Rainy Days = Beautiful Beginnings

Rain began to pour down in the city. People of all kinds rushed around the city heading for shelter from the heavy rain and loud thunder that was accompanied by lightning. It continued on as soon store and even hotel owners had to begin closing their businesses as more and more people poured in filling to almost the maximum capacity they could hold. Many locked out were able to get shelter from the homeless of the alleyways only able to take up two-four persons into their shelters before they had to “close up”.

Among the many that were locked out was a figure in a yellow raincoat. The hood covering their face as they ran around banging on doors. Each one giving no response or simply turning out their lights.

“Please! Anyone!” the figure continued to yell as they pleaded to anyone that would even listen. But their efforts were in vain. No one would open up no matter how much they begged. As the thunder blasted out with lighting shattering the sky with the flash of light and the jagged shaped bolt.

The hooded figure looked into the neatly wrapped blankets and looked to the crying baby as they began to try and cease its tears. “Dammit..!” they said as they tried to see where they were going and unknowingly began to walk across the street as they failed to notice the pair of headlights approaching them.

Before the unthinkable could occur the car came to a skidding halt as the wet road made the tires continue to roll on before the car’s tires were able to get enough pressure onto the inner brake discs to make the car come to a complete halt. The hooded figure realized at the last second and fell back to the rain soaked road onto their ass. As the car stayed in place the figure expected a honk but instead heard the sound of a car door opening up.

The driver stepped out and walked over to them. “Are you all right?!” the driver asked as he headed over to them. He was a black furred hedgehog with red tipped spines with a white muzzle. His fur around the muzzle was grown out slightly indicating he wasn’t an occasional shaver, with the red tipped spines slightly black already showing an obvious dye job. He had on a long black trench coat with heavy boots on also with long and baggy black cargo pants and a black shirt with it open slightly showing his white chest fur. Black gloves keeping his hands warm.

“Hey! I asked if you’re ok!” he exclaimed as he took notice of their coat’s tear.

He quickly took off his coat and handed it to them. “Here use this!” he said while he helped them cover themselves.

“Please! Can you help me?!” the figure said in an obvious feminine voice as she stood up holding her onto her raincoat tightly. “No one’s letting us in and I have no car, my home’s outside the city and-” She was shushed by the hedgehog as he stood up with her and pulled her over to the car.

“Get in.” he said as he opened up the passenger door for her.

She looked to her savior then back to the car and quickly got in yelling, “Thank you! Thank you!” As she got into the car she could feel the heater running through the car as she sighed with pure relief. With the heat blowing through her fur to her skin underneath, she took off her raincoat hood revealing her appearance.

She was a tiger with black hair standing on her head as it let itself fall halfway down her back. Bright orange fur accompanied by the black stripes that encompass her body, the white muzzle with her black nose. She leaned back in the sight letting the heat take over her as the driver reentered the vehicle and got them moving.

As they drove through the rain moving through the city that now looked like a ghost town, they kept right on the road heading to wherever the driver was intending to go to earlier. He looked to her and said, “You okay?” she looked to him with a confused look on her face “Huh?”

“Are you okay?”

“Oh! Well, yes thank you, I honestly thought you’d yell at me for being in the way.” She said with a warm smile on her face and gently nuzzled the little one.

The hedgehog smiled at the sight and continued through the suburbs in the new silence. “Abraham.” He said aloud. The tigress looked over to him, “Huh?” she said with a slight tilt of her head.

“That’s my name, Abraham, Abraham Edan Herozake.” The hedgehog said with a hint of pride in his tone. “But I would actually prefer if you call me ‘Ghost’ if you can.”

“Oh.” The tigress said in surprise as she let out a little giggle. “I’m Tendra, Tendra Raquel Stripes.” Smiling with her name said.

He pulled up to the driveway of a two story house and stopped about a foot from the garage door entrance. “Can you reach into the glove box for me?” she complied by reaching inside and saw the little black box inside and pulled it out. “This ya mean?”

“Yes.” He responded as he took it from her and pressed the button on it as the garage door started opening. Once it was fully open he drove the car inside and pressed the button again which then closed the door behind them, sealing them away from the rain.

“Well Tendra, welcome to my home.” Unfastening his seatbelt he got out of the car and she followed suit as they headed to the door leading into the house. Once inside the actual house she hung up her raincoat on a coatrack along with Ghost’s trench coat.

The house was rather large for a single person to live inside. The floor was carpeted all throughout the hallway but was cut off by tile in the kitchen. The living room where she chose to take a seat on a three person couch, in front of it, a 50 inch television screen against the wall. A chair on the left side of the couch next to a large window with blinds covering the window, a tall and thin lamp behind the chair and directly next to the couch’s left arm rest.

As Tendra looked around the room, Ghost made his way to the kitchen and looked through the fully stocked pantry, moving a few items around before coming across what he was looking for.

