[PRP] A New Friend For A New Friend

[Ravina Loki]

Who: Louis and Zeke
When: The weekend before the Lab's summer picnic
Where: Lab 305
Weather: Sunny and clear, not a drop of humidity!

It was another one of those days at the Lab. The type of day where Zeke had gotten everything he needed to done in a timely, perhaps even record-setting, manner which afforded him the luxury of kicking back, putting his feet up, and taking it easy for a change. Although not unappreciated, Zeke was still the sort of man who had to be moving for the sake of moving or at the very least doing something. So far something had included cleaning the lobby, straightening up the files, playing on his phone, doodling absentmindedly on a piece of scrap paper, and now taking full advantage of the Solitaire on his work computer. At one point he stopped to hop up and grab a drink from his mini fridge and took five minutes to arrange that as well, heaving a sigh when he flopped back into his chair in the lobby once more.

"What to do, what to do..." He clucked his pierced tongue as he surveyed the lobby, looking for something amiss or in need of a little TLC. Alas, he had done everything. It was impeccable. "Well s**t."

Maybe he could check on the Chimeras again.  

[Fweedle]

Louis was loitering outside the Lab, looking slightly suspicious as he was pacing back and forth in front of the doors with a piece of paper scrunched up in his fist. He had walked past the Lab a couple times before but he never had a reason to go in. It always looked so intimidating, so pristine and Louis felt that he would look out of place inside. However, he chanced upon an ad from the Lab in the papers looking for volunteers for adoption and Louis was looking for a companion.

Taking a deep breath, he gathered up his courage and took a step inside. Just as he anticipated, the place was clean. Naturally, Louis had picked out his best clothes for this occasion but he still felt off with his scruffy hair, tied up in a bun and his face. The lobby was empty save for a man at the counter. Louis decided to approach the man before he moved away.

"Hi, I'm Louis." he greeted and straightened out the crumpled paper in his hand. "I'm here regarding the volunteering program for the chimeras?"  

[Ravina Loki]

Before he had a chance to move with that thought in mind, the chime over the front doors was ringing and a gentleman was striding in.

"Hello!" Zeke immediately stood up from his desk with a smile on his face and a warm inflection in his tone. "Welcome to Lab 305!"

The man was definitely a stranger, but a nicely dressed one at that. In fact, he was a little on the stylish side with his nice outfit but 'devil may care' bun and scruffy face. What was even nicer was how quick he was to offer a greeting, his name, and his reason for coming in that day.

"Nice to meet you, Louis. I'm Zeke, what can I help you with today?" As soon as he asked the question the reply was given along with a paper that had been crumpled but was now been smoothed for him to see. Without even seeing the placed ad the vet's face lit up all the more and he offered his hand to this new friend and potential Chimera owner, nodding eagerly to start off his reply. "I'm glad to see you found the ad! And you're in luck; we actually have some Chimeras ready and waiting to go home today if you'd be so inclined! There is a little bit of paperwork to take care of before I bring them out as well as a short Q and A, but first thing is first my friend - can I get you something to drink?"  

[Fweedle]

Louis couldn’t help but smile. The warm and positive vibe Zeke was giving out helped calm him down slightly in this situation.

He was also glad that Zeke went straight down to business as he didn’t know what to expect. Taking Zeke’s hand into his own, he returned the greetings and smiled. As Zeke carried on the instructions, Louis couldn’t help but feel a little dazed. While he was definitely excited to find a companion, he had so many questions.

Louis smiled, well aware of how dry his throat was. “Ah yes, a glass of water would be great.”

He made his way over to the waiting area and took a seat. It was only then he had the chance to take a look around. Louis couldn’t help but wonder why a place like the lab was offering people a chance to adopt. The fact that it was advertised as “Chimera” didn’t help Louis at all, the images of science experiments going wild flashed across his mind.

As Zeke came back with the drinks, his nerves got ahead of him and he blurted out.

“Sorry, but what are Chimeras?”  

[Ravina Loki]

"Sure thing! Give me just a moment but make yourself at home!"

Once Louis agreed to a drink Zeke went dipping off through a door positioned behind the desk he had been sitting at. There was a moment of clinking and clattering but shortly there after the vet was coming back through with two glasses filled with ice and water.

"Here we are!" As he set the glasses down, Louis was quick to blurt out what would perhaps be the first of many questions that day. Zeke gave a little laugh and held up a finger for a moment to answer, slipping back to his desk to grab the paperwork he mentioned before going back over to the waiting area and taking a seat across from Louis.

"Well let me start that answer with another question: do you know what the mythical chimera is?" He turned the paperwork face down as he set it on the coffee table between them before giving the man his full attention. He let a moment pause before answering. "In Greek mythology the chimera was a beast that was reputed to be the three-headed amalgamation of a lion, goat, and snake. The Chimeras we are offering here take their name from that creature because, in essence, they are similarly an amalgamation! However ours are generally only a combination of two creatures and are much smaller in size since they are pets."

As he explained his smile grew until he was beaming, rubbing his hands together.

"Now I'm sure you're probably thinking 'what the hell is this guy on' and probably also 'what crazy a** place did I walk into'. But if you'll humor me for a moment or two more, I'll be happy to show you an example of one of our Chimeras! Trust me, they're not at all as big, scary, or bloodthirsty as that mythical one might make you think!"