Chapter 3: Meandering About
Slurp.. sluurp… sluuuu-
Aimlessly lounging on the ground was the mellow Yzel, too busy enjoying his drink to think much of the world around him at the moment. Within seconds, every litre of lemonade had been swallowed by the inkling , his clutched cup becoming nothing more than a plastic husk. Once he began to feel dry air enter his mouth, he pulled his lips away from the drinking straw and rose from his spot, proceeding to look for the nearest trash can. His search didn't last very long, for a silver canister lay next to a small dark blue building near an alleyway.
The young man breathed out a yawn soon after dropping his cup in the can and closing its lid, his relaxed gaze sweeping from one location to the next as if looking for something—anything— of potential interest. There was nothing of that sort, however, much to Yzel's disappointment. Yzel's body slouched as he began to travel somewhere else.
The sudden feeling of a body crashing into his side caused Yzel to lose his footing and promptly tumble down the pavement. With a groan he turned over and reclined on the stone sidewalk using his elbows as support. With a slow shake of his head and repeated blinking of his gray eyes, Yzel was able to escape his daze and obtain a clearer look at the one behind this careless bumping.
"Yeesh. Those clothes are definitely not suitable for this kind of weather," Was the young man's first impression on the stranger. They were now on their knees and supporting themselves with their hands, taking deep muffled breaths. Something looked.. off in them. As he got up and stepped closer towards the stranger, Yzel swore he saw a bit of gray in their uncovered light-skinned hand, however the color immediately faded away without a trace, baffling the young man further.
No sooner had Yzel put a hand on their shoulder than the stranger jerked their head up and began to crawl away from him. Just before they could flee, Yzel snatched one of their arms and pulled the squirming person up to his eye level with a quizzical look. The stranger thrashed and squirmed about with as much strength they could muster, humming various grunts of protest.
"Hey-! Stop this, it's-urgh- okay!" The inkling reassured to no avail, his grip beginning to wear down. This random ceph had a lot of fight in them, to Yzel's surprise, and he simply couldn't figure out what could've possibly set them off. He was only trying to help them up, is all!
"Alright. I'm running out of patience with this twerp."
Acting decisively, Yzel tightened his hold on the stranger and pulled them further in, and with both of his hands he grabbed ahold of their hat and visor and tore them off. The cephalopod's reaction was one of fear, yelling a shocked "No!" and meekly covering their face. The now-identified female inkling cowered away from the young man with small, hasty steps until her wrists were once again grabbed and moved away from her face.
At last, Yzel was able to see the inkling's face in full, a very familiar face he didn't expect: Jade's.
"Fancy seeing you here!" Yzel joked. With a beat, the girl's green eyes fluttered open and stared dumbfoundedly at Yzel for a good minute. He glanced sideways briefly and his playful smile shifted to a confused frown.
"Uhhh, Judd got your tongue? What's wrong?"
The girl continued to stare at Yzel until she repeatedly blinked and broke out of her trance. "... Huh- Oh no, sorry! I was just s-surprised!" Jade finally blurted out after a shake of her head, her yellow tentacles swaying wildly from side to side.
"You OK?"
"Yes," Jade breathed out, "There's nothing to worry about."
Her uneasy shifting and side glances implied otherwise. Still, Yzel decided to not pry further and continued to examine the oddly apprehensive girl. That didn't mean he no longer remained curious on what exactly Jade seemed to be afraid of, however.
"So, I'm not sure if you have no problem standing still in the middle of the sidewalk..."
"Actually, I-... I'd like to go to my home, if that's okay with you."
"Mmkay. See ya," Yzel responded with a shrug and turned away to leave.
"Wait-!" Gloved fingers grasped his own, and with a surprising amount of force, Jade held Yzel in place. He shot her an inquisitive look that unwittingly caused Jade to flinch and nervously let go of his hand.
"I.. prefer having someone to talk to.."
The male opened his mouth, curling it upwards to an encouraging smile after a beat. "Alright then. Lead the way."
The passing and throwing of stories kept the two inklings entertained through their otherwise uneventful walk to Jade's home. Once they stepped inside the girl's room and the door was closed, the inklings dispersed to different corners and relaxed in their own way. As Jade began to lay down on her bed, Yzel seated on the floor and took the time to overlook the muted room. His own corner looked as tidy as can be, as were the shelves and drawers filled with clothes and other items. The bed section was a completely different story, on the other hand.
Even with the distracting sight of the inkgirl continuing to nuzzle further into her bed, Yzel was able to identify claw marks and tears on the bed sheets. Chunks of the gray walls were scratched or had their paint torn off, leaving behind white marks, and the nearby bedside table was smashed beyond a simple repair. The window curtains were as equally torn as the sheets, with splotches of sunlight peeking through the various holes. Only that section of the room had any kind of damage, strangely enough.
