Nostalgia Pent Ghelsburg
Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this work are purely fictional. Any resemblance to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental. They are the original and rightful intellectual property of their creators. I use them with permission and respect. This work involves underaged characters and a predominately transformational theme. You have been warned.
“There is magic in the night when pumpkins
glow by moonlight.”
-Unknown
The halls are decked with black and orange garland. The ceilings are draped in cobwebs and the door is beset by a large jack-o-lantern that is lit by a flickering candle inside its core. Children prepare their bags and stomachs for a night of untold mysteries, only undermined by the various curfews put in place by their collective group of parents. Of course, not everyone gets to enjoy the finer things in life than those who have other responsibilities, for the burden of bills weighs strong on the existence of many.
Nait was a young man in the prime of his life. Though not quite at the point where he could consider himself a boss, he was a member of the middle-class elite. Through his almost decade of experience in software development, Nait had thought he'd seen it all and his company had liked his work so much that he had been promoted several times. Nowadays he was one of those people you would consider to be a trainer and had been given more than his fair share of noobies to train. This was the majority of his work nowadays.
As such Nait's work life had become more redundant as of late. He didn't mind troubleshooting software or even making it from scratch. But lately, all he had been expected to do was look over people's shoulders. Some of his trainees were nothing short of what was considered greenfoots and this meant that they often took a week if not more to get off the ground. To say that Nait was getting tired of his latest promotion wouldn't exactly be true but he was getting tired of the expectations, despite it leading to a rather nice pay raise.
That all changed when he found out that he was getting a friend as a trainee. The friend in question had been one he had met some time ago and even though they had a slight age difference, the two had grown rather close. Zeelo had recently graduated from the local college and was considered by many of his instructors to be a prodigy for software development. In fact by the time he had graduated he had already planned and developed his own game, which had received high praise from his peers.
Now that he had graduated, Zeelo had moved onto the professional world. Nait had informed him of an open spot on the team and the younger man took his chance in applying for the position. Zeelo was a good talker and aced the interview with ease. The administration of the company had formally announced his hire and when Nait heard about it, he was excited about the prospect of training someone who he already knew. Of course, Nait had little idea just how good Zeelo was at the job itself and assumed he would be much the same as every other person he'd trained.
Zeelo started the following week, the same very same week the company was supposed to put out some Halloween software. The deadline was looming as the holiday was the same weekend. The administration of the company had been talking about it constantly and Nait knew they were falling behind. On the same day that Zeelo arrived, Nait had finally been told of the expectation of the delivered date. Then they did the unthinkable and asked him to finish up what had already been started and to do the quality checks on it as well.
Nait had been thinking about it since he came in on Monday morning. It was now Wednesday and he had begun working on it. But this day was the same day that Zeelo was to arrive and Nait knew that time was now very much an issue. Zeelo arrived early in the day. The younger man had pep in his step as he had not yet been tainted but the mundane work environment. The young man was very much looking forward to his first day at work.
Zeelo arrived in the main lobby, where the administration was already waiting for him. Nait was summoned to the room and was expected to show him around when he showed up. The older male was interrupted as he heard the shout from down the hall. Nait looked at the time and felt silly but understood there was no other option in what had to be done. He left the computer on and picked himself up before stretching to head down the hall.
The journey down the hall wasn't that long and took only a minute or so. Nait wasn't surprised when he saw Zeelo as he was expecting his friend. The administration passed the younger man off to the more experienced one and the two began to chat. Before long the conversation fell onto the expectations of the software for Halloween. Zeelo didn't seem bothered by it and was rather intrigued to see exactly what the company had in mind.
Nait ended the tour early, figuring that it wasn't as important as the project before him. He returned to his desk with Zeelo in tow. The younger man peered at the screen.
“So what is the point of this?” He looked at it but saw nothing that pointed out the purpose of the program.
Nait hummed. “Well, it's to track the kids on Halloween.”
“Oh, well that's simple.” The smaller man sat down on the chair and immediately began to put in some code.
The older man was surprised his friend took the lead so willingly and was glad, for once, that he didn't have to show the ropes. Surprisingly all of the error messages on the screen were eliminated one by one until they were all gone.
