I don't own digimon.

Story 33

Squeaky Clean

Arthur looked about the animal shelter one more time. As the only one here at this god forsaken time, it made everything feel that much spookier. Not that he would ever admit that. No, the groomer would hold strong and face down any challenge head-on. Whether that was a massive samway or the tiniest of chihuahuas, he had trained for this. Even had the certificates to prove it. Yet, something about that made it feel all the odder. Sooner or later he was going to have to do a digimon. There shouldn't be anything to fear. Then why didn't it feel that way to him?

"Morning, Wolverine." Arthur greeted, staring into the wire cage. A cat stared back within, rolling their eyes in anticipation of a much hated bath. Carefully unlocking the cage, the groomer took care in scooping the cat up. Taking care to not get scratched, the trip that followed was filled with hissing and meowing. Nothing a head scratch or three couldn't solve. At least, Arthur hoped that to be the case. Approaching the tub, he slowly set Wolverine down within. Waiting a moment, he was met with a glare from the cat. Doing his best to hold back a chuckle. Giving Wolverine a pet, his thoughts turned to his partner. Always getting into messes, it was always a challenge just to get him into a tub. Even then, he would fight him and his family every step of the way. By the time they were done, the whole bathroom needed to be clean… and his partner was already dirty. For now, Arthur pushed that thought to the back of his mind. "How has your morning been?"

Picking up the faucet head, the groomer turned the water on. Spraying it across Wolverine, he was met by a series of angry hissing. Met with a series of angry hisses, Arthur didn't let any of that get him down. If anything, that just pushed him to do an even better job for the future owner. Hopefully they would appreciate his handiwork. A lot of time and energy went into making sure canines and felines were looking their best. After what happened last year, appreciation for groomers was thankfully on the rise… in some places. At least, that was what Arthur liked to believe. Some days were just hard to tell if people actually cared or were more fixated on other things. After what happened to some of them, he didn't blame those particular people for feeling that way. Arthur would've probably felt the same if he too had been attacked by that Eosmon thing. Instead, he and the other vet techs were forced to hunker down and do their best to soothe the anxious worries of their four-legged friends. Easier said than done when you're under attack by mutant digital bug creatures and your only hope is a werewolf dressed like he's some mid 2000's emo. Just thinking about that made Arthur chuckle. For something that was only a year ago, it felt like a lot longer had passed since that day. Time had a weird way of doing that to people. Especially in the superstition that a single human year were the equiv-

Before he had a chance to even complete that thought, a loud crash echoed about from further within the shelter. Tempted as he was to check it out, Arthur had a cat to clean. A cat that didn't want any part of that. But how else would someone want to adopt him? First impressions were important. The impression of a dirty cat would not bring in many people. Wolverine very much disagreed with that perspective. In his book, long as he did cute things, people would come and see him. Regardless of the fact that those 'cute and cuddly acts' were scratching and hissing at other cats that he didn't like. The pinnacle of adorableness one could get from an animal. Kind of like right now.

"Yes, I'm very much aware you're mad. But I like to believe that you want someone to be your owner." Arthur countered and got treated to a look from the cat. Letting out a sigh, out came the shampoo. Squeezing a small clump onto his hand, he got to lathering Wolverine up. For once, the feline was actually willing to be cooperative here. Or at least something resembling that as the groomer rubbed his hands across the feline's body. Wiping his hands off, Arthur was treated to a short series of aggressive meows. "You'll get your pets. Eventually."

Not even that was enough to satisfy Wolverine. Instead, he chose to let out a hiss. Arthur ignored the statement and grabbed the faucet handle. Washing off the shampoo, the groomer found himself faced with a look from Wolverine. Doing his best to hold in his laughter, he couldn't help but crack a smile here. Yes, this job could feel absolutely thankless at times. Between uncooperative animals and humans with expectations far higher than he or his equipment could ever attain, sometimes he wanted to throw in the towel and go work somewhere else. But whenever he got to see his work actually appreciated and a pet get a proper home, it warmed his heart. Not that his partner ever dared to give him any of that.

That wasn't to say that he was a bad partner. Far from it, in fact. It just felt like they were operating on two different frequencies and never coming close to meeting halfway. Now would be a perfect time to make a solid try at actually getting to be a team. But the odds of that happening were slim.

Pushing that thought out for now, Arthur turned the water off and looked behind him. No sign of whoever knocked into something. Surely they were getting close. Hopefully he wasn't going to end up in one of those slasher films. But the groomer doubted that. No, it was probably one of his co-workers. They should all be coming in soon. At least, if they hadn't run into any trouble. Just about anything could happen these days. From random digimon attacks to damage caused by a battle, it's good to stay vigilant. Kind of like right now - all alone, without any way to defend himself. If one didn't account for the faucet head, of course. Not that you could actually kill someone with that. Unless their wet body accidentally hit an open electrical current. But the odds of that happening were nearly nonexistent. So Arthur pushed that thought out and switched the faucet handle for a blow dryer. Turning the device on, he got to drying Wolverine's fur. Which only seemed to bring with it even more meowing and hissing.

"You know, I would think you would like this more than the water. But I stand corrected." Arthur announced, a chuckle echoing from further in the animal shelter. Looking behind him, the groomer couldn't see the source of the sound. Odd, considering that he had hone through the trouble of turning on all the lights ahead of his co-workers arrival. How exactly was this mystery figure evading his sight? Had to be hiding somewhere close enough to hear him, but far enough that they wouldn't be noticed. Not a lot of places where a person could get both of those things. Usually one or the other. Arthur couldn't be certain if that also applied to digimon. Depends on their size. Someone the size of his partner would likely face difficulties trying to hide. By no means impossible, it would just be obvious. "What do you think, Wolverine?"

Wolverine stared up at him, a single meow escaping their mouth. Arthur turned the blow dryer off and set it back in its place. Picking Wolverine up, he carefully set the feline on a grooming table. Turning back around, the groomer grabbed a brush. Facing Wolverine once more, he brought the brush right behind the cat's head. Brushing towards him, the sound of purring echoed forth from Wolverine.

"See? I told you would feel better after that." Arthur cooed, but got no response from the cat. Odd. That was normally enough to get a meow or more purring from talkative cats like Wolverine. Instead, he was faced with silence. What could be keeping Wolverine from wanting to voice his opinions? Taking a moment to compose himself, Arthur turned around. In a way, part of him should've seen this coming. But no, it felt too obvious of an answer to cross his mind.

Standing before him was a cartoony-looking yellowish orange dog with dark blue ears. For some reason, a white 'D' hung on his chest. Mud and other messes clung around his body, but that could be overlooked for now.

"Doggymon, what the heck are you doing here?" Arthur announced, Doggymon giving a shrug. Came awfully close to dumping mud on Wolverine.

"Beats me. Just woke up in a cage." Doggymon answered and brought a paw to his chin. Holding it there for a couple seconds, he was faced with a look from his partner. "Guess whoever sent me down had a sense of humor."

Arthur wasn't sure whether to laugh or just groan here. Dumb as that joke was, it was better than nothing. Especially as the sound of people coming in brought a swift end to any chances of a conversation.

"Are you at least willing to get a bath at the end of my shift?" Arthur continued and got a nod from Doggymon. Scooping up Wolverine, he gave his partner one more look. Doing his best to not show off his sharpened teeth, Doggymon waved at the cat. But all that got him was the loudest hiss that the groomer had ever heard. This was going to be one of those shifts, wasn't it?