He felt scared, shaken, breathless. But still he ran on. On and away from the one who bared her fangs at him.
Khal's legs felt so weak, he ended up tripping on the sidewalk he was in, and sluggishly tried to pick himself up again. Looking around, he realized he had reached a small park of sorts, with a tree, a pond and a bench nearby, surrounded by patches of grass. With how weak he felt, Khal could merely shamble across the street and toward the bench and lay there if he ever hoped to regain his energy. So he did just that.
The boy knew not what to think or do. How could he, with such fear and distrust clinging tight to his heart? His friend was a monster, nearly maimed him once. Perhaps it was an unwilling action, but that information did little to mitigate the damage that had been done. He couldn't trust her or feel safe with her anymore, and being near her was out of the question. How could Salem and Yzel hold this knowledge and not feel what he felt? Did they not have even the smallest sense of danger on their minds?
Worst of all, it was all his fault. Khal almost wished he could go back and chastise his self from weeks ago for how much of an idiot he was for pulling Jade's glove only he hadn't been so careless!
Jade could deny it and put on a friendly face all she wanted, but Khal was sure that deep beneath, she blamed Khal for her condition and wanted to punish him. That was alright, he'd punish himself as well if he were any other person.
Khal felt a sudden urge to close his eyes and drift off into sleep. Perhaps so that his troubles would dull while in the realm of dreams.
It was not long before he felt a touch on his arm and a presence beside him, and upon opening his purple eyes he was met with none other than Nephrys. She gazed at him with concern in her being.
At once he regained his bearings and straightened up, scooting a few inches apart from the adult. "O-oh! Hi.."
"I'm surprised to see you here, Khal. I figured someone like you would go to Inkopolis Square. That's where all the youths go, at least."
"I didn't feel like going today.." He answered cryptically, his gaze downcast.
"Hm? Why's that?" Nephrys asked, if nothing else just to make conversation with the boy.
"No real reason. I guess I just wanted a break."
"Khal."
The sudden, commanding manner in which she called his name caused Khal to flinch. Any warmth in her had left when he looked upon her face.
"You can tell me a lot of things, but a lie is not one of them. Something happened today, didn't it?"
Khal frowned sadly and looked away in shame. "I.. I got into a fight. With a friend. And I just don't know how to feel anymore."
"What do you feel?"
"W-well, I feel confused and scared. But most of all I think I'm.. sad."
"Why did that fight make you feel sad?"
"She did something that hurt me, a-and I don't think I can be with her anymore, y-you know? I don't feel.. safe," Khal continued with a slight pause.
"I see…" Nephrys acknowledged as she began to mull over Khal's words.
"I looked up to her, she seemed like a nice person. But.. one wrong thing after another, and suddenly I'm not so sure anymore…"
"Hm.. Does that make you not want to be friends with her anymore?"
The question felt odd to Khal, for he didn't answer right away. He didn't wish to be near Jade right now, sure, but 'anymore'? To leave her for good? The thought of doing such a thing didn't sit well with him.
"I-I mean… not really? I just—Urgh, I can't think straight!" Khal yelled in frustration.
Nephrys could only let out a worn down sigh, at a loss for what to do. "My apologies. I'm not the best when it comes to this kind of talk, admittedly."
"I-it's fine. Just being with you here is actually starting to make me feel a bit better."
Just then, Nephrys got an idea.
Silently and gingerly, she took hold of Khal's hand and moved it to his chest, placing it where one of his hearts would be.
The boy looked at her confusedly. "What are you..?"
"Keep your hand steady where I put it. Don't let go until I say so."
The boy did as told, even if he felt unsure as to why.
"Breathe slowly, over and over. I want you to close your eyes and listen only to your heartbeat and my voice. Nothing else matters in this moment."
Again, he followed her instruction. He felt the air dance in and out of his lungs, and the three hearts within him pulsing in a soothing rhythm. He was hardly aware of the buzz and noise of the outside world fading out, as if entering some sort of daze.
"Listen to yourself, Khal. Focus on your thoughts, on your emotions, on the words you want to say. Gather them unto the one thing you desire the most.. and let it all out."
He hung to Nephrys' words, and after searching and wading through his mind for all that plagued him at the moment for what must've been a long time to him, he found himself feeling.. lighter. The fog was clearing.
Purple orbs fluttered open, and he opened his mouth to speak…
"Today can't get any worse," Jade mumbled sadly under her breath, as she slowly lifted her head. Her throat was sore and her eyes stung, and she felt a headache bubbling up. She felt her mind a haze; only pain and grief festered within as she anguished.
"The best part? It was all because of a mistake.." she slurred in a hoarse voice. "Because of a single, stupid bite…"
She noticed a mirror right in front of her, on the other wall. In it Jade could see her own miserable reflection; no, the knee-hugging form of her salmonling self.