"Uh.. Did an animal break in here?" Yzel asked loud enough for Jade to hear.
"Hm?" The girl turned over and scanned her room. Worry was etched in her eyes for a moment, before she turned back to the young man with a puzzled frown, "No… I don't have any pets, and I don't think I left the window open. Hold on."
With a small tug, Jade pushed the curtains farther apart from each other, allowing outside light to engulf the room and to reveal the state of her window. It was open, much to her dismay, and bearing a bent white frame racked with claw marks. She whined sadly.
"It's reeeally looking like an animal broke in here," Yzel commented again, stepping closer to stare at the damaged window.
"I can fix it later," Jade forcedly replied as she turned away from the window and entered the bathroom, but not before taking a set of clothes with her. The door was quickly closed.
It was getting clearer and clearer to Yzel that his companion had a problem. 'What' it entailed was beyond him for now, but it has surely affected Jade. He may have not known her for long, but this jittery, insecure demeanor certainly wasn't in line with how he saw her just two days ago. Nobody asks a person they just met to accompany them back to their own home, after all.
A chuckle escaped the male's lips as he glanced back to the bathroom door. "Looks like you did get mad.." he drily muttered with a low, slowed shake of his head.
There wasn't much going on in the street below when Yzel looked out the window. A passerby here and there, pebbles on the rows of stone tiles... a light blue stain plastered on the pavement? He even spotted a set of tiny splotches of.. murky green ink?
That's strange..
Yzel jerked his head back upon hearing the door creak. From the bathroom Jade emerged with tranquil steps, clad in the same sporty clothes Yzel last saw her in. "That's more like it."
"What do you mean?"
"The coat, the beanie, the baggy pants- You don't seem like the conservative type, y'know? Not from what I've seen, at least."
"You're saying that how I dress has to be related to my attitude?" She approached her companion and rested her forearms on the window.
Yzel sighed with closed eyes. That was a terrible way to phrase a sentence..
"... Comfort!" He yelled, "It just looked as if you're more comfortable wearing that, is what I'm trying to say."
"Uh-huh…"
"Whatever, my bad," Yzel placed a hand on his brows,"Anyways, is it normal for there to be a blue puddle next to your doorstep?"
"What?" Jade's brows furrowed as she approached the window and looked out to the pavement below. Yzel saw Jade visibly stiffen at a certain moment, and without a word, she dashed out of her room. Something was very wrong…
"How have I not noticed this earlier?"
Indeed, the sight of what could be described as a crime scene was far too unorthodox to ignore. What the inklings were looking at were the remains of a splatted jellyfish. Yellow tape stretched out all around the area where the puddle lay, highlighting it from the rest of the sidewalk, along with the murky green splotches that accompanied it.
Yzel stepped closer, hanging onto the tape and leaning forward to get a closer look. "Dang. That's a nasty splat if I've ever seen one."
"I feel so sorry for them.." lamented the downcast Jade.
"Yeah. He'll respawn later though."
"Actually.. I don't think jellies can do that.."
"Oh," Yzel uttered in response and turned around, "Well that just means we gotta be ready incase we get mugged, don't you agree?"
"It wasn't a…did you hear the rumors?"
"What?" He looked down for a few seconds. He did remember hearing a bit of gossip earlier today, something about break-ins and salmonids…
He glanced back at the taped-off area, and as soon as he noticed the green ink, his sight flared back up to meet Jade. "Ah, that! It's nothing but bogus," he said nonchalantly with a wave of his hand, "Besides, if it really was a salmonid we simply fight it with all we've got until it's gone."
A half-hearted "Yeah," was the only reply from the female.
"Hey… You're not actually bothered by this, are ya?" Yzel's gaze softened.
"It's just.." A shadow of sadness passed over Jade, her expression turning downcast. "That monster killed a neighbor here, and it could've killed me too if it wanted to. O-others could've gotten hurt, and it could be hiding anywhere, I— I'm scared. What if it gets to more people? Or us even?"
She felt a cold hand on her shoulder and perked up to meet a pair of friendly, affable gray orbs accompanied by a relaxed smile. "Don't worry so much. It's a big, scary, new Salmonid; So what? We've dealt with 'em before both on our own and together, a new type won't be a lot of trouble once we find a weakness. Like the others! And if something happens.. well, we make sure to keep each other safe."
His words touched Jade, who gave a thankful smile in return. It was only for a moment, however, for she looked back down again with a frown. Perhaps his reassurance didn't work?
"Hmm… If we are gonna cross paths with this Salmonid at some point.. then we have to be ready for it!" The girl exclaimed with renewed vigor.
"Of course! That's what I was.. trying to say.." He trailed off, at a loss for words.
"So we gotta prepare. Uh- I'm gonna head out now. Maybe we could meet up at the square later on?" A nervous grin crept across Jade's face when she finished her question.
