9MissReaperDeath: Credit goes to peekodemeeko12 for helping out a lot for this story. Not only is she an amazing online friend, but she's also a phenomenal mentor-slash-writer. I would not have fully embraced my love for writing if it wasn't for her guiding me. Thank you.
Please enjoy the story everyone!
Do you happen to have a sibling, older or younger, that always drives you crazy every day of the week, and the second they start acting calm and nice, you know that they're definitely up to something?
Rosemarie was definitely experiencing that oddly specific feeling right about now about her older brother, Ross.
It was a Friday, and she knew that Fridays were days that Ross liked to go out and leave her and their little brother all day at home with their grandparents. Where did he go? She didn't know, and she didn't care, since he had the nerve to leave her alone at the house with her six year old little brother in the first place. He always came back home in the late evenings, anyways. This time, however, he was home the entire day, pacing around and always glancing at the clock as if waiting for second she spotted him situated by the front door, glued to his watch, Rosemarie knew there was something going on. And apparently it was coming very soon.
Before she could even ask, she caught the whiff of dinner burning and had to make a break for the oven.
Her chance came when she spotted Ross eating the vegetable lasagna by the front door wearing a clean pair of pants and button up shirt, on along with the faint hint of cologne.
"Hey, bro," Rosemarie approached him after leaving their little brother, Bailey, in the living room with the TV on. There was a Spongebob Squarepants episode on. Ross looked up at her, stuffing a fork of pasta into his mouth, "mind, uh, telling me why you're by the door?"
She felt herself caught off guard when he waved his fork at her with a grin. "It's a sur~prise!" Ross announced to her, and she found his excitement a bit unsettling, as Ross was never that optimistic about anything other than a social life. "You're just gonna have to wait."
Rosemarie shrugged and grinned up at her brother, "aw, come on, can't you just fork over the news?" He casted her an annoyed look while she looked to the door, "did you order something online? I didn't know you had any money left to do that."
"It's much better than that." Ross cheekily snickered, peering through the window while stuffing more dinner down his throat. Rosemarie's eyes narrowed, her suspicion deepening. Ross was way too happy to be normal.
"What are you hiding, Ross?" Rosemarie demanded with narrowed eyes.
"Nothing~," he said, his grin only growing more and more wide by the second.
Rosemarie let her curiosity wash away, replacing it with feelings of being worried and concerned, "Are you positively sure? I don't want you doing anything that's gonna wreck the house," or Bailey, for that matter, "is it a dog? Did the neighbor's dog have a litter of pups?" Were they going to bring one tonight? She was not against having a pet, but she had at least hoped he told their grandparents ahead of time.
"No way, it's waaay better than a puppy," Ross said before holding out the now empty plate to his sister, "when I said it's a surprise, it's a surprise. It's gonna be here any second now."
"Nothing is better than a puppy, Ross."
Rosemarie took the plate from him, giving him a look. She glanced back, barely catching a glimpse of little Bailey in the living room. Rosemarie took a breath before looking at her gleeful brother, "now I really am worried about what this 'surprise' is."
"Don't be." He grinned, and just like that, a large black van pulled into the driveway. He excitedly gasped, leaping onto his feet as he grabbed his plate from her and rushed into the kitchen. After dumping the plate down into the sink, with Rosemarie flinching at how loud the clatter was, he darted into the living room with a grin, sitting down on the dangerously comfortable couch and grabbing the remote to change the channel as if trying to look casual.
Bailey, who had been sitting on the floor with his eyes on the channel, looked back at Ross with an annoyed huff, "no, Ross! Put back Spongebob! Change it back!"
"Shhh! They're coming any minute now!" Ross hushed him as Bailey crawled over to the couch and climbed on, reaching for the remote. Ross promptly pulled it out of reach, "hey! Stop! I'll change it back later, so sit down and be quiet!"
"Nooo! Spongebob!"
Rosemarie found herself preparing to head over and kick Ross off the couch when the doorbell rang, causing Ross to jump in his seat while holding Bailey down. "They're here!" Ross looked so excited that Rosemarie swore he could have keeled over from leaning forward too much, "Rosemarie, get the door, you're closer."
With that much excitement, she would have thought he would have jumped and lunge for the door like it was a piece of meat. "Ugh." Rosemarie heavily sighed and walked over to the door. The lock turned and Rosemarie swung the doors open, seeing a woman wearing shades and an Extraspecies standing there. He had a pale complexion, scales on the majority of his arms, legs and face, and his tail was long. It was almost twice his height. Rosemarie stared on in blankness as the woman in black beside this Extraspecies coughed, catching Rosemarie's attention.
"Hello, is this the Santini residence?" The woman in shades asked rather politely.
"It is-" Rosemarie managed to get in before being shoved aside as Ross took her spot at the door.
"Yes, this is the Santini residence," he said with a hopeful look to the sharply dressed woman before his eyes fell on the blindfolded person next to her. "Hello there, I'm Ross Santini," Ross said in a friendly tone as Rosemarie crossed her arms, giving her brother a look.
