Zookeeper Ricky

It was supposed to be just a simple Halloween party. With the Tribulations coming up, it should have been a way for Ricky to blow off some steam before what would be another big opportunity for that young man. Instead, it became something noticeably more.

As per usual, with parties and such, Ricky was blitzed out of his mind but having one hell of a time. With his body bent, Ricky's head was submerged in that rather cold water, bobbing for apples because of course he is. He managed to bite into one of those apples and stood back straight, holding it between his teeth. The people surrounding cheered and laughed aloud as Ricky took a bite from that apple. Midchew, he looked over and saw her. At first, he thought it was his blurred vision fucking with him. Sadly, he was wrong.

Standing across from that barrel was that damn devil woman who had caused him numerous problems in the past, Cat. On the other hand, Ashlynn Cassidy was super stoked to see her, the two meeting one another. All poor Ricky could do was stand back, watching the two have their inaudible conversation.

'Who gives you more of a headache? Her or Alessa?'

Recognizing the voice instantly, Ricky turned to look up at his older brother Big Ass Bobby. Shaking his head, Ricky sighed out.

'The hell is she doin here? Did you know she was back around?'

Bobby gave a shrug of his shoulders before bringing his arm up, letting his forearm rest on Ricky's shoulder.

'I think Alessa said she hit her up but I didn't really get much more information. I didn't think she'd be here though.'

The poor young man groaned out, his head falling back.

'I mean..long as she ain't tryinta start no shit like she did with Sahara then there won't be no problems. I got too much shit goin on right now to hafta worry bout that. Seriously, I'm bouta fight a kangaroo.'

'A kangaroo.'

Even just repeating it, Bobby shook his head, the pair looking on while Ash and Cat talked. While they observed, Ricky continued with what he was saying.

'Like this match ain't big enough as it is. Gotta show'em why they fucked up not draftin me. Joe in the match too. Gotta lotta love for Joe but when it comes down to it, I'm always ready to go up against'em like that. Still gotta get my getbacks, y'know?

I got that kangaroo's ass tho. Ordered this bag made outta kangaroo ballsack. It'll be here before the match. Gonna be exactly what it takes to throw'em off just enough to drop that ass. Just picture it, Roo all psyched and hyped and ready to go then BAM, smacked with his cousin's scrote tote. Ain't gonna fuckin kick me, I'll be damned.'

Bobby couldn't help but to laugh out at the way Ricky was going on. Cat looked away from Ashlynn for a moment, briefly focusing on Ricky with a devious expression on her face before returning to her conversation. Ricky shook his head, knowing exactly what she was up to.

'Look at her Bobby, she prolly over there spinnin some kinda bullshit story. Ash knows better than to fall into all that tho.'

Nodding his head, Bobby nudged Ricky, attempting to distract him from the current situation.

'Tell me more about that Tribulations Match, you mentioned a kangaroo and Joe Montuori..'

Ricky's attention was quickly jerked away from Catherine and back to Bobby.

'Rightright, Tribulations. So, it's me and Roo and Joe and one of Knox's fifty kids and Bonny. Iunno too much bout Bonny yet but by time the match comes around? Ima know all I needa know. Ima be as ready as I most possibly can be, that's without a doubt.'

Ricky nodded firmly as Bobby laughed to himself, thankfully distracting Ricky. That is, until Catherine and Ashlynn made their way over to where Ricky and Bobby were. Just from his body language and stance showed just how uneasy she made him. Noticing this right away, Ashlynn moved to stand next to Ricky, wrapping her arms around him.

'Are you having fun?'

Ricky smiled at Ash, the two of them sharing a brief kiss. After a moment, they parted and Ashlynn moved to stand next to Ricky.

'I was surprised to run into Cat here. I invited her, but I wouldn't have thought she would have actually come. I'm happy she did though.'

'Me too! It's been a lot of fun and I've definitely needed it.'

That defensiveness shown by Ricky faltered noticeably as he looked at Catherine, especially as her hands moved to her swollen stomach, painted to look like a jack o'lantern. Ricky looked as if he was going to say something but instead, he was distracted by Ashlynn tugging at his arm.

'Hey, come here for a minute.'

His attention fully on Ashlynn, Ricky followed her as she led him outside into the cool night air. As soon as they got out there, she wrapped her arms around him as he did the same, the two hugging one another tightly.

'I offered to let Cat stay with us for a bit.'

