The counter wasn’t manned by reptilians, rather, graylings were standing behind the translucent, crystal panes, their large black eyes unblinking as Wendy approached. Wendy stopped in front of the central crystal pane, and the grayling behind it looked up at her; it had to since it was so short. “How may I assist you today?” it asked.
“I have something to report,” Wendy said. “The guardian statue vanished, and there weren’t any guards on duty.”
“Don’t forget the missing camera,” Hampter said, chiming in from behind Wendy. The grayling turned to look at the dark-purple reptilian, and Hampter nodded. “There’s supposed to be cameras in the guard room, but there weren’t any.”
“I understand,” the grayling said. It placed its three fingers on the counter in front of it and closed its eyes. After a few seconds, its eyes opened once more. “A report has been submitted. Is there anything else I can assist you with today?”
Hampter and Winton exchanged glances with one another. Was that it? The guardian statue was missing, and the grayling behind the counter treated it like nothing important had happened? Maybe the guardian statue vanished on occasion for some reason or another; after all, everything needed to be maintained once in a while.
“Yes,” Wendy said and turned around. She glanced at the dark-purple reptilians standing behind her. “The two of you can leave now.” She ignored their dazed expressions and pointed at Sam. “Human, come here.”
“Y-yes, sundak,” Sam said, stumbling forward while staring at the ground. His face wouldn’t stop burning, and he didn’t dare to raise his head. Then again, he was told to keep his head down, so he was simply following orders. It wasn’t because he was embarrassed of what he thought about Wendy’s—
“I’d like to register this human I captured,” Wendy said, cutting off Sam’s thoughts.
The grayling turned its gaze onto Sam. Then, it rummaged underneath the counter and retrieved a box. With the three long fingers of its right hand, it withdrew an instrument that looked like a conical pyramid made out of stone. Opposite of the pyramid’s pointy end, there was a flat surface with a hole in it, its diameter wide enough for the whole pyramid to pass through. The grayling clicked the instrument a few times, causing the pointy pyramid to pass through the hole. After confirming the tool was still functional, it retrieved a tag with a loop on one end. A shiver ran down Sam’s spine as he eyed the tool on the counter. Since the grayling was so short, the countertop and its contents were visible to Sam despite him staring at the ground.
The grayling’s black eyes seemed to gleam as it looked at Sam’s earlobe, eager to punch a massive hole through it. “Livestock or pet?”
“Pet,” Wendy said.
“A shame,” the grayling said and stored away the pointy tool, much to Sam’s relief. He had always entertained the idea of piercing his ears, but he didn’t want a gaping hole punched through his earlobe by a creature that didn’t even have thumbs. Actually, now that he looked closer, there was a tiny nub near the grayling’s wrist that could act as a thumb, but still, no.
The grayling retrieved a black, stone rod with a flared end that looked suspiciously like a branding iron. The grayling closed its eyes, and the flared end roared and crackled as it turned red, then orange, then white. The grayling’s eyes opened, and it looked at Sam. “Forehead, chest, or butt?”
Sam swallowed with his suddenly dry mouth. He couldn’t help but break Wendy’s rule, raising his head to look up at her. She didn’t have to be a mind reader to see the sheer terror within his eyes. A smirk appeared on her face as she turned towards the grayling. “Butt,” she said, causing beads of sweat to run down Sam’s back as the grayling lifted the countertop, creating a path towards Sam.
“Restrain your human,” the grayling said. “They’ve been known to run during the branding process.”
Oh really? Sam would’ve rolled his eyes at the grayling’s words, but the heat coming off the rod was nothing to scoff at. Was he really going to allow himself to be branded? First, it would hurt—a lot. Second, he’d be scarred for life—well, maybe Monarch had ways to remove a burn scar, but still. Third, it would hurt a lot! Sam swallowed as he fought the urge to run. For two hundred fifty million credits, what was a little jab in the butt with a white-hot poker?
