"Suit yourself." she said, tossing Jem the remote. "Use that if he mouths off, and I will warn you, Tinies tend to need larger cages in general. But I'm sure you can keep him in that crate for a little longer, he's been there for months and I doubt he'd be bothered by waiting for a change in scenery." she explained, turning away.
Jem quickly raised his hand to catch the remote, making sure he didn't accidentally press the button.
"And how will I be able to take the collar off, if I want to?" He asked. He rolled the paper packet, sticking it in one pocket. He held 0023's cage in one arm, holding the remote still. He was worried that if he put it in his pocket, he would accidentally shock the Tiny he'd bought.
"Eh, if you really want the thing off you can just cut it off with some scissors." she said. "Do you need anything else, or are you going to keep bothering me?" she asked, groaning loudly at Jem and glaring daggers into his general direction. 0023 simply shook, sitting in his cage silently, waiting for Jem to express some sort of cruelty on him.
Jem huffed some, turning away. He was done with this woman, for sure. So, he made his way out of the store, 0023's cage held close to him. He shifted it some, setting the remote on top and wrapping both arms around it. He looked down at the Satyr in his arms, letting out a soft breath as he calmed down.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly, as he made his way down the street. "I know that was… sudden, but as soon as we get to the house, I'm going to cut that collar off, okay?"
"Why?" was all he could say. He was so confused at the whole situation, not quite knowing what to do and how to handle things. "What do you want from me?" he asked, looking up at Jem with wide, scared eyes. He was worthless, useless, a literal garbage fire of a Tiny, even when he'd been training as a service Tiny.
"I don't want anything from you," Jem said softly. The Tiny seemed just as scared as before, but Jem was doing his very best to try to calm him down.
"I couldn't just leave you there, though. You said it yourself, they tortured you for fun. I couldn't just know that and not do something to help…" Jem was doing his best to avoid getting too close to anyone on the streets, so he wouldn't get bumped into. They were close to the house, with was good.
"Right, right, and? What's the catch here? What do I need to do for you?" he said bitterly, ready and willing to jump on Jem's case now that he knew it was probably safe to. "I mean, everyone gets Tinies for something, we're not just pets, we aren't just companions."
"There's no catch." Jem finally reached his apartment building, taking the steps up two at a time. He put the keycode in, waiting as the door unlocked to push through. He was careful not to jostle 0023's cage as he started up the stairs, looking down at the Tiny.
"There's nothing you need to do."
"Alright, then did you at least get me suitable housing arrangements or did you just impulse buy and hope you wouldn't regret it later? Also, are you going to give me a name? You can't just call me by a number, it's deTinyizing. Dehumanizing, whatever. I'm not human so those terms don't apply to me, I don't think." he rambled. "Tinies, unlike humans, should not live in houses, they should have a separate cage somewhere inside the home where it is nice and warm, but not too much so that the Tiny dies of heat. Around 65-75 degrees is best. Also, you have to give Tinies entertainment, otherwise they'll get depressed and die. And not on the level of chew toys, we're talking books and puzzles and regular interaction with our human, okay? Even a bit of television, as long as it's 'appropriate' whatever that means. And if you take me into public, you'll need a tracking collar or harness, made specifically for in case you drop your Tiny or they run away out of fright, etcetera, etcetera. Also, we have even more food needs than a human does, and we need to be eating six times a day. I'm actually pretty hungry right now, now that you think of… nevermind, look. We're carnivores, meaning meat, and while there is special Tiny kibble on the market, we prefer raw diets, or, we prefer you to give us the good stuff. Liver, chicken, rabbit, whatever, as long as it's high in protein and nutrients we're good." 0023 continued on, listing facts about Tinies that were mostly true, like that they were sensitive to too much light, or completely false, like that Tinies were planning a revolution against the humans. Actually, that one could be true, now that you think about it, but it's too late to worry about that now. "So, are you seriously ready to be a responsible fucking human or do I have to control you by the hairs on your head like that one rat from that one movie?"
Oh god, what have I gotten into with this little dude? Still, Jem listened intently as the Tiny spoke, nodding along as he made mental notes over everything being said. It seemed to Jem that the Satyr had heard these things quite a lot from humans based on his language, but the human was glad for that. It was easier when the pet could tell the owner exactly what they needed, after all, and even if some of the things the Tiny was saying were… Outlandish, of it was something that the Tiny was including because he himself wanted it, Jem would be fine getting for them.
