AN: this is part two and the end of Nautilus's backstory. Volume One though.... Probably not. Anyway, hope you enjoy it! Atha,vHarvey, and Dam, my dearest collaborators, I really hope I didn't screw up your characters too badly.
CONTENT WARNINGS: swearing, home invasions, gunshots, flashbacks, anxiety, anxious thought patterns, dissociation, near car accidents, food, post apocalyptic world, nightmares, experimentation mentions, and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting. Stay safe.
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After a week on the road, the Child of the Water learned that walking out in the open was not safe. Even with their hood on, their short stature and manner of speech got them read as a young child. A person that needed looking after. And as much as the Changeling thought the gesture sweet given their limited knowledge of interacting with people, they also knew that the second humans saw what they looked like, they would scream and run away. Angry shouts of "monster!" and gunshots would usually follow.
That was never fun and would usually lead to fears of the scientists finding them and rexperiencing the experiments in their mind. So, the Changeling kept to themself out of the sight of humans. They learned to take back alleyways and travel in the shadows, oftentimes staying up into the nighttime to travel unseen by a town's residence. The Changeling would hide out in abandoned houses and steal books from libraries and bookstores. They also stole a notebook and pen to teach themself to write, but forgot about it in the bottom of their bag after an hour.
Instead of learning to write, the Changeling instead poured over every book they could get their hands on. They learned of humanity and increased their English vocabulary. They found a dictionary which they added to their pack with the very first book they ever stole. They kept a lot of different books on them at different times, but Matilda and the dictionary were the only constants that never left. There was too much of an emotional connection to one, and the other provided useful definitions to things they didn't know the meaning of. The books also helped the Changeling calm down during times when their mind was transported back to their time in the lab.
But no matter how many books they read or how much their vocabulary expanded, there was one concept that kept popping up that the Changeling didn't really understand. Well. There were more than just this concept, but this was the biggest one they didn't understand no matter how much they read. That concept was 'family'.
They'd never had one before, biologically or otherwise. They had just popped into existence one day, alone and curious in the ocean during a tempest. Since then, they'd raised themself, but for most life forms (especially on land), it seemed that this sort of life not the case. They had something make them and raise them and love them-- at least, that seemed to be the best case scenario. Sometimes the ones that had a biological family didn't have a family that loved the other members of it like they should. So, people who weren't even biologically related became a makeshift family instead.
The Changeling thought families were fascinating. Over and over they wished they had one. Over and over, they wondered what having a family really was like. How did it function? Why were some families bad and some good? What was it like to have people who loved and cared for you unconditionally? What was it like to have people who had your back and comforted you when you were down? What was it like to be raised by a parent who taught you right from wrong and helped you learn about the world? The Changeling didn't know and they were practically burning with a desire to.
A part of them hoped that someday they would.
*****
Sunlight slowly crept through the attic window of the house the Changeling had been living in for the past two days. The house was in the middle of an abandoned neighborhood, a twenty minute walk to the nearest grocery store and blissfully cozy. After three and a half months of wandering throughout the world on land, the Changeling wondered if perhaps they could put down roots here.
They'd tentatively placed all of their books in a long line along a wall and made a cozy nest of all the house's pillows and blankets in a corner. That nest was where the Changeling was currently curled up as the sun illuminated their face. Their soft breathing made the blankets rise and fall slowly, and they looked quite peaceful.
The reality was, they were having a nightmare they couldn't escape.
The Changeling was trapped in a school, running for their life. Teachers intent on making their life miserable chased after them, screaming incomprehensible things after them. The Changeling wanted to hide, but they had very little control over their legs and what they were doing. The most they could do was control the directions they ran, even though it felt like their legs were stuck in a sort of molasses that impeded movement.
The Changeling awoke with the rise of the sun, shaking from fear. Bad feelings that English cannot describe caused them to curl into a tight ball under the covers. They let the pressure of the many blankets wrap around then like a hug. It was the closest thing to one they'd ever experienced.
