Disclaimer: I don't own the characters nor the rights for Vivo, those rights are owned by Sony and Netflix and a few others. I DO own a few characters in this fic, though.
A song of the heart
Vivo remained hot on Gabi's heels as they ran, his lungs felt like they were about to burst and his heart was pounding to the point where it felt as if he'd go into cardiac arrest should he take one more step yet he kept running.
He was down on all fours and his tail flew about in the air behind him as he ran, the muscles in his arms and legs screaming out in painful protest with each additional running step he had to make. He didn't like that they were running through the packed streets as he was forced to weave, spin, leap and squeeze through the legs of each passerby whilst he made sure he didn't lose sight of the runaway twelve-year-old girl…but he also felt nothing but worry for her.
The Kinkajou felt a chilly afternoon breeze caress his face, even brushing a few loose tufts of fur as well as brushing against his auburn orange fur. His arms and legs hurt so much, the world whirled passed them to the point that Vivo couldn't help but use tunnel vision for his best friend whom kept running.
He wasn't keen on feeling the wind rush through him as it made him worry about his hat blowing straight off his head…not to mention he worried that the wind would whisk him away. He had no choice but to dodge bits of rubbish that had littered the streets and were being kicked up by the wind along with a few stray autumn leaves of an assortment of many different colours, a few discarded bits of rolled up/crumpled paper, a few squished or dented (or even both) tin cans, plastic bottles and the occasional scrap of cardboard.
He didn't even know how but they miraculously found their way back to the hotel.
Gabi never stopped running as she slammed through the front doors and made a mad dash passed reception with Vivo following closely behind.
They leapt into the lift and eventually made it to the top floor where their rooms were.
Gabi practically ripped the door open before she made a mad dash to into the room and then she jumped onto her temporary bed the second it came into view, burying her face into the large pillow. She started to sniffle and then sob which was then followed by her letting out a series of howling shrieks and wails which her muffled due to her face being pressed into her pillow which was bound to get thoroughly soaked with snot and tears within the next couple of minutes.
It was a miracle she even had the sense of mind to place her glasses on to the nightstand before sobbing her eyes out.
She lay on her tummy as she cried.
Vivo entered the room to find the heart-breaking sight of his best friend laying in bed and crying hard into her pillow. Her body was convulsing with violent wracks which was accompanied by loud sobs as she spent her sorrow on to the poor plush mattress she lay on, her optimistic disposition crumbled and knocked askew.
He was quite breathless from chasing her for what felt like miles but he didn't let that show as he made his way into the room.
Vivo's ear twitched when he heard her let out a muffled hiccup that squeaked through her violent snivelling and, while he normally would have smiled a hint at that, he just couldn't bring himself to smile right now…how could he smile when witnessing Gabi crying so hard —especially after what the judges told her.
How could he remedy her deep sadness?
He didn't know yet but he had to do something.
He decided to make a start by being by her side as he jumped up on to the bed to settle himself beside the twelve-year-old. His joints ached from all the running he had done so it took him a solid 30 seconds to gingerly sit back on his haunches yet even then he gave a pained grimace as he proceeded to place an oh-so gentle paw on her shoulder to let her know that he was there.
Gabi sobbed brokenly, trying to speak in a midst of sobbing hyperventilating.
"V-V-Viv-o-o-o…I'm s-s-s-sorry!" She managed to utter in between breaths, her words a tad muffled due to the pillow.
Vivo then gently raised an arm and then reached forwards to turn her face away from the pillow and brush a paw across her cheek, managing to catch a falling tear.
His deep amber/coffee brown eyes were overflowing with warmth and understanding but there was also a hint of confusion shining within them —he hadn't a clue as to what had troubled Gabi to the point of breaking down but he was beginning to suspect that this was more than a severe case of pre-performance jitters…
"C'mon, kid, don't cry…" Vivo soothed whilst continuing to wipe the odd giant tear away from the human girl's cheek. "…I hate to see you cry like this, besides you've got nothing to apologise for."
Gabi started to slow her breathing down a smidge as she heard the Kinkajou chitter and squeak at her in his Kinkajou language and she felt her heart melt a little, she blinked several times but winced due to her eyeballs stinging thanks to how hard and how much she had been crying. She wanted to smoosh her face back into the pillow but wasn't able to do so with Vivo cradling her cheek in his paw to make sure they retained eye contact —she was shocked at how strong he was for such a small animal.
Vivo noticed his best friend starting to show signs of starting to calm down, but she had her eyes stinging.
"That's right…that's it, just breathe. I'm right here and I'm listening."
