The howl of terror was Krishna’s first warning that something had gone terribly wrong. The clickity-clack of two sets of claws on freshly cleaned flooring was his second. The crash of metal hitting the floor was a third strike-though both of the latter were completely unnecessary given that the florist had flung the door to his office open at the first sound of trouble.

He had retreated to his sanctuary after a duo of surprise visitors earlier that evening. Gwen had appeared first, giant cage and hiffing rodent in tow. The frantic girl had barely been able to speak, but what Krishna had gleaned from her oxygen exhausting run on speech was: one, she would not be at work the next day; two, someone had left her responsible for a baby; and three, she needed him to watch her rat. He had no real opportunity to refuse. She came, dropped off her pet (along with his cage and all other necessities with which to care for him), and went in the span of only a few minutes.

Krishna did not object to pet sitting, but her sudden appearance had nearly revealed his shop’s double life as his home! After going undetected by all save Isha, it would be a shame for everything to come to light now. Not to mention the fact that his only experience with rats was calling in the exterminator so they would not ruin any of his plants. Still, he had no doubt about his ability to watch said rat and keep it alive until his employee returned. The little one--Micah, if he was remembering correctly--was even sort of cute, for a vermin, which was a welcome change from Alois’s sourness.

He had just finished setting down the rat’s cage, however, when Richard burst through the door with a very familiar, shaggy friend and an excited b***h straining on her leash. Baldwin was always welcome in his store, unlike many other pets, but this was the Great Dane pup’s first visit to the flower shop. Her nose worked eagerly and she tried to get to all of the plants to investigate, though thankfully Richard held a tight leash. Krishna had waved them all in, but it seemed the candyman was as just as much of a rush as Gwen had been. Something about needing to get to a convention to demonstrate a particular sugar technique that his twin brother, Daran, had flubbed - all of which he described in excruciating detail, despite Krishna’s obvious lack of care or knowledge. The important part of the conversation was that he was to be left with the two behemoths a dog and expected to take care of them during his partner’s absence.

That had been several hours ago. He had been keeping an ear on the animals and went a few times to let the dogs outside, but otherwise he had been completing paperwork. Now, he realized that leaving them alone for any amount of time had been a very risky gamble. It did not take them long at all to knock over plants and disturb his merchandise. If Krishna had not been watching it, he would not have believed it possible.

Somehow, the rat had escaped from its cage. And found its way atop the excited puppy’s head. She was super excited about her new rider and was currently doing his best to show him everything, yipping all the while as she dashed from place to place. Baldwin chased after her with a worried, gruff bark escaping his jaws as he tried to decide what he was supposed to do. He couldn’t just let the puppy run around, but he didn’t want to hurt the rat either. He would try to take it up in his mouth only to retreat whenever Micah squeaked in protest, even as his tiny paws now clung for dear life to the excited puppy.

Turned over pots led to soil and leaves being scattered as the puppy continued her jaunts, and Krishna swiftly intervened to prevent further damage. He lunged in and grabbed her collar, ignoring her desperate whine as she pleaded to continue playing. “NO.. Sit!”

She looked up at him with her tongue hanging out of her mouth in confusion, but Baldwin recognized the command. The Irish Wolfhound promptly sat, seemingly relieved now that his owner’s friend was taking charge of the situation. The puppy pulled against her collar to try and go lick at him, but Krishna managed to lift up the rat into his other hand. Micah scurried up his arm and made a bee line for his shoulder. Only once he was secure did the florist release the Great Dane.

He placed the rat back in his cage and locked it securely. Then, just to make sure it would stay, he placed a heavy pot on top of the wire. “Now, behave.”

Golden eyes glared at each animal individually. Micah sat on his hind legs, projecting an air of innocence now that he was safely back in his cage. When he was certain that he had made his peace, the rat slunk into his wooden house for a nap. Baldwin wagged his tail, creating a thumping sound as it thwacked against the florist. The large dog craned his neck and tilted his head to lick at the florist’s calloused hands, clearly thankful for having his friend rescued from her tiny rider. After expressing his admiration, the gentle giant padded over to the pillow that had been brought with him and flopped down. The Harlequin puppy followed and curled up beside him with a sleepy huff. Being ridden like a pony was clearly a tiring experience.

Krishna looked at the now peaceful shop and sighed. Time to go get the broom.

Word Count: 964