Once the feelings had subsided enough for them to get up, they changed their clothes and headed downstairs to take a bath. The water helped calm them down the rest of the way down, and they went back to the attic. Pulling the last of their granola bars from their bag, the Changeling noted they'd have to raid the grocery store that day. It was one of the few that still ran and had goods in it that could be bartered for, so the Changeling would have to raid their uninhabited neighborhood for things to trade after a while. But food, especially fresh food, was worth it.
They finished their granola bar, stuffed the cellphone they'd been using for the past few months into their pocket, and put on their glasses. The glasses were more of a pair of steampunk looking goggles they'd made themself and added special lenses to than glasses, but the Changeling had found that they helped them see better in addition to concealing their abnormal eyes. They pulled on their beanie next, making sure to hide each of their tentacles underneath it, before swinging their backpack over their shoulders and heading downstairs to look for things to trade.
Halfway down the ladder, the Changeling heard a noise and froze. Crap. That had come from the first floor of the house. Someone or something was inside of their house.
Could the scientists have found them after all this time? Would they be forcibly dragged back to the Labs and experimented on again? Had the scientists merely allowed them to escape just so they could observe the Changeling's true intelligence? Had they discovered the lies and now were back to punish the Child of the Water for their trickery?
The Changeling shoved the thoughts from their mind. This was just paranoia again-- nothing that couldn't be disproven with facts. According to the news app on their phone, the Labs they'd been held in had been destroyed by a hurricane a few days after their escape. There was no way they could be tracking the Changeling, let alone know that they'd been hiding the true scale of their intelligence.
The intruder was likely just a human scavenger or a stray animal. There was nothing to worry about.
The Changeling debated climbing back into the attic and hiding out up there for a bit or continuing on to confront the intruder, but their choice was ultimately made by the appearance of someone in the hallway. The person, a feminine looking being with green skin and long curly dark red hair, caught sight of the Changeling. The two stared at each other for several moments, fear in both beings' eyes, before the Changeling bolted back up the ladder and into the attic.
The person chased after them, grabbing the ladder and starting to climb up before the Changeling could pull the ladder up behind them. "Hey!" They said, their voice loud and harsh, "Who are you?"
The Changeling ran to their corner of blankets and pointed their knees into their chest, pleading for the person to go away. To just leave them in peace and forget about them.
The ladder creaked and groaned as the person climbed into the attic. The Changeling rocked back and forth, fear overtaking their body. They could do nothing but rock back and forth while the strange green person invaded their room.
The person climbed into the attic, but then stopped when they noticed the frightened Changeling. Their face visibly softened and they sat down across from the Changeling a good several inches away. "Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you, ok?" They said, their voice gentler and quieter than it had been before.
The Changeling looked up a little, their eyes stopping at the intruder's neck. Make eye contact, a voice in their mind shouted at them angrily, They like you better when you make eye contact. Their eyes slowly lifted until they were at the green person's lips.
Close enough.
Besides, it wasn't like this person could see their eyes through the orange tinted lenses of the goggles anyway.
"My name is Coryphanta," the green person said, "Do you have a name, young one?"
The Changeling shook their head. They had never even thought of giving themselves one before. They just… were. They were an "I", and an experience that had never required a distinguishing label before outside of the Labs. And there was no way they would use the series of numbers the lab had given them as their name. The green person-- Coryphanta-- nodded, frowning a little.
Oh no, I've made them mad, the Changeling thought to themself, biting their lip. "I'm sorry," they mumbled.
"Hey, you don't need to apologise," Coryphanta said, "I didn't have a name for a while either. How about I give you one until you get your own? How does that sound?"
The Changeling considered before shrugging. "Ok," they murmured.
Coryphanta looked around the room before their eyes landed on the Changeling's coffee cup from yesterday. "Caffeine lover, eh? How about I call you Caff?" They suggested
The newly dubbed Caff shrugged again. "Ok."
"Do you live here, Caff?" Coryphanta asked Caff.
Caff nodded. "Not long. I want to stay for good though."
"That's what I figured," Coryphanta said with a sigh, "I'm sorry we invaded your house. We thought it was uninhabited."