“Wow, that was pretty impressive for someone who just started the job.” Nait tried as hard as he could to not show that he was embarrassed.
Zeelo scratched the back of his head. “Well, yeah I guess. It wasn't that hard. Speaking of Halloween do you usually go out?”
“Um...well no. My nieces and nephews are too old for that now and we don't have any other young children in the family.”
The younger man cocked his head awkwardly. “Who mentioned kids? I just meant us. What's stopping us from going out just like they do.”
“I mean, it would be weird wouldn't it?” This was the first time Nait had seriously thought about going out on Halloween in a long time.
The smaller man slapped the other on the shoulder as if goading on. “Come on. It would be fun. I even have my costume from a few years ago. I'm pretty sure it would still fit. Do you have one you could wear?”
“I mean. I'm sure I could find something.” Nait thought to himself for a moment what he might have stuffed in his closet.
The smaller male nodded as he smiled warmly. “Great, well think of it this way. We can even test the little program we created. After all, it needs quality control right?'
“Your right... I didn't even think of it that way. Well let's link it to something and we can give it a whirl this weekend.” The older man shrugged his shoulders and decided to play along with the ordeal.
Nait turned around and started to look through one of the nearby file cabinets. Eventually, he pulled two sets of plastic fobs and computer chips. He brought it back over to the computer and proceeded to pair it with the program they had just finished. It didn't take long at all since this was easy compared to actually building the program. Once it was assembled each of the little fobs beeped and he handed one off to his friend.
Each of them pulled out their keychains before attaching them to the loop. After they finished they stuffed it back in their pocket. The little objects put off a light heat but it was nothing noticeable, especially considering their body heat simply mixed with it. The rest of the day went like normal. Zeelo got his formal tour through the facility but other than that they didn't do much since Nait's main focus had already been conquered and he hadn't been assigned anything else.
The week was a quicker one than normal. Nait and Zeelo were able to tackle most of their work assignments with ease. Nait was content that Zeelo needed almost no training and Zeelo was able to do most things through trial and error. When Friday rolled around, the administration had nothing for them to do and they were allowed to leave early with pay once lunch rolled around. Nait couldn't believe it as oftentimes he was forced to stay overtime but he wasn't about to complain.
Zeelo already had an idea in the back of his head of what he wanted to do. He assumed that Nait hadn't picked up a costume and knew just where to go. He even convinced his friend to tag along with him after work and since that was now, the younger man was even more excited than before. The two had been commuting to work together and once they arrived at Zeelo's car, Zeelo decided to pop the idea on his friend.
“Want to head to the costume shop to get you something? Maybe I can get something that matches.” A small jolt of static electricity jolted Nait's body as he sat down on the car seat.
Zeelo was surprised to hear him bring this up again as he cocked his head over towards the older male. “Sure. You mean the one over at pallade square?”
“Yeah. We can go there.” Nait pulled out of the parking lot and made a beeline straight to the costume shop.
The trip wasn't that long since pallade square was just on the other side of town. It was an old shopping center that had mostly been abandoned. Nowadays the only things that survived were the costume shop and a small convenience store. Nait pulled into the square and found a spot near the front, finding it strange that the lot was just about empty. It was the day before Halloween and he figured that other people had to be costume shopping as well.
Looking around, all he could see were two other cars. He assumed those belonged to the employees. He shrugged it off as no big deal and parked. The two young men got out of the car and proceeded to the entrance of the costume shop. It was only lightly decorated with black and orange lights with some caution tape adorned across the door. A sign on the front indicated a sale was ongoing and this gave Nait some comfort knowing he wouldn't spend as much as he might have otherwise.
They entered the shop itself. It smelt dank and musty. A cloud of dust exploded as they entered and a small bell rang notifying the staff that they were inside. Nait and Zeelo shielded their eyes as the dust resettled and they continued making their way indoors. The front of the place was littered with bins of various brands of candy, all of which were branded for the season. Nait peered over it, considering for a second indulging in buying some chocolate.
“Come on, you can get candy tomorrow. I want to see the costumes.” Zeelo shouted from the other side of the room.
