Grant lay on the admittedly very plush bed staring up at the ceiling as light streamed in through the windows. It was nearing eight o'clock and time to get breakfast but he couldn't bring himself to stir. He had slept well, despite a few dreams that had him waking up. Tanner seemed to keep invading them. He had never in his life considered a guy in that way before, but didn't they say there was always that 'one' out there somewhere.
There was a knock at the door, "Grant, mate? You up?" The accent was unmistakable, and Grant felt his heart skip over itself just once.
"Yeah, just a sec." He slipped out of bed and tossed on a fluffy white robe he had found hanging in the bathroom last night, a little hopping rabbit embroidered on it.
"Before you open the door, I need you to take a deep breath. There's something I need to show you and it can be a bit hard to deal with at first." Tanner sounded hesitant, unsure, and very nervous. Grant prayed he hadn't ended up in the inn of the town weirdo who kept his dead mother in the attic. No. Something was actually bothering him. So Grant took a deep breath and opened the door.
He was holding a tray of breakfast, eggs, toast, coffee, and orange juice. That was all very nice. He was also 6'2" kangaroo wearing Tanner's clothes. He even had the spiked blond hairdo. That was the odd part. "Um.. surprise? Sorry, I've never had to break anyone in before. Not sure.." The rest was cut off by a slightly jibberring, panicky, mess of words that were probably supposed to mean something even Grant couldn't figure out.
Finally, Grant dropped into a chair and stared at Tanner who moved to set the tray of food on the desk right next to him. "Sorry. I'd have done it more gently, but the check ins for the day are going to start arriving soon and I couldn't have the freak out happen downstairs." Grant bounced his foot as he resisted chewing on a nail, a bad habit. Tanner had a bouncy step, and a thick tail he managed to deftly keep from hitting stuff. "If you have any questions, now's the time to ask."
"You're a kangaroo?" Grant muttered. Despite himself he reached out for some toast and piled it with eggs. It did smell wonderful.
"Mostly." Tanner grinned.
"Why are you showing me this? Obviously you can keep it hidden?" Grant took a bite of the peppery eggs and his stomach made a little growl, demanding more. Tanner just looked perplexed for a moment then smacked his forehead.
"Sorry, like I said, first time doing this. It's not just me, it's the whole Valley, except the new college arrivals I guess, they'd still be human. We left the human world last night back to ours. We only look human on the other side." He nodded towards the windows. "There should be a few runners on the beach by now."
Grant scrambled out of his chair and looked outside. Sure enough running through the green area or along the beach were a few individuals with not quite human forms running along. The closest he could see where a pair of feline women, chatting away as they jogged. He turned and stared at Tanner as he finished off his toast. Then in a moment of panic looked down at himself.
"Not yet." Tanner said as if reading his mind. "Eventually, but you'll go back to this you when we can get you back on your way. Just need to wait for an opening to send you back."
"Which will be?" Grant asked, not thinking he'd like the answer.
"The Valley won't go back until a couple of days near the end of December. There's a fairly nearby point that flips every weekend, but you don't want to go there until you're fully adapted to our world or it'll suck you in..." Tanner snapped his fingers. "We're very careful that word of that one doesn't get to the college kids, the ones that know are sworn to keep quiet about it. It treats you a bit rougher than the Valley will. Don't worry, we'll get you home and this will just be an odd vacation experience." Tanner turned and headed out of the room. Grant found himself watching that tail in those shorts until the door closed behind him.
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After finishing off breakfast, Grant got dressed intending to see the town for himself. Tanner was already busy checking in a couple, a buck and some sort of squirrel, and headed out into the streets to see this for himself. The main road, Mane St., he noted with a mild groan, was packed with cars heading in the direction of the college. The people walking the street, was people even the right word? They were all various animals, some in family groups, others in pairs. He did see a few humans stumbling around, wide-eyed like him. All on the younger side, but his presence seemed to ease their worries a little when they spotted him. Likely until they saw his own bewildered expression.
Despite all this, there was still something relaxing and calming about the town. As if the idyllic setting just didn't allow for the mass freak out that should be happening. A calming aura that seemed to roll off the mountains and across the lake. December? This place would look amazing covered in a layer of snow. He snickered a little thinking about kangaroo Tanner having to deal with snow. Even out here his thoughts kept drifting back.
