Chapter 3

The first full day

I woke up and realized I wasn't in my room. I was in a nest. A big, giant nest. Renee and Sanuye were in it too. Ragen and Zara were sleeping next to their moms. Adri was here too. I went to the bathroom and then back to the nest. I laid down next to Adri. She woke up and looked around, confused.

"What happened?" She yawned.

"I dunno." I said. "Let's go night night."

"Tai." She frowned.

"Shh." I shushed her.

I slept a bit more before Owen came in. He woke us all up. Zara whined and tried to hide. Ragen barked grumpily.

"What happened?" Renee asked.

"I missed you." Ragen laid on her lap.

"I should have known." She petted his tummy.

"It morning!" Zara rubbed her face on Sanuye.

"It's too early." Sanuye mumbled, petting her.

"I luv you." Zara told her.

Adri and I petted the foxes. They gave us kisses. We went back to our room to change. After we changed, Owen took us to the dining room. We sat down for breakfast. It was waffles today. I filled my plate. Ragen and Zara ran over to their spots and started eating. Their moms sat next to Alex. They talked about stuff. I caught up with Adri. Her older brother, Eddy, got a new job. He was an accountant. He was several years older than us. Her mom and dad were fine.

After breakfast, Renee and Sanuye got ready to leave and packed their bags. Adri had to go home too. Owen helped gather their stuff. Ragen was trying to take the bags back to their room. Zara flopped in front of them, trying to get them to pet her belly.

"Give me the bag, Ragen." Owen scolded.

"Dis Mama bag!" He barked.

An aura of magic started to show around his eyes. Zara's scent also had a magic tinge to it. I wanted to cuddle them. Cuddle them so much. Owen's eyes narrowed. The magic died out as Sanuye spoke.

"We told you last night we have to go home." Sanuye told them.

"Nooo, Mommy stay!" Zara protested.

"Mama stay!" Ragen agreed.

"We'll still be able to call and talk, honey. We'll come back." Renee soothed. She had said something similar yesterday.

Ragen whined as Renee petted him. He nuzzled her neck and marked her. Sanuye hugged Zara. She marked her mom vigorously. It was bit before they stopped. Alex and Owen helped carry their bags to the elevator.

"Bye bye, baby. I'll call later." Sanuye waved.

"Bye bye." Zara waved.

"I love you, Ragen." Renee told him.

"I love you, Mama." He called.

The door closed and the Pets left. I went to the game room and played a few video games. They were Alex's. I accidentally chose a dating sim, in my defense it said it was a puzzle game. I found a Zelda game next and played that for bit. Then I got stuck on the boss. I was deciding what to do next when Ragen opened to the door. He shouted and Zara ran in. She snuggled up to me.

"Mistress, we want to play." Zara told me.

"Ok, get your toys." I said.

"Yay!" She leapt off the couch.

We followed them to the Great Hall. It was too cold to go outside. They gathered their toys into piles and sat near them. I picked up a purple bone from Zara's pile. Her ears perked up. I tossed it. She ran after it. I dangled a rope for Ragen. He growled a bit when I tried to take it back, but he let me. Zara brought her bone back. I petted her ears. She whined happily as I rubbed her sides. Her tail was a blur. I threw the bone a bit more before she got bored of it. She looked through the pile. Ragen then decided he wanted attention and sat in front of me. Zara noticed and ran over.

"It my turn with Mistress!" Zara complained.

"I want Mistress pets." Ragen told her.

"Mistress is playing with me." Zara pointed.

"Want Mistress." He rubbed his scent gland on my legs.

"No, my turn!" She got closer.

"Tummy rub!" He argued.

Zara pushed him. He jumped on her. She scratched his cheek. He barked sharply and bared his teeth. I pulled Zara off of him before they could hurt each other. They growled at each other.

"Enough!" I glared at them.

They whined and rolled onto their backs, showing me their tummies. "Mistress…"

"You have to share me. I'll try to make time for you both, but sometimes you have to share. Even during cuddle time." I told them.

"Ok, Mistress." Zara said.

"Sorry, Mistress." Ragen's ears folded back.

