“Oh fuck,” he says and lets out another laugh. “You want to keep this as a pet? I don’t even know if that’s legal.”
“Pehhhht.”
He hesitates, and when my eyes meet his, he shrugs. “Fuck it. Yeah, alright. Let me do an internet search and see what they say about taking care of these fuckers.”
I do not think it is a fucker. I think it is cute. Like a little kynum on Erethar with its naked tail and bright eyes. This pussy-um reminds me of home. I touch its wet nose, and one of its eyes opens.
I feel it shift in my arms, and I hold it tighter.
“You are safe, little one,” I say softly, my tongue loose in my language.
It blinks up at me, and I feel my hearts swell with love.
I hope Dante approves, for I do not want to give this up. I want to cherish and take care of it. Just like I cherish and take care of Dante.
My Dante.
“So, according to my internet search,” Zane says slowly, “this is definitely a baby. It looks like if the babies fall off the mom’s back while she’s walking, a lot of times they’ll just leave them on the ground to die.”
Die? I stare down into its little face—into those beady black eyes and open, hissing mouth which closes after a moment as it nuzzles into me. Its hair is soft but wiry, and I can feel its little ribs against my fingers.
The thing is probably starving. I have no idea how long it has been away from its birth giver, and I want to replace her. I want to nurture it and take care of it.
My hearts ache as I cradle it to me. It continues to play dead when I stand to follow Zane to his car, and then it wakes and hisses so hard it almost falls out of my grasp.
I adore it more with each passing moment.
Zane drives me to a pet store so we can get what we need to keep it alive and happy. He has a large black truck, one that is very tall and has chimneys on the top. But it easily fits me, so I do not complain.
I don’t love human transportation, but his is large enough to fit my body, and it drives smoothly enough that I do not fear for my little pussyum’s safety or my own.
“Okay,” he says as we pull into the parking lot. “Technically, keeping possums here isn’t illegal, but maybe you should wait in the car while I get everything it needs.”
I make a distressed trill, and he sighs, turning back to me.
“Trust me, it’ll be better this way. The pet shop sometimes has hyperactive dogs, and if it gets scared and runs off, we’ll never find it.”
I clutch the pussyum close to my body. “Staaaay.” I frantically reach into my pocket and shove the rest of the money Quilliyn paid me for my work at the coffee shop at Zane.
He takes it with a small sigh and sticks it into his pocket. “I have a list, and I’ll send you everything you need to do once I buy everything, okay?”
I nod and look down, stroking my little creature. It will eventually need a name, but perhaps Dante will select one with me. If Dante allows me to keep it.
The thought of him telling me to get rid of it has me shaking just a little, and I do everything I can to hide those big feelings so he doesn’t feel them if he slips into my head.
Luckily, Dante seems to be distracted, which allows me to sit back and do my best to relax.
Zane eventually returns with a huge pushcart filled with various items. Most of them are in blue plastic bags, but there are several items that look to be made of metal and wire. He loads them into the back of his truck, then gets in and leans over, stroking a single finger over the pussyum’s head.
“You good?” Zane asks.
I do not know if he means me or the animal, but I nod anyway.
Alright, you didn’t have nearly enough money for all this shit. Quilliyn is not paying you enough, but yeah, I covered it.”
I stare at him and then nod. “Thank you.”
“Yeah, it’s fine. Anyway, the guy inside told me that possums are really bad about eating what they should. They’ll go for sweets and refuse other stuff, so you have to make sure it eats a balanced diet. Also, they need exercise, supplements…”
