The Unwanted Wendigo [ManxMan]

Chapter Three: Be Our Guest

~Chapter Three: Be Our Guest~

In the morning, I say my goodbyes. Or, at least, that is what I had set out to do. But then I see Fishy Boy swimming from one of the windows in some hallway I am passing by, and then a shark comes and starts...well, I have no idea what it is doing, but it is not eating Fishy Boy, which is important. If it started eating Atasah's husband, I probably would be required to report it to some guard or something, him being a prince and all. And my demon would likely be distraught, which would ruin the whole goodbye thing. So, yes, distracted.

"Hey, Wendy."

I glance away from the window to eye the demon fastly approaching. "Fishy Boy's about to be eaten," I inform him, still not entirely certain the shark is not playing with its food. After all, I know nothing about sharks, except that they look like that thing, so how would I know what it is thinking?

Atasah glances out the window curiously, but he does not seem all that alarmed, even when he notices the shark circling his husband. "That's just Finny," the demon says dismissively, as if that statement explains everything, which it definitely does not.

"Finny?"

My demon suddenly cannot meet my eye and awkwardly rubs the back of his neck. "Yeah, uh, Finny Glitterfin is his name. He's my shark," Atasah says, and my jaw relaxes a little in surprise.

"That's–you named it that?" When he nods, I realize, with no small amount of horror, that my nickname could have been so much worse. At least with Koa's – who has just earned his name back - Wendy, it is just a shortened, almost cutesy version of my species. "Do they teach you how to name things in demon school or something?"

"No?" Atasah replies hesitantly, likely uncertain about the meaning of the question. However, there is either a connection between Koa's horrible naming sense and Atasah's or not, and I kind of want to find out.

Do demons just naturally suck at naming things? It would explain some of their names.

When Nero suddenly swims by, closer to the glass this time, I blink and remember why I was seeking Atasah out in the first place. "A group of demons is returning to the surface in ten minutes, and I'm going with them," I tell Atasah. "So, I guess I'll see ya when I see ya."

"You're leaving already?" Atasah asks, though he does not sound offended or sad, just curious.

"Don't like staying in one place for too long." I shrug, and then, after a beat, I ruffle his hair, too. He immediately grimaces and tries to fix it, breaking out of that uncomfortable mood people typically adopt when someone declares their departure, which was the point. It is not like either of us is going to die in the next century, what with demons being ageless and me being, well, what I am; goodbyes can only last so long, even if our paths seldom cross.

Before Atasah can finish un-ruffling his hair, I start walking in the direction of where I encountered the departing party of demons. They had already confirmed that they would not mind me traveling with them since one more person will still work with only three Mer guides. And there are apparently a lot of those little bronze bracelet things, so it is not like there is a limit to how many of us air-breathers can travel at once.

When I arrive at the departure room, which has a pool of water that leads through a tunnel and out into the ocean, the group is still there. None of the demons are ones I recognize from before today, as it seems Koa and Atasah's other close demon friends will either be leaving later or have already left. Still, that makes it easier, since none of them will expect me to join in on any conversations.

As the Mer escorts start handing out the bracelet things, though, I quickly realize something is wrong. After all, everyone but the Mer and myself receive one, despite the fact that the basket holding them has at least a dozen more. And one of the escorts is the same Mer who escorted me here for the wedding, so it is not like he does not know I need one.