The blindfolded guest only stared at him before smiling, saying nothing in return.
"This is Matia, also known as a Basilisk-," Ms. Smith started before Ross gently took Matia's hand and pulled the reptile inside.
"That's great, I'll show Matia to her room while Rosemarie handles the deets." He brilliantly smiled, holding Matia's hand as he took the Basilisk back inside with him.
Rosemarie watched as the two walked through the living room, catching Bailey's attention, and she returned her gaze to the sharply dressed woman, "can I ask what's going on? Who are you, and why is my brother being so nice?"
"My name is Ms. Smith, I am with the Extraspecies Exchange program and I have just brought your family's first Extraspecies into your household. The others are being arranged, so please be patient for the time being." She cheerfully smiled before holding out a clipboard to her with a pen and paper, "please sign here. I have many other things to get to today." She said with a rather pleasant voice.
"Oh, sure. Sorry, you must be busy," Rosemarie said as she automatically took the clipboard and pen, taking a moment to stare at it before looking back up at Ms. Smith, "wait, did you say the Extraspecies Exchange Program...? When did we sign up for that?"
"We've received up to four signatures from this household a month or so ago. Surely you were told about the application being processed and the arrangements being held on this date, right?" Ms. Smith asked as she crossed her arms, that smile spreading on her lips.
"Of course...not." Rosemarie said as she began to read the paper, seeing that her name was indeed listed as a host for this Matia person, along with her grandparents and Ross. That weasel must have stolen a signature off of her while she was distracted. If her grandparents were in on this as well, then why didn't they tell her anything? "Well, I have heard about this program, I just didn't know it was still continuing after all the protests in America."
"Of course we are. We've been running this program for several years. A few little rallies aren't going to stop us, although some precautions are keeping us on our toes," the coordinator looked a bit stressed, but kept that smile on her face, "now about that paperwork, Ms. Santini."
"Call me Rosemarie, Ms. Santini is too formal," Rosemarie said as she signed the paperwork. If her grandparents already agreed to housing Extraspecies, then she supposed it was alright to just sign the paperwork. Signing her name on the signature line, Rosemarie watched as Ms. Smith snatched the papers back fluidly before taking the top papers and handing her the bottom stack of the pile. "What are these?" Rosemarie asked as she took the bottom stack.
"All the necessary files and paperwork, including your ID card that says you're an authorized host and information about Matia and his species. The agency's number and my work number are in there if any concerns pop up. I'll try to call ahead of time before I bring your next Extraspecies," Ms. Smith turned to leave before remembering something and looking back at Rosemarie, "oh, and be sure to tell your brother that Matia is a male Basilisk. It completely slipped my mind to tell him."
Oh this lady was good. Devilishly good. Rosemarie found herself grinning as Ms. Smith could only sport a calm smile, "Gotcha. Come by anytime you'd like for a cup of coffee, okay, Ms. Smith?"
"I will, thank you. Have a nice day." Ms. Smith said before she walked off. Rosemarie calmly shut the door, evilly grinning as she lazily walked into the living room where Bailey was just changing the channel back to Nickelodeon.
Bailey looked up to Rosemarie with big eyes, "Sissa?" She could only grin in pride at how cute her little brother was.
"I'm gonna go check on Ross and our new roommate. We'll watch a movie after dinner, okay?" Rosemarie said as Bailey vigorously nodded his head. With a pat on his head, Rosemarie left the living room and down the hall to the recently renovated room, most likely done for Matia. She walked up to the door, knocking on it.
Without even waiting for anyone to answer it, and she doubted Ross would even pry away to do so, she opened the door and stepped in, finding the room much larger than the other rooms in the house with a heated pool in the center. She caught sight of some steps that led to the upper part of the room that had some upstair study room filled with bookshelves stuffed with novels and encyclopedias and other kinds of reading material. It looked way better than what was available at the local library and her college's library combined.
She instantly spotted Matia and Ross over by the edge of the pool, with Matia facing the pool and Ross standing next to him with a hand on the Extraspecies shoulder.
Oh this is too priceless, Rosemarie thought.
Matia remained silent and still, not speaking a word as he simply smiled and nodded along to whatever Ross was talking about. Rosemarie wasn't sure if it was because Matia had no idea what was going on or if he was petrified that Ross was hitting on him.
"So you're a Basilisk? That's fascinating, really," Ross asked as Rosemarie rolled her eyes. She was sure that Ross had no clue what a Basilisk even was, "so have you ever been in a household before?"
Matia simply shook his head, continuing to smile as he looked around the room with enjoyment. Although the Basilisk, for one reason or another, was blindfolded as he looked around he appeared to know where things were by flicking his forked tongue out slightly and tasting the air.
"Any reason you're wearing a blindfold? I would definitely love to see those beautiful eyes of yours," Ross's arm around Matia's shoulder pulled Matia a bit closer, with the Basilisk unaware of Ross's advances. "I kind of noticed you haven't said much when you got here. Are you shy? That doesn't bother me, though. I do like shy girls, after all."