As if she could understand him, Gabi let out a shuddering breath as she tried to pluck up the courage to confess the one thing that played upon her mind. Her bloodshot eyes stung with each blink of her eyes and her lips wouldn't stop quivering. She had a very difficult time speaking at all due to the hoarse rawness present in her mouth and a marble formed in the depths of her throat.
She hung her head low and she gave a slight shiver of her body.
It was as if an Arctic chill had brushed passed.
She inhaled and then exhaled as she prepared to finally release her worries and throw them to the wind…she needed to say this to Vivo.
"I've been thinking…o-o-o-of tossing the contest, Vivo…"
Vivo almost fell right off of the bed in shock when he heard that.
WHAT!?
They had worked so hard for this and now Gabi wants to abandon it!
But why?
He hadn't upset her that much, had he?
No.
There had to be a better explanation than that.
His shock must have been stamped upon his whole face since Gabi immediately started to explain her reasoning behind this choice. He was still in a state of pure disbelief as he stared slack-jawed with eyes so wide that they were ready to pop out of their sockets and roll across the floor to look like a pair of ping pong balls without the paddles.
"If Ella doesn't get that money then she could…she c-could…" She choked on her own words as tears sprung to her own eyes, she bit her bottom lip to keep from exploding into howls of despair "…she could lose her d-d-dad j-just like I did…"
Gabi just sniffled, her eyes still watering with tears as she hung her head low with shame.
That was when her hysterical crying began anew.
"I'm scared, I messed up our chance at the auditions and…i-it's too much for me to handle, Vivo…I can't…I j-j-just can't…"
Vivo could only watch with his mind reeling from the shock.
It all made sense now!
Of course this would be the big reason.
Gabi had mentioned that she and the others had some big dinner together which he had missed out on due to being accidentally kidnapped by Dancarino. His heart sunk when he realised that this could mean that that small child could lose her dad if she didn't win and that was why Gabi felt that she had to quit to not make someone else lose their father like she had…
It was apparent that she was very delicate when it came to the matter of her father ever since Vivo had known her. While she didn't completely shut down any topics related to her father and was welcome to have an open discussion on the odd occasion, she obviously felt as though each attempt at a talk would feel like a knife in her heart.
Her intentions were admirable but that didn't make Vivo feel any less determined to pry those doubts out of her.
Gabi tried to look away again and face plant her pillow once more, ashamed, but Vivo stopped her from doing so by firmly grabbing her cheeks in both paws. She gave a slightly confused noise while looking straight into Vivo's eyes which were still filled with compassion but also hardened ever so slightly to create a sterner look.
"Hey." He said. "Look at me."
Gabi seemed to hear the soft squeak and opened her eyes slightly, squinting due to her severely reddened eyeballs stinging.
Even though she couldn't understand him, Vivo tried to encourage her.
"What happened to that ten-year-old girl who wasn't afraid of anything despite all the danger we were in put through while in the Everglades on our way to Miami? What happened to the girl who actually attempted to smuggle me back into the US in her diabolical backpack when in Cuba? What happened to the girl who spurred me onwards when we were separated by that door just as we were about to give Marta her song?"
Gabi then decided to roll over to lay on her side since she was getting a crick in the back of her neck from looking sideways while still laying on her tummy. She got comfortable on the duvet and her lips began to twitch and tremble while her nostrils continuously sniffed to prevent snot from trickling out of them and running down her lip.
She never broke eye contact from the Kinkajou.
He smiled at her encouragingly.
He knew that Gabi couldn't understand a word he was saying but, nevertheless, these were words she still needed to hear.
"You did all of that, kid, and I couldn't be prouder of you for it."
He firmly maintained eye contact.
"When Andrés made that final decision to come to Florida, I didn't support him and it was far too late for me to apologise…but I'm not making that mistake again; I'm gonna support you in everything you decide. If you can't do it then you can't and I'm not gonna judge you for it. I'm gonna follow your lead in anything we do."
As if she could understand what her best friend was saying to her, Gabi started to smile a bit as she removed her glasses and popped them on to the nightstand while she dried hang lingering tears with both closed fists and further irritating her poor eyeballs. Her voice remained hoarse and scratchy due to her upset-induced sore throat.
Vivo drew back a bit, finally letting go of her cheeks, and smiled back at her.
"There you go."
Gabi couldn't help but chuckle weakly at the Kinkajou's complimentary squeaks and chitters, still not understanding a single word he was saying, but guessing that it was something nice due to the sweet expression he had etched upon his fuzzy little facial features. She sat up gingerly on the bed and swung both legs over the edge as she tried to mentally prepare herself to go ahead and stand up.
