Short Stories

Ryo's Pet Shop

A fairy, centaur, pet shop, and unicorn-turtles.

Another day, another controversy.
Guinevere sighed and flipped the switch on the neon sign. The letters glowed bright red. "OPEN." 
She walked behind the counter, placed a nametag on her shirt, and sat down on the stool. The customers would be few, but they always were. Running a pet store in a city whose inhabitants were mostly comprised of centaurs, fauns, harpy, merpeople, werewolves and other nekos… Yeah, not a good idea. Still, she was protected by the law. No matter how many protesters waved signs outside, they couldn't do anything. Of course, there were still the more normal pets like snakes, bats, beetles, toads, frogs, newts, dogs, cats, and lizards. So what if the witches bought them for their potions? At least they sold. They weren't her responsibility after that. 
Guinevere turned around to face the cages behind her, being careful not to hit her wings on anything. They all looked fine. The Gremlin was still furry and cute; the Water Horse was swimming back and forth in its tank; the baby Kraken seemed happy; the Thunderbird sat quietly; and, the Phoenix had set itself on fire again.

Ring!
The bell on the door alerted Guinevere to her first customer of the day. She had to lean over the counter to see the small child peering up at her. The boy gasped.
"Are you a fairy, Miss?"
She nodded.
"Yes, I am. Now stop staring! Don't you know it's rude? Besides, you should be used to fairies and other nekos."
"Sorry," he said, blushing slightly, "You're just prettier than the other fairies."
Guinevere laughed at the kid. "That was very sweet. What can I help you with?"
After another moment of staring at her, he dug his hand into his pocket and dumped miscellaneous coins onto the counter.
"Is this enough to buy a unicorn? A girl at my school really likes them and I want to impress her."
"Oh, I'm sorry." She began, "We don't sell unicorns here. Only the small animals." 
He looked at his shoes, disappointed.
"How about a turtle?" Guinevere asked.
The boy shook his head. 
"That's not exciting."
"Well, it's pretty much the only thing you can afford. Just… give me a minute."
The boy watched curiously as she grabbed a turtle out of the tank. She muttered some words and then turned to the child. The turtle had a horn!
"There." Guinevere said, "That's special."
The boy picked up the turtle and ran out, leaving the money behind. 
"Thanks Miss!" He shouted.

As he left, another figure entered the door. The centaur waved at Guinevere and moved toward her. 
"Hey Vince." She said, coming out from behind the counter.
"What was that all about?" He asked.
He nodded at the kid running down the street, uniturtle in his hands.
"Oh, it was just a little spell. Completely harmless." 
He smirked. "Yeah. Until twenty kids show up and start asking for horned turtles."
"Well then," she said, giving Vince a kiss, "We'll just charge extra. The only uniturtle provider in town."
They both giggled.

"Was that kid any trouble?" He asked.
Guinevere walked around the little store, checking on the animals.
"No! He was the best and only customer. Although, he did think I was pretty cute."
"Do I need to hunt him down?" Vince said from the otherside of the building.
"No!"
Guinevere stuck her head out in the aisle.
"You're joking, right?"
A pause.
"Vince?"
He grabbed her from behind. She jumped.
"Of course." He said, laughing. "I wouldn't dare harm him. Who else is going to tell every kid in the neighborhood where to get their uniturtles?"