Seventeen: Under the Weather

Author's Note: Chat discovers standing for hours beneath a cold rain can have adverse effects.

Special Note: As I am taking the plunge and doing the 2019 version of National November Write a Novel Month, I've created shorter chapters for the next few weeks so I can continue to provide fresh content while I am furiously working on that project. (Feel free to follow along if you like over on their website; I'll take all the support I can get!)

The first indication that standing under a rain machine, in mid-autumn weather, was not a terribly good idea was the scratchy throat that developed soon afterward. I'd been booked to do another ad for the horrific cologne I'd been the face of for more than a decade, and the director had decided it to throw out the original concept my office had come up with in favor of a more dramatic water-drenched affair. Not only were the clothes I'd worn ruined beyond recognition, I'd come away feeling like I'd never, ever get warm again.

Which for a cat was a real worry.

I'd shucked out of the wet clothes in my trailer and into some comfy sweats, but still felt chilled to the core despite two additional cups of coffee. Deciding to blow off the rest of my official afternoon, I'd cancelled my appointments and transformed into Chat Noir with the express intent of finding a sunny rooftop that I could stretch out and luxuriate in fully. The second indication came when I cracked open the door to my trailer to ensure the coast was clear and immediately sneezed three times in rapid succession, drawing the attention of the lighting specialist who was packing up the set.

I managed to get the door closed before he caught the feline ears and mask, and leaned up against it for a moment trying to blink the tears from my eyes. "That was close," I muttered before skulking over to the window and lifting the blinds with a claw. Confirming for sure the coast was now clear, I opted to escape via the skylight this time, though I pressed myself close to the rooftop just in case someone had decided to look upward in that moment.

Generally they didn't; it had often worked in my favor that people tended to look side-to-side and down rather than up.

I crept to the edge of the roof away from the street we'd been shooting on and started to slip over the side when my feline frame was wracked with another set of sneezes; they came on so unexpectedly, I tumbled off the roof entirely and landed in a heap of black-cladded limbs beside the power cable for my trailer. Pushing myself up, I wondered if there were pigeons nearby or, worse, Monsieur Ramier. As I wiped my nose with a paw, I squinted and didn't see either close at hand. Also fortunately, no one had seen my tumble into the narrow alleyway behind my trailer.

Ego bruised, I skulked around the corner and clawed my way up the side of the building, stopping to sneeze a few more times halfway to the top. I was also cold, which was exceedingly unusual given my costume generally kept me at just the right temperature at all times. It concerned me enough that I picked up my pace and vaulted the final meters to the roof. Using the baton, I helicoptered into the blue sky and landed on the next roof, smoothly transitioning to a jog along the apex. A particularly wonderful sunny spot was in mind, and it only took me a few more minutes to land on dark-colored slanted tile roof that had an exceptional southern exposure.

I stretched out fully in the sun, feeling my costume soak up the rays but still, even fifteen minutes in, remained chilled to the bone. Enough so that I realized I was actually shivering despite being in broad daylight. I gave it another half hour before my teeth were chattering so fiercely, I feared dental damage.

Suddenly – and despite being a cat – a long, warm bath suddenly seemed like a divine idea.

Pulling my feline body away from the tile, I leapt back into the sky and efficiently worked my way back to our apartment. Since it was still early afternoon, Marinette hadn't yet returned; as I rolled through my balcony door, I continued right into the bathroom and the blessing of the jacuzzi tub that had come with the space.