The troubles of knowing yourself

Benny's Quest, part 5

Three months after the fall...
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Benny liked it when it got foggy. The mood of the village when fog rolled in was the complete opposite of Glowfly time; everyone kinda just...meandered around town, tranquil and quiet. It was surreal. And calm. Unlike Glowflies.

Not that the Octocopter had to worry about Glowflies much anymore. Two months ago he'd inked some sticky paper and hung it above Deco's hut's door, which made the flies flock to that instead of trying to get inside the house. Also ended up being a feast for the other Salmonids, since the flies got stuck. They'd had to buy new paper each time Glowflies were in town, but he and Deco agreed it was worth it.

And, just last month, Deco had finally agreed to letting someone do repairs on his hut! Emm and her Cohock buddies came by once a month to attempt it, and prior to Benny's arrival, they'd apparently been screamed away every time. But Deco agreed to let them fix the holes as long as Benny watched them and made sure they didn't take anything. So now the shack was a proper house, and it was too much effort for the Glowflies to follow the smell of his ink!

Speaking of his ink, that too was starting to change. Most non-Octoling Octarians had a hard time changing their ink color from its natural reddish-pink, and Benny was no exception, but the spots around his eyes were starting to turn green! His mouth too! Soon his ink would be a dead-ringer for the secretions of the Salmonids, and that would make him infinitely safer around them. Not that he was really worried about that any more, but still. The less likely something would happen to him by accident the better.

Where was he again? Oh yeah, fog. Fog was nice. The fish in town all seemed so zen when the fog rolled in. It drew out all sorts from their abodes, folks he never saw otherwise. Just last month during a foggy evening he met an elderly Maws with no teeth. It was incredible.

Everything felt relaxing about fog...except for one thing. Just one thing that was weird about these peaceful times in the village: Deco wanted to part of it.

Each and every time it was about to get foggy, Deco would demand to be alone and shut himself in his room, and Benny wouldn't see him again until it was over. Usually it wasn't much use trying to stay inside the house, because the fog always managed to seep in anyway, so he'd go out by himself and observe the wandering fish. Jule always loved to talk during fog, and even Hiko was surprisingly bold. Everyone seemed to come out of whatever shell they had when it got foggy...everyone but Deco.

And Benny was in no rush to pester him. Deco had been kind to him, it would be rude to question him about this of all things after all this time. So he left him alone.

However...just as the fog rolled in again, and Benny was about to leave to say hi to a new Salmonid friend he'd met last time...he heard a crashing sound come from Deco's room. He took a step in that direction, but then shook his head. It wasn't his place. And if he was mad about something, then it was even less of a good idea to interrupt him.

But then he heard another sound: a single, choked sob.

And all thoughts of his own safety went out the window.

Benny approached the door slowly, step by step, trying to make as little noise as possible. The door was shut...which posed an issue. His comical lack of hands became less comical by the day. He tried to jump up to grab the handle in his mouth, only for the door to be pushed open as he brushed it. It must not have been closed all the way.

He peeked his head inside, but before he could utter his prepared words of apology followed by comfort, he realized what he was looking at.

That wasn't a Snatcher. That was a Goldie.