Caff frowned. "We?"
"Yeah, me and Eira. She's downstairs."
"Oh…."
"We'll leave now, ok? We're very sorry."
Coryphanta stood up and made their way back to the ladder. Caff stopped rocking, a question suddenly popping into their mind. "Wait."
Coryphanta turned around. "Yeah?" They asked, expression curious.
"Why were you in my house?"
"We were looking for stuff to barter with down at the grocery store. I don't need to eat, but a lot of my friends do. And we were running low on food."
Wheels turned in the Changeling's mind. Could they….? Maybe. This Coryphanta seemed trustworthy enough at least. "Can I come? I need food too," they said, "We can help each other."
"We'd love to help you out, Caff," Coryphanta said with a smile.
A few minutes later, Coryphanta and Caff were down in the living room with a rather shocked looking human. "This place belongs to someone?" The human, a girl who looked to be in her late twenties, looked extremely guilty, "I thought this neighborhood was uninhabited Phanta!"
"Turns out it's not," Coryphanta said, "This is Caff, and we're in…" They frowned suddenly, "Caff, what pronouns do you use?"
Caff considered for a moment. Well… They'd never thought of it before, but they supposed there was a set that felt moderately comfortable. "He/they," they said.
Coryphanta nodded. "Thanks. Anyway, Eira, this is Caff, and we're in his house. They need food though, so they'll be coming to the store with us," they explained.
"You can use my stuff if you want," Caff said softly, "I was going to use it today anyway."
"Are you sure?" Coryphanta asked.
Caff nodded. "Ok then," the green person said, "I guess that's how we're paying again then. Thank you, Caff. We really owe you big time."
"No problem."
The three packed up some junk and knick knacks to trade at the grocery store and headed out, Eira taking the lead. Coryphanta stayed a little further back to talk with the newly dubbed Caff. "So," they said, extending the 'o', "You had a pretty nice collection of books up there. You like reading?"
Caff nodded, being sure not to move his head too vigorously. He was out in public now, and he didn't want to get stared at or hunted if his beanie fell off. Even if he was with a nice seeming plant person. "Yeah," they said, "I like learning about hu-- learning about new fantasy worlds and people."
Coryphanta nodded. "Fantasy worlds are pretty cool. Have you ever read The Unwanteds?" They asked.
Caff ever so slightly shook his head. "Should I add that to my list?"
"Definitely!" Coryphanta agreed, "It's a very good world. It's magical, but you learn in later books that it's a hidden group of islands in our world."
"Woah! That's so cool."
"It is, it is. Very fitting for this world too," Coryphanta agreed, "I mean, just look at me."
Caff looked at them long and hard. There was a question burning in their mind, but they didn't dare ask it. He didn't want to make the nice plant mad at him. "Mmm."
Caff fell silent, staring at the sidewalk for the rest of the walk to store. "This place is pretty crowded," Eira commented, picking a shopping cart from a line of about fifty, "We should stay close, in case there's trouble."
Caff nodded. That sounded reasonable. "Yeah, well, I knew we shouldn't have gone shopping on a Saturday," Coryphanta joked.
A blast of frigid air slammed into the three shoppers as they entered the store. Caff noticed Coryphanta pull their coat a little tighter around them for warmth, but said nothing. "Hey! Space Freak! Get outta here before I Independence Day you!" Someone shouted in their direction.
Caff froze, their hearts starting to pound in their chest. The world went a little fuzzy. Oh no. Was that person talking to Coryphanta or him? Their hands flew up to their beanie and checked to see if a tentacle was poking out. There was nothing. Caff breathed a sigh of relief and shoved his hands back into his pockets.
"Fuck off!" Eira snapped at the person who'd , "They're with me, so don't try anything."
"Yeah, fuck off!" Coryphanta agreed, "Besides, I'm not even from space. I'm a cactus-- last I checked, cacti were from Earth."
Caff giggled a little, the joke easing their fears. The person who shouted at Coryphanta glared, but walked away, grumbling about how they couldn't believe the Earth had turned into some sort of freak show.
