Walking through the back Timo headed for the supply closet, a small room decorated with a small strip of tape labeled “Mother’s room”. With the constant influx of fluffs it can be hard to find a spot where mare’s can have some privacy with their babies. Thus Timo turned part of the supply closet into special pens. There he placed all the fluffies that were about to have their babies. It was a small room but Timo made the best of it. The most of the room looked like the work of a tetris master, dozens of boxes, rolls of toilet paper, cleaning supplies, mop heads, and all manner of things where fitted perfectly. While the left had only two high shelves where personal affects were placed, such as lunch boxes and purses. Timo did that on purpose so that way everyone would have to peek in and check on them. Even as such he always kept a baby monitor in the room. Some called him paranoid but he knew better. A fluffies greatest threat, other than humans, was its own stupidity. Leaving it alone, regardless of how safe can still lead to disaster. Of the three pens only two were filled. The closest one was a light purple fluff with chalky white hair, a prime candidate for eye catchers. She had yet to give birth and as Timo entered he slowly turned up the lights. Like the main store this room also had a dimmer and he never fully turned it off. Keeping it low so the mares could sleep more calmly.
“Mistah, soon mummah am hungie. haf nummies pwease?” She waddled like an over ripe grape out of the corner of the pen. He had placed a couple soft towels down as make shift beds for them to use. Normally he would just give them beds off the wall but he knew they would just get ruined and towels were easier to clean. Carefully removing a can of deluxe fluff food from the wall he pealed off the lid and shook half of it into her bowl. After watching her waddle painfully slowly towards it, he moved it within her reach.
“Huff. fank huff. ‘ou daddeh.’” The mare began to hungerly gobble up the food. After topping off her water bowl and moving that closer too he looked in on the other mare, the pillow. Her eyes widened with excitement as Timo approached her. She looked like she wanted to talk but she didn’t, one of the things beaten into her. Only speak when spoken to. One of the many orders she was given by her old owner. One who must have been especially cruel, since she still instinctively followed it.
“Hey Cushion, how are you today?” She giggled at her name being said, not realizing the irony of the name. Scars covered her, most of which seemed to be burns. Her lip had been cut open and crudely sewed by up and her ears had been ripped up. She was so scared when she first arrived I had to have Johanna handle her. Now she was a very sweet girl.
“Fwuffie am su happie, am be mummah! Haf babbehs, wuv chiwpie babbehs!” She was resting on a specially made hammock. It’s straps shifted her weight off her stomach as to protect her babies. At first she didn’t like it but once she understood it was for the babies she never mentioned it again. She wasn’t due for another month but she could still create complications at this stage if she wasn’t in the hammock.
“Here girl I brought you some food.” Her bowl was raised so she could reach it. Timo had angled it so that the food rolled down to the side closest to her, he also prepared a water bottle, same as the ones in the kennel for her. She had been brought in both pillowed and pregnant, normally Timo “recycled” pillows. They didn’t sell, hardly ever and what’s worse often they were wanted by less than reputable owners. Timo pushed that notion out of his head, it didn’t matter what they bought the product for as long as people weren’t getting hurt he would sell. That was the rule he stuck to, one created out of necessity. If this business was going to do more than simply exist then it needed to sell more product, that was it. No amount of caring, love or consideration is going to make it happen. Watching the two mares happily scarf down their meals did bring a smile to his face.
Heading back to the store front he watched as the little girl from earlier left with a pink fluff, her mother caring easily a hundred bucks in supplies.
“Good sale.” Timo said as he checked the adoption clipboard.
“Yeah, hope everything goes well for them. That student coming today?” Johanna asked staring at her cell phone.
“Should be, not sure when though.”
He expected the student to be late, they were always late. Even it counting towards their hours most students don’t want to do the work. Not that its very hard but rather most don’t think there is anything to gain. They won’t be working on fluffies later in their profession so why bother? Most of the teachers use it as a way to practice without having guilt. Explaining to the students that if they mess up, or kill the fluffy, it’s better than if it had happened with a real animal. Timo didn’t care what they said, whatever got the students here to check his product. Rescues always have something wrong with them, from parasites to disease or even genetic problems. While fluffies tend to avoid mating with siblings, they don’t really understand anything past that. Its common for brother and sister fluffs to have children and those children to mate. There are ways of testing fluffies to see who’s related to who, but Timo can’t afford to do it with all his fluffies, especially the ferals. It would take far too long and most don’t live past a year in this area anyway, the heat gets them. Summers are brutal and there are always a dozen or more fluffs roasting like sidewalk BBQ after a heatwave.
The morning rolled into the afternoon like a slug, business was always slow on Wednesday. Still as noon dawned it was clear that the student wasn’t coming, but Timo still kept his hopes up, students have arrived later.
