Matthew

We talked for a while in the classroom. The professor mentioned having contacts in many companies looking for people like me, though he expressed delight when I mentioned my goal was Diamond Laboratories. Apparently, he worked with them often, so he said he'd put in a recommendation for me.

I was ecstatic! My future looked secure; I only needed to ride the momentum.

Could I have been any more wrong?

When the time came to part ways, the professor left me with the equipment he'd promised. Immediately, I knew it wasn't getting anywhere on a bike—it looked like it weighed forty pounds, was sphericle, and was so large it would require two hands to carry. It was an inconvenience, but no way was I going to complain about his generosity.

Short of options, I called my dad. It was almost nine, so he was likely getting ready for work.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Dad."

He became eager. "Matthew! How'd it go with the professor?"

"Great!" I said. "He was going to put in a word for me at Diamond; I'm pretty excited!"

"That's what I like to hear; you make me proud, Matthew."

"Thanks, Dad. Hey, also, could you come pick me up? The professor gave me some stuff I can't take on the bike."

"You got it; I'll be right over," he said. I thanked him and hung up.

I gathered all my things and headed toward the underground parking. It was then that the reality hit me. The egg would eventually hatch, and then I'd need to take care of a pokémon.

Oh no, how was I going to manage this? A pokémon needs to be fed, played with, groomed, given physical affection… this was a significant problem to be considered while I attended school full-time.

Maybe my parents were right not to keep a pet; they were a big responsibility.

How was I going to explain this to my parents? I pondered until my father pulled into the parking lot about ten minutes later. I squeezed the incubator along with my bike in the back while I rode in the passenger seat.

He looked at me with puzzled eyes. "Matthew, why are you all covered in…" he took a finger and dragged it across my forearm, inspecting the residue that came off. "soot?"

I winced. I hoped he wouldn't ask any questions so I'd have more time to think. "There was a fire in the savannah, and I checked it out."

"Why? You didn't get hurt, did you?" he asked.

"No," I said, hoping he didn't see my hands; they were already starting to peel from the burns. "I'll explain later; I just need to go home and wash up."

But we didn't move. Instead, he looked in the back with curiosity. "What're you doing with an incubator, Matthew?"

I sighed. "Because I found something on the way to university, and the professor wanted to help me out."

"You've never been anything but straightforward and honest with me, Matthew; why can't you come out and tell me? What did you find?"

I could sense his agitation. He already knew; he just wanted to hear it from me. "I… found an egg."

"Let me see it."

He was agitated; he sometimes got this way when something bothered him. Nothing good would come from trying to hide things any longer, so I unzipped my backpack and produced the egg.

He inspected it with laser focus like it wasn't to be trusted. "Do you know what's in it?" he asked.

I nodded. "A Litleo."

"Son, you need to put it back where it came from; a fire-type doesn't belong in the house, let alone a newhatch that doesn't know how to control itself."

I shook my head. "I can't put it back; its pride was killed, and the den went up in flames. Someone needs to take care of it," I said.

He nodded. "If that's so, we can take it somewhere that provides care for orphaned pokémon."

"No!" I blurted before covering my mouth. Where did that come from? Why was I acting like this?

My father looked at me incredulously. "Matthew, that pokémon doesn't belong in our house; there's a risk everything we have will burn down, and you'll be too tied up in caring for it to continue your studies. Someone whose profession is handling these situations is the best avenue you have; they would take excellent care of it."

I didn't doubt that, but I still wasn't sold, not even a little. Never before had I seen my father act this way.

"I know, but… some part of me wants to try," I said softly.

There was a silence before he put the car in drive. "I gotta get to the clinic; we'll talk more when I get back," he said as we pulled out of the underground lot.

He didn't say anything on the return trip, and when we were home, he dropped me off, picked up my mother, and left for the clinic.

I watched them turn around and exit onto the street, the gate closing behind them. My father didn't seem to like the idea of having a pokémon at home.

