An Inkling of Sympathy Ch. 11
Author's Note: Hey everyone, sorry this took so long. I kind of went a little overboard, so it may seem like the chapter ends abruptly, but that's only because I wrote about 2000 words more than what I was aiming for for the chapter. Normally, I'd just extend the chapter to be longer, but I really didn't want to break up the flow for the next chapter. I promise, it'll be a good one. As I shared in one of my other stories, I'm presently working on the play for the school that I teach at. If you're in the Houston, Texas area or if you want to travel there at some point in the near future, let me know. Tickets will go on sale in a few months. We're non-profit, so most of our money comes from fundraisers like our play/silent auction. Not to mention you'll be able to meet me there and even possibly pick up a signed copy of my novel :D Hooray! That being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I'll update again soon. -Kiba (P.S. Thank you guys so much for getting my story to the top of the Splatoon section. I'm presently the 14th highest favorited Splatoon story, so I'm extremely grateful for that. If you do enjoy the story, but haven't favorited it yet, it would mean a lot to me! As always, I love receiving any sort of reviews or criticism you may have, so don't be shy about leaving me feed back. Thanks again!)
"Wh-what?" Callie stammered confused as I just stared in shock at her cousin. How could she do that to me? She'd promised. Normally, I'd be furious, but right now I was just so surprised by her audacity that I was stunned silent.
"He kissed me." Marie repeated, sitting down beside me. "It was so awesome, Callie! I can't wait to tell you all about it!"
"Oh...well okay. That's good...I guess." She stammered across the phone. I could hear the hurt in her voice, and I knew that the very thing I'd hoped to not have happened, had. Did Marie not get it?
"Give us just a moment, Callie. We'll call you back." I stated before hanging up the phone. I turned back to Marie with a glare. "What is the matter with you?! You swore you wouldn't tell her!"
She held up her fingers with a grin. "Had 'em crossed the whole time." She taunted. I clenched my fist tightly before standing up and walking to the door. "Where are you going?"
"To explain everything to Callie." I answered.
"Right now?" She asked. "But what if people see you?"
"Don't you get it?" I snarled, causing her to recoil from me as I stormed closer to her. "Your cousin almost died. Right now she's got a hole in her chest, and despite that she's awake, I can promise you she's far from back to health. She could still die at any moment and the reason I told you to keep it to yourself is because she needs to stay positive if she wants to pull through!" My voice began to raise even louder; my three hearts began to race madly. "You are so incredibly selfish! You're mad because I don't like you so you decided to take it out on me by hurting Callie? You said you cared about her more than anything, that you'd do whatever it took to protect her! So is this how you plan on doing it? Twisting the knife that you know is already on her mind?" I took a deep breath, turning away from her to run my hand through the small tentacles that were budding on my head. "Do you know why I won't say how I feel about you or Callie?" I asked finally. A pain was throbbing in my chest from the strain on my hearts as I began coughing once again, falling to my knees.
"Lusca!" Marie cried, running to me, but I shoved her away.
"Don't touch me." I growled. "Don't you dare act like my friend after the crap that you just pulled." There was another hacking fit just as a small splatter of cobalt blood flew on to the carpet. Most likely, I reasoned, one of the scabs in my lungs had come open from the pressure.
At this point, I was too weak to shove Marie away as she helped me back to my feet before setting me on the couch. She left quickly before returning with a small glass of water. "Drink this." She instructed me, placing it to my lips and tilting it before I could object.
I was still enraged, but I obeyed anyway. The cool liquid soothed my throat as I coughed again, this time with a lot less splatter. She sighed softly, brushing my tentacles from my eyes before wrapping her arms around me in a hug.
"What did I just say?" I muttered, weakly trying to pull away from her. She was capitalizing on my inability to force her away, which only served to anger me more.
"I'm sorry." She finally whispered. "Okay? I'm sorry. I didn't even think about how badly it would hurt Callie's feelings. I was just so happy, you know? How could I not want to tell her?"
I didn't buy it. "You also broke your promise."
"You broke yours too." She protested. "You told Callie about what I told you. Not to mention you keep using it as an excuse to make me feel stupid for the things I do."
"I wouldn't have to if you'd think before acting."
