Well, this took longer than I thought it would. And this is the longest chapter yet.
It was dark. The kind of darkness that immediately has your chest getting clawed at by unease. Hardly anything can be seen except for faint silhouettes starting to crowd him. Who were they? What were they? How many are there? Five? Maybe six? They're talking, too, but it's quiet and muffled. It's impossible to tell what they're saying, but his gut told him it was nothing good. He had to get out of there quickly, but his body couldn't move. As if things weren't unsettling enough, a red hue started to cloud his vision. What was the source? A light? No, that can't be it. Everything still seemed so dark. Plus the hue seemed thick in a way. Blood, perhaps? He hated to admit it, but it seemed like a possibility.
Griffin's eyes snapped open. Everything was still dark and blurry, but it was a comforting type of darkness. Darkness that was provided by the thick curtains, keeping out the bright sunlight. Griffin sat up and reached for the nightstand next to him so could feel around a bit. As soon as his fingers brushed against the familiar plastic of his glasses, he grabbed them and put them on. The room was still dark, of course, but everything looked clearer now. He glanced over at the clock. It was the middle of the day. Crystal's slow and heavy breathing next to him indicated she was still asleep. That feeling of danger seeped away once Griffin realized he was in his hotel room. He could feel his heart hammering against his ribcage, but it was slowly calming down.
It was just a dream. Just a really weird dream. Griffin thought to himself. It felt so familiar, too. Almost like- He immediately shook the thought away. Now was definitely not the time to think about that. Not while he was here in his safe place. Besides, that was over a century ago! He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, fully calming himself down. I'm okay. He told himself. I'm okay, everyone in the hotel is okay, everything is okay.
He looked over at the wall separating his room for his neighbor's and pursed his lips. Well … not everyone….
It really wasn't any of his business, but Griffin found himself once again wondering what Cyrus could have gone through. There was still a chance Cyrus was just naturally wary and a little short tempered, but something told Griffin that wasn't the case. He sighed to himself in frustration. I know I shouldn't pry. Trying to force it out of him would only lead to disaster. But I feel like I should still make some sort of effort to help him.
Griffin took his glasses off, set them on the nightstand, and laid back down, careful not to wake Crystal. He closed his eyes, still thinking to himself. First, I'll see if I can get him to be comfortable around me. Then I'll work from there.
Satisfied with the idea, he relaxed and allowed sleep to take over him.
~o.O.o~
By the time Griffin woke back up again, it was dark outside. Finally, a reasonable hour to be awake. He sat up and grabbed his glasses, slipping them on. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he looked around the room and noticed Crystal was already awake and dressed.
"He's finally awake," she teased. "Hurry up and get dressed. The breakfast bar is gonna, like, open soon. And then we're having a pool day!"
"All right!" Griffin said, getting out of bed to get changed.
"How'd you sleep?" Crystal asked as Griffin went into the bathroom. "It's not very often you, like, sleep in this late."
Griffin hesitated a moment as he attempted to tame the curls of his hair. He was debating whether or not he should bring up the dream that woke him up in the middle of the day. It's not often nightmares unsettle me like that. Then again, it happens to everyone. It was just a dream. He firmly told himself and quickly decided not to. He shook the disturbing images from his mind. "Oh, you know. We had an exciting night last night between showing up here, catching up with everyone … me zinging. I just needed some extra rest!"
"Yeah, that makes sense," Crystal agreed, buying it. Her teasing tone returned in a flash. "Speaking of your zing, think you'll, like, see him at the pool today?"
Griffin choked a little, immediately getting what she was implying. "Crystal! It's too early for me to be thinking of him like that!" he scolded, feeling his face getting hot.
"I didn't say anything! You, like, jumped to that conclusion yourself!" Crystal laughed.
"You definitely implied it," Griffin said with a dramatic huff as he stepped out of the bathroom.
