Forging New Paths

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Luca followed after Anthony after a moment, peering in at the urchins and then very, very hesitantly reaching a hand in to touch lightly to their spikes. When his shadow didn't appear to worm its way between the creature and his skin, he relaxed with a soft, relieved exhale, but after a moment took his hand out anyway. The texture was strange, and he didn't quite like it.

"Do they talk?" He wondered out loud, curiously. He had his shadow, and he and Evelyn shared their Sight, and he was sure that he had heard stories about people that talked to animals, somehow. Maybe they were only stories, and he was just being stupid.

Evelyn smiled a bit at Garrett's enthusiasm, following after much more calmly and reaching into the water very carefully to trail her fingers across the back of a shark as it swam by. "They're always more leathery than I expect them to be," she said, laughing softly at 'scritches'. "I haven't been to an aquarium in a long time."
 
Anthony, meanwhile, followed through on his promise and carefully petted every sea urchin he could reach. He glanced up at Luca and smiled. "Probably to some people. I know there are powers like that. Not to me, but that would be super cool." He looked back at the urchins and petted the last one. "All I know is that everybody needs a little bit of love. And if I can give it to somebody, why wouldn't I? You know?"

Watson put his paws up on the front of the glass, trying to reach up over the side to sniff better and figure out what exactly was so interesting in the water.

"Yeah? Well, prepare to go more often than you like now," Garrett said with a laugh. "Something tells me we'll be here a lot. Especially at night. But if you like the aquarium as much as the rest of us, I'm sure it won't be a problem."
 
Luca was thoughtful for a long moment, but with a small smile on his face at the sentiment. Anthony was so nice, and not just to people. He liked spending time with the teen, even if he didn't always know what to say.

"Watson wants to see." He said softly after a moment, looking down at Watson and crouching down to gently pick the cat up. He didn't want Watson to fall in, so he didn't just let him sit on his shoulder, but held him where he could see into the pool. "Starfish, Watson. No eating them."

Evelyn let out a soft sigh, smiling fondly but shaking her head as well. "Oh don't remind me. If we come enough times, I might start staying home." The fish were all very pretty, but eventually she would have her fill.
 
"Oh, he does, huh? Don't let him fall in," Anthony said with a laugh. "Or jump in. I know Watson likes the water." He smiled and watched Luca hold the little cat up so he could see the water. He'd never had a brother before, but if he did, he wanted him to be just like Luca.

Watson glanced up at Luca for a moment. Then he gazed into the water, tilting his head. Starfish? Were those the colorful shapes beneath the water?

Garrett smiled and waved a hand. "Quite all right. I'm more than happy to take the boys." He paused for a minute, watching Anthony and Luca interact with each other and Watson. ". . . Heck, maybe at some point, Luca could go with just Anthony. Maybe," he added hesitantly.

He looked back at the sharks and ran his hand over a few. "For now, let's enjoy the aquarium while it's still new to us, huh? I, for one, can not get enough of these sharky bois. They're so fun to pet!"
 
"Oh, swimming." Luca hadn't even thought that Watson might see water and want to swim. He frowned a little, not wanting to hold Watson too tight but not wanting him to be able to get free either. "Maybe . . . down. . ." He murmured softly to himself, and after a moment of letting Watson look placed him gently back on the ground again, staying squatted down to pet the cat so he wouldn't feel sad. "Sorry, Watson. . ."

Evelyn wrinkled her nose a bit at the idea of only Anthony and Luca going anywhere, but didn't voice her protests. That was a fight for another day, when perhaps having Luca out and about was actually safe, rather than just 'okay'. She hoped, one day, that that would be a reality. But as it stood then, she didn't think Luca should be anywhere without Garrett's skills, or her Insight. What if someone came and tried to take him back?

After a pause, she gave her head a little shake and pulled her hand away from the sharks. "Let's go and see your sea pancakes. We shouldn't stay too long in each room or everyone is bound to get tired. You know, I don't think I've ever touched one." Even when she was little, she had never lucked out enough to have one come close enough to her hand at the crowded pools.
 
Watson didn't mind one way or the other. He was with Luca and Anthony, and getting extra pets. He purred and rubbed back and forth against Luca's hand.

"I don't think he minds," Anthony said with a laugh. Then he paused and pointed. "Hey, I think Garrett and Evelyn are gonna check out the stingrays! Want to go with them?" he offered.

