Borrowed Behaviors

The door to Razzmatazz and Lilac's home swung open and they both were greeted by their faithful stroodle, Puppuccino. She barked and whined, her eyes all big and sad. It broke Razzmatazz's heart, and she crouched down to scratch behind her soft, puffy ears.

“I know, you wish you could've gone with us to the toy fair, huh? I wish I could've brought you too, girl!” Razzmatazz kissed the pink pup's long snout and stood back up, “I know you're very well behaved and gentle with plushies… but not everyone else knows that! They'd think you were gonna eat their crafts!”  She wasn’t a service or emotional support imp, even if she was most definitely smart enough to learn the skills needed.

Lilac shifted the bags she was holding so that they both rested in her right hand. She then crouched down too, giving Puppuccino a little pat on the fluffy part of her back with her newly-freed hand. “Yeah, I'm sorry. We'd probably have gotten, like… suuuper kicked out.” 

Puppuccino, of course, didn't understand a word either of them were saying, or the concept of social norms regarding where pets can be brought. Still, she picked up on the apologetic tone in their voices. That (combined with the attention) was more than enough to cheer her up, she yipped and moved forward to touch the tip of her snout against Razzmatazz's cheek affectionately. 

She then turned around to Lilac, but seemed to stop when she noticed the bags. She gave one of them a sniff, before brushing off her curiosity for the moment and nudging her face against the soft, puffy leg warmers Lilac wore.

“Aw, thank you! I'm glad you forgive us!” Razzmatazz giggled and turned to Lilac, “Right! Sorry for making you carry all those bags, we can go put them away now!”

Lilac stood back up and shrugged. “Oh nah, don't worry. It's no big deal, they're not heavy or anything,” She showed off by lifting the bags above her head with ease.

Razzmatazz giggled and leaned in, gently pressing a kiss against her cheek. She interlocked their arms and led her to a wall lined with bookshelves in their bedroom. There were four of them, and they alternated in color between cherry-red and lavender-purple. The first two were half-full of books, but otherwise completely stuffed full of various stuffed imp plushies- the biggest being a long, flat purple harpup toy that was almost as big as a body pillow. 

The third and fourth bookshelves were less densely populated, and thus more meticulously managed. Razzmatazz wanted to make sure they still looked pretty even though her and Lilac hadn’t found enough stuff to fill them up yet. Ultimately it was a good thing that they still had lots of free space, as she was a very extreme hoarder, and she couldn’t imagine parting with any of her plushies! No, that wouldn’t do- they’d simply need more shelves!

She was very appreciative that Lilac didn’t mind the sheer amount of stuff she enjoyed filling their home with. Instead, she shared in that passion and clearly enjoyed picking things out with her! Whether it be clothes, books, pillows, bedsheets, or plushies, Lilac and her adored shopping together.

Lilac set down the two plastic bags onto their bed, they both immediately flopped onto their sides, a dozen or so stuffed animals tumbling out and onto the bed sheets from them. The toy fair was something Razzmatazz looked forward to every year, she learned quickly that she had to set aside funds in advance just for it, or else she’d end up not having nearly enough to cover indulging her whims.

It could be worse, she supposed- at least she was just a hoarder of stuffed animals! Action figures were much more exclusive and ended up being far pricier to her knowledge, but the texture and hard materials didn’t interest her nearly as much. She liked her collectibles being soft enough that she could pick a few to sit on the bed with her each night! She rotated them out frequently, even sometimes swapping the bed sheets and pillows to fit the colors and patterns of the toys she wanted to display. 

As the girls began unloading their toy fair haul, Puppuccino skittered in at the sound of rustling plastic. As her little nails tapped against the ground, they made a cute little click sound that both girls would recognize instantly by now. She was too small to make it up onto the bed by herself, so a ramp had to be propped up for her. She scampered up eagerly, now taking the chance to further investigate the plastic bags. She pawed at one, trying to pull it away from the pile of toys so she could play with it.

She was such a peculiar pup… instead of liking to play with plushies or squeaky things, she acted more like a furdin or loafki in her toy tastes. She liked crumpled up paper, plastic, and carrying around blankets, draped over her back. She took after Lilac and Razzmatazz in a way that neither bun had anticipated- once she decided a plastic bag or paper scrap was hers, she hoarded it and would go to extreme lengths to get it back if it was taken. She’d manage to jump up onto tables and even knock down sealed trash-cans… Since she had no mouth, and thus no slobber or risk of eating the trash scraps, they’d decided to let her have her hobby and not interfere anymore. She had an entire toy chest outside their house full of her precious, precious garbage.

Razzmatazz dumped out one bag onto the bed and Lilac did the same for the other one. Puppuccino immediately hooked the “handles” onto her snout and took off running, as if she’d pulled off some great heist. 

Razzmatazz giggled, her tail wagging excitedly at the cute sight. “Ooh, lookit her gooo!” She squeaked.

“She’s, like, super obsessed with that stuff, huh? Well, that’s certainly one way to reuse these bags, y’know what I mean?” Lilac smiled and lifted up one of the plushies, specifically a fairy uniqor plushie. She tilted it side-to-side, watching the glittery sewn-on hooves sparkle in the light of their bedside lamp. The wings even bounced as it moved! It was very sturdy despite all the small, intricate details, and she found herself quite impressed with the craftsmanship.

Razzmatazz lifted up another plushie, this one a perfect mimic of a stroodle! It was smaller than the real thing, but just as soft. The cherry affixed to its head was squishable, and could be used as a stress ball. The puffy fur was made of minky fabric and was well-stuffed, making it hold its shape well when hugged.

Lilac helped her sort things. They worked in comfortable silence, occasionally looking to each other for organization ideas . Both girls had an acute sense of fashion and design, so the work was easy with the two of them working hard . Lilac’s uniqor and Razzmatazz’s stroodle toys took front-and-center stage in the middle of the third shelf, being the crown jewels of this year’s toy fair haul.

Puppuccino seemed to have finished putting away her own new toys, as she entered the room once more. She huffed and stamped her foot, a little annoyed that neither girl had given chase! Didn’t they know she was stealing and that she wasn’t allowed to have those bags? 

Razzmatazz giggled and pulled the toy stroodle she got off the shelf. She crouched down and showed it off to the real stroodle, who examined it with wide, curious eyes. She gave it a little sniff and walked in a few circles around it. Every detail of it was scrutinized, and she even poked it with her snout to check its texture.

Finally, her floppy ears perked up as much as they could, and she yipped happily. Her tail began to wag and she ran in a few cute circles.

“Aww! Do you approve of it, girl?”

Yip!

Razzmatazz squeaked and giggled, throwing her arms around Lilac’s arm. “Oooh, I knew she’d be happy! I’ve seen stroodle plushies before, but this is the first one I thought would live up to her standards! The other ones weren’t expensive enough for her to like it…”

Lilac laughed and crouched down, patting Puppuccino’s head. “You’re real picky for a pup who also loves crumpled up receipts.”

Arf Arf! She barked excitedly, her tail wagging at top speed.

She had no protests about that assessment.