Here's the second to last chapter of this fic. I have seriously enjoyed myself so much with this. It's been super cathartic for me, and I thank you for joining me on this journey ;)
Crowl - Ferret
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Tsuna wasn't sure why, but Mukuro had been spending a lot of time in the library during their travels. He never took anything out –I mean they didn't have a home address or anything so they couldn't –but he always came back looking suitably satisfied.
Tsuna shrugged. After all, Tsuna spent time going over the dichotomous keys, and the 'plants and routes of the area' books so that he knew what he should expect in the next town over. He often wished he could have a library of his own, with dichotomies of all the places he ever had and ever would visit, but books had also never been that important to Tsuna. Practical skills meant more. Besides, Hayato had all their survival and emergency books now, Tsuna didn't need to worry.
Mukuro and Chrome could have been shaman if they wanted to put a work to their skill, so Tsuna assumed that Mukuro was just researching plants or heritage or cultures of the places he was going to next.
Tsuna was wrong, very wrong. But he didn't learn until much later.
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Everyone knew that Mukuro had caught the canary when he swaggered into camp one evening with a little box and a bag with some big-name pet store scrawled across it.
"Oh great, did Mukuro get a stray too?" Lambo moaned, he was lying on a blanket with Gyuudon sprawled across his legs. Thinking his master wanted to play, the Great-Dane yapped and rolled over the kids' legs, much to Lambo's protest.
Instead Mukuro just chuckled, low and dark. "For your information this isn't a stray….I acquired Crowl with a well-placed bet and some sleight of hand."
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Tsuna didn't know whether Mukuro was insane or insanely clever for getting a ferret. Because not only did the little wisp of smoke sleep most of the time, but there was never a lack of enrichment for the growing creature when they were on the road.
Besides, ferrets liked company, and with dogs and cats and hedgehogs he had a lot of choice in companion.
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Mukuro growled low and soft. Not a sudden sound or else he'd scare the young creature. He gripped the scruff with his hand and his finger was immediately released.
"Kufufufu, that won't do. We don't bite here."
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"Is that long rat wearing a fucking leash?" Hayato whispered as they got ready to head out of Colorado. He was staring at Mukuro's smoky ferret with a mix of disbelief and wonder. Wonder if Mukuro was insane.
"Kufufufufufufu," Mukuro almost dropped his pack, "This coming from the scratching post that is currently trying to trained his cat to walk on a leash?"
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Crowl enjoyed free roaming, though he got into just as much mischief as Mukuro did. He found out very quickly that Natsu and Kojirou didn't mind him crawling up their legs or sides to sit on their backs –they had a lot of fur to grab –but that Gyuudon and Kanga could snap lightly at him if he tried it on them.
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Mukuro got really good at walking with Crowl crawling all over him. He had a little tunnel made in his pack so that Crowl could explore with enrichment as they hiked, or hide from the sun, and Crowl was well behaved.
He slept most of the time, and grew active when they paused for lunch or bed instead.
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Roll and Crowl seemed to be less than thrilled that their masters were constantly at each other's throats. If animals could, they would have rolled their eyes.
Kyouya and Mukuro liked sparring until neither could move.
Roll liked grooming Crowl until the ferret was immobile with bliss, and Crowl enjoyed curling up around Roll in the evenings.