Episode 022 Previous Episode	Next Episode
“There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.” Ben Williams The perpetual din of the pet store acted like a wall of sound buffeting against the mall outside. Morgan stood before the store with an abrasively pensive look. To his right, Everett chuckled in amusement while to his left, Edgar smiled with childish joy. The eldest of the three was the first to break through the entry barrier and step inside. Directly in front of the entrance were multiple caged pins filled with tiny puppies, some barely old enough to make any noise. Blatantly ignoring the ‘Do No Handle’ sign pasted in vulgar colors on the cage, Edgar reached inside and proceeded to pet every single puppy in the pin. He quickly began to doll out names and compliments in a childish voice. “I want to be Edgar when I grow old and senile,” Morgan remarked to Everett. “I shudder to think that he’s what Roland’s going to turn into,” he countered. Morgan shivered at the thought before stepping inside. Assorted pet materials lined the right-hand wall. Food and litter along with small cages stretched down into the narrow isles where insects, reptiles, and other less-than-common pets resided. “So what are you doing here?” Everett asked, following behind Morgan. “I have to get a pet,” the former knight answered, appraising a cockatoo. “Because…” he prompted. “Anger management,” Morgan explained. “Little Miss Whatshername says it’ll help me with my aggressive behavior.” “And you’re going through with this,” Everett said. He tossed the idea around in his head, ultimately approving of the plan. “Well, believe it or not, I don’t like being a dick,” Morgan said, stopping before some snakes coiled up together inside a cage. “And however much I really don’t like having to submit to this anger management crap, if getting a pet snail or something is going to make me less socially unacceptable, I’m willing to give it a try.” “That’s admirable,” Everett said, tapping on the ‘do not tap’ sticker on an Emperor Scorpion cage. The beast seemed to glower at him. “Though, I will miss the spitfire Morgan of old.” “I doubt a goldfish will make that go away,” Morgan said with a smile. He stopped before a fish tank and bent down, staring at the array of fish inside. “Maybe one of those Asian fighting fish. That’s kind of my style.” “Mean-spirited, violent, territorial,” Everett listed. “Yeah, I agree.” “Maybe some piranhas,” Morgan thought out loud. “I could feed people I don’t like to them.” He kept walking, coming to the rear of the store. More pet supplies filled the shelves, kept company by a lonely door into the back of the store. “I don’t know. I don’t want a dog or a cat or anything. That’s too much upkeep.” “What about a rabbit?” Everett asked. “They’re cute.” “They also have to be cleaned daily,” Morgan said. “Or more often.” “Mongoose?” Everett said. He suddenly grinned and slapped Morgan on the chest. “Get a ferret!” “I do like Sluggy Freelance,” he muttered in thought. “No, they need to be cleaned as much as a rabbit. And besides, I don’t keep shiny objects in my house. It’d get bored.” “Teach it to play video games,” Everett suggested. “It’d probably be better at them then you.” “It’s true,” Morgan said as they began to head back towards the front of the store. Behind the counter, a pimply-faced high school student was flipping through a video game magazine hidden inside a textbook. Ignoring the store on a whole, the young man was completely oblivious to Edgar as he held a dog in his arms like a child cradling a stuffed animal. “Seriously, though,” Everett said turning to Morgan. “We could really use your help. This situation is getting hairy.” “Everett, drop it,” Morgan insisted. “I don’t want to talk about the Crimson Rose. I don’t care if you guys are afraid of getting typecasted like him. He’s not a big deal.” “He’s not?” Everett asked. He gestured behind and above Morgan. He turned to see a stylized red rose spray-painted at the joining of the wall and the ceiling. “Those are starting to crop up around town. He’s developing a following. He’s getting popular, which means he’s moving out of the realm of rumor and into urban legend. He’s not just some crackpot; he’s a cultural icon.” Everett shook his head. “This is getting bad,” he stated simply. Morgan turned from the graffiti. “No,” he said clearly. “I won’t. I’m not a knight and I’m not going to take up the mantle of the knights again.” “We’re not asking you to help us apprehend the Rose, we just…” “No,” he repeated emphatically. Morgan turned from Everett and stared at the countertop. He looked at the kid at the register, then tilted his head to see what magazine he was reading. Aggravated, he kept looking around the front of the store. Everett headed over to Edgar as the older knight was changing out puppies. “Hey,” he said. “I don’t think he’s going to go for it.” “Wait until he’s bought the pet,” Edgar recommended distractedly as he paid full attention to the rambunctious litter of puppies. “Once he’s in a better, or at least different, mood, he’ll be more open to hearing you out.” Everett turned to check on Morgan, then did a double-take. He hit Edgar on the shoulder and pointed. Morgan was crouching down in front of the turtle aquarium, mesmerized.
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