"One of the maids said the Pets were fighting." Fox walked up to us.

"It's ok now. We came to an understanding." I looked at them.

Ragen bonked his head in my hand. Zara wiggled closer to me. They still wanted pets. I petted them both as best I could. Then they saw Fox and went to her. Ragen was on her left and Zara on her right. They marked her.

"No, off! It's ok, you're good Pets." She petted their hair. Ragen whined and licked her hand. She sighed.

"You wanna play more?" I asked.

"Throw ball!" Ragen barked.

"Ball!" Zara yelled.

I picked up a tennis ball. They watched me. "Remember, play nice."

"Yes, Mistress. Play nice." They nodded.

"Go get it!" I tossed the ball.

We played fetch and a few other games. Zara brought us one of her squeak toys and we would try to grab it, but she would just squeak it and shake her head. Sometimes we'd get a hold of it and Zara would tug it away. Then she'd come back to us and drop it at our feet. Ragen chased one of the balls that rolled away. Then Fox wiggled a toy and he pounced on it. He liked to chew on the rope toys.

The elevator dinged and Alex and Owen walked out. Zara and Ragen rushed to them. Alex braced himself as they surrounded him.

"Mama? Where Mama?" Ragen asked.

"Mommy!" Zara barked.

"Lay down!" Alex commanded.

They laid down, tails swishing hopefully.

"Renee and Sanuye went home. They have to go to school. BUT they left you some clothes for your nest. They'll send more later." Alex pulled out two bags.

They snatched the bags and ran to their nests. One of their teeth must have pierced the bag because they swapped bags. Then they continued running.

"They'll be busy for awhile. What's for lunch?" Alex asked.

"I want tacos." I said.

We went to the dining room and food was brought out. There were tacos, burritos, chicken enchiladas, quesadillas, and rice with guacamole and salsa for the chips. Owen stuck with the tacos and quesadillas. I ate a little of everything. I kinda wanted tamales, but that didn't seem likely. Ragen and Zara came in during the middle of lunch. They must have found a place to put all of the clothes. Owen told them too much salsa would upset their tummies. Ragen liked the burritos and enchiladas. Zara happily munched on everything she got.

After lunch, I had to go do my English with Owen. It was just a reading assignment. Alex went to go hang out in his room. I thought the Pets had gone with him, but they must have followed me instead. They opened the classroom door and bounded in.

"No, out!" Owen told them.

"Mistress cuddle!" Zara rubbed her face on me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Mistress need scent." Ragen explained.

"What's that?" Zara dragged the copy of Beowulf off the table. She darted away when it fell. She sniffed it curiously.

"That's a book, Zara." Owen picked it up. "Now, go play somewhere else. We are busy."

"Why can't Mistress cuddle?" Ragen frowned.

"Mistress has school." Owen said.

"No." She shook her head.

"Zara, she will be done before dinner time." He said.

"Mistress cuddle now!" Ragen demanded.

"… You may mark her and then you will go do something else until her lesson is over." Owen said resignedly.

We went to the lounge room. I sat on the couch. They jumped on it and settled next to me. Zara's tail wagged as she marked. Ragen nibbled my neck a bit. I petted Zara's cheek. She whined happily and gave me kisses. Then she farted. It was stinky.

"Zara." I frowned.

"Ragen did it." She said.

"Nu huh." Ragen said as he tooted.

"Ragen farted!" She pointed.

I remembered we had Mexican food for lunch and the burritos had beans. They both were farting now. They couldn't help it. If humans got gassy after a burrito, so would a Pet.

"Hey, hey, how many burritos did you eat?" I asked before their bickering got out of hand.

"Three!" Ragen said. She nodded.

"I'm out." I crawled over the couch.

"Mistress!" Zara cried, looking over the back of the couch. I walked over to my father.

"I'll cuddle you again when you get all of your toots out." I told them.

"Ok, Mistress." Their ears fell as Owen and I went to the door.

"I love you." I said.

Their tails wagged.

"I love you, Mistress." Zara smiled.

"Luv you!" Ragen barked.