No time to worry about that now. My arms hefted the incubator and was reminded of its weight. Naturally, newer technology was more efficient, portable, and lighter than the eggs it would incubate, but this one was quite old.

Might as well go set this up. I shuffled to the door and got it open without dropping the cargo. I briefly thought about where to put it, but if there was a possibility of some disagreements with the egg, my room was by far the best choice; no need to be a bigger burden than necessary.

Luckily, my room was on the ground floor. I walked down the main hallway from the foyer, left down the next one, and entered my room at the far end.

"Whoops." I'd almost bumped into a nice table with a vase on it.

Need to be more careful. I set the machine down in the corner, along with my backpack. I needed to unplug my phone charger to make space in the nearby outlet for its bulky cable.

Once it was connected, the heat lamp engaged. I was thankful that it didn't make much noise.

There was a dial to adjust the intensity of the lamp, along with a few other buttons I was unsure about. I spun the crank to open the front hatch.

The heat flowing out of the space was warm but not 'hot;' I was sure it was ready for the egg.

I retrieved it from my bag and held it in front of me. The smooth surface and vivid colorations it possessed were soothing. There was life inside this shell… In my hands. It was astounding to think about.

Snapping out of it, I slotted the egg inside the machine and spun the crank in the opposite direction, safely inside.

My eyes remained fixated there for a while. No thoughts, just swept with a profound fascination. Eventually, I became acutely aware of the burning in my hands; they were quite an angry shade of red.

"Maybe I should take care of this…" I mused, making for the medicine cabinet.

I was in the kitchen eating leftovers when the garage door could be heard opening.

Strange, usually they don't get back until after five on weekends; it was only half past three.

The front door opened, and my mother walked in. "Matthew! How are you?" she asked.

I nodded and swallowed the last remaining forkful of food. "Good, mom. How was work? You're home early."

"Your father has had something nagging him all day, so we decided to leave; neither of us had any appointments anyway," she said.

My Mother, in her mid-fifties, has a strict work ethic like my father. Unlike him, she did not allow her age to show so easily. She enjoyed fashion, owning most of their walk-in closet's worth of clothes, and was never seen in public without her makeup.

She was a respectable woman with solid credentials, but I've noticed her lack of agency and individuality in many circumstances over the years of living with her.

Maybe she's just used to living in another time.

"I wanted to talk to you about the egg; could I see it?" She asked.

"Of course," I said. I took care of the dirty dishes and silverware before leading her to my room.

She took an immediate interest in the incubator. "Wow, it knew it was old when I saw you carrying it this morning; I remember using one of these when you were just an infant," she said.

"Yeah, I was kind of surprised it still worked," I said and turned to her. "So you wanted to talk to me?"

She nodded slowly. "Yes. Your father has some concerns that he's afraid you aren't taking seriously."

"Okay..?" I said, not sure how to respond.

"I know you know that caring for a pokémon is a big responsibility. I'm not saying you wouldn't be able to handle it, but is now the best time?"

Her words felt hand-picked; her delivery calculated. I understood where she was coming from and agreed with her to an extent, but was there ever really a 'best time' for something like this?

"Mom, it'll be alright." I pointed to the egg in the confines of the old machine. "See that egg? There were four, but I was too late; the rest didn't make it. Everything has been taken from this pokémon, and it hasn't even hatched yet." I looked at her. "I need to do this. Maybe I don't understand why, but I do. Besides, having a house pokémon could be fun."

My mother said nothing, only smiled—honestly, a little offputting— before leaving my room.

Her behavior was strange and quite upsetting; she didn't acknowledge the egg, even after I pointed it out, only the equipment the professor sent home with me.

My head spun. I've always been allowed to make my own decisions, given the freedom to take on the world in any way I chose, but I couldn't help but feel discouraged in this choice I felt in my heart of hearts I had to make.