Vivo watched as the twelve-year-old push herself off the edge of the bed using her arms and hands to take on the weight of catapulting herself to her feet and then launching herself into a standing position. She used her forearm to rub at her stinging eyes, squinting both due to the pain and the fact that she had taken off her glasses and needed to see through a haze of blurriness.
After gaining her bearings while on her feet, she made her way towards the bathroom door, lumbering and clomping heavily as she did so.
"I'm…I'm just gonna go an' wash my face. I'll be right back." She murmured with a hoarse tone.
Then she entered the bathroom and shut the door behind her, leaving Vivo alone in the bedroom.
The musical Kinkajou sighed as he fell back and slumped on the bed, releasing a deep sigh that he didn't know he'd been holding in.
The mattress gave a soft "thump" sound as his body smacked the soft duvets that he'd been laying beneath. He let his thoughts drift away as he started to ponder on the current predicament that he was now in since Gabi was not only doubting herself but was also unsure whether to even enter the contest/concert at all due to her worries and concerns over a fellow contender losing a family member.
He was going to let Gabi think about this since he didn't want to influence his friend into doing something she didn't want to, even if he did feel a bit of his heart crumble at the thought of giving up like this. He wanted to take this chance to perform in front of thousands of people instead of the regular plaza-goers. He wanted to broaden his musical horizons and for Gabi to be with him…but he kept needing to remind himself that Gabi was still a child and not entirely ready to be pushed into the world of fame.
He couldn't be selfish.
He had done that once and he wasn't going to let him lose another family with his own actions.
Not again.
That was when he heard something scuttling across the floor, his nerves shot through the roof and his eyes widened in their sockets. His eyes widened and his body went rigid, his heart trembled and stopped and the blood in his veins ran cold and froze. He knew he heard something. It sounded like something running…maybe even scampering across the carpet flooring…and he could have sworn that he heard something breathing heavily as if tired.
It sounded familiar.
He looked warily around with his head ducked in between his shoulders and his ears down as he crept through the room slowly.
His strides were slow and anxious.
What could possibly be hiding in this room?
Vivo reluctantly decided to investigate as he jolted from his previous position laying down on the mattress and then got to stand on both feet, he was watchful and cautious as he started to drown in this sea of dread. His shoulders tensed and rose up whilst his head ducked in between them whilst his gaze drifted from one side of the room to the other.
He felt a large tremor crawl up and down his spine.
The male musical Kinkajou walked to the edge of the side of the bed and peered down towards the carpet, where he caught a glimpse of something whooshing through the air and dashing under where he stood on the luxuriously plush mattress. He couldn't help but swallow what felt like a huge knot that formed in his throat as he reluctantly leapt down from the large mattress and landed on the carpet, the comfortable material was soft on his paws as he gripped on to the silk to keep himself both steady and balanced.
He stood tall on all fours but his posture flattened to the point where his tummy almost touched the floor.
He made some anxiously slow strides as he encroached the dark underneath of the bed and, the closer he got, he started to see a shadowy silhouette concealing itself in the darkness of the underside of the bed; his ears pricked when he heard the sounds of heavy breathing coming from the figure and it took a couple of seconds before he came to the sudden realisation that he recognised the voice behind the breathless pants.
Spurred by his recognition, Vivo leaned forwards and peered into the darkness of the enclosed space underneath the bed and saw someone who he'd never expected to find:
"MARIE…!?"
The bathroom was small with clean white tile walls and flooring.
There was a shower tucked into one corner, a sink tucked into the middle of the wall with a mirror above it, the toilet was on the right of the sink and a small counter stood erected to the left.
There were bright round lights stuck in the wall as well as a small lampshade hanging from the ceiling.
Gabi stood in front of the sink as she scrubbed her face with a flannel cloth, staring at the mirror hanging above the sink on the wall in front of her with a melancholy expression painting itself on her facial features. Her shoulders sagged low and her arms felt stiff as she used the soggy wet flannel to mop up any lingering tears that may have concealed themselves in the corners of her darkened eyes, her lips had formed a weak smile.
Stains from her tears marked her cheeks and there were shadows cast beneath her eyes from said tears which she had just stopped shedding.
She withdrew a shuddering breath from the depths of her lungs while her chest quaked.
The twelve-year-old girl with dyed purple hair was pulled from her thoughtful state when she heard the door to the hotel room slam open with so much force that it sounded like the door itself had either splintered in half, came flying off its hinges or both! Her eyes widened in their sockets and her mouth fell open in shock with her brows knitting together to paint a look of worry and fear on her facial features.
"GABI! A-ARE YOU IN HERE!?" Came the roaring cry of her mother.
Gabi felt the ice freeze in her veins.
