Menagerie Pitch In: Kevat Pup

by **Magpie** on April 19th, 2013, 9:34 pm

Timestamp: 20th of Spring 513AV

The door to Uopa’s home received a strong rapping the morning of the 20th, followed by a cry, like a very low owl’s shriek. There was a mumbled admonition, followed by a quieter, almost embarrassed chirp.

The door opened to a harried young Akalak holding a blue woven leash attached to a young kevat in a matching harness. The straps of the harness looped over his shoulders and around his midsection. As soon as the door was fully open, the kevat lurched forward surprisingly fast to run inside, causing the Akalak to rear back and loop the leash once more around his hand.

“Ah, hi… Is this, um…” He paused to pull a ragged piece of paper from his pocket. “…’You-oh-pa's’ home?” Waiting only for the vaguest confirmation, he pulled the leash from his wrist and handed it over gratefully, allowing the kevat to scrabble further into the house until the leash once again pulled taut. “His name’s Loufo, he’s a year old... Pretty nice pup, they usually are when they’re born in captivity…” He’d bent over and was fiddling with a large bag on the ground next to the door as he spoke. “Here’s his food for the day – he gets fed twice, morning and evening – and a rope thing he likes to chew on.” Hefting the bag up, he passed it through the doorway.

A pair of Akalaks out in the street, hefting a long, wire mesh cage between them, whistled and the young man looked back anxiously. Loufo chirped in response, running back to the door to look out before running back in to the end of the leash again. “Yea, pretty straight forward. Watch out for his beak, he nips.” For the first time in the conversation, he focused on Uopa. “Let him settle in for a bit, since he’s going to want to explore everything.” The pair in the street whistled again, louder, and he started to back away, still talking. “He’ll probably figure out any door handles, so I’d keep the outside doors locked. Oh yea, and he’s not housetrained so watch out for that!” He was now well into the street, practically shouting as he followed the other pair away. “I’ll be back at noon, okay?” In a few more moments, he was gone, and at that moment, Loufo hopped up to nip at the edge of the food back with an audible snap.

OOC Notes :

by **Uopa** on April 24th, 2013, 1:02 am

"It's pronounced, ooo...oh, forget it," Uopa began to correct the young Akalak, but then decided against it since he appeared to have more than enough on his broad shoulder. "Yes, you have the right home," she confirmed as she stood back to give him and his four-legged companion - her new, yet temporary roommate - enough room to enter. Within a chime, the animal handler was gone and she was left staring down at a rather adorable looking critter.

"Puppy!" she heard her nephew, Javird, exclaim as she locked the front door.

"Be careful. I believe he's hungry. So he may try to eat one or more of your fingers if you're not careful. Understood?"

"Unner...unnerstood."

"It's under, not unner, and you can help me feed him. Would you like that?" she inquired as she lifted the bag of feed.

"Yippy!" the little boy exclaimed as he ran off to fetch a bowl.

Deciding is was probably best to follow him, Uopa made it only a few feet before she realized that the poor puppy was all tangled up in his harness and leash. Dropping the kibble, she dashed over to where he was and began to make every effort to get him untangled. However, at this point, he was not happy with his situation at all.

"Oh my," the Inarta exclaimed as he snapped at her with his beak.

"Here," her Drykas partner, Kanto, interjected as he stepped in to help her, having heard the commotion from the bedroom, "you have to show him who's boss. Grab the harness firmly and then work the leash off. Keep your hands away from his face."

"My hero," she mocked as she bat her eyelashes and pretended to swoon, just as the pup snapped at her ankle. "Actually, would you be a dear and feed him? I still have one or two valuables I want to put away."

"Uh, sure. As long as I don't end up watching him all day. I'm not the one who signed us up for this little adventure," he informed her as he made his way out of the room, grabbing the bag of feed along the way.

by **Uopa** on May 4th, 2013, 3:50 pm

Okay. So. The valuables were all safely tucked away, the pup was being fed, and...

"Uopa!" she heard Kanto call out from the next room, just as she was about to sit down and finish her morning tea.