Contrary to what he'd said in the car, my father did not come to talk to me when they got home or for the rest of the night. I stayed up until ten or so, searching things online and tinkering with the incubator. It was pretty early by my standards, but I was too distracted to finish any work, having watched the egg for hours on end.

I was woken up by shuffling in my room and saw a silhouette approaching the corner of my room. It was still dark outside; first light was only just appearing over the houses across the street.

Who was up this early, and why were they sneaking up on the egg? Reaching over and flicking on my bedside lamp, I was surprised—and relieved— to see it was just my sister. She jumped from the room suddenly being illuminated.

"Brittney?" I asked. "What are you doing? It's not even six."

"Ah, sorry, Matthew, I just got back from observation and wanted to see the egg I'd heard about," she said.

She oogled the egg through the thick plastic viewing port. "So pretty! Do you know what it'll be?" she asked with barely contained excitement.

I nodded. "Yeah, it's going to be a Litleo."

Brittney laughed. "You didn't walk into the lion's den and take it, did you?"

"Well, yeah… kinda. It's a long story."

"Geez, what happened to your hands?" she asked.

I looked down at them, still red and stung a bit. "That's part of the story."

"Alright, tell me later; I don't have the energy right now."

We were silent for a while, just observing the egg.

Something occurred to me, and my brow furrowed. "Who told you about the egg? You were gone all day."

She pointed a thumb over her shoulder. "Dad had called me up and told me you brought one home; I got so excited hearing the news."

"What did he say about it? He didn't seem very happy talking to me," I said.

Brittney frowned. "Yeah, he sounded pretty unhappy on the phone. He was basically asking me to convince you that keeping it was a bad idea."

Now there wasn't a doubt in my mind; my parents really didn't want a pokémon in the house if they were willing to try this route to be rid of it.

But… why? Are they truly looking out for me, or is there something else? Whatever the answer, it kind of hurt not being accepted in the choices I made.

I must've been showing the emotions on my face because Brittney came over and hugged me. "Hey now, it'll be alright. There's nothing wrong with wanting to have a pokémon of your own. I don't know what's causing him to act this way, but we'll get him to understand," she said.

The hug was a little awkward because I slept without a shirt, but I hugged her back. She was always there for me, and I needed her to know I appreciated it. "Thanks, Brittney."

She broke away and bellowed a yawn. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I just got back from an almost twenty-four-hour shift, and I'd like to get to sleep before the sun rises."

"You're not working today, right?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No, I have the day off; they're not that cruel. I'll see you later."

With that, she walked out of my room and down the hall to hers. I heard a door close shortly after.

It wasn't time to get up, but I wasn't going back to sleep either, so I disabled the alarm on my clock and threw the covers aside.

It was Sunday; the first finals were tomorrow, but I didn't feel motivated to study. It was entirely out of my character, but instead of starting my day, I undid the crank on the incubator and pulled out the egg. Its surface was warm, undeniably pleasant and comforting to hold.

I sat down against the wall for a while. No thoughts, just holding the precious ovular object in my embrace.

Eventually, the sun peaked over the buildings across the street and shot into my eyes. I put the egg back and got dressed to make breakfast.

An omelette sounded pretty good this morning, so I cracked two eggs, beat them, and let them go. When they took form, I added a few ingredients and flipped the slab into its signature semicircular shape. When I deemed it to be done cooking, I sat and ate, checking my phone for anything noteworthy in the news as I did. Nothing.

After breakfast, I got myself cleaned up and sat at my desk to study… or at least try to. The egg was constantly stealing my attention from the corner.

What was wrong with me? It was like I had an obsession with it. It was true that my sister and I always wanted a pokémon of our own and were never allowed; was that why I was so out of it? Maybe because the professor said it was close to hatching, I wanted to ensure I was there for it?

Oh no, what if it hatches when I'm taking finals? No one will be home during the day! I could ask a friend to watch it for me while I'm at the university, I could ask… ask… Damn, did I even know anyone outside my family well enough?

