(TW: The infamous chain bitty is mentionned down below.)
"Pff, you look like one, anyway." She smirked before turning to the next wooden box. "How many are there?" She complained.
"Six. Only six." Answered her colleague. Okay. Four left to go. This one read Sugarfloss. Oh. Oh-oh. Maybe having them sent by the post office wasn't the best idea ever. Élodie did a quick check on the box.
'It's written Sugarfloss Bittybones on it, but all you'll find in there is dust.'
"Shit." The colleague shrug.
"Okay. Three more left, then." Sugarfloss were Papyrus-type bittys. Optimistic and kind, their downside was their fragility. Something as simple as too intense sunlight could blind them forever. Their were allergics to almost everything and clumsy as hell. "They should have written 'fragile' on it." Added the guy before opening the next one. Élodie still felt quite uneasy due to the mass massacre that had occured to the Sugarflosses. She hoped they could order new samples before Angel notices anything.
"Awww, you ain't coming, Élo' ?" The monster girl came back to reality.
"Which breed it is?" She was curious.
"Guess." Answered the other.
"Uuuuh...."
"It's so cute you could eat them?" Élodie's face lighten.
"Caramel!"
"Yes!" The girl ran to the newly open box, discovering a puddle of goo in tupperwares. The papyrus-type bittys inside it nearly drown in their own waste.
"Oh. Crap. How would we keep them inside the store? I read the goo attracts bugs too..." The last thing they wanted was cockroaches or ants inside the store... The worst case scenario being an unremovable stain in the perfectly white floor.
"Fish tank?" Asked the colleague. "We will drain it once in a while."
"Hmm." Sang the fell girl. "I hope they like to swim." The Caramel were all excited to be taken out of their tupperwares and- well- to be alive as well. They made grabby hands to the employees who passed their turn.
"Next box?" He asked.
"Next box!" She answered. It had been okay-ish until now and she was hopeful for what's next. As they were struggling with the lid, Marie came back from the rescue room, empty handed.
"Hey, how is it going?" Asked the brown haired human girl. Élodie felt the lid giving up when she answered her bestie.
"Perfectly. And you? Had fun?" She paused. "Wait. Where are all the jellybeans?" Did she left them with the pygmys?
"The kind chain told me I could leave them to it." Élodie furrowed her brows.
"Wait. What?" There wasn't two chains in the store. Actually. There wasn't supposed to be any. She was obviously talking about Angel's pet chain but what was it doing in the store, moreover in the backroom... "Oh no..."
Élodie went pale. Chains are cannibalistic lamias. Usually, they only eat other bittys when they think of them as a threat but this chain in particular- and with jellybeans being limbless and thus looking a little like tiny snakes. "We'll have to order more jellybean samples as well." Said Élodie dryly to her coworker. "Also we're out of pygmys."
While Élodie was handling the problem in the backroom, Marie was left with said coworker. He finally took the lid away, revealing...
"Are they sick??" Cried Marie, rushing to the three lollys, lusty Sans-type bittys having a threesome in their steel cages and definitely not interrupting it just because the box had been opened.
"I-" The guy had a quick glance to Marie. She was obviously a young adult. Old enough to be explained such things. "My boss' looking forward to them. Could really be helpful in the breeding mill. They are... always in heat kinda bittys?" Marie turned pale, raising her hand as she tried to pet the closer one through the bars. The reaction was immediate and she ended up with ecto-flesh all around her index finger.
"I- I think it likes me??" Tryed to compromise Marie but she jerked her hand off as soon as she could, only for the lolly to sing out a moan of pleasure.
"Well. Crap. Was it your first time?" Joked the guy. Marie did not answered but smelled her hand with a funny face.
Okay. Last one. They were already done. Being such a gentleman, the guy waited for the lamia expert to come back before ruining the suspense.
The previous incident had been forgotten as soon as Élodie understood what they were opening. "New lamia breed!!" The fell girl actually jumped once or twice on her feet, even doing a little happy dance. She turned to her bestie. "First time I'm seeing this breed! And they were rare as hell some days ago! I can't believe we have access to-" She turned to the box with a huge and wide smile. Her colleague wasn't holding back his laugh, seeing her that excited. Marie didn't really understood what was playing on but she joined in and exulted to the idea of petting new lamia friends.
"No touching." Élodie warned as the lid fall to the ground with a thump sound, revealing five young Bubblegum bittys. They had been sleeping the whole way here and opened tired eyes to their surrounding, their adorable, sweet face, matching the oh so glittery pink scales. To Élodie, it reminded her a little of those pony toys she had as a child, the ones hollow with glitters inside. Or maybe those glue sticks with glitters inside. Or even this vampire from the movie with glitters on him---- anything with glitters, really.
"Aaaaaah." Cooed Marie. "They are so pretty." The little snakes let away a small yawn, showing two cute little fangs. "Are they venomous?"