The two of us fell silent, unable to look each other in the eyes. After a few minutes, she spoke up again. "So why do you hide how you feel from us?" She pressed. "You asked if I knew, but you've never said why. To be honest, it's something I've been thinking about a lot. I can understand not liking me, but Callie...she's a really nice girl, you know? It's harder to think of a reason why you wouldn't like her."
Damn it. I had let my guard down because of how angry I was, and now that things had calmed down it was coming back to bite me. "It doesn't matter." I tried, hoping she'd drop it.
"It matters to me."
"It's not about you."
"Well, then what is it about? Are you worried that I won't give you my blessing?"
"I just said, it's not about you."
"Then tell me."
"No."
"Please?"
"No!"
"Lusca…"
"I said, 'No'!" I snapped, immediately placing my hand on my chest in pain. I could see the sadness in Marie's eyes as well. It was obvious that every time that pain rushed through me she blamed herself. "I'm sorry, it's just...you're Inklings. I'm an Octoling. It'd never really work out. Even if I did, not saying that I do, but if I did have feelings for one of you, it wouldn't matter because I'd still have to hide from the world."
Marie frowned, reaching up to stroke my cheek affectionately. "You know I wouldn't care, right? If it meant you loving me, I'd probably give up my career as part of the Squid Sisters. Most of them come to see Callie anyway."
"How can you even say that?" I accused her. "I know that Squid Sisters means a lot to you and Callie. You were so afraid that I was going to split the two of you up, and now you're talking about wanting to split away with her even though I'm telling you not to." I shook my head, leaning back against the couch and closing my eyes.
"Well...if you were an Inkling, who would you choose?"
I opened one eye to give her a sideways glance. "I'm not even going to dignify that question with a response." I muttered. "If it was you, you'd just blab it to Callie. If it was Callie, you'd become all mopey and depressed."
She turned away from me, kicking her legs up on the armrest and draping herself over my lap. I briefly considered shoving her off of the couch and on to the floor, but quickly decided against it. When I looked down at her, I saw a confident grin on her face. "I get it." She giggled, causing me to frown. Clearly, she didn't.
"I'm sorry?"
"You like having two women chasing after you!" She announced, her smile growing even wider. Immediately, my cheeks turned a bright red. "I knew it! That's what it is, isn't it? You don't want to make a choice because you know that if you do whoever you don't choose will stop chasing you."
"Of course not. Do you really think I'm that sort of a person?" I protested, but she just put both of her hands behind her head smugly.
"You're a man. You're all that sort of person." She teased, stretching her back before once more falling onto my lap.
It was hard to find the words to tell her the truth. The nightmares had become progressively worse. Everytime I closed my eyes, I could see the streets of R'lyeh burning through hellfire, and because of that I couldn't even begin to focus on romance. Pile that on top of the original conflict of identities that I was struggling to grasp, and the reason I remained silent became an obvious one. "Haha, I guess you caught me." I laughed nervously.
The grin on her face returned. "Yeah, that's what I expected. You're too easy to read Lusca. I thought soldiers were supposed to have a good poker face." I held my tongue so as not to argue that it was good enough to trick her.
"Either way, what do you propose we do about Callie?" I huffed.
"Honestly? Nothing."
I took a deep breath, rubbing my temples. "Marie, do we seriously need to have this discussion again on why this is so important?"
"No." She grumbled, taking my hand and pulling it to her tentacles so I'd massage them. "I'm just saying. If it really does hurt her as badly as you say it does, don't you think bringing it up will only hurt her more? It's not like you'll choose either of us, like you said, so I'm sure you've no objections to just staying the course, right?"
"That does make sense, I suppose." I muttered, obliging her by running my fingers through the silvery tendrils on her head. "But I don't like the idea of the damage already being done and not doing anything to try to reverse it."
Marie's eyes met mine with an impish gleam. "Well, then I guess there's only one option. If you can't bring it up and you can't ignore it either, then there must be only one solution left." She reached to my hand to hold it, nuzzling against it with a content sigh.
"I'm all ears."
"Do I have to spell it out for you?" She asked. "It's obvious. You just need to kiss Callie too. Then she'll realize that our kiss wasn't you making a decision about which of us you like."
