Chapter Text
Castiel didn't want a pet but his therapist had suggested it since he refused to hire extra crew. The entire point of his delivery service was that it was discreet. He sold discretion as much as he sold efficiency. Crew would talk, they always did.
His therapist had suggested a few different animals that formed close pack bonds but none of them were suitable for long term space travel, he had only begrudgingly suggested he get a human when Castiel had told him that he was thinking about installing a basic AI to talk to.
His therapist had sternly told him that it wasn't communication he needed. He needed touch. Affection. An AI couldn't provide that. Pet therapy would be the best solution.
Castiel said he'd consider it.
And he was considering it a bad idea as he stood in the store and watched the humans tear things apart, fight with each other, and make a general ruckus.
"They settle down when they get older."
Castiel's bladed tail arched in surprise. He turned to find a store employee watching him. The spines along her arms flexed. Castiel curled his mating tail close to his body. She was Thuud, depending where she was from she was either happy to help him or she was about to pick a fight.
Her spines smoothed out. She stepped closer and touched the panel that separated the humans from the rest of the store. "Never had one before?"
"No." Castiel relaxed his stance. "But my therapist suggested I get a companion animal."
She rolled her shoulders and pointed two hands at the display next to the humans. "Maybe a siren is more your speed."
Castiel sighed. From the research he'd done he knew a siren would be more what he'd want. They were from the same planets humans came from so they were hardy. They were a great deal more affectionate than a human but needed a great deal less care than a human. Sirens were used to long periods of time in solitude. He wouldn't have to pay attention to it if he didn't feel like it. And it would be more than capable of being taught to feed itself. It was the perfect pet for him— if he was staying on planet and had unlimited access to water.
He shook his head. "The water requirements are far too high."
"You do a lot of travelling I take it?" the employee asked. "Global or deep?"
"Deep."
The employee clicked in agreement. "Humans are better adjusted to space." She started towards the back. "But I wouldn't recommend a kit. They're a handful at that age." She stopped in front of a row of cages. "Why don't you see if you make friends with any of our shelter pets? They're all trained and housebroken. It takes a bit more for an older human to bond with their owner but it's worth the effort."
Castiel looked over the row of cages in dismay. Did he really want a second-hand pet? It would come with all the problems of its previous owner.
He checked his watch. He could find another store tomorrow. He still had time. He sighed to himself. If he left here today without one he'd never work himself back up into looking at them again and then eventually he'd lose his mind on one of his long deliveries and his therapist would use him as an example to his future patients of the dangers of touch deprivation.
The employee encouraged him to interact with the humans before leaving to help a family that needed something from a high shelf.
Castiel forced himself to relax and stepped up to the first cage.
The human inside squeaked then curled into a ball and shivered. Castiel wasn't an expert in human behaviours but there were very few species that did that when they were happy. He moved on to the next one.
He felt like an idiot clicking his claws against the panels and fluttering his tails in an effort to get the attention of each human. Especially since most of them ignored him.
He narrowed it down to two. One with striking red hair and seemed eager to get closer to him and another with tiny spots speckling its skin that was curious though reserved.
The store employee bustled back over when she saw that he was trying to decide.
"Would you like to get a bit closer before you decide?" She asked.
"Yes." Castiel pointed to the spotted one.
Her arm spines flexed again. Castiel decided it was in excitement and not anger. She must be from Kuqq. She tapped a code into the panel. "We've been calling this one Dean for short. Its last owner called it De*anlk."
Castiel snorted in amusement. He would bet his ship that the human's last owner was a Lsserwrat. No one else would name their pet after body fluids.
The employee let out a single sharp click. "There's no accounting for taste." She pushed the panel open and motioned for Castiel to go in. "It comes to Dean, although it's not the most trustful of strangers but it warms up to people quickly."
Castiel stepped in. The human stepped back and eyed Castiel's bladed tail warily. Castiel wrapped his bladed tail around his leg and crouched down to the human's level.
"Here, Dean." Castiel tapped a claw against the floor.
The human made a series of faces at him before hesitantly edging closer. Castiel tapped the floor in front of him again. The human crept closer then sat down on the floor in front of Castiel.
Castiel reached out to gently run his claws along the human's scalp but the human ducked out of the way and stared at his hand. It took Castiel a moment to understand. The human was afraid of his claws.
Castiel hummed in surprise. Everything he had heard about humans said they were brazenly confident, almost to the point of self-destruction. That was why they were better companions for space. They didn't comprehend the dangers like some pets did.
Maybe this was one of the few sensible humans and he wouldn't have to train it to not get into trouble.
He curled his claws into his palm and tried to pet it again. This time it was more than happy to let him rub his knuckles along its neck and cheek.
It bared its teeth at him. Castiel jerked back and arched his bladed tail. He'd read about human bites. Their mouths were disease ridden. Left untreated a human bite could cause some of the worst infections.
The store employee hissed in amusement. "Don't worry. It wasn't going to bite."
