A rough life for a human pet

Settling in

Draino chuckles as he comes closer, and I fight the urge to slap his hand away as he pats my head. It feels patronizing, but it only lasts a moment, so I chose not to make a fuss about it.

"Come with me, I'll show you your room." Draino says as he heads over to a door through to the hallway.

I let out a breath, glad he wasn't too annoyed by my attempt at a joke. He still didn't seem very pleased with the idea, though. I guess it makes sense since I nearly froze to death not long ago.

He stops walking once we reach a door with a lock on it. I frown, looking at him confused as he reaches to unlock it.

"This door will usually be usually be unlocked unless I feel I need to keep you in here for your own safety" He says his blue hands easily reaching the bolt at a height I can't without some kind of stool.

The door opens, and I hesitate to be going inside, slightly nervous that he can trap me in here. He smiles and gestures for me to come in as he turns the lights on with a switch.

"I guess you can do that when you have running electricity," I mumble, looking around the room that will now be mine.

Draino hangs back as I wander around the room, touching things and inspecting them. Everything's clean and in good condition, not a scratch or stain in sight.

I sigh and move over to the bed. It looks way bigger than my own and much softer. I stare at it for a moment before moving my hands over the bedding.

"While I knew I'd be taking in a Flita one day, I didn't quite expect it to happen in the way it did. So things aren't as customized as I would have made them. I don't know you that well after all, " He says casually as I jump up onto the bed and lie down on it.

It's not cold, so it doesn't feel like I need to snuggle up under them. It's a nice change, but the softness feels weird and foreign. I guess this whole place is my cage, though at least a nice one.

"I'll let you get some sleep. You've had a pretty tough time lately, so I will need plenty of rest." Draino says, heading towards the door and closing it behind him.

I wait a moment fighting the tiredness, then get up and sneak over to the door. I grab the handle and slowly turn it. For a moment, I expect it to not open but close it again once I know it's unlocked.

I guess he was telling the truth about it usually being unlocked. I don't want to know why he would feel the need to lock it, though... I don't want to be trapped in here.

Feeling another yawn, come on, I head back over to the bed. Jumping up onto it, I'm quick to fall asleep once I'm curled up over the covers. It's really nice having somewhere warm and cozy to sleep.

I find myself crying as I open my eyes after sleeping, a forgotten dream at the edge of my mind. It must have either sad or scary, I can't tell.

There's light shining through the slit in the middle of the curtains. It's leaving a line of light coming over and on the bed near my feet. I slowly unfurl myself and stretch, sniffing the air as I smell food being cooked.

I get up and look around the room. It's a little hard in the dark, but I make out a winter dress on a nearby chair. I guess Draino must have come in here and put it out.

I rub my eyes as I walk over to where I remember Draino turning on the light with a switch last night. I feel around, then push it down towards the floor, then close my eyes as the room fills with bright light.

I blink several times as my eyes adjust. It's weird being able to just light up a room like this. Candles were the best we were able to manage back in the Flita sector. Even then, many choose not to bother due to the risk of fire.

I feel the dress in my hands before I pick it up. It's nice and soft and feels warm, much more so than my old and worn-out clothes. I take off the clothes I wore to bed last night and slip the dress over my head.

It's a pretty good fit, though a bit loose. I guess Draino did say I need to put on some weight. It's a nice pale blue with long sleeves and a high neckline. I chuckle at how it goes well with his darker blue skin.

I hear a knock on my door as the door knob turns, and I'm glad I didn't take too long getting changed. I don't want a repeat of what happened last night with him walking in on me naked.

"I'm decent!" I call out moving over to the curtains to open them.

It's snowing again outside, and I shiver slightly, just looking at it and seeing all the snow. It's always such a cold time of year, I hope the other Flita are okay.

"You warm enough, Valor? I can turn the heating up if you're cold, " Draino says from behind me, and I just shake my head.

I jump slightly as I feel his hands land on my shoulder. It's a gentle touch, but I still look back to him with annoyance. He just chuckles and looks out the window.

"It's so cold... those politicians are idiots." He mumbles, and I don't respond, looking back out the window, seeing the snow continue to build up.

I think back on previous years when I had to trudge through the snow. And the other Flita who still have to, now even more than ever with how cold it is. At least other years we could have some leeway for staying home on the worser days.

"I'm good, Draino, I'm just worried about the others," I reply, letting my shoulders sag as I feel sad.

He let's go, and I turn back towards him as he gives me a slight smile. I let him take my hand as he led me out towards the hall and then kitchen. It's still a bit darker out even though it's midmorning as the cloud cover makes it darker.

At first, I go to sit at the main table, but Draino stops me by placing his hand on my shoulder. I try and dodge it moving to the side, but he just chuckles and turns me back towards the table I sat at last night.

"You sit here, Valor, the main tables too big for you to sit at." He says with a serious look as I pout and take my seat.

He gives me a smile and then comes over with a bowl and spoon. Once he places it down, I can see some porridge with bits of fruit and meat in it. I frown and start plucking out the chunks of meat.

"I haven't had meat since I was little, the last time I ate it I was sick for a few days" I say hesitantly not wanting to vomit this all up, or have stomach cramps.

Draino sighs but doesn't seem annoyed as he places the meat chunks onto his own plate before going and sitting down.

"It's alright, I'll see what the vet says about adding it back to your diet. Flita are ominvours, and you need some amount of animal protein, " He says before beginning to eat his own meal.

The porridge tastes nice, though, with a creamy texture and slightly sweet taste. I look up to Draino while eating to notice I was going quite fast.

"Slow down a bit there, or you will be sick. There's plenty of food," Draino says seriously as he pauses eating his own meal.

Written March 1 2023

Published April 20 2023

1356 words