Fluttershy was startled from her sleep when her cell phone sprang into life on her bedside table. It vibrated and let off the sound of singing birds, her signature ringtone. Groggily, she slowly pushed away her blankets, picked up the phone and looked at the name of the caller.
Eventide Oath.
With an audible gasp, she sat bolt upright, her eyes going wide as she remembered a detail she had forgotten during last night’s chaos. Eventide lived right across the street from the school! Chances were that he saw everything that had happened last night. “Oh, dear…” she whispered nervously before swallowing down her anxiety and pressing the answer button. She hesitantly lifted the device to her ear and spoke. “Hello?”
“Fluttershy, thank goodness! I saw the explosions last night at CHS. Are you alright?” his voice came from the other side, sounding decidedly relieved, but also remarkably frustrated and strained.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you. Don’t worry, I’m okay, but I’m really tired. School’s been canceled until they can repair the damage, so…” she replied, shrinking down a little bit. “What about you?”
She could hear movement on the other side of the line before Eventide replied. “I’m, uh… having a, ah... problem of my own. I was kinda hoping you could help me out, if you’re sure you’re alright,” he said, his voice sounding distant whenever he paused, as if he were turning away from his phone.
Fluttershy’s eyebrows lifted a little bit at this. “What’s the problem?” she asked inquisitively, sliding out of bed and standing up. She then paused when she heard Buddha barking in the background, followed by a frazzled groan from Eventide.
“Hey! Buddha, sit! Sit girl, stay!” he shouted before speaking into the phone again, his voice even more strained than before. “Sorry, Buddha’s acting up.”
“At what?”
“What I need your help with. I have a weird animal in my house.”
Fluttershy blinked in surprise before turning and swiftly moving over to her closet. “Oh, really? What kind of animal? Is it a stray dog or cat? A hungry raccoon? An owl that got scared by the explosions?” she asked, no small amount of eagerness in her tone.
Eventide let out a long, uncertain drawl before answering. “Uuuh… I have absolutely no idea what it is. It’s slimy and hard, and it has fangs- you know what, I don’t know how to describe it; just get over here, please. It’s easier to show you than to try and explain.”
Fluttershy’s brow furrowed, and an uneasy feeling began to blossom in her belly. Fangs? Hard and slimy? That sounded dangerous... Still, her friend and an animal both needed her help, and she had no plans whatsoever of denying them. “Okay, Eventide, I’ll be there soon. I just need to take a shower and get dressed… um… if you don’t mind the wait, that is.”
“No, I don’t mind, just don’t take- ah, crud! Gotta go! It’s eating my chair!” he said in a rushed voice before the line went dead. Fluttershy looked at her phone screen for a second, very bemused. Then, with her expression hardening, she reached into her closet and pulled out her favorite sky-blue shirt.
Eventide bit on the tip of his thumb as he watched the tiny thing crawl around his house, sniffing at everything, usually followed by experimentally nibbling on it. He’d quickly move towards it if that was the case, making a loud noise or shout. This was usually enough for it to figure out that biting his furniture was a bad idea, driving it to move on to some other object.
It was just such a shame that this ritual had to be repeated for basically every single object in his home. Already it had nibbled on the basement door, the blankets hanging off of his bed, the leg of his dresser, and more. Right now it was sniffing at his coffee table, with Buddha watching it like a hawk from over her food bowl. Her bark earlier had been when the grublike thing had attempted to eat her food. She had taken a great deal of exception to that, and did not make an effort to hide her contempt. Now she stood guard over her dish and growled at the thing whenever it got too close.
This had been going on for almost forty minutes, with Eventide having called Fluttershy maybe ten minutes after letting the tiny thing out of his basement. The decision had mostly been made because he didn’t feel comfortable leaving such an alien creature completely unattended in his house. He had no idea what this thing could do if he didn’t keep his eye on it, and so he did. Thankfully, it decided that trying to eat his coffee table would be waste of time. It let out another of its weird two-toned squeaks before starting to crawl over to his entertainment center.