Garrett snorted. "Bound to? We're all going to be exhausted already, even after the next two spaces. Lucky this building isn't much bigger. The Deep Sea Room - that'll be hard to pull Anthony out of. He loves it." He made his way towards the stingrays and happily stuck his hands in. "C'mere, pancakes! Come say hello!"

The stingrays swam over in a flurry of excitement, several slapping the water and causing splashed. Garrett laughed as a few of the splashes got his face or arms.
 
Luca hoped Watson was happy, at least. Maybe he liked going on adventures, and the aquarium was just a fun adventure. When Anthony pointed out the others, Luca nodded without having to think. He always wanted to be next to them, and seeing the sting rays was an added bonus.

Evelyn, as always, was more cautious and hesitant than Garrett was. She stood back while he got splashed, and only approached cautiously after a moment to gently stroke over a string ray at the edges of the group, where there wasn't so much of a flurry.

"Oh." She said softly once she'd touched it, looking down at the little creature and all the ones splashing nearby. "They really do like it?" She had always thought they merely tolerated all the touching.

Luca looked at Garrett as they came over to the table, blinking owlishly at the water on his face. He'd gotten wet? Maybe the stingrays had done it. Anthony had said they splashed, he thought, and they were flapping around a little still. Was it okay for all of them to reach in at once? Was that scary for the stingrays? He didn't want to upset them.
 
"They sure do! That's why they swarm over. They're all trying to get pet at once," Garrett explained. He glanced over to find Luca and Anthony approaching with Watson, and he smiled. "Hey, guys! Want to help us pet the stingrays? The more hands, the merrier!"

Anthony nodded and hurried over, sticking his hands into the fray to carefully pet the stingrays. "I sure do! Hey, little ones," he murmured.

One of the stingrays flapped a splash of water into Anthony's face. The teen spluttered and burst out laughing. "I'll take that as a thank you?" he said, pausing to wipe his face. "And you're welcome!"

"I'm so glad we're all having a good time," Garrett said with a gentle sigh. "I hope we have a whole lot of days like this."

"Yeah, me too! With all of you," Anthony added, beaming. "All the nights I spend with you guys have been the best so far!"
 
"That's far too many," Evelyn said with a soft laugh, and after having pet one a bit stepped back to avoid getting wet. "Here, Luca, you can take my spot."

He came when she waved him over, pulling his sleeve back again to stand at Garrett's other side and reach in very hesitantly to touch one. Once he was sure he was being gentle enough he glanced at Anthony's wet face, just in time to catch a little splash against his own chin, as well. He flinched a little, stunned despite clearly having seen it happened to others, and contemplated the stingrays.

He blinked down at them, almost but not quite frowning with Anthony's words on his mind. ". . . You're welcome?"

Evelyn had to cover her mouth with her clean hand to keep herself from laughing.
 
Garrett couldn't stop himself from chuckling a little. "Oop. Did the stingrays surprise you, Luca?" He smiled and reached for a paper towel from the nearby sink. "Here, you can wipe the water off with this if you don't like the feeling."

Anthony beamed over at Luca. "Aww! They like you!" he told him. "The splashes always get me, too." He wiped his face off with his sleeve and paused thoughtfully. "I think there's two sections after this one - Little Fish Cove and the Deep Sea Room. Do you have a preference which one we go to first?" he asked.

Garrett smiled and went back to petting the stingrays. "Those both sound fun. Good thing we have time for both!" he added. Thankfully, he still had energy to burn. But he was sure he'd start feeling sleepy on the walk back.

Watson rolled on the floor nearby, playing with Evelyn's shoelaces.
 
Luca looked over when his name was called, and took the paper towel with little protest, idly swiping the water from his chin without much thought since Evelyn was always handing him things to clean up with whenever he got something on his hands or face. He was, though, clearly enamored with the idea of the stingrays liking him, like Anthony said. The younger teen always said such nice things to him.

Luca couldn't seem to decide which new place was better to see, so when he was silent Evelyn spoke up gently in his stead. "Why don't we see the little fish first? It might be faster, then we can spend more time in the deep sea room." She had a hunch that the jellyfish were going to send Luca into a trance again, so it was probably best to do that last.

She sighed softly when she felt Watson's paws, and just gave her shoe a careful little wiggle for him to play with while everyone finished up petting all they wanted to pet. It would be all right if she just re-tied them later.
 
