Chapter 27: 27 – Leo

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“We need fruit,” Wanda announced, as the three of them came into the kitchen.

Tarragon, at the counter, turned around to look at them. “You need fruit? Not, you would enjoy fruit, or you have a desire for fruit, or even simply you want fruit. You need it?”

“We have another guest,” Sally laughed. “He came back with Leo from one of the travel journals.”

Leo took that as his cue to hold up both hands, displaying the little octopus cradled in them.

“They’re terrestrial and they eat fruit,” Wanda said. “So we need fruit for him.”

“I see,” Tarragon said, one ice-white eyebrow rising. “It came back from reading a journal? That’s unusual, to say the least. There are bananas next to the icebox. They’re starting to turn brown, I intended to make banana bread from them. You can take one.”

Wanda located that and joined Leo and Sally at the table with it. Leo gently lowered the octopus to the table, while Wanda swiftly peeled the banana and set the inner part next to the little creature.

The octopus reached out a tentacle to touch it, then pulled itself closer to explore more thoroughly by touch, then one tentacle tucked underneath the body where the mouth was. That must have given it a satisfactory result, because it pulled itself entirely on top of the banana, wrapped all arms around it tightly, and stayed there, the colour bleaching out to match that of the banana. Leo could very faintly hear a wet noise from the centre of the arms.

“I guess that’s acceptable,” Sally said, watching with fascination equal to Leo’s and Wanda’s. “I wonder if it can only eat tropical fruit, or any fruit, or sweeter sorts of vegetables, or... or whatever.”

“It’s probably in the library somewhere,” Wanda said. “And if anyone can find it, you can. It’s just so cute, I can’t believe it.”

“May I suggest,” Tarragon said, “that you allow your new friend there to eat in peace while the rest of you also find something to eat? The tomato vegetable soup is ready to eat, and I’ll have the more substantial part of your meal ready for you to customize by the time you finish that.”

“We have to customize our own?” Wanda said, perplexed. “Normally you don’t like anyone touching anything in the kitchen.”

“You’ll see,” Tarragon said. “But you can serve yourselves the soup.”

Leo accepted the bowl of soup gratefully—the bread had been some time ago, and what passed for supper in town some time before that.

“Oh, this is majorly awesome,” Leo said, after two bites.

“I like this one,” Wanda said. “You haven’t made it in a while.”

“All veggies,” Sally said happily. She ate the soup with a spoon, but Leo tried not to notice the darker streak in the centre of the blue where it was presumably being gathered somewhere inside. It just seemed rude to stare. Wanda, on the other hand... once the soup was swallowed, it was gone, with no disturbing visuals. Maybe it had something to do with whatever the actual mechanism of her invisibility was.

They finished the delicious soup, and at that point, Tarragon presented them each with a round pan on which dough had been stretched, and pointed at the counter, where a number of covered glass dishes waited.

“Pizza,” Wanda squealed happily. “We get to make our own pizzas!”

“The oven is hot,” Tarragon said indulgently. “It can, unfortunately, only hold two at a time, but they won’t take long to cook. There is both real mozzarella and a cashew-and-tapioca-based non-dairy cheese, both made by me, and I made both the dough and the sauce. Have fun adding whatever toppings you like. I can cut up more if we’re short on anything for those who haven’t been here yet.”

“Leo and Wanda can cook theirs first,” Sally said. “I don’t mind waiting. But this is going to taste so good!”

They dressed the pizzas generously, and Wanda slid her own and Leo’s into the old-fashioned oven’s main compartment.

Over on the table, the little octopus made a burping sound, and all eight legs loosened around the banana. Slowly, it slid sideways off the fruit and simply lay on the table, big eyes slowly blinking. After a few seconds, they spent more time closed than open, and then they closed altogether.

“Is he okay?” Leo asked anxiously, crossing the kitchen to check.

“There’s a really big bite of banana missing for such a little guy,” Sally pointed out. “Maybe there’s usually competition and he’s not used to getting to eat all he wants. I think he’s just stuffed himself so full he fell asleep. What happens if you put him on your shoulder again?”

