[Flight nineteen now boarding from Cleveland to Hawaii now boarding.] A woman’s voice rang out over the PA system.
It was a busy day like any other in the air port, folks moving about trying to catch their planes on time. It would’ve been a nightmare for Sophie if she didn’t have her adorable little pink and rainbow maned unicorn named Candy by her side. Candy carried herself proudly in her emotional support animal vest, she was so happy the keep her mummah safe and calm for the long flight ahead.
“Sorry ma’am but fluffies are not legally animals and are exempt from the service animal laws. You’re going to have to register your fluffy as cargo and put it in one of our provided carriers.” Droned the lady at the check-in counter.
“What you can’t do that! She’s my emotional support fluffy, I need her with me! I wont make it to my brother’s wedding without her!”
“I’m sorry ma’am but I don’t make the rules, no carrier, no wedding.” Holding up a carrier.
“How could you they make a poor delicate fluffy go in the cargo holds like a suitcase?”
“Ma’am, fluffies have a poor track record with bowel control and are deemed hazardous in the sealed cabin of a plane. Please be sure to void your fluffy before putting it in the carrier.”
-Mummah? what am cawgo? Candy nu wan be cawgo. Wan wide pwane wiff mummah!- The disheartened mare protested.
“I’m sorry sweetie but it looks likes you have to go in the carrier. But don’t worry we’ll see each other again after the plane ride.”
-Nuuuuuuu! Nu wan go in sowwy boxie! Candy am good fwuffy! Nu do nuffin wong! hu hu huuuu…- Trying to back away from the carrier.
“I know, Candy but we must. Let’s go make good poopies before we go so there are no accidents, okay?” Taking the leash and lead her outside for a poopie break before the long plane ride.
Earl sat at his back porch table with the nursing basket with the two puffy-griffin chicks in it, their eyes had opened a few days ago. Mixing a few drops of his new custom genetic and hormonal cocktail into a small bowl of wet ground dog food and fed the chicks a few spoonfuls each then giving them bottled milk. Goblin and his herd sat around the table looking up at the table curiously watching. Gremlin was still a little leery about the chicks, his leg while healed was still a little sore no thanks to the chick’s parents.
“Alright boys listen up. Nugget’s gonna pop in the next few weeks but these babies need a new set of parents now and I can’t watch them all the time. So, how would you all like try practice being parents with them? I’m looking at you Lemon and Gremlin, it’ll be your turn for babies soon enough when Nugget has hers. And Nugget, I know you didn’t like giving up your milk for the chicks but I’m gonna need more for today. And I don’t want to hear any more complaints about it, so long as you have plenty to eat you’ll make more.”
-Okay, Boss. Nugget sowwy be bad mummah. Good mummahs hewp wost babbehs when have wot of miwkies to shawe.- Nugget repeated as she held her head sadly after the scolding she got the last time.
“Relax, this is the last time. I’ll pick up a feral milk bag tomorrow.” Answering his phone as it started ringing. “Rodney, what’s up?.. Ha! sucks to be your cousin… uh-huh… Sooo just send Riley in after her… Yeah good point. Oh hey, speaking of the little hyena, I found some interesting results in her blood work. She has early traces of incomplete modifications in her DNA, might be the reason why she’s sterile, she’s got actual hyena DNA in her. If I could get another sample I could-… What? Me go get the little shit? Not really my thing… How much? Okay, but no guarantees. See you around.” Hanging up. “Goblin, Hob, we got work to do. The rest of you stay here and watch these chicks while I’m gone, I want to see how well you can be parents.”
It was a long drive to the airport but when they arrived Earl made the two wear vests like a service animal with a message stitched into the sides. Warning, genetically modified hunter friend. Do not mess with, I can and will hurt you if you do; it read on each. A legal requirement if ever going into a high population area since legally they didn’t qualify as fluffies anymore. Airport security took them to an office where Sophie was yelling her head off at one of the guards over loosing Candy when her luggage car hit another. Her carrier had broken open, cheap POS that it was and while the drivers where busy yelling at each other she had run away from the noisy machines and vanished inside the automated sorting area in the back rooms. The only reason security even agreed to let Sophie call her cousin then Earl was if Candy did die back there her rotting body would become a public heath concern. So far no employee could find her so now it was time to let the boys give it a shot. But as it turned out Sophie told them that Candy was terrified of alicorns and the size of them would only make it worse. The security guy opened the door to the backrooms as Earl let the boys get a good sniff of Candy’s favorite huggy friend and they took off sniffing at the air.
Candy was scared out of her tiny feeble mind, the strange machines all around her made loud clattering sounds as suitcase after suitcase rolled along overhead. Angry sounding people were shouting her name in a way that made her sound like she was in trouble, she didn’t want more hurties and sorry boxes, she just wanted to go home with mummah. A top heavy suitcase took a turn too hard and went tumbling down landing with a loud band right next to Candy giving her another scare and off she went blindly running for her life. She didn’t stop until she ran nose first into the leg of one of the conveyor belts, she cried and rubbed the end of her bloody nose then a tooth fell out.