Crystal replied with a laugh and the two went next door to get Cordelia so she could join them. Once she was with them, and once she gave Crystal a kiss of greeting when no one was looking, the trio went downstairs and joined the others for breakfast.
Breakfast went the way it normally did. Everyone was eating, having lively conversations and joking around.
As Griffin ate, he noticed a certain feathered monster silently slip into the dining hall. Cyrus swiftly went over to the long table of food. He looked over his options for a bit. Cyrus reached over to grab a plate and some silverware, but when his hand hovered over the container of forks, he hesitated. Slowly, he lowered his hand back to his side before turning around and slipping back out of the dining hall, completely empty handed. Griffin cocked a brow in confusion and worry. What was that all about? Did he not see anything he liked?
The sound of his name snapped him back to the conversation before he could think too deeply about it. The conversation in question was about preparations that were still needed for the party. They had three days until the party, but they knew they'd be ready by then.
Once breakfast was over, everyone retreated to their rooms to get ready for some time at the pool. Crystal went to Cordelia's room to get ready while Griffin went in his and Crystal's. He found the green plaid swim trunks that he always brought. It was also one of the few visible pieces of clothing he had. He got them after the hotel had opened and he only wears them here, so he didn't see the point in turning them invisible.
After Griffin changed, he stared at himself in the mirror. It wasn't often he was as exposed as this, contrary to popular belief. The only reason he made the majority of his clothes invisible in the first place was to keep up the invisible reputation, while also keeping himself covered so he wouldn't have to see himself.
Or rather so he wouldn't have to see his reminders of the past. Afterall, they were the exact reason there were times he wished he couldn't see himself, just like everyone else couldn't.
Nervously, he traced some of the marks that decorated his body. He closed his eyes and started giving himself the mental pep talk he always did before pool or beach days. It's okay. No one's gonna see them and there aren't any mirrors at the pool, it's okay. I can easily avoid looking down.
He was about to try to lighten his mood by focusing on the physical traits he's happy with, when a knock at the door interrupted his internal assurance. "Griffin? You ready to go?"
"Oh, yeah! I'll be out in a second, girls!" Griffin assured. He grabbed his bag, slipped on his flip flops, and met up with the girls in the hall. Crystal was wearing a red cover up dress with matching sunglasses. A yellow bikini was underneath the dress. Cordelia was in her human form and wearing a black tankini top and a matching swim skirt.
The three of them went down the hall and towards the back of the hotel, where the pool was. As they walked, Crystal spoke up.
"So, like, Cordelia and I were thinking this might be our chance. Odds are, there's gonna be a moment when it's, like, just the others and us," she explained.
"Everyone's gonna be in light spirits from a good time, so we think it'll be a good opportunity," Cordelia added on.
Griffin nodded in understanding. "Yeah. That sounds like a good idea! Good luck!"
"Thanks, Griff," Crystal replied with a smile.
Once they arrived at the pool, Cordelia immediately tossed her bag on an empty chair before making a beeline for the deep end and dove in. She transformed into her siren appearance the instant she was fully submerged in the bright green water. She came to the surface with a cheer.
"Someone's right at home!" Frank quipped from one of the chairs at the side. He was rubbing some moonscreen into Eunice's back. The rest of the Drac Pack was seated with them, along with some other hotel residents either lounging in the moonlight, playing around in the pool, or getting something to eat at the snack table. Griffin and Crystal had set their bags down with the others.
"Oh, yeah! This is so cool! I've never swam in this kind of water before!" Cordelia hollered before going back under the surface.
"Wait for us!" Crystal shouted, yanking off her dress and jumping in after her.
"Now that the gang's all here, who's up for a diving competition?!" Murray hollered. The majority of the others enthusiastically agreed.
"I'm not entirely sure if it would be a good idea for me to join," Wanda said, gesturing to her stomach, which was swollen with another litter of pups.
"It wouldn't be a good idea for me, either," Eunice agreed, gesturing to her hair.
