A Fateful Fall Encounter
#1 of Keeping a Cold-Blood Warm
Whoops, I accidentally posted my first work.
Anyway, this is the beginning of a love story between a lonely rat and an amnesiac chameleon. Humor, some light drama, and a little extra await these two as they live with each other in an almost empty mansion.
Part of a writing request from an online friend. I'm not too sure if he has a SoFurry account, but if he does and he wants to be known, expect this last section to change.
P-please respond (with critique, preferably).
It was a peaceful autumn evening at the park. Children exhausted from a long day of playing in the leaves were taken back home by their mothers. Meanwhile, the chilly winds that the season is famous for urged everybody else to retreat to a warmer area. Soon, the multi-colored park was devoid of visitors, barring a few exceptions. One beastman in particular outright refused to budge.
The rat, or Louis as he was known by his peers, was seated firmly on a bench, finishing up a novel he brought along to read during lunch. As he closed the paperback book shut, Louis let out a long sigh, worried that all of these tragic endings were a sign of things to come in his life. Shaking his head free of his negative thoughts, the rat pushed himself off of the once-warm bench and started down the leaf-coated trail back to his house.
Along the way, he passed by a pile of leaves, one that was much bigger than the ones kids usually make. However, he paid it no mind and continued walking.
..That is, until he heard a moan.
Louis turned to face the source of the noise and found himself looking at the leaf pile. Trying to ignore what he heard, he said to himself, "I guess it was nothing," but a louder moan stomped any of his attempts at denial flat on the ground. With all doubts wiped, the rat let out a sigh before walking back to the leaves.
As soon as Louis stood in front of the pile of leaves, it shook a bit, and the rat took a step back in response. When the leaves stopped shaking, Louis squatted down and took a deep breath to ease his tense body. With his muscles relaxed somewhat, the shaky beastman raised his tail and plunged it into the leaves, only stopping when he hit something. Still unsure what was hiding underneath, the rat slid his tail wherever it could fit, making the mound rustle and twist. After a few more seconds, a seemingly headless body in a winter jacket leapt up out of the leaves and laughed out loud, making the rat fall on his ass in surprise.
Immediately after the laughter came an annoyed growl. A wave of green flowed through an area above the body, revealing a reptilian face. Still irked by the rat's actions, the lizard asked, "The hell was that for?" staring daggers at the seated mammal.
Caught completely off-guard by the other beastman's appearance, all Louis could say was, "A chameleon!?"
"Of course I am," the reptile replied flatly. "What did you think I was? A crocodile? And you still didn't answer my questions, rat. That shit don't fly well with me, so you better explain yourself if you don't want no trouble."
Panicking and in no position to escape, Louis spat out the first things on his mind. "I didn't know what you were under those leaves! I was just curious! Please don't hurt me!"
Looking down at the cowering rodent, the chameleon sighed. "All right, fine. I won't hurt you, but you mind tellin' me where I am? I can't seem to remember much of anything lately."
"Well, we're in the Smith National Park, but I don't know what else I can say," the rat answered as he rose to his feet, dusting off the lower backside of his button-up coat. "I'm not sure how I can help you. You said that you can't recall much of anything, so what can you recall?" he asked, a bit suspicious of the lizard's words.
The reptile brought his arms to a thinking pose and remained in that position for a minute before shaking his head in frustration. "Can't remember a thing, man. All I got's my name. It's Roberts, by the way," he said as he extended a scaly hand to offer a handshake.
"And I'm Louis," the rodent replied, slowly reaching his arm to accept Roberts's offer. As soon as the thumbs touched, Louis found his hand locked in a vice-grip and pulled up and down without warning. When the handshake was over, the rat shook his wrist tenderly, trying to regain feeling in his once-pink paw. "I-it's nice to meet you, Mr. Roberts. Uhh, if you need help, I'd be glad to ask the authorities about any recent missing person's cases. If worse comes to worst, then you can even live with me until you get your memories back."
Roberts turned redder than the reddest leaf after hearing Louis's offer. "Really? You'd do that for me?"
"Well, sure. I certainly wouldn't mind having company over for dinner." Louis answered, only to find himself wrapped around the chameleon's thick arms.
"That's pretty awesome of you, Louis!" the lizard exclaimed as he loosened up his grip. After he lowered his arms, Roberts started marching down the trail, yelling, "Come on, Louis!"
"Uhh! The Police Station is on the other side!"
Finally out of the park, the two males made their way to the police station across the street. Waiting for the walk sign to light up, Louis ran his thumb across the pages of his book, letting the light breeze brush against his face. In the meantime, Roberts kept his hands in his pants pockets, fiddling around with whatever was inside. All the while, a faint noise could be heard amongst the rustling leaves.
The rat took notice of the movement going on in the chameleon's pockets and his curiosity struck. "So did you find anything in there?" Louis asked. Immediately after, the white walking-man lit up, prompting the two to start moving again.
"Just this stuff." From his left hand, Roberts pulled out a fancy ballpoint pen, one that wouldn't look out of place in a CEO's office. The cylinder and cap appeared to be crafted out of polished and expertly-finished wood, while the metal parts were undoubtedly composed of a gold alloy. In his right hand was a notepad, plain as ink. "Huh, a pen and a notepad..." he said as he quickly flipped through its pages, back to front. Maybe he'll find a clue to his identity, Louis thought as he watched the lizard give each blank page a quick glance, only to hear Roberts announce, "Nope, nothing."
