Petting Zoo, Part #4

 Through thick and thin only one person was ever truly by your side, the very person who you interpreted as an annoyance before you even met them, the person who you upset to the point of tears within the first hour of having them. And just who would that person be? Why, that would be Malo, of course! They'd given you more chances than you truly deserved, just out of the pure innocence that was their very existence. After a few bumps in the road you managed to patch things up with Malo enough to begin forming a bond, starting off as two sapling acquaintances before growing into an intertwined tree of brotherhood.

 Just the first day was enough of a bonding excercise for the two of you to become comfortable enough to sleep right next to eachother. And the events leading up to your fourteenth birthday would be the steel framed structure to the relationship that would last your entire life, maybe even then some. Of course months of interaction would be filled with much of the same: cleaning, cooking and playing, but a redundant schedule didn't always come without notable moments. It took about a week, but eventually you discovered that physical interaction was what grew the bond between you and Malo. This became evident after about a week with them in which their touch no longer resembled that of a carcass, rather being as warm as any other normal human's.

 Eventually you took notice of the change in texture and decided to run a little "experiment" with Malo. For about a month straight you engaged in as much physical contact as possible with Malo, most of it being hand holding and hugging. After the first week of the experiment Malo began to bleed, through an accidental cut to their finger you observed droplets of thick black liquid oozing from the shallow wound. Black blood wasn't the only thing that struck you odd, Malo flinched with a canid like whine as their finger received a cut. They appeared distressed upon discovering that their inhuman abilities were beginning to dissipate, although they calmed as you applied a bandage to their wound, their eyes longingly beady as you held their hand.

 Though the aide wasn't enough to warrant it, Malo gave you a warm hug immediately after you wrapped the bandage around their digit. During the weeks leading up to the experiment, Malo was usually conservative with how much affection they showed towards you, only going so far as to hold hands whilst he was convinced no one else was around. The best guess to his comfortableness towards affection was that he'd grown accustomed to your platonic advances. Malo's intentions on the first day of his appearance seemed to be to get close to you, so maybe his goals have been met, and he was indulging in the spoils that entailed the attainment of such a goal. In any case, that was more contact, something that would push the experiment forward.

 The ensuing weeks yielded only one revelation, of which solidified Malo as biological. A week had passed since Malo learned of his ichor dilemma, another normal day was being coasted through when Malo began tugging at your sleeve mid game. "Anon, I feel weird." Malo said. "Weird how? What's wrong?" You replied. Your anthro friend grasped your hand and pulled it towards their abdomen, pressing it against their stomach as they awaited a response.

 Nothing happened in the short awkward moments of silence, but then Malo broke the quietness. "It feels weird, and it kind of hurts. Should I be worried?" Malo asked, obviously concerned. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out Malo's problem. "No, not right now atleast. You're just hungry, I don't know why though since you told me you didn't have to eat. But, I digress, let's go get you something to eat." You promptly paused your activities and lead Malo to the kitchen, just like before it was eerily quiet with the stinging smell of soap occupying the air.

 Upon opening the fridge door Malo was met with a modest amount of choices, of course he instantly inquired about the most colorful option that was available. "What about this, Anon?" Malo said as he handed you a clear plastic container filled with orange meat. "...just a little bit, we can't just choose at random. This is Dad's lunch, he'd be pissed if he found out it's missing." And with that you assorted what little foods you knew your parents don't care for and dumped them on a plate. In the end it appeared to be enough to adequately feed Malo's skinny build.

 Malo wasn't exactly patient, though it was to be expected with how hungry he was. As you leaned against the counter waiting for the impending blare, Malo was on their tippy toes peering into the microwave, interruptively whining as their eyes concentrated on the food. With the blaring of the beep sounding off Malo had been startled, his grip on the counter released before they fell onto their back. Upon contacting the tile Malo yipped out in pain. You promptly reacted and carefully pulled them off of the ground, standing them up and then brushing the dust off of their robe.

