She felt a small tug in her chest, and the faint rustle of sounds around her.
She opened her eyes slowly, feeling groggy, like she'd woken up from a very long nap. A fuzzy blur greeted her, and as her vision adjusted, she realized she was in some kind of tiny, cramped space. She blinked a few times, trying to focus. There were metal bars on one side, thick sawdust all around her, and—
Wait, she thought, a strange prickling sensation rising along her back. She tried to move her arms and legs, but they felt oddly short, stubby even. A glance downward made her heart skip—she had tiny, clawed paws instead of hands. And her body… it was covered in tiny spines. ( ˶°ㅁ°) !!
For a moment, she just sat there, processing what she was seeing. She turned slightly and felt the spines along her back bristle and shift with her movement. No way, she thought, too stunned to even feel panicked. I'm… a hedgehog? For real?
Emi the hedgehog zoned out for a moment, thinking. Her nickname given by her family was Hedgehog, she hasn't thought about it too much before, but looking at her now she wondered if her family planned this in advanced.
"Oh, look at you! Aren't you just the sweetest little thing?"
The voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she turned to see a young woman with wide, excited eyes peering into her cage. The woman lead a young man behind her.
Curious, she looked up at the newcomer, catching a glimpse of a young man dressed in casual streetwear—a hoodie, jeans, and a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes. He leaned in closer, looking at her curiously. Emi stared back at him, Oh!
Isn't that SJ?
Although Emi kept up with the times, she wasn't too interested in following idols per se. She only listened to their songs, she also has eyes, which means she will often see them on billboards now and then.
The man looked deep in thoughts, maybe wondering if he should adopt a hedgehog. Although she wasn't too happy about the thought of being sold, being a handsome dude's pet is better than a bratty girl or something. She thought about it for a second and started to act cute. She walked up to him, squeeked, then layed on her back to show him her belly.
She looked at him after, and finally he showed a smile.
"Alright, I'll take her"
"Perfect!" the seller chirped, she then gently picked her up and put her into a little container and gave it to SJ to hold. As they walked towards the register, she can hear the seller giving the young man some basics around raising a hedgehog.
The container has holes in it for the animals to breathe, so Emi could see the outside although she couldn't tell much.
The sounds of people passing by, indescript talking in the background, everything becomes a blur as Emi realizes that she is falling asleep. Before she closed her eyes, she remembered thinking Hopefully I met a good owner.