Title: Further Adventures of Butterscotch the Guinea Pig [Olette, Xion, Roxas, Lea]
Rating/Warnings: G for Guinea Pig
Summary: Roxas and Xion get a new pair of roommates that are not on the lease; Lea is skeptical.
AN: Written for Shiritori. Olette’s guinea pig and her offspring occur in a couple different fics I wrote for Shiritori over time. Guinea pigs absolutely need food names. I’m convinced Ethers are energy jelly and I can’t hazard a guess what Elixirs even are.
Further Adventures of Butterscotch the Guinea Pig
“Question 5: Line GH is parallel to Line JK, and crossed by transversal…” Pence sighed. “Absolutely none of you are listening to me.”
“We can’t help it!” Xion said from Olette’s bedroom floor where she and Olette were sitting on a fleece blanket, using their legs to keep four small, furry occupants from escaping. “Who can think about math when there’s piglets!”
“Baby guinea pigs are not called piglets,” Roxas said, his legs making up the third corner of the leg triangle fencing in the guinea pigs. He glanced at Olette. “Right?”
“Pups,” Olette said. She’d done enough research online research about guinea pig pregnancy to be an expert as soon as they’d realized Butterscotch had returned from an escaped adventure during a community pet show with some extra souvenirs.
Three souvenirs, who had been born in the middle of the night last week, not a one of which looked anything like their sensibly-colored solid orange mother. Butterscotch herself seemed mainly puzzled by the entire experience but willing to endure the noise of her new roommates so long as Olette kept handing out extra pieces of lettuce and carrots.
“Piglets makes more sense,” Xion said, poking at the tan one with the white stripe up its nose that was busily trying to chew the seem of her jean leg. She and Roxas had been amazed that the babies had been waddling around with their eyes open on day 1, and now a week later were running around like it was their job, nibbling and wheeking at everything. “They’re so cute! I wish they could stay this size forever.”
“Did you name them yet?” Roxas wanted to know. He had the one with orange and black blotches cupped safely in his hands, its mostly-black sibling on the blanket below yelling for attention.
“Nah, I’ve been calling them One, Two, Three,” Olette said, rubbing Butterscotch’s nose. “Mom said I can only keep one, so I’m trying not to get attached until I figure out if they’re girls or boys.” Olette eyed Roxas thoughtfully. “Roxas, buddy, have you ever thought about the wonders of guinea pig ownership?”
“Me? Us?” Roxas asked, looking down at the guinea pig in his hands. It was now leaning over his thumb, yelling back at its sibling happily. “Lemme ask my roommate, I guess…”
“Who’s a cute Meow Wow?” Xion was busy cooing, her little friend popcorning in delight. “That’s right, you are!”
Butterscotch’s litter turned out to cooperatively contain one female and two males. At the end of four weeks’ time, the tan girl, now named Pancake, got to stay with Butterscotch, while the other two took a bumpy tram ride to Xion and Roxas’s apartment
“Who the heck are these guys?” Lea asked, leaning over the cage Xion and Olette had built out of coroplast and grid squares. “Your lease said no subletting, you know.”
“This is Elixir!” Xion announced, holding up the orange and black guinea pig for Lea’s inspection. Elixir didn’t seem impressed once he realized that Lea wasn’t offering any food.
Lea glanced back down at the cage where the other guinea pig was kicking up a fuss, also hoping for treats. “This guy’s got his black coat on, what’s his name? Pigbar?”
“No!” Xion burst out laughing, startling Elixir into burying his face in the crook of her elbow. “Axel!”
“It’s Sea Salt, obviously,” Roxas said, appearing behind them with a fistful of lettuce, sending both guinea pigs into an excited chorus of chirp-begging. He stuck his tongue out at Xion as he dropped the lettuce in the cage and patted Sea Salt. “Guinea pigs have to have food names.”
“Elixirs are a food!” Xion retorted, setting the scrambling Elixir back down in the cage. “Or a drink. Whatever, you consume them. Anyway, come on! Hayner leant us Struggle Smash Melee and I’m sick of kicking Roxas’s butt.”
“Hey!” Roxas protested, shouldering Xion as he trotted after her towards the couch and their abandoned controllers.
“Hey!” Lea said when he felt a tug on his hoodie cuff. Looking down, Sea Salt had migrated from the edge of the lettuce to a bit of his hoodie too close to the bars of the cage wall. Tugging it away, Lea reached in to tap him on the nose. “I’ve got my eye on you, Pigbar.”
Roxas hollered, “I heard that!”