"Perhaps, but it seems like you're making me out to be some sort of womanizer."
"Aren't you?"
I just stifled a scoff. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that." Her other hand reached up to my cheek, stroking it affectionately. As much as I wanted to pull away, I didn't. "What is it now? You have that look on your face like you're up to something."
"Just thinking." Marie replied. "There's something in your eyes that wasn't there before. You seem really shaken up, almost like you're scared. Did something else happen, Lusca?"
Could she truly see my fear? Perhaps she was right about my poker face after all. "Marie, can I ask you a question about...yesterday?"
Her eyes dimmed slightly before she nodded. "I suppose I owe you that much." She whispered. "What do you want to know?"
"When you were out, did you see anything?"
"What, like a light at the end of the tunnel sort of thing?"
"Sort of." I couldn't even begin to find the words to describe what I'd seen.
Suddenly, Marie began to shiver as she wrapped her arms around herself. It was as if an invisible chill had coursed through her body, but she just shook her head. "To be honest, I don't remember much." Her voice was shaky, and it seemed like she was almost more frightened than me by the prospect of it. "I remember standing there on the stool. I'd heard that hanging was usually a swift death. I even had a backup plan, in case it wasn't. I was going to keep the stool close by, so if it didn't kill me instantly, I could catch myself."
My free hand rested on her arms, causing her to flinch before realizing what the sensation was. "What happened?"
"You surprised me. When I heard you call my name, I turned to look and lost my balance. It made the stool fall out of my reach. I tried to find a way to catch myself, but then everything started to go dark. The last thing I thought before blacking out was 'I was wrong about this'. Everything was dark and empty. I couldn't feel anything, just coldness." Her eyes began to well up with tears as she explained. "I remember wondering if that was it. Is that what awaits us after death? Nothing? Then the thought occurred to me that maybe it was just that way for me. I was nothing in life, so it'd only make sense that I was nothing in death too."
"That's not true." I protested quickly, my hand gripping her arm tightly. She looked up at me in surprise. "You're not nothing. Don't ever think that, understand? To some people, you're the world. Don't you know why I killed that policeman, why I do all of the things I've done?"
"Because he tried to kill you…"
"No. I killed him because he threatened to hurt you and Callie. When you told me on the radio that he would shoot you if I didn't stand down, something inside of me snapped. I knew when I entered that hallway that neither of us were leaving until the other one was dead. I just didn't realize how large of a toll it would take on me." Marie stayed silent, unsure of how to reply. "But if I were given the choice, Marie. I'd do it all over again. So please, don't do that to me. Don't tell me that I killed him over nothing."
"Anyway," she murmured, changing the subject, "the next thing I remember was hearing your voice. You kept begging me to turn around and come back. Then I felt your lips on mine and that's when I woke up. I know I didn't really say it then, but thank you...for saving me...again."
"I'll always be there to save you." I whispered to her. She sat up, scooting to sit closer beside me. As she cuddled next to me, I wondered if I truly was making the right decision about everything.
"Why did you ask me that, Lusca? Did you see something when you almost died?"
"No." I lied. "It just felt like I'd fallen asleep until you woke me up again. Except that when I woke up it felt like my insides were on fire and I could hardly breathe."
She pulled herself into my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck and burying her face in it. "I'm so sorry." She finally whimpered. "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have hurt yourself that way. I should have just told Callie the truth, that I didn't actually want you dead."
I pulled her away to look her in the eyes. "How could you think that it was your fault?"
"Gramps blames me for Callie being hurt."
I frowned, drawing her back into my embrace to hold her in my arms. "I'm sure he was just upset." I tried. "I doubt he truly blames you."
"He even told me so himself." She retorted. "He said that if it wasn't for me, Callie wouldn't have been out there to be shot at all. You should have seen the way he looked at me, Lusca. It was like he wished that it had been me instead. I guess you can relate."
My hand went to her chin, holding it in place so she couldn't look away from me. "That's enough." I growled. "I know it's hard, but you have to understand that no one sees you the way you see yourself. You're not useless. You're not nothing. You're not allowed to ever say anything like that again. What happened to Callie is awful, but no one blames you for it except for yourself."
"Lusca…?"
