(CW minor fires, no harm, and one instance of a harsher swear, if you know the language it's in!)
Prisha's house was on fire.
But it was okay!
Prisha was the girl who could handle anything! Stone-cool in photos, just about famous enough to have been mentioned in side articles of music blogs and magazines, socializing with the popular crowds in R , electric, and alternative scenes. Mostly in the background, while in demand for her skillset.
But determined to be smart about life too. Clean, not a huge drinker even if she could appreciate trying a variety, (though the bulk of her home bar's contents got hidden when her parents visited), and strictly careful about; who she trusted in life, her finances, her IT career, and, in a home featuring some high grade computer gearandmusic equipment, pretty security and fire safety conscious.
Heck, more than one fire extinguisher graced her home in easy enough to reach but discreet locations. One for downstairs, and one for upstairs. Overkill for a suburban home? She didn't care, she liked her gear. Prish was a pro.
Prisha slid by so fast that her socked feet nearly went out from under her on the polished tiling, and the fire extinguisher nearly flew out of her grip. Her freaking bass speaker was on fire.
"Saali kutti ka- Fuuuuu!" A colorful mix of insults were directed at the offending extinguisher and the young woman grit her teeth while rushing to work the item.
She looked up a few times, expecting the fire to spread, but it just sorta moved left? It might be best to call 911 just in case. Better than calling and waiting for the firemenafterit got out of control. Still, she went to try the extinguisher one more time.
She had it! -She ran forward and fumbled it. The thing slipped out of her grip and rolled across the floor, over to the base of the looming speaker.
The fire plopped down onto the extinguisher. Her extinguisher was on fire.
The speaker, for some reason, no longer appeared to be, but whatever this was was unpredictable enough to warrant making that call. "Phone, phone… where did I leave you?" She looked to the kitchen counter where she probably left it. The kitchen counter was on fire.
It was a little fire. Why was it little? WAS THAT HER PHONE ON FIRE?!
Prisha swung left, towards the speaker, then right, to the counter where she squinted, then moved closer instead, as apparently the fire had picked up her phone.
She walked towards it, and the fire took clearer form as she got closer. It was a little man. It was a little fire monster? It was struggling to pass her the phone that was a big as he was.
"Oh. Wow." A moment of silence was only filled with the sound of the kitchen tap dripping across the large open plan section.
She gave a quick look over her shoulder and back again. "Ah, oh, Okay thank you, are you, uh, burn-y or can I just take, that-" she tentatively took the phone off the little guy with that enquiry answered in effect. He didn't burn her, and the phone was undamaged, as she flipped it front and back.
"I'm very happy I could be of help." Spoke the little monster politely, as she flinched in mild surprise. He was just this charming little, little! -He had a teeny dapper black bow-tie and waistcoat over a white shirt, like some fancy bartender. And teeny glasses that somehow weren't melting.
Prisha actually felt a little bad about the next question she had to ask, in between more glances back at what she hoped wasn't an incorrect guess about the other 'fire'.
"Hey, uh, I just kinda need to check, but, why are you in my house? Not that I'm accusing you of anything but I think I'd remember having let you in, and you do know… you're not supposed to just… uh."
The bitty monster stepped back and raised his glowing hands in front of his chest in a surrender motion, as the human crouched down partly, so he was more eye-level.
"Oh, I am aware, I'm terribly sorry for my intruding," his flames turned a shade rosy on his face, "but I don't know how I got here to be honest! I was in my bar near to your nightclub district. Grillby's. I just… felt like I was very sleepy, but woke up to your shouts. Also, I don't quite know how to say this, but, I appear to have shrunk." He sounded very uncomfortable having to try to explain himself, and the words came out like they would be higher pitch, but were softened to a gentle little murmur. Prisha got the impression he was a guy usually happier on the sidelines.
He startled, then looked at the phone. "I can of course vacate your home, but would you mind if I made a call? One of my staff will have to pick me up. Literally it seems."
She unlocked her phone for him, and placed it back on the counter. "Can you use it like this?"
"Yes, thank you for your help here, this shouldn't take long. Oh, and do you enjoy fast food? I insist on providing you something for the bother."
