How Mocha took care of the boss's pet

Chapter 1: An Unexpected Assignment

On a sunny Monday morning, the office began as usual: the light noise of keys, the clinking of cups filled with morning drinks, and the muffled laughter of coworkers. Mocha had just finished counting the papers on another project when Latte leaned over her desk with a dazzling smile.

- Good morning, sunshine, - Latte said softly, as if purring.
Mocha, flinching slightly in surprise, turned around.
- Good morning, Ms. Latte, what can I do for you?

Latte perched on the edge of the table, as was her habit, and leaned a little closer, playfully starting a conversation.
- You always have a very responsible approach to things. I was wondering if you could help me with a little problem.

Mocha felt a tightening in her chest; Latte's "tiny problems" often turned into marathons, after which you could go to sleep for two days at a time.
- Of course, - she answered carefully, trying to hide her anxiety. - What do you need help with?

- Hmph-hmph, you're such a miracle! - Latté grinned softly. - I'm going away on corporate business for a couple of days, and I need someone to watch Bourbon for me right away.

- Watch who? - Mocha didn't understand.

At that moment, a puffball flew out from behind the door of the boss's office. Milk-colored, fluffy, with a cheerful expression on its face. The creature flew swiftly toward Mocha, circled around her, and finally landed softly on her lap.

- Watch this miracle,- Latte laughed, crossing her arms.

Mocha looked up at the cute, fluffy cloud, trying to realize what awaited her.

- He's... sweet, - she said cautiously. - But I've never cared a puff.

- Oh, it's a piece of cake! - Latte waved her hand. - He's almost like a dog: he likes to be played with, a little cranky, but crazy friendly. All you have to do is feed him this....

She pulled a list out of her bag with all the necessary requirements.

- ...and remember to pet it once a day to keep it in shape. Is that clear?

- Uh, uh. Yes? - Mocha was beginning to regret her agreement.

- Beautiful! - Latthe stood up, fixed her hair, and looked at her watch. - I ran. Bourbon, be a good cloud!

The pet wagged its tail and yapped sweetly. Latte disappeared as quickly as she had appeared, leaving Mocha alone with her unexpected friend.

- So, - she muttered, looking at the puff. - I hope you're not too complicated.

In response, Bourbon jumped up, scattered cloud dust, then gathered himself back up and started running around the office.

Mocha sighed. This was going to be harder than she thought.

Chapter 2: First difficulties

After about an hour, it became clear: caring a puff is no walk in the park.

Bourbon turned out to be a real hurricane. He flew between desks, sniffed coffee cups, tried to steal pens from colleagues and even stole a chocolate bar from a female employee in the marketing department.

- Hey! - the girl shrieked. - Give me back my dessert!

Mocha rushed after Bourbon, who managed to bounce and smirk at the same time, like a child who had been wronged on purpose.

- Stop! You can't eat that! - Mocha shouted, catching up with her pet.

Her words made no impression on him. Bourbon flew over the reception desk, nearly knocking over a vase of flowers, and then disappeared behind the warehouse door.

"Great, - Mocha thought, grabbing her head. - Only a couple hours, and I'm already on edge."

When she finally caught up with him in the warehouse, the girl found him sitting in the corner, thoughtfully chewing on a package of some kind of powder for magical plants.

- No, no, no, no! - Mocha lunged forward, snatched the bag from his clutches and glared at him angrily. - You're going to explode!

Bourbon only squeaked cutely and rubbed against her hand as if nothing had happened.

She went back to her desk and put it on the floor, hoping it would calm down at least a little. But as soon as she turned her back for a second, the puff was acting up again, this time clawing at her chair, trying to pull the cushion out of it.

- Okay, - she said loudly, grabbing the pet by its cloudy tail. - If you want to play, play with me, not the furniture!

Taking the ball, Mocha threw it across the office. Bourbon shrieked with joy and chased after the toy.

Surprisingly, it worked. The game continued for another hour or so, until the pooch was exhausted and finally fell asleep at her feet, curled up in a fuzzy ball.

Mocha collapsed exhaustedly in her chair, enjoying the moment of peace. She wanted to pour herself a cup of hot coffee, but Kamilla distracted her:

- Hey, do you know what he eats? - a colleague asked, looking at the bowl.

- No, - the girl answered honestly. - But judging by the way he's running around, I think he's eating energy.

Kamilla grinned.
- I hope it doesn't charge from an outlet.

Mocha only sighed. It was still a full day away, and she wanted to believe that the surprises were over.

Chapter 3: New troubles at home

After a long day at work, Mocha, exhausted but still anticipating the comforts of home, walked to her apartment. Bourbon was dozing in her arms. Puff had finally settled down after she'd let him play with the ball for the last hour in the office.

- That's a concern, - she murmured, opening the door and carefully carrying her new companion inside. - Maybe you'll be a little calmer at home.

Her apartment was small but cozy. Mocha quickly set her bag at the entrance, put her shoes away, and, out of habit, tossed her work papers on the nearest chair. She carefully laid Bourbon on the couch, hoping he'd get at least a couple hours of sleep, and went to the kitchen for another mug of coffee.

