August 20, 2019

Adam was trying to fight back a giddy smile, and totally losing. It was kind of an impossible battle, to be fair: he was going into the pet store for the very first time.

He knew it was a little silly to be so excited about this kind of stuff, but he hadn't quite outgrown it. For years, his family had walked by the Magical Menagerie without ever once stopping to visit. Adam had been hypnotized by the sounds from inside like some kind of siren's song. The owls were inviting him in -- the toads were asking him to stay for lunch. He begged his father to let him take a look, just one look, but they never had any time for that. Funny how they still had time to stop at Fortescue's for ice cream at the end of the afternoon; funnier still how it always worked as a distraction. This year, though, it was just Adam and Dean, and Adam wouldn't be bought with ice cream. There was nothing holding him back from answering the call of the pets. If his brother wanted to stop him, he'd have to physically carry him away.

Luckily, Dean was doing no such thing. He followed Adam through the door and into the shop with a reluctant smile on his face. Even Adam's adult brother couldn't outgrow the Menagerie -- no one could. Finally through the gates of paradise, Adam had to stop in his tracks, taking it all in. Shining brass cages housed more kinds of owls than Adam had ever heard about, and next to them resided a full court of cats. There were toads and rats in smaller cages, and a few pastel Pygmy Puffs that looked like they were made entirely out of fur. Customers were milling between the cages, pointing at the different animals and whispering to each other about each one. Adam didn't know where to start, really; it was all so alive. He had never expected to get past the window.

"Move, Adam," Dean reminded him roughly, giving him a light shove forward out of the doorway. Adam turned to glare at his brother, even though he was right: he was taking up the whole exit. Moving out of the way, Adam started to wander across the floor, weaving between the cages and customers until he was in front of the cats. They were adorable, even the ones that wouldn't look at him, and he gave a tiny wave to one that he thought might have winked at him. He'd always kind of wanted a cat as a kid, even though he'd heard they weren't very friendly. If he had a cat, it would be his best friend, and it would keep away mice and rats too. As he thought about his hypothetical pet, one of the creatures stretched out a paw lazily. Adam grinned, turning to point the silly animal out to Dean -- but his brother had seen it already, and wasn't impressed, barely raising an eyebrow.

Maybe it was time to move on from cats. They were great and all, but he would lose track of one so easily, especially when he went to school. Still aware of his brother's haughty gaze, Adam let his hand linger one of the cages for a moment more before leaving the feline section behind. He passed silently by the toads and rats, not really interested in such small companions. You couldn't do very much with a toad or a rat. Well, maybe someone could, but not Adam. Pygmy Puffs weren't really an option either, just for lack of interest, which brought Adam to the most busy part of the store: the owls.

There were practically a dozen options, but Adam approached one in particular, a wide cage on the end of the line. It didn't have many visitors at the moment, and Adam didn't want it to feel lonely while all of its owl friends got attention. Inside of the cage, two wide black eyes stared back at him. Their size gave the face around them a nervous look that made Adam want to give the bird a hug. It had pretty brown feathers with a few white streaks, almost like the color of caramel. He was bigger than Adam thought owls were (although that might have been Adam's own misjudgment). Cautiously, Adam lifted his hand to give it a tiny wave and a smile. It did nothing in return.

He loved it.

"Like him?" Dean asked from behind Adam, jarring him out of his reverie. He nodded slowly, not taking his eyes off of the bird in front of him.

"I guess. Just looking though. We can go whenever." It pained him to say the words, but he knew he shouldn't get his hopes up. His mother wasn't even here to buy it for him if she said yes -- she'd stayed home and let Dean take him shopping. His brother looked down into the cage at the owl, nodded, and straightened up again.

"We'll get him. Let me go find the owner." Adam wheeled around in disbelief, giving his brother an incredulous gaping look. Dean laughed and nudged him with his shoulder. "You're gonna need to talk to someone when I'm gone. After Eris realizes how sad you are." Adam was shocked enough to let the insult fly, or even to really say anything. He just looked excitedly back at the tawny owl in its cage. He thought that the bird looked excited too. What was going on?!

His brother must have handled all the technical parts of the sale, because before long, he was returning to the cage with a short, smiling old woman. She must have been the owner he'd been looking for. As Dean slid by Adam and lifted the cage off of the shelf, Adam beamed at the woman. "What's his birthday?" he asked, realizing only when it left his mouth what a stupid question it was.

The owner didn't seem to mind. "Oh," she mused, "I'm not entirely sure. You'll have to give him a special one." Adam nodded appreciatively, and asked one more question before letting her go.

"What's his name?"

"You'll have to tell me," she answered with a warm smile, before returning to her work in another part of the shop. Adam thought about it for a minute, before turning back to Dean, who had the owl's cage in hand.

"Careful," Adam warned, and Dean rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I know. He's got to make it to his extra-special birthday. And that is...?"

Adam smiled wickedly and looked between his brother and the owl. "December 22. There's no doubt about it." He watched exasperation light up Dean's eyes, but his brother was helpless to do anything with the owl still in hand.

"You can't give your owl my birthday, Adam."

"Yes I can," Adam fired back. "It's Edmund's birthday now."

"Edmund?"

"It's his name!" Adam hissed defensively, annoyed by Dean's disbelieving tone. Then, for good measure, "You arsehole."

"You're welcome, Adam," Dean replied in a warning tone. "I hope you're not as mean to him as you are to me. Come on, we'll stop for ice cream again on the way home. Ready, Eddy?" The last question was addressed to the owl, who blinked in response.

"Don't call him that," Adam muttered, but gave his brother a proper "thank you" even still. Marching out of the Menagerie with a prize in hand at last, Adam broke into one more bright smile. Even though Dean was the worst, he had his moments. This was definitely one of them. He couldn't wait to introduce Edmund to the world.

WC: 1283

What animal do you wish to purchase? Tawny Owl
What do you want to name it? Edmund
Is this a boy or a girl? Boy
What is your pet's date of birth? December 22