“Ohhhh- Mistah! hurr… mistah babbehs comin’. Skreee! BIGGEST POOPSIES!!! SKREEEEEEEEEEE!!!” The shriek was so loud several of the fluffies stopped playing looking around confused. It was the baby monitor and by the sound of it the purple mare had given birth. Timo turned down the monitor and went to get the supplies. Towels, a small pail of warm water, and a pair of rubber gloves. Just as he was heading back he saw several people had entered, some of which looked to drop off rescues. For a moment he hesitated about going and checking them in but Johanna hand waved him away, she could handle it.
Stepping into the closet he was horrified by what he saw, it was a complete blow out. The light purple mare lay heaving in pain as across the small pen were not just her newborns, but far more blood than there should have been. She had given birth to an above average brood, seven foals in total. The excessive amount must have been the reason for the blood. Inspecting the mare he was right, her backside was matted with deep red blood. A jagged tear nearly connected her vagina and anus, with only a sliver of flesh separating the two. In her panic she tried to stand causing the wound to bleed all the more. Timo used a towel to swathe the babies, protecting them as he moved to stop the bleeding.
“MISTAH SKREEEE! SU HUWTIES!!! BABBEHS HUWT SPECIAW PWACE!!” Timo did the only thing he could think of and used a towel to try and stop the bleeding. He shoved a towel against the backside of the mare, holding her down so she wouldn’t move. He tried to calm her down but she was panicking.
“NUU HUWT FWUFFIE, PWEASE NEE’ BE MUMMAH!” The entire time Cushion was silent though tears streaked her face. She wiggled as best she could trying to move closer to the mare. She wanted to comfort her, to help somehow but there was nothing that could be done. Soon the purple mare began to slow, tired from the birthing she laid her head down.
“Nu huwt mummah…huff… huff… wewe am babbehs, wan’ wuv bab… babbehs…huff”. Timo brought the foals close to her. She shifted herself close enough to start cleaning one. “dey am…d…dah pwe-ttie, babbehs…huff” The mare’s licks slowed as she closed her eyes. “Su sw-weepies…mistah. bab.b…huff” Her breathing began to slow as she fell unconscious. “Dammit, where is that student!” Timo was frustrated, this mare had great colors and good temperament, he didn’t want to lose her. Still there was little to be done, even if the student had been there. He did his best to stop the bleeding but he knew she must be bleeding on the inside too. Carefully Timo moved a pair of foals to the mare’s teats allowing them to suckle. They did so instinctively while the others helplessly wiggled in the blanket. He didn’t like how this was looking, he needed to make up some formula quick, the mare wasn’t going to last long. Without thinking he grabbed a nearby multi feeder from the carefully stacked wall, sending it tumbling down. Several moderately heavy boxes fell and instinctively Timo stepped aside. Had the situation not gotten him so worked up he never would have been so reckless as the box landed on the blanket.
“FUCK!” He tossed down the feeder and picked up the box. He was relieved to see a foal move, then another. The towel softened the blow enough that it only bumped them. At least most of them. As he moved the towel he found two foals at the back of the towel were not so lucky. One wordlessly opened its mouth, too young even to chirp or cheep, its back was dented and only it’s front legs wiggled. While another lay still, the dent residing on the top of its head. The dead one was light purple like the mare, and the surely crippled one was smokey white, like the mare’s mane. Sighing he placed the living babies on their mother’s fur. The smell and warmth made them calm down and start nuzzling her, save for the injured one who still wordlessly wiggled as frantically as it little body could allow. Taking out a safety blade he quickly opened the feeder box and set it up. Grabbing the smallest container of Foal Full he could find, he poured in the allotted amount. Walking to the sink he filled each bottle with 1/2 parts water, and 1/2 parts milk before shaking each bottle. He was relieved that the mare was still breathing slowly, he swapped babies, trying to let the six remaining foals each get some of their mother’s milk should she die. Moving the remaining foals over to the feeder. At first they wouldn’t take but Timo was experienced with fluffy babies. He worked the rubber caps to get the formula moving and soon all the babies were suckling save for the injured one. He tried to get it to suckle on its own mother but even that would not distract it from its injury. With a heavy sign he knew what he must do. He stood up and walked out of the room with the injured and dead foal. All the while Cushion stared at the babies he carried, her eyes bright with tears. With a stone face he walked out of the room, and over to the trash. He tossed the dead foal into the trash without ceremony, but the other one still moved, it still lived but for how long? Just as he moved to drop it in with its brethren it latched on to his finger, suckling desperately. There Timo stood for a long moment…
Wordlessly he returned to the mother and sure enough the baby latched. The foal gently kneaded it’s mothers teat with its front legs, while its back sat limp and lifeless. It was never going to sell. Crippled and most likely won’t be able to reproduce, it will have little value despite the coloring. Hell it probably won’t make last a day. Everything in his head about business told him to simply pitch it, but strangely enough he thought of his mother. She always told him to own up to his mistakes and take charge. So that’s what he would do. “It was my mistake, I’ll take care of you.”