Rosemarie covered her mouth with her hands as her body shook with stifled, silent chuckles. The documents tucked under her arm screamed for her to give it to her brother to avoid making a bigger fool out of himself but she ignored it. She wondered if they even heard her knock or even knew she was there. Rosemarie regretted the fact that she had left her phone in the living room with Bailey. It would have made a nice blackmail material against Ross.
The basilisk's head turned in Rosemarie's direction, flicking his tongue out quickly to taste the air before he tilted his head and smiled rather mysteriously in her direction. Ross, annoyed at the interruption, turned to Rosemarie.
"Hey, Rosemarie, go away. You're making Matia nervous." He snapped.
Oh, now he noticed her? Rosemarie tried not to grimace as she weighed her options of leaving or giving the folder to Ross. Who knows, maybe the Basilisk was gay? Maybe the Basilisk was enjoying the attention. Through all those possibilities she had to remember that Ross was as straight as a ruler.
"Aw, didn't mean to." Rosemarie shrugged as Ross casted a sharp glare to her. "If I bother the Basilisk that much, I can leave."
"I think that would be best-," Ross agreed just as Matia slipped away from him and walked towards Rosemarie, causing both siblings to look confused, "uh, hey, what are you doing?"
Matia leaned over Rosemarie, bringing his lips just barely up to her ear.
"Please assist me, other host." A clearly deep whisper pleaded with her, seeming rather uncomfortable with what was happening.
Oh.
Rosemarie lifted a hand over her lips, trying to decide whether to giggle or laugh out loud. This is just complete comedy gold! With a wink, Rosemarie walked past Matia and began opening the folder, flipping to the page where it had Matia's profile, "hey, Ross. I found this really interesting page about our Extraspecies here. Want to read? I highly suggest you do so if you really are a...man."
"Why would I want to read the paperwork if I can have fun with this beautiful young Extraspecies girl right here?" He asked with a grin, wrapping his arm around Matia's shoulders.
Rosemarie almost gasped as she reached out at the sudden contact Ross made with Matia, "Ross, wait-!"
Matia whipped his head around with a formidable hiss before grabbing Ross's shirt, lifting him into the air and off his feet.
"I resisted retaliating because I did not want to offend a host but if you continue to court me then you are mistaken in thinking I will accept it!" Matia's clearly deep, male voice hissed out as he continued to hold Ross where he was in the air with an incredible display of strength.
"Whu-ah-uh-you-!" Hearing Ross fumbling through his words in fear almost made Rosemarie guilty that she didn't just slap the paper in his face. She held up the folder for Ross to see, and his eyes locked onto it, only for realization to dawn on him. "He's a guy?!"
"Paperwork can sure be a blessing in a boring disguise, right?" Rosemarie asked as she closed the folder and tucked it under her arm, "you need to apologize to Matia, you know."
"There's no need. I was simply shocked to find a male trying to court with me the moment I entered the home." Matia sighed rather heavily as he set Ross down, adjusting his shirt back right, "in the future, please do not court with me. My interests do not lay with males." The Extraspecies said with a frown, folding his arms together.
"Way to be the bigger man, Matia. I'm so proud," Rosemarie complimented as she looked to Ross, "are you okay, Ross?"
"Do I look okay?!" Ross almost snapped as he grasped his chest, trying to control his rapid heaving. Rosemarie slightly flinched before brushing it off as Ross groaned and stepped away from Matia.
"I apologize for my rough behavior." Matia sighed before smiling, "my name is Matia and I will be your family's Extraspecies for some time. Please treat me well." He asked, keeping his claws to himself now.
"How can I treat you well when you just lifted me and threatened me?!" Ross retorted angrily as Rosemarie smacked his upper arm with the folder, "hey, it's your fault, too, Rose! You could have told me he was a guy in the beginning!"
"Yeah but you dragged him away and left me to deal with Ms. Smith," Rosemarie countered as Matia watched the growing argument between the two hosts, "you have no one to blame but yourself."
Ross's face bloomed in red, from both embarrassment and anger, as he raised a fist at her, "yo-you...you! Fine! But you know what, you can take care of this guy yourself!"
She definitely saw this coming, but she couldn't help but widen her eyes as Ross stomped out of the room like some disappointed and angry child, "wait, what?!"
"You heard me! I'm not helping! Good luck!" The door slammed closed and Rosemarie raised a hand and rubbed her forehead, feeling an oncoming headache.
"That guy can really act like a child..." Rosemarie huffed as she nestled the folder in her arms. Does it even work like that? He's technically the main host, and she was just a secondary host if he was absent from his obligations. She'd probably have to call Ms. Smith about this.
"I suppose I did too much." Matia sighed off to the side with a frown. Rosemarie snapped out of her thoughts and looked to the Basilisk. "I apologize for making such a rude entrance into your home but it upset me how he touched me." Matia said with a frown, appearing to be a little worried, "this is my first host home so I only reacted as I naturally would have. I forgot humans are more fragile than we Basilisk are."
Rosemarie glanced up to him and shook her head, "don't apologize. The only person who was rude was Ross. But hey, now this means you won't have to deal with him as often, Matia."