Eira kept walking, making their way to the dairy section. "Sorry about that kid," She said, "People are jerks sometimes. Are you gonna need any milk?"
Caff looked at the milk briefly before nodding. He'd had milk in the lab before and liked it, so it was a safe food for him. Besides, according to the books he'd read, milk was good for bones because of something calcium. He didn't know if he had bones, but if he did, he wanted to keep them healthy. "Yes please."
Eira grabbed four cartons of milk from the case and placed them in the cart. "Ok. Next, to the meat section! Phanta do we need anything from there?" She asked.
"I believe we need to get some turkey," Coryphanta said, "Maybe some beef too, for Winter."
Eira nodded. "Got it. Caff, do you need anything from there?"
Caff shrugged. "Usually I just get a little fish for a treat and stock up on protein bars," he said, "Up until a few days ago, I was always on the move. I guess I'll get whatever we can afford?"
Coryphanta and Eira exchanged looks. "Mmmm. Caff, do you have parents?"
Caff shook his head. "I've been on my own my whole life," he said, "Sorry…."
"No, hey, don't apologise," Coryphanta said, placing their hand on Caff's shoulder, "You didn't do anything wrong. We're just… worried about you."
Caff narrowed his eyes a little. "I can take care of myself," he said, "I've done it for about eighteen years."
"I'm not doubting that," Coryphanta said, "I just…. If you ever want people to help you out or just be friends with…. Well, me Eira would be glad to."
Caff relaxed a little. "I'd like that," they said softly, "You both seem pretty cool."
They reached the meat section. Eira talked to the butcher, while Coryphanta looked at the lobsters in their tank. Caff watched the plant person in fascination, wondering how they walked around like that. People were very clearly glaring at them and making disgusted or scared faces, and a number went out of their way to walk around Coryphanta. But the plant person didn't seem to mind. He knew they definitely noticed, because occasionally Coryphanta would make a face right back at them, but otherwise, the treatment didn't seem to bother them. Coryphanta didn't seem to want to hide themself or disguise themself to blend in. They seemed confident enough in who they were to put it on full display.
Caff wondered if they'd ever have that kind of bravery.
*****
"I have spikes you know."
Eira, Coryphanta, and Caff had finished their shopping and were headed back to Caff's house. The sun was setting fabulously in the sky behind them, and the walk had been pretty quiet until then. Caff looked to Coryphanta, the one who had made the spikes comment.
"Oh. Cool." He mumbled.
"You've been staring at me all day kid, if you have questions, just go ahead and ask them," they said, "I'm not gonna bite you."
Caff felt their face heat up. Oh. He hadn't realised they'd noticed. Oops. "Sorry," they apologized.
"You don't have to apologise, really. I don't mind answering questions," Coryphanta said, "It at least shows you're partially open to learning."
Caff eyed Coryphanta again, trying to think of a good enough question to ask them. All the ones he could think of sounded weird or were probably too personal. Maybe he just shouldn't ask a question. Wait. No. Coryphanta had insisted they ask a question. They might get mad at him if he didn't. But what to ask?
Well…. There was one thing they'd wanted to know since meeting the red headed plant person.
"How do you do it?" He asked them, "How do you go around being yourself without wanting to hide so they leave you alone? How do you be that brave?"
Something passed over Coryphanta's face. Confusion, perhaps? They weren't too certain. "Well, I just. Be myself. To hell with their opinions-- they don't matter. My existence doesn't hurt anyone and I'm happier when I stay true to myself instead of trying to be something I'm not."
"But aren't you scared? What if they take one look at you and get scared of you and run away? What if they get mad at you for being weird and inexplicable and try to hurt you? How do you just… Ignore that possiblity?"
"You weren't staring at me because you'd never seen anyone like me before, were you?" Coryphanta's voice was soft and pained. Almost like they'd heard similar questions.
