One-Shots of My O.C.'s Lives

Pets

"Hey Ty I got you something!" Ty looked up from his computer at the thick Bulgarian accent, seeing Martin walk into the room with a huge addictive grin on his face that showed his fangs, and his hands in his pockets.

"Really?" Ty replied, surprised.

"Yeah!" The Bulgarian laughed, burrowing his hand in his pocket before holding the hand up in a loose fist. "C'mere!" He hesitantly got out of his seat and walked over to him, and Martin opened his hand and held it flat to reveal what was inside.

In his grip was an unconscious Borrower.

"Whoa..." Ty widened his eyes in surprise. "Is-is that a... Is that what I think it is?"

"Yep, now hold your hand out!" Ty held out both his hands, his breathing picking up a little with nervousness and excitement as Bodil set the tiny creature in the center of his palm, and he stifled a gasp. It was so small, yet heavier than he expected, and it was warm.

"Where'd you get it from?" He asked, staring down at the Borrower incredulously.

"I bought it in one of those pet shops, although a guy who works there warned me that he's the feistiest, but I thought that might fit you better." The Bulgarian explained.

"Wow... Thanks." Ty grinned, looking back up at his friend. "But where do I put it? What do I feed it? I don't really know anything about taking care of a Borrower, since I've never really seen one before."

"I'll teach ya!" Martin laughed, clapping him on the back. Ty instinctively held the Borrower to his chest to keep from dropping him at the sudden force.

"Alright then."

"So I did get ya this." Martin turned back and pointed out into the hallway, and Ty spotted a gleam of metal.

"A cage?" He questioned. "Isn't that a little... Harsh?"

"Don't worry about it, Borrowers can be really tricky, they just won't let themselves be taken care of. Too full of themselves or something."

"Oh, okay..." Ty followed his friend out into the hallway, and he hesitantly opened the cage before setting the unconscious creature down in it, shivering a little at how cold the cage floor felt on his fingertips as he withdrew. "So what do they eat?" He asked, watching the Borrower's flank calmly rise and fall.

"Well if they're out all on their own, then leftovers, crumbs. But they can eat the same thing as cats do."

"Food pellets?"  Bodil nodded.

"Yep!" He got back up, turning to the other predator with a grin.

"Wow... Well, thanks for the gift."

"No problem!" Martin hugged his friend before leaving the hallway, letting himself out of the house to head back home. Ty stared after his friend for a few minutes before looking back down at the Borrower, seeing that it was still asleep.

"... Well, I hope I learn fast." He sighed.

***************

There were some times when Ty's super sharp hearing refused to turn off at night, for good excuses or bad ones. Although this time, it was good, because as he gradually woke up, he realized that not only could he hear the rain, but there was a noise going on in the hallway, where the Borrower was.

He climbed out of bed, then strided into the hallway and crouched down to see that the Borrower was shivering, curled up in a little ball and in one corner of the cage. 'I knew that cage seemed a little too heartless.' He thought to himself, opening the cage door and reaching in for the borrower. However, as soon as his hand touched its back, it suddenly jolted forward, yelping in alarm and backpedaling away from his hand to press against the corner of the cage. Surprised, he quickly pulled his hand back out, staring at the borrower through the bars as he got an even better and more observant look at it.