A knock at my door startled me; I looked over and saw my father staring at me with concern.

"Matthew, are you alright? You look as though you've met Giratina," he said.

I sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine, just thinking about stuff."

"You're thinking about that egg, aren't you?" I nodded. "You see what I mean, Matthew? It's only an impediment; you can't keep your mind off it. You have an important week coming up, and you can't bring yourself to adequately prepare."

I knew he was right, yet at the same time, I knew he was wrong. I wanted to retort, but no words came out; nothing seemed appropriate.

He entered my room and knelt beside me. "Look, I know you've wanted something like this for a long time, but I hope you can understand that I want nothing but the best for you. You're a star student; companies dream of having someone like you on their payroll, and when you can get in that situation, you can have everything you could ever want."

His hands rose to draw attention to the room. "You see this house? Beautiful piece of construction. Your mother and I worked hard to get a place like this near the city, and after we put in our dues, now we have it."

He dropped his hands and looked at me again. "Now, I'm not trying to force you to make the tough decisions. I just want you to understand you're almost there, and I'd hate to see you throw it away because you wanted a pet. Think about it this way: what will you have in thirty years if you keep strong and get the job of your dreams? Now the converse, what would you have if you decided to keep the egg and spend the time raising it? There wouldn't be any guarantee it'd even live that long, and then you would have nothing."

I nodded but still said nothing. I felt suppressed… why was it so difficult to speak out against him?

My father continued his drabble. "You're a smart kid; you know a pokémon is a lot of responsibility." He began counting on his fingers. "They need to eat, play, exercise, go outside, and heck, maybe it'll be rambunctious and need training. I just don't feel comfortable with that living in my house, you understand?"

He wasn't wrong here; one had to be careful when raising fire-types in their house and for obvious reasons. Most typical upper-class housing like ours was built with fire-resistant materials and coatings, but that wasn't a good excuse to risk things.

Seeming satisfied with his words, he put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it. "I know you'll do the right thing," he said with a smile before leaving.

I sighed. Why did this have to be so complicated? Why now? Why couldn't I have just reported the fire and gone on my way?

My head snapped to the egg as if checking to ensure it hadn't heard my thoughts. No, what was I thinking? If not for me, the unhatched pokémon would never hatch; I'd done the right thing and was glad I did.

Thoughts bombarded my mind; nothing was getting done, and I already felt exhausted. Maybe a nap would put me straight and give me some answers.

With nothing better to do, I closed the curtains and crawled back into bed, letting the soft whirring of the incubator lull me to sleep.

A loud thud woke me up quickly. I was asleep for about an hour, judging by the clock.

Thud

That one was louder than the last. I flicked on the lamp to see what could've fallen, but nothing was loose on the floor… Strange. It definitely came from my room, but the source wasn't anything I'd expect.

But then I slowly turned toward the old machine in the corner.

THUD!

Already!? When the professor said it would hatch soon, I didn't think it'd be this soon!

I would've torn the door off the machine if I had the strength; I couldn't get it open fast enough. I threw the crank in the unlock direction and opened the door. The egg had cracks spiderwebbing everywhere along its surface and shook wildly.

Oh Arceus, this is it.

I snatched the egg out of the machine and held it close. I thought briefly about helping it, but that wasn't a good idea; too many problems could arise, so I waited for it to break free on its own.

It bucked violently, but I kept hold of it, bits of shell flying everywhere each time.

Finally, after one extra powerful jolt, I heard a crack and saw a smattering of eggshell scatter across the floor. I watched, completely awestruck, as a red and brown feline pokémon burst out of the opening and fell facefirst into the carpet. It had to have been the single most adorable thing I'd ever seen.

It picked its head up and shook; more pieces of shell were thrown every which way. It was all over my room, but that wasn't anywhere near the forefront of my mind.

