Marina sat at the dining table with a cup of coffee sat on the table in front of her. She hadn't touched it since she brought it over as her mind was occupied elsewhere.
As much as she didn't want to keep delving into the matter, she still couldn't help but how just how close you and Echo were.
After all, you did just randomly show up one evening with her at your side. Plus, you wanted her to stay here too. And just last night when you all got back, she noticed her winking at you and the way your cheeks went red.
"Am I really thinking too much about this? They could just be really good friends. Being partners in combat would bring them close really quickly....." The octoling sighed as she finally broke out of her thoughts and took a sip from her drink.
"Damn 'Rina. You were really in the zone thinking hard about something just then! I'm surprised you're able to think so hard this early in the morning! Some of us don't even wanna get out of bed!" Pearl had been observing her best friend for some time as she munched on her cereal.
"Y-yeah....I-I was thinking too much....it really is quite unnecessary....." She said, more to convince herself then anyone else. Pearl just shrugged and continued eating her breakfast.
"Morning!!!!" Echo sang as she skipped down the stairs, gaining the attention of Marina and Pearl. Both of them waved at her as she got to the bottom of the stairs.
"Good morning Echo! Where is Y/N?" Marina inquired. A faint blush taking its place on her cheeks as she did.
Thankfully, no one noticed and Echo answered her question. "Still sleeping, snoring gently away. Seemed really peaceful, so I didn't wanna bother him."
"Good....he really could do with a lot of rest. I'm really surprised he's adapted to his new life so quickly!" Both Pearl and Echo nodded in agreement.
"He's surprisingly chilled! Perhaps it's because of how awesome we are 'Rina!" Pearl exclaimed triumphantly as Marina giggled.
"I guess that could be one of the reasons!" Her smile widened.
"He does talk about you two quite a bit!" Echo grinned and made her way into the kitchen to fetch herself some breakfast.
"Well at least it seems like we're doing the right thing. As long as he is happy, that is the most important thing!" Marina took another long sip from her coffee as she heard another set of footsteps coming down the stairs.
Turning her head, the smile on her face only widened when she saw you slowly making your way down them. Your hair all messy and your eyes half closed as you rubbed them to try and wake up a little more.
"Morning everyone...." You yawned loudly and stumbled over to the chair next to Marina, only just managing to set yourself on it instead of falling onto the floor.
"Morning! Shouldn't you really be sleeping more? You still look exhausted!" Marina's question was answered almost instantly by the sound of your stomach rumbling.
"I'm really hungry.....I couldn't get back to sleep because of that. Which is slightly annoying." You grumbled as a cup of fresh coffee was set down in front of you by Echo.
"Mornin' partner! I thought I would quickly make a coffee for myself, but looking at the state of you, I think you need it more!" She patted your head gently, making you smile.
"Thanks Echo." You simply replied and took a sip from the coffee. "What are you three up to today? I'm guessing you and Pearl are at work?"
Marina nodded. "We are. You can easily come with us and spend the day in the studio! You wouldn't get bored!"
You shrugged. "I might do. I'm still not sure what I wanna do today....gotta adjust to a semi normal life again." You blinked a few times and let your head fall to the side.
Thankfully, Marina's shoulder was close enough for your head to nicely settle down on it. The octoling's cheeks flushed red and she began to stumble over her words.
You didn't realise for a few moments, but when you did your eyes immediately pinged open. Your head shooting up from her shoulder soon after.
"S-sorry Marina! I-I didn't intend for that to happen....." You were surprised when Marina pulled you into a hug and let your head rest on your shoulder once more.
"I-it's fine...you need your rest anyway...." Marina tried to ignore the jealous faces of Pearl and Echo as she observed your cheeks change colour.
"So cute!!" She squealed internally as you took your time to get some extra rest before tackling the day in front of you.
~
You whistled happily as you climbed up the ladder to octo canyon. Lifting up the grate, you could already hear the voices of Marie and Callie.
Smiling, you lift yourself out and slam the grate shut behind you. "Hi!" You called out to them as you waved and walked over.
"O-oh hello Y/N! I wasn't expecting you to be here today!" Marie smiled and blushed faintly, surprised but happy to see you.
"Eh I was lost on what to do today and figured I would come here. Echo said she might drop by later. She's doing some turf war at the moment." You took a seat on the bench next to Callie.
"Nice to see you again! I thought we would have to wait a while before we saw you again!" Callie grinned from ear to ear.
"Yeah well, we've haven't had a chance to talk yet. I wanna get to know you! I can tell Marie is very fond of you." Callie giggled and pulled her cousin into a tight hug.
"Awwww did she miss me that much?~" She teased causing Marie to scoff and roll her eyes.
"She sure did! It's sweet though. Incredibly sweet! She was really worried about you." You moved around and patted the already embarrassed Marie on the head.
