(Rain Check) Snell Distribution System

Cif sighed heavily as he propped up his chin on one arm over the windowsill, looking out into the torrential downpour outside. His tail flicked from side to side as he thought, humming under his breath. He was waiting for Cashmere to be done with his usual afternoon ritual of primping and making himself ‘presentable’, as Cashmere put it, being as prideful as he was, but Cif always thought he looked perfect enough.

Quick, soft steps began to descend the stairs, and Cashmere hopped over the last few steps before adjusting his sweater around his shoulders and stretching his arms out over his head. “Alright, done!” he announced, then glanced to Cif, a small smile falling over his lips. “Have you really just been sitting there the whole time waiting for me? You know you could have just come into the room.”

Cif looked up, his expression brightening when he saw his boyfriend looking no less than adorable, a small smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. “I’ve just been keeping an eye on things out here,” he said, nodding towards the window. “Wanted to see if it would get worse, and now it’s like, rain boots level flooded out there.” He pushed off from the windowsill, stepping over to Cashmere and wrapping an arm loosely around his waist. “But hey, you look good,” he said, then pecked his cheek and gave him a gentle squeeze, “You always look good.”

“Aww, you’re such a sweetie,” Cashmere tittered, pinching his cheek before pecking him on the nose. “The rain sort of puts a damper on our plans to go out and run errands though, pun intended.” He stepped over to the windowsill and made a face as he saw the visible puddles forming in their front yard, then turned to look over his shoulder at Cif and tilted his head. “I’d say we could hold off until tomorrow, but I think we’re down to mostly snack food.”

The latter chuckled, shaking his head in mock disbelief. “Down to rations?” he teased, nuzzling Cashmere’s cheek affectionately as he leaned in for another kiss. “Don’t worry about it, I’m sure I can find something,” he assured him with a gentle pat on the back. “Worst comes to worst, we can order delivery.”

“But I feel bad, though,” Cashmere murmured, glancing back out the window. “Plus we were going to go get more pet food for Noodle on the way home, since he snuck into the bag the other night.”

Cif paused, leaning onto Cashmere’s back and propping his head atop his boyfriend’s own. “Well, we could always go out anyways. A little rain couldn’t hurt,” he suggested after a moment of contemplation. “Sure, we might be walking there and back, but the store’s indoors. Besides, the rain isn’t…” He paused to consider the weather outside and winced a little. “It isn’t… terrible,” he lied. “Just throw on a good coat and boots, and we’ll be fine! I’ve got an umbrella somewhere, probably.”

He didn’t want their errand date to be ruled out completely, but he also knew how much Cashmere hated getting too wet. Not because Cashmere didn’t like the rain—he loved it, in fact. On the occasion that there happened to be a rainy day, they’d usually walk their imps together in the rain, but there was a significant difference between coming home with some damp hair or fur and coming home drenched from head to hoof.

Cashmere raised an eyebrow at him, motioning towards the window with both hands for added emphasis. “I love the rain as much as the next person, Cif, but what I don’t love is being a walking sponge.”

“A cute walking sponge!” Cif exclaimed, feigning disappointment when Cashmere’s eyes narrowed. “Aww c’mon, it’s not that bad, really! And we do need groceries,” he said, batting his eyelashes, trying to sway Cashmere with his charm. “Rainy days are supposed to be fun, right? So let’s have fun!” Cif pleaded, giving Cashmere a hopeful look. “Come on, come on, come on, let’s embrace the chaos! What’s the worst that could happen?”

Cashmere deadpanned, but ultimately groaned at Cif’s deadly edition of a pout. “Fine.” He gave Cif a light, playful shove and moved towards the shoe shelf by the front door. “I don’t think I have any rain boots though… it’s never really wet enough to where I need them.”

Cif affected a dramatic gasp, clapping a hand over his heart. “Oh no, what will you ever do without rain boots!” He grinned at him. “I’ll find an extra pair of boots for you, Cas, I have like, loads of ‘em,” he said, heading towards the hall closet.

Moments later, Cif emerged with a pair of his own boots, which were more than slightly too large for his boyfriend, and handed them to Cashmere. “Try these, Mr. Fancy Pants.” He motioned for Cashmere to put them on. “Now, let's go face the rain and conquer our errands!” the man proclaimed, lifting an umbrella from out of the closet and using it to point dramatically towards the door. “Onward! To food… and adventure! Mostly food!”