"What? What's wrong?" she questioned as she approached the dining nook where the Drykas was currently feeding their furry guest. However, as she turned the corner she could see exactly what was the matter.

There, in the middle of the floor, was the largest puddle of puppy pee she had ever viewed, well, in her entire life, and sitting in the middle of it was not only the pup, but her nephew.

"I think she got scared," the little boy said as he looked up with his big brown eyes as he hugged the puppy sitting next to him.

"First of all, she's a he and his name is Loufo," Uopa corrected. "Second of all, how did you let this happen?" she snapped at Kanto who was standing with a plate of kibble in one hand, a bowl of water in the other, and a confused look on his face.

"I turned my back for one chime...," he began to explain.

"Well, I guess that's all it takes," she replied as she lifted Javird out of the mess, holding him at arms length as she did. "I have this little one, you can take care of that one...as well as the puddle," she informed Kanto as she made her way toward the bedroom and, more specifically, the wash basin.

"Wait just a chime. This is not my...," he began to gripe, but with one sharp look from Uopa, as she slipped through the doorway of the bedroom, he understood that this was not the best time to debate the matter. "Fine. I'll clean it up, but after that, he's all yours!"

by **Uopa** on July 2nd, 2013, 1:57 am

After a good scrubbing and a quick change of clothes, Javird was off and running, ready to play with the pup once more. Uopa, on the other hand, was ready for a nap. So far, the morning has been a bit more hectic than she was accustom to and, regretfully, it didn't look like it was going to ease up anytime soon.

"Uopa!" she heard Kanto shout, just as she was reclining back upon their bed. "You better get in here!" he called again, without hesitation.

Propelling herself from the bed, she came dashing out into the main seating area, expecting to find yet another disaster. However, what she did find, to her utter frustration, was Javrid and Loufo running around in circles, chasing each other, with Kanto giggling like an idiot.

"Look at them go!" the Drykas hooted as he doubled over with tears of joy in his eyes.

"Really? This is what you called me out here to see?" she muttered as she shook her head.

"Yeah! Look at them go! Oh...wow...wait...no! Look at him come!" Kanto suddenly exclaimed as Loufo broke free of the chase and made a direct line for him. "No!" he giggled as the pup leapt on his back and started pecking at his head.

"Loufo's funny!" Javrid exclaimed as he clapped his hands and danced about. "Loufo's eating daddy!"

"What did you just say?" Uopa firmly questioned the boy as she grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around to face her.

"Loufo's funny?" he repeated as more of a question than a statement.

"No. The other thing," Uopa insisted as tears began to burn the corners of her bright eyes.

"Loufo's eating daddy?" he repeated in a near whisper with his head bowed to the side as if he had said or done something horribly wrong.

"K...Kanto? Did you...did you hear that?" she began to question the Drykas who at this point had stopped playing with the pup and was now standing in the middle of the room with a perplexed look upon his face. "He called you daddy!" she exclaimed in a voice that filled the room with warmth and joy.

"Is that...a good thing?" Javrid questioned.

"It's a wonderful thing!" the Inarta exclaimed as she picked him up and spun him around, having hoped and prayed for this moment since the very first day she introduced Kanto to the boy. "It's a wonderful thing, baby! Isn't that right, Kanto?" However, when she turned to the Drykas to see his expression as he replied, he was gone. "Kanto?" she questioned as she put Javrid down.

"I'm at the front door," he suddenly replied from the foyer. "We have company," he continued to inform her as she joined him in the hall.

ENTER TECHNICIAN, STAGE RIGHT

by **Magpie** on September 18th, 2013, 7:52 pm

OOCI know you're not really around much at the moment, just wanted to get this long-overdue reply out there!

The technician at the door was the same one from that morning, looking slightly more rested and with an unmarked clipboard in hand. "Hi there, Miss..." He glanced at his clipboard. "You-poh-a's residence? I'm just here to check on Loufo. May I come in? Or we can strap the little guy up and have the inspection out here, if..." He paused at the sound of children inside. "That's more convenient for you?"

Closed Menagerie Pitch In: Kevat Pup