Caff glanced around, checking to see if anyone else was around. Once they were sure the three of them were alone, the Changeling slowly pulled off their beanie. Eight bright yellow tentacles tumbled down to their shoulders, looking almost sickly in the dying sunlight. "I'd take off my goggles so you could see my eyes, but I kinda wanna see the rest of the way home," Caff joked weakly.
Coryphanta smiled a little, but when Caff forced himself to make eye contact, he noticed there was almost a sadness in their eyes. "That's why you don't have a name. And kept looking at me weirdly…. And why you've been on your own for so long….."
Caff looked back at the ground, flinching a little each time Coryphanta connected a peice. "I never had a family. I just….. came into existence in the ocean one day. It was almost like…. the ocean gave birth to me, if that makes any sense."
Coryphanta titled their head to the side a little, thinking. "I guess that makes sense. I came into existence from a cactus, and there have truly been a lot of stranger things happening these days."
"Did you have parents?"
"Yeah. They're…" Coryphanta looked at Eira and then the ground, "I dunno what happened to them. I think they're still inside the Earth or something. I don't really care though."
Caff nodded. The bad kind of family. "Oh. So you don't have a family either."
"Of course I have a family! Eira's my family. And so are all the other people I live with, like Winter, and Ceridwen. Just because they're not related by blood doesn't mean they're not my family."
"Oh…. Yeah, right. The found family."
Caff trailed off, yet again wondering what it was like to have a family. Would he ever have one?
"Well. We're here," Eira said, stopping in front of Caff's house, "Do you want help bringing this stuff inside?"
Caff nodded a little. He grabbed a carton of milk, two boxes of granola bars, and a mango. Eira and Coryphanta grabbed the rest and they went inside. "I'll fix up the fridge for you," Coryphanta said, "So you can keep stuff fresh longer and stuff.
Caff nodded, finding a cabinet for the granola bars. "Thank you guys so much again," he said.
"It's the least we could do after you let us use your stuff to buy food," Eira said, "Anyway, we live in the library about a block away. If you need us, don't hesitate to stop by. We don't bite."
Caff laughed a little. "I'll keep that in mind."
*****
Not even two days after the grocery store incident, Caff had stopped by the library. He didn't come because he had a problem, but because he wanted to get to know Coryphanta and their crew better. Mostly Coryphanta though.
The two spent most of the day talking about how they'd come to the surface and what their previous environments were like. They swapped stories about their childhoods, and by the end of the day, the two agreed to keep talking with each other. By the end of the week, the talking has turned to a very deep friendship.
Both trusted the other like they'd never trusted anyone else in their lives. They couldn't quite tell you why, but the feeling was there. And both of them were grateful for it.
One day, the two were wandering an abandoned part of the library together, looking at books and selecting some to read. It was the history and marine biology section, so most of the books hadn't appealed to a good portion of Coryphanta's crew. Caff, on the other hand, was achingly curious about the natural sciences and how much humans had known of the sea before their civilization crumbled. A part of them almost hoped that perhaps they would find something about themself in the research too, but it was mostly wishful thinking. Coryphanta on the other hand was studying Norse history.
They were walking side by side through the Norse history section when Caff stopped and looked up from his book on scientific nomenclature.
"How did you get your name?" They asked the sapient cactus.
Coryphanta stopped, a book of Nordic myths in their hand. "Well…. My parents gave it to me," they explained, "When I was born. Coryphanta for the type of cactus I am, and Cholla for the spikes. Why are you asking?"
"I…. I dunno…" Caff ran the pad of his pointer finger up and down the sides of the pages of his book absently. "I was thinking about seeing if I could get a name, but I don't think I can. No parents, you know?"
Coryphanta tugged the book of mythology off the shelf and frowned. "You realise you can just give yourself a name, right? Parents don't always have to give you one."
Caff's eyes widened. "Really? I-- I can choose my own name?"
"If you want to, yeah."
"This is so awesome! Cory, I'm gonna have a name!! It'll be so cool--"
Coryphanta smiled and watched as the Changeling jumped up and down in excitement. Honestly, they were kind of cute when they got like that, almost like an excited puppy or bird. And the cactus liked it when the kid they considered their best friend and little brother got that happy.