The pokémon looked side to side, up the wall, and to its paws before turning around to look at me. Its black eyes ran up and down my form. I remained as still as I could manage, not wanting to screw up some kind of process.

It came in for a sniff, first my feet, then my pants, and finally the remains of its egg I still held. It must've connected some dots because it came in to nuzzle my chest.

"Leo!"

I laughed in amazement as I discarded the remains and brought the newly hatched pokémon into my lap. Its pelt was fuzzy and warm to the touch, the red hair more so, which would one day become its mane. It happily accepted the attention with little purrs.

For a minute, I just sat there dragging my hand along its small body; it couldn't seem to get enough as it wriggled in my lap, trying to find the best position to lie.

I'd never seen a Litleo up close, so my clinical side emerged as I investigated the pokémon. Quite puny, but it'd grow. The coloration on its fur was beautiful: a mostly black body and head with brown for its socks, a patch on its face, and its ears. My favorites were the hints of red on its nose and its short little mane.

Its paws had three toes with sharp claws, and its tail whipped like a… well, like a whip; It even looked like one with the patch of brown fur on the tip.

I flipped it around to check its gender. They taught us how to identify a newly hatched feline's gender in university. I saw a small slit, indicating female. The males had a circular "mound" of sorts. This outcome wasn't surprising, considering this species had seven females for every male.

I stroked her tiny ears; she turned around to lay her head on my body and knead my stomach with her claws, purring loudly.

"Alright now, those things hurt," I said, gently trying to dissuade her, but she was persistent, going in again and also taking my shirt into her mouth to suckle.

"Oh, you're hungry," I said, realizing I was woefully unprepared to take care of the pokémon once it'd hatched. My parents had stuff in the basement; maybe they had some formula lying around.

I picked myself up and walked my way to the stairs, taking the Litleo with me. She didn't seem to mind, but my shirt was getting soggy… yuck.

Shrugging it off, I descended and entered the storage room. Stacks upon stacks of green twenty-gallon totes lined the walls from floor to ceiling. Luckily, I already knew where to look.

A lone tote on the opposite wall had a red plus drawn on in permanent marker. I cracked open the top and sifted through its contents.

"Hm… Casts, variety antibiotics, potions and full heals, plenty of bandages…"

I shook my head and closed the box. Nope, not what I was looking for. Now what was I going to do? I guess I just take her with me to the store and hope things would be okay.

Wait, Brittney's home; I could ask for her help.

I didn't like having to wake her up, but that was still the best option. Luckily, I think the pokémon fell asleep, so she shouldn't be too much trouble.

Her room was right next to mine, so back up the stairs, down the hall, and the final door to the right. The door was ajar, so I nudged it open and entered.

The room was dark; Brittney had her blackout curtains drawn, so I felt my way to her bed with my feet. I could hear her rhythmic breathing, so I let it guide my way.

I made it pretty far until I stubbed my toe hard on something wood… her dresser?

I cried out in pain. Holding the pokémon left me unable to nurse the painful throbbing in my digits.

The room was suddenly bathed in light; I saw my sister with her hand on the bedside lamp.

"Déjà vu," she laughed before gasping. "Oh my Arceus, it's so cute!" she whisper shouted. I nodded and set her down on Brittney's bed to let her touch, and she couldn't keep her hands away. "When did this happen?" She asked.

"About ten minutes ago," I said.

"Male or female?"

"Female."

She nodded and pet the Litleo behind the ears, which she seemed to enjoy by the way she tilted her head.

"So, what's her name?" Brittney asked.

I froze. A name? It hadn't crossed my mind!

My sister saw through my moment of silence. "Come on, you have to give her a name!" she stated a bit too loudly; the newhatch stirred on the bed before settling again.

I shook my head. "Later. Right now, I need to run to the pharmacy to pick up some formula… and some more stuff to house-train her, damn it." I sighed. "I know you're tired, but could you watch her for me while I'm gone?"

She smiled. "Of course! You can count on me."