"I'm serious. No more, Marie." I could see the hesitance in her eyes to agree. She seemed like she would simply forget everything I'd told her, chalking it up to just trying to make her feel better. Without another word, I tilted her chin upward and pressed my lips against her again, causing her to gasp in surprise.
She was so caught off guard, it took her a few moments before she closed her eyes and wrapped her arm around my neck so she could deepen the kiss. She pressed her weight against me, pushing me over on the couch so that we were laying beside one another before our lips finally parted. "That was even better than the first one." She panted, a small strand of saliva still connecting us before I brushed it away.
"There." I whispered to her. "Now you have to remember what I said. Your second kiss is just as important as your first, so you can't forget why, understand?"
She smiled sheepishly as she nuzzled against me. "Is that the only reason you kissed me?" She wondered. "If so, maybe I should be self-deprecating more often."
"It's the last one." I smirked, quoting her from our trip to the hospital. "Seriously though, you have to stop thinking like that. I told you I'd always be there to rescue you, but it's so much harder for me to rescue you from yourself."
She took a deep breath before clambering off of me. "I'll try." She muttered. "That's all I can promise you."
"I suppose it'll have to do for now." Sitting back up I reached for the phone. "I'm going to call Callie."
"What happened to staying the course?" She asked.
"I have to do something." I replied with a shrug. "Just give me a moment." Punching in the buttons to return the call, it rang momentarily before I heard the phone pick up.
"Ahoy?"
"Captain, it's Lusca. Is Callie still able to talk?"
There was a slight shuffling before his voice returned to the line. "Sorry, squiddo. It doesn't seem like she's up to speaking right now." I shuddered. The way he'd said it made it sound like she'd just flat out refused to take the phone. "How's Marie treating you? She behaving herself?"
"As much as usual." I joked, looking towards the girl who sat with her arms crossed against the couch. "Listen, could you give Callie a message for me?"
"Sure thing, what is it?" For a moment, I thought I could hear Callie in the background whispering for him to not take the message. Knowing that the Captain often had hearing troubles though, I doubted he could tell.
"Just tell her, 'Nothing has changed, I'll visit you tonight'. Tell her that exactly Captain, got it?"
He paused for a moment and I could hear him relaying the message before he let out a slight cry of surprise before her voice came to the phone. "M-Mr. Octoling? What do you mean by that?" Callie demanded. She sounded like she had a lot more energy now.
"As I said, nothing has changed." I repeated, a soft smile coming to my face. "I'm glad to hear you're feeling better Callie."
"S-so...y-you and Marie…" She stammered.
"Nothing has changed." I repeated once more, causing her to sink back on to her bed. "Like I said, we'll visit you tonight. If you want, you and I can talk about everything. What happened, what happens now, everything. Just know, nothing has changed."
"O-okay. I'll remember." She murmured, though it was hard for her to conceal the excitement in her voice. "I can't wait to see you again, Mr. Octoling. Th-thank you for finding Marie."
"Don't mention it. Goodbye Callie." I answered, hanging up the phone.
Marie blew one of her tentacles from her face. "You really are a smooth operator." She muttered, an obvious disappointment in her voice. "You must be absolutely beside yourself."
"I am, thanks." I shot back impatiently. "Callie seems much more cheerful now, especially since she wasn't willing to talk to me at first. So if you're asking if I'm happy that I managed to cheer her up, then yes, yes I am."
"Well...it'll be a while before we can head over there." Marie commented with a huff. She looked at me shiftily, a strange gleam in her eye. "If only there was a way we could pass the time."
I said nothing. To be honest, I was so tired. I felt like every time I had one of those dreams I didn't gain any energy from my slumber.
"I mean...we could…"
"Could what?" I asked, knowing that I was biting the hook.
"We could make out."
I let out a frustrated sigh before collapsing on the couch. She must not have gotten the message because I soon felt her weight come crashing down on me as she all but cannonballed onto my stomach causing me to let out a groan of pain. "Really?" I coughed before she put her hands on either side of my head with a grin.
"Chill. I'm not going to just force my tongue down your throat. You're just a comfy seat is all. " She lowered herself towards me, but true to her word she didn't kiss me. Instead she just cuddled beside me, pressing herself closer. "You're also really warm, and I didn't get much sleep last night, thanks to you."
