[WolfEx]

After posting his Classified ad in the newspaper recently, Il Piantissimo had been going mad trying to find a sitter for his Chainchomp in the tiny backyard of his apartment. The Chainchomp was just a baby, but it was a big pain in his neck! He knew nothing about taking care of such creatures and he was relying on his ad to find someone to teach him or better yet, watch the Chainchomp for him so he could do his daily running without having to worry about the condition of the pet in his yard. But nobody has accepted the task yet or even replied to his plea. He hasn't ran in a good while, and it was killing him inside ever since finding this poor creature on the streets of the Black Market without a home to be unable to have the time to live his life the way he wanted. He stood staring out his yard door at the Chainchomp rolling around and making a mess of his freshly cut tiny lawn barking away.



"This is no good for me! No good! Making a mess of things, being a burden, I wish someone would help me out here! I mean come on, who doesn't want three super mushrooms a week for watching this guy!" The masked Pianta man was truly in quite the pickle, he posted his apartment address on the module in Sunshine Circle for anyone interested to take him up on his offer, and he wasn't sure if he could wait much longer or go yet another day without his much beloved running exercise. Someone had to help!

[Deleted]

”A Chainchomp, eh?” Ludwig tapped his chin as he sat by his window and held the “jobs” section of the paper up. He was considering that Chomp sitter ad with a small seriousness, as he still desired to break the monotony of his days. His brother Iggy had been the real Chainchomp tamer, but Ludwig was the one who usually got stuck watching the beasts when his brother was out. If the thing was already somewhat trained, and it’s only one, could it really be that bad?
Ludwig walked up the lane, looking at each number on each building with exasperation. He had written the address on his palm, yet was beginning to lose hope that he’d find the place. Until he saw the little black ball rolling around, having the time of its life. ”Heh, well isn’t that cute.” He smiled fondly at the thing as he approached. It was comforting to see something he’d actually seen prior to this whole Li business. He looked at the client, and was struck with familiarity there as well.
”I’ve seen you before, haven’t I? Ah, yes, the running man who couldn’t outpace a fat plumber, I remember you from my idiot cousin’s first little adventure. It seems strange to see you sitting still.” And then he smiled confidently, as if he hadn’t just paid the runner an insult. And the ‘Chomp is a young one, too. This will be a cakewalk… ”I’m here about your ad.”

[WolfEx]

Piantissimo's call for help seemed to have finally been answered, but in the form of a small sized Koopa; his least favorable choice. He figured this was better than nothing and no one at all to take up his request to watch his pet, so he supposes this little Koopa with funny hair will have to do. And for the little guy to be familiar with Piantissimo was actually more of an insult than anything. The prideful wannabe Pianta man struts his arrogance to show he was not a weakling and to signify to the Koopaling what was truly up. "How dare you to think you know me little Koopa creature! It is not just a title of running, no, it is life! LIFE! And the plumber cheated I tell you! Do not patronize me with your small talking chatter. I know your kind, and I usually won't agree to anything with you...things. But I am desperate. So...yes I need someone to watch my little Chain Chomp, Chompee. Come with me." Piantissimo made his way outside his yard door and ushered the Koopa to follow, carefully. He opened the slider door and tried to quietly make way to his lawn, but without a single moment to even safely reach the lawn, Chompee rushes Piantissimo with a tackle and licks his face in a continuous slobbering. "Bleck. BLECK! Stop it Chompee, stop it! Your heavy body is painful to me! I am a runner not a weight lifter! Bleeeeck." Piantissimo struggles to get his pet off of him, but after a few well placed nudges and a quick rolling maneuver Chompee is shaken off and Piantissimo rushes to the single palm tree in his yard climbing to its tallest height to be safe from the creature. He didn't want to show his guest how much he feared his pet, but the secret was out!