How could she have forgotten that she had ran away without telling her mother where she was going?
….Again.
She didn't even have time to think before her mother stomped through the house.
The door flew open.
Gabi stared into the mirror and the reflection showed her mother was stood behind her with a look of pure panic etched upon her facial features. Her mum had glossy eyes and she was biting lower lip and her face was bright red and sweaty to show how frantic she had been. Even her brown hair was frizzy and out of place as her chest heaved in and out due to panic.
The instant Gabi's mother laid eyes on her daughter, she fell to her knees and threw her arms around her daughter, beginning to sob herself.
"GABRIELLA MARIA ROSA HERNÁNDEZ!" Rosa thundered, breaking off the embrace and fixing her daughter with a scowl that could curdle ten herds of cattle at once. "You can't run away like that! Don't you understand how worried sick I was when I couldn't find you!? What if you had gotten hurt or someone could have taken you away!? Or worse…!"
Gabi heard her mother's voice crack at the mention of what could have happened to her and she felt her heart squeeze with guilt.
She hadn't meant to make her mother worry so much…
Her reaction was born out of fear and worry and her legs acted before her brain could. She didn't even know why since she hadn't felt so nervous or jittery before those previous performances she had with Vivo, this should be no different!
"I'm…I'm sorry, mum…" She murmured, her tone sullen.
She hung her head low in shame and guilt, her gaze blank but thoughtful as she looked down at the tile floors and it's intricate markings since she found it better to look at than her mother's crying face. She couldn't bring herself to look into those eyes that she had been familiar with since the day she was born, she couldn't stand to see the hurt and sadness she'd see within those deep chocolate brown pools.
Rosa sensed her daughter's melancholy and the anger on her face started to melt a little.
This wasn't the Gabi she knew.
There was this nagging sensation niggling away at her brain, as if it were trying to tell her something, but she couldn't put her finger on what. She was relieved how she managed to score both Gabi and Vivo another chance at that concert/contest tomorrow night but, unless she could get her daughter out of her funk, it would be for naught!
She felt her heart sink with the realisation that this could all be wrecked if her daughter didn't brighten up.
"I don't know what's gotten into you but you have to talk to me!" She tried to reason.
Gabi said nothing, her eyes losing more and more of its usual optimism and light.
The twelve-year-old glanced away for a few seconds, her eyes lidded and looking down towards the floor. It was better to look at than that pained expression on her mother's face. She tried her best to speak but it seemed as though her throat knotted up and prevented her from speaking. Her own brows knitted together to help paint a look of unfathomable worry upon her face. She tried her best to tell her mother what he was feeling, to say how she felt, but it was as if her voice box had been constricted to prevent her from speaking.
Rosa continued to plead regardless.
"You have been acting strange as the concert gets closer! It's fine if you are nervous but it's like your doubts have grown ever since last night when…Ella….Ella mentioned…..her…"
She trailed off when the pieces to the puzzle suddenly came together in her mind, her eyes went wide and the realisation hit her like a smack to the face with the force of a ton of bricks; What if Gabi was worried about one of her fellow contestants? Would that truly be enough to make her reluctant in not backing out of the whole event all together? Probably, but it all made sense now!
That must have been why she had been acting so off.
"Oh...oh, oh, oh no, come here..." Rosa cooed, extending both arms out to silently invite her in for a hug.
It was an invitation that Gabi didn't even hesitate to accept.
The twelve-year-old threw herself into her mother's arms, lurching at the woman with massive tears forming in her eyes. She thrown her arms around her neck and buried her tear-filled face into his chest as she cried hard and the magma-hot tears flowed down her cheeks in little streams —the mother was caught off-guard by the intensity of her baby girl throwing herself at her but she quickly wrapped his arms around her sobbing form.
She stroked her back soothingly while drawing gentle circles.
"Shhh, it's okay…would I be right in guessing that you're worried that if you and Vivo were to win that Ella would lose her dad?"
Gabi sobbed and nodded against her mother's shoulder while beginning to emotionally break down again.
Whilst cuddling her daughter, Rosa remained stern as she rubbed her daughter's back in an attempt to soothe her. She didn't want to choose now of all times to deliver this news unto her daughter but she couldn't be too soft with her either —it wasn't going to be long until she was a teenager and she couldn't keep doing things like this.
"I'm sorry but I'm going to have to ground you. You can't just run away like that, you scared me half to death. I just don't want to lose you…you understand, don't you?"
Gabi nodded her head against her mother's shoulder.
Esteban stood off helplessly to the side, unable to think of how he could help remedy this situation.
