Published: February 17th 2022, 7:18:01 am
Pt. 1+2 Pt. 3 Pt. 4 Pt. 5 Pt. 6 Pt. 7 Pt. 8 Pt. 9 Pt. 10 Pt. 11 Pt. 12 Pt. 13 Pt. 14 Pt. 15 Pt. 16
"You're asking me?" I pointed to myself. How was I supposed to choose a collar for myself? That would be like electing to be Daddy's pet, which I definitely didn't do. Clearly none of the creatures present, not daddy, Nyctos, Laffy, nor Maffy understood my confusion. Daddy spoke the same question only more slowly this time, drawing out each word.
"Do you like one of these collars, little boy?"
I looked at all of the collars hanging on display, and felt very silly for doing so. But then, an idea came to me.
"W-well, I guess... If I'm the only one of my kind... I should have a very one of a kind collar... don't you think? These... they're all so common..." I waved my hand around, and made a face to show my distaste.
"Of course, he's right."
"Alright," said Daddy, seeing the sense in this, "Let's try and find you something special!"
Far from being put off by my picky attitude, and actually seeming more animated by the challenge, Daddy soon had Laffy and Maffy running every which way to find me a collar that seemed right. As soon as they put a collar on me, I would reject it, and it would come right back off again. My original collar sat off to the side, practically forgotten as they ran to and fro to find me the perfect adornment.
"Over there!" cried Daddy. "No, no, that won't do. That one, that one!"
"I think I saw one in the other stall," said Nyctos. "I'll request them to bring it this way..."
"It's too high up, Master," said Laffy, when I finally pointed to a collar that was far out of reach and had a big 'not for sale' sign hung in front of it. Daddy had to negotiate with the shopkeep while Laffy and Maffy tried to prevail upon the staff for a ladder.
Now was my chance. While they were busy trying to procure my perfect collar, I threw my blanket around myself like a robe and waddled off. I glanced back and caught a glimpse of Daddy's surprised face as he held up the collar in his hands only to find me gone. Before he could spot me, I ducked behind a large hippopotamus-like creature and pushed myself further into the crowd. I didn't know what my plan was. Maybe it was to work a bit and buy passage on a freighter. Maybe it was to hitchhike back home. If I'm being completely honest, though, it was probably just to feel like I had done something to push back against becoming this creature's pet. It didn't matter that it was hopeless.
For a little while, I just wandered the market place. I was on a strange planet. Everything was huge around me - the stalls, the patrons and the shopkeeps... there weren't many creatures my size that didn't have a collar on, or baby clothes - sometimes they had both. I saw some strange black-green-furred creatures glaring at me, and decided it might be better to get out of the pet district of the market. Hurrying my butt along, collars and cages gave way to ointments, and oils, spicy and sweet fragrances, which then gave way to savory smells, smoke and heat and fat and spices... It was food. Food that wasn't blue juice.
My stomach growled, but I had no money. I tried to hide myself as best I could, taking refuge by a barrel of fish as I watched to see how people bought food. No long sleeves here - the price was the price. The creatures, I saw, paid in what looked like little wooden jacks, like the kind you might play with. A few, I noticed, tumbled to the ground as a food vendor stashed them away. The large batlike creature swept its winged arms around, grabbed three skewers of what looked like chicken, and handed them off to the paying customer. I took the opportunity to waddle over and get a closer look at what they had dropped. I picked up a few pieces of what I believed to be money from the ground, and then waved to grab the bat's attention.
He seemed surprised, looking down at me with curiosity, then smiling warmly as I held up the jacks. I pointed at the skewers and he chuckled, seemingly amused. Smiling good naturedly, he opened his hand and held it out for me, giving me a cheerful, encouraging smile. I looked down at the jacks and placed them in his palm, and I was rewarded with a skewer and a pat on the head. I waddled off, munching at the skewer as I did so. It was very good. Like yakitori, Japanese-style grilled chicken skewers. They may have been a single portion but in a world of 10-foot giants, a single skewer was a sizable amount for me, and I found myself feeling pretty satisfied as I cleaned up the last of the meat.
At least, I hoped it was meat.
The moment I finished, my stomach began to grumble. What was it they said about eating street food in foreign countries? What about foreign planets?
I had to find a bathroom. I tossed my skewer to the ground and looked around, hoping to find somewhere to go, but there was nothing. This was so bad. I began to get desperate, looking for any sign of a restroom. There was none, and come to think of it, I hadn't really noticed any indication of one since I left my holo-room on the ship. For all I knew, these creatures didn't even use restrooms.
Luckily, the cramps subsided as quickly as they had started, but as my belly finally calmed down, I slowly began to realize that I had wandered off to yet another part of the market. Where was I?
I looked all around me, but recognized nothing. Fabric sellers... I walked a little more... a technology section? Maybe? I couldn't really tell what was for sale and what was being used to facilitate sales. I didn't really care. I was lost. Of course I was lost. I wasn't from here. I didn't belong here. It was all so stupid. All so frustrating. I could feel the tears of frustration bubbling up as my eyes began to water. I couldn't help it. I began to cry.
Lost. Scared. None of the friendly fuzzy faces I recognized smiled down at me. Just large creatures jostling by, practically bowling me over as I began to realize just how fucked I was. And there they were again, the leering faces of the strange creatures I had seen before. They were walking toward me. My heart skipped a beat. Was I in danger? My hand instinctively reached up toward my neck and, feeling nothing there, I wondered. Was I still under Daddy's protection?
I turned to run off and got a facefull of red fur. Before I knew it I was being lifted up, to see Nyctos's friendly face.
"Well, hello there, little fella! What are you doing over here all by yourself? This is no place for cubs to be on their own. Good thing I found you, first!"