#psychsmart

                   ❛            it's a two headed guzzark , gus , & yes , they can hear you.            ❜              remind me why i was permanently sanctioned to babysitting duty ? wrangling a toddler was one thing , keeping shawn & gus in line was something else entirely. at least this particular offworld market was entertaining enough to keep them busy , though i'd already lost shawn in the crowd. hopefully mina had an eye on him , or maybe even a leash.

those leashed children in theme parks didn't really make sense to me until now. i threw the other human a glance , a small grin curling at the edges of my jaws.                   ❛            honestly , it's nice having you guys around , awkwardness with meens aside. i can't really remember the last time i spent time with another human without it being weird. you two just make it funny.            ❜              taking gus by the shoulder , i steered him carefully away from the stall we were standing at , leaving the duel headed creature to peer after us as we continued to walk.

                   ❛            am i ? oh yeah , would you look at that. huh.            ❜              my chin tipped to glance down at the front of my shirt , well , his shirt , wiping a finger pointedly across the new chocolate pudding stain etched along the fabric , popping the sugary goodness between my lips before throwing another quick glance back toward my friend , brows inched toward my hairline.

                   ❛            i look good , right ? i got a date tonight. all my clothes were dirty , & i knew you'd have one that fit me , you beautiful , cocoa headed fashion savant !            ❜               i knew gus would hate that i was wearing this shirt , especially since this was his favorite one , so to soften the blow i stretched forward in my seat with a fresh bowl of chocolate pudding , wiggling it in front of him with a beaming smile.

                   ❛            dude , be honest. how high are you right now ?            ❜              of course my go - to day off idea was getting stoned & going to an aquarium. convincing gus to get high was always a challenge , but when offered in food form , he rarely ever resisted. how many of those brownies did he have ? i was already fielding calls from my dad , who no doubt also had one of the brownies , since i purposefully left them on the counter of his house. whoops , sue me for wanting to see how much chaos i could cause on a random friday.

i leaned back in my seat , back against the cool glass of the tube we sat in , staring wide eyed at the fish as they passed around us , puffing out my cheeks with a snort & a grin.                   ❛            gus ! buddy ! just relax , take a deep breath. look at all the colors , huh ? you like colors. no sharks are gonna get to you , not through all this glass. probably.            ❜              my eyes widened further , swinging my head around to fix gus with an excited stare , bouncing slightly on the bench.                   ❛            oh my god. do you think they have dolphins here ? gus , we have to ride one of them.            ❜  

                   ❛            well , that all depends. what kind of stick is it ? is it big , is it oak & or cherry , can i fashion it into a nice little wood carving of a swan ? c'mon gus , these details matter !            ❜              i leaned back in my chair , kicking my legs up onto the edge of my office desk , twisting the rubber band ball around & around in my fingers as i fixed my best friend with a very serious stare. my lips puckered into a frown.

                   ❛            why ask ? are you offering ? are we finally going to live out our destiny & pretend to be dogs frolicking in a field while playing fetch ? i've had real dreams about that once. alright fine , twice.            ❜              

                   ❛            gus ! don't be the lesser half of a loaded burrito with no guacamole. i'm working on something big here , check this out.            ❜              i leaned back on my heels , gesturing out my arms at the whiteboard set between the two of our desks. what appeared to be illegible scrawl & mishappen squares were etched across the surface , though with a trained eye , someone might've been able to riddle out the police file notes i'd side eyed on our way out of the station.

how was it my fault jules had the thing tucked under her arm , so i memorized it sideways ? i clicked my tongue , then gestured the purple marker toward the furby strewn across gus's desk.                   ❛            so ! body was dismembered , all limbs pulled off exactly at the sockets .. almost like it was pulled apart by some torture device , or .. oh my god. gus ! do you realize what this means ? this poor guy was pulled apart by horses. it's killer horses !            ❜              well , people who tied him to multiple horses , but still.