Thompson grunted as he opened the door. It was pretty heavy; he had no idea how Kayle usually even opened it. He looked up, and saw the house was empty.
He glanced around. "Hey, kid!" He called, walking towards the kitchen. "Where's Kayle?"
"Wh-who are you?" A voice echoed from the kitchen, squeaky and scared. "H-How did you g-get in?"
Thompson approached the kitchen cautiously. "Kayle gave me the keys. Did he ever tell ya that?"
There was some shuffling, and a young boy with unruly hair shuffled into view, though still peeking from around the wall. "S-So he trusts you?" He asked, tentative.
Thompson nodded firmly, eyes softening at the nervous energy emanating from the kid. "Yep, I'm one of his friends." He regarded the boy, looking him up and down. "You must be... Merko." He held his hand out. "Name's Thompson Higgs, though I'm sure you already knew that."
Merko squeaked as the man... Thompson, extended his hand. He shakily put forward his own, feeling a firm, strong grip grasp it, and gently move his hand up and down.
"N-Nice to meet y-you, Mr. H-Higgs," Merko stuttered. Had the man seen his tail yet? Had he suspected his not-so-human-looking clothes?
Thompson looked around again. The kitchen was empty, no Kayle in sight. "Nice to meet you too, kid." He replied absentmindedly. He raised an eyebrow at the pizza, but said nothing about it. "I assume Kayle is upstairs, resting?"
Merko hesitated, before nodding. "Y-Yes, yes he i-is." His tail flicked minutely, and he blinked. "He's asleep."
Thompson fully entered the kitchen, and Merko held back a squeak, desperately hoping that Mr. Higgs couldn't see his tail. That he couldn't see Kayle, hiding behind a salt shaker.
Thompson turned to face the kid, eyes narrowed. "You're lying." It made sense. The boy's nervous fidgeting, and stuttering, and he seemed to grow more tense at the 'sleeping upstairs statement'. He approached Merko, eyes flashing dangerously. Merko stumbled back, pressing into the refrigerator. "You better not be a burglar, Merko," He leaned in closer, and saw Merko's eyes widen in terror. "I hate hitting kids."
Merko cried in fear, shocked by the abrupt change of tone. "S-Sir, I pro-promise I didn't b-break in... I-I live here." He choked the words out, letting his tail flash sporadically. He was afraid of spilling borrower secrets but he was too dizzy with terror to think. "I-In the walls."
Thompson blinked as he saw Merko collapse, still staring at the tail that was flashing about. He only then registered what the kid had been saying. "...in the walls?" He chuckled humourlessly. "That's... hard to believe."
But then again, a human with a real tail? Also hard to believe.
His eyes flickered to sudden movement on the countertop, and widened when they met a familiar face, only so much smaller.
"Thompson," Kayle said, trying not to cringe underneath his friend's bewildered gaze, "He's telling the truth. Lay off, will you?"
...
Merko's tail had not yet stopped flicking. His heart still raced slightly when Thompson looked at him.
"So," he said faintly, "Just to be sure, you" - he pointed at Kayle - "and Merko swapped places?"
Kayle nodded, leaning against Merko's shirt. "Yep, that's pretty much the story."
Thompson relaxed against the chair, gaze trailing up the walls all the way to the roof. "In all my years..." He laughed disbelievingly. "Kids, you just proved that magic exists."
