Chapter 11 - Lost and Found
Louis tried to run away as soon as they got into the hall, his mind screaming at him to hide. He turned to leave.
Legosi held him by the shoulders. "Louis. Louis, please look at me. Where are you going?"
"I'm leaving, obviously!" He shouted, in full panic mode.
"Where? Are you going back to the room? Please don't go anywhere I can't find you."
"Just let me go. I'm leaving."
Legosi's heart was racing, remembering Louis acting this way when they had their fights. "Okay." He lifted his big hands off of his shoulders.
The deer ran off.
"Dammit." Legosi jogged after him, scrapping his initial plan of leaving Louis outside while he tried to console Shogi. He would need to bring the sheep's situation to the staff's attention sometime. Right now, he had to make sure his mate was alright.
Louis' intention was to leave the Hidden Condo, completely. He was already making his way toward the lobby.
"Louis! Let's talk about this! Please!" The wolf tried to keep his voice as quiet as possible while still being loud enough to hear.
"Leave me alone! I'm leaving! I can't be here!" The deer didn't care how loud he was.
Sebun had just arrived in the lobby, having left work early for the day for reasons she'd sooner forget. Sadly, it seemed like trouble followed her that day. Her neighbor, Louis, stormed towards the doors she was just entering, a desperate wolf behind him.
"Louis! We have to talk about it!"
"I don't want to talk about it! I want to leave!" He pushed the door open and ran out into the current of animals outside.
Sebun watched him go by, with the carnivore passing by soon after. "Huh...trouble in paradise..." She shrugged, noting the tinge of disappointment she felt as she trudged to her room.
Once Legosi stepped out, Louis seemingly vanished. He looked around frantically before sniffing the air, but too many scents were mixing for him to tell exactly where he went. He whined anxiously, wondering what he should do. Louis was an adult, after all, but he didn't trust him to make sound decisions in that state of mind. Especially so close to the black market.
Louis kept moving. His brain just told him to keep moving and don't stop. Wherever he was going didn't matter.
The dog shook his head and took off in a random direction, determined to pick up his deer's scent. He couldn't have gone that far.
Back in the condo, Shogi had broken down sobbing due to having hurt Louis like that. He knew he was going to blame himself and now both of them were gone and he was alone in the dark again. What a cruel world.
Legosi walked around the whole block, visiting each store and checking out the park, but there was no sign of Louis. He headed back home, thinking he might have returned.
The receptionist looked at him with concern as he entered.
"Did Louis come back here?" the wolf asked.
"That deer fellow?" The bird blinked. "No, he hasn't."
Legosi scribbled his number on a sheet of paper on the counter and slid it over. "Call me if he does." And with that, he was off again. He had to check on Shogi.
The sheep had fallen asleep by that point, the outpour of feelings completely draining his entire being.
Legosi knocked softly on his door. "Shogi-san?"
No answer.
Legosi sniffed the air, but the garbage on the other side blocked anything out. He pressed an ear to the door, thankfully hearing the soft snoring of the sheep. "Shogi-san...we're going to help you...but to do that, I need Louis. We'll be back." Legosi turned tail and was off, once again.
Sebun had settled down in her bathrobe with a nice glass of wine, ignoring that it was only noon. She had been home an hour or so and was just finally feeling relaxed...
Knock, knock, knock. "S-Sebun...san?"
The merino sheep jumped at the sound, nearly spilling her drink. Was that..."What do you want?"
Her wolf neighbor's muffled voice came through. "Sebun-san? I need help."
Sebun simply sat there, staring at the TV series she had planned to binge on Zulu. She took a swig of the wine. "Why are you asking me?"
"I don't know anybody else! My grandpa is at work and our friends are all in school!"
She groaned, really hating the idea of standing up. "What makes you think I can get your boyfriend to make up with you? Sort this out yourself!" There was more venom in her voice than she intended.
"I can't find him! He ran away and I'm afraid he's going to hurt himself! Please!"
Hearing those words sent a jolt through her small form. She said nothing, slowly rubbing one of the bruises she received by riding the hybrid car. Standing up with a resigned sigh, she trudged to the door, unlocked it, and opened it up, staring up into the sad, sad eyes of her neighbor.
Those same eyes lit up slightly at her appearance. "Th-thank you!"
"I didn't do anything yet," she mumbled. "Don't you have a phone? Have you called him?"
"Yes! And texted! He won't pick up or answer!"
"How about the police?"
Legosi cocked his head. "Wh-what could they do about it?"
"Well, they might be able to put a search out for him. Tell them that he's not mentally well and self-destructive and that should get their attention." She looked the wolf up and down. "Although, a big carnivore like you asking the whereabouts of a deer might arouse suspicion..."