"Sure, why not. Thanks,- Grillby I'm assuming? It's not a problem though, I'm just happy you're a monster fire and not a goodbye-all-my-stuff-one."
While he was setting the mobile to speaker and dialing his bar, Prisha turned to greet the other fiery intruder, and crouched down as she came closer. It appeared to be another little chunkier looking Grillby-like, waistcoat and all. Though his waistcoat looked a little more like a peasants open shirt and draping neck tie from the 1800s. No pants. His body just kept extending instead, into a snake tail that pooled in a loose coil over the fallen fire extinguisher. He had a spattering of darker scales that extended up to his face, like a rock crust on lava.
He slid off as the human got nearer, and used his hands and tail to roll the item back to her helpfully. He regarded her, and then piped up himself that he had also been a lot larger than this; "It… is… strange not towering over humans, I must admit. I believe you were wanting to use this for something quite badly? Please let me help you!"
The extinguisher promptly got moved to Prisha's side and left on the floor with the nozzle directed strictly away from the little guy as she looked around for the yellow pin, and shuffled on her knees over to snatch it from where it had been discarded in the panic. "I'm guessing it's best I don't actually use this on you." she muttered.
He reared back an inch in surprise. "You were going to…?"
Grillby's phone call had connected in the background and he sounded like the staff were taking what he said as a request to speak to Grillby, as he spluttered then gave up while they left their phone to locate the fire monster.
Prisha held a hand up as she was scooting back to very carefully put the pin back in and tuck the hose nozzle back away, and pushed the item using a full-body stretch, way away across the floor. "Yeah I didn't see you were a monster. I just thought you were my electrics going up in smoke," she pointed over guiltily. "This is a powder mix, designed to snuff out fire. So yah I probably still shouldn't use it on you actually. And sometimes these things are water based. Promise I wasn't trying to kill you or anything."
"Well," he huffed, looking a little put-out. "Handing a human the item that kills me would have been quite the embarrassing way to go, it seems." He shook his head. "It certainly would not have done me much good. I can see it was not your intention though, so thank you." He slid right up to Prisha at this, and looked about to continue, but two heads cocked to the side as a voice came over the phone's speaker.
"Hello! This is Grillby speaking."
The little Grillby kneeling over the phone startled. Prisha got up and put a hand over the mic, and shared a rapid hissed conversation. "Are there usually two of you?"
"No! I, oh, what should I… please don't tell him, -me!"
"...hello?" said the phone.
"Uh, yeah, hi!" improvised the girl. "Can I, uh, make an order?" She shrugged at Grillby and mouthed "Are you sure?!"
She watched the flaming snake monster climb up a barstool using his coils to reach the counter, and looked between them both. "Uh, what do you guys want? Actually do you do a sharer or family sized?" she asked the phone.
"Of course! We do both!"
"I'll take the family sized then thanks, yeah, uh-huh, the second mix option, yeah that much is fine, my card number, jus' a sec." She scanned the counter in case her wallet was here instead of in the living room - but felt something light 'fwip' against her head. Huh… Her credit card fell on the floor. Who the heck had chucked that? The two monsters were right in front.- "yeah my number is…-" she carried on for now, and gave her address, before calling off.
"O-kay. Well I guess you guys are staying for take-out now?" The credit card was held up for inspection as her gaze traveled over it towards the living area.
The fire snake was getting in the personal space of Grillby to inspect him more closely. "Don't worry, I don't eat sentients," he assured gently. "This is a way from my forest if we are in a human abode. Surely you must have heard of my hospitable reputation?... I would love to have an outfit such as yours. Oh. Forgive me, I am unused to conversing with others very often." He sighed with a soft hiss to his voice.
"I'm afraid I haven't heard of you, friend." said Grillby. "I didn't know of any fire snake monsters in the Underground, and no monsters were known to still exist on the surface until we broke though. It is nice to meet you."
"That seems a little, odd." Mused the snake. "While I am not one to boast, I am aware I am known as a legend of the Ebott forest. They call me Hearth. Mainly because I am one of the few Lamia who has a little more difficulty hiding. So I have found I actually quite enjoy helping lost humans in the forest and trading with them. Although," he paused. "It seems I am more a FireRing than Lamia now, at such a size."