-Mmmmmuuhhhmmmuuuuhhhh! Huu!.. Candy wan go home!- Throwing herself to the floor and kicking her leggies as she wailed.
Something small and squeaking came skittering up to her and when she opened her tear flooded eyes she saw a big brown rat sniffing at her.
-Hewwo squeaky ting. New fwend? Sniff!.. New squeaky fwend hewp Candy find mummah?-
The rat sniffed at her again, licking a line of blood off her nose and apparently he liked what he tasted as he then bit down hard sinking his teeth deep.
-SCREEEEEEEEE!! Bitey hewties! Screeeeeeeee!-
Candy reared back trying to shake the rat free and by pure luck managed to bang the rat against a conveyor support leg. It let go but took a mouthful of her nose with him, he chewed it up and swallowed then licked his lips looking at Candy. Then several more crawled out of the shadows and they were all looking at her.
-N-n-n-nice squeaky munstahs. C-c-candy nu am nummies.- Backing away from the growing horde.
The first rat to take a bite lead the charge and poor Candy ran for her life, slow and as pathetic as it was , was just fast enough to keep ahead of the rats nipping at her tail fluff.
Goblin sniffed up and down with Hob just behind him sitting on the chest of a worker who had tried to kick him and ended up getting his legs swept out from under him. Now Hob hovered a heavy suitcase over his head threatening to bonk him with it if he tried it again.
“Hob, leave the idiot alone. You got him back now get back to work.” Earls voice crackled over Hob’s collar. “And you, asshole! Can’t you fucking read? The vest says he CAN and WILL fuck you up!”
-Gobwin can smeww wost fwuffy! Dis way!-
Hob jumped off the guys chest, mule kicking him in the cheek as a parting gift cutting it open slightly then trotted off after Goblin, picking up the scent along the way. They followed the scent under the conveyor tracks zigzagging around random corners till they found a pile of scaredy poopies and a trail of blood droplets. The sound of a fluffy screaming in the distance made them pick up the pace the blood trail making it easier to find her. At last they found her, having scaled the metal steps to the maintenance walkway along the conveyors and the growing horde of rats hot on her tail. Turning to see if the rats were still chasing her she ran right off the edge and onto the conveyor tracks getting her front leggies caught between two rolling bars. Surprisingly unharmed from the tumble the rolling bars spun freely and she couldn’t get a stable grip to lift herself up and now her face was starting to mush between them as well. Then the rats got to her hind end and started in on her, biting at her flank and teats.
-SCREEEEEEE!! NU! NU! NUUUUUHOOHOOHUUUU! Mummah save Caandy! Nu am nummies!-
-Hob, get the mawe! Gobwin got the wats!-
The boys sprang into action, Goblin practically flew up the stairs as Hob ran to the underside of the conveyor and lifted the mare off the track as a heavy suitcase rolled by almost hitting her. Goblin sent the rats flying with such force they splattered on the far wall then he snapped the jaws open of the few that clung to Candy’s flesh and slammed them to the ground. Candy hovered in the air with her forelegs over her eyes still crying out for her owner to save her from the bitey munstahs.
“Candy! Mummah’s here sweetie! Mummah’s here!” Sophie’s voice rang out from the boy’s collars.
-Mm-muh, hu hu hu, mummuh? (SNIFF!) whewe mummah?- Slowly opening her eyes to see Hob looking up at her. -Screeeeeee! Munstah! Nu wan mowe owwies! NU! Nuuuuuuuu!! Mummah save Candyyyyyyy! Nu wan wostest stompies an bad huggies! huuuuuu!-
“Candy calm down they wont hurt you I promise they’ll bring you back to me!”
-Munstahs nu twick Candy wiff fake mummah tawkies! Screeeee! Mummah hewp!-
Hob rolled his eyes at the mare and let out a sigh of frustration then shook the mare and yelled…
-SHADDUP DUMMEH! We found the mawe, Boss. Gonna bwing hew back now… Uh, which way we go back?- Realizing he had forgotten to remember the way back.
“I got ya covered boys just bring her back quickly so I can get paid.”
Sophie was shocked to see the state of her poor Candy, dirty, bloody and whimpering to the point of hiccuping sobs but otherwise okay, minus a pinch of flesh here and there. Before he could get paid the backroom worker showed up with some choice words for Earl and the threat of a lawsuit. He laughed in his face reminding him of the vests and camera footage of the incident, plus he’d have to publicly admit, in court, to getting beat up by a fluffy. Plus he could always just put it on the net, that shut him up quick.
The sun was setting by the time they returned home but there was no time to relax, the shouting coming from the backyard sounding like a fight going on. The three marched back to the corral and saw Gremlin squaring off with Imp, Lemon and Nugget who were trying to shield the chicks from him as he tried to get around them. One chick was shrieking at the top her with a bloody stump where he tail once was that was now hanging from Gremlin’s teeth.
“GREMLIN!!” Earl roared at the top of his lungs swinging open the corral door.
Gremlin turned to look just to see Earl cocking back his left hand and swinging.
THWACK!