"You have any ideas for your name?" Coryphanta asked.
"Not really, but we're in a library! We can find a perfect name!"
"I'm sure we can, cafftopus dude."
Caff blushed a bit at the dumb nickname Coryphanta had given them, and followed their friend to a nearby seating area. They set down their old books and then headed off to the computers. "I paid for WiFi so we should be able to access the internet here," Coryphanta said, sitting down in front of a computer, "There are a lot of baby name websites out there on the internet, so I'm sure we'll be able to find you a great one."
"Awesome!!"
Coryphanta booted up the old peice of technology and typed in their password. They opened Bing and searched for behind the name and nameberry. "Do you have any sounds or letters you want in your name?" They asked Caff, "Or should I just scroll through baby names until we find a good one?"
"I mean, I kinda like k's," Caff said, "Maybe we can find a name with a K in it."
"How about Loki then?" Coryphanta suggested, typing the the baby into the nameberry search bar, "He's the Norse God of trickery and mischief and stuff. Kinda like you."
Caff almost had to laugh at that. As much as they loved to read and learn about humans and read books, they also really loved pranks. He'd pulled them on almost every person who lived with Coryphanta in the library, and was currently in the middle of a long term one in Coryphanta's room involving their furniture and subtle room remodeling. Being named after a trickster God would actually make perfect sense, just so long as the name fit them.
"Loki…." They said slowly, turning the word over on their mouth a few times, "Loki, Loki, Loki. My name is Loki." He frowned. "It sort of fits but not quite. Maybe we can keep looking?"
"Sure," Coryphanta nodded, "I'll start adjusting the search parameters and stuff. Do you mind feminine names?"
Caff nodded. "They don't ever feel right, you know?"
Coryphanta did know and nodded in agreement. They finalised the search parameters and clicked enter.
All the names that popped up began with a K. Caff took one look at the list and made a face. "No. No thank you. How about I just look up a theme for names?"
"Ok, sure," Coryphanta said, "What sort of theme were you thinking?"
"Water themed, maybe?"
"Water themed it is," Coryphanta said, hitting enter on a brand new search, "Knock yourself out, Cafftopus."
Caff smiled a little at the familiar nickname, looking over the plant person's shoulder at the lists of names. They quickly scrawled down ones with interesting sounds, making a note to try them out later. "Cory, are there any Norse Water Spirits?" He eventually asked.
"I dunno, I'll have to look it up," Coryphanta's expression grew fascinated as they opened a new tab, "You're not thinking of naming yourself after one, are you?"
A mischievous smile spread across Caff's face. "Maaaayyybe."
Coryphanta rolled their eyes and clicked enter. Their eyebrows shot up. "Neck?" They said, snickering a little, "That's their name for water spirits? Wow, that's dumb."
"You nicknamed me Cafftopus because I'm a caffeine-addicted octopus-person, you have no room to talk Cory."
"I suppose not. It's still funny though."
Coryphanta clicked on the wikipedia article. "The neck, nicor, nokk, nix, nixie, nixy, or nokken…. Are shape-shifting water spirits in Germanic folklore and mythology who usually took the form of other creatures," Coryphanta read slowly, "Under a variety of names, there were common to the stories of all Germanic people, although they are best known from Scandinavian folklore. Uhhhhh, let's skip the dragon part. Huh, apparently their sex, species name, and shape-shifting abilities depend on the region. Pretty cool, huh?"
Caff nodded. "Yeah… I think I found a name."
"Wait, are you seriously going to name yourself Neck?"
"No! I'm going to go with Nokken," Caff said, pointing to one of the many other names for the water spirits, "It sort of just…. Fits, you know?"
"Yeah, kinda," Coryphanta nodded, "Loki Nokken. I like that name."
Caff made a face. "Loki as a first name doesn't sound right. Nokken works as a last name, but Loki isn't my first name."
"Ok, then Loki is your middle name," Coryphanta decided, "Let's look at your little list of names and see if there's anything there."