She barely had time to pour water into the kettle before a familiar buzzing sound came from the living room.

- Not again, - she whispered, rushing into the room.

And sure enough, her fears were justified: Bourbon was already flying around the chandelier, either trying to play with it or puzzled by its function.

- Hey, get down from there! - Mocha waved her arms, but the puff seemed determined to ignore her pleas. He spun around smoothly, making happy squeaking noises.

- Okay,- she said, sighing heavily. - You chose this.

Mocha created the water ball again and tossed it lightly. The Bourbon immediately darted toward it like fluffy lightning.

- Great,- she muttered, heading back to the kitchen.

But her relief didn't last long. The water in the kettle had just begun to boil when there was a loud boom in the apartment. Mocha rushed into the room.

The flower stand was overturned on the floor, the pot was broken, and the earth was scattered everywhere. The culprit, pleased with himself, sat in the midst of the chaos and wagged his tail happily.

- Are you serious?! - Mocha exclaimed, grabbing her head.

Bourbon squeaked innocently, as if apologizing, but his gaze had already shifted to the shelves of books.

- No, no, no, don't even think about it! - she rushed toward him, trying to intercept the furry disaster before he came up with another prank.

Chapter 4: The bowl experiment

Half an hour later Mocha was tiredly removing the earth from the carpet, and Bourbon was meanwhile studying with interest his bowl, which she had placed on the table.

- Latte said you're eating that, - she muttered, looking at him. - So, let's figure out what we're going to do.

She took out the crystal Latte had given her and put it in the bowl. The crystal immediately lit up, emitting a soft glow. The Bourbon immediately sprang to life, flew to the bowl, and to her surprise, literally "absorbed" the crystal into itself.

- Just like that? - Mocha wondered.

Puff licked (if you could call it that) and yawned contentedly. His body became a little softer, and his tail fluttered playfully.

- At least that went without incident, - she murmured, sitting down on the couch.

Her hopes for a quiet evening, however, were dashed again when Bourbon, satiated, suddenly began to grow. First slightly, then more, until it took up half the couch.

- Oh no... - Mocha exhaled, realizing that now she was going to have to figure out how to shrink him back.

At that moment, a crystal tablet vibrated in her bag. Message from Latte:

"How's my sweet Bourbon? I hope you're doing okay! He didn't trash anything at your house, did he? :)"

Mocha stared at the screen, then shifted her gaze to the huge puff that was now snoozing sweetly, having completely piled up on her couch, and sighed:

- Just wish these two days would go by faster.

Chapter 5. Lessons from fluffy chaos

The morning began unexpectedly quiet. Mocha opened her eyes and saw Bourbon sleeping peacefully on the couch, still occupying half of it. His furry body had shrunk slightly again, but still looked too big for her modest abode.

- Did you get any sleep, giant? - She muttered, pulling on her slippers and heading for the kitchen.

Bourbon turned around lazily, yawned, and seemed happy to see his caring babysitter again.

Mocha turned on the kettle, hesitated, and finally made up her mind. She pulled out her tablet and opened Latte's contact.

"Good morning! It's okay. Just tell me what to do if it's grown bigger than my couch?"

The answer came instantly:

"Ouch! You must have given him too much energy! Just pet him and he'll go back to normal size. These fuzzies are sensitive to touch :)"

- Of course, that's the only thing you forgot to say, - Mocha sighed, cradling Bourbon in her arms.

She began gently stroking his fluffy tail, and like magic, he began to shrink. First to the size of a pillow, then to the usual cute little lump he'd been in the beginning.

- There, you're small and obedient again,- she said, grinning. - I wish you'd remembered that at night.
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The evening of the second day.
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When Latte returned to town, she went directly to Mocha's apartment, where she found her sitting in a chair with a cup of stiff drink in one hand and a perfectly contented Bourbon curled up by the other. Everything seemed perfect at first glance, but Latte instantly noticed the broken pot in the corner, as well as the oddly skewed shelf of books.

- So, how have the two days been? - Latte asked with a slight smile, clearly noticing the chaos but not saying anything.

Mocha took a deep breath and looked at her with an unnaturally calm expression.

- It was... wonderful. It was wonderful,- she said in a tone that made Latté laugh softly.

- Thank you, Mocha,- Latte said, taking Bourbon in her arms. - You're a real hero.

- I hope I never be again,- Mocha mumbled, sitting back in her chair. - And if you need someone to watch him next time... I'll be on vacation.

Latte smiled, but didn't object. She knew she would be hearing this story in the office for a long time to come.

Mocha closed her eyes and finally allowed herself to relax. The Bourbon had been a disaster, of course, but now that it was over, she suddenly felt a slight longing for those unusual two days.

- No,- she said quietly to herself. - I don't. Definitely not.

But somewhere inside flashed the thought that she would miss a little bit of this furry hurricane that had turned her world upside down.