"Sure."
And so, the pair of inklings spent the rest of the day practicing and playing together, with no true inciting incidents happening during that time. As darkness took hold over Inkopolis, the inklings were now located in a cafe, munching at their meals without a word and simply enjoying each other's company. A belch rang out from the inkling once he finished his last bite and slumped in his seat, "Man.. what a good burger that was.."
Jade followed in his footsteps, slouching forward with a sigh. "To be honest, I want another. This still isn't enough.."
"You do you. I don't mind," Yzel said with a yawn. The girl proceeded to sip on her drink quietly and look around her environment. The twinkling and dancing stars on the night sky brought a smile to Jade's face. After placing the cup on the table she reclined on her seat and continued to gaze at the night's wonders, shifting from the stars to the large round moon staring down onto the cold earth.
She frowned.
"Anyways, today's been nice. Let me know whenever you want to hang out again." The male stretched his arms out in a similar way as if he was waking up and stood up from his seat. He began to walk away with a jaunty step, but a few paces later he looked back. She was still in the same spot as before and staring at the moon blankly.
"Hey Jade," He called out.
She lurched forward and dropped her cup. With quivering legs the girl pulled herself up, gripping onto the table to support herself. She darted her gaze from side to side, and with a sluggish dash she began to run away from the cafe.
"Did the drink not agree with her..?" Yzel muttered with a raised eyebrow. That certainly wasn't a normal reaction. Then again, 'normal' couldn't describe how his companion had been acting this entire day.. Perhaps he could find out more.
Yzel jogged after Jade, following her to the entrance of a darkened alleyway. From a brick wall, he peeked inside the alleway and spotted a fatigued Jade propped against a wall to support herself, gasping for air. She was only able to take two shaky steps before her legs gave way and she fell to her knees.
"Squit," he cursed under his breath as he ran up to her side, "What's wrong? Anything you need?"
"I-I-I don't- I don't know what's-URGH!" The girl lurched forward again. She raised her violently trembling hand and looked at it, finding herself unable to move even a finger. It was then that it froze up and sharp claws burst from the tips. Before their very eyes, Jade's hand swelled and shifted, with gray scales overtaking it's skin and green webbing tying her fingers together, and growing far too large for its glove to contain. In an instant the glove was torn to shreds, and Jade's right hand completed it's metamorphosis into something more fish-like(change later).
The sight of both her shaking, rapidly changing hands caused Jade to let out a scream of terror. Another jolt of pain forced her to grab her head and curl up further, screaming again as the wave of changes overwhelmed her. Her body spasmed and grew, straining the fabric of her clothes while fair skin was bleached to a snowy white all over. Her eyemask and tentacles turned a sickly green and began to melt off her body.
Grunts and yelps escaped her lips as her feet shifted and pressed against the caps of her boots, until finally they burst free from their confines and became monstrous, scaly paws, reducing the boots to scraps. Her bulging limbs were proving too much for Jade's clothes to contain, with tears erupting all over her shrunken t-shirt and shorts and her body quickly toning up on various places. She cried out in pain and gripped the floor when she felt a bulge form on her lower back that grew and grew, and screamed again when it tore through her shorts as a fully developed Salmon-esque tail with an orange fin.
And all the while this was happening, Yzel could only stand back and stare ineptly, muttering a lost "What the.." Sure, he could either run away or call for help, but he doubted either of those courses of action would do much to improve the situation.
By now, Jade had completely fallen and curled up on the ground, gripping her head again with clawed hands and desperately taking quickened, raspy breaths of air. A new wave of pain assaulted her, a pained whimper escaping her lips.
Her inkling features began to disappear one by one. Orange kelp-like strands of 'fin-hair' slithered out of and covered the base of her head, and ears, nose and teeth all twisted and contorted into new, unnatural shapes just as Jade's face began to push outward little by little. Jade let out a final, drawn-out scream as her new snout snapped into place, and the changed girl slacked on the ground.
All was still for many moments, with the passing cars and Jade (or what became of her)'s raspy pants for air being the only sounds. Yzel dared not to move, only placing his hand near his shorts' pocket, as if to pull out his weapon in case the.. thing decided to attack.
"Okay, okay— what am I even looking at? Jade somehow turned into a.. Salmonid? No. She looks too different from any of 'em to be called just that. She's still humanoid. Mostly."
Yzel's eyes widened. Suddenly, the things he noticed today-Jade's mannerisms, her mood, the rumors, whatever happened to her just now- they all began to make sense. The death of the jelly at her doorstep wasn't just a simple mugging...
The female's breathing slowed. Her tail began to sway about from side to side, and she picked herself up.
"Jade?"
With a growl, the humanoid salmonid flicked her piercing stare toward Yzel with hardened yellow and green eyes. The inkling male could only take a step back before the salmonid lunged at him.