Warehouse, NY
Tanner remained in a coiled position, watching Cynthia take a wobbly step forward. He had no clue what she meant, about her remembering everything.
"What do you mean, you remember anything? Did you lose your memory or something?"
She was busy grumbling about her clothing, muttering something about "stupid traditions" or "why does it always have to have the veil". She didn't seem to hear Tanner the first time, so he asked again. This time, she looked in his direction.
"That's exactly what happened, actually."
He did not expect that. "Alright, then."
"I don't remember how I lost it, but I at least remember everything else. Dying seemed to have brought it back. A few things I'm glad I remember, but other things..." she looked sadly to Ray, who was busy answering Stacy's questions. He didn't have his mask on. It seemed that Stacy had finally accepted him.
She quickly rid herself of her solemn expression and put the sharp-toothed smile she was known for back on her face.
"So! What were you guys doing while I was out?"
Caspian, from his position on the beanbag, answered.
"He was telling us his story and everything. Apparently, he hasn't always looked like a spider."
Cynthia clapped her hands slowly.
"Great job, Sherlock. And did you figure that out while he was talking?"
"Yup!"
"Wonderful, Watson. Continue your investigations from the comfort of-" Her face contorted in disgust. "Wait, is that my beanbag?"
Caspian simply shrugged.
Cynthia groaned and returned her attention to Ray.
"So, spiderboy, you seem a lot more open now. What happened?"
"Oh, great. Now you're using that stupid nickname too."
"Correct."
His eyes narrowed and he sighed.
"Stacy let me take off my mask, and it feels a lot better."
"So you told them everything? Even about that time your friend came over? Terence, was it?"
"Cynthia, I told you never to talk about that again! Not my proudest moment!"
With a sly smile on her veiled face, she added, "Ah, right. Wouldn't want to embarrass you."
"I feel like that's your life's goal, Daisy."
Caspian choked on his spit and burst out laughing. Tanner was struggling to keep himself from laughing, and Stacy almost fell out of her chair.
Caspian was gasping for breath at this point. "Did- did Ray just call you Daisy?"
Cynthia's face had gone from it's normal pink to deep red. Her voice dripping with malice, she hissed "Yes, he did. I suppose it's fair, considering what I do on a daily basis."
Tanner noticed she was trembling. He turned to Ray.
"Why did that make her angry?"
He kept looking at Cynthia, before aiming his focus on Tanner. "It's part of her true name. I don't know the rest of it, but I do know she absolutely despises it. A Demon's true name is their whole life, in two words. When I first met her, she could remember two things: the names Cynthia and Daisy. When I found out she's a Demon, she told me about the Daisy part."
With a self satisfied look, he glanced at Cynthia, who was screaming into a pillow in the corner. "I use it to get back at her when she gets on my nerves."
"Hey, Ray? I have a couple more questions." Stacy had spoken up for her chair next to Tanner.
"What was the name of the Demon that cursed you?"
He averted his gaze. "I think it's name was Dazed something."
Tanner's ears moved slightly, and he heard Cynthia swearing every foul word in the English language into the poor pillow. What had upset her? It couldn't have only been the "Daisy" part. In the midst of thoughts, Cynthia had stopped screaming and wass walking over to the group. She seemed to have calmed down.
Cynthia, now back to normal, shouted, "Alright! So, Ray, you've told them your story. Why don't they tell us some of theirs? Stacy, would you like to start?"
Stacy laughed a bit. "Oh, my life story isn't nearly as interesting as you guys. Tanner, do you want to go?"
"Huh? Oh! Yeah, sure I can. What do you guys want to know?"
Caspian, now toying with a yoyo, answered. "How about your powers? I want to know."
He looked a bit confused. "I don't really consider them powers, per say. But sure."
Ray asked his question. "Do you, like, have venom or poison or something? I know you have the lower half of a boa, but do you?"
"Yeah, actually. All Nagas have poison, no matter what kind. I'm immune to it, so I can touch it and not get hurt. Otherwise , it acts just like acid would."
"But... you don't have fangs. How do you use it?"
"Oh no, I do have fangs. Most snakes with venom can fold their fangs back so they don't get in the way. That's what I do." He opened his mouth, but this time rather than normal looking teeth, there were two long thin snakelike fangs in place of his canine teeth. He closed his mouth and the fangs folded back harmlessly.
Caspian finally brought his attention away from the yoyo.
"That's really cool, actually. Anything else?"
That's probably the only cool thing. I can do other stuff but it's all things that snakes can do."
"I have another question. Why do you wear sweaters all the time? It's not even late fall yet."
Tanner rested his chin on his hands. "Because I'm cold blooded. I'll faint if I get too cold. It's happened before, and let me tell you, it was not fun."
Caspian couldn't help but laugh. "You'll just fall over when it's cold?"
"Yes. So, Caspian, since you can't help but ridicule me, why don't you go next?"
"But you haven't told us what it's like to live in Sanctuary City!"
"You didn't ask," he said back.
"Well, I am now. Tell us!"
"Well, it's a lot like a normal city, just underground. It's pretty boring, actually. Compared to what I've been doing today. The light in there is the lamps that burn indefinitely, with the brightness the same as the sun."
He glanced toward the window. The sun had begun to rise, the sky turning pink and the sun peeking over the edge of the buildings.
"Oh my gosh, have we been awake all night?"
Ray rubbed his forehead.
"Yeah, but it's fine."
Tanner seemed exasperated.
"No, it's not! I haven't been home for an entire day and night. My parents are gonna be so worried. Wait-" he had just realized something. "Is that why the Gas Mask guy wanted me to go with him? Because I had to go back to Sanctuary?"
He groaned and facepalmed. "Ugh, I'm such an idiot! How could I not realize that until now?"
He pulled his Switch out of his bag and pressed the button, then got up. Before he took more than a step, he stopped and turned to the rest of them.
"Um... This may seem like a stupid question, but how do I run?"
Caspian let out so loud of a laugh that he rolled out of the beanbag and onto the floor.
"How do you run? Tanner, how could you not know?"
Tanner turned red in the face. "Just tell me, Caspian. Or I'll grab you by the ear and throw you in the street."
"Just do what you were doing before, but faster!"
"I hate you so much right now."
He sighed and resumed walking to the door. As soon as he opened it, a small pigeon fluttered inside. Tanner, already not in the best of moods, said, "This had better not be who I think it is."
Ray turned to look at the bird, and the pigeon stopped midair and turned around. Tanner shut the door quickly, locking the bird inside. It cooed angrily at him, then landed on the floor and just glared.
"Simon, what are you doing here? And how did you know where we were?"
Ray seemed awfully confused.
"Are you talking to the pigeon, Tanner?"
"Yes. Because I know," he said, sitting on the floor in a cross legged position to have a better view of the bird, "That's not just any bird."
Ray shrugged. "Looks normal to me."
Tanner pinched his brow.
"Simon, can you please just turn back already?"
The pigeon cooed once, then in a flurry of feathers turned into the Simon Tanner knew and recognized. Simon plucked a feather off the shoulder of his jacket and turned to face the group.
"Hello! For those of you who don't know me, my name is Simon. I need your help."