He never seen Gabi so upset before and the worry gnawed away at his heart and stomach. It was unnatural to see her this way and it made him wonder if even agreeing to this Las Vegas trip was a major mistake, but then he remembered how passionate Gabi was (and probably still is deep down) about coming here and stepping out into that stage in front of all those people and putting a smile on all of their faces. That audition had probably knocked her confidence a bit too.
He couldn't stand to watch Gabi weep like this…and that was when he came up with an idea.
He could think of one thing that could get Gabi back to her enthusiastic self again, although it might be difficult to talk about.
All he knew was that he had to try.
"Ermmm…Rosa?" He spoke up. "Why…Why don't you go and make Gabi something sweet while I have a word with her?"
Gabi, still sobbing slightly, was confused.
Esteban wanted to talk with her?
One-on-one?
Alone?
Together?
Part of her wanted to say a straight up "no" but decided against it when she saw a kind-hearted shimmer glimmer inside of the bulky, burly yet nerdy man's eyes.
She felt her heart melt a little when she saw that look but she tried to push those feelings deep down into the pit of her stomach; she hadn't wanted to have a new father because she still missed her actual father, Carlos, even though she could hardly remember his face anymore…but there was a tiny smidge that wanted to have that sort of connection again after they had started to sort of bond, what with Esteban helping her and Vivo come up with a basis for their performance and then them learning about drums.
She didn't say anything.
Rosa looked confused, too, but decided to comply after seeing the reassurance in her boyfriend's eyes that it would all be okay. She released Gabi from her embrace and gave her a look that assured her that she would be back before she got to her feet and made her departure from the bathroom and went towards the kitchen like she was asked to.
Once Gabi's mother went to the kitchen, Esteban bent down and pulled Gabi off of the tiled flooring and then proceeded to lead her into the exquisite master bedroom in which Rosa and Esteban slept in.
It was a room practically made of gold!
The walls were covered in light beige plaster with a golden-coloured trim pointing towards the ceiling, the floors were made of more luxuriously soft plush carpet (even softer than the carpeting in Gabi's room) and there was one huge window that doubled as a door towards the back that led to a small yet cozy balcony. The king-sized bed with amazing duvet covers and sheets acted as the epicentre of the room and it was just about the biggest bed that anyone could ever laid their eyes upon, it was even a feasible notion that an actual king could have slept in this bed…
Anyways, Esteban and Gabi both took a seat on the edge of the bed and sat next to one another.
They both eased their backsides on to the edge of the bed while they sat in the midst of a disconcerting silence. Neither knew how to break the ice between themselves but Esteban tried to find something, anything, to give him some encouragement. Neither of the two knew what to say to one another yet as the awkward silence brewed between them for a long, long, long time…
That was until Esteban finally found his voice and started to speak again.
"You wanna know a cool fact?"
Gabi didn't say anything, she just kept her eyes down whilst still looking miserable and lost in thought. She clasped both hands and swung her legs back and forth like a pendulum while blinking her red and puffy yet fatigued eyes which were swollen due to how much she'd cried today. Each blink resulted in a stinging yet stabbing pain delivered to the muscles of her poor eyes. She tried not to wince or grimace, though.
Esteban closed his eyes and hung his head low, placing both hands on his own lap and gripping them tightly.
"….I actually knew your dad when we were kids together."
Gabi's head snapped up and ears pricked up as she looked over to the bulky yet muscular man sat next to her, still not saying anything but it was clear that her interest had been piqued.
"Wait you did?"
The man sat next to her was encouraged he actually got a response from her and smiled at her, he proceeded to confirm what she said with a nod.
"Yeah. We weren't actual friends or anything like that but we did go to the same school."
Gabi was gobsmacked as she stared at the man wide-eyed and slack-jawed, her train of thought came to a screeching halt as she tried to take in this information. Esteban knew her dad!? They went to school together as children!? She never knew that! A lot of questions started to churn through her mind while she tried to come to terms with the info and she knew that she wanted to hear more!
"What…what was he like when he was my age?" She asked, brightening up and seeming a lot less sad.
Esteban's eyes softened as he smiled at the girl, delighted that sharing this with her was cheering her up.
"He was a lot like you, actually."
Gabi gasped, awestruck.
Her dad was just like her when he was a child?
She never knew about that and she was becoming more and more intrigued. She'd asked her mother about how her mother and her father met once or twice and she got that info from their teenaged years but she never got a snapshot into her dad's childhood before…until now.
"H-He was?"
Esteban nodded, he sifted through his own memories to dredge up what he could for the upset girl.
"Yep! He had this optimism that put the happiest puppies on earth to shame and this thirst for life that couldn't be quenched. He was determined, sassy, liked to talk about doing the impossible and he also used to talk to people about how he loved music and to play the drums….he even used to practice his drumming skills on any surface he could find like the surface of a classroom desk or lunch trays in the cafeteria."
