A Portal Mix-Up

"Rein in my tongue"

Mikki had been so focused on his chat with a friendly tiger Seldnac that he almost missed the moment he was supposed to step through the portal. While he was no stranger to using portals, this time it felt different; he felt an odd pull just before he stepped out the other side, and while he could still walk normally, it felt as if it wasn't quite his own body. A little like when he'd been a pup and had gone through growth spurts.

"Weird..." he heard someone mutter, which wouldn't have been too out of the ordinary, if the voice hadn't come out of his mouth!

"Weird indeed!"

Mikki felt his own body jump to the side, probably startled by his answer. "What the—"

"Language, my dear!" Mikki grinned and looked around; it seemed as if other Seldnacs had similar problems, arguing with their own bodies. "It seems like something went wrong with the portals. Do you have a name?"

"Seraph."

The voice wasn't quite Mikki's, but it was the same regardless of who spoke. Mikki could feel Seraph's apprehension, and could definitely sympathize; this was an unusual situation. "Beautiful name. I'm Mikki. You were probably helping with the portals, too?"

He felt his—their—body nod.

"Well, usually I chat before getting this close to someone," Mikki said, and immediately felt Seraph's annoyance. "All right, sorry, I'll try to hold my tongue if I get an idea for a line like that again."

"What do you think we should do now?"

"Good question." One of the students tried explaining what was going on, but his voice was drowned out by the clamor of dozens of fused Seldnacs. "Seems like we'll be stuck together for a while." For a moment, he considered trying to convince Seraph to meet with Jamie, but how would he explain this... situation? Hopefully, the students would find a solution soon. He and Jamie hadn't made new plans yet, but Mikki would hate if Jamie thought he'd lost interest; he wouldn't be in town much longer, and Mikki wanted to at least say goodbye. "Do you have anyone who'll wonder where you are?"

"Yeah, Kiyan," Seraph answered.

Mikki's ears perked up when he sensed the fondness Seraph felt for whoever 'Kiyan' was. "Well, then we shouldn't lose any time," he said, though his smile lasted only for a second; apparently, Seraph was not in the mood for smiling right now. "You lead the way."

It felt very strange for Mikki to feel his body walk, without him doing the walking. Even weirder, though, was when Seraph jumped—and flew. Mikki's breath caught in his lungs, though luckily Seraph was calm enough to keep breathing steadily after the first moment of surprise.

"Would you mind warning me next time?" Mikki said, though there was a slight chuckle in his voice. "Beautiful and full of surprises—Your Kiyan must be very lucky."

Seraph didn't answer, though Mikki once again felt her annoyance. He really should learn to rein in his tongue, or else the time until they got de-fused would feel very long for both of them.