The Shepherd and the Salesman

Whoops...

Ili and Spamton had long since left home and were at Ili's work, which Spamton insisted on helping with.

Ili was simply checking over the footage he had gotten for the news that day to make sure it was all there, while Spamton put the lights back into the storage bag.

"SO YOU WORK ON [[color television]], EY?" Spamton asked, trying to strike up a conversation.

"Yeah, sure do." Ili said blankly, flipping the camera screen back in. "SO DID I!" Spamton said with a grin. "Yeah, I know, we were coworkers, dork." Ili chuckled, Spamton looked a little embarrassed.

"... BAD [[memory chip]], SORRY." He said, awkwardly shuffling his feet. "It's alright, sweetie. I'm not upset." Ili said, patting Spamton on the head. Spamton blushed a little bit but stayed quiet. "Yeah, sometimes I'm on camera myself as a host. It's pretty -" Ili stopped dead in his tracks and turned his head toward a nearby corner.

"..." He stayed silent, both ears perked up, eyes wide open. Drool dripped down his muzzle in anticipation of fresh blood. "... DARLING? ARE YOU [[okay]]?" Spamton asked,

Ili made a "shush" motion with one hand and pinpointed the sound. This particular stalker wasn't as sly as the others, the scent of burnt feathers and leather apparent.

Ili snarled and pounced the person, his hands tight around their neck. The person appeared to be a yellow-feathered addison with spiky hair and many facial scars. They let out a quiet choke as they struggled in Ili's grip. "Funny, I've never seen one of your kind work as a spy..." Ili said blankly, staring at the addison.

"ILI WAIT!! L-LET HIM GO- HE ISN"T [[stalking us]]- HE"S... HE"S MY BROTHER." Spamton managed to stutter out. Ili turned and stared at Spamton for a moment before releasing the addison.
"My bad." Ili said blankly.

The addison collapsed to his knees and coughed, rubbing his neck. "WELL TH-THAT'S A FINE.... "HOWD'YA DO" AIN'T IT-? *COUGH*-" The addison wheezed slightly. Spamton came over to check on them. "SPARK? [[sparky]]?? YOU OKAY??" Spamton asked, the addison nodded.

"YEAH... BOY! YOUR FRIEND HAS A VERY STRONG GRIP!!" Spark laughed.
"Why were you watching us." Ili demanded. Spamton looked over at Ili "G-GO EASY ON EM, HE"S [[harmless]], OKAY?" Spamton said softly. Ili took a moment, staring blankly. "...I'm not gonna hurt him further, but I want to know why he was watching us." Ili repeated.

"I DON'T REALLY REMEMBER, I KINDA JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE MY BIG BRO WAS OKAY!" Spark said with a toothy smile.
Ili paused, then decided not to interrogate Spark, realizing he was probably a little... "special"

Spamton hugged Spark gently, which Spark quickly returned. "BOY HAVE YOU CHANGED!" Spark laughed, Spamton gave a weak chuckle in response. "I [[guess so]]..." Spamton said softly

"...THE OTHERS DIDN"T SEND YOU OUT HERE TO [[deal]] WITH ME ON THE1R BEHALF, DID THEY?" Spamton asked, suspicious. Spark shook his head. "I JUST CAME TO APOLOGIZE FOR MYSELF, NOT THEM." Spark said with a slightly goofy smile. "...YOU DON"T [[need to]] APOLOGIZE, SPARK... YOU... YOU WERE [[a kid]], YOU DIDN"T DO NOTHIN'..." Spamton said calmly, adjusting his glasses.

"REALLY? COOL!" Spark said with a wide grin. "WANNA HANG OUT LATER?" Spark asked excitedly, the distinct smell of burning electronics stinging both Ili and Spamton's nose.
Spamton looked at Ili, questioning. Ili paused, realizing what was being silently asked. "... I don't control ya, do what you want, dude." Ili said with a shrug.

"..." Spamton looked at Spark, "DEPENDS... IF ITS [[just you and me]], SURE. IF IT'S WITH THE OTHERS, OR... [[near them]], NO." Spamton finally decided. "JUST ME!! WELL, UHH- MEET YOU AT TOWN SQUARE THEN?" Spark asked excitedly, a spark of electricity audible from his neck. "...[[yeah]], THAT SOUNDS GOOD." Spamton said, releasing Spark from the hug.

Spark stood up, "GREAT!! SEE YOU TONIGHT SPAMMY!!" He said with a giggle, running off.

Ili and Spamton just kinda stood there.

"... So you're on good terms, yeah?" Ili asked.

"... YEAH... WE ARE."

"... That's lovely."