There's an accompanying playlist on spotify, if you're interested. playlist/7de1F1BrBhrUqlpWlNAB1B?si=sYNdk-WeRyyeLJ6lKhmZfg
Afternoon sunlight filtered through the verdant canopy of the forest of Dean. The first thing one might notice upon arriving was the less than pleasant sound of humans camping and generally making use of the resources that the park provided.
But the sound of motors, chatter, dogs, and the general business of human life slowly faded away the deeper one traveled into the actual forest. Here, the sounds of the soft notes of a busy old forest could be heard. A variety of birds warbled and chattered, a light wind blew through leaves and branches of oak and evergreen trees.
A boy of about eleven strolled through the trees, as comfortable here as he would be on a city street. He had lived near the forest of Dean for most of his life. It was practically his back yard. He was more often found out in the forest, only partly due to the fact that he liked being in the forest better than anywhere else. But also, it was to keep his mother from telling him off for watching too much television.
This day however, his peaceful walk was disturbed, as something dashed across his path. Something that was small, and mostly green. And as it did, it made the most curious chirping noise, almost lite that of like a bird. Almost. But not quite.
Ben quickly realized that the green creature that had dashed across his path was no kind of bird. He slowly brought himself down to eye level with the small animal hiding under the brush, though it was still several feet away. The creature shuffled back slightly, and the boy was able to get a better look at it.
"Hello, there." Ben called softly. "What kind of animal are you?"
The lizard, or at least what looked like a lizard, chirruped softly in reply, and Ben made no attempt to move. He watched the lizard in front of him, as the creature sized him up. The creature trotted forward a few paces tentatively. Excited though he was, Ben forced himself to keep still, so he wouldn't scare off the little lizard.
He laid there for the better part of an hour, softly encouraging the small creature to come closer. Until finally the lizard, who Ben had begun to call Rex, was comfortable enough with him to crawl onto his back. Ben slowly pushed himself into a crouch, and Rex climbed up to perch on the boy's shoulders, where he discovered the hood of his jacket. After a moment or two of investigation, Rex began trying to pull it over himself.
"Are you cold?" Ben asked quietly, and reached to pick him up. Rex became alarmed for a moment, and squawked in his ear unexpectedly. Ben cringed at the sound, but hurried to reassure him. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you! I just thought you'd be warmer if I held you."
Ben opened up his jacket to demonstrate, and Rex seemed to get the message. He jumped into the opened jacket, snuggled up inside the fleece-lining, then chirped gratefully. Not wanting to risk spooking the lizard, Ben started walking back home very carefully. Every so often, Ben would peek inside his jacket to look at the dozing form of this strange new pet.
As the boy walked off bound for home, he was unaware that something else was watching him from a distance.
Something far more dangerous than Rex.