yaboikenneth:
Stans question snapped him back to the current moment, a little daze from his minds wondering off there but none worse for the wear. A pause to collect himself, pulling the blanket closer with a soft thank you to Stan.
“Well,” possums were weird little goblin creatures honestly, cute, but strange with their little grabby hands and shrieking mouths, “I think what made me rescue possums was, well, you know..”
Kenny made some hand gestures as if physically grasping for words, “I just, one day while I was at the local shelter, someone brought in this real beat up mama possum,” the memory was vivid as if it was yesterday, “she was screaming ‘cause she was trying to get help for her babies, it just… stuck with me. So now, whenever I see a possum I just, want to help them..”
A sneeze shook through his body, startling the pups in his care, with a gentle touch he started to stroke their backs to calm them down.
“What about you? What made you want to help animals?”
Stan listened to Kenny’s story somberly, thinking about how many times he’d seen similar situations with animals back when he volunteered at the shelter. It had become too hard for him at times, and he definitely felt where Kenny was coming from. It was hard being an animal lover surrounded by sick and hurt animals.
He watched him tell the story, getting the idea that Kenny was feeling it all as though it had just happened yesterday, as the imagery got to Stan. “Damn, dude, that sounds awful,” he said, rubbing the other’s back. “I guess it’s natural after a memory like that.”
With a shrug, Stan could hardly answer Kenny’s question with much more than that for the time being. “I don’t know, dude,” he started, thinking about all the times in his life he’d cared for animals. He had always been more tender and sensitive than most others and something of a pussy when it came to animals, but he couldn’t quite remember where it all started.
“I guess it started back when Jimbo took me hunting for the first time.” Thinking of the day the boys went up to the mountains with his Uncle Jimbo, he couldn’t help but have something of a frown. “Just watching him shoot those animals freaked me the fuck out. I don’t think I really loved animals back then, but there was something that made me, I dunno, just upset about it.”
He sighed, looking down at the possums, not daring to touch one, but instead just watching Kenny calm them down after his sneeze. “When I got Sparky, I think that’s when it was certain to me. He was two, and so much smaller than he is now. I remember him coming to me, and letting me hug him, and kissing my face and everything. I think that’s when I decided I loved him more than anything, and didn’t want anything to ever happen to him or another animal ever. They’re just so full of love, man.”
Another shrug, he looked back up to meet Kenny’s eyes, looking at them watch over the possums. He yawned, stretching out his arms, before shaking his head and groaning. “Dude, I’m so fucking tired. I should go to bed soon. So should you.” He looked back down at the babies and added, “do you wanna take shifts watching them, or something?”