Will things be alright if I leave Brittney with the newhatch? Will she behave being left with someone else? Should I ask Brittney to go instead?

No, everything will be okay. I just need to go, pick up what I need, and get home so Brittney can go back to sleep.

I thanked her and left her to some alone time with the pokémon. Grabbing my keys, I walked out the front door, making sure to lock it behind me.

The garage door was left open by my parents… Strange. Were they expecting me to need to leave today? Did they know this was going to happen?

Shaking my head, I got into my car and started it up. I was overthinking this; they just forgot to shut the door.

I decided to go to the closest pharmacy in the interest of time, which was at the edge of the city. I walked in and wandered around before catching the attention of the clerk.

"Good morning, sir. Could I help you find something today?" He asked.

"Yes, I have a newhatch at home and need some supplies; give me a hand?"

He nodded. "My pleasure," he said, stepping out from behind the register.

The clerk guided me to the formula I was here for and the bottles to use them in. The formula came in a big tin tub, like what instant coffee grounds came in.

I thanked him and paid for the items, but I still needed more things the pharmacy didn't carry, so I was back in the car and off to the supermart.

"This place has everything; I probably could've just stopped here to begin with."

I picked up the housetraining supplies and some toys with high-temperature tolerance for fire-types and paid for everything.

On the way out, I saw the trainer's market, where they sold supplies for… well, trainers. I decided to talk in and look around.

Medicine, food, even camping supplies, but I didn't need any of this stuff. What caught my attention was the stock of pokéballs. I must've been staring because I caught the attention of the clerk.

"New trainer, huh? I see it in your eyes," she said with a challenging glint in her eye. This teenager had a tough spirit.

I shook my head. "No, no, I'm just looking," I said, hoping to get out of the conversation.

She didn't let up, though. "I would recommend the standard model for you," she said, producing an iconic red and white ball. "Not too expensive, easy to buy in bulk, and perfect if the pokémon is already willing to come with you."

The idea of capturing the newhatch didn't sit well with me; she was so young and wouldn't understand the situation. Plus, I wasn't a trainer, nor ever had plans to be.

On the other hand, buying the ball wasn't a commitment to anything in of itself. Maybe it could come in handy for other things.

After more thinking and an unrelenting stare from the clerk, I gave in and bought one just to have. I left before she could keep me with a sales pitch of being properly stocked with healing items.

I got back in my car and started for home. A glance at the clock on the dashboard, and my jaw dropped.

"I'd been gone for forty-five minutes?" The trip wasn't meant to be nearly this long! Did the pokémon misbehave? Would she have hurt Brittney? What if she burned down the house?

My speed increased in pure anxiety; I zipped down the highway toward the suburb.

A sigh of relief came when I wasn't met with the Fire Department at the house. I parked the car, grabbed my stuff, and burst in. Everything looked normal; so far so good.

I heard my sister laughing as I walked down the hall. Entering her room, I smiled to myself as I watched her tickling the little one as she squirmed on her back; they seemed to be getting along well.

"Hey, you alright? You look kinda stressed," Brittney said.

"Well, suddenly having a new pokémon to care for and turning your world upside down could be a reasonable explanation." I sighed. "I'm just glad the house hadn't burned down while I was gone."

Brittney gave me a sideways glance. "You know pokémon can't use their elements right as they hatch, right? They need to discover it by growing and playing."

"Oh," I said, setting everything down. "Well, you can go back to sleep if you want; I have to figure out how to feed her."

"You don't know how to bottlefeed?" She asked.

"I'm not frequently in these scenarios like, say, a vet tech," I countered.

"Fair enough," she conceded, reaching into the bags and grabbing the formula I'd bought. "There are instructions on the tin, but who needs that? Let big sister show you how it's done."

Despite the situation being so stressful so suddenly, I felt I was in good hands. "Alright, where do we start?"

