Trevor’s alarm started blaring, startling him awake. He shifted up in bed, immediately noting the lack of kitty on his chest.

“Mr. Tiggles?” he asked the dark room.

When he received no answer, he turned off the alarm and stretched before getting ready for the day. While he had come to regard the cat fondly the past few days, it was under no compulsion to break into his house every morning.

As he stood, he regarded his tattoo in the mirror hanging over the dresser. It was now covering less of his bicep than it had before, very slowly moving towards its center. He wasn’t sure how much longer it would take, but it was making progress.

Once he was fully dressed, he stepped outside into the brisk, but warmer, air and started heading to the Hero House. The lights were on, but it was still before 7 o’clock sharp for Adabelle. He heard voices coming from the building and he felt a sense of confusion at having guests.

Inside, he saw some old faces and a new one. Adabelle was nowhere to be seen, and neither was his coat.

Jackson was here, sitting on the couch with Mr. Tiggles on his lap and drinking out of a gold-trimmed teacup. He greeted Trevor with a wave, and for a moment the young man started to feel very angry at the elf for leaving Adabelle by herself for so long. Before he could act on that, however, his eyes shifted to the rest of the room.

Standing at the counter was a dwarf with salt and pepper hair. His beard was short compared to others Trevor had seen around the town, but the care that went towards it was apparent. He wore a plaid button up with a thick leather vest. Atop his head sat a ten gallon hat. Their eyes met, and the dwarf’s narrowed as he started walking around the counter to the center aisle.

“This town ain’t big enough for the two of us, partner,” the dwarf said in the most unnecessarily exaggerated southern drawl the man had ever heard.

Trevor’s face lit up. “Oh, you’re Wayne,” he said. “Well, it’s very nice to meet you. I’m Trevor”

Wayne paused, and Trevor could have sworn the dwarf’s face twitched before he set his hand out as if he were about to draw a gun. “Now I’m gonna give this to the count of three, and we’re gonna draw.”

“Oh, sure, but what are we going to draw?” Trevor asked, crossing his arms. “I’m a fan of Mr. Tiggles, personally. It'll be a bad rendition, but it'll still be better than that accent, though. Sorry. Met too many people from Texas.”

“Are you accusing me of being all hat and no cattle, yankee?”

“There’s cattle here?” Trevor asked. “That part’s not being playful, I’m really curious if there are cows here.”

“I told you he’d likely not play along, Wayne,” Jackson said, clearly amused.

“He’s just playing a different game, Jack,” Wayne said before laughing. His voice still retained its distinct southern drawl, but it wasn’t nearly as thick now. Raising his hand, he waved it towards Trevor. “Oh, whatever. Go ahead and get him, Rashie.”

“Rashie’s here-“

“Shark attack!”

Trevor turned just in time to see a small, scaled creature with enormous teeth sail through the air, and he threw his arms out to catch it. She was heavy, but he managed to do so though he stumbled backwards into a table.

Rashie was light blue, not quite 3 feet tall, and wore a frilly green dress. Her eyes were dark gray with a black pupil that barely stood out, and were unusually big for her size. She laughed, showing off two rows of razor sharp teeth before grinning down at him. He noticed that she, too, had a tail, although this one was thick, short, and had a fin at the end.

“Okay, you can put me down now. No more shark attack,” Rashie said innocently. Her voice was youthful, and she didn’t have any problems speaking despite the full mouth.

“Are you sure?” Trevor asked. “Because I don’t want to put you down only for you to start gnawing on my legs.”

“I would never!”

“She would,” both Jackson and Wayne chimed in.

“Never ever!”

As Trevor started to reply, the door to the Hero House opened to reveal Adabelle. In addition to her black pajamas, she also wore the young man’s red coat wrapped up tight around her. She stared into the room, which had gone quiet, and the room stared back at her.

Trevor looked around the room, wondering why no one was saying anything, and he saw Jackson sitting completely still with his tea cup raised to his mouth. Wayne was still as well, but Rashie kept looking back and forth between Adabelle and the elf. When the young man opened his mouth to say something, the shark girl all but slapped him to cover it.

“Morn’n,” Adabelle said before yawning, and she started moving towards the kitchen in the back.

"I told you she wasn't going to register you being here," Wayne said.

"Yes, it appears as though I owe you a gold piece," Jackson replied, obviously amused.

Rashie started giggling like mad and struggled to get down, and Trevor let her. She ran to Adabelle, but stopped just short of slamming into her. The girl took the woman’s hand and stopped her before pulling her down into a hug.

“We missed you, Addy,” Rashie said.

“Missed you,” Adabelle responded before pulling away. “Food soon, ‘kay?”

“’Kay.” Rashie paused before burying her face deep into the coat and audibly breathing in. She hesitated before glancing back over at Trevor.