 Apart from the reflexive response, Malo did not seem to be affected much from their fall, merely licking their teeth and returning his gaze to the microwave. Before he could open it you stopped him, "It's going to be hot, let me get it for you," the plastic plate warmed your otherwise cold hands, the steam arising left a moist imprint on your face. Malo was trailing right behind as you trudged to the table, you set the plate down and puller a chair out, to which Malo swept in and sat immediately. "Don't eat just yet, it has to cool down, or else you'll burn yourself." With that you turned around to retrieve a spoon for Malo, faintly hearing a scraping noise.

 What few seconds of inattention Malo had was used swiftly, a quarter of the food was gone and vapor was rolling through the cracks of Malo's permanent grin. "Doesn't that hurt?" A few silent moments passed and the steam dissapated. "It did, a little bit." "...Okay. I'm, just gonna go wait for you." Before you left you passed him the spoon, he grasped it and scooped the still steaming food into his mouth as if it were nothing. Malo had finished quickly and caught up you before you even reached the door.

 The rest of the day went as normal, until Malo complained once more about the feeling in his stomach, rather coincidentally around the same time as you were supposed to have dinner. It took some misdirection and fast movement, but you managed to slip a chicken leg away from the table for Malo. Though Malo was now developing more human biological attributes, it seemed some of their more alien like behavior lingered. Malo devoured the entire leg, bone and all, in one bite. Perhaps their digestive tract hadn't fully developed, they didn't seem phased as the cracked bone slid down their throat.

 The rest of the week flowed as normal, with the exception of the new hunger factor at play. Sometimes Malo would have to go a day or two by skipping meals, though you were more than willing to skip a few of your own for them. Other than Malo now needing to be fed and wounds tended to when they appeared, nothing much had changed. Malo could still dance infront of someone undetected, and holler as loud as he pleased without anyone but you hearing. And as such, no one could see or hear the moments you shared with them.

 The months passed and still nothing happened, aside from you and Malo growing closer. Then the month came, in which you'd have to celebrate an occasion that had gone under your radar. Through the experiences, love, hiccups and general flow of life you'd forgotten something that some could argue isn't worth much to celebrate. Despite it being on the same date of your birth, the memory of how you found Mal0 had whisked away from your consciousness, only to be remembered as your birthday neared.

 It was a dim early Saturday morning when you were awoken by a gentle shaking. Upon opening your eyes you were met with the sight of your mother, for once, leaning over you. "Oh, good, you're awake," she said, "come down stairs and have a seat at the table, your father and I have a surprise for you." And as she departed to beat you to the table you began to stir, in turn awakening Malo from their snory slumber. Malo was obviously not pleased being awoken so early, they'd given a weak attempt to swat your arm along with a groan upon being moved in the slightest, but soon gave up further attempts as they missed. After you'd sat up on the edge of the bed was when Mal0 decided to move on their own terms, with a groan they arose and hugged you good morning, their maw resting on your shoulder as they muttered the phrase to you.

 "...why are you awake so early?" Malo grumbled. "Because my parents woke me up. Sorry, but that's just them. They told me that they had a surprise for me, probably just pancakes and a gift. I'll bring you something if I can, just lay down here while I'm downstairs." With that Malo flopped down with a vexatious groan, you pulled the socks on and trudged out your room and down the stairs, the smell of simmering meat and syrup filled the halls and your nostrils. Your dad was perched at the table preoccupied with a news paper as your mother busied herself making breakfast. You pulled up a chair and sat in groggy wait for the supposed surprise, the only acknowledgement of you being your dads quick detachment from the paper.

 As you sat the click of the stove and the cease of the hiss caught you and Dad's attention, your mother steadily emerged from the kitchen with steaming pans of food haphazardly held up. She set them down and laid a plate infront of you, scooping ladles of food for you as your dad set the paper down and fixed his oddly warm stare at you. The unusual atmosphere left you wondering what was going on, even on your birthday your parents were never like this. As the pondering continued your mother took a seat and merely stared at you, both her and Dad having that same odd but distantly familiar smile spread across their faces. "Anon, do you know what day it is?" She asked.