"That's not a thing. I mean," cut in their host. "-I'm really sorry, there's loads of info out there nowadays about monsters and old legends are getting researched, but Lamias died out in the war, everyone thinks. Not that I'm saying you don't exist, 'cos you're right here. But it's really weird if we should know about you. It's like you're from another universe."
"Seeing as there are other versions of me, and your strange speaking device, that might be the very reality of this. It leaves me unsure of what to do. I suppose I should,- should I still go to your Ebott forest?"
Visions of the little... FireRing being stomped on by some instinctual animal or human wanting to put out what looked like a fire, or caught in a downpour if he found no shelter bloomed in Prisha's mind, giving the human a fleeting thousand-yard-stare.
"No! No. You stay here with me. I mean if you don't mind? If you don't want to stay with a monster or something? You too Grillby, unless you figure out you wanna go somewhere else safe or let the other you know."
The both let out a little relieved sigh in unison. "That is very kind of you, Prisha" said Grillby. "Perhaps we could help you out around your home, or arrange a stipend from the embassy to pay our way?" He seemed to adapt well from previously wanting to get back to 'his' bar, thought Prisha.
She brightened up. "I'll take the help?" She offered as a chance to let them not have to pay. "Oh and we also have those skeleton monsters down my street, if you want to-"
"-No, I think I prefer them not knowing about this just yet," spoke up the little Grillby with a smile. "I think… I just want to be let be." He nodded to himself as he came to that decision.
Hearth was touching Prisha's hand, and she managed to not whip her arm back on noticing it wasn't burning, just warm. She turned her hand on it's side as the FireRing held and inspected her ringed fingers. As he did so, his tail seemed to unconsciously curl round her wrist, resting on the counter, leaving the human to stare in fascination as no more than a pleasant warmth and scales could be felt through the flame.
He also came to a decision. "Can you name me?"
"What?"
He blushed a little and looked away, before looking up earnestly. "I feel that my old name no longer suits me in this form, especially if there is my old self possibly still out there worlds away… Would it be improper if you gave me a new one?"
It was Prisha's turn to blush. "Oh wow, -sure! Are you really alright with that? That would be so cool. I'd be honored."
He nodded, and let her think about it, but the response jumped fast into her mind as she looked across the kitchen. "Hob. How about Hob? It's kinda like a hearth but much smaller."
He appeared very happy with that, and wrapped a few coils up around her arm in a loose hug with his head on her thumb.
Grillby felt similarly, as he thought on it. "I think I will be known as G."
He thought what he had seen of this human and her house was a very cool, stylish person and the idea made him feel more hip, though he didn't confess that.
In the waning evening sun, light was filtering through the windows of Prisha's living room, and the three of them talked about where best to share their first meal together (for the foreseeable future). They settled on the coffee table being a great platform for them to eat as a group.
Hob simply wrapped himself up Prisha's arm a bit further and more securely, looking like an epic flaming armlet. They wordlessly smiled at each other that this was going to be his ride there.
G shuffled his feet and looked down bashfully, before pushing his glasses up as he looked up to accept climbing on the offered hand. He sat on his knees holding the curled fingers as a small wall to look over. The sunlight flickered oddly in the living room as they rounded the corner to the seating.
Sunlight didn't flicker like that though; flames did. Her wallet was just where she had left it, and it was on fire.
Instincts to resume the earlier panic and run for the fire extinguisher were discarded by the now savvy Prisha. She slowly walked closer, as a third flamey monster came into clearer view. He looked like a purple version of G, and was grinning wickedly. He ran off across the sofa with an evil cackling laugh, as they turned to watch him go with deadpan expressions.
"That's what you get for not coming to me first!" He yelled.
What you get? Blinked Prisha. She hadn't even known he was there. Their focus was lured away by the flickering yellow light and smoke out of the corner of her eye, on the coffee table, Her wallet still appeared to be on fire. The edges were wrinkling up.
Her wallet was on fire.
Prisha looked from hand to hand at the two bitty monsters she was carrying, and ran back out of the room's lounge area back to the fire extinguisher. She stuck to the area rugs as much as she could this time. The last thing she wanted was to slip and fall flat on her back and annihilate her new friends.