He started to chuckle at a few of the memories he had of watching Gabi's dad in school and it turned out his laughter was contagious because Gabi started to giggle too as she placed a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter which sounded like the sweetest sound that Esteban ever heard. He never thought he'd see the day where he'd make this girl laugh, let alone with him!
Now Gabi had a cute smile dancing on her lips.
It was such a beautiful smile too and Esteban almost cried out of joy at the realisation but he needed to drive the point home.
The laughter died down and he looked at Gabi with gentle sincerity.
"Do you wanna know what was another one of his best qualities back then, though?" Esteban asked, his tone of voice softening.
Gabi just nodded with a slightly confused expression marring her facial features.
Esteban nodded back at her.
"He seemed to have fun with everything he did, even if the thought scared him witless, and was never afraid to do the right thing. I would overhear conversations he'd have with his buddies and he'd always tell them how he dreamt of being a big-time drummer. People would always ask him if he was scared of all the fame that would come with but he'd just nod and say that he'd face those fears when the time came."
Gabi just said nothing and stared up at Esteban incredulously.
She wasn't sure whether or not she still wanted to quit the contest because they had worked way too hard to simply give up like that. Vivo had given her her trust and she decided to quit because of her own complicated feelings and she knew that that wasn't fair to her best friend, she and Vivo had never performed and this was their chance…but she still felt conflicted.
However, she had realised that Esteban had brought up a very good point.
There was a chance that Ella and her dog Rufus would lose and not win the prize money anyway so giving up wouldn't make a difference in that case. What if Ella were to lose her dad without that prize money? What if she was actually giving up her and Vivo's only chance to get up in front of a crowd and perform?
She hung her head sadly once more.
"But…I blew it at the auditions. I probably wrecked our chances anyway…"
An assuring smile played at Esteban's lips as he patted Gabi's shoulder in a comforting manner.
"Don't sell yourself short yet, uno pequeño. Your mother managed to….'talk' to the judges to get them to change their minds and give you another chance to perform tomorrow night."
Gabi was dumbstruck.
She knew full well that when Esteban said "she talked to the judges" was another term for "she frightened and intimidated them into complying with her every wish". She didn't know how exactly her mother managed to pull it off and she kind of wished that she was there to have seen it, she had no doubt it would have been satisfying to see. She felt immensely grateful for both her mum and Esteban for not giving up on her, especially Esteban because she felt so bad for how she treated him at the beginning of this.
She didn't feel entirely comfortable with him yet, but it was a start at least.
She gave the man a sincere smile.
"Thanks, Esteban…"
Then she stood up from the seat she made out of the edge of the bed and made her way towards the bedroom door with a renewed fire of determination blazing out of control within her eyes.
The twelve-year-old girl strode towards the door which led to the sitting room and then her and Vivo's shared bedroom, her posture now straight and upright and she wore a smile that was brimming with confidence and resolve. She clenched her fists at her sides and her grin was broadening with each and every second that ticked by. She still had the tear stains dampening her cheeks but otherwise she no longer shown any signs of her despairing and wallowing earlier.
She didn't feel so afraid anymore and now she was determined to get Vivo and her name out there —she wasn't going to back down and give up now!
"I'm gonna need to talk to Vivo and tell him that the shows back on." She declared.
What neither she nor Esteban knew was that Rosa had been watching the entire scene with tears of emotion beginning to water her eyes.
Gabi's mother leaned against the doorframe as an emotional smile spread across her lips and she thought about what she had just overheard; she knew that her current boyfriend had seen her late husband in their childhood school days a few times but not to the extent where he knew his a few things about his characteristics. She made a mental note to talk to him about it later but simply decided to leave the matter alone for now as she needed to mentally prepare for her only daughter performing in front of thousands of people.
It wouldn't be too much longer now…
Vivo couldn't believe who he was seeing.
After hearing a quick scampering and skittering through the room, the kinkajou went to investigate and had his heart had stopped in his chest for a nanosecond as he tried to comprehend what (or who, rather) was hiding beneath the bed.
His eyes widened and his mind was abuzz with even more questions, he couldn't help but be concerned since if Marie had been caught then she could have been taken away by pest control —never to be seen again!
This was a huge risk that she took.
Vivo felt his heart quake slightly as he saw her skitter backwards in fear, cowering as she concealed herself in the darkness beneath the bed where she still hid.