 "...my birthday?" You replied, a bit vexatious at the notion that you didn't know, despite you forgetting. "That's right! Now, remember when I told you that we had a surprise for you? Well, here it is, hold out a hand!" A moment after abiding by her words a stiff piece of paper dropped on your palm, "Guinness County Petting Zoo," the bold text read. "...a zoo? Why are they taking me to a zoo?" You thought, your face subtly contorting into a confused stare. "It's a new attraction set up in the next county, we thought you'd like to go there for your birthday!" Your mom chipperly blurted, "they have specials for kids with birthdays, meaning it's cheaper today. What do you say, want to go?" She asked. You took a few moments to ponder this, you had nothing else to do today other than play with Mal0, they still can't be seen, and they've shown an interest in animals during the past week.

 "Why not?" You thought, "sure, but let me eat firs-" "Oh great! Because we already booked the day over there!" She blurted. Washing upon your mood was the murky waters of irritation, you breathed a sigh and continued on with your meal. With that they left you to your breakfast, occasionally making small talk before departing as you finished. There was still atleast a handful of eggs after the fact, you scooped them up quickly and ran off as your parent's back's were turned. Malo's head instantly shot towards you as the door swung open, they sat up head tilted in curiosity of what occupied your hands. You kicked the door closed and approached the curious Malo, hands sticking out towards them as they took a momentary glance at the handful of egg.

 In one swift move Malo lapped the egg out of your hands and left behind your wet and sticky palms. "Malo, how would you like to go see some animals today?" You offered, rubbing the spittle off of your hands. Their eyes widened and their hands shot towards their face as they gasped almost instantly. "I'd love to! When are we going?!" They replied, tail energetically waiving from right to left. "Here in a couple hours, but we're going to be in the outside world in a city far from here, so you're gonna have to stick with me or else you'll get lost." That bit of information took a few moments for Malo to process, but when it hit, it was obvious.

 "...so we're going outside again!?" They blurted. Malo had only ever been outside once, when he was observing you from afar those three fateful days. "Yep, we're going outsi-" you were cut short when Malo lept at you, their arms wrapped around your shoulders as you faltered. "Let's go! Let's go!" They cheered. With that you set them down and lead them out of the room for a change.

 For once you decided to not tell Malo of your every intent, you shut the door and got to work changing. Just to not get them to anxious you made it quick, Malo beamed as you exited, quickly attaching to your hand as you shut the door. "Now remember, stay with me or else you'll get lost. We're going to the next county, so if you get lost then we wont be able to find you." You whispered to them. It would seem your parents were still changing, you took a seat on the couch with Malo soon following suit. "Now remember, you can touch me but I can't touch you, it'll look like I'm playing with the air. Don't pick anything up unless no one is looking, to them it'll look like what you picked up is flying. And final thing, be gentle with the animals, got that?" You whispered to them.

 Malo nodded but then their head shot towards your parents as they emerged from their room. What was unusual was how colorful they'd dressed themselves. Usually they'd be donning bland wardrobe pickings, white, grey, black, brown and plaid business atire, but they emerged with light, almost faded, clothing. "Ready to go, Anon?"  They asked. You stood up and nodded to them in affirmation, they they smiled and briskly walked towards the door, unusual due to their normally rushed and frustrated gaits.

 With a newfound spring in your step you unlocked the door and waltzed outside, an anomaly of weather was unfolding before your eyes...despite it not being visible. For the typical near autumn climate of Southeast America, it was unusually warm, the suns beams dazzled the sky in a rare spectacle, wildlife thrived and the wind gently whispered to those who were around to hear. There was a slight tinge to the scent of the air, of course nothing could ever be completely perfect, there had to be something off to balance everything out. Heeding no more to the unusual climate, you stepped towards the car and pulled it open, that same citrus and metallic smell that had lingered for years remained, but only marginally now.

 The car still depressed an inch with each passenger, the doors rattled as they were closed and the seats remained stiffly resistant. Usually the depressing weather, poor transportation and frustrated attitudes would prevent a good road trip from occurring, but for once few factors seemed apparent that today would be like the rest. Of course this new feeling was only boosted by the prescence of Malo, their curious and innocent demeanor seeming to free the atmosphere of it's usual toxins. For once, without Malo as the specific catalyst, a smirk spread across your face, to which Malo took note of. They giggled at your change of expression, before resuming their peer over the arm rest at the many houses that soon became a blur as the car rolled down the road.