"Don't give me that crap." I argued. "You slept the entire way here. I know because I'm the one who had to carry you. Not to mention that you fell fast asleep the instant I put you in your bed. In fact, if either of us didn't get any sleep it'd be…"
I stopped, turning my gaze away from her. "Oh? Why didn't you get any sleep?" She wondered, her tone taking a rise of suspicion. "Too busy thinking about another Inklings tentacles?"
"Don't be crass." I lectured. "I just had bad dreams is all."
Noticing how shaken up I seemed, she frowned. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"It was...it was awful. I saw a city. It was under water, and there were these strange creatures on it. They looked kind of like the fossils that people have been finding from before the Great Flood." I shuddered, the chill in my body intensifying from the previous time. "There was this awful building. It was made of boats that were just kind of...fused together. Then I heard something weird, some strange language that made all of the creatures start running and screaming. They all looked so terrified. The entire city began to burn and crumble around me."
"The city burned...under water." She joked.
"I know it's dumb!" I snapped, causing her to fall quiet again as I tried to regain my composure. "I know. Believe me, I get that the entire thing sounds absolutely ridiculous, but I can't help but feel that it's important. There's something really bad that's happening or has happened and for whatever reason, I'm being forced to live it every time I sleep."
"How about this?" She offered. "I've got a special kind of tea that helps people sleep. I'll watch you, so if you start to have a nightmare I can wake you up before it gets too scary. Then you'll just go back to sleep."
I wasn't entirely sure how well that would work, but I agreed anyway. "Alright, but for the record: volunteering to watch me sleep is creepy."
"Shut up, jerk." She teased, beginning to set the water to boil. "So what was the name of this awful place anyway?"
"R'lyeh." I replied. "The people there spoke this weird language. I could hear it and while I knew it wasn't the same language we speak, I could still understand it. It kind of bored into my head like a drill, pain and all. All I managed to catch was some weird chant: 'In her house at R'lyeh, the dead mother dreams.' I don't have any idea what it means, but that's what the bad guys said, or who I assume were the bad guys, just before the city went to heck. When I first heard it, in my dream, I didn't understand but now...it just kind of popped in."
I could see the expression of concern on her face. In truth, I was just as concerned. Part of me prayed that I was just crazy and that the dreams would stop soon. But somehow, I knew in the back of my mind that I was not. "Tea's done." She chimed, masking her feelings beneath a cheerful tone. As she returned to my side, she set the cup down in front of me. "Be careful, it's hot."
PIcking it up, I blew over the top to cool the tea before giving her a playful grin. "Promise you won't kill me in my sleep?"
She waved her hand dismissively at me. "Please. Don't you think that song and dance has gotten a little old now?" As I lifted the cup to my lips, I sipped it slowly to find that it was actually very good. I would have to bear in mind that Marie, despite her denial, actually was an excellent cook.
Minutes later, the cup was empty, and true to her word I was beginning to feel a little drowsy. As I went to lay down on the couch, I was surprised to find that she'd moved so that my head rested on her lap. She smiled down at me, and I up at her. "The tea worked wonders." I murmured, not even caring that she still hadn't stopped trying to romance me.
"Sleep well, Lusca." She whispered back, stroking my tentacles until I fell fast asleep.
Thankfully, her plan worked. I stayed fast asleep until the afternoon. When I opened my eyes, there was Marie, her head tilted back and her eyes closed as she snored peacefully. So she really was tired as well.
Sitting upwards, I carefully detangled myself from her. It was late enough in the afternoon that I could make it to Captain Cuttlefish's shack without being noticed. I couldn't bring myself to wake her, so instead I wrote a short note before draping a blanket over her. Cracking open the door, I slipped through the streets of Inkopolis, eager to see my friend again.
When I at last arrived at the shack, the Captain was excited to see me once more. "Welcome back, Squiddo. How...uh...how's Marie?"
"She's fine." I assured him. "Sorry about the whole fiasco this morning, it wasn't supposed to be like that."
He sighed softly, scratching the tentacles on his chin. Tugging my arm, he guided me to the room I used to stay in before whispering to me. "Listen bucko. I was a young man once, too. I understand that sometimes you may have...urges."