He would care for this little crippled baby, for as long as it held on, so would he.
The mare lasted longer than he expected managing to hold on for an entire day. Passing away mere minutes before close up. The babies, still too young to even understand what was going on, clung to her body and smell. Timo crouched down by Cushion and placed a towel in a circle. He then addressed the curious pillow. “Alright, Cushion I have some bad news and good news. The bad news is the other mare has passed away.” He waited a minute to allow the mare to understand and grieve but the mare continued to look confused. “Oh right, she is gone to sleep, forever. She died.” Now the mare understood and Cushion didn’t try to hide her sadness. Her mouth twisted with pain as she looked over at the quietly sleeping babies. “Nuu!!..huuu huuu fwuffie fwend gon’ bu’ jus’ am mummah! Mistah wah am babbehs du? Nu haff mummah, nee’ miwkies and wuv!” Timo stroked the back of the mare slowly to comfort her.
“They will be okay. I have milk for them, but they need a good fluffy to sleep with. They need a mother to care for them, do you think you could help them?” Cushion quickly changed from sad to excited. “Fwuffie hewp widdwe babbehs! YUS! Nu wan’ babbehs haf saddies.”
“Good.” Carefully Timo plucked Cushion from her hammock and placed her in the towel circle. She seemed concerned at first but didn’t complain. Then taking another blanket he wrapped the base. If any babies fell they would land on the soft towel. Gingerly and with great care he lifted the babies one by one from the dead mare’s back and placed them on Cushion. At first the babies reacted confused, a few even managed pathetic chirps and cheeps of discomfort as they noticed the foreign smell of Cushion. Cushion’s coos subdued the little products and soon they all returned to sleep, all except the crippled one. Cheeping repeatedly, the baby tried desperately to return to it’s mother. Noticing a potential problem Tomi moved the upset foal closer to Cushions head, half burying the baby in the soft fluff of her mane. It worked like a charm and soon even it was fast asleep. Cushion cooed and purred with excitement. She had been so excited to be a mother and now she got to be one twice. Now came the removal of the mare. Just as if he was throwing away a piece of paper or banana peel he tossed the mare into the same trash can as the foal from earlier, and he was not done. He turned down the closet light and shut the door. Making sure it was shut tight, he didn’t want them to hear what came next.
Today had been slow and with slow days come managing the inventory. Johanna had left some time ago and the door was locked. They closed twenty minutes before the rest of the building, just for disposal reasons. Heading to the back of the office he used his keys to open the bottom drawer where he kept several removal tools, the most well worn was the icepick. It was easy, it was clean and most of all it was cheap. Next to the tool was a bag of zip ties, thick ones. He grabbed one and closed the drawer. Returning to the back room he had already lined up the products, they sat quietly in the sink. Two undesirable fluffies that had reached their expiration date. Nothing to be done about it, they had no qualities that made him reconsider, one a ugly green and yellow like vomit the other a blue unicorn that had been found being a bully. Normally such a color would bring about an exception, but not today. He pulled a thick curtain to block view of the kennels and turned on a nearby Tv with a remote. Soon the room filled with the sounds of Fluff TV and all the fluffs started giggling and babbling to themselves. Heading over to the sorry boxes of which he had already released the mare from the morning, she really didn’t do anything wrong. She was worth giving another chance but the other one, got no such luck. Timo threw open the door and the young colt started. “DUMMEH MISTAH NU WAN UPSIES!! WAN-” Timo grabbed him about the throat, silencing him. Carefully slipping him into a grocery bag and finishing it with the zip tie. His body was inside the plastic while his head was out. He started shitting as he fought for air. Timo had done this a few times, so he knew just how tight to make the tie. Roughly he set the broken product in the sink with the others who looked at the gasping baby with fear and concern. Each stammered out words trying to avoid the same fate as the colt, Tomi ignored both. Grabbing a rope he tied it off to one of the loops above the sink and then grabbed the two remaining fluffs by the scruff. They yelled in fear and released their bowels, coating the gasping colt in a river of shit. Its entire face was covered, coughing and hacking against the dark brown excrement. Managing to force down a few gulps of air before the second one started releasing. With a single free hand Timo looped both fluffies together about the waist. Now with both hands free he could work the pick.
Driving it up under their chins it was over in a second. They bucked only once and now hung motionless over the sink. Blood and shit fell in equal measure overwhelming the colt. His final moments spent gargling the fowl mixture. Once empty, Tomi removed the fluffies and threw them into the trash with the others. He sprinkled in a full scoop of litter and tied the bag off. Just a trip to the dumpster and he would be done for the day.
Timo is an interesting protagonist, and the store makes for a colorful setting with infinite possibilities.