She grabbed the bags and led me to the kitchen, the Litleo naturally following us. "First, wash these bottles out thoroughly; it's important to keep these things clean. Then fill it with two parts water to one part powder. You could probably start with a quarter full to feel out how much she'll eat; it's okay if she doesn't eat it all."

I nodded and got to work, scrubbing the bottle inside and out, then the nipple and ring, before wiping them dry.

Cracking open the tub of formula, I found it came with a helpful measuring tool. Comparing that to the hashes on the bottle, I poured in an amount that I estimated was good. After that, I filled it with water until it was a fourth full and capped it.

"Now plug the hole and shake it well; there shouldn't be any clumps in there," Brittney instructed, so shake I did. When I was done, it looked ready.

"Did you use warm water to fill it up?" she asked; I nodded. Drip some on the back of your hand to make sure it's not too hot; it should be warm, not hot.

I was positive it wouldn't be too hot, but I still followed her instructions and let a drop fall onto my hand.

"Feels warm," I said after a moment.

"Alright then, pick her up and feed her. Be sure to hold it at an angle so you don't choke the poor thing."

Doing as told, I picked her up, cradled her in one arm, and held the bottle to her mouth with the other.

At first, the pokémon didn't know what to make of the object held in its face, but after some encouragement, she took it into her mouth and began feeding greedily.

"Look at you, you're a natural," Brittney said.

The first few hours of caring for a pokémon were rife with knowledge. I had no doubt that it would be a rough ride, but right now, I could only smile while many complex emotions ran through me as I fed her.

Brittney plopped onto the bed; she looked just as sleepy as the little one. "So, how about that name? Have you thought about it?"

I frowned. No, I hadn't; I was too busy being overwhelmed by my shopping trip to even remember to think about it, but now that I had a quiet moment, I began turning the gears for what to name her.

I ended up thinking back to the nation's fargone past, before even the first settlers, when it was a feudal land of hunting and gathering groups. Pyroar were always respected—and feared—for their brutality in the hunt, so I decided to think of something tribal.

"Well?" Brittney asked impatiently.

"I'm working on it," I said with frustration.

Countless possible candidates flew in and out of my mind. I was awful at making important decisions and tended to become overtaken by analysis paralysis.

But, surprisingly, this wasn't one of those times; I'd found something. I pet her as she finished the bottle and curled up to sleep.

"I like 'Sabi'," I said. As I did, I could've sworn the little cub smiled.

"Mm," Brittney voiced. "I don't hate it, but it's surely different. I thought for sure I'd need to help you work it out."

I glared at her, but she was too busy yawning to notice. "Alright, I'll let you sleep," I said.

She nodded and pulled the covers over her. "Thanks, Matthew."

"I'm the one who needs to thank you," I said, flicking off her lamp. "Thank you, Brittney; don't know what I'd do without you."

"Mhm."

"Sleep tight."

I left and closed the door behind me.

Back in my room, I went to put Sabi in her bed before realizing I hadn't bought one on my trip. Oh well. The floor was carpet, would she mind?

Placing her down, she stirred but stayed asleep. I sighed and dropped on my bed. What a day it'd been already, and it wasn't even noon! I still had studying to do for tomorrow!

Ugh. The thought of expending more mental energy right now was not appealing after the emotional rollercoaster that was this morning, but it had to be done, I supposed.

Sabi started whining from the floor. She'd gotten up and was trying to get onto my bed. After some difficulty, she made a good leap and used her claws to climb the rest of the way.

"Leeooo," she yawned before clambering atop my chest and curling back up.

I froze. She was now going to sleep on my person… I still needed to study, but the mental block now felt like it was the full weight of the universe under her presence; I couldn't even consider moving her.

The rational part of my mind was protesting. I looked at my desk with all my material on it and then at Sabi, sleeping soundly.

I smiled and laid my head on my pillow, wrapping my arms around Sabi and pulling her closer. The studying, the stress, the responsibilities… could wait a little while.