More specifically, it was approaching the wires sticking out from behind it that plugged his television into the wall. Moving quick, Eventide walked over and nudged the bug back with a sock-covered foot, shaking a finger at it. “No. Don’t go near wires. They’ll zap you, and then I’ll have a dead alien creature in my house.”
It didn’t seem to comprehend his words, but the nudge from his foot was enough to convince it that the television was off limits. Eventide gave a small sigh of relief when it instead chose to start crawling for his dining table, which would take it a little while to get to.
Then there was a knock on his door, making him jump. After a moment of processing, he jogged over the door and threw it open with a loud sigh of relief. Sure enough, there was Fluttershy, smiling back at him. She had clearly opted to not apply whatever small amount of makeup she normally would, and her choice of attire was also somewhat haphazard. Not that she was ever too keen on heavy makeup or fashionability. She was dressed in a sky-blue t-shirt and a long green skirt with white shoes. “Eventide! It’s good to see you!” she said happily, reaching out and wrapping him in a hug.
He nodded sluggishly and only returned the hug with one arm. “Hey. Sorry, but can we skip the formalities? I’ve still got a wild animal in my house,” he said matter-of-factly, turning on his heel to let her in.
With her expression hardening slightly, Fluttershy gave a quick nod before stepping into the house. Eventide closed the door behind her, then watched with an amused grin as Buddha all but tackled Fluttershy, wrapping her paws around her waist, sniffing at her belly and wagging that tail like there was no tomorrow. Fluttershy just gave a delighted giggle and returned the affection with some energetic pets. “Oh, hello, Buddha! How are you, girl! You being good? Eventide being nice to you?”
Buddha licked Fluttershy’s hand spastically before giving off a happy bark to indicate her contentment. Fluttershy just giggled again before rising back to her full height and looking out into the room. “Okay, where is the poor, lost wild… animal…?” her voice trailed off as she caught sight of it, looking back at her with wide, glowing and frightened blue eyes. It had managed to reach Eventide’s table and was slowly inching to hide behind one of its legs. Stiffly, Fluttershy took a step back so she was side-by-side with Eventide before whispering to him out of the corner of her mouth. “Eventide?”
“Yeh?”
“What is that?”
Eventide looked at her, flabbergasted, then shook his head and threw his arms up in exasperation. He then strode past her to get a better look at the bug. “I thought you’d know. All I know is it showed up in my basement overnight. I brought its egg in a couple months ago thinking it was some kind of pretty rock or something,” he explained before squatting down and looking at it skeptically. “Evidently, I was wrong.”
Fluttershy tilted her head and glanced past him at the door to his basement. “Egg?”
“It’s a newborn baby, yes,” Eventide replied in a grim voice before slowly standing back up. “It’s smart, though. I only need to direct it away from my stuff one time and it gets the message. It also gets kinda clingy if you let it get close.”
Now curious, Fluttershy slowly made her approach, giving Buddha a quick scritch behind the ears as she went. This made the dog happy. As she drew closer to the bug, it began to cower back and away from her even, a few tiny whimpers coming from its lips. She froze on hearing this before very slowly lowering herself down until she was practically flat on her stomach. She then extended her hand towards it, the tips of her fingers coming up a few inches away from the table leg. “Hey, there, little guy,” she whispered in a soothing voice while giving it a reassuring smile.
The bug eyed her hand skeptically. She whispered to it again and began to playfully move her fingers up and down. Seeing the wiggling appendages made it curious, it seemed, and it slowly crawled up to her. It sniffed the tip of her middle finger before lifting itself up to try and grab her hand with it’s two tiny front legs. Fluttershy smiled warmly at it once it had a hold on her. “Hello. I’m Fluttershy. What are you, little fella?”
The bug responded to her words by letting its forked tongue flick out to taste her hand. Her brow became furrowed, and her face grew strained at that, but she did her best to maintain her non-threatening appearance. After a few more testing licks, the grub moved closer, allowing her to very gently brush her fingers along the back of its head. The moment she did that, it all but melted in her palm, a few sounds similar to giggles slipping out of it.
“Well, it likes you,” Eventide commented with an entertained smile. “Makes sense. Like I told you; you are the critter whisperer.”
