Don't You Know, That Misery Loves Company

While Strix’s ears are flattened out to the sides, it is not from any signs of anger but the simple fact that he has some really bothersome pests that decided to take up residence in his ears. Mismatched eyes blink in surprise as the pup shakily steps out into the open and mumbles a hello, scooting close enough that their voice can heard but out of range of any kind of touch. Confusion pulls his at features but he keeps his voice light and welcoming, offering them a small smile as he says, “Well, hello little one. Yes, I do have something bothering me. Tell me, have you ever heard of some tiny bugs called mites?”

Humor colors his eyes as gently pats the area beside him, offering the pup a lesson if they wished to join him. Making sure to keep his movements slow so as not to startle the flightily pup, Strix pulls a small bowl toward him as he begins to explain, “During the rainy season, there are certain small bugs, called pests, that like to try and hitch a ride on our bodies. The mites that bother me are in my ears so I need to get rid of them.” Words are kept warm for the pup because it is obvious that they are nervous and the man does not wish to stress them unnecessarily.

Slowly lifting a paw to point at the metal pot with the water that is heating up, Strix describes what he is doing, “I am heating up this water to pour over some green tea leaves.” Paw shifts to grab some of the leaves from a piece of cloth, offering them up for the pup to sniff, if they wanted to before placing them into the bowl while he continues to talk, “I am going to use the water that the leaves are soaked in to flush out my ears. Basically, I am going to pour some of water into my ears and shake my head a lot to help get these bugs out.”

The water is slowly heating up but has not yet reached the boiling point so looks to the youngster and asks, “Would be like to help me?” A smile, friendly and inviting is on his lips as he waits to see if the pup wishes to learn more. There is another step, after the flush, that he will share when the time comes but right now, he doesn’t want to overload the pup with too much information too quickly.




WC: 422
Total WC: 1066 / 1500


"Strix Klein"