Castiel eyed the human carefully. It had ducked down and froze at Castiel's quick movements and was looking up cautiously at him.
"Humans bare their teeth sometimes when they're happy," the store employee explained. She reached around Castiel and scratched a spot below the human's jaw. It relaxed into her touch and bared its teeth again. "See how its lips turn up at the corners and its face scrunches up? That's a good sign."
"But sometimes they do bare their teeth in aggression." She stopped scratching the human's jaw and flexed her arm, clicking two spines together to make a sharp click.
The human sat up alert and stared at her intently.
"Who's scary?" She asked.
The human immediately squared its shoulders and showed its teeth.
"That's what an aggressive show will look like," the employee said. She clicked her spines again. The human relaxed. "The lips only pull up in front. You actually see less teeth."
Castiel flicked his tail in acknowledgement. It seemed backwards but then, humans had evolved on an unusual planet.
They employee motioned for Castiel to try out scratching the human's jaw. The human stiffened at first but when Castiel didn't make any sudden movements it relaxed and made a pleased noise. He ran his knuckles over the human a few times, exploring its skin, before he stepped out of its cage.
The employee closed the panel. "Any others you'd like to look at?"
"That one." Castiel pointed to the red haired one.
The employee puffed up in worry. "That one might not be suitable to travel. It's something of an escape artist."
Castiel looked it over. It was smaller than the other one. It could probably hide more easily in the ship. Or the cargo. He glanced down the row of cages. "Are there any you think would be more inclined to it?"
The employee led him back to the one that had curled up into a frightened ball. No amount of coaxing could get it to come closer to Castiel. They tried another that had seemed mildly interested in Castiel but it ultimately had just wanted to be fed.
"I think the spotted one is probably my best option," Castiel said.
"Are you looking at buying today?" the employee asked.
"Yes."
Her arm spines flexed in delight. "Excellent." She tapped out a pattern on the panel of the human's cage. The panel faded to a murky green hiding the human from sight. "Do you have everything you'll need for a human?"
"No. Nothing actually," Castiel said. "And I'm leaving the planet shortly. That won't be a problem?"
"Oh, no!" the employee said. "We have everything right here. Even the travel options."
It did not surprise Castiel at all that he was soon following her through the store with an ever increasing pile of things for the care of humans.
"It's biologically male. So it's a little more maintenance than a female but don't let that discourage you," the employee said as she tallied the bill. "All humans are rather easy to take care of once they're out of the juvenile stage."
"How old is it?" Castiel hadn't thought to ask before. What if he was buying a geriatric pet?
"Twenty eight."
Castiel balked. It was just an infant still. He wasn't sure what was worse. An old pet or a too young pet.
The store employee let out another hiss of amusement. "Twenty eight is roughly thirty percent of its life span. They only live to about one hundred."
"Oh." Castiel relaxed. He hadn't realized humans were so short lived.
That was probably for the best. He wouldn't be burdened with a pet for most of his life if he didn't want it.
The store employee took a few more minutes to finish his bill and pack all his things into a shipping drone. Castiel watched the overladen drone take off with a sense of defeat. He had bought a pet.
"They're fine to walk with unprotected feet on most smooth surfaces within temperatures they're comfortable with but otherwise I recommend the foot coverings that we picked out," the store employee said, clipping a collar around the human's neck and adding a leash. She passed the leash to Castiel. "Dean's very well trained to walk on a leash."
"Good." Castiel took the leash and stared down at the human. His human.
The store employee gave Dean one last scratch to the jaw then congratulated Castiel on his new pet before hurrying away to help the next customer.
Castiel looked his human over. It stared back at him, waiting for a command. Castiel sighed. There was no point in stalling. He should take the human back to his ship and start training it while he was grounded.
"Dean, follow," Castiel said, leading the way.
Despite his worries the human followed easily. It looked this way and that as they walked through the city but it didn't pull at the leash or make a trouble. It seemed he had lucked out and bought a well behaved human.
The only stumble was when they reached the ship. It jumped in surprise and tried to run when the door to the ship opened. It got to the end of its leash and fell backwards when its legs kept going but its neck was stopped short by the leash.
It laid on the ground and made harsh huffing noises. Castiel waited a moment before helping it upright. It looked up at him with wide eyes then tried to hide behind him. Castiel looked at the door to the ship. He wasn't sure if his new pet had just been startled but the sudden noise of the door opening or if his pet had a fear of loud noises.
He'd have to find out soon. He couldn't have a pet running around frightened during an emergency.
He picked his pet up, intent on carrying it through the door, but it squirmed to be put down. Castiel dropped it to its feet. It huffed indignantly at him then slowly approached the door.
Castiel followed behind it and waited, letting it get acquainted with the door. When it had decided the door wasn't a danger it came back to his side and waited patiently.
"Good pet," Castiel praised. He rubbed his knuckles under its jaw. It hummed with pleasure and leaned against him. "Good Dean."