Owen took me back to the classroom and I finished the reading assignment. We went to the music room. I practiced piano for a bit. Alex came in to get us, but he ended up listening to me play. I played Chopin's "Tristesse", Owen was teaching me the full piece. Then I switched to Michael Nyman's"The Heart Asks Pleasure First" to liven things up again.

"Mom says it's dinner time." Alex ruffled my hair.

"Ok, did you smell Ragen or Zara? They ate too many burritos." I told him.

"Dad got them some medicine." He said. "And don't tease them."

"I'm not teasing them. They were marking me when the fart storm started." I explained.

"Ah, that reminds me the lounge room needs to aired out." Owen thought, getting his phone from his pocket.

"Let's go eat." Alex smiled.

We had a turkey from the freezer, stuffing, and mashed potatoes and gravy. There was also salad. Zara ate a little slower, waiting to see if it made her gassy. It didn't so she dug into her next turkey slice. Ragen didn't like the salad dressing; Alex got him a new bowl. He ate it plain. For dessert, we had lemon and chocolate chip muffins. Ragen made them. They were good.

After dinner, I took the Pets to see the gargoyles. Zara played with Bronx. She'd playfully bow at him and then jumped up. Bronx chased her and they ran around the room. Zara caught him, he flopped over, and she licked his face. Ragen was getting belly rubs from Nashville and Tachi. His tail wagged happily. I hung out with Goliath in the library. He read a chapter of Robin Hood to me.

"There you are, Sweetheart. It's lesson time." Puck popped in.

"Ok. See you later." I got up.

We went back to the lounge room. It was still stinky. I wrinkled my nose.

"I thought you were going to get the room cleaned." I complained.

"I started to, but then I decided why not teach you how to do it?" He smiled.

"I want a different father." I looked into his eyes.

"No, you don't. Anyway, you wanna identify all the stinky odors you want to get rid of so you don't accidentally suck out all the air in the room. Once you do that, then you can do the spell." Puck told me.

"I wanna get rid of the fart smell." I said.

"That's too vague. Actually look." He tsked.

I looked harder and saw the odor's makeup. It was more complex than the air. I showed Puck what I wanted to get rid of. He nodded. I thought the wording of the spell.

"Purify and dispel, begone foul smell." I chanted.

The smell disappeared.

"Not bad, gets the job done. I'll teach you a more long term one later." Puck breathed in.

"Hey, Dad?" I asked.

"Yes?" He looked at me.

"This morning when Sanuye and Renee left, Ragen and Zara were going to use their magic. Ragen's was in his eyes and Zara's was in her scent. How come they reacted differently?" I paused.

"Ragen was upset because Owen was trying to take his mama's bags. Zara was just trying to persuade them to stay. Your reaction to it was a little odd. I think you're susceptible to their scents. Any other questions?" Puck asked.

"Um... Oh, you said I had pheromones, what's that about?" I furrowed my brow.

"Ah, yes, it's a byproduct of your magic. I saved your life when you were a baby. It was keeping you alive. Your magic made the pheromones to let me know where you were and to get me to bond with you. But that didn't happen so they ended up being slightly more special then normal." He explained.

"Special?" I repeated.

"Aside from marking your territory so to speak, it also broadcasts your mood and lets know if you are sick or not." Owen explained.

"So, like a Pet's pheromones?" I grimaced.

"Basically. Go get some sleep, Sweetie. I'll be there soon." Puck kissed my forehead.

I brushed my teeth and went to my room. I laid on my bed, snuggling Pumpkin. Puck came in and tucked me in. He stroked my hair. It was nice. The door opened in the middle of his lullaby. It was Ragen and Zara.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I miss Mommy." Zara whined.

"My room is empty without Mama." Ragen added.

"What do you think, Tai?" Puck looked at me.

"Only for tonight." I yawned.

They laid next me. They marked me until I smelled like them. Their scents mixed. Zara's blackberry and clover was a pleasant scent. The pine nut added to it. Ragen's saffron and nutmeg were mild and the honey added a nice coziness. Puck and I petted them until they got sleepy. He decided to sing a few more songs before kissing us good night.