Prompt 012: We wish to remain what we are.
Emile spent a lot of time thinking about his conversation with Dirk Gently and Fiver. Rats... as pets? It seemed so strange. In France, humans (with just a couple of exceptions) seemed hellbent on exterminating his kind. Why would any keep them as pets?
He decided to investigate this further by sneaking into a nearby pet shop. The owners had a cat, but they took it home with them for the night. A wall of bubbling aquariums lit the store in an unearthly blue glow.
Emile carefully scuttled across the ground. He could smell snakes, but they were safely in their cages. A parakeet mumbled something, its head stuck under its wing.
Then, he heard the repetitive squeaking of metal, high up on a shelf. He climbed up it, and came face-to-face with a cage. A wheel was turning inside.
The squeaking stopped. Two beady eyes glowed in the shadows.
"Yo, bra. Spot me, will ya?"
"...excuse me?" Emile warily approached the bars. A fuzzy hamster was inside the cage, doing some stretches. "I'm gonna do some pull-ups on the bars, work on my lats. Spot me?"
"Uh... okay." Emile watched as the hamster climbed up to the top of the cage, hung on for as long as he could, then dropped back down to the ground.
"Man, I need some water." The hamster ran over to his water bottle and took a few hurried gulps. "So, bra. Looks like you could use a workout."
Emile frowned and tried to suck in his gut a little. "I'm just here to see what's it like to be a pet."
"Oh, man, it's great!" The hamster replied, returning to his wheel. "Free food, free water, all the cardboard I can chew."
"Do you ever get out?"
"Sometimes I get to run in a ball, but I dunno. I don't think it works my quads enough." The hamster sped up on the wheel.
Emile thanked him for his time and ran off as quickly as he could.
He decided to investigate this further by sneaking into a nearby pet shop. The owners had a cat, but they took it home with them for the night. A wall of bubbling aquariums lit the store in an unearthly blue glow.
Emile carefully scuttled across the ground. He could smell snakes, but they were safely in their cages. A parakeet mumbled something, its head stuck under its wing.
Then, he heard the repetitive squeaking of metal, high up on a shelf. He climbed up it, and came face-to-face with a cage. A wheel was turning inside.
The squeaking stopped. Two beady eyes glowed in the shadows.
"Yo, bra. Spot me, will ya?"
"...excuse me?" Emile warily approached the bars. A fuzzy hamster was inside the cage, doing some stretches. "I'm gonna do some pull-ups on the bars, work on my lats. Spot me?"
"Uh... okay." Emile watched as the hamster climbed up to the top of the cage, hung on for as long as he could, then dropped back down to the ground.
"Man, I need some water." The hamster ran over to his water bottle and took a few hurried gulps. "So, bra. Looks like you could use a workout."
Emile frowned and tried to suck in his gut a little. "I'm just here to see what's it like to be a pet."
"Oh, man, it's great!" The hamster replied, returning to his wheel. "Free food, free water, all the cardboard I can chew."
"Do you ever get out?"
"Sometimes I get to run in a ball, but I dunno. I don't think it works my quads enough." The hamster sped up on the wheel.
Emile thanked him for his time and ran off as quickly as he could.