"...All because of YOU!" She raged, as she threw a stone at the mirror with all her strength, shattering it into pieces.
For the next several minutes, Jade lay in her spot, unmoving. Where there was once grief, now there was only fatigue, and her anger had all but dissipated into a sadness that gnawed at the pit of her stomach.
She heard something approach, but felt so little care as to what it might be that she didn't bother to look around. She felt a hand on her right shoulder, and glanced to her side to find it belonged to Yzel. He looked to have knelt beside her.
"Huh? What are you..."
"Hey. I figured you needed a shoulder to cry on. Or any sort of aid, really," He said with a slight chuckle. "So, uh… wanna talk about it?"
"What do you care?" Jade asked sadly, looking away from him and burying her head in her knees.
"You'd rather I don't?"
"No, no, it's just.. Ever since we've met, when you saw me change, you've done nothing but help. You're always encouraging me and telling me everything will be okay, and you weren't freaking out when you discovered my mutation. Why?"
"To be honest, I don't know. I've got nothing better to do at the moment."
Jade could only glare at him, dumbfounded. "You can't be serious."
"Well if you really want an answer.. I was curious and you seemed like someone who could use a hand. So I offered mine."
"You didn't even know me until nearly a month ago, and now you're willing to help me out with this? Just like that?"
"It's not as if I've got some ulterior motive. I don't think I need one when it comes to just helping people."
Jade scoffed. "You're an idiot, you know that?"
"True. But there's no point wracking my brain about something when I can simply go out there and do it. I'll ponder if it was smart or not later."
Simply baffling. No reasonable person would go through their days with such a mindset. And yet..
That line of thinking was what gave her a friend in the first place.
She knew not what to tell him then, save for a soft "Thank you.."
"OK, enough of that. Up and at 'em. We still have to figure out what we're gonna do next," Yzel urged, holding his hand out. Jade took it and was promptly pulled up.
It didn't take long for the both of them to return to where Salem was.
Jade spoke once more, "You know, I want to make up with Khal, but…"
"I just don't know how I can do that, o-or if I even can at this rate," Khal said sadly, still glancing towards Nephrys with clear worry. "What should I do?"
She had listened to him for all of 3 minutes. Learned of what was troubling the boy, or at least a vague notion of it. She hoped to at least provide the counsel he was asking of her in a simple enough manner. But the more Nephrys mulled over it, the more she began to find it very…
Silly. Annoying, even. Nephrys had a good idea on what Khal was fretting over at the moment and the feelings that came with that, and it brought feelings of both sympathy and exasperation. After all, she had gone through a similar strain in a friendship all those years ago.
"Khal," She looked down at him with a neutral expression.
"Yes?"
"I may not know the full details of how you and your friend got into a fight, but trust me when I say that you are panicking."
"H-huh?! But—!"
"Stop and think for a moment. You mentioned that it all started when you snooped into one of your friend's secrets, correct? And how that one secret getting out made you fearful of them."
Khal nodded in confirmation.
"Whatever it was that they were hiding, they did so for a reason. They probably feared you'd react the way you did if it ever got out. And since it did.. panic was met with more panic, leaving you both in a vulnerable position."
"Okay, I might've freaked out, but what else was I supposed to do? She hurt me without even realizing it.."
"I don't blame you for reacting that way," Nephrys shook her head, "But try to think about how your friend felt in that moment. She was cornered— desperate, even, so she acted rashly in an attempt get on your good graces again. But your fear stopped you from recognizing that attempt, only thinking about the harmful things she did, which led you to pushing her away. No wonder she'd end up outraged."
"And because I pushed her away, she probably doesn't want anything to do with me anymore," Khal looked down in shame once more. Perhaps 'fight' wasn't the best way to describe what happened with Jade, now that he thought about it. Her attempts of reassuring him seemed genuine, too..
"Oh man, I'm such an idiot!"
"Remember what I told you, Khal," Nephrys reprimanded with a shake of her head.
"R-right, stop and think!" The boy blurted out, tapping his cheeks with his hands, "But now what? I doubt she'd want to be my friend anymore."
"Friends can disagree. Friends can fight. Dare I say it's normal for them to butt heads over the smallest things. All friendships have some manner of conflict, Khal, and that includes moments in which they end up hurting one another. But no matter how many times you [hurt] each other, as long as you can acknowledge those moments of strife and grow from them, the bond you built will never go away."
"So you're saying I should stop being a baby about it?"
"Not the phrasing I'd use," Nephrys clarified with a grimace, "It's not that you should 'stop being a baby about it'— nothing is ever that simple. What I mean is.. as long as you talk to her and apologize, and both of you reach some sort of understanding, you won't lose your friendship."
"As long as I talk to her.."
A simple solution, yet at the same time so daunting for one such as him. Still, somehow it felt like the right thing.