"The flyer didn't say they are." Reassured Élodie, still fangirling and overdosing on the adorableness. Would be amazing to see them everyday in their pen.
"Wait. How do you give them Soultime?" Realized her colleague. Élodie's orbits opened wide.
"I- I don't know. Not without touching them- I..." Here was the glitch. Little sneks could not be touched or else, they'll imprint on the person's skin. Once imprinting, it's over. You cannot put them away. They're stuck on you or else they'll cry their non-existent lungs out to the point of turning you deaf. So yeah. For the Soultime part... "Guess we just have to sell them real quick." They were also supposed to be quite the chatters. Thinking of it... Those were probably drugged on for the whole way here to be still so quiet. Well. Not like it mattered, back to work it is! It was time to put them in one of the sneks drawers she had in one of the rooms. Handling the first one with a hook, the little cutie holding it with both of its hands, she started to move it. Out of the box- okay. Now a few steps. Still okay. The cutie was looking at its surrounding. Still okay. Marie was walking next to her and next to the cutie, cooing. Still okay. The cutie was having a mishievous smile while looking downright at Marie. Not okay. It let go of the hook and started falling on the dangerously-high-for-a-bitty ground. Not okay at all. Élodie panicked and grabbed the lamia BEFORE Marie reached for it, thus saving her friend but condamning herself. Fuck.
"I wanted to be the hero!" Pouted Marie as Élodie was frozen with fear, her face becoming more and more livid while the bubblegum lamia slowly turned its face to its new '''''owner''''', a wiiiiiide grin on its small shitty face. It took a huge breath then.
Started.
"I'msohappywebondedandmyownerlovessnakesweweremeanttobewhatareyounamingmeohandwhat'syournameactuallyitdoesn'tmatterI'mgonnacallyoumamaitsuitsyousomuchbettersomamawhatdoyiudoforfuncauseIlovehavingfunandwewillplayalldaylongnowandalsoI'mhungrynowtheygaveusweirdpillsthatmakeushungryafterandwe'veseensuchprettyandweirdcolorafterwe'vetakenthepillsandtheydancedtoodoyoulovetodance,Ilovetodance,look!!"
As the bitty started dancing and Marie started clapping in her hands to encourage the artsy bitty, Élodie felt her life crumble.
"It's fucked." Her coworked had lay his hand on Élodie's shoulder. "Nobody is leaving you in this kind of shit. We'll tell Angel it dusted during the trip. Just kill it." Élodie shivered.
"I- I'm not wasting a brand new bittybone..." She stuttered.
"You can't have any bitty at home anyway. And you sure aren't upsetting your landlord for this... thing." The monster girl considered the idea. Dipping the bitty in the acid was the way to go but this dancing one was now holding so tight around her arm that it hurted. She would have to surrender her arm to be released.
"We have a hammer in the toolbox."
He said. "It'd be quick. Won't feel anything and you'd keep your arm."
"What a waste..." Sighed Élodie as they were going to the toolbox, followed by Marie who did not understand a thing, as amazed as she was by the chatting Bubblegum bitty who would not be so happy if it had listened even a little to what had been said.
They were now holding tight the bitty's upper torso on the table, its tail still dangerously and tightly curled on Élodie's arm and the hammer was right over its head when Marie finally realized.
"YOU MONSTERS !!" She then snapped the Bubblegum from Élodie's arm and it was fair to say it hurted a little- "Nothing racist of course. I'm not racist." Marie defended in an angry tone, remembering that, indeed, at least one of them was a monster. "But how could you-" It just took that amount of time for the Bubblegum bitty to start to wail. The noise was... Intense. To say the least. Marie was sushing and reassuring all she could the crying atrocity. Her voice could not be heard over that but she exploded. "How! How could you do that to HIM, look how upset he is!!" She was now freely cuddling it as the bitty flailed, trying its best to reach back to Élodie. The monster girl looked at her colleague, at loss for what to do. "Since you were planning to kill him, he's mine, now! I saved him!" Élodie tried to talk her friend back to reason since the imprint was already done and there was no way this bitty would accept a new owner but- with that noise- and with how upset Marie was... Élodie and her colleague just ended up staring at the leaving guest, holding tightly her flailing new lamia.
...
"Wow. Your home is actually more quiet than I expected." Said Élodie with an uneasy smile. It had been a few months since her best friend talked to her, so the invitation had been more than welcomed. "I-... No. Nothing." Bittys were now a sensitive subject between them. Élodie just spent their evening chatting and laughing and everything was great until Marie had to leave for a little time in the bathroom. Élodie was left alone with her thought in the silent living room, scrolling absentely on her phone until a knocking sound was heard.
"Bump."
Okay. What was that shit.
"Bump. Bump." Élodie stood up and went for the noise. It was coming from what looked like a big jewel box which was sitting on a shelf. Muffling sounds soon to be heard as she got closer. Her open hand reached to the box in curiosity and she almost opened it but-
Yeah. She didn't want to know what or who was inside.