Fluttershy, as before, blushed at the praise before standing up, holding the tiny creature in her hand as she went. It looked down at the ground as they went, and It’s grip on her hand tightened. It wrapped its front legs around her thumb for security and looked around with wide eyes as it got a birds-eye view of the house. Once she was full height, Fluttershy walked over to Eventide to show it to him. “Aww. The little guy’s kind of cute, isn’t he? Just look at those eyes…”
Eventide slowly nodded. “It would be even cuter without the fangs,” he remarked before extending an index finger towards it. It very slightly uncurled from Fluttershy’s hand to sniff at his thumb. Then it reached out for Eventide with both of its legs, rising up from the teenager’s palm and making needy squeaking sounds.
Fluttershy giggled. “I think it wants you to hold it.”
Eventide cringed. “Er, sure… look, Fluttershy,” he began while gingerly taking it into his hands. Almost immediately it began to crawl up his hand and onto his wrist, ignoring a few sounds of protest he made as it went. He then looked at her with pleading eyes. “You gotta take this thing out of my house, alright? Figure out what it is and get it back to the wild or something.”
Fluttershy slowly nodded while watching it climb on him. “Yeah, I guess so… heh,” she stifled a laugh when it began climbing from his shoulder and up the side of his head, making him grimace. “He really likes you.”
Eventide looked at her curiously, one of his eyes closed. “You sure this thing’s a guy?” he asked through grit teeth.
“No, but it’s rude to keep saying ‘it,’ isn’t it?” she pointed out before clapping her hands together when it finished climbing and set itself on top of Eventide’s head. “Yay, you made it!” she cheered it on in her trademark whisper.
Eventide’s look flattened. “Eh. Fair enough, I guess. It’s still a wild animal in my house.”
Fluttershy nodded in understanding. “Okay, fair enough. Should I take it now, or…?”
Eventide stifled a gasp when it slipped slightly from his head and latched onto the left side of his face, dangling precariously from his eyebrow. He held perfectly still, his speech partially muffled. “Sooner would better, yes.”
Letting out another giggle, Fluttershy then reached out for the bug on his face. “Okay, little guy. C’mon…” she said to it in a gentle, mothering voice. Her fingers curled around it and plucked it off of Eventide’s face with a quiet ‘pop,’ like a suction cup pulled from a hard floor. Once it realized what was happening, it began wiggling its legs at him while letting out squeaks of protest and dismay. Fluttershy’s eyes shimmered with sympathy for it. “It’s okay, little guy. I’m gonna find out what you are and take very good care of you,” she reassured it before smiling at Eventide. “I’ll take care of him, don’t worry.”
Eventide nodded, his eyes not once leaving the small grub as it reached out for him. It looked so sad... “Y-yeah… sure. Go on, then,” he said, stuttering slightly as if he wasn’t quite so sure of this decision anymore. Either way, Fluttershy pulled the creature close to her chest, where it rotated to look over her shoulder. With a nod of farewell, Fluttershy than turned and began making her way for the door. The bug’s eyes just kept boring into Eventide’s as they went, with its legs reached for him and it’s mouth still emitting tiny, protesting squeaks that were getting gradually more desperate.
Then, with no warning whatsoever, it opened its mouth and plunged its pointed fangs down into Fluttershy’s shoulder. She let out a pained shriek when they punctured her skin and sent both of her hands flying to cover the assaulted spot. This, in turn, caused her to drop the bug. It slid from her hands and fell to the floor with a soft thump, seemingly undeterred by the fall.
Eventide’s eyes widened with shock, and he gasped loudly. “Fluttershy, are you alright?!” he asked while rushing over, shooting the bug a hostile glare.
“I’m okay, I think,” she replied in a shaking voice, slowly taking her hands away from the spot. The damage was minimal, thank goodness. Just a couple of tiny red pinpricks that would probably be fully healed in less than a minute. She also turned to look at the bug, watching with now anxious eyes as it crawled over to Eventide… and latched onto his leg with its own, as if hugging him and hiding from Fluttershy.
He blinked at it several times in absolute bafflement before looking at Fluttershy helplessly. “What is with this thing? Why did it bite you?!” he asked, sounding confused, frustrated, angry, worried, and more.