“You’re such a dork,” Cashmere snickered, rolling his eyes in disbelief at Cif’s everyday theatrical antics before moving towards the door and slipping on the boots. One thing was for sure—he and Cif were most definitely not the same size when it came to footwear, but Cif seemed to be well aware of the fact, and was already bending down to lace up the boots tight enough to help make up for the excess space.

As Cashmere opened the front door, he was disappointed to find that the rain was still coming down in sheets, but he supposed it wouldn’t be too bad. The heels of the boots Cif had lent him seemed higher than the puddles on the lawn from a glance, for starters.

Cif tied the final knot on the laces with a satisfied nod, standing up and tapping Cashmere on the nose. “You’re a total buzzkill, you know that?” he asked, a smirk tugging at his face. “Indulge me in my dramatics just for today, would you? You should really come play Dungeons and Ryudras with my group over at the club sometimes, then you’d think my bullshit is hilarious.”

He held the umbrella high and steady, trying to shield Cashmere as much as possible from the downpour, and took Cashmere’s hand in his own. Even if they were both probably going to inevitably end up getting soaked by the end of their outing, he wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Cashmere gave a tentative little smile, then curiously peeked out at the grass to watch for any mud puddles as they strolled down the front lawn, but his worries of mud were swiftly interrupted by the sight of a stream of water gushing around the curve of the sidewalk. He paused, shuddering at the mental image of water soaking into the boots he’d been given and huddled closer to Cif.

“Um…”

“Don’t worry, babe, just stay close to me,” Cif reassured him, gripping his hand tighter. Without warning, he passed the umbrella to Cashmere and promptly lifted his boyfriend up into his arms, which earned a yelp of surprise, then beamed down at him. “See? Problem solved!”

He didn’t want Cashmere to worry too much over the water—which Cif personally didn’t care too much about—so he took one for the team and stepped into the puddle to cross the road. Thankfully nothing soaked through, and he suppressed an impish little snicker as Cashmere held the umbrella a little tighter and burrowed his head against his chest.

“My hero,” Cashmere teased, when a swift gust of wind caught up under the umbrella, causing it to tug free from Cashmere’s grasp. “Ack—no! Cif, get it!” he gasped, his eyes widening as a torrent of cold, icy rain began to seep into his sweater, and he jabbed a finger in the direction of the umbrella, which was careening further into the road and tumbling against the gravel. “Go, go!”

“Ooh, side quest!” Cif joked, promptly hopping out of the puddle and darting after the umbrella as fast as he could with Cashmere in-tow. “Hold on a little tighter! It’s a bit slip—” he began to call, but the rainwater caught under his boot, sending his foot flying up behind him. Cif stumbled forward with a cry, managing to land half on his side, half on his back, the fall knocking the wind from his lungs as Cashmere landed heavily on top of him.

“Shit—augh, that hurts.” Cif drew in a breath, shivering as he felt the chill of his now rain-drenched coat from the fall, and he gave a grunt of effort as he sat up slightly, a little dazed. He pulled at Cashmere, pulling him up into a gentle embrace to examine him for any injuries. “Are you okay? You didn’t fall too hard, did you?” he asked, his face wracked with concern. “No scrapes? Bumps?”

Cashmere winced, but shook his head, rubbing a little at one arm. “Remind me to not let you ‘damsel-in-distress’ me again,” he tittered.

Cif let out a sigh of relief, but chuckled along with him. “Sorry, I swear I didn’t intend to eat shit.” He bit his lip. “Sorry about your hair too, it’s going to get a little wet.”

“I’m trying not to think about that part,” Cashmere grumbled. “It’s going to be all frizzy later…”

“I think it looks kinda cute when it’s messy. Like looking at a very adorable wet remil,” Cif replied, attempting to lighten the mood. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ll give you an extra nice little brush session later, alright?” he offered, wincing slightly as he stood up and wrapped an arm around Cashmere to pull him into a side hug.

Cashmere smiled softly, nodding his head and leaning into Cif’s chest as he was pulled close. “I’m choosing to ignore the fact that you said I look like a wet remil,” he pointed out harmlessly, then hesitated, glancing around at their surroundings. “Um… important question though, where did the umbrella go, exactly?”

The latter turned to scan the area for their lost umbrella, which he spotted pinned under a bush not far off from them. “Oh, there! See? Just a little stuck in the hedges,” he replied, hurrying off through the puddles to retrieve it.

