Little Innsmouth's boardwalks followed as much a pattern as a plate of noodles. Winding, twisting walkways spliced and tangled and overlapped each other without a hint of sense around the warmly-lit restaurants and nick-nack shops, all suspended above the calm water of the bay, bright with reflected stars. Even if they ignored all the strange sights, a person new to the district could try to just walk around the block and end up at the second story of an apartment across the street before they realized what had happened. It was chaotic, alien, and the tourists loved it.
The colorful maze of paper lanterns and exotic food was beautifully surreal, and it brought in hordes of half-drunken yuppies at all times of night, snapping photos and staring stupidly at decor and residents alike. Nadia rolled her eyes at a throng of giggling, noodle slurping tourists as she slipped under them using an older, rotting walkway right below the crowd. Filia stumbled closely behind, looking up enviously at the people above through slits in the wooden planks.
"I get it. Skulking in the shadows isn't particularly fun," Nadia said, "but we can go window shopping and bar hopping when the heat's died down." She smiled as she reached back and pulled Filia along the empty path by her hand. Filia looked away to hide her blushing smile. "Be a shame to save you from all that only for some schmuck in that crowd to shank you while we're in line for noodles. Give it a little while and you'll be safe." Filia's smile dropped away. The fact that a simple crowd of people was now a threat to her life wasn't one she considered before.
"What makes you so sure the Medici will give up the chase?" Samson asked.
"Remember the Neon Murders a few years back?" Nadia said.
"What? Yeah, think so. it was all over the news a year or so back right? Some lowlife drug dealers and gun smugglers all had their sorry asses pinned to some signs. What about it?"
"The reporting was a little sparse on the details." Nadia's grin was mischievous, like she was describing a prank. "Turns out, a lot of them had business ties to the Medici's, weird eh? And if that wasn't an interesting enough coincidence, they were all pinned to signs along the border of Little Innsmouth! Crazy, crazy coincidence."
Filia felt her hand in Fortune's grip becoming sweaty. "I don't fully know what you guys are talking about, but I don't think I like what you're implying, Nadia."
"Hey, it's war on these streets, kid." Samson answered for her, "People don't always got the luxury of playing nice."
"You're hairpiece is right you know." Nadia said, "It's not like we like hurting people, but we need to protect our own."
"There aren't police in Little Innsmouth?" Filia asked.
"There aren't police anywhere in New Meridian," Nadia said, "at least not ones the Medici don't own. We need people with heart like the Fishbone gang or you and me to stand up for real folks."
"Are these Fishbone guys the ones who nailed a bunch of dead guys to signposts?" Filia asked.
"No!" Nadia's grip tightened on Filia's hand, and a flash of anger came across her face, before quickly softening and letting go of Filia, "Sorry. Uh, no. The Fishbones didn't work like that back when they were uh, in operation. You would have liked them. They were softer than I am." Filia almost wanted to ask what she meant, but Nadia quickly cleared her throat and her grin was suddenly back. "Anyways, since I've got some experience beating up weirdos, I'd be happy to show you some moves if you two stick around. I'm not always gonna be there to bail you out, you know."
"Heh, thanks for the offer but we'll get by, kitty." Samson scoffed and rolled his solid yellow orbs, but while Nadia shrugged and kept walking, Filia gave a sharp tug on her own hair.
"OW!" They both winced. Nadia looked back, confused.
"We're fine." Filia said, but when Nadia turned back around she whispered angrily, "What are you doing Samson? We nearly died in that last fight! Take her up on her offer!"
"Wow, so much for your stint at pacifism!"
"It's not pacifism, its pragmatism! I don't plan on stringing people up, but we clearly need to be able to defend ourselves!"
"I already know how to defend us, and I don't need a refresher course from some random kid! You know how long I've been fighting, kid? Since before you- no! Your parents' parents' parents were born!"
"Yeah and your old, crappy fighting nearly got us killed back there!"
"W-well, if you had just left when I told you back in Maplecrest-"
"Ladies! Ladies," Nadia said as she came to a stop at an unlabeled door at the back of a restaurant, "I understand why you'd all want to fight over me," Her grin looked too wide for her face, "but we're already here, so maybe put this discussion on paws so you can make a good first im-purr-ession?"
"...That was actually painful." Samson said.
"Absolutely atrocious." Filia said. "How many puns was that?"
"At least two." Samson said. "Felt like more though."
Nadia shrugged and rolled her eyes, grin not leaving as she threw open the door. The restaurant was clearly in the middle of rush hour as pots boiled and meats simmered, but Filia could only see two employees in the entire room; one, a short, azure-skinned girl with a prominent yellow fin on her head wearing an apron, and the second was so, so much shorter, that all Filia could see of him was the top of the little white chef hat bobbing up and down on his head over the counter.
