Frank and Feathered Pet

Banner credit to: Elena Clark

“Finnish”	“Russian”
December 27th, 2023	Lemmikkikauppa, Hanko1
“Norwegian”	“Swedish”

The weight of a judgmental stare often caused for the hairs on the back of one’s neck to rise, and they would find their eyes naturally drawn to the source of the stare, as if searching for the answer to the uncomfortable sensation they found themselves experiencing. This was something that Kikki often felt, the gaze of her guardian for that day weighing heavily on her mind. And yet, she did not turn, as so many would. Instead, she continued to allow for her eyes to skim the shelf in front of her, trying her best to ignore the scrutiny in the eyes directed at her.

Talvikki Tähti was currently browsing for a suitable pet, and was of course shopping early. She had another year before she would head off to any school of any kind— but it was important for her to have a pet that wouldn’t be an embarrassment. To herself, nor the dynasty as a whole. Her hand had strayed from it’s usual perch on her belt, and was now steadily colliding with each of the bars on the bird cages, a thrum, thrum echoing quietly in her mind, uninterrupted except by the occasional sound of protest from an owl or loud footstep from another aisle.

That was, until one of the owls went and snapped at her finger, as if it were a piece of jerky for it to snatch up. Kikki halted sharply, snatching her hand back from the bird’s reach, and merely looking at it, directly into its eyes. The owl let out a small sound of fury as its supposed prey escaped, and soon found itself looking at Talvikki, too. The two studied each other, relishing in the silence that seemed stretch on forever. The stature of the owl seemed to be smaller, and the feathers that covered the flesh appeared not quite right. Kikki couldn’t quite but her finger on it, until the shopkeeper did for her.

“Anteeksi neiti, hän on vielä nuori.²” Ah, so that was the answer to her queries. The owl was still a juvenile, not yet old enough to have completely learned not to snap at the hand that may feed them. Kikki reached her finger up to the bird again, watching as it’s eyes quickly switched from watching her to examining the finger that was once again making it’s way towards it’s cage. Kikki watched as the owl looked between herself and her finger, before settling into a casual position. After a moment of thought, Talvikki made her decision, perhaps a bit abruptly from an outside perspective.

“Minä ostan sen.³” She stated, reaching into her small purse for the pocket money needed to purchase the pet. Now, this was rather strange. Talvikki liked to make decisions slowly, carefully. As to not mess anything up. Even something as trivial as a pair of earrings could take hours. So an owl, her soon to be companion for the rest of its life as she entered a new home, was to be chosen so suddenly? This was certainly strange.

“—Anteeksi?!⁴” Her guardian interjected, speaking for the first time since they had entered. Clearly, this bird wasn’t the one they’d had in mind. A possibly rebellious owl that wasn’t fully grown, and could very clearly wreak havoc on the household? Not necessarily the most ideal companion. This caretaker was under strict orders. Oversee the child and take her to three stores, this being the final one. Their mission was to locate the most suitable messenger and pet for Talvikki. However, nowhere did it state for them to judge her choices after all, even her parental guardians had realized that she knew how to select the most appropriate from any selection presented to her. “Kuulit minut. Minä ostan sen.⁵” Talvikki reasserted, and it was final. No more interruptions, no words to throw off the balance. All she received was a disapproving stare as she strolled out of the store with a slight smirk on her face, owl in hand.