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MIJO

Gotta teach Lazarus that song. Arrorró mi niño. He probably won't like it but I'll sit on him if I have to. How's it go again? Arrorró mi niño, arrorró mi sol, arrorró pedazo, de mi corazón. Something about a cradle of flowers. Damn it this is going to bother me. One day he might have his own kids, though; maybe a son to sing the song to. But whatever makes him happy. He can go off and become a goat-herder if he wants to.

Reading. I need to get him to do that for me more often. Maybe he'll believe me if I say I'm getting old and my eyes aren't working like they used to. If he reads aloud he might not hate the sound of his own voice so much. I wish he knew nobody really minds the accent.

Wish I could've taken him with me when I first saw him. His little antler nubs were barely there and now they're getting bigger. I like them small. They're useful for scratching my chin when I'm hitching a ride.

He's a good kid. People'll realize it, and then his future might not be so lonely. Can't keep your dad around forever, right?

Laz is like papausa. On the outside he's got his cracks, but the inside's what you want. Guess I could've found a better analogy for him than something you eat. I'll rethink that.

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PENDEJO / THAT SHIT

If there was a sudden drought and everything died, I would eat him. Okay, maybe not because he's so damn bony, but I'd be tempted to. Might start fattening him up just in case though, and if that never happens, it can't hurt. I'll have to get sneaky with the food. Don't think he'd accept anything from me outright, and yeah, I don't blame him. Can he eat sweets? I'll just leave jars of dulce de leche with sopapillas where he sleeps. Have to remember Mami's recipe.

Heard about the bear incident. Something to keep in mind. Wish I was there to see his face, though. After the log, I need to plan some kind of revenge. I'll leave a dead snake under his head. Wait- no, fuck's sake. Stupid bird brain. Wait. Would he think owl pellets are gross? He'd better because they're disgusting, but maybe he's like Elon.

If I get in a scrape, I can probably depend on him. Maybe. As a last resort. Still think those try-outs could've been timed. How fast can he run? I should find out. Might give me more revenge ideas, and I could even involve Laz. That'd be fun.

I didn't think it was possible for someone to infuriate me so much by just existing. He's a mosquito. A huge mosquito, but I'll just find a bigger swatter.

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CHIQUITO

I wish I knew what happened to him. It's not even that his verbal struggles are the issue- even kids who can speak don't like to talk about it. Took me forever to really get Laz to open up a bit, but I'm not saying the effort isn't worth it. I'm saying if it isn't made, the kid's gonna get older and try to make sense of it all by himself. From there he might get angry at everyone and everything. Maybe he shuns the world. Kids don't forget what happens to them. They might not understand it, but those things- they stick around. So if there's anything I can do for him, I need to prove he can trust.

It doesn't need to be me he trusts. Someone. Hell, even himself. What's worse than distrusting other people is distrusting yourself, and I should start working on it soon. Try teaching him a bit more English. Show him how to interact. Feed him more, too. He's made some progress, even said please, but I can see he's able to only handle one or two people at the most right now.

I do want to introduce him to some new foods. Not too many yet, I'll have to ease him into it, but maybe conchas. At this rate I'm going to put on an extra thirty pounds. Myliu's the one who needs that weight, not me.

Might teach him a little bit of Spanish, but English first. That's what most people here speak, and once he's got that down and doesn't hate me, then we'll see. That reminds, me though- his gnawing habit. Should find something for that, and try to see why he's always wearing that bone mask, but something tells me I'll lose a toe touching it.

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SWEETHEART?

I really don't think that's how I'm supposed to spell her name, but I don't know how else to fucking write it. Sweethart? Sure as hell isn't Sweatheart, otherwise she should go get a refund. Anyway. Don't know very much about her yet, but she's the one who'll be completely in charge if the other guy bites the bullet, so I need to start figuring her out soon.

She's been nice, thus far. Seems maternal. Married to that other lady, isn't she? Margarine? Ha, no, I know it's Margary. Margaery. Neither of them can be as sweet as they seem. Nobody's that sweet for no damn reason, so color me intrigued. They both feel...old. Sounds awful even in my head, but it's not as much of an age thing as it is seeming beyond. It's driving me nuts and I want to figure it out, except their business isn't my business. Habits are just hard to kill I suppose. Think they're both secretly mass cannibals or something? They could get away with it, but- nah. Probably not.

So yes. Get to know her better. Wonder if she'll be more receptive to me if I'm my usual self or if I act softer. Maybe I'll watch out for any of her hobbies; could take one up, get good at it. Or suck monumentally at it. She's helpful, so she'd probably like giving tips. It's just a matter of finding out what she does in her spare time without taking up old methods. Befriending, not interrogating.

Shouldn't be too hard.