"Honey, I'm home!" Nadia called out to the room, "and check out what I dragged in this time!"
"Nadia! You huge jerk!" The fish girl dropped the dirty dishes she was holding with a loud clang as she sprinted over and hugged Nadia, the large, yellow fin on her head tickling Nadia's nose as she nuzzled her taller friend's neck. "I was so worried! You ran off after saying something about gunshots and pop music, are you okay? You didn't-"
"Minette! Again with the plates?! Do you think they grow on trees?"A deep voice boomed through the kitchen making Filia flinch as she expected a large, third person to enter the room, but instead the little hat bobbed its way around the counter to reveal a very stocky, catfish-faced man. Minette quickly bowed and apologized to him in a well rehearsed gesture. "And Fortune! What did I tell you about distracting her when she should be working!?" Despite his harsh tone, there was a large grin on his face as he waddled up to Nadia, at least Filia thought it was a grin. He was the most fishlike person she'd seen yet and making out what was on his face wasn't easy, "How would you feel if me and Minette showed up next time you were fighting and started making a racket? We could bring cameras and take pictures while yelling old memes and crappy jokes, huh!? Huh!?" He punctuated each 'huh?' with a poke into Nadia's side from the spatula he was holding.
"Honestly, that sounds great Yu-Wan. You guys could sell food to the crowd and my new friend could throw on something skimpy and twirl a sign for you guys."
The two followed Nadia's thumb to see Filia standing uncomfortably in the door.
"Uh, hello everyone. I'm uh, pleased to meet you. I think my hair called ahead and said I was coming? Funny, uh this robot was dancing at me and shooting all these bullets and I got hit in the head, but I'm all better now because I can heal really fast like one of those video game guys and, so, uh..." Minette shuffled behind Nadia as Filia rambled and at that point Filia just kind of shut down. She realized how stupid this all sounded and seeing the looks everyone was giving her made Filia kind of want to just curl up in a ball.
"...Your hair called ahead?" Yu-wan asked.
"Uh… Y-yeah, do you-"
"Ha! Ha! You're a friend of Fortune alright. That's about the shittiest pun I've heard all week, and she's given me some doozies." Filia still wasn't sure if that smile was real or that laugh was mocking, but as he waddled forward and held up a webbed hand for a handshake she felt a wave of relief, but before she could take it, Samson firmly clasped his hand.
"Damn, what a relief it is to see you again ol' pal! After all the bullshit that happened tonight its a relief to see a friendly face, Haha..! Why are you looking at me like that?"
Minette let out a small "Eep!" ducking behind Nadia even more so while Yu-wan's eyes went wide. His grin finally faded and while he didn't pull back from the handshake, the caution in his voice was palpable.
"So, you're the one who called me, ranting about the Meridian War and favors before hanging up, correct?"
"Wh- What?" Samson was taken back. "Yeah, how many other talking mullets saved your ass in the war Yu-Wan?"
"You were a mullet back then, Samson?" Nadia asked with a grin.
"Quiet." Samson said.
"Samson… That I remember." Yu Wan stumbled back as if the name slapped him across the face. Minette ran over and scooted a short stool under him before he collapsed, "Samson… Yes, I remember now. It's just… do you know how long it's been, Samson?"
"Eh, I lost track of time when I picked up that dog as my last host. Dog years, you know? But what's it matter!? Your ol' pal's back! Here to bum off you for a few days just like good old times, right?!"
"Hehe… Right, old times." The massive smile came back to his fish face for a moment, but left again as he noticed some of the meat was burning, "Ah! Crap! We can catch up later. Fortune, go show them the loft where they'll be sleeping." He called out as he stood up on the stool, and with frightening speed and precision, launched the burnt steaks across the room and into the trash while throwing new ones on with his free hand.
"Wait, do you mean the loft where I sleep?" Nadia asked.
"Nooo, the second loft under our second roof." He did a sideways jump onto another stool and began cutting and rolling sushi with a godlike speed, "Just get out of my workspace! When we close in a few hours you can have whatever you like on the house, but until then, out!"
"Well," Nadia said as she slipped her arms around both Minette and Filia, "looks like us three-"
"Four." Samson said.
"-four get to have ourselves a slumber party!"
"Uhh," Minette stuttered looking at the spiky teeth on top of Filia's head, "I have to, uh-"
"She has to work!" Yu Wan called.
"I have to work…" Minette slipped out of Nadia's arm with a quiet, "Sorry…" and hastily moved to start sweeping up the plates she broke earlier.
"Her loss." Nadia said, eagerly dragging Filia up to the loft.