The shark girl ran over and started circling him. He raised his arms as he watched her go around, wondering if she was going to go for his legs this time, when he realized that she was smelling him.

Rashie stopped circling and looked at Wayne, but alternated between pointing at Adabelle and Trevor. “Coat!” she said. “Cooooat!”

“Calm down, Rashie,” Wayne said with a chuckle.

“He’s gonna steal Addymanatine!” she accused.

“Whoa, what?” Trevor asked, holding his hands up. “She fell asleep here last night, I just left it to cover her up.”

“A likely story,” Rashie said, putting her hands on her hips. “One that I don’t believe in the slightest!”

“Okay," Trevor responded. "Also, Addymanatine?”

“Because her name is Adabelle Ramansa Katine,” Wayne said as he got out of Adabelle’s way in the kitchen. “So, Rashie calls her Addymanatine sometimes.”

“Yeah, that’s my nickname for her, so you can’t use it, got it?” Rashie said, pointing her finger at Trevor.

Trevor couldn’t help but smile even as he heard the normal morning cascade of skillets falling as Adabelle pulled out the one she wanted. He wasn’t sure why it always seemed to be at the bottom, but didn’t question it. Instead, he knelt down to one knee and offered Rashie his hand. He figured she’d know about handshakes from Wayne.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Before we get any farther, it’s nice to finally meet you, Rashie,” he said. “I’m Trevor Anderson.”

“I’m not shaking your hand,” Rashie said as she stomped her foot, crossed her arms, and looked away from him.

“Now, don’t be like that, Rashie,” Wayne said. He walked over and picked the shark girl up before putting her on his shoulder. He offered Trevor his hand. “John Wayne. Pleasure to meet you.”

Trevor smirked. “That’s an actor,” he said, though he shook it anyway.

“Wayne Gretzky.”

“Hockey star.”

“Wayne Brady.”

“The comedian?”

“Looks like we’ve got some famous Waynes in common, at least,” the dwarf said, shaking his head with a laugh. “Wayne Williams, and that’s a name you can bet the farm on.”

Trevor searched the man’s eyes and easy grin before shrugging. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard you’re from Earth as well.”

“From what I’ve been told, we’re nearly neighbors when it comes to Earths,” Wayne said, dropping Trevor’s hand and glancing at Jackson, who was still sitting with Mr. Tiggles, enjoying some tea.

“Oh, yes, just one minor difference,” Jackson claimed. “Though, you’ll have to figure it out on your own. That’s half the fun, I’d say.”

“Real tight lipped fellow, that Jackson,” Wayne said before shaking his head. He looked up to Rashie on his shoulder. “Why don’t you introduce yourself to Trevor like a normal person, okay?”

Smiling, Trevor offered her his hand again. Since the dwarf was short, she was sitting at a height where he’d usually offer a handshake. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

Rashie eyed him critically before letting out a big, dramatic sigh. “Okaaaay, fine,” she said, but she didn’t move.

After a few seconds, Wayne prodded her. “Are you going to shake his hand?”

“Am I not?” she asked, looking down at him.

“No, because you don’t have tentacles anymore. Use your hands.”

Rashie looked down at her hands before giving Trevor two thumbs up. He noticed that her hands were webbed. “I’ve got thumbs now.”

“Thumbs really are neat, aren’t they?”

“They really are!” she exclaimed before shaking his hand. He had expected it to be damp on account of her scales, but they were very smooth. “You can call me Rashie. I would tell you my real name, but then I’d get in trouble.”

Trevor tilted his head before looking at Wayne, who chuckled. “Go ahead, just this one time.”

“You sure?” she asked, leaning forward to get a good look at his face.

“I said it, didn’t I?”

Rashie squealed before looking back at Trevor. She offered him her hand again, and he took it. “A pleasure to meet my acquaintance. My name is-” the shark girl paused before opening her mouth as wide as it could go.

The sound that came out of her throat could only be described as taking the static from an old television, adding in throwing a drawer full of silverware down wooden stairs, and putting it on full blast.

Trevor immediately got a headache.

“Rashie!” Adabelle said sternly. The three of them turned to face the kitchen and saw the horned woman covering her ears. For the first time, Trevor saw her fully awake during breakfast. “What did we say about using your true name?”

Instead of answering, Rashie pointed towards the couch. “Mayor Jack is here!” she snitched. “Aren’t you mad and stuff because he ditched you?”

The look of quiet contemplation on the elf’s face fell away as something close to horror seized him. From where Trevor was standing, it looked like he knew about Adabelle’s weakness in the morning, and thought that hiding in plain sight would work out for him.

“It’s good to see you’re back home safe, Wayne, Rashie,” Adabelle said sweetly, smiling at the two newcomers.

