//------------------------------// // Chapter 20: First Step Up // Story: The Bug In The Basement // by Skijarama //------------------------------//     The Next Day.     Beebee watched the back of Eventide’s head with no small amount of worry and curiosity. He could see the orange haze drifting off of him in droves, filling the air with a potent, confusing smell. It wasn’t the same as when he was angry or scared, but it wasn’t the same as when he was affectionate or happy. It was a sharp, fiery taste, one he couldn’t eat, but not one that made him sick or agitated. He couldn’t quite place his hoof on what emotion was flowing out of Eventide, but whatever it was, it was powerful.     The man had been sitting at his computer desk more or less since he had gotten up that morning, reading through page upon page of something without stopping. Periodically he would begin typing on his keyboard, grumbling to himself, checking his phone and a few sheets of paper he had next to him on the desk. He was focused to the point that he hadn’t even noticed Beebee coming in, and that had been five minutes ago.     Finally, Beebee’s patience fell away, and his curiosity drove him on. He lifted into the air with his wings and slowly drifted over to look at the screen from over Eventide’s shoulder. His approach and the sound of his wings buzzing in the air finally drew some attention, and Eventide gave him a small smile. “Oh, hey Bee. You sleep well?” he asked in a voice that betrayed his own drowsiness, barely suppressing a yawn.     Beebee nodded. “Yuh-huh, I slept good,” was his simple response. He looked at the screen for a moment, frowning. There were a lot of words on it that he didn’t know. His face twisted with perplexion before he glanced at Eventide. “Uh… what are you doing?”     Eventide looked at the screen again, his smile falling away. He then sighed. “I’m looking for a new job, Beebee,” he admitted without hesitation before running a hand over his face, letting out a tired and frustrated groan. “But my options are limited… I never went to college, and my only job experience is in retail…”     Beebee tilted his head in confusion at the words. “What does that mean?” he asked curiously, touching down on the desk a foot away from the keyboard and plonking down onto his haunches.     Eventide thought about it for a second. “Uh, well… Okay, let’s say you have something that you need someone to do, and you have a few people who want to do it, right? And let’s say that the something is hard to do, and you can only pick one person to do it. What would you do?”     Beebee tilted his head while his face scrunched up. His wings twitched on his back for a moment. “Uhm… I don’t know?” He finally relented with a small shrug.     “You’d pick the person who could do the job better than the others,” Eventide explained before glancing back at the screen. “That means they have skill and experience. They were taught how to do it and have done it already, so they know what to do. You’d want to get the person who has the best training and done it the most; someone with skill and experience. You following me so far?”     “Uh-huh.”     “Now, I’m one of the guys looking for a new job to do, but I’m not exactly skilled or experienced. I’ve been working at a grocery store as a guy behind a counter for two years. That is pretty simple, and I was never taught anything more advanced. So... my odds of getting anything really great are slim to none…” his face fell, and Beebee’s eyes widened when he saw a hint of black and purple seep into the orange. He knew what those colors meant; fear and dread. He shuddered as he recalled how thick the air had been with those emotions when he had been sick.     Moving quickly, Beebee pressed himself against Eventide’s hand while flashing him a big, happy smile. “Don’t worry, Daddy. I’m sure someone’ll pick you,” he said before nuzzling into his father’s hand with a happy chitter and chirp. The purple and black soon faded, replaced with pink, and Beebee visibly relaxed.     Eventide smiled and gave Beebee a few well-received scratches behind the ears before turning his attention back to the computer screen. “Thanks, Beebee. Now, why don’t you go and play with Buddha for a while? I have to focus right now.”     Beebee deflated in disappointment, but only slightly, and only for a moment. He perked right back up and gave a sharp nod. “Okay, daddy. Will you come out and play with us later?”     Eventide smiled. “We’ll see. Get a move on.” Beebee nodded and hopped off the table to go galloping back out into the rest of the house. He heard Eventide calling after him. “And make sure you take it easy! Don’t play too hard! We don’t want you collapsing again!”     “I won’t!” Beebee assured before exiting the bedroom and throwing himself at Buddha. The dog, who was situated on the chair right now, saw him coming, and Beebee could see a specific series of colors around the dog that he interpreted as ‘Oh boy, here we go again...’     