Delphini looks stunning. Her sun dress is a fine blush pink colour thing with a short skirt and puffed sleeves. And crocheted panelling, it’s not lace, which is different, apparently. Centuries of living and I have never been inclined to care for such differences in lady’s finery. I still don’t, but listening to Delphini explain the difference and why this designer dress is more appropriate for a day event than something she usually wears about the ship makes me want to learn for her. These are things she has spent a lifetime learning, and if they are still things she cares about, I shall learn all the right things.
Which is why I am dressed in a navy unitard with a flatteringly expensive cream quarter zip over the top. The sleeves of the unitard are long with loops for my thumb to go through, but the sweatshirt is sleeveless and cropped below my waist. My full lower half is basically out for the world to see. At least I am still wearing sensible shoes. The flat, pink trainers Delphini has lent me for the day match the silk scarf she gave me to wear.
“This will tie it all together.” She laughed and laughed this morning when she handed the thing to me before leaving to finish getting ready.
I don’t like being away from the ship during the day, let alone on a busy day, but Aiofe and the crew practically shoved us out the door. My quartermaster coyly telling me to enjoy a walk around the docks while I am out. I couldn’t stop from rolling my eyes, no matter how appealing the idea is.
The wind picks up, and the scent of saltwater helps quell the anxiety that is threatening to overcome me. At the opening of the Paspawa, the pier is far enough away I can’t see the ship. Delphini’s fingers thread through mine as she guides us around a family in matching outfits and girls with team names printed across white shirts. Myomphalosis in her element. A smile on her lips and hips swaying with ease.
“She is free of expectation, of fear.”Love’s voice washes over me in a wave of relief. It’s sweetened by the rattle of Delphini’s iced drink before she takes a long sip. Her glossed lips purse around the straw and I want her. It’s as simple as that. Seeing her enjoyment in something I have provided makes me want to give her more so that she may see fit to give me even an ounce of her attention, her affection.
Again, I am struck with a desire to worship her, to get on my knees and prostrate to the goddess before me. Deeper than any ocean I have swum to, I want to dive into her very being. In the same way, I crave Love’s tentacles swarming around me, I want to cover myself in Delphini.
I raise the hand holding mine to my lips and kiss her knuckles. She looks at me and winks. I’m not sure what she is trying to convey or what I have done that could possibly garner that response, but for five minutes I forget my ridiculous outfit and enjoy the warmth of her touch. There will never be a day that I am not grateful she is so accepting and more stubborn than I am.
“This is really nice,” I tell her with another kiss to her knuckles as we continue to make our way up the boardwalk of the pier towards the private docks.
“Sunshine, matcha, murder, what more could a girl ask for?” She giggles and I want to bottle it up. Delphini brings a lightness to our work. She doesn’t shy away from the gore or the evilness of it, she just does it dressed in her bubblegum pink tennis outfit.
“I can think of several things I would ask a girl like you for.”
The teasing line is hard pressed against my teeth, not as natural as my commanding tone nor as worshipful as she makes me feel. Her fingers still flex in my hand, and the smile on her lips tells me it still works.
“Later,Captain,” she promises, deep brown eyes sparkling.
We keep talking about anything, so we appear to be another wealthy couple on a day out for the races. Delphini tells me secrets, things about members of the Gwenmore elite I had never heard before. I show her places where I have killed men throughout my long history here in Gwenmore. There is little of this city that doesn’t conceal the bones of previous meals to Love.
The closer we get to the yacht club, the knot in my stomach twists tighter and tighter. I am not concerned about finding this Pat. We shall do that, and Delphini shall dispatch him with ease. My nerves screw up at how the others will see her. These used to be her people, and after the very public shaming her parents did of her, I am scared she will freeze up, or worse— I will cause a scene that alerts too much attention to us. Any number of monsters lurk within the upper echelons of Gwenmore, and anything out of the ordinary puts our secrets at risk. This is a community that I have been allowed to subtly feast on for generations, taking their wrongfully discarded sisters and turning them into warriors of the new age. Love will be brought forth with our efforts. It is only a matter of time.
We pass by security while a large group of drunkards keep them occupied. My fingers clench around Delphini’s, and Love’s phantom tentacles slip around our joined hands. We are a unit, three pieces of a whole now that I never want to see separated. There is no future if they are not by my side. Her eyes quickly scan the surroundings, but then they are on me again. The smile is still on her face, if a bit less anxious now.
It doesn’t last.
“Phi! Oh, my goddess, Phi!” A woman screeches over the crowd, but all I see is a hand wildly waving, and suddenly, the whole club looks at us. My cheeks heat against my will even as I stare down every single person who looks at us, monster and human alike.
“Lottie?” Delphini’s grip on my hand loosens and I am forced to release her as a familiar Naiad wraps her slender arms around my human.
Charlotte swings her about with too much strength to ignore. I intervene before she is the one to cause a scene here, even though I am just as pleased and shocked to see an old crewmate. I place my hand on her arm and let Love’s power seep through the skin of my palm until it is scaly and slick. This only makes it worse. She gasps, pulling me in for a chilling hug as if twenty-five years haven’t passed since she left the ship.
Just as they were then, her emotions are wild and unruly. Fat tears dribble down her cheek as she looks from me to Delphini and back again. Her bottom lip won’t stop trembling.
“Captain, I-” she starts, choking on the words.
“Lottie, I-.” Delphini tries to play off their emotional reunion, but I hear the sadness in her voice as well. She clearly had a friend in her, and this moment is essential, but people are staring at us as they walk by. I can’t let her risk exposing Delphini.
“What happened to never coming back?” I ask, changing the subject and getting Charlotte detached from us.
She swipes at her tears, a weak smile on her lip. “I didn’t mean to, but my mate found me.”
“You know each other?” Delphini hisses. “Oh my- for fuck’s sake Lottie.”
She shoves the woman playfully and water splashes on her skin. It’s like a vast world has opened up to Delphini now, and she has yet to categorise all the ways in which these new people respond. Confused, she jumps a little at the water but doesn’t act like it’s out of the ordinary.
“I was Pirate number six for five years running,” she smiles, but then it crumbles. “How do you…”
“The same way you met,” my human shivers and I cling on to her hand again, trying to let our warmth and bond ground her. “I’m no actress, though.”
Charlotte’s hand covers her mouth, her emotions coating her features like water. Her hairline dribbles onto her linen dress as it struggles to hold its solid state. I don’t know how to move the conversation on or how to comfort the melting woman in front of me.