"We can judge your dives, though," Wanda offered.
"That'd be real cool of you guys! Thanks!" Johnny exclaimed.
"Mommy, Daddy, can I dive off the giant octopus this time?" Dennis pleaded with his parents.
Mavis hesitated a moment, looking at the giant tentacle already getting ready for the first diver.
"Please?" Dennis added. "It's not like I haven't jumped off something as high as that before!"
Everyone immediately cringed at the memory of the tower at Camp Winnepacaca.
"Just because you've done that before, doesn't mean you should do it again. You can only jump off if it's at a more reasonable height. Hopefully the giant octopus will understand," Mavis explained.
That answer was good enough for Dennis. He, along with the others, jumped into the pool, ready to get some dives in. Griffin was about to join them when something caught his attention from the corner of his eye.
Cyrus was standing in the doorway of the pool entrance, looking a little conflicted.
Griffin noticed that Crystal was near the pool wall, so he went over to her and kneeled onto the ground to get closer. "Hey, can you let the others know I'll join them in a bit?" he asked, beckoning his glasses towards the doorway.
Crystal's eyes followed the direction of the beckoning and saw what Griffin was talking about. "Yeah, sure thing." Her glasses took the shape of a smirk. "Have fun getting your man," she added in a hushed, but teasing tone.
Griffin was grateful his invisibility could hide the pink that dusted his cheeks in that moment. "Yeah, well, have fun watching your girlfriend flex her diving skills," he countered.
Sure enough, the giant octopus had lifted Cordelia out of the pool. As she went up, she had shook as much of the water off of her as possible so she could turn human again to get her footing. Once the tentacle's height was at its peak, she did a backflip off. She did a few twists and twirls on the way down before ending it with a perfect dive.
Griffin could almost see hearts dancing in Crystal's lenses as the others cheered. He chuckled a little before jokingly whispering "Feeling lucky to get to marry that one day?"
"Oh my Satan, we haven't even, like, discussed that yet!" Crystal squeaked, clearly flustered by the suggestion. "Go flirt with your bird!"
"Gladly!" Griffin said, standing up. He went over to the pool entrance. He also noticed Cyrus' eyes widened a little as he approached.
Okay, remember. Keep it casual, don't bring up anything that could potentially trigger him. "Hey! We meet again!"
"What are you doing over here?" Cyrus asked, quickly recovering from his surprise and putting on the monotone facade. "Shouldn't you be with your friends over there?" he added on, watching Johnny land a solid cannon ball and spraying everyone.
"In theory," Griffin replied. "But I noticed you were looking a little troubled. I figured I could check in and see if you needed help with something."
"I'm fine," Cyrus said a little too quickly. "This just usually isn't my type of environment."
"Yeah, that's understandable," Griffin said. "There's no rule that says you have to join us, you know."
"I'm aware," Cyrus confirmed. "I just…." His voice trailed off and he looked over at the snack table.
Griffin followed Cyrus' gaze. "Oh!" he gasped in realization. That's right, he didn't grab anything from the breakfast buffet this morning. In fact, I don't even think I saw him at dinner time. He probably hasn't eaten at all since he got here. "Don't worry, there's also not a rule that says you have to join us in order to have food access. You want something to eat?"
Cyrus blinked at the question. "Yes."
"Okay, let's go," Griffin said, turning on his heel and walking towards the food.
Cyrus stood there for a moment, processing what just happened, then hesitantly following the invisible man. The two stood next to the table, looking over the options. Griffin grabbed a pair of ceramic plates and handed one to Cyrus. The bird-man looked at it for a second before accepting it. Griffin's glasses curved into a smile as he started putting some snacks on his plate. Cyrus felt his face heat up a bit when he saw the smile. It took every ounce of willpower not to let his feathers fluff up. He quickly looked away towards the food. He found some hand held snacks that seemed good and started to load up his plate.
