“You’re a guest.”Celeste grunted between sips of their porridge.“Help yourself.”
“Sure, then I’ll have some,” Noel nodded, his attention stolen by the dogs, who had come to sniff at his heels.He crouched down to greet them, his discomfort evaporating as he grinned down at them.“Hey there, puppies.”
“Did you guys sleep well?”Marin asked as Matt loaded two bowls with congee.
“Like a rock.”Matt grinned.He turned to Celeste.“I always sleep better next to someone else.Noe was super cuddly—” he trailed off, frowning over Celeste.“You know, you look like you could use an energy drink.Or ten.”
Celeste looked up from their bowl, eyes hollow over the rims of their shades.Porridge fell from their spoon with a wetplop.
“I think an IV might be a better idea,” Blake interjected.
Celeste said something in French that sounded suspiciously like a threat.Blake ignored them.
“Hey Noe, would you mind giving me a ride home?”Matt requested, setting Noel’s portion of breakfast at the seat beside him.
“Actually,” Noel replied, approaching the island with Bonbon cuddled in his arms.“I was wondering if it was okay if I stayed here for a while?I have something private to discuss with Marin.”
“Ooh, you guys got Canadian government secrets to talk about?”Matt teased.“Gonna give him the codes to get into the maple syrup reserve?”
“I should scold you for making stereotypes…” Noel frowned.“But you know that’s a real thing, right?”
“Wait, really?”Blake interjected.Marin stared at Noel with his mouth agape, blinking in disbelief.Celeste did not appear to have the mental capacity for facial expressions.
“Yes, there’s a huge warehouse in the province where my family comes from,” Noel explained.“There’s something like four million gallons of maple syrup stored there.”
The conversation continued from then on, until an Uber arrived for Matt and he traipsed out the door after providing a goodbye hug for everyone gathered.
After taking Matt’s advice and violently slamming a Sherbet Storm energy drink, Celeste turned to address those gathered, appearing to be the world’s most miserable judge holding court.
“So was there actually something you wanted to talk to Marin about in private, or did you have something you wanted to share with the class?”they asked Noel, who was still rocking Bonbon in his arms like a spoiled baby.
“I figure it’s best to keep everyone in the know,” Noel said.“I sent an e-mail out to my extended family to see if anyone had ever heard of a ‘Marin’.”
Both Blake and Marin perked up.
Noel’s neutral expression didn’t bode well for them.“I’m sorry.I didn’t get any leads.Since my family is from Quebec, most of our connections are from the Atlantic.I tried reaching out to some of my parents’ friends out here on the west coast, but they didn’t know anything either.
“Unfortunately there’s a lot of smaller families around that I have no way of contacting.Since a lot of us tend to keep the merperson thing a secret and functionally live as humans, they’re not exactly keen on reaching out to others and risking exposure,” Noel explained.“Sometimes even communicating between ourselves can be dangerous—n-not that I’m asking for praise or anything!”he interjected quickly, catching the expression of worry that immediately crossed Marin’s face.“I wanted you to know that it could be risky, and not a lot of merpeople will engage with you like I did.”
“Still, thank you,” Marin told him as Blake gathered up the empty bowls to wash.“Between this, helping me with my powers, and the library yesterday, you’ve really gone out on a limb for me, and I appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome.”Noel bobbed his head.“Again, you don’t have to thank me—I know that if I was in your position, I would want to be reunited with my family as soon as possible.”
“God, you’re a sweetie pie,” Celeste told him, dragging their phone across the counter into their lap.Noel released a hoarse, embarrassed laugh, looking about ready to bury his face in Bonbon’s stomach to escape the attention.“Remind me to be less drunk and/or hungover next time we hang out—I like your vibe.”
“Thanks,” Noel squeaked.
“What about you, Celeste?”Blake asked, turning his attention to them.“Earlier you said you were waiting to hear back from Paul Aberley.”
“Checkin’ on that right now,” Celeste told him, flicking several extraneous apps off of their screen.“Looks like he replied.Give me a minute to read it.I am.Struggling.”
“You want me to read it for you?”Blake offered.
“Nah, I got it.”Celeste shook their head.“‘Dear Mx.Celeste,’ bluh bluh… ‘indeed the artist behind the vase’, ‘believe that I had an experience with the creature that you described in the form of a carving of—’ shit.Guys, I think this is the real deal.”
Celeste stood up, their blanket falling from their shoulders and cascading down over the kitchen floor as they read, brow furrowing deeper and deeper with concern.
“Ohshit,” they swore again, voice low.