“Actually,” Wendy said, “I changed my mind. Since I’m planning on selling it, it’d be better to let the owner brand it where they please. A collar will do for now.”
The grayling stared at Wendy, and from what Sam could tell from the creature’s vibe, which was as bland as an empty room painted gray, it was disappointed. The grayling closed its eyes, and the poker returned to its original color as the heat on its flared end dissipated. The disappointed creature walked back behind the counter and stored the rod in its box before taking out a collar with a large, blue stone attached to it. “Shock collar?”
Wendy glanced at Sam, who was staring at a relatively normal-looking collar in the box, before nodding. “Yes,” she said. “Shock collar.”
The grayling’s eyes seemed to twinkle as it walked over to Sam and wrapped the collar around his neck. He debated putting up a fight as the grayling’s dry fingers made contact with his skin, but ultimately, he let it happen. Raindu could always take it off when no one was looking.
“Testing,” the grayling said and tapped on a blue crystal it had taken out with the shock collar.
Sam yelped as a sharp, tingling sensation zapped his neck, causing the muscles in his face and chest to spasm. Raindu poked its furry head out of Sam’s shirt, but before it could do anything, Wendy snatched the blue crystal out of the grayling’s hand, and the tingling sensation vanished. The grayling blinked before looking up at Wendy. “As you can see,” the short creature said, “the collar works quite well.”
“I see that,” Wendy said, pocketing the blue crystal.
Sam couldn’t help but think mean thoughts about Wendy. Why did she have to stick a shock collar on him? Why couldn’t she have picked the normal-looking collar instead? The shock collar might’ve been better than having a hole punched in his ear or being branded on the booty, but it still hurt!
“What?” Wendy asked, looking at Sam. “Dissatisfied? You wanted the explosive collar instead?”
Sam’s thoughts came to a halt. “N-no, sundak,” he said. “No dissatisfaction here.”
“Thought so,” Wendy said and nodded. She glanced at the grayling. “That’ll be all.”
“It’s been my pleasure to serve you today, sundak,” the grayling said and bowed before walking back behind the counter. It lowered the countertop, the crystal pane blocking its face once more. “If you have any questions, comments, or concerns—”
“Let’s go,” Wendy said to Sam, ignoring the grayling’s final words. It continued speaking as she walked away, and Sam glanced at it before following after the blonde woman, wondering if it was okay to leave the grayling hanging like that. Then again, Wendy did say graylings were controlled by reptilians, so it made sense for reptilians to be rude to them.
Sam exited the building, the reddish-orange light from the ceiling greeting his eyes. All the reptilians that had fled because of Wendy’s presence were standing around, either staring at the ground or the sky, doing their best to avoid attracting Wendy’s attention. Even if she was a mind reader, wasn’t this reaction a bit too much? After all, Sam’s mind had been read when he was standing behind Wendy and staring at the ground; it wasn’t like looking off into a different direction would keep their mental privacy intact.
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“This way,” Wendy said, ignoring the crowd. “Don’t get lost now, human.”
Sam followed after Wendy, keeping his head trained on the ground. Even still, he could feel the gazes of reptilians staring at him as he walked past them. They might’ve been looking down to avoid meeting Wendy’s eyes, but since they stood over a foot taller than him, that put Sam directly in their line of sight. Prickling sensations stabbed the back of his neck, growing in intensity with every step he took, and he couldn’t help but increase his pace.
Raindu looked around from its spot by Sam’s shirt collar, squinting as it eyed the reptilians looking at Sam.
“Hey,” Wendy said, turning around to look at the reptilians. “What are you lot gawking at? Never seen a half-breed walk a human before? Scram.”
The prickling sensations disappeared as the reptilians headed back inside the building, hissing in discontent as they did so. Wendy’s eyes narrowed at two dark-purple reptilians that hadn’t moved. “Didn’t I dismiss the two of you?” she asked. “You’re planning on following me?”