Carefully, Leo tried. The eyes opened just a crack, and the eight tentacles anchored themselves securely, then the eyes closed again. The pale colour began to change to match Leo’s sweater.

“I think you’re right and he just overate. That’s a relief.”

Wanda brought over a knife and a small covered glass bowl. “Well, let’s cut up what’s left. He can have pieces of it for however long it’s still edible, but that won’t be for long if we just leave it out.”

When the pizzas were ready, Sally insisted that the other two eat them while they were hot and not wait for her.

“Something smells good,” Jake said, coming into the kitchen with graceful scaled Dora.

“Leo,” Dora said. “You’ve grown quickly since the last I saw you.” Her mischievous smile melted into wide eyes. “What is that?”

“A very well-fed sleepy terrestrial octopus,” Wanda said. “Leo read one of the exploration journals and the little guy came back with him. Somehow. In complete violation of everything I understood about how these things work.”

“Oh, it’s adorable!” She linked her hands behind her and leaned forward so she could see the little creature. “Does it matter if it’s probable? We break rules all the time. Especially tonight.”

“It’s not entirely breaking rules,” Tarragon said. “Here, I was expecting more soon, your pizzas are ready to dress any way you like. All the usual. This is the only night of the year I’d expect it to be possible, and it would require an uncommon kind of person to do it, but I would consider it surprising, not rule-breaking.”

“Oh, yummy,” Dora said. “You aren’t disappearing on us right away, are you, Leo? I’d love to hear the whole story.”

“Where am I going to go before sunrise?” Leo asked, spreading the hand that didn’t have a slice of pizza in it. “Actually, it’s kinda nice just to sit down and have something to eat and take a break for a bit.”

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“You’ve been going non-stop since you got here,” Jake said. “Left the paintings for Ophelia, and from that to the library?”

“There was a rather fun game of Clue in there as well,” Leo said. “Which could possibly be considered relaxing, but not quite the same thing.”

“Wanda talked you into a bet,” Dora said. “Got it.”

How Tarragon felt about the impromptu small-scale pizza-party at the kitchen table, Leo didn’t know for sure, but no objections were voiced, and the occasional glance in their direction looked more indulgent than annoyed.

Jake and Dora wanted to hear more detail, and that included Wanda and Sally telling them about the banana, and it spilled over into exactly what Leo had read, and the Clue game, and roughly what had been going on since Leo had left Jake aside from the brief moment Wanda had taken him in that direction.

The little octopus woke up and started to make his way down Leo’s arm, slow but determined.

“What’s he doing?” Dora asked.

“No idea, but he seems to want the table,” Leo said. He leaned down and to one side so his passenger could reach his goal more quickly.

The octopus explored the table’s contents, investigating everything. He ignored cups with tea in them, but pulled himself up the side of Dora’s apple juice and dipped a tentacle in.

“Oh! I think I know!” Dora scrambled off her stool too quickly to show that grace, seized a cut-glass bowl from a cupboard, and added water from the tap. More carefully, she returned with it, and set it right next to the octopus.

It climbed back down from her glass and headed directly for it, testing it briefly with a tentacle and then dragging its entire self in. It ducked completely under for a few seconds, flattening itself so it was entirely immersed in the inch or so of water, then settled down leaving a limited amount of its main body above water. Leo could see a small tube that was maybe for breathing, but most of it stayed submerged.

“You said they live in tropical areas, right?” Dora said. “There’s water up in the trees sometimes, and it’s a more humid environment than the house is. He just needed a swim.”

“I hope it doesn’t need to be salt water or anything,” Wanda said worriedly.

“Coastal water would be salt or possibly brackish,” Sally said. “A mix of salt and fresh. But inland water could be fresh, rainwater pools and springs and things, and some tropical trees collect water up in their leaves into pools that little frogs can survive in. And he isn’t breathing it, so it would make sense for him to be okay with either. Um. Tarragon? If he isn’t some sort of weird effect that will vanish at sunrise, and I really hope not, do you suppose your sibling would know more about looking after him?”