Cashmere looked down at the road, then grimaced and stepped out after Cif through the deeper bits of the puddles pooling around the curbs, reaching out to take hold of Cif’s sleeve. However, when he looked down to where Cif was trying to pull the umbrella from, he paused, furrowing his brow. “What’s that on the umbrella?”

Cif was focused on freeing the umbrella from the bush, but Cashmere’s question pulled him up short. His eyes widened as he noticed a small, unmistakable shelled shape clinging to the umbrella. “Oh no.” He felt the blood drain from his face. “Is that a snell?”

The little imp in question looked considerably startled to find that its temporary seat had been jostled about, staring up at Cif with equally wide eyes.

“Oh hell, it is!” Cif yelped, snatching his hand back and moving as if to put more distance between himself and the imp that was very much still on the umbrella still held in his hand. He glanced at Cashmere, a panic-stricken expression on his face. “Get it off, get it off, get it off!”

Cif’s reaction caused Cashmere to freeze at first, but a sly smile soon began to fall over his face. “Cif,” he began slowly, unable to smother the humor in his tone as he spoke, “Are you afraid of snells?”

Cif gave a desperate, almost panicked laugh. “Ha ha, very funny, Cas,” he replied, trying to sound casual, his eyes never leaving the snell. “Afraid of snells, really? Who—who’d be afraid of a snell? I’m not afraid, I just…” He paused for a brief moment. “I’m… allergic! Not afraid, just definitely allergic!”

Cashmere’s smile widened into a grin. “How allergic?”

“Allergic enough,” Cif sniffed, then stuck out his tongue in mock defiance, his face was still flushed with embarrassment. “So could you please, please get it off?” He added, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice.

Cashmere rolled his eyes, then stepped up close to the umbrella, noting the way it trembled in Cif’s nervous grasp. He looked down at the snell, who was calmly munching on one of the leaves that had come loose onto the umbrella from the bush, and cooed out to it. “Aww… it’s just a cute little baby,” he gushed, reaching out to give its shell a gentle little pet. “How can you be afraid of these?”

Cif scoffed. “Cute? It’s sticking to our umbrella and gives me the heebie-jeebies!” he protested. “It’s just—I don’t know. They’re weird, okay? With their shells and their little eyes… and it’s got to have teeth, right? Look at it! It’s demolishing that leaf. You need teeth to do that, probably!”

“That doesn’t make them weird! It probably thought the umbrella was a big leaf, or something,” Cashmere pointed out, then continued to coo to the snell. “Didn’t you, little guy? Did you think it was a leaf? Aww, poor baby, you just wanted a little snack, didn’t you?” He looked up towards Cif. “Think this little guy belongs to anyone? I don’t see anything on him. Think it’s a stray? Wild, maybe?” he asked, at which point the snell contented itself with crawling up onto Cashmere’s hand to settle and continue munching on the leaf it held.

Cif snickered as Cashmere fussed over the snell, stepping a little closer now that it no longer had a direct avenue to his arms. “Maybe it’s lost? Poor thing, getting stuck in the rain and everything. I know they like rain and all, but I think the weather’s getting worse. He looks unbothered enough, but maybe we should help it out? And by we, I mean you. I’m definitely not touching it.”

As the snell climbed further up onto Cashmere’s arm, he couldn't help but gaze at the scene with a soft smile. “You really are the best one for the job, after all,” he commented, glancing at his boyfriend. “I think it likes you.”

“Well, we’re on our way to get groceries *and* pet food,” Cashmere pointed out. “Maybe we could bring it with us? Take it home for a little, until the rain lets up?” he asked, reaching up with his other hand to stroke its head, at which point the snell seemed less interested in its leaf and began to nuzzle Cashmere’s hand. “Awww, look at him!”

Cif eyed the snell dubiously but couldn’t deny the charm he saw in Cashmere’s interaction with it; Cas was always so sweet with imps. “Well, just for until the rain stops,” he agreed, raising his brows. “But then it’s back into the bushes. Besides, Noodle would probably love a new friend for a bit. He’s got to be going bonkers waiting for us at home.”

“I’m going to call him Olive,” Cashmere decided, evidently ignoring what Cif had said. “He looks kind of like an olive, doesn’t he?”

The latter sighed heavily. There it was, he thought. The emotional attachment. They’d been there before.

The look on Cashmere’s face was clear enough, and Cif resolved himself to toss a new pet bed and an extra bag of pet food into the cart when they got to the store.

“I think we should have stayed inside today,” he said.