"Is he that bothersome in this household?" Matia asked as Rosemarie shrugged.
"Only the laziest of lazy siblings you could ever meet." Rosemarie said before gesturing to herself, "I don't think I introduced myself yet. I'm Rosemarie and since your original host bailed on you, I'll be your host from now on. Nice to meet you."
"Ah … well, I do look forward to being in your care." Matia said with a happy smile, "this is your home, then?"
"Not mine, this is my grandparent's home." She said.
"Ah, Santini's? I met them when they came to see Ms. Smith about joining the program." Matia said with a happy smile that slowly faltered and twitched, "they seemed oddly enthusiastic."
"They were always like that. Crazy and old." Rosemarie said as she scratched the back of her head, wondering what kind of impression her grandparents left on Matia. Judging from that failing smile, it was the opposite of a good impression.
"But rather entertaining, nonetheless." Matia said with a smile, "where are they now? I should properly introduce myself to them now that I am in their territory."
"If I had to guess, they're probably speeding down a hill on a stolen shopping cart." Rosemarie answered the Basilisk with the utmost serious face. Usually when she told people that, they never took her seriously and brushed her off, despite it being the truth.
"Shopping cart? What is that?" He asked, tilting his head rather curiously. His bandages fell aside as she openly stared at his blindfolded head.
"It's like a cart with wheels, but for real man, what's up with the blindfold? Is there a problem with your eyes?" Rosemarie asked as she crossed her arms and tilted her head, continuing to openly staring at the blindfold.
"I do not know what a cart is … it sounds interesting," he said before playfully tilting his head, "did you not more thoroughly read the paperwork?" He asked as the tip of his tail flickered back and forth.
"I got them today, actually. No one told me that we were taking part in the program you're in." Standing up straight, she slipped the folder out from her arm and stared at it. It was definitely thick, probably with tiny font and printed on both sides. This was going to be a pain, wasn't it? "Sorry, I guess."
"It's not a problem, I was merely curious. But I will tell you this; I wear the blindfold for your own protection. Specialized glasses of mine will not be in for another week, or so Smith says." He said gesturing towards the bandage on his face.
Specialized glasses? Rosemarie hummed in understanding as she gave the folder another glance, "so hopefully, you'll get to take that blindfold off sooner or later?"
"Yes but this is fine; Basilisks are highly attuned to knowing their surroundings without their eyes." He said with a shrug, "I know where most things are through my other senses. Is it the same with you humans?" He curiously asked, leaning towards her before his tongue flicked out, tapping against her nose before it retreated back into his mouth.
"Not at all. Our five senses are weak compared to yours." Rosemarie snickered as she added, "but I doubt your senses will help you see what a shopping cart is."
"Hmm~ I suppose not." He playfully mused before he stretched, pausing, "Ms. Smith said you ran a business here in front of your home. What sort of business is it?"
"Oh, that old shop? It's just an herbal shop my grandparents run in the morning. Really unimportant," she reached out and grabbed Matia's hand when his arms fell to his sides, "since you're living with us now, you gotta meet my brother."
"But I've already met your brother," Matia struggled to hide his discomfort at the idea of Ross, but Rosemarie shook his hand excitedly.
"No, not Ross. My baby brother."
"How many siblings do humans usually have? Many or a few?" He curiously asked, standing up along with Rosemarie as she started guiding him out of the room.
"Some families have a lot, some have a few, and some have just one. Sometimes they don't have children and sometimes they adopt, but my family has three. Ross, me, and little Bailey." Quickly arriving into the living room, she found the small boy sitting in front of the television, "Baby bear, meet our new roommate. His name is Matia. Matia, this is Bailey."
"How interesting." Matia said, walking over to the little boy without hesitation. He crouched down, leaning in and sniffing the little boy before flicking his tongue out as a greeting and licking the little boy's cheek, "he tastes young. How old is he?" Matia ask, reaching out and touching Bailey.
Bailey looked quite shocked that he was just licked before looking to Rosemarie, and his sister simply shrugged. "You're weird," Bailey bluntly said before grinning, "how can you taste 'young'? What does that taste like?"
"Succulent." Matia simply said with a straightlaced smile. Bailey stared at him, puzzled before looking at Rosemarie.
"What does succulent mean?" Bailey asked, rubbing his cheek while Matia leaned closer to him, flicking his tongue out a few times and memorizing the taste of the air.
"Matia, watch what you say," Rosemarie smacked the folder against Matia's back.
"Was that not correct in saying?" He asked, puzzled as he turned his head back towards her.
"I'm not sure being complimented like a steak is something you say to a six year old toddler." Rosemarie said as Bailey picked up the remote and lowered the volume on the television.
"I fail to see the difference," Matia said with a straight laced expression before lightly laughing, "ah, now I remember what those lessons were about. You think I'd consider eating any of you?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You're gonna eat us?" Bailey asked with big eyes.
