A lil Twitchy Pet Finished

Throughout the summer, he had kept himself quiet and beyond the magical world beyond the occasional study in the subjects, he deemed worthy to put thought into. The second year of his schooling in the magical world didn't exactly put his mind at ease, he had always questioned whether he had belonged there. Time passed fast over summer, with his boyhood friends being so rugged and fun; it was never a challenge to adapt himself back to the muggle world, he felt at home there, most of the time.

Without realizing the time passing so quickly, he found himself one day in the middle of Diagon Alley needing to purchase his next year's school supplies. It was ritualistic at this point, always the same time of the year he had to plunge back into a different world than what he'd grown up accustomed to. Those golden hues shifted across the shop fronts and he mentally prepared himself to be confronted with the harsh reality that this was his life now.

There was a slight bright spot in the situation that was at hand though, his mother had given him extra galleons that she thought he would find himself something to make the next year more comfortable; she knew his troubles at school, she knew everything about him. Zykeal was hesitant to take the money, of course, as they were a poor family that lived in the slums of Dublin, but, she insisted and there was never an argument that the little Gryffindor could win with his mother.

Questions plagued him though, what to spend such a large (to him), amount of money on. There was the question of just saving it and possibly being able to join the quidditch team in the future with his friend Rafa', but, the expense of a broom was vast and a quick look across the windows of the quidditch supplies shop quickly shot reality into his mind that the possibility of achieving such a valuable possession was impossible. So, the boy roamed, thinking, shopping for his normal supplies that were required for his 3rd year at the school and wondering what on earth that his galleons could get him.

After subtly dodging the vast majority of classmates he rather is avoiding at this point in time, he stumbled across the Magical Menagerie to which held magical creatures. There was no stipulation to which his mother deemed he spend the money and he couldn't help that sly little smirk that crossed his features when a devilish thought came to mind. Adjusting his packs strap upon his shoulder that held the supplies that he had already purchased, he used his forearm to push open the shop door and was instantly greeted with a smell that couldn't quite be placed.

The noise was the second sense that was quickly taken in, it was intense and caused a ruffling of his nose for a moment before he could properly adjust to it. There was just one other person in the shop it seemed, as his orbs crossed over the shop's interior. It looked like a girl, maybe she would be going into her first year with how small she looked and she seemed to be giddy over the cats that were being displayed. Zykeal was not a cat person, he'd had bad experiences with those dangerous creatures before, wicked little creatures.

Instead, he roamed for a moment before being greeted by the large belly bloat of a man that seemed to peer down at him with his hands set across the sides of the tub he held upon his chest. There was a short greeting, a nice smile, but Zykeal just looked up towards the man and gave a small smile and nodded, "Jus' lookin'," and he shifted himself down an area away from the shopkeepers prying eyes. The boy wasn't trying to be shady in any way, he just didn't feel like talking to the magical world just yet and maybe that was the reason he looked for a magical creature at this point. They couldn't talk.

Finding himself amongst the owls, he was surprised to see he could afford one if he wanted, but, he didn't feel like housing one in the owlery was something he could stomach for an entire school year. Zykeal wanted something more personal, but, less bothersome like a cat or rat. After browsing the selections of spiders for a while, he couldn't quite get adjusted to how furry they actually were, they didn't spook him for any reason but it just didn't feel right when he looked upon them. It was in this area though that he found interest in another species of creatures.

"A lil' lizard," he remarked, quietly to himself, as he looked down through the glass containers that they lived in for the moment. There were a few different displays, but, he was instantly invested in the specific type that caught his eye originally. There were a few different to choose from if indeed, he decided to purchase one of these little creatures. Taking a moment to tilt his head back up, he looked around for the shopkeeper that had originally greeted him. Zykeal was a bit shocked to note that the man stood at the end of the aisle watching him with a large smile upon his face.

When the shopkeeper took note of Zykeal looking towards him, he spoke up, "Baby Bearded Dragons," he nodded once before stepping closer to Zyk, not too far as if he knew that Zyk didn't want him to approach any more than necessary, "Curious creatures, they each have their own personalities," he offered.

Z just nodded and looked back to notice a soft gold, like his eyes, one that seemed to be set along on top of the biggest rock in the aquarium. It seemed to be the dominant one of the others, the pinnacle of the lot, standing atop the highest point to keep guard of its siblings. "That one," he jutted his chin out towards it, "how much are they?" he questioned, a quick glance back to the shopkeeper was given as he asked.

"She, the one you are keeping your eyes on, is 18 galleons young one," he offered, "she's a funny one that one, always alone, but keeping her eyes out for intruders," he nodded, "a protective one I'd say," and huffed a small laugh after his words.

To be honest, he thought that she would be more expensive and when he looked back towards the lone one on top of the rock, basking in the heat lamp, he watched her twitch suddenly and snap up a fly that passed across her field of vision. The smirk that played across his face before turned more into a soft smile, "she's quite twitchy," he offered, mainly to himself, but then looked back towards the shopkeeper and bluntly stated, "I'll take her."

The man just nodded, having seen the instant connection that the boy made with the lizard, he had no doubt that the sale would be made if the kid had enough coin.

"Great, watcha' goin' name er'?" he asked as the man shifted to move next to Zyk and where the container she was held in was.

Zykeal then looked up towards the man and smiled, "Twitchy," he said, a smile still upon his face as he looked towards the gentle giant. The boy did take note that it was a girl, this didn't bother him, it just seemed right to him that this was the companion that he'd need in his school years and the future to come. When the shopkeeper brought around a smaller container to house her in, Zyk looked quite worried for a moment, and then shook his head towards the older man, "I can carry her out, but, keep the container for her to sleep in ya'?" and he waited to hear the affirmation from the shopkeeper.

With the man's approval, Zyk was the one who reached his hand into the aquarium and went to gently scoop up his new friend. As expected though, 'Twitchy', lived up to the name he had given her and his pinky finger was her next snap of the little mouth. It really didn't hurt, he'd felt worse, and it made his smile brighten even more.

The shopkeeper let out a bellow of a laugh and he remarked loudly, "looks like she likes' ya!"

The young Gryff took the little lizard and set her into the center pouch of the hoodie he wore at the time, he kept his one hand in there with her as she finally let go of his finger and settled down into the dark area where she was kept at that point. There were a few more things that accompanied the little bearded dragon that the shopkeeper offered to him, things that'd be required for her to be comfortable in the future; mealworms and such.

After the exchange of coins was settled, Z would make his way out of the shop with one final nod to the shop owner, smiling the entire time. Reality struck lightly when Twitchy snapped at his finger once more and he had a little shock of what he was going to tell his mother, but, she did insist that he'd get whatever he wanted for the next year for school.

What animal do you wish to purchase? Baby Bearded Dragon
What do you want to name it? Twitchy
Is this a boy or a girl? Girl
What is your pet's date of birth? August 22nd, 2021
Word Count: 1563

Excuse my poor writing currently, just getting back into things.