"Grant!" Came a boisterous call. He looked up to see a weasel of some sort waving to him from an open garage bay. He hadn't realized where his feet had taken him. "Getting over the shock?" The weasel was a bit on the short side, and stocky will still looking like he had that weasel ropiness. His short hair was black speckled with grey.
"Martin." He said, and the man gave a pleased nod.
"Sorry about he deception, it really is easier. You'd have spent all yesterday in a panic otherwise. Trust me." Martin grabbed a towel and wiped off his hands. With a sniff he nodded to the truck. "Called to order the parts I needed this morning. I was wrong with my previous estimate, it'll be about two weeks. Then we can get you on your way. Did Tanner tell you about the camp? Ah.. never mind. We can get into that later." The weasel looked up at him with a slight squint. "You need to pick something up or just swinging by?"
"Neither, was just out for a walk, trying to.." Grant looked over his shoulder. "Didn't notice where I was."
"Ahhh.." The older man nodded as if that made perfect sense. "My advice? Don't freak out and try to shave off the fur when it comes in. Recipe for an itchy disaster." Grant really wanted to ask more, but Martin waved and headed back to work, so he continued on his walk, making a loop of the town and coming back to the inn which seemed to have calmed down, but had quite a few more cars parked in its small lot.
It was surprisingly empty when he got inside, all those couples must be seeing to their kids at the college. It only dredged up memories of Sandra and their own doomed attempt at children. Probably a blessing it never worked. Tanner was on the phone sounding a bit bedraggled. "Tomorrow? I can't have a whole suite without water that long, Kirk. Okay, okay, I get it, I'll figure something out." He hung up the phone and sighed.
"Problems? Anything I can help with?" Grant found himself asking, oddly finding himself a bit more at east talking to the tall kangaroo. It was still surreal, but far from terrifying. The twitching nose and ears were actually kind of cute.
"Not unless you know a plumber that can fix a leaking toilet. The local plumber is busy dealing with a clogged septic system at the college." Tanner sounded like he was just joking of course, looking aggravated until Grant spoke up.
"Actually, I do. Got any tools?"
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Tanner found himself breathing a sigh of relief as Grant poked around behind the toilet. "Yeah, just a loose fitting. It'll probably need to be replaced in a few months, but tightening it up should keep it going till then." Unfortunately, his pants didn't ride down to display the legendary plumber's crack. He wouldn't have minded seeing this one. Just because Grant wasn't interested didn't mean Tanner couldn't enjoy the view.
"Lucky me, plumber just when I needed one." Tanner said with a grin as Grant got back to his feet.
"Oh, not really. Handyman, more like. I was the superintendent of my apartment building before I moved. I can take care of small problems, hopefully before they can become big problems." Grant stuck his hands under this sink, giving them a thorough wash.
"Really?" Tanner said, an idea forming in his head s he looked Grant over. "What would you say to a free stay here if you helped me out with my to do list? Just something to help keep you occupied while you wait on your truck?"
"Same room, no charge?" Grant asked.
"Same room, no charge." Tanner confirmed, sticking out his hand. Grant took it with a grin and a smile. "Sounds good to me, it's a deal."
A couple hours later, another swing by the garage, and a trip to the local hardware store found Grant hard at work giving the inn's shutters a fresh coat of paint. He really did set in to that list with gusto as if he were just looking for a way to be helpful, or that being so was just how he needed to be. Tanner knew personalities changed coming over, his own hadn't altered much, but he had heard stories from others. Still he felt a little guilty about wishing the Valley might somehow convince Grant to stay, as he stepped outside with a sandwich and some lemonade and looked up to see the man on the ladder.
Grant was stretched out, painting one of the upper shutters, his shirt lifted enough to expose his lower back, revealing a patch of brown fur sticking out the top of his jeans, and maybe a short tail the way those jeans stuck out just under the waistband. Tanner thought better than to point that out. Best let him discover that on his own. Instead he called out, "I'm leaving you some lunch on the porch when you feel like it."
"Thanks, I'll grab it when I'm done here!" He called back. This wouldn't be terrible at all, Tanner thought to himself. Not at all.