"Yeah… Yeah!" He hopped onto his feet with renewed energy and turned to give Nephrys a strong hug, "Why didn't I think of that before?! Thank you so much Nephrys!"
The woman was startled by his display, and awkwardly wrapped an arm around Khal's waist in turn. "I'm.. glad to be of service…"
"I'm gonna try it right now, if you don't mind. See ya soon!" Khal happily declared, already stepping away from Nephrys before breaking into a run.
The inkling woman only had time to wave at him as she watched the youth leave. Her lukewarm smile vanished as soon as Khal was out of sight. Her gaze moved down, focusing on her own feet.
"Maybe I should heed my own advice," Nephrys muttered to herself, pulling out her phone and turning it on. Yet just before she could type in any number, a new call had suddenly sprung up. She eyed the name of the caller:
Constantine Mullver.
"What does he want now?"
At this point, Jade wished for nothing more than to go home and curl up in her bed. Maybe even watch random videos on her phone. Anything that helped her feel like less of a wreck.
But alas, she still had some work to do. Which involved sitting down with a certain blue-tentacled inkling and listening to him drone on about the best course of action.
Though maybe it would be more tolerable this time..
After spending a bit of time on the sidewalks with Yzel, he and Jade met up with Salem again. She expected the guy to look displeased, but to her surprise he seemed more concerned than anything. At least this time, it looked like concern over her emotional state.
"Are you feeling at least slightly better now?" Salem asked after a dry greeting.
"I guess," was Jade's downtrodden response. She didn't feel like dwelling on her feelings any further.
He only frowned skeptically.
"..Right then. I think it's time we lay down just what the heck we're gonna do, starting with this little guy."
Salem brought out the smallfry from inside the torn bag, promptly handing the squirming salmon onto Jade. The fish instantly calmed down while in her hold, and the girl stroke his head slowly and softly to soothe him further.
"Think you can take care of it for now?"
"Oh come on, it's not as if he's dangerous or anything," Jade chastised.
"No, but I don't have the patience to put up with any antics of a gremlin like 'him'. And Yzel lacks the right judgement to properly handle lost pets."
"Hey.." The aforementioned inkling whined in response of the accusation.
"Anyways, Grizzco is likely on high alert now ever since you escaped and all. Thing is, they can't and won't find you anywhere even if they try. For all they know, the salmonling vanished into the sea."
"So Jade should be safe for now, yeah?"
"Well, sure, as long as she doesn't transform in a public place," Salem conceded with a quick nod of his head. "Though, the full moon might complicate that, with what you told me about it, Yzel."
"Don't worry, I know a good hiding place for when that happens," Jade reassured, glancing between Skipfin and Salem.
"Just make sure to get there in time whenever the change does happen."
Jade merely rolled her eyes at such scolding. What did he think she was, a child?
"Yzel, I want you to be our eyes and ears out there. Whatever strange new thing Grizzco does, you have to let us know as soon as possible."
"I dunno, man. Good idea, but spying isn't really my thing," Yzel frowned disapprovingly.
"Look, all you have to do is watch out for anything or anyone suspicious, okay?"
Yzel shrugged his shoulders. "I'll try. Don't expect anything fancy though."
Neither Jade nor Salem paid mind to Yzel's comment.
"As for me, I'll continue to look for a cure. I've still got a vial of your blood back at home, Jade, so if I find any new developments I'll let you know. Sound good?"
"Sure. I'd appreciate it if that happened sooner rather than later, but eh. Whatcha gonna do?"
While continuing to listen to the idle chatter Salem and Yzel had become engaged on, Jade began to feel an odd scent coming from behind her. Yet upon turning around she saw no one.
"What is it?" Salem asked, looking over Jade's shoulder.
"...Nothing," Jade said, returning her attention to the group.
She never noticed a stray orange tentacle peeking from behind a wall, or the nervous form of Khal practically clinging to it, sweating profusely.
With their jobs clear, the three inklings soon said their goodbyes and parted ways for the day, each headed toward their respective home.
Khal stared at Jade as she passed him by, even reached a hand out to her as she walked away. Yet for all the voices in his head that urged him to come out, to approach and to talk to her, he remained in his spot.
"Not yet."
Whether it was fear or otherwise that held him back then and there, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that he needed time if he wanted to do things right. He quietly slipped away from the alley, and returned home into the arms of his worried mother.
There was a lot on each of the youths' minds; doubts, questions, even fear on some of them. But beneath all that, there was certain faith. A glimmer of hope that somehow, in some way they could and would solve this. Khal knew not where he'd start, Yzel knew not what he'd do, Salem knew not how he'd do it, and Jade knew not if doing so was even possible. Yet still, each were determined to at least do as much as they could.
They had a long road filled with peril ahead of them, but no matter what may come, every step they'd take to tread it would be one step closer to their goal.