So, as Jem got to his apartment door and the Tiny said his final thing, the human finally answered as he unlocked the door.
"I'm not afraid to admit you were an impulse buy," he started, opening the door and stepping inside. It was still light out enough, and he had left the curtains open, so he didn't bother turning any lights on.
"However, that doesn't mean I'm not going to make sure you're taken care of. We're going to do a few things here, and then it's right back out to a proper, upstanding pet store to get everything we're going to need. First things first, though, we're cutting that shock collar off. Then, we can figure out a name for you, and since you're hungery I've got some chicken you can have."
Jem made his way to his desk, setting the Tiny down on it as he pulled a drawer open, looking for his scissors."
The Tiny nodded, but he didn't exactly have much to do in his little glass box so he simply sat there, looking grumpy. He was starving, nobody had bothered to feed him today and he was sure the pet store owners were going to let him die if Jem hadn't rescued him. Really, he was grateful, but he was equally resentful and would probably attempt to eat Jem's hand if he didn't feed him right fucking now.
Jem was quiet, finally pulling out a pair of scissors he was comfortable using so close to the Tiny's skin. He closed the drawer then, turning back to the cage.
"Here, let's get that collar off." He moved to unlock the cage, scissors in one hand as he moved to carefully bring the Satyr out.
0023 clung to Jem's hand, breathing hard and fast as he was lifted, the world spinning around him. He hated heights, hated feeling unstable, hated the dizziness and anxiety that came with being moved about. "C-can you make this quick? I'm not big on being up high, it's…" terrifying, but he wouldn't directly admit he was scared. He'd leave it to Jem to figure it out.
Jem nodded as the Tiny in him hand spoke, concerned for him. He moved to sit down, holding 0023 closer to the table to try to ease his anxiety. He lifted his finger to so very carefully tilt the Tiny's head, raising the scissors. He slipped one of the blades between 0023's neck and the collar, cutting through the collar with ease.
(I'm wondering- how many nose hoops does it take to get 0023 to bite you? I'm guessing 1-2 at most aha)
(Nose hoops?)
Jem nodded as the Tiny in him hand spoke, concerned for him. He moved to sit down, holding 0023 closer to the table to try to ease his anxiety. He lifted his finger to so very carefully tilt the Tiny's head, raising the scissors. He slipped one of the blades between 0023's neck and the collar, cutting through the collar with ease.
When the collar was off, the Tiny immediately jumped off of Jem's hand and onto the table. "That was… not fun." he said simply, a bit ashamedly. "I don't usually get moved about. It was… not something I'd like to repeat."
(*BOOPS)
(God I hate writing on my tablet)
(Oh, even try and he'll rip your hand off.)
(an appropriate response XD)
"Got it. We'll keep the holding to the absolute minimum." Jem brushed the collar remains into the trashcan, the remote soon to follow.
"We'll have to find to an agreement on how you're to get around the house, though, because I don't think it's a good idea for you to be trying to get up and down from the furniture. But, for now, let's focus on getting you some food."
"Well, you can get me an enclosure. Then you won't have to worry about me at all! Ooh, can I have climbing tubes? Please say I can have something to climb on." he said, blinking innocently, trying to make it seem like he deserved everything in the world.
Jem chuckled softly, setting his elbow on the table by 0023 and setting his head in his hand.
"Well, we'll see just how much climbing tubes would cost, but I see no reason why you couldn't have something to climb on." He found it a bit silly, how much his Tiny was trying to look like he was an innocent little thing. Even though he hadn't looked it, he felt the collar had been given for some reason. Of course, he figured he'd have a better time handing things without the painful tool.
"But right now, I'm trying to think of a way to get you from here to the kitchen so you can have some food, not to mention we still don't have a name for you yet." The man thought, looking to the cage he'd lifted the Tiny out of.
"Are you good with being carried in the cage?" He asked, looking down at the Satyr again.
"Uh, fine, but can the top be off? It's hard to breathe in there, and it gets hot, especially in the summer." he said, glaring more at the people in the pet shop than anything, but glaring all the same.
"Sure, that sounds reasonable to me." Jem moved to open the cage again, removing the top entirely.
"Need help in?" Thankfully, he really hasn't responded negatively to anything the Tiny had done at all, which had to be done form of good sign. He was doing his best to be accommodating, still thinking of a name.
"Yes, please?" he said, waiting expectantly to be lifted up. "You know, I've always wanted to have a proper enclosure like all the other Tinies. With climbing things."