Chapter 14 #3
He leaned into my touch, making a sound that reminded me of a purr but with musical undertones, like someone had merged a cat with a church organ. Three of his eyes closed contentedly while the others kept vigilant watch around us.
"Is he showing you something?" Milo was quiet, fascinated but keeping a respectful distance.
"His memories," I nodded, continuing to stroke Horrace as his form seemed to stabilize somewhat, the shifting colors settling into a more coherent pattern. "He belongs to a little girl named Emma. He's her pet, or friend, really. He got lost during a storm decades ago."
Horrace suddenly shifted, wrapping two tentacles around my arm in a grip that was surprisingly gentle despite its alien strength. He looked up at me with all twelve eyes focused in perfect unison, an intense gaze that seemed to peer straight through me.
"I think..." I started, slightly overwhelmed by the attention, "I think he likes me."
"Of course he does," Milo grinned. "You're the prophecy lady who's going to take him home!"
But it felt like more than that. Through our strange connection, I sensed Horrace's loneliness, his fear, his desperation for connection after months of isolation in this swampy limbo.
And beneath it all, a growing attachment to me specifically.
Perhaps because of my prophetic markings, perhaps because I was the first being since Emma who hadn't recoiled from him in fear.
Horrace made another trilling sound, then did something unexpected. He gathered himself up, his form contracting slightly, and then leapt onto my shoulders, draping himself around my neck like a living, breathing scarf.
"Whoa!" I staggered slightly under his weight, he was heavier than he looked. "Um, hello there."
The manticore settled comfortably, his tentacles arranging themselves around my shoulders.
One gently patted my cheek in what felt disturbingly like affection.
The contact intensified our connection, and I caught fragmentary emotions, gratitude, hope, and something that felt suspiciously like imprinting.
Oh no.
"Milo," I swallowed, "I think Horrace thinks I'm his, uh, mom now?"
Milo's eyes widened with delight. "That is the cutest thing I've ever seen! And I once saw a baby skeleton ride a ghostly pony!"
"This isn't cute," I protested, though I found myself unconsciously reaching up to stroke one of Horrace's tentacles. "We need to get him back to his actual family."
Even if it had been years.
But even as I said it, I felt a pang of something.
After glimpsing Horrace's memories, after feeling his loneliness, there was a part of me that understood his attachment.
Wasn't I also adrift in a world that suddenly made no sense?
Wasn't I also marked as different, potentially dangerous, feared by those who didn't understand?
Horrace seemed to sense my thoughts. His form rippled and several tentacles patted me in a comforting gesture. One wrapped around my wrist where the blue markings glowed, and I felt a surge of warmth.
"It's okay," Milo touched my shoulder. "Inter-dimensional beings form bonds quickly. It's a survival mechanism when they're displaced from their home reality. It doesn't mean he won't remember Emma. He's just found someone who makes him feel safe until he gets home."
Horrace made a sound of agreement, a harmonious chord that vibrated pleasantly against my skin.
"He's saying you taste like stardust and home," Milo translated, cocking his head as if listening. "Which I think is a compliment? Hard to be sure with manticores."
"He licked me?" I jerked, alarmed.
"Probably while you were having your vision. They sense things that way." Milo watched with fascination as Horrace rearranged himself more comfortably around my neck, his scorpion tail curling carefully to avoid stinging me.
"Great," I sighed, though I couldn't help the small smile tugging at my lips when Horrace bumped his tentacled head against my cheek. "So I'm a cosmic babysitter."
"Mother figure," Milo corrected cheerfully. "And think about it, the prophecy said 'bring the monster home.' What if this was meant to happen? Maybe Horrace needs to bond with you?"
He had a point. The prophecy scroll had reacted strongly to Milo's suggestion about the manticore, and now Horrace was quite literally wrapped around me, purring musically as he nuzzled against my neck.
"Alright," I conceded, reaching up to pat Horrace's side. "But this is temporary. We're getting you back to Emma, okay?"
Horrace made a soft, agreeable sound, though his tentacles tightened slightly around my shoulders in a way that felt suspiciously like reluctance.
Through our connection, I sensed his conflicted emotions.
Longing for Emma and his familiar home, but also growing attachment to me and the comforting resonance of my prophetic markings.
"Should we head back now?" Milo gathered up the cat collars Horrace had collected. "I think this little guy has been alone long enough."
I nodded, carefully turning to navigate back down the wooden walkway. Horrace shifted with my movements, balancing his weight perfectly to make it easier for me to walk. It was oddly considerate.