Flufftober 2020: Day Thirteen
Pairing: King (UF!Papyrus lamia) x Krait (Gaster lamia)
From the moment the newly hatched Krait tumbled out of his shell into the big wide world, the young full-sized King who observed the hatching adored him. Edgar saw the look of affection in the King’s eyes and initially mistook it for that joyful glimmer that he himself felt at seeing any baby creature, but this was different. The King knew that he and the baby Krait were meant to be together always.
Swiftly, the King scooped the Krait into his arms, holding the hatchling close and letting him feel the beat of the bigger lamia’s SOUL. When the King passed the Krait to the nursery caretaker for his first bottle feeding, the hatchling beeped and peeped frantically until Edgar returned him to the King’s arms. The Krait quieted instantly, and from that moment forward, the pair were inseparable.
The King fashioned his scarf into a sling to carry his small friend around in. The Krait, a full-sized lamia himself, grew quickly under the King’s painstaking care. The King fed him until he was old enough that the pair could simply share meals in companionable silence. He preferred to bathe with the King nearby, allowing his friend to dry him off before he returned to his sling. Each night, he fell asleep listening to the gentle thrum of the King’s SOUL.
The King stayed in the nursery well past the time that he should have moved out into the adoption area. He had no intentions of leaving his friend behind. Once the Krait reached young adulthood, they moved to a nest in the shop together. The nest bordered the King nesting area yet was in close proximity to the Krait pools- the best of both worlds!
Though many guests at the shop petted and cuddled the Krait during their visits, he never attempted to stow away in any of their backpacks, purses, or clothing. His bondmate wouldn’t fit in any of the available spaces, and the Krait had no intention of leaving the King behind just as the King had once refused to leave the nursery without him. For his part, the King opted not to participate in displays for potential adopters either. Unless they wanted a Krait, the King just wasn’t interested.
The pair of lamias were in no rush to find a permanent home outside of the shop. They refused to be separated, and if that meant waiting longer (or even forever) for the right adopter, it didn’t bother them as long as they were together.
Days blended into weeks, and weeks became months. Months eventually accumulated into years, and still the two lamias lived their happy lives in their shared nest in the shop. A potential adopter entered the shop one day while the bondmates lounged next to the Krait pools. The King watched the Krait perform the same type of acrobatics that had won him over during their bonding display. The sight of his bondmate in a Krait’s natural element always brought a smile to his face. The smile widened when he overheard the conversation between the adopter and Vex, the shopkeeper.
“- looking for a Krait and a King. I know it’s an unusual combination, but I think that they would be perfect for me,” the person explained to Vex. The Krait slithered out of the play pool. He’d heard the words King and Krait spoken together too. The King quickly dried the Krait off with a fluffy towel and tucked him into his carrying pouch. The pair snuck closer to the front desk, where Vex asked the adopter a few questions.
Vex spotted the pair and gave them a barely perceptible nod to let them know that she approved of this adopter. Poking his head out of his pouch, the Krait pointed to the satchel sitting on the ground next to the visitor. It seemed like an ideal place to stow away… except that the King would never fit! The bondmates hissed quietly to each other, discussing their stowing away strategy.
Vex continued to distract the adopter while the lamias made plans. In the end, the King decided to wedge himself into the satchel as best he could. It didn’t turn out well. The King could only get the bag over his head and one shoulder, and Vex was running out of ways to keep the person’s attention on her. The Krait bounced up and down on the King, trying to squash him further into the satchel to no avail.
Vex waved her arms wildly as the person turned, just in time to see a King thoroughly stuck in their satchel, one arm contorted above his head to fit inside and the strap snagged on his other arm. A Krait perched atop the King’s head, sockets wide in shock at being caught in the middle of stowing away.
Covering their mouth to hide their laughter, the adopter extricated the King from the satchel. The King and his bondmate looked crestfallen, so the adopter made a quick suggestion: “I have a wagon outside that you’d both fit into. I can wander around the shop for a bit while you sort yourselves out, and I promise not to look in the wagon until I get home.”
Vex watched out the window as the lamia bondmates shifted blankets around in the wagon to hide themselves while their new owner filled out the adoption paperwork. As the Krait snuggled up against his bondmate, a thought occurred to both of them. If their new adopter allowed it and they felt comfortable in their new home, the Krait might soon be doing some carrying of his own...
DAY TWELVE | INDEX | DAY FOURTEEN