"Of course not. While humans do smell awfully good due to their excellent hygiene, they actually taste quite bad," he cheerfully reassured, poking Bailey on the tip of his nose, "so no, I will not eat you. I want to be, as humans say, friends instead."
Like any friendly six year old, Bailey rapidly nodded, with Rosemarie fearing that he may pop his neck, "okay! Let's be friends!"
"Good." Matia happily grinned, showing off his gleaming fangs and rather sharp teeth. Bailey's eyes glowed with interest.
"Can you bite through a can with your big teeth?" Bailey asked with curiosity. Those teeth looked really sharp, and though children would be afraid, Bailey didn't seem to know the word 'dangerous'.
"I don't know what a can is but I can try," Matia said, now sounding rather curious, "may I have a can to try it on?"
"Yeah, yeah!" Bailey excitedly chirps, forgetting about the cartoon program on the TV as Rosemarie chuckles.
"I dunno about that, you two-," Rosemarie found herself interrupted when Ross's voice interrupted the friendly atmosphere that had been happily washing over them.
"I thought you were giving me a female Extraspecies!" Ross shouted into the phone, catching everyone's attention as they stare into the kitchen where Ross was on the phone.
"Oh? I remember you signing the contract asking for an Extraspecies of any kind; your grandparents seemed quite thrilled with the open selection you were offered. Are you saying you want to switch Matia out with someone else?" A voice from the speakerphone asked out loud while Ross growled, too worked up to notice.
"Well, could that be possibly arranged?" Ross asked as Bailey looked up at Rosemarie with a panicked look in his eyes.
"Sissa…? Is Rossie trying to make Mattie go away…?" The child asked as Rosiemarie gave Matia a glance, finding the Extraspecies very quiet and still.
"Of course. If Matia proves to be a threat to the family in any way or if there is a hostile environment we are required by law to remove the Extraspecies and replace him or her with a better suited Extraspecies. However, unless the main Host agree to the switch, I cannot rightfully assign you a different Extraspecies." The woman over the phone answered, sounding rather tired.
"Oh, come on. I am the main Host! Put Ms. Smith on the phone, please," Ross asked as his voice fell into a hush.
"Not according to your records; it says here a Mr. Georgio Santini and a Mrs. Isabella Santini are the primary hosts for your family unit."
"That's not right! I was told I would be a main host!"
"Bay, go show Matia your cool action figures. I'll handle Ross," Rosemarie said as she gently took Bailey's hand and placed it on Matia's hand, "show him your room."
"Okay. Come on, Mati, I just got a really cool Transformers toy! It's Optimus Prime!" Bailey excitedly grinned, tugging the reptile along as he offered a small tilt of his head towards kitchen but said nothing as he followed Bailey into his room.
With an angry spring in her step, Rosemarie charged into the kitchen with a gleam in her eye, targeting Ross to face her terror. Does that guy only think through his crotch or something? He hadn't noticed her coming in, his attention focused on trying to get his way with the representative on the phone.
"Isn't there a loophole or anything? I signed the papers with my grandparents. There has to be something I can do since my name is on the documents!" Ross insisted, but the representative was having none of it.
"I'm sorry sir, but unless Matia proves to be either unfit or a menace to the hosts I cannot help you. Have a good day." The woman said before the firm sound of a click was heard.
"She hung up on me! Well fine! What was Grandpa's number again…?" Ross muttered to himself as he began to dial some numbers. Goodness, he was determined, wasn't he?
So was she.
Rosemarie snatched the phone from his hands, and Ross whipped around to face her. With a hand, holding the folder, on her hip and the phone in the other, Rosemarie offered him a look. "Care to explain your actions? You're not being a good host to Matia, you know."
"Hey, I went in there, signed the proper paperwork and filled out packet after packet f-for- well, definitely not for some freaky lizard!" He irritably snapped at her.
"Excuse me? Are you going through some sort of culture shock, Ross?" She slapped the folder against his chest, giving him an irritable glare, "so you're just gonna throw a tantrum since you didn't get your hot, Extraspecies babe?"
"Hey, wow, I didn't ask for a hot babe, although it would be a nice perk," he muttered off to the side, "but still, I didn't realize we were going to get some, s-some dangerous reptile! I thought we were going to get some kind of bunny o-or cat or even a dog of some kind." He snapped, "what if that thing tries to eat Bailey, huh?"
"Matia happens to be quite gentle with baby Bay. They even befriended each other, you know." She gave a proud smile before jamming the phone into Ross's chest, "I don't think eating Bay ever crossed his mind, Ross. He's harmless."
BANG
No sooner had she finished speaking there was a thunderous bang down the hall, followed by the starting up cries of Bailey. Both Ross and Rosemarie immediately perked up before Ross shot down the hall startlingly fast first, following closely by Rosemarie before Ross burst through his little brother's room.
"HEY! What did you do?!" Ross shouted, marching over as Rosemarie came in, seeing Matia standing beside a fallen heavy bookshelf with Bailey crying on the ground.
"Bay!" Rosemarie rushed over, scooping up Bailey, cradling the sobbing boy, as Matia turned to face Ross. "Baby bear, are you hurt?"