"This is...quite embarrassing for me, no? Well, as you can see I am terrified of Chompee, and I don't like disgusting germs from that tongue of his! I promise you I am not a coward, but I have ran all my life, and that is one creature I can never run from. I like being alone, I like being free to run! But after I found that thing abandoned, I brought it home stupidly, not knowing that it would be so attached to me and not give me an ounce of space to myself! I don't like connections...with anyone. And if I were you, I would hide right about now." As Piantissimo was yelling from the tree and warning the Koopa, Chompee turned its head to the Bowser Descendant, and began rushing to him for a slobbery love tackle!

[Deleted]

Ludwig was exasperated with the remarks, but he kept his mouth shut as the man spoke. If only someone would be able to insult him beyond his blood, but maybe it was a testament to his character that everyone chose to point out that he was a Koopa rather than his personal flaws... but maybe this meant he didn’t have any? He was lost in his thoughts until the man urged him along.

The show was entertaining, but it concerned Ludwig that the thing was hardly trained at all. And the running man’s complaints about having space, freedom- didn’t he understand what having a pet would be like at all? No, it would seem I am once again the smartest person here…

”Well, you are indeed a master in the art of running away.” He scoffed. Ludwig narrowed his eyes at the beast, determination in his heart as he planted his toe-claws into the ground. Receding into his shell would only show weakness right now, and weakness is why the other one here was hiding in a tree. The koopa rose his claws in a defensive stance as the ‘chomp rushed towards him, and he pushed himself out of its path so that he would be right at its underside. He inhaled deeply, preparing the next part of his assault…

”Who’s a good Chompee?!” Ludwig exclaimed in a very ridiculous voice as he attacked the beast with a belly rub.

[WolfEx]

Piantissimo couldn't believe his eyes. The little guy actually confronted Chompee with no fear or hesitation, he was taking on the biting ball of energy without fuss, the koopa even looked like he was enjoying it. "IMPOSSIBLE! You make it seem so effortless, you are taming my vicious beast of a pet!" Piantissimo watches still safe in his tree as Chompee dashes up to the Koopa and before lashing his tongue all over his face, is completely taken control of with Ludwig's interesting method of side stepping and honed focus. Chompee is then deliberately defenseless as Ludwig begins to run his fingers all over its belly and sends it into a love induced coma making it twitch and bark and slobber all over the ground after being cared for so tenderly. Piantissimo is mighty impressed, and fast crawls his way down from the tree and stands near it half way hiding behind its trunk to make sure Chompee is distracted enough not to go back and tackle the running loving man again. Piantissimo congratulates the Koopa from his safe distance away immensely thankful for his help with the thing.

"Fascinating! Fantastic! MAGNIFICO! You have done it. You have won its heart and found a way to tame it without it attacking with its spit and crushing lust. I'm...I'm free." Piantissimo pauses a moment to take in the realization that he can now go out more and not have to worry about Chompee any longer or what to do with him. "I'm...free? I'M FREE! I'M FREE! My little hard shelled friend, you got the job! Oh happy day! I can run and feel the simulated air within the Life Sphere again as I jog across Rainbow Square, or..or...Power Walk down Brightwing Lane Gardens! OHHH LOVELY! Just lovely. I can live again. I can run...again! If you prove your longevity and dedication to me with this creature, I will give you more than Super Mushrooms my friend, you'll just have to stick around and see. Here's first week's pay!" Piantissimo reaches into his pockets and places three Super Mushrooms at Ludwig's feet. He smiles, takes a breath, and then starts to run out of his yard busting open his gate and saying goodbye to Ludwig in a sing song tone and a cloud of dust. "FAREWELL! GOOD LUCK!"

Piantissimo is now out of sight leaving Ludwig alone with Chompee. Chompee continues to enjoy the belly rub barking and groaning at the affection he is being given. But a belly rub isn't enough to keep it satisfied for an entire week is it? And well....you can only do it for so long. With a weekly job like this, one would certainly have to be creative.

((ITEMS RECEIVED: 3 Super Mushrooms. Week One Rewards Collected. Piantissimo will return to his yard in three real time posts. Keep Chompee entertained until he returns. When week two starts in real time, Piantissimo will ask you to watch Chompee again, this pattern continues until you no longer wish to fulfill your obligations as sitter. The longer you babysit, the better your rewards. You can also take Chompee on walks and such. Have fun with it. I will play Chompee.))