Before the chameleon closed the notepad, Louis took a quick glance and thought he saw a few ripped pages. However, Roberts pocketed the pad before the rat could say anything. Perhaps I was just seeing things, the mammal thought.
The two males made it across the street before the light started blinking red, prompting a few waiting cars to hurry over to their destinations, or what they thought was their destinations. As one sports van sped past the two, the breeze it left behind chilled Roberts to the spine.
He turned to Louis with a pale expression and asked, "Hey, Louis. You mind if I go ahead of you? I really gotta use the bathroom." The rat nodded, and within seconds, Robert was inside the police station.
Louis took his time to catch up with the chameleon, walking towards the glass door at a snail's pace. Looking inside, the rat could see his amnesiac acquaintance talking with a Rottweiler officer behind the desk. While Roberts was asking questions out of Louis's earshot, the dog looked at the rat and nodded, answering the chameleon's questions and pointing him towards the nearest bathroom. When the rat opened the door, he could hear a bell ringing and the lizard yelling "Thanks!" as he ran down the hallway to the left.
Just as Roberts kicked the door open, the Rottweiler stood up and stretched, leaving Louis in his shadow. Looking down at the much smaller mammal, the officer asked, "Good evening sir. Do you need anything?"
Louis was petrified for a second, as anyone would be if a man several decimeters taller was standing in front of them. The rat swallowed his fear, but his voice still shook as he began to ask, "U-uh, is it okay if I could ask about some missing report cases? I'm looking for a Mr. Roberts-" only to stop when he realized something important.
"Roberts?" The officer asked with an ear raised. "Your friend in the bathroom asked me about the same thing. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten anything on anyone with that name. Sorry." As the Rottweiler scratched his muzzle, Louis saw a gold wedding band and his ears dropped in disappointment.
"Well, thanks anyway."
Louis sat down on one of the chairs in the station, going back and forth on whether he should read through Closeted in College one more time when Roberts finally came out of the bathroom. "Hey Louis! Thanks for waiting, man. I wasn't in there too long, was I?"
The rat got up from his seat and closed his book, putting on a smile as he replied, "It's all right, Mr. Roberts. When nature calls, you need to answer, right?"
Roberts chuckled at Louis's reply. "I suppose you're right, haha. And it's Dylan, by the way. Dylan Roberts." After clearing his throat, the chameleon continued, "Anyway, are we gonna ask about the-" only to be interrupted by the officer's coughing.
"Hm?"
"No. It's nothing."
With an exchange of goodbyes and the chime of the farewell bell, the rat and the chameleon left the police station. The males stood atop the cool concrete while the nighttime breeze brushed against their faces. Under the evening chill, they took a moment to collect their thoughts. Louis and Dylan both tried to say something, but they only managed to slip on each other's words.
"So your name is-Uhh"
"So now-I'm sorry, would you-"
They cleared their throats and waited for the other to speak up. When neither one started, Robert extended an open palm, signaling Louis to say what was on his mind.
It took a second, but after a scratch of his muzzle, the rat finally talked. "So... Dylan Roberts?"
"Yeah. 's not much of a name, but it's mine," Dylan replied, crossing his arms and turning his head away bashfully. "Why?"
Louis scratched his muzzle and looked down at his book. Looking back up at the chameleon, he muttered, "It just sounded familiar. That's all."
Dylan's face dropped, and he began to shift his eyes left and right. "Oh, is that so?" he asked, lingering on each word as if his life depended on them. Looking back at Louis, the lizard shook his head and put on another smile. "I guess I might be famous or something. Too bad I can't just live in fame. Haha! Looks like I'll be staying with you for a while, Louis," he sang as he marched down the lamp-lighted streets.
The rat smiled at the chameleon's words. "That's what it looks like, but my house is this way!" he yelled to the other man, who was already a few blocks away by then. As soon as Dylan turned around to face him, Louis began making his way back home, giggling at the amnesiac's misdirection.
"H-hey, wait for me!"
After a few blocks, Dylan found the houses they passed by becoming more and more elaborate, with most of them sporting more than one storey and holding at least two cars. The automobiles themselves progressed from apple red pickup trucks and viridian mini-vans to ivory luxury automobiles and custom-made muscle cars. When they finally stopped in front of a mansion in the middle of a cul de sac, the chameleon felt compelled to ask, "Hey Louis, you sure we're at the right place? This all seems a little too fancy."
The rat chuckled as he unlocked the door. In Louis's mind ran over a thousand words confessing his true identity, but he chose to keep his whiskered muzzle shut until he turned the knob with his left hand. As he pushed the door open, Louis turned to face his scaly guest, eating up the chameleon's expression as the light from the mansion hit his face. "I'm sure this is the right place, or my name isn't Louis Greyfield," the rat replied, offering his free hand to Dylan to invite him in.
Dylan was left speechless as he entered through the door, his jaw wide open as he took in the interior. It looked exactly like mansions would in the movies. Two staircases curved upward into the second floor, each one covered in a plush red carpet. In lieu of a single light hanging from the ceiling, the lobby was lit by a series of well-placed wall lamps. Along the pure-white walls stood two identical solid-wood tables, each one holding a painted vase. Upon closer inspection, the chameleon recognized each design from a time long before he was born.
However, he never got more than a few seconds to admire the figure on the second vase before he hit the floor.
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