Half an hour later, Caff's new name was Nautilus Loki Nokken, and he felt pretty good about that name. He felt pretty confident in general, actually.
He left the library, a book tucked under his arm. His beanie was stuffed in his pocket and his weirdness was on full display. Admittedly that made the Changeling very uncomfortable, but they were trying something new.
Nautilus slid down the railing to the bottom of the stairs, ignoring the stares he was getting. There was a rush of confidence and happiness deep in his chest that he hadn't felt since the Storm, and he felt….. free.
He jumped off the railing at the end, giggling excitedly. He set down the path towards home, a spring in his step. He wasn't sure how long this confidence would last, but however long it did….
He would enjoy every second.
*****
Nautilus unlocked the front door to his house and picked up the mail from the floor. There wasn't much, just a few coupons for the grocery store and a letter from Eira, who was off traveling currently.
He tucked Eira's letter into his book and set it down on the coffee table. Nautilus collapsed onto the couch, still giggling and grinning like an idiot. He felt….. amazing. He couldn't remember the last time he felt this good.
A buzzing noise and feeling quickly jolted the Changeling out of his chipper mood. Nautilus groaned, pulling his cellphone from his pocket. It was probably another scam message.
Sheesh. Even in the apocalypse you couldn't escape robo calls.
The Child of the Water turned on his phone and his eyebrows shot up. It wasn't a scam call at all. It was a invite to a meeting for those who had survived the apocalypses.
It was set to take place a while away from Nautilus's small town, but it seemed a doable distance for them to walk in the two weeks until the meeting.
Nautilus considered, wondering if it was worth it. Afterall, it was a long trip and Coryphanta would have to watch his house. Besides, the sender of the message was a blocked number, so how legit was this meeting? And even if he did go, would he even be accepted? Who was to say this meeting wasn't just the scientist's attempt at recapturing him?
Perhaps it would be safer if Nautilus just stayed home…. That way he wouldn't have to leave Coryphanta, who would no doubt worry about him being out on his own.
But, a part of Nautilus burned with an all consuming curiosity and desire to check this meeting out. The routine he'd settled into over the past few months, while comforting, also left him feeling.... Inexplicably uneasy. And as close as he felt to Coryphanta, he also didn't want to burden them with his feelings.
Perhaps a brief road trip would do him good.
A day later, the Changeling was back on the road again, walking along the side of an old and damaged highway. He was well on his way to the city of the meeting, and he'd packed plenty of things to aid in his journey. All was going well in his book, but good things never last.
A loud honk rang out behind Nautilus, and he whirled around in surprise. Barreling right towards him was a large yellow school bus. Nautilus's eyes widened and his body froze. He couldn't move.
Was this the way he would die? On land, and far away from the water that called for him?
The bus screeched to a loud stop about an inch away from the frozen Nautilus. Heat radiated from the engine, but the Changeling could barely feel it over the frantic beating of his heart.
"Oi, are you out of your fucking mind?"
Nautilus was jolted back into control of his body as the driver of the bus came out to chew him out. The driver was a short man teal curly hair that had been shaved on one side. Like most people these days, he wore a mask, in addition to a top hat and monocle. He also had a strange accent the Changeling had never heard before. Nautilus was very intimidated by the stranger and it showed on his face.
"I nearly ran you over! Learn to share the goddamn road, dickhead!"
Nautilus just kept staring, his mouth opening and closing like a goldfish.
"Hellooooooo? Can you hear me motherfucker?"
Nautilus forced himself to nod. "Sorry," he stammered, "I didn't mean--"
"Snazzy, is there a problem?"
Two people poked their heads out of the bus. One was a familiar looking kid who was definitely not human and had a camera in their hand. The other was a man holding a piece of cheese. "Yes! This dipstick almost made us fucking crash!" The tophat person, apparently called Snazzy, exclaimed.
"Snazzy, language! There is a CHILD present!" The Cheese-holding man gasped.
"I've heard you both say worse," the camera kid said with an eye roll, "Is this gonna take forever? I wanna conserve my camera's battery."