The second jolt of electricity lightly shocked Nait's body as he traveled across an old beaten-up rug to the opposite side of the room. It made him stop for a quick second but not a second did he have before Nait tugged on him from inside the store. Once they were inside Zeelo took the lead and began to look through the rafters of clothing, already having a little of an idea as to what he was looking for. Already he was searching at a feverish pace and still tugging at Nait to goad him on ever further.
He very much wanted to adorn the threads of his favorite childhood cartoon character, Tom, and thought that his friend could go as Jerry. The smaller man continued to walk through the aisles until he reached a section that was labeled Cartoons. The aisle was much better kept than the rest, even having a broom nearby with a pile of dust on a pan near the corner. Zeelo reached into the racks and began filing through the rungs of costumes.
The man noticed that many of them were sized for children or teens. Several of them were characters he didn’t even recognize. Eventually, he found the adult-sized stuff, most of which was designed from the older generations of shows with which he was more familiar. The entire time he was searching, Nait was keeping a close eye on him unsure of exactly what he was looking for.
Eventually, Zeelo found what he was looking for. He snatched the thing from the metal rod, eliciting a sharp ping as the plastic hanger was strung against the metal pole. He held the thing out proudly. Another sensation of warmth spread through his body as he looked at the thing with glee. Nait looked upon him with curiosity as his friend held out the two costumes.
“This is what you want to wear?” The older man asked.
Zeelo nodded happily and handed him the mouse costume. “I’ll go try mine on then you can do yours. Let’s go to the changing room.”
The two walked to the other side of the store, not even really noticing that the only people in the store were fellow customers.
They found their way to the changing room. A single wooden door lay in front of them. The thing barely hung on a singular pivot and squeaked even as it hung there idly. Zeelo peered upon it, believing that it would collapse if he touched it. He held up the costume in his hand, checked the size. He was certain the thing would fit him but he wanted to try it on. He peered over toward the door again.
Zeelo walked toward the door and gingerly touched it. It creaked once again and hung loosely against the single socket. He let it go and slinked parallel to the door itself until he found the small crack that led into the room itself. Nait watched as Zeelo was able to slip through it pretty easily. The older man continued to wait his turn, every so often looking at the costume wondering how he might look in it.
Zeelo began to strip out of his work clothes, finding them to slide off easier than he remembered. His belt was loose and he noticed his shirt hanging lower than it normally did. He looked at it for a quick second before throwing it over his head. There was no mirror in the cubicle so he figured he’d have to rely on Nait to tell him how he looked. Once he was in his skivvies, his body shivered to respond to the AC that was in overdrive inside the building.
He sat down on top of his clothing and began to move the bottom portion of the costume up his feet and legs. The costume was a one-piece one, designed similar to a Kigurumi. Even after only putting on half the costume, he found the fabric to be warmer in make than he originally thought. Still, that didn’t deter him from fitting his arms through the sleeves and placing the hood over his head.
Once he was changed he wanted to wiggle his butt, wanting to feel the sensation of the tail flowing between his legs. Another sensation of warmth passed through his body as he stood there idly for a moment.
“You alright in there?” Nait asked since the other man was taking longer than he thought it would take.
The beckoning snapped Zeelo back to reality. His mind was becoming a little clouded with uncertainty as he looked around to refamiliarize himself with his surroundings. It was as if he didn’t recall his own time.
Zeelo nodded and played along, though he had almost forgotten who the other voice was. “Yeah.”
The man walked back toward the door, finding his steps to be a bit wobbly as he made his exit. His memory once again failed him as he pushed his hand against the door and the poorly adjoined joint collapsed from its holding in the wall. A loud bang resounded through the store and Zeelo stood there, a red fuse taking over his normal skin tone. He looked around as if searching for reassurance, finding only Nait standing nearby.
The sudden clang of the falling door didn’t exactly catch Nait off guard as he stood there waiting but the noise was still jarring all the same. He looked over his friend and seeing him in the costume of the famous cartoon cat made him feel a little giddy. Nait smiled, feeling the same warm sensation in his body. It was his turn to get dressed and the fact the door had collapsed didn’t seem to bother him.
“Watch the door for me will you….and turn your back?” Nait figured this would be the best way to reassure his privacy.
