#kazul

For day 22 of the May Trope Mayhem event by @duckprintspress, another ficlet in my Bering and Wells fake dating series! For @purlturtle, who suggested today's prompt for the ship :)

This part is <1k, and in total we're at a wordcount of 1.5k now! All parts are rated G, no warnings apply.

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Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3:

"Helena? What's -" Myka stops at the landing and suddenly realizes why Helena stands frozen in place, looking utterly perplexed.

"...artifact that somehow turns you into an irresistible pet owner?"

Myka groans. "I don't have a better explanation either, but how does that fit in with the rest of what's been happening?"

Helena shrugs. "At this point, either Artie's worst fears are coming true and there is an artifact collector in town, or we will only understand the actual effects of the artifact once we snag it. Now, let's look at this little guy -"

"Or if someone finally talks to us and - wait, Helena, what are you doing?"

Anxiously, Myka watches as Helena slowly approaches the iguana in the corner of the bathroom.

"Well, we can't leave the little guy all alone just because its owner has suddenly lost all interest in him and has run screaming! We can put him up in our spare bedroom."

The reptile's dewlap inflates and it looks agitated, quickly moving its head first this way then that, and if Myka is reading reptilian body language in any way correctly, she doesn't believe that it is trying to make friends with Helena.

Myka tiredly rubs the back of her hand over her eyes. "Do you even know how to take care of an iguana? We should just call animal control and -"

"No!"

Both Myka and the iguana flinch at the loud sound, and Helena backs a way a little and hunkers down to look small and less aggressive to the animal.

"Look, we do both believe this to be artifact related, don't we?" Helena continues quietly and starts to slowly shuffle forward again as the iguana has calmed down. "Anwen was happily telling me all about her pet when we saw her last, you can't think that she would naturally start to be afraid of it. So, hopefully, once the artifact is bagged, we will be able to return this fellow to her and no-one has to be the wiser. You don't want to risk her losing her beloved Kazul to the animal social services just because she was whammied, do you?"

"Fuck, you're right," Myka groans. "ASPCA wouldn't give a pet back to someone who has been so neglectful. Well, shouldn't we grab a cage or something to move him? Uh, her?"

"I haven't seen a cage... Wait, can you tell her gender? I have to admit, I'm not as well versed in reptilian biology as I would like to be right now."

"No, just - Kazul, that's a dragon from a children's book, she's female so I thought - Helena, be careful!"

Helena has reached Kazul and is petting the big reptile's flank. "See, we are going to be fast friends - oh!" The iguana nimbly clambers up her leg, and Helena winces when the claws pierce the fabric of her trousers and dig into her skin.

"Yes, I can tell you're best friends already," Myka says drily, trying not to show how relieved she is that Helena isn't getting attacked by a ten pound reptile, nor how adorable she thinks Helena looks with the iguana in her lap - they are alone right now, so she can't use the 'playing their married couple role' excuse. "I guess I'll go look for a pet carrier bag or something..."

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Part 3 of ? • more W13 content • web link • Ao3

The OC Anwen of course named her pet after Kazul the dragon king in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles! Check them out if you don't know the books, they're a super fun fantasy series, not just for kids.

My W13 tag list, lmk if you want on/off the list: @lavendelhummel @jesstrel @viharistenno @adhdannieedison @lesbianlovelife @tryingthisfangirlthing @tunsun44 @wibblywobblyida @wellvak

I have great friends :)))))