elnysa | [Video] un: BishopRunout

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[Video] un: BishopRunout

[It's been a rough couple of days. Something in Venom's personal life exploded in his face, so he hasn't been sleeping much. He took a little time off work, and tonight he's decided to film the little egg that showed up a while ago. Call it proof in case something goes horribly wrong. Maybe it'll even hatch on camera and he can share what arrived. That might cheer him up. Possibly. Maybe.

What he doesn't expect is finding shards of eggshell in the box he kept it.

Panicked, he films the path of shell pieces into his kitchen, where a very tiny monkey has started devouring some fruit on the table. Of course that begs the question:]

Sorry to ask so late, but what kind of monkey is this?

And monkeys don't hatch from eggs...

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He was probably hungry and decided to find food. Still, he managed to escape from the box on his own.

[Do all animals hatch from eggs here?? Venom approaches the small primate, putting his hand out.]

Welcome. This is your home.

[Once the monkey finishes his berry, he climbs right up onto Venom's palm and takes a seat.]

Ah, well... I can't say you aren't cute.

[There are tiny, sticky handprints on the counter. It's weirdly endearing. Zevran takes a moment to watch the creature, wondering how it already knew his roommate was a friend.]

He does have his charms. And at least we know what he eats.

[There's a long pause while he watches the monkey lick its paws clean.]

...I suppose you should name him.

We'll have to keep plenty of fruit for him.

[The monkey keeps staring at both of them, but that's it. No acting out, just sitting there on Venom's palm.]

I'm open to suggestions.

[He considers Zato, but it doesn't seem to suit him...]

[Dude no, Zev's just as useless at naming animals as you are. No offense.]

Ah...As far as I know, pets are usually named after some quality they possess or a person their owner knew. The Warden's hound was named after a distant relative, as I recall.

[He trails off and becomes quiet for a long moment, thinking as the messages start to come in. He smiles as a thought occurs to him, speaking quietly as though in an aside to himself.]

Hunched up like that, he looks a bit like a bell pepper. Almost the right color, too.

Unfortunately, I don't know anything about my family.

[Other than his assassin "family". And no, he won't be naming the monkey 2cave.]

He kind of does look like a bell pepper.

Hmmm... Pepper...

I only know a few things, myself, and no names.

[He chuckles.]

We'll keep that as Plan B, perhaps.

[Yes, he's totally assuming that someone else will find a better one.]

[The monkey doesn't seem to care. He just likes sitting on Venom's hand. The not!bell pepper...]

I'm sure we'll find a suitable name for you, my friend.

For now, I think some drinks are in order. I'll get you water, and as for us... something stronger.

[He might make coffee for him and Zev. Or just hit the wine again.]

[Watch them end up calling it Pepper anyway.]

We can try other foods as well. Vegetables and the like. Or bugs, perhaps.

[He's mostly just thinking aloud, trying to remember what little he knows about monkeys in general. He's never been around a lot of actual pets. Part of him is determined to not fall under the sway of a small furry animal, and part of him can already tell he's charmed.]

[Probably, but the suggestions will be going for a while. Just in case. Pepper's a good backup name.

As Venom gathers the items for coffee, he leaves out a couple of vegetables for their new pet. The monkey looks at them, and then starts back towards the fruit.]

...I guess that settles the vegetable part.

[He smiles, sliding into one of the kitchen chairs, watching Venom's new pet.]

Well, given the choice between a raw vegetable and raw fruit, I know which one I would pick.

[Can't really blame the monkey, then. Maybe carrots or something?]

We could try cooked vegetables in the future.

[The monkey's with you, Zev. Raw fruit all the way. He picks another berry and starts munching.]

I'll have to make a trip to the library to see if I can find out more about his species. And maybe invest in taller plants.

You think he might be a local species?

[With high metabolism, apparently. Zevran glances around the kitchen, then at Venom's back.]

We should probably also do something to keep him out of the cabinets. For his safety.

[Yes, he's totally bringing up toddler-proofing the kitchen.]

[He didn't even think about that. Imagine if the monkey managed to ransack the cabinets.]

That might not be a bad idea. Or at the very least, an enclosure of sorts for when we sleep.

[And see, he hadn't thought about that. There's a long tense pause as his eyes go wide and drift slowly back down to the monkey, smacking its lips and gnawing at the grape-sized shifting pastel berry.]

...Yes, I think that would be a good idea as well.

[Can you imagine waking up to a loose monkey walking on your face, leaving sticky handprints?]

Is something wrong?

[He looks over at the little guy, who's just munching all innocently.]

I can buy you more, if those berries belonged to you.

[He can, and while that might be endearing, it's also alarming.]

No, no. Well, I bought them but for the both of us. That's not the problem.

Have you met the physician's ferret? [He means Watson, of course.]

Ferret? I don't believe I have.

[He'd only vaguely heard of the ferret and Watson's interactions with it.]

Why do you ask?

Well. You know the models talk, yes? The gossip in the back rooms is fascinating.

[He waves a hand, shooing that topic to the back burner.]

Apparently, it has sticky fingers. Even if this little one doesn't, there are things we keep in our rooms that he shouldn't get into.

[Zev puts his hand out a little further on the table and drums his fingers to get the monkey's attention. It works, but the animal shies away from him, taking a few steps away with its berry. It continues to eat.]

Yes, I suppose we did just meet, it's a bit early for that. My apologies.

[Well, he's already hit the "talk to it like it understands you" stage of having a furry roommate.]

[Good point. While he does listen to the models' venting, he doesn't really pay attention to gossip. To think that Dr. Watson's ferret steals is kind of amusing, though he's thinking more about a proper enclosure.

When he sees the monkey shy away from Zevran, Venom gently pets him.]

It's okay. He's a friend. You can play with him, if you wish.

[And it's like the small primate understands Venom as he finishes his berry. He crawls over to Zev and climbs onto his hand.]

[And just like that, there's a slightly wobbly baby marmoset in his hand. Zevran blinks down at it in surprise. It weighs nothing at all, (not that surprising); it's just a warm, tiny patch of fur in his hand. Zevran gets very quiet and still.]

That's...he's certainly a smart little thing.

I wasn't expecting that at all.

[It's like he understands Venom to an extent, because the monkey's walking up Zev's arm and sitting on his shoulder.]

Or maybe he likes you, as well.

Rather preferable to him having it out for me, I suppose.

[The monkey is looking around curiously, taking everything in, and Zevran wonders if it might climb up his hair next. For now, nothing, but it seems to enjoy being taller? Maybe? It's hard to read a monkey.]

[The monkey stays put on his shoulder, maybe giving Zev a tilted head look now and then.]

What if he does get larger? And you wake up to him sitting on your chest?