Hampter and Winton exchanged glances with one another, and Hampter took a step forward. “Can you teach us how to read minds?”
“Yeah,” Winton said. “What you did in the building was really cool. I want to blackmail people too.”
Wendy snorted. “No,” she said, crushing the two reptilians’ dreams. “You’re either born with the ability or not.” Her eyes narrowed at the two reptilians. “If you’re looking to make some easy money, I can help you, but you’ll need your parents’ permission first; I highly doubt they’ll say yes.”
Hampter and Winton exchanged glances with each other, communicating with their eyes. They turned to look at Wendy. “Alright,” Winton said. “We’ll ask our parents first. Where can we find you?”
“The seer’s palace,” Wendy said and turned around, walking away, “but I have business to take care of first, so don’t look for me until tomorrow.”
“Okay!” Hampter said. The reptilian nudged its sibling. “Let’s go.”
The two reptilians scurried off, and Sam couldn’t help but glance at them as they left. He was a bit confused by Wendy’s status: some reptilians treated her like trash; some treated her like a pariah; those two seemed to look up to her. How did Wendy, the daughter of someone important like the great seer of the reptilians—at least, Sam assumed the seer was important—wind up working for Monarch to destroy reptilian society? The collar around Sam’s neck tingled, and he flinched.
“Stop standing around, human,” Wendy said. “We don’t have all day.”
Sam swallowed and jogged to catch up to Wendy. Although the collar didn’t shock him, just the tingling sensation was enough to motivate him to listen to the blonde woman’s words. Were they going to Tamara now?
“This is a pet store,” Wendy said, stopping in front of a building not too far away from the administrative building they were in earlier. “You might see other humans inside and get excited, but don’t go around sniffing their butts, you hear me? Wait until you’re properly vaccinated at least.”
Sam’s expression darkened. He wasn’t a dog. Why would he sniff someone’s butt? A sigh escaped from Sam’s mouth as he followed Wendy into the store. She had to be critical of him in public to maintain the façade of a human captured by a reptilian, so it was understandable she’d speak so harshly. Sam glanced around as he walked inside the building. The ceiling was embedded with yellow bricks that gave off soft light, just enough to illuminate all the products within the store. The first thing to catch his eye was a large box on a shelf; they contained diapers.
“Most people prefer raising their pets from young,” Wendy said, answering Sam’s unasked question. “They’re more obedient that way, and babies are cuter than adults. That’s why, I have to buy a cage and food bag to package you with, so first-time buyers aren’t intimidated by the extra costs.”
Sam frowned as he looked around some more. He had entered a pet store once before he had been discarded by his parents; most of the items inside were made for large dogs: chew toys, bones, dog beds. The goods in the reptilian pet store were made for humans: frozen steak and bacon treats, magazines with pictures of scantily clad people on them, cans of soda. There were mattresses; most of them were twin-sized, but for the ones who really wanted to spoil their pets, there were gigantic ones fit for kings. In the corner of the store, there was a section that sold clothes.
Despite Wendy’s earlier words, there weren’t any humans other than him in the store, but there were a few reptilians browsing the products on the shelves while a group of graylings stood around near the entrance. A grayling approached Wendy after examining her thoroughly. “It looks like your human needs a leash,” it said, flashing her a smile. “We all have kinds in store. Are you interested in taking a look at them, sundak?”
“Get me a leash, a cage, a bed, and a month’s worth of food for this human,” Wendy said before gesturing towards Sam.
“Right away,” the grayling said but didn’t move. “What kind of budget are we looking at here today?”
“Second-cheapest items,” Wendy said.
A slight smile appeared on Sam’s face. As someone who was used to getting the cheapest of anything, he was thankful for Wendy’s generosity.
Wendy glanced at Sam before pointing at the shelf of entertainment items for adult humans. “Get me one of those magazines too,” she said. She took another glance at Sam, causing his face to burn bright red. She nodded at the grayling. “Make that two.”
