Ven had gotten completely used to living with Amaru after a year or two. While she was away a good deal of the time, that meant he had time to watch a good deal of television he knew she wouldn't be sophisticated enough to appreciate, eat whatever she kept in the fridge (usually brownies, rice, mackintosh apples and every kind of fish), and surf the web without needing to lock the computer for his neurotic master. However, even though she was a rover, Amaru was almost always home for dinner, and she always allowed Ven to eat at the table. It was only proper, really. Ven was very large, which made it that much easier for him to mount a chair and sit upright in it. He also had opposable thumbs that were adept at handling silverware. Plus, it just made him feel like a civilized creature. Sometimes, when Ven was in a hurry or just in the mood for it, he would take his food in a bowl, but eating at the table had become routine for him. One night Amaru invited her sister, Zala, over to her house to eat dinner with her and Ven. She really felt it was time for her sister to meet her pet. For dinner, she cooked up some buttered rainbow trout and served it with some chunks of leftover steak: a sort of makeshift surf-n-turf. The greetings were warm and heartfelt, and Zala immediately took a shine to charismatic Ven, who bounded up to her, making sure not to knock her over like he does with Amaru, flashed the zebra a winning smile and introduced himself. Meanwhile, she pet his head and laughed nervously at how very big he was. Shortly afterward, when dinner was on the table, the two sisters did some brief catching-up. the whole time, Zala stared down at her plate of potatoes and beef (she didn't care much for fish and declined it), trying to avoid staring at the great beast towering over her from across the table. "why so quiet?" asked Amaru, breaking a five minute period of silence. "Oh, it's just-- uh-- never mind. It's nothing." replied Zala. Amaru's whiskers twitched in that way they always do when she knew someone was hiding something. "Just tell us what's up." said Amaru indifferently. Zala swallowed some steak. "It's just - don't you find it a little odd, you letting your pet eat at the table and everything?" Amaru and Ven both shot her a look. "watch it" muttered Ven under his breath so the others couldn't hear him. "I mean he's your pet and stuff, right? Isn't that bad obedience training?" said Zala, growing a bit more bold. Amaru shoved a chunk of fish into her mouth, covered her muzzle with one paw and said "Look-- he's MY sergal and if I say he can eat at the table, then he can eat at the table. Ok?" Ven nodded calmly. Zala blushed and apologized. "that's okay," said Ven, and he tossed the tail of the fish high into the air and caught it in his jaws. The trick eased a bit of the tension in the room, but they all knew they would need to quietly watch a bit of mindless TV after dinner before everything could be square again.