"Not to mention megalodons,” Annabeth went on. “It’s hard to beat a 60’ shark!”
Too big,said his inner Dunkleosteus.Ungainly. Impractical.
A megalodon could eat you in one bite,Norris teased.
Disdainfully, his inner Dunkleosteus replied,It could try.
She concluded, “But now that I’ve actually seen a Dunkleosteus, I can't imagine anything better.”
Our mate is wise,said his inner Dunkleosteus.
Wise?Norris responded.She’s brilliant!
“You have to tell me all about it,” Annabeth went on excitedly. “Is there a secret society of Dunkleosteus-human hybrids living amongst us?"
Norris took a moment to enjoy the utter success of the second date Dunkleosteus reveal before he said, “No, I'm completely human. At least, when I'm human I'm completely human. When I'm a Dunkleosteus I'm completely Dunkleosteus. And as far as I know, there's no secret society of Dunkleosteus shifters specifically. I'm the only one I've ever heard of. But there is a secret society of shifters – people who can turn into animals – living amongst us."
“Wow,” she breathed. “You know, my very favorite thing about being a barista is seeing all those people and knowing they all have their own stories. I like to try to guess what they are. Like, is the woman with rainbow dreadlocks who wants caramel syrup in everything an artist or a writer, or is she a manager or accountant who wants to make sure she doesn’t lose sight of her wild side? Is the toddler grabbing for a Christmas tree ornament going to grow up to be an astronaut or a plumber or an Olympic gymnast? Now I’m going to wonder who can secretly turn into a toucan or a wombat or a glyptodon!”
“You won’t have to wonder about all of them.” He paused for dramatic effect. “I'm not the only shifter you already know.”
Annabeth gasped. “Is my cheating ex literally a toad?!”
“Not that I know of. But the Defenders are!” Then, realizing what he had implied, he quickly added, “They’re not toads. They are shifters, but they turn into non-toad animals.”
“No way!” Her hazel eyes shone with delight. “I always figured they had interesting stories—actually, I know Merlin does because he told me—but I had no idea they werethatinteresting! It almost makes me want to go to their holiday party.”
I told you to simply become a Dunkleosteus at the first opportunity,put in his Dunkleosteus.Observe how simply our problem is solved.
She said ‘almost,’Norris silently replied.
He had to bite his tongue not to grab her arm and say,“YES, GO.”He still didn't want to make her feel obliged to do something she wouldn't enjoy – and that went double now that he knew why she felt that way. The last thing he wanted was for her to grit her teeth through the party for his sake, thinking about the cheating toad the whole time. But maybe if she had something else to think about...
“They’d show you their shift forms if you did, now that you already know they’re shifters,” he said. “At least, Merlin would. The others are a bit big to do office demonstrations. And you’d really like Merlin’s.”
“Oooh,” Annabeth gave an excited wriggle, then exclaimed, “Oh! But I don't have to go to the party to do that, right? Now that I know shifters exist, I can drop by anytime and tell them you told me, and then they can show me what they are!”
She looked and sounded so relieved that Norris had to bite his tongue again, this time to stop himself from saying“Dammit!”
She went on cheerfully, “Do they all turn into extinct animals, like you?”
“Two of them do. Three of them turn into magical animals. And one of them...” Norris tried to figure out how to explain Carter. “One of them is kind of a special case. Do you want me to tell you what they all are, or would you rather find out for yourself?"
“Ooh. Hmm.” Annabeth’s brow wrinkled as if she was trying to choose from the world’s most decadent dessert menu. “Let me find out for myself. It'll be so much fun to anticipate and try to guess, like the way I used to feel about Christmakkalistice presents.”
“Used to feel”was such a sad phrase. Norris wished he could make her feel that way again, but given his attempt at calling her attention to the beauty of snow, he didn’t feel encouraged about his chances.
But she didn’t look sad now. Eagerly, she said, “Tell me all about it! Are shifters born that way? If you're the only Dunkleosteus, what did your parents turn into? Or do you become a shifter somehow? Were you bitten by a radioactive Dunkleosteus? No, wait, you’re the only one and they’re extinct... Did you accidentally stab yourself with a radioactive fossilized Dunkleosteus tooth?”
Norris hadn't thought past the moment where he turned into a Dunkleosteus and, he hoped, Annabeth was thrilled. Now that hehadturned into a Dunkleosteus and Annabethwasthrilled, he realized that to answer her questions, he had to tell her about some things that were much less fun than prehistoric armored fish.
He’d evaded telling her about some aspects of his past, but it had been because he hadn’t told her about shifters yet. Now it occurred to him that his origin story was less like Spider-Man’s and more like the Green Goblin’s.
I have to tell her I was the villain,he realized.What if that changes how she feels about me?
It was the most horrifying thought he’d ever had. It made his brain freeze up even more than it had when he’d tried to come up with synonyms for winter.
Your mate will not reject you,said his Dunkleosteus.She is your mate. She will understand why you made the choices you did.