"Fuh-Fuuuuhhhh!" Words came out in a jumble of incoherent pieces from the bawling child, and she didn't have time to solve the puzzle as she coddled the boy.
"Humans cry when they are in distress, right?" Matia asked, appearing rather puzzled as he stared at the boy with little to no reaction.
"Of course they do! He's clearly frightened!" She didn't mean to snap, and she let out a sigh to calm herself, "Matia. What happened here?" Rosemarie had noticed the fallen bookshelf, but she rather hear what had actually happened.
"Why bother asking? He probably tried to crush Bay underneath the bookshelf!" Ross accused as Rosemarie shot him a glare.
"Excuse me, but was I talking to you?" Rosemarie snapped and Ross rolled his eyes, looking away from her. With a scoff, she turn to give Matia a soft smile despite the fact he probably couldn't see it. "Sorry about that...go ahead."
"One of boy's toys fell behind the dresser of books so I pushed it over to get it for him." Matia simply answered without a pause in beat, clearly not understanding why the boy was crying.
"You pushed the bookshelf over?" Rosemarie asked as Ross reached out and shook her shoulder.
"Rose, he just said that he pushed it over! It could have crushed Bay!" Ross once again accused as Rosemarie responded by slapping his hand off. Ross looked a bit unsettled by her action but continued pushing his accusation, "Rose, he's dangerous to Bay. Look what happened!"
"Just shut it!" Rosemarie hissed before gently cradling Bay, "hey, it's alright. I'm here, Bay. You're fine. What happened?"
"I just told you what happened. The little human dropped a toy behind the dresser of books and I got it for him," Matia said, holding up a small plastic toy halfway transformed between a car and a robot.
"I know that, but I'm asking Bay this time," Rosemarie responded as she coaxed the boy to stop the flowing tears. The small child let out soft whimpers, clinging to her for comfort, and Ross looked irritated. "I want to hear what Bay saw what happened."
"You don't need to! This overgrown lizard wasn't careful and almost crushed Bay! Why aren't you listening to me?" Ross hissed as Rosemarie let out an irritated scowl. Did he not see her busy with comforting their little brother?
"I don't understand why you are so distressed." Matia said with a frown forming as his tail lashed around behind him slowly but methodically.
With big drops of tears rolling down Bay's cheeks, the child stuttered out to Matia, "Th...Thu...The noise w-wa-was really l-l-lo-loud and scary!"
"The noise?" Rosemarie asked as Bay slowly nodded at her, and she carefully reached a hand up, brushing his tears away, "so you weren't hurt?"
"N-no… everythi-thing fell over and made a loud noise and it sca-scared me…!" Bay sputtered out as Rosemarie let out a sigh of relief. "I di-didn't mean to cry…"
"No, you were scared, and you're still little. So it's okay to cry." Rosemarie coddled over the child before darting her eyes to Ross, "he's fine."
"But that still doesn't take away the fact that Matia wasn't careful!" Ross pressed as Rosemarie sighed, hanging her head.
"I am aware humans are more fragile than most Extraspecies, Ross." Matia stated with a slight hiss deep in his chest that made both Rosemarie and Ross lean away from him in surprise, "so I will be more careful from now on." He said with the hissing stopping.
"Th-Thank you, Matia. If something like this happens again, just ask me to help. See, I knew a bookshelf in Bay's room was dangerous," Rosemarie sighed as Ross grumbled under his breath.
Matia remained silent as his tail flicked back and forth, seeming to be thinking about something rather hard before he tilted his head, "I will do that then." He said before standing up and promptly leaving, returning to his room for a bit.
"Is...is Mati mad at me?" Bay asked as Rosemarie walked over to Bay's bed and sat down, letting him sit on her lap.
"No. I don't think so. More importantly, are you mad at him?" Rosemarie asked her baby brother as Ross looked at her, baffled.
"Cut the mother persona, Rose! He didn't even apologize!" Ross scowled as Rosemarie set Bay next to her, holding the folder up.
"I'll go talk to him, then. I need you to not attack everyone with accusations without hearing the entire story. Can you do that?"
"Whatever. Come on, Bay, let's go watch some TV." Ross huffed, picking up the boy and carrying him to the living room.
Rosemarie pinched the bridge of her nose, counting to ten, and began heading over to Matia's room. This must be what a host has to do, confront their charges about stuff like this. She took a deep breath before knocking on the door lightly.
"Hey, can I come in?" She asked, listening to the silence.
"If you must." Matia answered. Rosemarie stepped inside, finding him resting under the large heat lamp installed just for him.
Rosemarie shut the door behind her, approaching him and despite the large heat lamp being occupied by the lean Basilisk Extraspecies, she could feel the heat of the lamp on her skin. She stopped where she was and offered a smile, despite knowing that he couldn't see. She spotted Bay's toy resting in Matia's hands.
"I'm sorry about Ross, Matia. He's not being friendly at all, is he?" Rosemarie chuckled, but stopped when Matia was silent. "Hey, he gets like this all the time. He's just as much of a pain to me as he is to you," Rosemarie tried to reassure.