 Soon noticing that you were staring at the back of Malo's head, you quickly shot your head to your own window. You were either staring at Malo for too long or your parents were speeding, the sign the car passed read as "KENDMAN CITY LIMITS," already you'd entered the next city over. The rest of the trip there was rather uneventful, aside from a couple gas station stops nothing happened, you were just rolling down the highway. Eventually the car took an exit onto the street, and not for gas, an old mud stained sign passed and read as "GUINNESS COUNTY LINE" in faded letters. Every house in this sparsely populated town seemed to either by abandoned or in some sort of disarray.

 From dead lawns to chipping paint and caving roofs, the only ones that seemed to have work put into them were the ones that were either inhabited or the ones that sat in the center of farmland. The road being traversed was riddled with potholes, the yellow line in the midst of it was faded and cracked, having long since been maintained. The further you were driven in the less dense houses became, more abandoned houses befell your sight, homesteads and farmland seemed to be the predominant view as far as the eye could see. Malo didn't last five minutes watching desolate buildings pass, and neither did you. It seemed to wear them first, you turned around to the sight of Malo cross armed and staring at the back of the drivers seat, meanwhile you peered forward for anything that wasn't the usual sight this trip had brought.

 Your peering brought no new sights, you began to doze off when your mother piped up, "We're here, Anon!" She said. Up ahead a right turn lead to a fresh tarmac parking lot, only being occupied by four other cars. A small white template sign next to the turn read as "Happy Birthday to: Anon!" An eyebrow cocked up in confusion, you turned to face your mother, "Surprise!" She said, her smile radiant and her eyes full of life for once. You took a glance behind you, Malo shrugged his arms and resumed their scanning.

 With one final stop the car sputtered off and the locks clicked open, you stepped out to the smell of barn animals and grilling meat. Malo quickly crawled out of the car, you shut the door and held onto their wrist before they could move further. For a distraction you dropped a coin and bent to pick it up, quickly whispering to Malo as your head passed his. "Remeber what I told you..." "Stay with me," you told him. With that you let go of their wrist and briskly caught up with your parents, who were already entering the barn look alike building.

 As you entered the building you could feel Malo's digits wrap around your hand, not wanting to attract attention but still desiring to return the favor, you curled your fingers slightly and kept your sight to your front. "Your reserved spot is three doors down the hall to the left, have a wonderful birthday," the receptionist vexatiously said. You casted them a glance before walking down the hall, Malo's hands now grasped onto your forearm like a snake wrapping around a branch, their head pushed into your arm as their white flames of eyes darted back and forth. For what they were told would be here, this was considerably different, they must've been expecting to be greeted with animals in a purely rustic setting. Instead they were met with an obviously irritated receptionist stationed in a very spartan office like setting.

 Upon first peering into the room it appeared the setting had changed vastly, the walls were old brown wooden planks instead of drab tan plaster, the floor was made of some sort of cement with hey sparsely decorating it. Malo's grip relaxed and they reverted back to their subtle hand holding. Laid out along the lengthy wooden tables were small blue birthday hats, the banner tacked on the wall read as "Happy 14th Birthday!" With an improvised 1 scribbled before the four. You shot your parents another confused look, their eyes were widened at the spectacle as they too were perplexed. The single staff member in the room merely looked about, shook their head and left, "I had no say in this," they brought up.

 You were quick to follow the staff out, with your parents soon after trailing behind, shutting the door behind them as they did. "...we're sorry, Anon. This isn't what we thought the place would be like. Let's just go home, we'll buy you dinner and a gift," Mom said. You nervously shook your head, slightly anxious about one tiny detail...Malo was missing. Their warm touch was absent from your hand, the laughter that would usually resonate wherever they went had fell silent. As your parents began to walk away you stood frozen in place, neurons firing off in your mind as you thought of millions of possibilities of where Malo could be.

 "Are you coming, Anon?" Dad asked. "Y-yeah, I just need to use the bathroom, just wait for me in the car, please," you replied. Your dad sauntered away, now leaving you to the supposed bathroom. You took a quick glance around for any staff, when there were none you turned right back around and frustratingly pulled the door open. There in the corner beside the surprisingly tall pinata stood Malo, naively patting it's head as it's paper stare burned into the wooden wall.