But Fluttershy just had a look of understanding on her face. She took a step back and did her best to look as non-threatening and apologetic as possible. “...I don’t know what he is, but I think that…” she slowly knelt down to a get a closer look at it, and it, in turn, shrank away from her, clinging even tighter to Eventide’s pant leg. Slowly, a smile grew on Fluttershy’s face as it occurred to her. “I think it sees you as it’s dad.”
Eventide’s eyes widened, and for a few seconds, he found himself spluttering incoherently. His eyes darted down to look at the bug clinging to his pajama pants before locking onto Fluttershy in abject confusion. “What?! Are you serious?! It isn’t a duck, you know!” he exclaimed, baffled.
Fluttershy shook her head and stood up tall. “No, but it’s not too far fetched that he might see you as it’s parent. I mean, look at him. He’s clinging to you, and he bit me when I tried to take him away.” she explained before crossing her arms and frowning in thought. “That means that trying to take him anywhere might hurt him more than it would help.”
Eventide stared at her for several moments, trying his best to find a good counter-argument. “But… it’s a wild animal!” he pointed out again, gesturing at it. “You aren’t supposed to just have wild animals in the house! It’s dangerous! And this sucker already bit you!”
Fluttershy pouted and looked at the bug again. “That is true; wild animals can be very dangerous, even if raised around people… you’d need an expert…” as she spoke, a certain glimmer came into her eyes. Then she looked back up into Eventide’s eyes and clasped her hands together over her heart. “I could help you!”
“Fwah?”
Fluttershy seemed to be getting rolled up in excitement at the prospect to acknowledge her friend’s sudden look of objection and frustration. She began walking in place and clapping her hands in childish delight. “Oh! This is going to be so much fun! I can’t wait to see what he grows into! Will he grow wings? He looks like a larva of some kind! Is he gonna molt? Will he shed his skin? Is he poison-”
“Fluttershy, hey!” Eventide cut her off while grabbing her by the shoulders. “I didn’t ask for or agree to this! Get a hold of yourself!” his voice was loud and sharp, immediately ending her excited tirade. The effect was immediate, and she quickly fell silent, backing away from him. The movement allowed several locks of her long pink hair to fall in front of her face and hide her from view.
“I… I’m sorry… I just thought…” she whispered, visibly wilting and backing away. Eventide watched her go with a look of guilt very quickly replacing his frustrated scowl.
“Fluttershy, I’m sorry,” he called after her gently, reaching out. “I’m just frustrated…”
“I know,” she replied softly before taking a moment to look at the creature clinging to his leg. It was eyeing her curiously now, slowly peeking out from behind his pants. “He’s just so afraid… I don’t want to scare him more than I have to… he’s just a baby. However long his infancy lasts, they will be the most important days of his whole life.”
Eventide mouthed like a fish for several moments before letting out a long, tired sigh. “Okay… alright, I’ll meet you halfway. My computer’s in my bedroom, we can do some research and see what we can find. And maybe, depending on what he is…” he looked down at the bug, a look of resignation on his face. “...I might take care of him until he’s ready for the wild.”
Fluttershy nodded, a ghost of a smile gracing her features. “Um, okay… that sounds fair,” she agreed with a timid nod. She then reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. “Just let me call my parents really quickly. I kinda forgot to tell them I was coming over here.”
Eventide raised an eyebrow at her while reaching down to gingerly pick the grub up off of his ankle. “Really? That’s not like you,” he commented while holding the creature up to his chest. It clung to him and let out a relieved squeak when he heard his heart beating behind his ribs.
Fluttershy, for her part, blushed slightly in embarrassment while looking away. “I was… in a rush,” she sheepishly admitted. Just as she was about to dial her dad’s number, though, there was an audible growling sound. Both people looked around for a moment, before an uncomfortable whine sounded from the chitinous creature in Eventide’s arms. It curled up slightly, it’s tiny legs reaching down to its belly. It then looked up at Eventide, it’s eyes asking him a silent question. Seeing this, a charmed smile spread across Fluttershy’s face. “And while I’m calling my dad, you can give the little guy some breakfast."