He then tackled Buddha in the chest.     They had fun.     The Next Day.     Eventide let out a sigh of relief from his place behind the counter as the latest batch of customers walked out the doors with their bags in tow, marking the end of the rush they had just been blasted with. Clean Sweep was similarly looking relieved from his own check-out station and turned around to give Eventide a small smile. “Whew! Made it!” he declared while giving a big thumbs up.     Eventide returned the gesture. “Yeah, we did,” he replied before looking around at the store. His smile faded away, replaced with a more thoughtful expression. “Austere’s in her office, right?” he asked after a moment of hesitation.     Sweep raised an eyebrow at the question. “Er, yeah, I think so. Why?” he asked, shifting forward a little bit.     Eventide glanced up at the clock on the wall. Ten more minutes until his lunch break. “I just need to ask her about something…” he answered cryptically.     “May I ask what?” Sweep probed, and Eventide shot him a small frown.     “Not right now, no.”     Whatever Clean Sweep’s response was going to be, it went unsaid, as another customer came by to check out with a cart full of groceries, eating up his time. The rush may have been done, but there was still a steady stream of people coming through the store. Eventide carefully counted the minutes, helping each customer as quickly as he could so he wouldn’t be held up. Soon enough, it was time. Sending off another customer, he switched off his lane and stepped away, heading for the manager’s office.     He slowed down part of the way there, though, to glance to his left at the rest of the store. He’d worked here for two years, going on three, and had shopped at it long before then. He knew it like the back of his hand. Now that he was planning on leaving… he couldn’t help but soak in some of the details he had long since taken for granted and tuned out. The color scheme, for one thing; Bright white made up the main color, with the highlights and accents being comprised of a combination of vibrant oranges and deep reds, in keeping with the theme.     The store was pretty thorough, as far as shopping marts go. There was the usual assortment of isles with foodstuffs, there was a pharmacy section in the back, there was a small deli and bakery on one side of the shop, and there was the meat department on the other. Eventide came to a total stop right outside of Austere’s door to look out at the store for a moment longer. Then, with a shake of his head, he pushed the door open and slid inside.     The room itself was bland and remarkably small. A computer desk was shoved into the corner with a filing cabinet next to it. A clock sat on the wall over the desk, ticking the seconds away. Austere sat at the desk, looking over a spreadsheet on her screen intensely. She glanced back at Eventide as he entered and raised an eyebrow. “What is it, Oath? Aren’t you supposed to be having lunch right now?” she asked bluntly while swiveling around to face him.     Eventide closed the door to the office behind him, then took a second to find his words. “Ah, well…” he began before clearing his throat. “I just figured you should know; I’m looking for a new job.”     Austere blinked, her expression otherwise unchanging. “Oh… kay? You do know it’s not usually a good practice to tell your boss that until you have something else lined up, right?”     “I know how much emphasis you put on being punctual,” Eventide replied with the barest hints of a smile. “You’d get annoyed with me if I waited. Plus I’ve been here for a long time now, and I just figured you’d want to know.”     Austere narrowed her eyes for a moment, then let out a small chuckle. “Okay, you’ve got me there,” she admitted before leaning back in her seat. “Anyways; you’re looking for a new job. Reasoning?”     Eventide shuffled uncomfortably in place, pondering just how he should answer this. After a few seconds, he found his voice. “Well, uh, as you know, I have a few pets at home, but ah… I can’t provide for them with the job I have now. Paychecks are way too small, and I’m losing money every month. My savings are being eaten up…”     Austere raised an eyebrow. “So… why not just ask for a raise? I’d happily hand one to you if you asked. You’ve been working here for almost three years and are one of the best workers I’ve had in a long time,” she prodded inquisitively. Eventide shrugged. “I mean, you got me there. I could just ask for a raise, but… well…” he sighed and shook his head. “I’m just not really satisfied here anymore. Working in retail, even with a bigger paycheck… I dunno. I’m just not as happy here as I used to be. I think it’s time to move on to something else, you know?”     