“I’m sure they’d be happy to visit and help,” Tarragon said.

“He’s definitely better off here,” Leo said. He couldn’t possibly keep the little octopus, and should stop acting like it was his. He’d been getting too comfortable, acclimating too much to the fact that he was sitting here with a woman who was a blob, one who was invisible, one with scales, plus a huge minotaur, with a six-armed red-skinned prehensile-tailed cook across the room. This wasn’t home and the possibility existed he wouldn’t even remember it after sunrise. It shattered the sense of connection that had been creeping its way in and taking control. “Um, nearest bathroom?” He sort of needed it, but needed a moment to catch his balance inwardly more.

“Out the door we came in,” Wanda said, gesturing in a reminder, “turn left and walk straight ahead. You’ll literally walk right into the door.”

“Thanks.” Leo slid off his stool.

The instructions were easy enough to follow. The bathroom in question was simply a half-bath, with an old-fashioned toilet with a water reservoir above it and a sink on a pedestal and a wooden cabinet. Presumably it was for the use of the servants, given the location and the rather small mirror, which would have been relatively expensive but did allow staff to make sure they were presentable.

He took his time, and even lingered on his way back, going the opposite direction to look at the rest of the service area. The servants’ hall was warm and bright, decorated simply in natural wood tones with sturdy-looking upholstery and cushions and curtains in a checked pattern in white and grey and blue. Running down the longer axis were two rectangular tables of solid-looking wood in a medium brown, end to end, ringed by simple chairs but each with a cushion tied in place. There was a sideboard cabinet on one wall. On the outer wall, which bowed outwards to allow more windows, there were fully three long... well, the backs were too simple to call them couches or sofas, but unlike a bench they did technically each have a back. The seats were cushioned, with a cylindrical cushion at each end in place of an arm, and Leo was sure someone could stretch out on one for a nap in a pinch. It felt... comfortable, even considering the panel that held bells, each labelled for a different room. The wires or cords that had once worked them were missing, however, which told its own story.

He poked around a bit more, found a stairway down to the basement which he decided not to investigate, found a small room dominated by a large bed and an armoire which just might be where Tarragon slept, and a couple of storage rooms and the scullery with its enormous sink that was more like a trough. That opened onto the kitchen directly, and he could hear low-voiced conversation with an urgent tone to it, though he couldn’t make out the words.

Enough wandering. It was rude to just disappear.

He just needed to remember that these were not exactly new friends, and he was never going to see them again after sunrise, and might not even remember.

He came back into the kitchen via the door closer to the servants’ hall, and the conversation stopped instantly.

“Sally and I are done,” Wanda said. “We’re going to go wander off back to our usual haunts, but you know where we are if you’re looking for us. We’re dragging Dora along because it’s better with three.” Leo felt a kiss on one cheek. “Keep having fun.”

“There’s still lots about this house you haven’t seen,” Dora agreed.

“We’ll see you again before sunrise,” Sally said.

“This looks suspicious,” Leo said. “A little too sudden.”

“We’re not willing to be forgotten,” Jake said. “So we’ll help make sure of that. Are you finished eating?”

“Yes.”

“Your little friend will be safe here,” Tarragon said.

Jake stood up and tossed his head towards the door they’d come in originally. Leo shrugged and went with him, out to the bottom of the steep back stairs.

“We need to prove beyond any doubt that you win the game,” Jake said. “So you need to play it as much as possible. Without breaking yourself. The girls will tell Fifi and Thalia and Cosmo. Say stop when you need to. Had enough of a rest?”

Leo paused, tracking all that. “You’re talking about that painting you don’t normally show guests.” The determination to make sure that he ended the night with memories intact was unexpected, and he wasn’t sure how to take it.

“Yes. Good next step. But might be hard.”

“I can handle hard. Especially with a good reason, and especially after time to recharge. Lead on.”

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