She slowed to a rapid walk and reached for the metal item, looked at the two occupying her hands, and whipped round to fast walk to the small table nearest, where she held her arms out close to it. They looked at her quizzically, taking just a little too long to hop off, and she turned back to step away in too much of a hurry, stopping dead to look again at the two unexpectedly still there, hanging on even tighter to her outstretched hands.
The third turn they were going to time it right, since they both had cottoned on enough to get ready to climb off onto the side table, as a smoke detector starting shrieking piercingly.
Something else started screaming too, in the lounge area, and Prisha abandoned putting the guys down, instead transferring G to the hand Hob was partly in, grabbing the extinguisher with her now spare hand and quick-footing it back.
Unnoticed until now, stood on the unit against the wall with some sound equipment, a turntable and laptop, was a little blue glowing monster crying with his arms over his head. He didn't quite look flamey, and nothing near him appeared on fire. But he was pretty distressed. The evil Grillby had even stopped running around in the racket, and was trying to shout at the other monster, looking a bit overwhelmed too.
"What's wrong with you?! Stop- stop screaming!" The purple flamed creature tried. He even looked back at Prisha for help. He pointed at the blue guy "Make him stop that crying or I'll set something else on fire!" He looked about to cry himself.
A bell like voice finally joined the fray in response to that with "Please stop shouting-please stop that noise! Please make it stop-make it stop-make it-aaaahhh!" And the blue monster crouched down as he shook.
Oh poor thing. Prisha had to raise her voice but tried to keep it gentle, "Honey it's okay its just a smoke detector, the fire set it off but I can go and stop it after I get this fire out."
Grillby's evil twin hadn't heard that bit due to being in the middle of summoning more fire with a growl, and looking to throw it down somewhere from above his head.
Ah, he was picking the pot plant.
He threw the small fireball which hit the soil with a 'FZZZT', but to his shock a splash of water hit straight after, putting it out.
The little blue guy was stood with his own arms above his head with a sobbing scream, to call up two more puddles which flew through the air; one sploshing a direct hit on the wallet, and the other making the purple Grillby dive for cover as it missed him and hit the tile floor.
"Okay!You!-" He actually wordlessly squeaked as Prisha grabbed him. "-You burn me I give you to water boy." She glared at the purple menace. So he didn't. He bit her finger instead.
"Owww-ha-haow, blue guy hold on I'm going to turn that alarm off!" She looked at the entrance hall; that alarm wasn't flashing yet, then went back and saw the kitchen ceiling one blinking away.
Sharing a glare with the bitty monster in her right hand, she held out her left, where Hob was holding on with his coils and had let go of her hand to hang onto G with his arms, so the troublemaker got transferred to that hand, where he promptly bit another finger.
She leaned to open a window, then turned her back to the center counter and used her now spare hand to hop her ass up onto it.
"Are you guys really staying on for this whole thing? Eh. Nevermind." She managed to get onto her knees then stand up and hit the silence button, before opening the case and nudging out the battery, until the smoke cleared at least.
They all looked towards the living area, even purple Grillby. It was silent. A few sighs were let out.
Prisha squatted, then took her time sliding off the counter side, and walked back to the seating area. "Okay, see little guy, I shut it off. You're okay." She got a better look as they came closer, the purple monster having the cheek to pull her fingers closer round himself to nervously hide in.
Blue guy was what looked like a watery version of the flame ones. He was only sniffling now, standing up to compose himself by wiping his pale white-blue eyes. She wondered how that even worked for a water monster. He had a little bow tie too, a black one on a lilac dress shirt, and black pants. He was stood on her open music laptop.
The monsters all startled at the little dying, deflating squeak the human made at seeing the water monster.
He was stood on her laptop.
The doorbell rang.
"So.
We all eating?"
They all nodded.
End Note:
Chapter 6 Author's note was a lie! It isn't just Mabel!
They're a little chattier than I was hoping, but they had to help me out with exposition. Thanks for the monster suggestions to valiantsuitcaseskellington on my tumblr.
-Meanwhile, delivery girl looking at the singed wet twenties in her hand.-
Prisha's life now: Fire?! No fire. Only Bitty.
Except with Grimby, who probably has set something on fire.