The clock hit 10:00 PM. Closing time.
Peppino sighed. Boy, he was exhausted.
It didn't help that Noise decided to pay a visit too, with a ridiculously long and impossible order.
Thank god Gustavo was there to throw him out.
Speaking of Gustavo, him and Peppino were cleaning up the pizzeria before they left.
"Ah, closing time! You want me to go flip the sign?" Gustavo asked.
"Please." Peppino replied tiredly.
"Okey-dokey!"
The shorter man walked over to the doors, flipping the sign from 'open' to 'closed'.
As he did so, however, he saw something.
Some kind of animal scampering by..?
He shrugged. Maybe it was Fake Pep waiting to eat whatever Peppino threw out into the dumpster.
They never went out in the rain, though.. so what would they be doing out there?
He decided not to question it any further and go back to helping Peppino.
...
...
"Wheeew, all done!" Gustavo sighed, wiping his forehead. "Wouldn't have taken so long if Noise didn't come along, right, Peps?"
"Who puts skittles on a PIZZA? That's a pizza crime!" Peppino said, still grossed out at the thought of candy on something like pizza.
"I know, he's a pretty weird fellow, isn't he? He's lucky we even let him in the first time! Anyway, c'mon, let's go home and get some rest, we both earned it!"
The pair made their way towards the front doors, exiting the establishment.
"You have my keys, Gustavo?"
"Eeyup! Right here!"
Peppino took the keys, using them to lock the doors to the pizzeria.
"Wait, where's the umbrella?" Peppino turned and looked at Gustavo, who had an 'uh oh' look on his face.
"..I uhhh.. yeah, I left it at home." He answered, twiddling his thumbs together.
Peppino grunted in frustration, putting the keys in his pocket.
"Whatever, it's fine, we aren't too far away from home, if we just hurry we shouldn't get too soaked— huh?"
Peppino could hear something, something coming from behind the pizzeria.
It sounded like rustling, but it was abnormally loud.
"..What was-"
"I don't know, but I'm going to figure it out." Peppino said, following the source of the noise.
"Wait, wait for me!" Gustavo called out, following behind the taller man.
The two of them got to the back of the pizzeria, where all the trash went.
There was something.. moving, behind one of the larger bags of trash.
Peppino gulped nervously. He really hoped he wasn't gonna get attacked by a rabid animal of some kind...
"Gus, behind me." He said, slowly making his way closer to the trash bag.
The sound of rustling got louder and louder with each step he took, which didn't help at all.
"Hello? I- Is someone there? Show yourself r- right now!" Peppino warned.
The movement and rustling suddenly came to a halt.
Then, something stepped out from behind it.
It was a small humanoid creature, about the size of a 5 year old child.
It was wearing a red hoodie with white stripes, brown plaid pants, black shoes, had orange hair...
..and a tail?
It stared up at Peppino, shivering, with its tail drooping.
Peppino's mood completely changed. They looked so scared, it made his heart break.
"..Are.. ahem.. are you okay?" Peppino asked, unsure of what to say.
"..M..Mya.." The creature answered.
He didn't understand what the creature had just said, but he could hear the sadness in their voice.
He looked behind himself, towards Gustavo.
"What do I do?" He whispered. "We can't just leave them out here!"
"I dunno.. ask if they have a family?" Gustavo answered.
"Uhm.. do you have a family, bambino? A mom? A dad? Anyone?" Peppino asked, kneeling down to the creature's height.
They shook their head in response.
"Mya-wo.."
"..Here, uhm.. let's get you out of the rain." Peppino said, holding his hand out to the creature.
The creature grabbed ahold of Peppino's hand, holding it tightly.
"Okay.. My name is Peppino, and that's Gustavo. We aren't going to hurt you, don't worry."
"Mya-mya.."
"Alright, come on. Don't wanna catch a cold out here."
And so, the three began walking.
Peppino wasn't sure what this creature was. It looked human, acted human, but didn't speak, at least not through actual words.
He felt bad for them, though, and so did Gustavo.
Who knows how long they were out here, alone with no one to protect them?
Peppino knew how it felt to be alone and helpless. He felt that way for a while, until Gustavo came along.
Seeing them like that.. it almost reminded Peppino of himself.
He shook his head. Now wasn't the time to think about himself, he had someone to help here...
..he just hoped Mr. Stick would let him afford it.
