It was a rather comfortable lifestyle, if very boring, Daine thought. They were still in the wheel, only Numair had long stopped rocking them, as he was asleep. The large rat-thing, at least, kept them entertained most of the time, she reflected and curled a bit closer to Numair.
There was a sudden loud sound of bells. Numair jumped slightly, and looked around sleepily.
"Wha' was that?" he mumbled, still half asleep.
"I don't know," Daine said, also sitting up and glancing through the glass of their cage. She really hated that they were confined, but one got used to such things. Both Daine and Numair glanced at the... thing... that they had gathered was the shopkeeper, and they were surprised to see it walk over past their line of vision.
"Damn cage won't let us see the front of the store..." Numair muttered. Daine chuckled, and he shot her a look. "What's so funny?"
"You," she answered simply, grinning. Then she sighed. "You do have a point, though. I wish we could see past this Goddess-cursed... what is it, anyway?"
"I think it's just the back of the cage, Magelet," he said, nodding to the black back wall. She sighed, but agreed. "I s'pose you're right," she murmured, "but I wish - "
Numair never found out what she wished, but he already had a fair idea. Her sentence was cut off when the black top of their cage was lifted.
Both were expecting the gentle nudge the shopkeeper gave them, urging Daine and Numair out of the wheel. They were not, however, expecting the excited chatter of the smaller, younger looking rat-thing.
---
Lynoss was reluctant to bring out the humans for the little boy. Six was far too young, Lynoss knew, to take care of such fragile pets, but the boy had insisted, so Lynoss has given in. The humans were frightened by the noise that the boy was making, he could tell, as neither got out of the wheel that they had made their bedroom. He gave them a more insistent nudge, and the female slowly got out. The male was quick to follow, but not quickly enough. Gently, Lynoss lifted the female, and only the female.
He realized, in a flash, that neither had been separated since he caught them, and looked worriedly at the male.
Sure enough, the male gave a pitiful cry as he gazed up at first his mate, then Lynoss, then back at his mate. The female too was giving calls. The male quieted soon after the female had made her noises.
"These are the humans you wanted to see," Lynoss told the boy.
"Oooohh!" he squealed, "Can I see?"
"Now wait," Lynoss said, holding the female close to him protectively, "You have to be very gentle with them. They are easily hurt."
"But--"
"Look," Lynoss was sure to keep his voice gentle, so he wouldn't upset the boy. "Humans get very attached to one another - see the other one in the cage? He wants his friend back." He gestured to the male, who was watching the exchange worriedly.
The boy didn't seem to care. "Can I see?" he demanded.
Lynoss was liking him less and less, but he carefully handed the female over to him. To his delight, the female didn't squirm, or panic, but gazed calmly up at the boy from his palm. Success! He thought happily. They were perfectly tame!
---
Daine was afraid, but she was aware of Numair's worried yet proud gaze, and that made her braver. She gazed up at the other rat-thing, looked it square in the eyes. She thought it probably wanted only to pet her, as many of the palace children wanted to pet her various friends.
She was very surprised when she felt the sharp jab to her side, easily making her stager and fall. Daine cried out when a second sharp-nailed finger poked into her side.
She gasped again when she felt like she was flying, and realized that she was back in the shopkeeper's grip. Safe... she was safe...
She couldn't stop shaking - it was scary to be hurt by something that could so easily squash her!
---
The male had started his cries again. "Now see here!" Lynoss cried.
"CULPUS!" A girl, much older than the six-year old, swiftly walked in and glared at the boy. "Don't you dare do that again! Mom was ready to kill me!"
Lynoss looked furiously at the girl. "He's your brother?" he asked. He had changed his grip on the female, holding her in such a way so that she could rest her feet on his pinkie, with her arms over his forefinger and thumb. He stroked the top of her head with his other hand reassuringly. She still shook, but slowly relaxed in his grip.
"Yes, yes he is," the girl said. Lynoss vaguely recognized her as the teen that lived four blocks away.
"Well, then, I'll have you know that he may have done permanent damage to one of my humans!"
"Oh!" the girl said, "I'm so sorry!" she glared at the boy, "I'll have you grounded for that..."
"Aw, Narsa," the boy said. She glared, and he fell silent. "I'm so sorry," Narsa said, "what did he do?"
Lynoss gave a half-smile. "In reality, he probably only scared the living daylights out of her... she seems fine now. Only, he gave her a rather hard poke in the side," he said, moving his gaze back to the female. She was flinching away from the others, shrinking closer to what she seemed to recognize as safety: Lynoss' grip.
"May I see her?" Narsa asked.
"She's been a bit traumatized... perhaps you would like to see the other...?"
"No, no, I'd like to see this one... see if Culpus did any lasting damage..." she glared at her brother.
"All right... but - but be gentle..." carefully, Lynoss handed the female to the girl, feeling guilty at the sound of the female's terrified squeaks.
The male cried out from his spot in their cage.
---
Numair was completely frantic. What was the shopkeeper doing? Daine had already been hurt - why was he putting her in danger again—!---
Daine was utterly disgusted with her show of fear, but she couldn't help it. These creatures were positively huge, and one of them had definitely given her a lasting bruise on her side, but she didn't thing she was any more hurt than that - her ribs didn't feel broken.
She hated how she trembled and cried out when the shopkeeper handed her over, but it couldn't be helped. Daine tried to stop herself from shaking as the larger rat-thing inspected her, and sighed with relief when she felt a gentle hand on her head. The creature murmured softly to her, and she forced herself to relax.
---
Narsa petted the creature for a while, marveling at how soft she was. The human relaxed, and Narsa smiled. "Well, you're a sweet thing," she crooned, "I wonder if Mother will let me buy you..."
Lynoss, the shopkeeper, spoke swiftly, "If you're thinking of buying her, you'll have to buy her mate."
"What? I don't want any more! Only one! I can't have them reproducing!"
"Oh, they won't," Lynoss explained, "see this?" gently, he reached over and caught a bright gold-colored thing around the female's neck. "This stops them. Besides, they don't react well to being apart - can you see the male?"
Narsa peered over at the cage to find the male pressed up against the glass, big black eyes gazing at her. She grinned. "He's sweet," she said, then gently uncovered the cage and set the female into it.
"I'll ask mom if I can buy them."
---
Numair had not been so glad to see Daine in a long time. He pulled her in his arms, shivering along with her and holding her tight. Pressing his lips to Daine's forehead, he murmured, "Never do that to me again. You nearly gave me a heart attack."
"It wasn't really my choice," Daine whispered, glad to be safe in his arms again. She nestled closer to him, burying her head in his chest, and sighed when she felt his cheek on her hair.
"Never again," he insisted.