The Extent of Love

4

This was definitely a day to wake up early. He had to pick up Russia today. Looking at the clock, he saw that it was 4am. Russia texted him that he was landing at one.

With a sigh, he got prepared for the day, throwing on some worn ripped jeans and a button up before going and looking through all the stuff on his sink that he never wore. Earrings, necklaces, pride makeup, normal makeup, and latex for Halloween. Grabbing some earrings he put them on, cringing a bit at the cold metal.

'Hello,' Hero purred, running into the bathroom and rubbing against his leg. Her sleepy eyes looked up at him, studying him, in their own catty way.

"Hey baby," he cooed to her, petting behind her ears, "we're leaving today, you're gonna get a new kitty friend."

'Friend?' Hero purred in response, tilting her head. Unlike most of the cats on the property, she wasn't in a clowder, like some of the other, immortal cats that had been chosen, and the clowders didn't like her much because of it. She was alone besides the other four immortalized cats that Alfred's immortal servants had. Meowing happily, she ran off, probably to go bother the aforementioned cats.

Checking himself in the mirror one last time, he left his room, almost tripping over one of the roombas that had gotten stuck under his door, the bot beeped before going on its way.

It was early, and dark in the hallways. Walking to the elevator room he got in the first one that opened and clicked the button to the first floor, an Akita slipping in with him, sitting beside him as he tried to remember where he put his bag.

This was a large property, with almost two thousand animals making themselves at home, and all of them were monitored in a different way from most breeders or zoos. Because there were too many to remember them all by name, every animal besides small rodents got collars with an electrical chip, and every person on the property got a metal stick, that when connected to the chip, listed the animals name, gender, age, what it does exactly, and breed. The stick was connected to an electronic database that let them know what animals they had, and the chip also worked as a tracker. The only issue was, it didn't work when you didn't have the stick with you, and he had a tendency to forget where he put it. Unlike most of his workers, which just tied it around their neck with a string and went about their business.

Also, because most of the animals were only in their cages at night, and losing a tiger in the surrounding woods would be bad.

"What's your name?" he asked the animal besides him, the creature looking up to him, it's ears flipped up.

'Hiraku' the dog supplied, shaking out his brown and white fur before sitting back down and scratching his ear, 'I always forget that you can whisper.'

"Many do bud," Alfred laughed, scratching Hiraku behind the ears as the elevator stopped, the dog barking at him and running off. The first floor was the largest, with the dining hall, theater, indoor amphitheater, and also where the reptiles and rodents are kept during the night.

Going to a break-room sort of room, he got himself a cup of coffee so that death did not overcome him in waves of fatigue that is impossible to catch until it is too late. He finished three cups before leaving, putting the coffee cup into the dishwasher system: a system of rubber cushioned tunnels that ran throughout the first and second floor, there to collect all the dishwashers and bring them to the automatic dishwasher, a machine in the electrical room.

Walking into the animals section of the first floor, he went through, looking into the glass of the specially made cages. In the corner of one of the dark cages, one of the komodo dragon cages, he saw movement and meandered over, shoulders tilted down as he looked to the cage. The komodo, walked up to the glass, and, being one of the animals that got to come out during the day, pushed open the door to the cage and walked out, down the dog stairs to the ground. The komodo, which a little plaque said was Mr. Venom Boy, came right up to him. The creature was about the size of an alligator, yet he knew not to be scared.