Splatoon: The Last Human

Tis home where the heart is (Part 2)

Austin groaned, finishing the sign-in. Beel's nonstop chatter and boundless energy made it more exhausting than it should have been. Beel talked a lot and had too much power for Austin's liking.

Cora and Pontus don't mind, but it's a sugar-rush nightmare for Austin; he likes the peace. But Austin wouldn't admit this; he was slightly happy that someone went with him. Though irritation was his default mode, Austin never doubted his loyalty to his friends. He was straightforward with his actions, would rather fight than talk, and knew his friends would be there with him. Austin stretched, excited for his first Turf War and to use his Splat Roller.

"Tinny!" Beel shouted, making Austin grumble—he hated that nickname. "I'm so excited for our first Turf War! Should we play it safe or go all out for the win?"

Beel went on, and Austin wished he'd gone alone even more. So distracted by Beel's quick talking, Austin barely noticed something hit his head. It was a liquid, and Austin saw the sunny weather had become grey as he looked up.

Beel squinted up at the sky. 'Aw, the weatherman promised sun all day.

"I guess he was wrong," Austin said, annoyed. He hoped it was drizzling; it would be a no-go if it started raining heavily.

"Come on, let's get to the others before they melt into the drain," Austin spat.

"Yeah, we should," Beel responded as they started walking toward their friends, "Do you think if they do melt, we can just put them in a jar or a shoebox?"

Austin decided to ignore Beel for the rest of the walk.

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Meanwhile, Tamara drove through the growing storm, muttering, "Noinejidgu (Hells) thought today would be sunny; that'll put a damper on the Minnows group," she said, glancing nervously at the darkening skies. Suddenly, a loud boom of thunder startled the redheaded Inkling, almost making her car skid off the road. The heavy rain was now lashing against the windows with relentless force.

Tamara breathed a sigh of relief, making sure one of her hearts didn't explode, but when she calmed down, there was an awkward silence. Unfazed by Tamara's scare, Hayden murmured, 'Um, yeah, it'll be bad if she gets a cold,' his gaze lost in the rain. Tamara then realized that Hayden knew nothing about Inkling biology, and Tamara knew nothing about human biology, except that they had skeletons. Tamara scrambled for a topic to fill the sudden silence. "Do you like the rain, Hayden?"

Hayden's gaze softened, lost in the rhythm of raindrops against the window. 'Yeah, it's calming,' he smiled faintly. 'Reminds me a bit of home.'"

"What was home like?" Tamara asked, now curious.

"Depends. I hardly stayed, even as a kid; my parents moved worldwide, and they loved seeing new sights, people, and animals. When I grew up, I followed in their footsteps." Hayden's smile faded, "But I learned pretty quickly that the journey was pretty lonely," Hayden said the last sentence hushedly.

Hayden chuckled out of embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I got lost in my head for a bit. What was home like for you?" his focus now turned to Tamara.

Tamara giggled, "It's weird hearing that in English, but I was born here—" Tamara stopped when she realized Hayden wouldn't know where they were. "I was born in this region, Naimagumisanaimi (Inkadia), and as a kid, I loved to pull pranks on people, especially my sister. The look on her face would be as red as her hair," Tamara started to laugh.

"I was a real nainuwai(imp), But then I met that old urchin; he put up with my pranks, taught me a few things, and made me feel-" Tamara stopped, "Actually, we'll save that for another time, we're here,"