Ricky's eyes widened as he heard those words Ashlynn spoke. But once again, before he could get a word in, Ashlynn continued on.

'She's in a tough spot right now. As soon as her boyfriend found out she was pregnant, he left and then she was getting help from her mom but they had a falling out too. She's been staying in a motel and she really needs the help.'

Taking in a breath, Ricky couldn't help but to feel for her, despite everything that had happened in the past. After a few moments of not really saying anything, Ricky sighed out softly, nodding his head slowly.

'I don't have a problem with it..as long as she doesn't tryta start shit again.'

Ashlynn shook her head, quickly dismissing the idea.

'She won't. She just didn't like Sahara, she likes me.'

Laughing out softly, Ricky smiled warmly and nodded his head slowly. The two shared another tight hug, enjoying the feeling of being against one another.

'You're sucha great person, always tryinta look out for someone. I love itt~'

Ashlynn was all smiles after hearing that. He was right though, you would be hard pressed to find many more as caring and compassionate as she was. Surely, this couldn't end badly at all, could it?

~~~

It was a beautiful day. Cloudless sky. Sun shining. And what else better could you do on such a nice day than going to the zoo. So, of course that's where we would find none other than Ricky Rodriguez. Clearly, the easily excitable young man was having a great time. Eating on some cotton candy, Ricky was going around that zoo, looking at the various animals there.

The mood was totally on the up and up until Ricky got to one specific animal enclosure. The kangaroos. Tearing off a piece of that cotton candy, Ricky shoved it into his mouth, eyeing one of those kangaroos the entire time.

'Look at you..just lookin all smug and shit. Lookin like a deer that just got outta prison. As much as this all confuses me..it doesn't intimidate me. It's like..I always get so stoked when I get to face someone new. Specially when it's someone with a skillset I haven't really gone up against afore. But this match? Not only am I goin up against a skillset I've never gone up against before..I'm goin up against a species I've never gone up against before. That's a whole fuckin new level of whoa.'

Ricky eyed that kangaroo once more before moving onto the next enclosure. Eating the rest of that cotton candy as he went, Ricky threw away the paper cone before stopping. This particular enclosure was home to a big dumb ass looking gorilla. Standing there, he brought his arms up, crossing them at his chest.

'Don't worry, I see you, Joe. You're one of those people..I always see you. Now I know..we're all good, past is in the past and all that. But any chance I get to kick the shit outta you? Ima take it and Ima make the absolute most of it. And not cause you pushed me into a cake. Not cause you abandoned me and left me to get my ass beat. But cause you're one of the most talented..most decorated athletes this business has ever seen. Just bein in there against you raises my stock. And when I put you on your ass? It'll be straight to the top.'

Ricky shot that gorilla a smirk, his arms dropping to his sides as he shook his head slowly and headed off towards the next enclosure. This one was special, instead of the usual glass, this one was a cage, a netting around it. Filled with various trees, this one housed ravens. There was a ton of them too but one stood out. One wing shorter than the other, this particular raven looked a little..off. It couldn't quite hang on the branch, falling off only for the rest of the flock to caw, seemingly laughing at it.

'Somethin can be said bout birds of s feather. Specially when you see soo fuckin many of them in one spot..a flock like this. Somethin else can be said bout all that tho. In a flock like this one, you gotta stand out or you become indistinguishable. No different than anyyyone else in your flock. Makes it even worse when others in that same flock all have no problem doin what they do as well as they do it.'

Even after falling off of that branch, that raven managed to pick itself back up, even taking flight. But thanks to one wing being longer than the other, the poor thing just flew in a circle. Let's move on. And finally, the last enclosure. Inside of that one was something that Ricky had never really seen before. His brow lowering, Ricky tilted his head to the side, trying to figure out just what it was.

There was no signs as there usually were. No indications whatsoever of what that creature could be. Shaking his head slowly, Ricky finally just shrugged his shoulders.

'I don't even know what the fuck that is.'

Sighing out, Ricky turned his back to that brightly colored creature, leaning into the railing surrounding it.

'To say this match is gonna be like walkin into a zoo is a fuckin understatement. Luckily for me tho? Think Ima make a pretty fuckin awesome zookeeper.'

That bright, almost childlike smile grew out across the features of young Ricky. Pushing off of that railing, he turned back around to look at it. The longer he stood there, the more people came up. Slowly, the scene would fade away as Ricky and those onlookers tried to figure out exactly what that last animal really was.