“Hey Tendra” he said as he came back over to her, “You want some hot chocolate?” holding up the packet of Nestle hot chocolate while standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

“Ooooooh that would be great.” With that said he walked back into the kitchen and got to work making the hot coco. While he began making their drinks, she took the TV remote that she found on the right couch cushion and turned on the tv and flicked to the news to check on the weather.

The news hard a male news anchor, a brown furred echidna wearing a grey rain coat. He kept his hand on the hood as he tried to take cover from the wind with his cameraman. “As you can see behind me! The wind has just picked up in speed by a whopping- Look out!” He shouted as he and cameraman moved out of the way of an oncoming lightning bolt hitting a parking meter. “Holy..!”

They scrambled away from the scene as quickly as they could. “All residents are advised to stay inside and seek immediate shelter if they are not home!” The broadcast then cut to a basketball game with the city’s team playing away at their rival’s territory.

“Huh?”

There was Ghost sitting beside her with the cut of hot chocolate with a few marshmallows inside. With one by his foot he handed the other to her with his other hand holding the TV remote. “Maybe you shouldn’t be watching something that’s scary to think about.” He stated as a matter of fact.

“I guess you’re right.” She said while taking a sip of her hot chocolate. “Kinda wish this was white chocolate.”

“Sorry, this is all I got.”

“It’s ok, it’s still good.” She said with a smile secretly thinking ‘But white cocoa is better than this’.

Time passed for the two new friends as they sat in the kitchen siding across from each other on the small table. They both each telling stories about themselves of misadventures and otherwise comical days.

“Wait wait wait! You were actually covered in white chocolate?!” she asked him still laughing at the mere thought of it.

“Yes..!” he said shouting with glee. He would go on to talk about the incident describing in full detail, “Okay okay look…it was a year ago and I was living with my sister at the time, Jolt, she’s an inventor and a HUUUUGE chocolate eater.”

With a chuckle at the memory he continued, “She was trying to create a chocolate based formula that would be able to mold into any shape you want and instantly harden, not even melt!” She listened with complete interest yet her eyes were more focused on his red eyes matching the color of a ruby jewel. “So she gives me the mixture as it began to bubble and she ran upstairs to her kitchen to grab a certain tray with a mold in it to make her first creation.” He finished off his mug of hot chocolate and put it to the side.

“Aaaaaand this is where all hell breaks loose?” she asked him with a knowing smirk.

“Yes-” his chuckling interrupted him as he tried to keep in the building laughter and did so. “Yes, as she returned the mixture began to shake in my hand until BOOM!...it exploded eeeeeeverywhere.”

Their laughter came forward again at a moderate volume as they both envisioned the scene of a chocolate covered hedgehog. As their laughter died down they looked at each other, their red and yellow eyes locked in a gaze.

Tendra then cleared her throat and kept her eyes locked on him. “So, did you get it all out of your fur?”

“I did.” He stated but quickly rolled his eyes, “But time to time the smell and even the taste comes back to haunt me.” With a sigh he took both mugs to the sink.

The tigress kept those words in her mind as she decided to be a bold kitty cat and stood up. She walked over to him as a smirk appeared on her face.

“Really? Can I have a taste?” with a lick of her lips as she put her hands behind her back putting her leg up.

Ghost dropped the mugs into the water in the sink as he heard those words. He quickly tried to compose himself but when on to babble like an idiot as the tiger merely smirked at his actions. Before he could say or do anything, he felt something new on his cheek.

Tendra had planted a kiss on his cheek making the hedgehog stop in his tracks as he his spines stood up straight with his muzzle turning red from his blush. He looked directly at her with his face stuck in one of shock as the blush overtook his face making him look like a tomato.

With a giggle she said, “Hm, still tastes like white chocolate.” Her own blush appeared on her face as she continued to look at the tomato hedgehog. As the stares continue Ghost decided to lead by example and cupped her cheeks in her hands and planted his own kiss on the tip of her nose with half lidded eyes. As it was her turn to turn into a tomato, they stayed in silence letting their bodies do all the talking that was needed.  

Their hands connected with their fingers intertwined, they went back to the living room as they kept one another close to the other.

Hours passed, the morning sun had rose, the rain clouds with the lightning had left the city and sun was shining down on the wet and light debris covered city. People moved around cleaning up the city together, making sure they would be clean before traffic would soon resume. Not too far off in the suburbs, in the familiar house from last night was left alone as the only two inhabitants inside slept through it all.

On the couch laying down on his back was Ghost with Tendra laying on his chest, her head nested right under his chin. His black trench coat covered them both as they kept each other warm during the night. As they slumbered their cellphones resting on the single drawer dresser began to vibrate but it wasn’t enough to wake them both up.

On one phone it said the name ‘Jolt’ on the caller I.D and the other saying ‘Ava’. Though the two were asleep and neither of the callers knew of their siblings predicaments, a thought was laying in the back of all their heads.

It was gonna be one awkward yet beautiful morning.