" … it is not that he isn't friendly that bothers me. It's the fact I cannot retaliate or else I will be the one in trouble." He stiffly frowned as his ears twitched irritably. "I was told the humans would be the alpha of their territories and naturally I desired to fight him for it. However, I know that humans are weak and I cannot fight him to make him understand that I am stronger than he is so he will submit and we were taught not to fight over territories and instead to share, which is very strange and unnatural. It is all very irritating." He heavily sighed, curling his spine for a stretch before he turned with his back towards Rosemarie.
"Oh, I see. Well, it is your first time in a host family, so I can see why you're having difficulties adjusting…" Rosemarie trailed off as Matia spoke up.
"But do you really, Host? Do you understand how difficult it is for a predator to move in with a bunch of prey and not be expected to exert dominance over them?" He said with a stiff frown, resting his chin on his palm as he turned towards her, laying on his stomach, "it's not easy readjusting myself to all this."
So much for empathy. "...No, because I'm not a predator." Rosemarie sighed as she sat right down on the floor, "I have no idea what it feels."
"You had the look of a predator when you ran straight for the child." Matia noted, and though he said it dryly, Rosemarie thought he was saying it as a joke.
She laughed.
Matia said nothing, only staring at her blankly and without a change of expression as he pondered why she laughed when he was serious.
The air grew silent again, and it became uncomfortable after a while. Rosemarie rubbed the side of her neck and glanced up at him.
Rosemarie chuckled softly before her face pushed away any dry laughter she tried to squeeze out. "I... really am sorry about what happened back there. I knew you wouldn't want to hurt Bay. It's my fault for having Bay take you to his room."
"It is nothing that you should apologize for." Matia said, turning his head away. In truth he wanted to scare Bay a little bit to see his reaction to a loud noise but it seemed that little impulse almost hurt him instead. He'd have to take care not to cause that sort of trouble again.
"Yes it is. I'm your Host. I should have known better." she crossed her arms, "I knew that his room was a bit small, and you could have knocked stuff over. You're wearing a blindfold, for goodness sake. I should have known that something might have happened, even with your heightened senses."
He fell silent, thinking that she was the type of person to shoulder the problems when he heard her shuffle closer, he was almost surprised when she placed her warm hands on his cheeks to tilt his head towards her direction.
"Still, what were you thinking?! You just shoved the bookshelf over? What would have happened if Bay was right under it? Heightened senses or no heightened senses, that was careless, Matia." If only he could see through the blind would she waggled a finger at him. "Be more careful."
"Bay was on the other side of the room." He pointed out in annoyance.
"i know that, but it was still dangerous to have just shove it over. A lot of 'what if's' can happen in a situation like that."
"Predators do not think about 'what ifs'. Predators think in 'definites' and 'chances'. Once something has happened, it's happened and there is nothing more to it." Matia explained.
"You're not going to take a 'chance' with my Bailey. What's done is done, and I'm not mad at you, but I'm begging you to be more careful with Bay. He's a little boy. He still thinks there's a bogeyman in his closet," Rosemarie said as Matia let out a confused sound.
"A who?" Matia asked, tilting his head in confusion.
"Never mind. Humans are a lot more different than what you're used to. Children are more fragile than whatever children you've seen in your kind are. So keep that in mind, Matia. I want to make this work." Rosemarie said before patting his cheeks for good measure and stepped back.
"I will but who is this bogeyman scaring the little human?" He asked, seeming more concerned with that. "Can I kill him?" He asked, tilting his head. Rosemarie's mouth gaped at him, looking at the Basilik in shock. He awaited for her answer before the host giggled.
….this is so precious.
Rosemarie chuckled, "I'll show you when your glasses get here. You need visuals for this."
"I am perfectly capable of sensing whatever this bogeyman is. Where is he?" Matia asked, sounding more irritated as he continued to think seriously about this.
"It's a movie, Matia."
" … movie?" He asked, tilting his head again, "can I taste one?" He asked.
"I heard of people having tastes in movie, but not in the literal tastes of movies." She laughs a bit before shaking her head, "it's more of visuals, Matia." Rosemarie glances around the large renovated room before spotting a TV up at the study area of the enormous room. It looked really expensive. Jealous. "Oh cool, you have a TV in here. I'll bring the movie over when Ms. Smith brings your glasses. Then you'll understand what a boogeyman is."
"What TV?" Matia asked, sounding a little frustrated as Rosemarie walked over to the television set up and turned it on. Matia immediately became attentive, concentrating in her direction as a babble of words began coming through the speakers. " … Rosemarie, come here." He said, walking over to her.
"Why?" Rosemarie asked as she turned to him in confusion.
Matia pulled her into a hug, covering her eyes with his scaly hand before he lifted his blindfold up a bit, staring at the television set.
"Oh! Yes, I know what a television is. I've seen pictures." He said, readjusting his blindfold before letting Rosemarie go.
Rosemarie took a step back, looking up at him in confusion, "did you pull your blindfold down?"