“Good to be back, Addy,” Wayne chortled.

“Trevor, take over the food,” she commanded, her mood changing in an instant.

“You got it, lady,” he said, running around Wayne and Rashie to take over cooking.

“You and I have a lot to discuss, mayor,” Adabelle threatened as she walked towards the couch.

“Well, now’s surely not the time for that,” Jackson said. “Wayne and Rashie just got back, and I have Mr. Tiggles here with me and-“

“Meow,” the cat said before getting out of the demon’s warpath.

“Come along, mayor,” she said, grabbing him by one of his long ears and pulling him up towards the door. “We’re going to have a long, long discussion, and you’re not going to talk your way out of it this time.”

“Please, be reasonable Lady Adabelle, I was-“ Jackson was cut off by the door slamming shut behind him.

The Hero House went silent for a few moments, the only sounds filling the room being that of meat frying on a skillet, before Wayne and Rashie started laughing uproariously. Trevor was glad Jackson was getting what was coming to him and thought it was funny, but he didn’t think it was that funny.

Wayne came by once they stopped and gestured for Trevor to step aside. “Adabelle usually cooks because she lost a bet, but I’ll take over from here,” he said.

“Oh, it’s no problem. Just let me know how I’m supposed to finish these off and it’ll be done in a jiff.”

“Scrambled eggs with meat for Rashie, over easy for me.”

“Man after my own heart,” Trevor said. “You sure you don’t want some freedom toast?”

“Don’t tell me you ruined that for me,” Wayne said, halfway sounding aghast.

Trevor just smirked as he changed lanes. “What bet got her stuck on kitchen duty? And how long did it take her to learn how to sleepwalk through making breakfast?”

“Oh, it was nothing really,” he said, turning to lean against the counter and watching Rashie and Mr. Tiggles play. “She thought she was hot stuff when she was summoned, and I got a little tired of her high and mighty attitude. So, I went and challenged her to an adventuring competition. Granted, I had been here for a few years and she just arrived, but she was so wound up around the idea that other worlds couldn’t compete that I had to show her what for.”

“Seems a little mean-spirited to me,” Trevor stated. “If she was that new.”

“Nah, she had it coming,” Wayne said, waving his hand. “She was as friendly as a bramble bush back then. Eventually I learned why, and we’ve reconciled, and she’s been cooking ever since. Took her a few weeks of sleepwalking through it, but she got there. It was only for a month, but she got used to doing it and has been ever since.”

Trevor pursed his lips if only to keep himself from asking. Adabelle’s past was her own, and he would learn it when it was time. Still, he could imagine what she would be like if she hadn’t been knocked off her high horse, if the dwarf was telling the truth. Finishing Rashie’s food, he called her over and started Wayne’s.

“Thank you, Trevor,” Rashie said brightly before taking the plate away. He heard her pull a seat from a table to sit down, then something that sounded suspiciously like a meat grinder, and then she walked back. “It was delicious!”

Blinking as the shark girl set the plate in the sink, Trevor looked at Wayne, who just laughed. “Girl knows how to eat,” he said. “Little bit of those pepper flakes in mine, please.”

“Sure thing,” Trevor replied, following the instructions given. “So, where were you guys? And how did you run into Jackson?”

“He popped up on the road to the capital while we were on a quest to take care of some bandits that set up not too far from town,” Wayne said. “Taking care of them as in catching them, not killing them. I know some of the Summoned from Earth have trouble with that.”

“Thank you for being considerate. So far I’ve seen nothing but nice people and good times, so that side of this world is foreign to me.”

“I gotcha. Well, a few escaped, which was what took us so long getting back,” Wayne explained. “Rashie can sniff out a scent in a whirlwind, but they had a wizard with them that was making things difficult. We ran into Jackson, who was on his way back from retrieving something he wouldn’t talk about, and he convinced us to come home. Said there was danger on the horizon.”

“Is it right to assume he meant he was going to be in trouble once Adabelle got a hold of him?” Trevor asked.

“Yup,” Wayne said, grinning. “Thought us coming back could soften the blow. We came because we knew it wouldn’t do him any good, but the show would be fun to watch.”

“Which is why you said okay to Rashie speaking her, what was it? True name?” Trevor asked. “I’ve never seen Adabelle that awake in the morning.”

“Yeah, it’s a right mess of a noise, init?”

“You can say that again. Is that normal of her kind? I don't think I've seen her species around town before.”

“Before we get into that, how about we finish eating and take a walk around Tosa, eh?” Wayne asked. “I’m sure you’ve got a lot of questions, and I’m hungry.”

“Sounds good to me. Grab a plate, will you? I’m done here.”

Smiling and thinking that these two weren’t so bad, Trevor plated the food and got his own breakfast cooking.