"Once this fucktart gets out of the goddamn road, we can get going," Snazzy said, crossing their arms.
"If you say so." Camera kid disappeared from the widow.
Snazzy turned the full force of his glare onto Nautilus. "You gonna move any time soon?"
Nautilus managed a shaky nod. You can do this, he said, just move your legs, it's not that hard. He took approximately one half of a step before he fell on his face.
"Oh, for fuck's sake--"
"SNAZZY CHARMIN, IF YOU DON'T MIND YOUR LANGUAGE RIGHT NOW--" The cheese holding person got off the bus, looking like an angry parent.
The cheese person stopped when he noticed the trembling Nautilus on the ground. "You almost ran over a kid!"
"They were walking in the middle of the fucking road Simon!"
The two adults began to bicker back and forth at full force. Nautilus pushed himself into a sitting position, closing his eyes and trying to take deep breaths. Hopefully it would help calm his three pounding hearts and overwhelming anxiety.
"Snazzy, we need to offer them a ride, they're clearly in no shape to keep going on their own," Simon the Cheeseman insisted, "Plus they're a literal CHILD! We are not leaving a child in the middle of the road in the middle of the apocalypse!"
Nautilus's eyes snapped open at the word child. Not again. They were 18 for the ocean's sake! Not a child!!
"We are not picking up another ankle biter. TK is hell enough for the both of us, I'm not adding another."
"They're. A. Child. And you almost killed them. We are at least taking them to the nearest town." Simon the Cheeseman was very adamant on the child bit.
"Fine, but they're getting off the second we get into town," Snazzy said, clearly very unhappy with the arrangement.
"Hey kiddo, can you stand?" Simon the Cheeseman asked the Changeling.
Nautilus nodded. He was a lot less shakey now, so he should be able to get up and walk without falling in his face again. Simon helped him stand and get onto the bus anyway, much to Nautilus's annoyance. "Here, you can sit with TK," Simon said, ushering Nautilus into a seat with Camera Kid/TK, "Snazzy, the kid is settled, we can get going!"
"How wonderful," Snazzy deadpanned.
Nautilus stared at the bus floor for about ten minutes, trying to adjust to the feeling of being in a moving vehicle. This was their first time and it felt very uncomfortable.
"So. Ankle biter. You have a name?" Snazzy interrupted their thoughts.
Nautilus blinked a few times, wondering if he should tell the truth. He decided on probably not, seeing as "Snazzy" was probably not Snazzy's real name. Not to mention giving someone like Snazzy, who reminded him of the scientists from the lab, his real name just seemed like the worst idea ever. "You can call me Cafftopus. Or Caff. I don't care," he said, "Who are you guys?"
"I'm Detective Chessman, you've already met my boyfriend Snazzy, and that's my kid, TomatoKid," Simon the Cheeseman introduced everyone, "It's good to meet you, Caff. Why are you out on your own?"
These three were a family? Huh. Nautilus had to admit: he'd imagined the first family he'd meet since the Caravan of Freaks to be different than this. "I uh, got an invitation to this meeting? For people who survived the apocalypses?" Nautilus explained, heat creeping up their neck and into their ears, "So I decided to go."
"You too, huh?" TomatoKid said, turning their camera towards Nautilus, "Awesome! Us too! We can all be road trip buddies!"
"No!" Snazzy objected, "Caff is not going to stay with us! They are getting off at the next town and hopefully we'll never see them again."
"Awwwwww," the TomatoKid pouted
"Snazzy, please? It would be good for TK to have a friend," Detective Cheeseman pleaded, "Besides, Caff is a kid. We can't just leave them."
Snazzy sighed. "Fine. The Squid Kid can stay. You are not going to adopt him though Simon, alright? The damn ankle biter probably has their own…. Weird… Squid family somewhere and I do not want to deal with that."
Detective Cheeseman raised his hands in surrender. "Wasn't even planning on it. But thank you, Snazzy."
"Whatever."
Nautilus smiled a little too themself. A family. Not their own, but one they could observe up close.
They couldn't wait.
The End (For now)
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