Austere stared hard at Eventide, the room falling into silence. She locked her fingers together in front of her face to look over her knuckled at him. She let out a thoughtful hum, making him squirm in place. She then let out a quiet, amused chuckle. “So… Clean Sweep finally got through to you, did he?” she pondered out loud.     Eventide blinked. “Uh?”     “Your co-workers sometimes don’t know when to shut up,” Austere pointed out with a teasing smirk. “And Sweep thinks pretty highly of you. Apparently, if what he said one time is true, he tried to urge you to get a raise, at least, a ways back, during lunch. He tried to be all sneaky about it by not suggesting you do it, but merely observing that you didn’t. And then you brushed him off.”     Eventide nodded, remembering the event pretty clearly. “Er, yeah, I kinda did.”     “What kind of job are you looking for?” Austere asked, leaning forward a little with interest. “You’re not satisfied here, so I doubt you’re going for more retail.”     Eventide nodded and straightened up. “I’m hoping for something outdoors. I mean, we’ve got the Everfree national park outside of town, and I always loved going there as a kid before my, uh…” he trailed off, his expression turning sour. He shook his head and continued. “A-anyway, I’ve got my hopes, but really, I’m willing to take anything that can help me take care of my pets.”     Austere raised an eyebrow at the way he stumbled in his speech but didn’t press the matter, much to his relief. She leaned back to sit upright in her chair, giving him a long, calculating look. “Well, either way,” her smile softened into something a bit more genuine. “I think you’re making a good call. Just keep me posted, don’t slack off and put in your two-weeks notice before you leave, and you’ll get nothing but a glowing recommendation from me to your new employers - whoever they are.”     Eventide gave a smile of his own. “Thanks, boss.”     Austere waved him off. “Oh, save your thanks. You still need to find a new job, after all. Now go eat lunch,” she dismissed him before rotating in her seat and going back to work on her PC. “And tell Sweep that you’re planning on leaving, you hear? I bet he’s gonna want to know that he did something right.”     Eventide let a laugh slip out at that, gave one more nod, then opened the door to the office. “Sure. See you later.”     “Bye.”     The door closed.     Eventide let out a sigh of relief as the warm air of the inside of his house washed over him, freeing him from the clutches of winter. He took a few steps in, closed the door behind him, and stood up straight. “Beebee, Buddha, I’m home!” he called out.     As he predicted, Buddha came rushing from the chair immediately in her typical fashion, leaping up to sniff all over him and shove her snout into his hand, eager for pets and snacks. Eventide happily gave her the one of those things he could at the moment, happily petting her all over and telling her she was a good girl before looking up and seeing Beebee waking up from the basement with a distant look in his eyes.     Several red flags went off in his mind, and Eventide’s brow furrowed. “Beebee? You okay?” he called, snapping the bug out of his trance. Beebee’s face immediately lit up with a big grin, and he flew forward into the waiting arms of his dad.     Beebee hummed in content once he was safely secured in Eventide’s arms, then nodded up at him. “Yeah, I’m okay. I was just thinking,” he assured simply. He cooed and chittered happily when he felt Eventide’s fingers gently scratching at his chin and throat, and he craned his neck up to give more access to those delightful digits that he lacked.     “What were you thinking about?” Eventide questioned after a moment, releasing Beebee and starting to head for the chair. Beebee buzzed in the air next to him.     Beebee’s face scrunched up slightly, then he shook his head. “Uh, nothing. Just stuff,” he said in a blatant lie, his hooves wringing together over his chest and his ears twitching. Eventide shot him a small frown, wishing that he had the same empathic abilities that his son did, but decided it wasn’t worth it to pry for now. He eased himself back into the chair while Beebee settled onto his lap. “We gonna watch some TV?”     “Sure,” Eventide nodded, reaching for the remote and turning on the television. They flipped through a few channels until they landed on something kid-friendly, and began to watch. It was some silly cartoon or other, an educational show disguised as an action series. While Eventide found it amusing, it was not enough to keep him interested. He must have been more tired then he had thought because before long he fell asleep in the chair with Beebee’s warmth in his lap.     Beebee looked up at Eventide and giggled quietly to himself before snuggling into his father’s lap to be comfier. He returned his eyes to the TV and watched for a while, just soaking up what was going on on screen.