[Deleted]

Ludwig gave the Chainchomp a couple of pats before swiping up his prize. Experience worked in his favor, and he let the skills Iggy had demonstrated run through his mind, preparing himself for this little adventure.

”Well, looks like it’s just you and me, my new friend. You seem to trust me well enough, but I doubt you know any commands… Oh, let’s not worry about that right now.” Ludwig smiled, kneeling down to pet the thing again, he couldn’t help but be distracted by its cute little eyes and teeth. He’d train it next week. Ludwig scanned the yard, hoping for something he could use to keep the thing satiated, but the yard was barren of anything that could work well. He then looked at the thing with his eyes narrowed in thought. With a florish, he quickly pulled something from his shell and held it out, trying to get the Chomp’s attention. It was one of his conducting batons, an old sturdy thing. Too many of them had become chew toys for the old pets, what’s the bother of this one going too?

The koopa threw the baton into the yard, ”Go get it!” He would have to find a way to buy time to prepare food and water for the 'chomp...

[WolfEx]

Excited about a new friend, and someone to give him plenty of attention, Chompee barks full of energy and adoration for the Koopa and his efforts. Becoming more riled up and playful by the second with this new guest in his yard, Ludwig adds some icing to the cake with a baton! Chompee shrieks with joy at the gesture with his eyes bulged at the stick from Ludwig. Jumping up and down waiting for it to be thrown, it gets tossed a good distance to the other side of the yard and Chompee happily jets after it swiping it up with his teeth then dashing back to Ludwig placing the baton at his feet, saliva all over the place, and waits for more play time with this Koopa for as long as he is allowed. He wasn't going to get tired anytime soon!

[Deleted]

Ludwig had turned his back to a second after he threw the baton, and in just that one tiny moment he felt the presence of the pup return. He turned back, surprised at its speed. ”Another throw, eh? Well, perhaps you need a good challenge…” He picked up the slobbery baton, this time a blue glow encasing his hand and the stick. He tossed it again, and it would sit still until the ‘chomp was right on it. Then, a flick of his wrist, Ludwig made the stick launch off in another direction. He did this a few more times before finally letting Chompee get the baton, laughing joyfully all the way. The koopa hadn’t had this much fun in a long while, he felt as if it were just like the days before Li. Was pet-sitting really all he needed to let off steam?
”Oh if you think you’re having fun now, I’m going to have a wonderful surprise for you next time!” He held out his hand, the glow still surrounding it and the baton, and he used his magic to gently tug at the stick, initiating a game of tug-of-war. "Alright, little 'chomp! Let's see how strong you are!"

[WolfEx]

After a few back and forth fetches, Chompee still seemed to be so energetic. He was ready for more running around and retrieving for the Koopa, but to its surprise the game changed! The baton was placed in front of the little creature as it bit into it and was then trying to be pulled from its teeth! Chompee hasn't ever played THIS game before but it was so into it that it was giving all it had to get the baton out of the Koopa's grasp. Chompee felt like it really had to impress the Koopa with its strength and tried pulling and pulling until it couldn't pull any more! He wasn't exactly winning the game, and he wasn't exactly losing the game either. Thoughts of his owner crossed its mind a few times as he wondered about him and where he went, he momentarily frowned as he kept chomping away, but was loving the competitive tug of war activity too much to linger on the thought long. He was confident his owner would return soon and that he would beat this Koopa at his own game!

[Deleted]

Ludwig suddenly felt his grip on the baton faltering and suddenly he was very worried about the cause. Was it because of Chompee’s strength, or was his magic becoming unpracticed? There was no way it could be the latter, he was fantastic with his magic! With a growl, he began closing the distance between himself and the baton until he could grab it with his clawed hands, and he held on tight as the blue glow dissipated. He wasn’t the strongest of koopas when his magic didn't aid him, but he thought he could hold his own against a pup like this.

