Hey so while I’m still on my hybrid bullshit, who wants to hear about Nikolai and his kitty hybrid?
He needed some company. Sure, he loved John - and the rest of the 141, Kate too; but they all had full-time priorities. They didn’t have the freedom he had to go wherever they wanted, whenever they wanted.
So, he resolved for a different option.
A hybrid.
At first, he though about obtained a sweet little mladenets with a fancy pedigree. He could most certainly afford one, but when he stumbled upon a fancy shelter, he couldn’t help but take a look.
It was nice inside, clearly redone with the way the floors were laid unevenly and some of the wallpaper peeled at the corners of the walls - but it was clean (clean enough that he could only smell anti-septic and not waste) and bright inside.
The receptionist greeted him as he approached the check-in table, smiling softly at him.
“Hi, hun. Have you got an appointment?”
“Nyet. Saw sign outside,” He gestured to the door, rings glinting in the fluorescent lighting. “You have hybrids for adoption?”
“We do! We also have a fostering program. Would you be interested in taking a look?” She asked, standing and pointing at the heavy duty metal door with a pin pad lock.
“I have time.” He smiled.
“Great! If you’d just follow me.”
She rounded the desk and entered in the code to the door, with a beep and a click, the door swung open. Gesturing him in first, she closed the door behind them.
“We have many pet hybrids available, canines, felines, avians, rodents…” She trailed on, pointing out several of the hybrids in their spacious kennels, remarking on their traits, personalities, and anything else she thought might interest him.
They turned a corner, completely passing a dimmed kennel, pasted warnings on the glass catching his eye.
DO NOT PUT FINGERS OR HANDS NEAR BARS.
I BITE.
“What about this one?” He asked, stepping closer to the kennel - smaller in size than the other ones. The plush bed was torn open in several spots, pushed into the far corner near the staff door on the opposite side - unlike all the other hybrids whose beds were nearer to the customer side.
“Oh…” She repeated the name on the clipboard attached to the kennel, rolling over the syllables like they left a bad taste in her mouth. “Listen, I try not to dissuade anyone from finding their forever friend, but you don’t want to take them home.”
You were curled beneath a blanket on the bed, the only thing visible were two large, oversized ears, tipped with fluffy tufts of fur.
“Why?” He demanded shortly.
“I…” She sighed, tentatively stepping to Nikolai’s side. “They’ve been returned by the last seven people who have adopted them. We almost put them on the do not adopt list but… with how many returns they’ve had…”
“What?” Nikolai prompted, looking from you to the receptionist, then back to you.
“If we put them on the do not adopt list, we’ll have to put in their file that they can’t be rehabilitated, and we’ll be forced to put them down.”
Nikolai sneered. “Why did they keep getting returned?”
“Well, the first two was due to them being hostile towards children, always hissing and hiding from them. After the second time, we stopped adopting them out to households with children, but the problem persisted. They couldn’t acclimate. Everyone that brought them back complained that they were hostile, aggressive, unsociable, and too frightened to make a good pet.” She sighed.
“If they get returned one more time… We won’t have a choice but the euthanize them, do not adopt list or not.”
Nikolai watched intently as your right ear flicked, clearly listening to the conversation, but you didn’t lift your head. Resigned to your fate.
It was an easy decision.
Nikolai always liked people with character.
“I’ll take them.”