 "Malo, what are you doing!? I thought you were lost!" You frustratingly whispered at them. "Get away from that pinata and follow me, we're leaving," you said. "What's a pinata? Why are we leaving now? I'm just trying to get the horse to wake up." Malo responded. "I'll explain later, now come on, they're waiting for us." With that Malo's hand left the pinata, along with Malo themself.

 You turned around and began to walk towards the door, stopping once you reached the door to make sure that Malo was still behind you. There in the midst of the room stood Malo frozen in place, his legs poised as if he were in the midst of a run, his arms positioned in the same fashion. "Come on, Malo, stop playing," you said as you began to saunter towards them. Their arm felt as stiff as a rock, you tugged firmly and not a single inch of Malo moved. "...is this some new thing you can do? Look, this place sucks, why do you want to be here so badly?" You said. "...Malo?" You nervously uttered, moving down to meet their eyes, they darted to a fro before settling on yours.

 Beads of sweat began to roll down Malo's sharp skull, their eyes continued to flicker back and forth solicitously as they remained glued in that same postion. You unfolded your arms, wrapped them around Malo's torso and began to pull and heave, before noticing a most deceiving figure lurking behind. The sudden discovery of which caused you to jump away from Malo, there in the corner stood the pinata Malo patted, now facing both of you. "What the fuck!?" You thought, now desperately pulling on Malo, who's hot black tears dribbled over your arms. Two loud thumps resonated and caused you to step back once more, watching on in horror as the once inanimate object took on very lifelike movements towards the frozen Malo.

 Their head lowered and eyes narrowed as they inched closer to Malo, who's fearful tears puddled on the floor. Upon reaching them the bright pink pinata prodded Malo on the side with it's colorful pom-pom horn, pulling it's head back and eyeing it's target furiously. The pinata stamped it's hoove down twice before taking slow steps backwards, it's head cocked to the side as all focus went towards Malo. In a sudden and swift movement all discipline was null to the pinata, with the rage of a lumberjack and the force of a stallion it went flying towards Malo and knocked them over. As Malo skidded across the floor with a painful squeak their arms and legs loosened and they bumped into the door with a booming thump.

 Malo scrambled to their feet, back against the door as they looked on in horror as the child's punching bag began to wind up for another charge. You took the pinata's slow build up to run for Malo's protection, you bent down with Malo's leg tucked over your arm and hoisted them up against your back, wrapping their legs around your torso and their arms around your chest. Malo's limbs seemed to tense up once more, either due to fear or because of whatever unseen factor was afoot minutes before. As you stood straight the pinata had finished it's build up, letting loose as it lept towards you. Without a second thought you lunged to the side as the pinata merely soared towards the door, imprinting a bowling ball sized dent in the metal barricade.

 As it staggered up footsteps boomed down the hall, their volume growing with every second. In the moment that the pinata took to begin it's charge you made an instantaneous decision to run, stumbling towards the door as it's body tracked your position. As your hand grasped the handle the door suddenly swung open and flung you backwards. Malo tumbled off of you before your back could slam to the ground, a burly man dressed in mixing grey and black stomped in and halted before you. "Hey, what the fuck!?" The man shouted, unusually angry in his tone.

 There you laid frozen in shock as the man above stared down with a frustrated expression, his narrowed eyes widened in surprise as he too was knocked over with no warning, his black kill hat flopped off of his head and clacked to the ground. You scrambled to the ground and turned around for Malo, running to his cowering body and scooping him in your arms. For a moment you watched as the pinata triumphantly galloped towards the fallen man, you snapped out of the scene and ran out of the room with Malo in your arms. Halfway down the hall you heard shots ring out, almost deafening you as two gunshots soon morphed into a volley that boomed through the building. Not giving it a second thought you rammed your shoulder into the glass door and made a beeline to the car, pulling the door open and haphazardly tossing Malo in.

 Right after Malo was secured you jumped in and barked an anxious command, "get out of here, step on it!" And that was the end of it, the car peeled out of the parking lot and tore down the road opposite of which you came from. About half a mile down the road was when anyone spoke up, "Anon, do you know what happened over there?" "...I think a burglar ran into a cop, I don't know for sure what happened." You insisted. Concerningly glancing towards each other, your parents accepted the answer and resumed their view of the road. When the last bit of adrenaline had spent itself you felt a shaking at your arm.