Zeelo made a humming noise but did not respond verbally. He felt more energetic than normal and the desire to get outside sooner rather than later was burning inside him. Hearing the request made him hesitate as he sighed. Nait overheard the sigh but wasn’t sure what it was about. He went inside the stall and waited for Zeelo to standard guard in front of the door since the other one had fallen off.
The younger man took his position, fidgeting in place as he stood there. Nait saw his friend stand guard and followed suit by disrobing himself. The older man was much more methodical about undressing as he didn’t want to create wrinkles in any of his stuff. He even went about folding his shirt and making sure the lines of his sleeves met with each other. It took him almost a minute to just finish with his shirt.
By the time he finished with that Zeelo turned around, already growing impatient with whatever was going on behind him. The younger man tapped one of his feet impatiently, looking over at Nait who only had his shirt off. The older man looked back at him, slightly peeved that his friend had broken his early promise.
“Hurry up, will you?” Another sensation of warmth passed through Zeelo’s body as he itched himself slightly in response.
Nait cocked his head awkwardly at the other’s apparent imaptientness. This was completely unexpected as in the past his friend has always been courteous of his care for certain things.
Nait shrugged his shoulders and nodded. “I’ll try.”
Zeelo turned back around, feeling even antsier than before. His body tingling in its entirety making him feel continuously itchy. Scratching himself beneath the costume he discovered more body hair than normal.
Zeelo kept his hand there for a moment, wondering why there was so much hair. It was thick enough to feel flush through his fingers as he glided across it. He removed his hand for a moment feeling uncertain of himself as he stood there idly. Nait continued onward with undressing himself, focusing on the lower portion of his body. He slipped off his shoes using his feet and proceeded to allow his pants to fall off after loosening them.
He folded it in much the same fashion as his shirt, spending a great deal of time in maintaining the seams just as he did with his pants. Once he was undressed he took great care in unfolding the costume as if it were another piece of formal clothing. After it was completely flat he sat down and began to put it on. The fabric was warm and inviting and he fastened the belt of the costume around his waist.
Putting on the rest of it was simple enough as fastening the hood around his head. Nait found that the fabric was just as warm as the rest of it and it made him nostalgic for a blanket he used to keep as a child. The familiar sensation of warmth began to fill his body as he stood there and his mind began to wander. Once again Zeelo turned around, growing impatient after he realized he was still waiting.
“Come on….” The younger male whined.
It took Nait a few seconds to snap back to reality. He stood there wondering where he was and after looking over himself for a quick second, he was curious as to why he was wearing what he was. Nait stared at Zeelo for a second. It took a moment for him to recognize the other but once he did, he smiled and walked forward. The two joined each other near the broken door and stood there for a moment.
Zeelo pushed his shoulder into the other male, feeling more playful than anything else. Nait shoved back and the two shared a short chuckle. The two had left their work clothing behind, neither remembering to pick it up as they left the changing
area. They even forgot about paying for the costume. Upon their leave, the shopkeep heard the ring of the bell and smiled gazing upon them as they left.
“They will return to pay the price…in time…” Shutting the door behind them the mysterious figure returned whence they came.
The two had already begun walking into the parking lot. It occurred to neither of them to return to the car in which they came. They walked past it, neither recognizing the vehicle as they passed it. A whisk of cool fall air passed by as they walked joyfully down the sidewalks that crossed through the main part of town. Soon they came upon a park, a familiar place where they often came to relieve stress.
The friends did not feel the pressures of anxiety and yet they felt the need to come to this place. Colorful leaves cascaded across the park floor in all sorts of colors in which matched the trees from which they fell. The acute smell of freshly cut grass adorned the area as they walked up to the central fountain which decorated the area. A naked statue was fixated atop the pinnacle of this fixture.
Its figure leaked pure transparent water into the platform which contained it. Small ripples ridged through it as the disturbance caused waves to breach the otherwise calm surface. Nait peered over it, looking upon his reflection with interest. Facial hair adorned his face, grey but not yet aged. His visage pronounced, but not torn by time passed. A singular pink nose poked from his snout as he peered ever inward. A mouse looked back to him, one that looked all too similar to the one represented by the threads in which he donned.