His eyes softened and his ears lowered while he dropped down to stand on all fours so he could be more at eye level with the female Kinkajou. He was in disbelief and wanted to demand answers but he knew that Marie was probably feeling delicate and vulnerable right now so decided to keep the yelling at a minimum for the time being.
Marie raised her head and looked, her blinded pale blue/gray eyes wide with alarm and panicked worry.
"Vivo? Is that you?"
Vivo nodded.
"Yeah, it's me. It's just us in here so you can come out."
Marie hesitated on coming out, even giving a worried-sounding squeak as she flattened herself further into the carpet. She seemed to wish that the floor would eat her up at that moment as she grabbed the microscopic wisps of fluff coming from the ground below as if looking for something stable to plant her hands and feet when she was used to feeling the hard concrete and cobblestones of the street.
Vivo felt his heart squeeze at the sight.
Does this mean that she never went into a building before?
That would explain why she's so reluctant instead of her usual relaxed self so if she came in here willingly then it must be supremely important.
"C'mon…" Vivo encouraged. "Lemme see that sweet lil' face of yours?"
He spoke to her a kind smile playing on his little kinkajou lips as he stooped down and dropped to his knees, standing on them to make sure he was more on eye level with her.
There was a smidge of a playful note in his voice as he extended his arm and raised his paw as if gesturing her to come out from under the bed. She felt flattered that he thought she was adorable and she couldn't help but smile a tiny bit at the playfulness present behind the other Kinkajou's words. She would even be blushing if it were possible. She couldn't hide the uncertain yet timid glimmer shine within her unseeing eyes as she anxiously crawled with her muscles moving as though they were coated in a thick layer of rust.
Marie reluctantly dragged herself from beneath the bed, not that she could tell it was a bed to begin with, and was soon revealed in the warm light of the room.
Vivo's smile widened and his eyes lidded a bit to soften his gaze even further.
"There you are…"
Then he caught side of the seriousness written plainly across Marie's expression and his smile fell a bit as he was reminded that there was an element of seriousness behind this visit; it was time to get to the meat of this problem and, for some reason, he wasn't keen on doing so.
"What are you doing here?" He asked.
"There's something I have to tell you!" Marie exclaimed, still puffing and huffing breathlessly.
She swallowed as her lips trembled and she couldn't help but feel her eyes begin to water. She didn't want to actually be caught dead crying in front of him but she couldn't help it, she didn't know where she was and he could hardly think with all his thoughts heavy and numbed like this. She took a few moments to steady himself since her mind was still a haze from a few minutes prior and what she had discovered with Dancarino.
The female Kinkajou tried to swallow so she could loosen her tightening throat but to no avail.
"How did you even get in?" Vivo asked, his voice calm and slightly hushed.
Marie turned her head away for a brief second as she replied.
"I asked Dancarino to fly me here and I climbed in through the window."
"And how did he…?" Vivo was about to question how Dancarino knew where he was staying but he decided better against it as it was not worth either the perplexity or the worry so he ended up just shaking his head to himself. "You know what? Never mind, I don't even wanna know."
Marie made a "tsk" sound as she clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth in a dismissive manner. She couldn't focus on the menial details right now, she needed to focus on telling Vivo the truth and not getting sidetracked with other topics…no matter how stupid they may be.
"ANYWAYS," She cried "You need to run!"
It was Vivo's turn to freeze as the suggestion hit him with the force of a ton of bricks.
Why would he need to run, where would he need to run to? From the sound of things it sounded like something bad was coming…but he didn't know what exactly and that made him worry a bit. If there was danger coming, would it harm his family? Would it harm Gabi?
"What? Why? How come?" He asked.
Marie proceeded to explain what she heard earlier.
"I overheard someone saying that the winners of this concert you are involved in always go missing and it turns out that, whenever someone wins the contest, if they happen to be animals, then they get snatched away and taken somewhere to be sold off!"
Vivo couldn't believe what he was hearing.
All this new information was hard to process as it had all sunken in like a mad dogs tooth.
"And…And what about the humans? What happens with the human contestants?"
Marie looked away, her expression darkening.
"I…I don't know. But what I do know is that it isn't safe for you to stay here in Las Vega-!"
Marie never got to finish her sentence since someone else's saying something had cut through it like a hot knife through butter.
"Hey, Vivo! I'm not quitting the show, not after how we both come so fa-aaaaaarrrr….."
Gabi trailed off, freezing on the spot when she spotted another Kinkajou sat right next to her best friend and musical partner. Her mouth hung open as her jaw went slack, her eyes were so wide that they could have easily popped out of their sockets and be used for ping pong balls, she apparently stopped breathing due to her chest hardly moving as she tried to take in what she was seeing.