 Malo had grabbed ahold, pulled close to you and curled into themself, their whole body shook as they lay beside you. It took about an hour or so to reach your home city, but by that time a blanket had already been draped over you, with Malo cramming themself into it's length and you'd wafted off to sleep. With the squeaking of the brakes you awoke to a stary expansion presiding over you, put just out of reach by the glass that barricaded you. Finding the energy to move you scooped the still sleeping Malo up with the blanket and carried them off to the house, the darkness of void lights greeting you. "Hey Anon, what do you want for dinner?" Your mother asked.

 Caring more to check Malo's wellness, you made sure to reflect that in your response, "nothing, Mom, I'm not hungry." No resistance came about, you carried the covered Malo back upstairs and into a setting to which they were familiar with. Their limp body laid out on the bed, you unwrapped the blanket to Malo's sockets devoid of any flames. With a gasp you immediately held his chest up and pressed an ear against it. Your ears picked up a regular heart beat, and then an odd noise as Malo's body began to move.

 "...mph, what are you doing?" Malo's gruffy voice croaked. Immediately you tightened your embrace and held them closer, your breath of relief waving Malo's thin hair array. "Jesus, I thought you died..." "Well, I didn't. And I'm never touching another horse again..." Malo replied "anyways, can we eat something now? I'm feeling fine." Just to confirm it, you ran your hands over Malo's skull and through his scalp, searching for any lump or bleeding. They seemed to be completely unharmed, aside from maintaining the memory of the attack. Now established that Malo was indeed fine, you took to preparing dinner for the both of you.

 On your descent down the stairs you could hear the beeping of the microwave followed by footsteps. You made a beeline straight for the cupboard upon walking into the kitchen, retrieving peanut butter and jelly supplies and laying them out on the table. "I thought you said you weren't hungry?" Dad piped up "I'm hungry now, I think I'll just eat and then go to sleep." You were left completely undisturbed as you made the sandwich, your parents gave obvious attempts at concealed glances as you brought it upstairs. Malo looked up from his curled position, their tail waggled as you came closer. You tore the sandwich in half and handed it to them, with that you climbed onto bed and sat down, staring off into the tan wall as Malo burrowed under your arm.

 In a swift movement Malo's jaws parted, their long black tongue encircled the sandwich and drug it down his throat. "...why didn't you run while the horse was beating me?" Malo said, impeding upon the tranquility. "Because you were hurt, and that pinata was going to hurt you more, I couldn't just let that happen." You replied. Malo's sockets began to secrete thick grey liquid, slowly trickling down. "...y-you wouldn't just leave me there? You actually wanted to save me?" They said, their voice shaky and audibly broken, they sounded almost as if their voice were being broadcasted over an old radio.

 "Of course I wanted to save you, you are my..." At a loss of words and an inability to improvise, you decided to be blunt with your statement, "my brother." That seemed to have an immense emotional effect on Malo, his arms quickly shot around you whilst he pushed his head into your torso, his sobs and sniffling rang out, skull head twitching against you. "...before I c-came to your home I was stuck having to hear the others tell me about their experiences..." "Only a few of them made it past a year with their downloaders, the rest would be forgotten or neglected, left to die and repeat the cycle..." "I was scared when I arrived, I thought that you would do the same as what the others described, leave me to die. It's part of the reason why I cried when you yelled, they all described their downloaders doing horrible things after they yell..." Malo sniffed out, his sobs reduced to a few sniffs every half a minute. "I'm...sorry to hear that. If I'd known of this I would've acted differently, I shouldn't have yelled at you in the first place." You said, caressing Malo's chin whilst your hand wondered around his hair. "I'm sorry..." You told him. "Well, I forgive you, Anon." Malo insisted.

 It seemed Malo had reciprocated the heart string tugging, you pulled them into an embrace and held them for a good few minutes, just you two and the room. When the embrace was over the clock read 11:14 PM, well past what you should be asleep at. With a rather nervous and almost misplaced kiss to Malo's forehead you dove into bed, heart still pounding with an alien beat. Minutes passed before you began to drift off, right before sleep could claim you for the night you felt a familiar warmth behind you, it's fuzzy arms wrapped around your torso and head nuzzled into your back.