My cheeks began to turn a bright red. I really hoped this wasn't going where I thought it was. "Sir, whatever intentions you think I have…"
He held up his hand to interrupt me. "Just listen. Now, I get that you've found yourself in a sensitive predicament with my two granddaughters. Normally, I'd leave it alone so that they can make their own choices, but with what's happened over the last few days, I feel it may be best to step in." His eyes narrowed, the gentle expression now gone. "That being said, if you hurt either of them, there's no force in the sky or sea that will protect you from my wrath. Understand?"
"Sir," I began again, "I've no intentions of hurting either of them. I know my position within this Splatoon. War isn't a place for romance." His features softened again as he gave a soft sigh. "Listen, just between us, both of your granddaughters are wonderful. Truly, they are. I'd lay down my life if it meant protecting them. But, to be honest, it feels like I spend more time protecting them from each other and themselves than doing it from the Octarians."
Cap'n Cuddlefish chuckled lightly, gently resting his hand on my shoulder. "You don't know much about family, do you Squiddo? Family fights. It's inevitable. But believe me, the last thing you'll need to worry about is protecting them from each other. They've been together longer than most and bonded in ways you can't even imagine."
I pursed my lips tightly. I wanted to tell him about what happened with Marie at the docks, but on the other hand, I promised I wouldn't. Instead, I just nodded my head. "Yes sir. Is Callie awake?"
"Let me check." He replied. "Even if she's not, I'm sure she wouldn't mind waking up to see you. She's missed you something fierce."
"It's only been a day." I pointed out, though he just shrugged.
"For some, a day can feel like an eternity."
Entering the make-shift hospital room, I followed in behind the old military man. Laying on the bed, her head turned to the side, was Callie. Her eyes were shut, her chest rising and falling with a weakened wheeze. The bandage placed between her breast revealed that she didn't have much on in the way of clothes, and without a word, I pulled her cover further up her body to preserve her decency. "If it's all the same Captain, I'd like to have a few moments with her alone." I requested quietly.
He seemed to understand. With a polite smile at my action, he slipped back out of the room, closing the door behind him. I pulled a chair closer to Callie, unwrapping my face and setting it aside.
"Callie," I whispered into her ear. "I'm here."
Her eyes slowly opened, their soft golden hues meeting mine. "Mr. Octoling." She smiled sleepily, reaching to wrap her arms around my neck. I don't think she realized her state of undress, so I simply ensured her blanket was high enough before reciprocating her gesture. "I hope this isn't a dream." She muttered. "I've been having them all day."
"Don't worry, it's not." I promised, holding her for a long while. She finally began to wake up as we parted, the smile not leaving her face. "How are you feeling?"
"It still hurts a little." She answered. "What about you? Are you hurting? Gramps told me what happened."
"Only when I get excited."
She smiled again. "Good." Just as soon as the word left her mouth, her hand was brought down hard against my cheek. "That's for scaring me half to death." She explained. I rubbed my cheek tenderly, just as she leaned forward and placed a kiss on my other one. "And that's for protecting Marie and me."
I returned her smile with one of my own. "I think I prefered that one to the first." I teased, causing her to giggle. "I hope you don't mind that I woke you up. Your Grandpa said that you've been wanting to see me. I tried to cover you up."
Callie blinked for a moment before realizing that she was still topless and quickly pinning her blanket to her chest with an embarrassed squeak. "OH! Mr. Octoling, I'm so sorry! I didn't even...I mean, I didn't…" She stumbled over her word, and though I should have stopped her, she was just so adorable I had to let her try to finish. "I'm sorry." She finally apologized again, giving up on explaining herself.
"Don't worry about it." I calmed her. "I promise, I was nothing but a gentleman. And not just because your Gramps was in the room either."
She giggled again before looking around for her clothes. Seeing them folded up beside her, I offered her a hand standing up so she could take them and change if she wanted to. Taking it, she stood on wobbly legs, trying to maintain her balance. However, her injuries left her pretty uncoordinated, and soon she was falling forward. I quickly stuck out my arms without thinking, causing her bare body to press against mine.
To be continued...