She had come in after having her pep talk with Esteban and was about to talk to Vivo more about their routine the next night…only to see a female honey bear wearing a very familiar flower which was in front of one ear.
It was after seeing the flower that she realised what Vivo was trying to tell her this whole time…
...and she got so excited.
She let loose a high pitched scream of joy, much to Vivo's chagrin and Marie's petrification, and charged straight towards the female Kinkajou.
Marie, meanwhile, recovered from her frozen state and gave a terrified whimper as she backed away from Gabi, her body even lower than it ever had been earlier. She was shaking and trembling as she seemed to try and back away from the human walking towards her —she could tell the girl was coming her way thanks to her being able to feel Gabi's footsteps plod on the carpeted flooring beneath them and it was causing the floor itself to vibrate.
Her eyes were wide, her pupils had shrunk into pinpricks, her mouth hung open as she twitched her tiny nose.
She was terrified.
Not once did she get up on her feet so she remained down on all fours just encase she needed to make a fast getaway, her body wouldn't cease shaking or trembling. Her spine was slightly arched and she gazed emptily up at the space in Gabi's general direction since she couldn't see the twelve-year-old girl charging towards her.
Vivo decided to intervene quickly.
He stood in front of Gabi and waved his hands about in the air as if begging for her to stop which she did when she saw her best friend on the ground and immediately redirected her focus on the male honey bear wearing the small fedora hat and the bandanna. She stooped down, lowered herself to her knees to make herself look a bit less intimidating and smiled a huge bright smile at Vivo.
"Vivo! Th-There's another Kinkajou! In this r-r-room! And she's wearing that flower you and I investigated!"
Then she stopped when she had a sudden epiphany.
"Wait…that flower…" Then her expression softened as realisation dawned on her "…is that why you jumped out of the limo the day we arrived? You saw her and wanted to give her flower back?"
Vivo nodded, a somewhat solemn expression etched all over his facial features.
Gabi asked more.
"And…and those outings every night so far this week…you were either looking for her or spending time with her, weren't you?"
Vivo nodded again.
Gabi didn't know what to say since it all made sense now; Vivo at first must have wanted to give back her flower that she dropped when they first arrived in Las Vegas and then he just kept sneaking out every night so he could see her again…she felt a tad hurt that he couldn't explain all this to her but, then again, how could he? It wasn't like he could have actually told her and it appeared that he wanted to multiple times but just couldn't due to the fact that she didn't speak Kinkajou…
She then turned to face the female Kinkajou but was shocked and a bit sad to find that she wasn't there anymore.
Instead, Vivo and herself caught a brief glimpse of something orange and pink (most likely Marie herself) scrambling up to the windowsill, perching on said sill for a sec, grabbing the already-slightly-opened window slide door and then leaping straight out of said window.
Vivo was both disheartened and intrigued.
Marie said that they needed to leave the country but why?
What did she mean by when she said all that earlier?
Her words echoed within his brain like a cry from a canyon:
"I overheard someone saying that the winners of this concert you are involved in always go missing and it turns out that, whenever someone wins the contest, if they happen to be animals, then they get snatched away and taken somewhere to be sold off!"
Vivo was deeply troubled by all this as he couldn't bring himself to believe any of this.
The Neon lights contest and concert started two years ago and Rufus and Ella were already involved the previous year and it went off without a hitch apparently, but then what is going on here? How was he going to break this to Gabi? Maybe he should still do the concert/competition but keep his eyes and ears wide open —he wasn't sure about any of this but he tried to push his worries aside.
Vivo was determined to not only get to be with Marie one last time tonight but to also put his all into this event. He wished he didn't have to leave her so soon, though, and he started to wonder if he could perhaps convince her to leave Las Vegas and come back to Florida with him and his family…he didn't want to leave her alone in the darkness for the rest of her life.
Even Gabi was troubled for a few moments before she refocused on the contest too, she needed to speak with the Kinkajou about their performance and how they were going to handle it.
"…C'mon, Vivo, there's something I gotta talk to you about."
A/N: Hi, guys!
Here's a new chapter!
We find Gabi having a heart-to-heart with Esteban, Gabi finally figures out the reason behind Vivo's late-night vanishes, Marie goes to warn Vivo and Gabi's determination is reignited.
What will happen next?
What's the mystery behind this event?
Can Vivo figure it out before it's too late?
On a side note, I got an interesting question from CocoaBeanie144 about who would voice Marie and, after a bit of thinking and research, I decided on Cyn (after I watched the new Pokemon film on Netflix) as Marie's singing voice and Neve Campbell (voice actress for Kiara from the Lion king 2) for her speaking voice.
I hope you guys are enjoying this fic.
-Chloemcg