Legosi's entire form dipped when hearing this. "Oh..."
Sebun squinted at him. This wolf really was a strange carnivore. He wasn't like her school classmates or coworkers. He wasn't treating her like a child (and he very well shouldn't be since she figured she probably had a decade on him), and the way he presented himself was genuine while also non-threatening. She sighed once again, beckoning him inside.
Legosi stepped in, staring at all the tiny furniture. Sebun sat on a cushion by her low table and Legosi took a seat across from her. The sheep leaned forward on the table, arms crossed and brought to her chest. "So, Louis, was it? Has he done things like this before?"
Her large guest let out a staggered breath. "W-well, yes. Not for a while, but he used to be suicidal, and he had an eating disorder. He's had a really rough past, Sebun-san."
"I see." She could feel her stomach twisting. "Has he...ever attempted to kill himself?"
Legosi tapped his large claws on the wooden tabletop nervously before quickly hiding them. "I...n-not while I've been around. He told me about one time he was about to..."
Sebun bit her lip, noticing tears in the large carnivore's eyes. "Legosi? What happened today that upset him?"
"He...found out that his friend's brother died...and he's blaming himself."
"I see...was he...involved in the death?"
Legosi looked away. "Not really but...it's not something I can talk about."
"Okay."
The two sat there in a moment of silence, trying to ignore the awkwardness while also thinking of a solution.
Legosi was the one to speak first. "So...do you think calling the police will be okay?"
"I'll call," the sheep stated calmly, already with her phone out. She was nervous, as she had never dialed an emergency number before, but she had to stay strong for this young wolf.
Legosi reached out to stop her, but quickly decided it was best if she called.
As the phone rang, Sebun had to keep reminding herself to be on her guard since a large carnivore was in her flat. But the way Legosi composed himself was so calming, despite the scars on his face.
Finally, a dispatcher picked up, asking what the emergency was.
"Hello, my name is Sebun. I'm a merino sheep living in the hidden condo. My neighbor's roommate is missing. He's a young adult deer wearing an eyepatch. He ran away about an hour ago and my neighbor says he's suicidal and may hurt himself." She panted after relaying all of that information, hoping Legosi didn't mind her leaving out a few details.
The dispatcher spoke in a monotone voice on the other side, as was custom of them. "Alright, hon. You said around the Hidden Condo, right? And what is your name and information? Like your phone number and address."
Sebun made a face. "Sebun. I'm a merino sheep, and I live in the Hidden Condo." Seems like all the information she had given wasn't picked up. She gave her phone number and the more specific address of the condo.
"Alright, thank you, ma'am. We're sending a patrol out there, now. Can you tell me the name of this deer, please?"
"Louis." She glanced up at Legosi, seeing any indication she got the name wrong. "He found out some terrible news and is having a mental breakdown." She looked up at Legosi again, who simply nodded slowly.
"Okay, well don't worry. We'll look for him and make sure he's in good hands. Thank you for the call. You will be called back when we find him, but it will be a different number. Make sure you stay close to your phone, Miss Sebun."
"Yes, thank you." She hung up and put the phone face down on the table, exhaling deeply.
"What did they say?" Legosi blurted.
"They'll let us know if they find him. Most likely he'll be taken into a hospital."
The canine gulped. "H-hospital? Why?"
"Because he's suicidal? That's what happens."
Legosi stared at his legs, shaking slightly.
Sebun stood up and walked over to him. What the hell am I doing? She reached out and put a small hand on his shoulder, and he looked up at her with tears in his eyes. "Hey. It'll be okay."
"Sebun-san," Legosi croaked. "W-why do I keep having to watch animals I care about kill themselves?" After asking this, he could no longer hold his tears in, attempting to slow their flow with his forearm while sobbing.
Sebun covered her mouth in shock. "O-oh my god!" Instincts forgotten, she rushed to him and tried to cradle his shoulders, not quite making it all the way around with her arms. "Shh, shh, it's okay. Really, Legosi, I promise. It'll be okay. Louis will be okay."
The big wolf whined, sighed, wailed, every sound you could think of, he made it. Eventually, Sebun was able to get him standing as she guided him to his and Louis' room, the wolf still wiping his eyes as they walked. Legosi fumbled in his pockets for the keys and stepped in, and Sebun followed.
"Oh, you made this place look really nice, Legosi! You and Louis did a good job!" Her smile was forced, just as her compliments were. The flat really did look nice, though.
The carnivore said nothing, just standing there.
"You said you have a grandfather? Should we call him?"
Legosi shrugged. "He has work all day. He works in construction. He can't hear his phone during the day."
"Okay, I see. Just...lie down on the futon there and I'll stay with you, okay?" This was so surreal. What right did she have taking care of this wolf if she couldn't even take care of herself? What would a doctor say to the wolf now? WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING?
