Chapter Text
Shen Yuan hated roaches. Roaches of all kinds.
Yet there he was, holding a tiny dubia roach in the grasp of some small, rubber-tipped tweezers. He carefully dipped it into the small dish of yellow pollen, making sure to cover it in an even coating.
He hated roaches and the flightless fruit flies that Shen Yuan kept in a different container were technically better feeders for an Orchid Mantis, but Binghe seemed to prefer something with a little crunch, so to roaches Shen Yuan went.
The enclosure was already open, kept carefully in his line of sight just in case anything were to happen. He doubted there would be an escape attempt, his little Binghe was awfully well-behaved, but he would rather be safe than be sorry.
Shen Yuan nudged aside a few leaves with his fingers, exposing the small pink and white mantis to his view.
The mantis perked up, waving its tiny arms up toward Shen Yuan in what he chose to believe was a greeting. The praying mantis saw the roach quickly, extending its tiny arms and staying still save for the small swaying pattern he did to try and blend into the silk flowers around him.
As much as he loved them, Shen Yuan had little luck with keeping plants alive himself. So Binghe had to settle for carefully chosen fake plants instead.
Gently, Shen Yuan nudged the little roach towards Binghe’s face, watching him sway for a moment longer before very politely taking the insect from Shen Yuan, crushing it tightly with his little arms and nibbling at its tiny head, already trying to bite it off.
It was, quite frankly, adorable.
Shen Yuan hadn’t even known that he liked pets like this until Binghe had practically fallen into his lap, just a poor, neglected little Orchid Mantis in need of a loving home. The amount of research put into making sure his little Binghe was as happy and healthy as he could be had been more than worth it.
He watched Binghe eat his meal, closing the enclosure door carefully so as to not startle or disturb him from his meal. Shen Yuan kept half an eye on the little mantis as he cleaned the tweezers and dumped out the excess pollen, wiping out the dusting dish with a soft cloth.
The meal was a little bigger than it usually was, so he figured that the one roach would be enough to satiate Binghe’s seemingly endless appetite. He had to be careful, too, that he didn’t overfeed the glutton, even if he always felt bad when he walked by and saw Binghe perched in his little flowers, drawn up into his little hunting pose while he waited hopefully for an insect to fly by so that he could snatch it out of the air.
What a perfect little hunter.
A perfect little Binghe.