He was wrong.

Ludwig was pulled forward roughly, falling on his stomach into the ground and dragged just a small bit. He released the baton with an angered sigh. “Okay, you win!” He tried to stand himself up, and ended up falling back into a sitting position in the dirt, now covered in it from just his little fall. The koopaling rubbed the stuff from his eyes, exasperated. "I'm beginning to hope your owner comes back soon..." A lie in itself, but the turtle found his energy quite spent from overestimating his own strength.

[WolfEx]

Through resilience and a fierce determination to prove its strength, Chompee successfully wins his tug of war bout with the Koopa and barks in victory proud of itself. It then begins to dash around in circles as a high energy victory dance to boot. It barks away and yips in a taunting boast, but after a while it gets bored of its self recognition and notices the poor little Koopa exhausted to no end. So the Chompee, taking a liking to the turtle, rolls over to him and begins to lick his face lovingly. It then nuzzles in the turtle's belly and lets out a friendly groan. After its exciting day it begins to rest near the Koopa and lay down slowly going into a slumber. But no more than a few minutes into its relaxed state, a huffing and puffing sound can be heard along with the clopping of feet from just beyond the yard fence. Chompee is instantly on alert and barks in a cycle of loud noise. He scuffles to the gate and continues his yapping, but after some sniffing and observation through the cracks of the fence, Chompee can see now that it was none other than his owner, Piantissimo returning from his run! Wagging his chain, Chompee was eager to glomp him. As soon as the gate opened Piantissimo was nearly tackled by Chompee. Sweaty and spent from his run, Piantissimo was too burnt out to try to avoid the pet's affection so he allows the Chompee to slobber and jump all over him nearly knocking him on his back. After allowing some loving from the creature, Piantissimo darts away from Chompee and commands it to calm itself.

"Chompee sit! No!" Chompee takes a second to comprehend its owner, but it gets the point eventually and sits in the dirt, tongue flopped out. Piantissimo pets the Chain Chomp Youngin' and gives him a little treat of what seemed to be some kind of meat ball or something. Chompee was very pleased with it and chows down toning down his hyperactivity somewhat. While the pet was eating, Piantissimo looks at the Koopaling with grateful eyes. "You have no idea how much it means to me to be able to run again! To get out! I take it your mushroom rewards pleased you, no? Well, there's plenty more where that comes from. If you watch this rambunctious demon for me again, I will give you 3 Super Mushrooms AND a Poison Mushroom in which I found on my run in a bush! I promise I will find better things to give you the more you do this for me. So what say you, little turtle, again?" Piantissimo would release Ludwig to return to his apartment and alert the Koopa next time he needs a sitter, which would more than likely be as soon as possible, should he say yes, the next reward would surely be even better!

((If you accept you will receive bigger rewards! Each time the rewards grow. Piantissimo will go on another run in a few real time days, so if you agree, keep a look out for his next request. The more you watch Chompee the more it's love grows with you. Special results can happen if you care for it enough.))

[Deleted]

Ludwig laughed as Chompee nuzzled and he gave it a gentle pet. He smiled, and very nearly let an ‘aww’ escape his throat, as it hunkered down for a rest. It was disappointing that the pup’s sleep had to be interrupted, but this adventure inevitably had to end.
He stood and half-heartedly brushed what dirt he could off of his scales as he listened to Piantissimo’s gratitude. It was nice to be receive appreciation, even if it was for such a small task. Plus the koopa could always find a use for the rewards, he wasn't above tools on the battlefield.
“Of course I would love to do this again,” he said with a slight smile as he pulled a blade of grass from his hair and flicked it away. “Call me up at any point, this was very enjoyable and I look forward to spending more time with Chompee. Our time is a reward by itself.” He gave the beast one last loving pat before making his way out, giving the two his farewell for now.
As he made his way down the street, he made a list of things he would need to get for the next time, “Let’s see, what kinds of things did Muncher and Crunchie always play with… oh, Iggy, you would love this little guy.”

((Ludwig accepts the next job, end presence))