Sam wanted to protest, but he kept his mouth shut. There was a green orb in the corner of the room monitoring his every action. The grayling tapped the tips of its three long fingers on each hand together before bowing at Wendy. Then, it went to fulfill her order, waddling around the store with its short legs. Wendy remained in place, and Sam didn’t feel comfortable wandering around without her, so he stood still and waited. It didn’t take long for the grayling to return with everything Wendy requested. Even though the grayling was small and thin without any muscles, it was still holding everything Wendy requested up with one hand. Sam suspected it had something to do with the crystalline bracelet around its wrist that was emitting a yellow glow; it wasn’t shining before.
Wendy retrieved her green crystalline rod, which Sam assumed was something akin to a credit card, and pointed it at a green brick near the entrance of the store. Wendy glanced at the grayling. “I’m paying delivery fees too.”
The grayling nodded. “Understood, sundak.”
“Let’s go,” Wendy said and exited the store without looking back.
Sam glanced at the grayling, and it gestured for him to go first, so he followed Wendy out into the street. The grayling adjusted the folded cage, mattress, and frozen box of food before walking towards the exit. The items it was holding were a bit wider than the entrance, but the walls expanded, sliding ever so slightly to accommodate the grayling. Sam thought it was neat, but at the same time, he wondered how it worked. There didn’t seem to be any electronics; everything of the reptilians he had seen so far were made of stones and crystals.
“Yo! What’s up?”
Sam blinked and raised his head. The reptilians spoke in hisses, and the graylings seemed to mumble their words, so when he heard a phrase he didn’t need to understand through vibes, he was a bit surprised. Approaching Wendy, Sam, and the grayling, there was a green reptilian holding a leash attached to a collar on a human man’s neck. The man was almost naked, only wearing a pair of boxers, and he was obese beyond belief. Sam had never seen someone who was wider than himself by at least five times.
The obese man looked at Wendy and flinched upon seeing her reptilian eyes. He quickly turned his head towards Sam and waved after confirming Sam was a pet. “Hey! You look like you were recently captured,” the man said and walked up to Sam, the leash on the man’s neck pulling taut. The obese man patted Sam’s shoulder. “There’s no need to look so bummed out; life’s pretty good as a pet.”
Sam raised an eyebrow before looking at Wendy. He wasn’t quite sure how to respond to this man’s greeting. Wendy told him to avoid making eye contact with reptilians, but she never told him how to interact with other humans; well, she did tell him not to sniff anyone’s butt, but he wasn’t going to do that anyway.
“Ignore him,” Wendy said. “Come.”
The obese man shrugged and took his hand off Sam’s shoulder, waving as Sam left. “Bye,” the man said. “Hopefully we’ll bump into each other again.”
Sam wasn’t sure if he should reply, so he turned and gave the obese man a half-hearted smile before jogging to catch up to Wendy.
“If you have a question, ask,” Wendy said without stopping.
Sam scratched his head. “Yes, sundak,” he said, turning to glance at the reptilian and its obese pet before looking back at Wendy. “Is that a standard interaction between pets?”
“Yes,” Wendy said. “Reptilians don’t mind when humans greet each other; they might even think it’s cute. However, there are some reptilians who like their pets to be more aggressive, and it’s not uncommon for a scuffle to take place. If an owner thinks things are going too far, they’ll step in to stop the interaction, but generally, pets interact with pets however they like.”
Sam nodded. Tamara would step in for him if an awakener started whaling on him, right?
“If you’re lucky, your new owner will register you with the HKC, the Human Kennel Club,” Wendy said, “Reptilians who support the HKC generally treat their humans better, but they are firm supporters of neutering and spaying their humans.”
Sam glanced down at his crotch. For five hundred million credits…. No. Sam shuddered. it was better not to continue that train of thought.