought he would, he nodded.

“For Crim.” I smiled. “Crim respects you.” I chuckled.

“He shouldn’t. All I did was bring him home and ask him to be my friend.”

“Friend?”

“Yeah. You see, I used to lead a pretty active life. School, work, hanging out with friends, but, that all kinda stopped about a year ago. Didn’t keep up the grades to stay in school, so I dropped out, and since my job was a student position, I lost that too. Used my savings to take a few more classes at the local city college, but when I ran out of funds, I was out of options.

“This is actually my partner’s house, I just live here, though he’d beg to argue. He got a job to pick up the slack, and well, the rest of our friends followed suit. None of our schedules line up just right to hang out much anymore, maybe once a month for game night, and I was just left to stay at home and wait for Jay to get back from work, or for Ella to come and visit. I was lonely.

“Then I found the adoption center. I thought it was perfect! It was perfect. It was a bit tough in the beginning, but with Crim around, I wasn’t alone anymore, I wasn’t lonely. And he was happy too, I know he was. He only ran away because he had his doubts, but I would never throw him away or leave him behind! I wanted a friend, but do you know what I got instead? I got a son. And you know what? No one is going to convince me otherwise! Now, will you help me make his days the happiest they could ever be?”

Kin looked up at me, slight awe and adoration on his face, and nodded. I smiled back down at him. We would make this work. Everything would be fine. No, everything would be great! We would make sure of that, together.

This is part two of a little bit I’m writing after adopting a coral Bitty from @vex-bittys. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you should check them out, they have more information in their blog. And now, part two :3

I waited anxiously for a reply, and finally, it came. The adoption was accepted! I just had to come in and sign a waiver (for his venom) before picking him up. I drove over immediately. The sooner I brought him home, the better in my opinion.

When I arrived, I was given the proper forms, and they gave me several doses of antivenom, just in case. I stood back as they placed my new bitty in a clear plastic container, just for transport purposes. He didn’t seem happy about the contact. I would keep that in mind. He would definitely need time to explore his new surroundings before he was comfortable enough for excessive interaction.

They handed the box to me once everything was in order, and I smiled at him in greeting. He scowled and looked away. I was told he would act coldly, so I tried not to take it personally. I spoke to him the whole car ride home, describing the house he was going to and everything that he would be able to do. He just stared out the window, purposefully ignoring me.

He had a main aquarium where he would stay with a heat rock and everything else he would need, but there would also be easy access for him to get in and out of it on his own accord. Of course I safety-proofed the room for him, and the walk-in closet was his designated quiet area. I gave him the tour while he was still in his box before asking where he would like to be set loose. He only shrugged, so I let him out near the closet door.

He slithered inside, keeping his eyes on me as he was no longer in a box. He disappeared in the darkness, however there was a red glint from one of his eyes that I could use to track his location if needed. That meant he was still wary, but I knew he would come around.

I decided to try and coax him out gently by making the environment outside his quiet place a little more stimulating. Praying for results, I popped my most difficult video game into the PS4 and started playing. I became completely engrossed, swearing up a storm. I didn’t even notice the little Bitty peeking from the closet doorway until I heard a low quiet chuckle coming from his direction.

I smiled when I noticed him, but he looked away, red dusting his cheeks before going back into hiding. Yeah, he would come around. It would be hard work, but it would be so worth it in the long run.

(Hello :3 as always, don’t forget to check out @vex-bittys)

Cue 4:00 AM. Yup, in order to get to this particular shift, I had to wake up at 4:00 AM. Kin was absolutely fine with waking up, but Crim was a little grumpy. Not gonna lie, I was too, so I simply told him that he was free to go back to sleep if he wanted to. He didn’t. I got ready fairly quickly, then emptied my dice bag from game night to give to Crim for his antivenom and tag, just in case. He wouldn’t be leaving the scarf, but it’s always good to be prepared.

We were out of the house and walking to the bus in no time, still tired, but now cold. The boys had each other and the scarf, so that was fine, but it was still dark out. Thanks to my bus app, we didn’t need to wait for too long. Unfortunately, to save money, I wouldn’t be taking the train. Our bus transfer wasn’t as smooth. We missed the bus needed to take us the rest of the way to the building, so we had to wait another forty-nine minutes for the next one.

Crim and Kin were chattering the whole time. I wasn’t willing to talk to them yet since there were other’s waiting for the bus. Normally, I’d be fine, but it was early and this neighborhood wasn’t quite that hospitable. Best not to draw attention to one’s self. The bus couldn’t arrive soon enough and I heaved a sigh of relief once in the back all my by lonesome.

“Almost there, boys.”

“Why no train?” Crim had popped his skull out to ask the question. I patted it as I looked out for our stop.

“The train is a bit more expensive. I’d rather sacrifice time than money. That’s why we had to wake up so early.” Kin was grumbling and Crim went back in to pacify him. I let them chirp. The sun was beginning to rise, and it was a spectacular view. I patted the scarf so the boys could watch. Kin didn’t seem interested until he caught the look on Crim’s face. The little Coral always seemed to sleep in till near noon, so this was a rare sight for him.

People were beginning to bustle about and the roads seemed to be more full when we finally reached our destination. I thanked the driver and began walking, reminding the boys of my rules. Absolutely no attention drawing. They would need to just sit and observe. And no hostility if anyone gives me lip either.

I was a little early, but that was due to over preparation. I was prepared to wait about an hour, just loitering outside, but, as it so happened, I missed my second bus. I’d rather be an hour early than an hour late, so I was glad to have taken that precaution. I sat outside, just waiting for the first of my coworkers to arrive. Rina happened to be that first. She let me in. My ID didn’t have access to the building yet and it was still currently closed. I would be learning how to open today.

Rina was a good teacher and let me do what I thought would have to be done. I only made a few mistakes, and she gave me gentle reminders to steer me in the right direction. It wasn’t too hard; turn on the computers, unlock the doors, and check the cameras to see if they were working alright. Finally, it was time to open the front doors.

There were already people waiting outside. Most would be here for the public library down the hall. We let the few waiting inside before worrying about the lock, and then that was that. We went to go sit in our chairs and… Nothing. Just silence and the ticking of the clock. Occasionally, we would flip through the cameras, but that was it. Tick. Tock. Nothing. It only took twenty minutes for Crim to start squirming. I excused myself to the restroom before talking to him. It was empty this early in the morning.

“Crim, you promised. I told you it would be boring.”

“Too quiet.”

“I know, I know, I don’t like it either, but we’ll be able to leave in like five hours.”

“Five hours?”

“Uh huh, and then we have another two hour commute home.” Tears pricked at the corner of his eyes and my tone softened as I wiped them away. “Aww, don’t make that face. Activity will pick up later on. Until then, you can sleep, ok?” He nodded and I went back to my station.

It was pretty boring, even for me. Flip through the cameras, as if anything would actually happen, give directions to the nearest bathrooms, tell people that food wasn’t allowed, check for ID cards on the way in and rifle through their belongings on the way out. There was only one incident where some guy wanted to bring his coffee in with him, but when Rina and I showed that we wouldn’t back down just because of his stern tone, he left grumbling. I could practically feel Crim seething just under the fabric of the scarf.

Finally, finally, it was time to go. I clocked out and smiled as I left the building and felt the sun on my face. Crim didn’t even care that there were people out and about, he peeked from the scarf.

“Done?”

“Done. Now, do you want to come to work with me again tomorrow?” He shook his head no and I laughed. The good thing about working early was that I wouldn’t be getting home too late. Tomorrow? Tomorrow I would be learning how to close…