"To look at the television, yes. I am wearing this for your protection, after all. Perhaps you should take a look at the information given to you earlier." Matia insisted as Rosemarie shrugged. Looks like she'll pull an all nighters or something.
"Before I do," she stretched her arms out, feeling herself wear out, "a certain little kid thinks you're mad at him. Why don't you go and see him. It'll be a good chance to return his toy."
"Hmm … alright, I'll do that. But Ross is with him right now." Matia said with a grimace.
"How do you know that?" Rosemarie asked, puzzled.
"I can taste it." He said, flicking his tongue out like a snake before whipping it back into his mouth. He let out a sigh, however, standing up. "Get me some of these movies. I'm going to watch some with Bailey." He said as he trotted out of his room.
Without a pause in stride the walked into the living room right past Ross before picking up a surprised Bay.
"Hey! Put my little brother down!" Ross jumped off the couch, looking at the Basilisk Extraspecies with a glare.
"No." Matia stated in a rather monotone voice as he simply walked away with the boy, walking into his room before setting Bailey down on a thick and comfortable cushion. Rosemarie had quickly compiled a bit stack of her and Bay's favorite movies, laying them out perfectly for Matia.
"We're going to watch some movies together. Help me pick a good one." He said as Bay crouched down, looking at the movie selection.
Stumbling to the door, Ross barged into Matia's room, "Hey! I don't appreciate you just taking my brother-"
"It'll be fine, I'll watch over them. Go hang out with your friends or something," Rosemarie said as she quickly approached her brother and shoved him out the door, closing the door in front of his protesting face. Turning around, she walked back to them and sat next to Bay, "any movie you want, Bay."
"I wanna watch this one!" Bay held the movie above his head like a trophy. Ah, Edward Scissorhands, a classic.
"Sure. Put it in." Matia said with a smile, clearly having no idea what he picked. Rosemarie popped the disc into the DVD player and settled down with her brother and new roommate for the movie.
A very loud burst of laughter made Rosemarie's eyes burst wide open, glaring at the wall in her room as Matia's thick rolling laughter filled the house at 2 in the morning. She irritably threw her blanket off, causing the papers she had been reading before passing out scatter to the floor, stomping over towards Matia's room before pounding on the door.
"Matia! Are you still watching movies?!"
When she received only laughter she burst into the room, finding the dim glow of the TV lighting the room while Bay sat on Matia's lap, both of them laughing away at the boogeyman playing on the TV.
"Y-You're right, Matia! This isn't that scary!" Bay cheerfully cried as Matia pinched his cheek with a grin.
"Exactly. So there's no need to be scared of something like that." He said as his tail wrapped around Bay's body, offering a small hug with his scaly tail instead of his sharply clawed hands.
It was like, two in the morning, and though what she saw was heartwarming, she needed to repeat herself again.
It's two in the morning.
"Bailey Santini, what are you doing up this late at night?! You should be in bed, young man. It's a school night!"
"B-But I'm watching movies with Matia! It's so much fun!" He eagerly grinned as Matia nodded, tying the blindfold over his face again, which caught Rosemarie's attention.
"You took your blindfold off? I thought you said it was there for protection." Rosemarie said, puzzled.
"It was and still is. I wanted to actually watch some movies so I was just careful not to let Bay see me." Matia answered rather half heartedly.
" … fine. I haven't really finished reading everything, but have it your way. And you," Rosemarie pointed to Bay before directing her finger to the door, "to bed. Right now."
"Awe~! Can we please finish watching this first? Pleeeease?" He begged as he rolled off of Matia's lap, clasping his hands together in a begging motion.
Don't do the puppy eyes.
Don't you dare do the puppy eyes.
"Pweeeease?~~~"
It was amazing how Bay could pull off the 'kicked puppy' look. Rosemarie felt her determination and responsibility melt away by just one look.
"Oh, alriiiight!" She threw her hands up in defeat as Bay looked as though he had gotten exactly what he wanted from Santa on Christmas morning. "But don't think you can do this again, Bay. Just this once."
"Thank you!" Bay cried in joy as Rosemarie walked over and settled herself next to him. She wanted to make sure that Bay went straight to bed after the movie. Brushing back her messy hair, she focused on the creepy, old movie, hearing Bay and Matia laugh at the 'once feared by all children', Bogeyman.
She felt her eyes droop, no longer focusing on the movie. She couldn't last even two minutes. Rosemarie had to kindly remind herself that it was literally two in the morning.
Matia stayed awake for some time through and after the movie but his new human host family didn't make it through. Both of them had fallen asleep to either side of him, out like a fresh kill before he turned the television off, laying down between them and grinned. Their body temperatures felt so nice. With a satisfied hum he pulled them body close, falling asleep while taking advantage of their body heat.
MissReaperDeath: If you liked what you read, then please please please leave a favorite and review. It really helps me out more than you think it does.
Also! Check out peekodemeeko12's story ALWAYS READ THE FREAKING CONTRACT! It's co-written by the brilliant chaos-dark-lord and it's super good. I recommend you to read it, and also check out their other stuff.
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