This action only made her more embarrassed.
"S-stop now! That's quite enough...." She stuttered out before taking a deep breath to try and calm herself down. "I-it is also good you are here....because apparently Octavio said he wanted to speak to you...."
You tilted your head. "Octavio wants to talk to me? Why?"
"I dunno. He just said that he did. I didn't guarantee him anything. I wouldn't blame you if you didn't wanna speak to him anyway. He is just over there though." She pointed at the corner near where the grate was.
In fact, you were surprised that you didn't see nor hear him on your way in. He was just being really quiet is all.
"Nah....I'll give him this. After all, I kinda wanna know more." You said while standing up.
"Well, just remember that we are here should you need us. Any sniff of trouble and I'll be there." Marie reassured, her distrust in Octavio on full show.
Of course she didn't trust him. Why should she? He escaped from their custody once and then kidnapped her cousin. It was something that would take a long time for her to forget.
"I'll be sure to let you know." You said to her before walking over to Octavio.
He sat there in his snow globe in silence as you stood before him. His eyes landed on you and he stared at you for a little while, looking at you from head to toe.
"So....a human survives....I have read so much about your species....how did you manage to survive?" His tentacles were crossed together like someone would cross their arms together.
"We developed technology to preserve life for centuries. I'm lucky enough to be chosen for such a ludicrous experiment." Octavio hummed. You weren't really sure what to make of him now that he was in the snow globe.
Back when you were fighting him, he seemed quite violent but now he seemed pretty subdued. Not trying to break the glass or anything.
"I'm....astonished to be talking to a human....we don't get much news from the surface. I should warn you, you shouldn't trust the inklings." You now crossed your arms too.
"And why's that? They've been nice enough to me so far. Made me feel welcome. Why should I not trust them?" Fire seemed to form in Octavio's eyes as she glared over towards Marie and Callie.
"THEY PRETEND TO BE YOUR FRIEND AND THEN STAB YOU IN THE BACK! THEIR GRANDFATHER IS THE REASON FOR ALL THIS!!" He slammed the glass with his tentacles before opting to calm down a little.
"Hey chill out....I get it, you don't like them at all. But I think that maybe you should give them a second chance! You might be surprised." Octavio merely scoffed.
"Doubt it....anyway, I didn't actually want to talk to you about the inklings. There is...something I thought you might like to know." You were curious now and took a step closer to him.
"And what is it?"
"When you defeated me and the flying stage blew up, it created a hole in the wall of the arena. I only noticed it when I observed the wreckage when we were leaving, but I think it opened up to and old human structure....." Your eyes widened and jaw dropped upon hearing this.
"You what?! A human structure? Wait....so a bunker then, maybe?" Octavio shrugged. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because although you aided in my defeat, I don't want to make an enemy out of you. Humans genuinely fascinate me and it would be a shame if the last remaining one was kept away from what is rightfully theirs." You were honestly surprised.
Perhaps there was a little bit of good in this guy.
".....thanks I guess? This is a really drastic change from your attitude before! You actually could've killed me!" You chucked nervously and scratched the back of your head.
"Well I didn't. Isn't that enough for you? Go on now. Find that bunker of yours. That's all I wanted to say." He turned away from you and looked off into the distant sky.
Figuring it was best, you let the conversation end there and made your way back over to Marie and Callie.
"So what did he want? And what was he yelling about?" Marie asked.
"Oh he was just expressing his hatred for inklings and more specifically, your grandfather." You looked between Marie and Callie.
"Ah yeah. I'm fairly sure Gramps fought in the Great Turf War. Not surprised he would hold a grudge against him." Marie noticed the excited look in your eyes and began to smile. "But I don't think that's all be said to you....judging by that sparkle in your eyes!"
"No it wasn't! Apparently, his crashed stage has opened up a lost human bunker!" Marie gasped and was already off her feet. "It'll be huge if he's actually telling the truth! Imagine all the things we could find! I really need to go!"
"I'll get Sheldon to bring the truck here! Then we can all go and check it out!" Callie clapped her hands together excitedly as she squealed and jumped up.
"Everyone's getting excited, which makes me so excited! I wanna go on an adventure! Oh Marie! Do we have enough snacks in case we get hungry?!" You could only snicker at seeing the way Callie acted.
She was just like a big kid.
"We? More like you. You're the one who's always getting hungry! But yes, I do have enough snacks. Do be sure to actually share them though. I can remember all the time when we used to go on adventures with Gramps, we'd run out of snacks really quickly because you'd get too hungry!" Marie smiled at the memory as she got into contact with Sheldon.
No matter what happened, there just didn't seem to be a dull day for you in this new world. Everyday seemed to present something new for you to discover.
Not that you minded at all!
[To Be Continued]