Looking back to his friend, Zeelo seemed distant. His mind was equally absent as he sniffed the air to enjoy the cool breeze that came with the season. A single leaf brushed across his face causing him to laugh uncontrollably. For a moment he stood there laughing his worries away, the concerns of life and responsibilities of adulthood seeming lost with the wind. Nait returned his gaze to the other, his friend’s eyes seemed fixated on something in which he did not see.
Zeelo's eyes were completely focused on a small cat that was scurrying across the freshly cut park lawn. The pitch-black feline had found its prey in a small squirrel that had scratched and clawed its way up a nearby tree. Zeelo had an intense desire to follow the thing as if he wanted to join in its makeshift hunt. The cat in the park was yelling and meowing at the squirrel as if it had forgotten about the fact it could climb.
Zeelo trod over to where it was wrapped, the cat cocked its head and looked up at the boy. The young male peered up the tree, feeling as if he could tackle any challenge he was presented with. He pressed his hands against the tree noting that they were now of grey fair and that claws extended out from what he could see were paws. His mind didn't think they were strange as if he were used to them but somewhere in the back of the mind caused him to pause for a moment.
Zeelo overheard the familiar meow and it sounded similar to a whine and desire. It was as if he understood the speech but could not quite completely decipher it. He felt compelled to carry on as he began to pull himself up the bark of the tree. His claws extended and easily gripped the bark and his muscles were more than able to pull up his body weight up the length of the tree. As he got close enough to see the squirrel, the small critter jumped from its perch and back onto the ground below.
The boy heard the cat runoff and was glad that he could help some, no longer feeling compelled to finish climbing the tree. He hopped off, easily managing the landing on his two legs without any sort of pain. The entire time Nait had looked upon him seeming impressed with the other boy's athleticism.
Nait looked into the distance and saw some children playing with a soccer ball. He got the keen idea to join them, not thinking it to be even remotely strange. Approaching them the two friends approached the two young girls who looked at them as they approached. To the girls, they looked like furry versions of some of the male friends they had played with at school. Seeing anthros weren't abnormal but still, they weren't used to it.
As the two boys approached the girls, they noticed that they weren't much bigger than the other kids. Still, neither found the situation odd and found themselves wanting to join them.
“We're playing soccer. Want to join us?” One of the girls asked them.
Nait nodded his head and smiled warmly at them before heading over. Zeelo soon joined him and the group began playing a short bout of soccer. The wind was beginning to pick up and was causing the ball to sway back and forth as they played with it.
The girls were quite rough with them, even going about and shoving them when they got the chance. Nait was even pushed over by the smaller girl, feeling silly about it but picking himself up to rejoin the fun. The two girls smiled at him as he brushed off his fur that had become dirty. He had forgotten all about the fact that he was essentially naked. Though nothing showed because his grey fur covered the entirety of his body and provided him some level of privacy.
The wind picked up again, strong enough now to cause the dirt in the park to be picked up and slung around between the cascade of leaves. At this point, the ball wasn't going where it was supposed to. Every time any of them kicked it, the thing would roll whichever way the wind would take it. The kids were getting frustrated at it. The girls snorted and coughed as some of the dust scattered into their noses.
“We're going to call it...thanks for playing with us...come play again someday.” The bigger of the two girls said as she gathered the ball and headed off into the distance.
Nait looked over toward Zeelo and the two stood there idly for a moment, allowing for the breeze to brush through their fur. To the outsider, they would have looked like typical pair of anthro boys. A park attendant saw them standing there by themselves and approached them.
“Are you two alright? Shouldn't you be getting back home...and getting some clothes? It's Halloween after.”
Nait overheard the question and looked toward the tall woman. “Oh, yeah...Halloween. Thanks, mam. We'll get home right away.”
The bigger boy tugged on the smaller one and led out back towards his own house. It never occurred to either of them that they didn't quite fit in with their families anymore, nor the fact that they had lived alone for some time now.
The only thought in their mind was getting home to get into a costume...But weren't they already in costume? They returned home..cat in mouse...paw in paw....ready for the night to come. Their minds only focused on one thing...To ravage the community and plunder candy...to take their place among the annals of Halloween History...