Griffin took note of this. "Woah, hungry, aren't we?" he said.
"I missed breakfast," Cyrus said quietly, not even looking up from the food.
"That's okay. It happens sometimes," Griffin assured. He hoped by saying that, it would help Cyrus relax and realize he's not one to judge that sort of thing.
Cyrus hummed in response and the two continued to fill their plates.
At one point, Griffin grabbed a roll at the same time Cyrus reached for the same one. His hand unintentionally landed right on top of Griffin's. The two immediately tensed and their heads snapped up to look at each other with wide eyes. Both started blushing, but of course, Griffin's flustered expression was unseen.
The moment they locked eyes was brief, but to both of them, it felt like it was never going to end. It was just long enough for Griffin to get lost in taking in every detail of Cyrus he could see. Before he could look into it too much, the moment ended with Cyrus suddenly snapping back to reality and pulling his hand away.
In a flash, Griffin recalled their first encounter, specifically when his offer for a handshake got turned down. "I'm so sorry!" he blurted.
Cyrus's gaze immediately went back to his plate. "It's okay, I just didn't realize your hand was already there," he explained.
"Haha … true. It happens pretty often," Griffin awkwardly said. But this time felt so different. He set the roll on his plate and stared at his hand. His skin felt calloused. I don't know why his skin ended up like that, but it felt … cool. And yet his touch was so warm and gentle.
"So did you get what you wanted?" Cyrus suddenly asked, changing the subject.
Griffin looked up from his hand, his train of thought disappearing in an instant. "Yup! Did you?"
Cyrus nodded.
"All right, then," Griffin said, grabbing some silverware for the two of them. "Here," He said as he offered Cyrus a fork and knife.
He was taken aback when Cyrus took a step away from him. "I'm good with just my hands, thanks."
Griffin took a closer look at Cyrus' selection of food. Sure enough, it was all food that is traditionally handheld. "Right," Griffin said sheepishly as he put the silverware away.
"The silverware is made of iron, right?" Cyrus asked.
"Yes, it is," Griffin confirmed.
"I had a feeling," Cyrus grumbled.
"Oh, do you have texture issues with iron?" Griffin asked.
Cyrus fell silent and he looked away.
"It's totally fine if you do. We all have our irritants," Griffin added on. "I'm pretty sure we have plastic utensils somewhere, though. Would that work for you with future meals?"
Cyrus looked back at the other monster and nodded.
"There you go, then! Come on, let's go find a place to sit and eat," Griffin said and the two walked off. They soon found some empty chairs and sat down. Griffin started idly snacking, while Cyrus started eagerly taking bite after bite of food.
Griffin watched Cyrus from the corner of his eye in concern. Dang, when was the last time he ate?
After eating about half of his plate, Cyrus finally slowed down his intake, much to Griffin's relief.
"So, what brings you here?" Griffin asked, trying to make conversation.
Cyrus took a moment to swallow the bite he was chewing on before answering. "Same reason any monster comes here. A break from everything," he explained before taking another bite, his eyes fixated on his plate.
Griffin pursed his lips. He considered asking if by "everything," Cyrus meant humans. After all, getting away from humans was this hotel's original intent. Then again, he didn't want to bring up any unwanted memories. Cyrus seemed fairly tense enough as it is. "Well, you definitely came to the right place. I don't know where us monsters would be without this."
"Tell me about it," Cyrus replied. He paused for a moment before turning his head towards Griffin and speaking again. "Hey, I wanna apologize for snapping at you last night when you compared me to a human. And I'm also sorry for assuming the same thing about you. It wasn't right of me."
This got Griffin's attention. He certainly wasn't expecting that. "I forgive you. In that sense, I'm also sorry for jumping to conclusions. And for the passive aggressiveness. I shouldn't have let my emotions get to me like that. I should have known that getting compared to a human like that was gonna happen to me sooner or later," he replied.
"You're forgiven," Cyrus said.