Legosi laid down flat on his back, body stiff. Sebun slid onto the couch and searched for the controller of the television. "Are there any programs you watch to calm down?"
The wolf stared blankly at the ceiling, nodding after a few seconds passed.
"...Should we put it on?"
The dog nodded again, and guided the sheep to where it was on Zulu. It was a documentary about dynastid beetles. Sebun felt a chill run down her spine. She really didn't like bugs.
"Alright, I'm putting it on. Let me know if you need anything."
The documentary played in its entirety, and they put another one on, this time about geology. Sebun went into their fridge a few times to get them something to eat. The sun dipped lower and lower in the sky.
Not in a million years would she have expected something like this to happen. She was glad her suspicions about Legosi were proven wrong, at least. She couldn't help but find herself wondering what he and Louis' relationship was like normally. She looked down at him, noting he had moved to lay on his side, possibly asleep. It was odd, being the animal to look after a carnivore. She actually felt her age for the first time in her life.
They watched TV for what seemed like forever until the sheep got a call from an unknown number, just like the dispatcher had said.
Legosi's ears perked up as he turned to face her. Sebun promptly answered the call. "Hello?"
"Hello. Is this Miss Sebun, who called about her missing friend, Louis the red deer?" The female voice on the other end sounded as kind as it could be. Weirdly excited, though.
"Y-yes. That's me." She tried to make her voice sound normal, despite her and Louis not being officially friends yet.
"Yes, well, we found your guy. I'm going to give you the phone number and address of the hospital so that you can come visit him, okay?"
"O-okay. Can other animals visit, too?"
"Only during the visiting hours, which are 10 AM to 6 PM. Are you ready for the info?"
Sebun glanced at the time. It was almost 5 PM. "Uh, hold on." She placed the phone against her shoulder. "Legosi, they found Louis. I have to write down the phone number and address of the hospital he's at."
Legosi jumped up and quickly went to retrieve the items while Sebun got up and moved toward the table. Once she had everything, she collected the information.
"Thank you so much!" she said, feeling actually relieved.
"I do have to say, you won't be able to visit him today. It's protocol that we keep patients on the first day from seeing anyone so we can make sure that they're completely alright. You'll be able to see him tomorrow, though. Can I help you with anything else?"
Sebun bit her lip. She had work tomorrow, and she didn't want to cut again. "Okay. I can't make it tomorrow, but his roommate will be over. Maybe others." She looked at Legosi and shrugged.
"That's fine. Do you need anything else?"
Sebun mouthed the question back to Legosi.
"Ask them where they found him."
The sheep brought the phone back to her mouth. "Where was he found?"
"He was found in the park near the Hidden Condo."
Sebun put the phone back to her shoulder. "At the park, Legosi."
Legosi stared blankly at the wall. He had checked there. He must have gone there after Legosi looked.
The herbivore added another question. "And how is he doing now?"
"He's talking to a nurse right now. He's pretty shaken up, but he won't really speak. Does he get like that when he's upset?"
"C-can I give you to his roommate? He knows more about him..."
"Sure. Any information will help."
Sebun handed the phone over.
"Hello?" The sheep's high pitched voice was swapped with the low, nervous one.
"Hi! Can you tell me about your friend Louis, please?"
"Y-yes. He used to be suicidal and he used to have an eating disorder. He's been okay for a while but today he received some bad news that really upset him."
"Is there anything we should know? Does he have trouble communicating his feelings?"
"Yes. I'm probably one of the only animals he can talk to..."
"Okay. Thank you for the information. Do you need anything else?"
"C-can I talk to him?" It was worth a shot.
Sebun brought her hands to her temple, shaking her head.
"I'm sorry. You won't be able to talk to him until, earliest, 10 AM tomorrow, hon."
"Okay. Okay. Please tell him Legosi is coming to see him tomorrow. And that I lo- hope he feels better."
"I'll tell the nurses. Have a good night." And with that, the call ended.
Legosi handed the phone back over, sighing.
"Hey, how are you doing?" Sebun put the phone back into her pocket.
"I...I'm happy Louis is okay but..." He looked around their apartment. "We were supposed to be happy here..."
The smaller animal could feel her chest ripping in two. She couldn't believe she was now involved with these two. "I know, but it'll be okay. Louis can get help with this." She lingered, looking around as well. "Do you need anything?"
"No...Sebun-san. Thank you for staying with me."
"Okay." She turned to leave before she stopped. "Just let me know if you need anything, okay? Let's exchange numbers."
After doing this, she left, and Legosi was alone in the flat.
He walked over to the couch and sat heavily on it, spacing out.
…
The wolf pulled his phone out and dialed Gosha.