Chapter Text
The pit viper slid on the smooth and dark cloak, fitting perfectly on his limbless body. The dark color allows the blue snake to camouflage within the night. The cold night breeze was hitting right through his scales and sending shivers through his body, but he had one goal in mind, and the cold wasn’t nearly enough to stop him. Slithering his way through the parking lot and the dense and heavy snow, making sure not to be seen. Luckily enough, a guard had just finished his rounds outside the building and opened the back door, giving Gary just enough time to slither inside.
Once inside, Gary took a second, simply to appreciate the change in temperature. He assumed he was in a storage room. There were about 3 shelves that held various unlabeled boxes; some of them were open but empty. There were work schedules and random signs on the walls for the employees to follow. He was hellbent on acquiring Ebenezer Lynxley's journal. The name was deceiving, as it was intended to be. This journal did not belong to the Lynxly’s, and Gary knew this all too well. A door in the corner caught his eye, and he slid right to it. The door led to a long hallway with numerous other rooms; one of those rooms directly led to the main gala. He took a moment to take in his surroundings and spotted a security camera in a corner, making direct eye contact with the flashing light. He knew it was only a matter of time before guards would find him.
Acting on pure adrenaline and instinct at this point, he fled to the closest door that would lead out of this camera's line of sight. Closing the door behind him, now panting heavily, his dramatic entrance had caught the attention of the only other creature in that room. A wide-eyed, yet well-dressed lynx was standing just a few feet away from him. This was no doubt one of the Lynxly’s, the very family he was stealing from. Neither of them knew what to do; both were frozen, staring into each other's souls.
The silence was deafening; it would soon be broken by the sound coming from the cameras. Several doesn’t even begin to describe how many guards can be seen on the monitors, all of them after the snake they knew was in this room. The Lynxly looked back and forth between the cameras and Gary. Gary now felt something he hadn’t expected: a sense of hopelessness. He felt powerless as the inevitable drew closer. His head slumped forward in pitiful defeat, and he choked. A tight grip around his neck, and he felt himself getting across the room and hitting the top of an open box, falling into it. The flaps of the box shut, and he now finds himself in complete darkness; only the sound of guards barging into the camera room can be heard.
“Where’s the snake?!?” One of the guards yelled.
“I’m not sure, must’ve gone somewhere else," the Lynxly scooted the box further behind him with his tail.
The guards begrudgingly leave, in a hurry to find this fiend. The door is shut softly; once they leave, the box holding Gary opens. He is met with an anxious lynx looking down at him as he rises from the box.
“Thank you for saving me,” Gary muttered awkwardly, wanting to break the awkward silence.
“Yeah… no problem,” The lynx replied, still unsure if his decision was the right one. “You got a name?”
“Gary De’Snake… and you?”
“Pawbert Lynxly,” he reluctantly answered. There was a brief pause in the conversation before Pawbert cleared his throat and broke the silence. “You should leave.”
Gary tries to articulate why he needs to stay, to find the book, to save his family, and avenge his name. But he can’t find the words.
“I…” Gary continues to stutter over his words before blurting out, “I can’t! I need this!”
“Whatever it is you need, it’s not worth the trouble this’ll cause.” Pawbert combed through his frazzled whiskers and walked towards the door, gesturing to carry to leave. Gary shakes his head in denial.
“You don’t understand! Please, Pawbert, I need this book! It’s the only way to save my family.” Pawbert’s ears drop to the side of his head at his words. He can’t help but imagine himself in Gary’s situation. It’s almost like he can see the disapproving faces of his family and the judgment of the whole city of Zootopia. The thought of that alone sends shivers down his spine.
Pawbert quietly contemplates before letting out a sigh, “You really wanna do this, huh?” Pawbert says with a soft smirk, he’s starting to warm to the idea of helping out this snake. Gary’s eyes swell up at the lynx’s kindness, and he slithers his way to him, coiling his body around Pawbert in the tight embrace only a snake could give. Pawbert’s face turns a shade of pink from the abrupt close contact. He brushes off the strange and foreign feeling and changes the topic.
“Got any ideas?” Pawbert looks down at Gary, still wrapped around him. Gary loosens his grip around Pawbert, giving him some much-needed space.
“Uhm… I got one…” Gary smirks slyly, nudging Pawbert’s waist with his tail.