"Although, I really am curious as to what you are. I've never seen a monster like you before," Griffin said.
Cyrus turned back to the plate in his hand. "A phoenix," he replied with a barely noticeable hint of tension in his voice.
Griffin's lenses lit up. "Really?! That's actually so cool! I've never met a phoenix before! Oh, I have some questions now. Do you mind?"
Cyrus jumped a little at Griffin's sudden enthusiasm and looked back up. He felt himself blush and his wings fluffed up. Even though he couldn't see Griffin's smile, he could sense how bright it must be. He averted his gaze again, trying to compose himself. "Go ahead," he mumbled before taking another bite of food.
"Well, first of all, aren't phoenixes usually giant birds?," Griffin started.
Cyrus swallowed his bite. "Usually, yes, but we can take the forms of humans. Our bird forms are massive. I can't fit through doors or windows. Also, in that form, we can only understand other phoenixes and speak that language. It's quite a nuisance. But we're also physically stronger that way," Cyrus explained. He was still refusing to make eye contact, despite the fact that his blush died down by now. "We transform into humans to blend in. And we can take forms of something in between if we want. Even then, we still have the same skill set so we can protect ourselves."
"Is the resurrection by fire thing true?" Griffin asked.
"Yes, when we die from anything, we burst into flames and emerge again from a pile of ash. We don't age past a certain point, either, so we can't die of old age," Cyrus replied. "And when we reach that point, when we regenerate, we don't start off a newborn. We just stay the same."
"What about tears with healing abilities?"
Cyrus responded with a small nod.
Griffin considered asking more questions, but he could tell Cyrus wasn't used to getting questioned like this. "Well, thanks for informing me. I still think it's really cool! And it certainly explains your exquisite looks." He added that last sentence with a somewhat flirty tone.
It seemed to have worked because Cyrus started blushing again. "Do you always make those kinds of comments?" he sputtered.
"Only when I want to," Griffin responded. "I can stop though if you want me to."
"It's fine, actually," Cyrus said. "I'm just not used to it, that's all."
"Well, all the more reason, then. I'd be more than happy to help you get used to it," Griffin promised.
Cyrus' wings ruffled at that and Griffin couldn't help but laugh a little.
Meanwhile, in the pool, the others were still taking turns diving off the giant octopus' tentacle. After Cordelia had done another dive, Crystal tapped her on the shoulder and gestured to where Griffin and Cyrus were eating and talking.
"They seem to be getting along better now," Cordelia noted with a smile.
"I know right?! The zing is, like, starting to work!" Crystal beamed.
"What are you two talking about?" Murray asked. Then he noticed where the two ladies were looking. "Woah! Hey, guys look! Griffin's talking to the bird guy!"
Dennis, who decided to take the next turn, got distracted by what Murray was saying mid-jump and ended up landing with a bigger splash than intended. Thankfully, the tentacle was at a much lower height for him. He quickly surfaced and looked over. "Woah! Is that the bird-man you guys were talking about at dinner yesterday?"
"Yes, it is," Drac confirmed.
"We should go say hi and introduce ourselves," Johnny suggested.
"We could, but we also don't want to spook him," Ericka reminded him.
"I know. We can still try, though," Johnny said optimistically.
"I'm down," Frank said.
"Me too!" Murray agreed.
"I'm all for it, too, but like Ericka said, we should still be careful," Cordelia said as Crystal nodded in agreement.
The others also chimed in with their agreement and they all climbed out of the pool.
Cyrus and Griffin finished up their food and were about to go discard their plates when the Drac Pack showed up.
"Hey, Griff!" Murray called out.
Griffin looked over and saw the group heading right towards them. His lenses widened in surprise while Cyrus visibly tensed up. Uh oh.
Before you ask, no, I didn't forget about Cordelia and Crystal coming out. That's gonna be next chapter. Stay tuned! As always, reviews would be much appreciated!