Cyrus would be turning eighteen in just a few short days, and with that transition into No-Maj Manhood, he would also be sending himself off for his final year of schooling. His aunt, seemingly having gained a soft spot for the erratic teenager, had been very generous this past summer; she had bought him a brand-spanking-new wand and had even let him spend a lot of time with Elias outside of camp in London. The duck-loving-boy was becoming something of a little brother to the duck-loving-man; he would truly be sure to continue looking after him at school.

But now that Cyrus was turning eighteen and had at least been somewhat responsible with his new wand, his Aunt Teresa had offered to take him pet shopping. They'd entertained a few ideas—a dog, perhaps, but that wouldn't work at Ilvermorny; then a cat, but it turned out cats made his aunt sneeze; then, a guinea pig, but Cyrus had been terrified by its claws.

They also thought about a goldfish, but one of the store workers asked Teresa how responsible her 'son' was, to which she replied, 'Not very', to which the worker replied that a goldfish was not a good idea. That sucked for Cyrus, since Goldfish were the Snack That Smiles Back, and he would have thought it was cool.

It was only when they ducked into a relatively hip, old store tucked between two niche restaurants when Cyrus got heart eyes over an animal. It was a lizard of sorts that was scurrying about in its enclosure, and Cyrus let out a little gasp and ran up to see it.

The owner of the shop laughed and said something to Teresa that went unheard by Cyrus. He was too busy whispering, Pspspsps, at the lizard.

Then, he looked back at his aunt. 'What type of lizard is this?'

Teresa glanced at the shop's owner and shrugged.

'A Girdled Lizard. They're pretty resilient little guys, and they can be playful, too. That one seems to like you.'

Teresa nodded, a smile playing at her lips. Cyrus fought to stop himself from clapping his hands together and instead grinned. '...So... if he likes me...'

'If you take care of him day and night and promise to look after him properly. You were good with your friends this summer; I expect you would show the same love to the lizard.'

'Duh.' Cyrus laughed. 'He's so cute! And I promise I can be a good lizard dad. Or brother. I'll be the charmander to this guy's, uh...' He trailed off and squinted at the lizard, trying to figure out a name. '...Mushu? Nah, he doesn't breathe fire. Oh! Oh! The little Geico guy! Uh... I can just call him Geico, I think. Yeah, Geico.'

His aunt paid for Geico — she informed him that she was glad to do it and that she trusted him to be responsible with Geico and love him with all his heart. Of course he would. On the way home, he cradled Geico in his hands and cooed to the creature, who rested its head on his thumb. His heart swelled and his smile only grew.