"Little fish sounds good to me!" Anthony decided. He went over to wash his hands at the sink, and then dried himself off with a paper towel. "You ready to go see them, Luca? They have axolotls, and seahorses, and guppies, and goldfish!" he burst out. He offered Luca a hand, beaming ear to ear.

Garrett clicked his tongue to call Watson over, and then scooped the cat up to kiss his tiny face. "Come here, Watson. I've barely had a chance to cuddle you all day."

Watson meowed and settled into his arms, licking his chin and purring.

"Yes, I agree. We ought to go over some more cases together," Garrett agreed as the group slowly made their way towards Little Fish Cove.

The walls were designed like pink coral, curling around the tanks with other fake plants as decorations. It gave the illusion that all the fish were together, although they were in separate tanks.

"I like the axolotls best," Anthony said, heading over to that tank. "Their little feets!"
 
Luca followed suit in washing his hands when they were done, distracted by all the different kinds of animals Anthony was listing off. Axolotls were something he'd only seen a handful of times, mostly in still pictures. What were they like, in person and moving around? He was so distracted thinking about it he almost missed the way Anthony held out his hand, but after a moment to process the offer he took hold of it and let himself be guided towards the small fish room, excited to see them all.

Evelyn's expression went a bit soft, watching him get pulled away into the next room with no protest at all. It was good, she thought, for him to have someone that was his friend, without truly being someone who was around to parent him. It felt too soon, but he needed friends.

She smiled at Garrett conversing with Watson, hanging back just a bit with them as they walked after their younger counterparts. "I take it he gives the best advice?"

"Oooh," Luca murmured very softly when they got to the axolotl tank, bending a bit as if to see them better as one moved slowly across the bottom of the tank. "They look . . . soft." He wondered what they felt like, but they looked so interesting it hardly mattered.
 
"Yeah! Kinda squishy," Anthony agreed. "I wish I could hold one! They're really delicate though, and they have this thing called a slime coat, so they're not supposed to be handled much," he explained. "But! I bet if the gift store was open, they'd have squishy axolotls that felt kinda the same. We'll have to check when we come in during the day one time."

Garrett watched the pair interacting wistfully. Not only was Luca just as relaxed around Anthony as he was around Evelyn and himself - maybe even more so - but Evelyn, too, seemed much more relaxed about Anthony being near Luca. It was a night and day difference from the first time they'd all met, and he was glad the small family was healing and growing together.

He glanced over at Evelyn and laughed. "Well . . . he mostly tells me my own advice. So sometimes it's the best, and sometimes it's the worst," he explained.
 
"Delicate. . ." Luca repeated softly, an almost worried little crease in his brow. He didn't want to pick them up if they were easy to hurt, wasn't convinced that he knew how to treat things gently enough despite having done okay with Watson so far. It was okay to watch them, though, and he blinked in surprise when one turned and seemed to look at them. ". . . The day?" Was it okay, coming in the day? Wouldn't that meant here would be more people around? He wasn't sure how busy aquariums got.

Evelyn shook her head at Garrett with a little smile, pausing next to the seahorse tanks to look inside while they waited for Luca and Anthony to have their fun. "Hmm, that sounds about right," she said with a little laugh, reaching over to give Watson some scratches atop his head. "I'm sure you're a very good listener, aren't you, Watson?"
 
Anthony nodded. "Mhm. Not so much their bodies, but their immune systems. I think." He shrugged and smiled. "They sure are cute, though! And yeah, if we come during the day, that's when the gift shop is open. There's a lot more people. But they all come for the same reasons we did - they like to see the fish and pet the animals. Almost everyone who comes in really loves the animals here."

"Hey! You don't have to agree so loudly," Garrett said with a laugh.

Watson purred and leaned into Evelyn's touch, closing his eyes.

Garrett's eyes softened. "Although . . . honestly, you give far better advice than Watson, Evelyn."
 
"They get sick?" Luca wondered aloud, curious at first and then frowning at the idea of the aquarium being full, his expression more upset than worried since nothing was happening just then. ". . . I don't . . . like that. . ."

He didn't know how to explain it, couldn't find words to describe how his heart started to race when there were too many bodies around, how all he could think about was corpses instead of people, how it felt as if the world was closing in on him, like his helmet was keeping him confined even though he knew it wasn't there. Even the store had almost been too many, and how many more would come to such a big place like the aquarium? Would they fill all the empty spaces in between tanks? It was too many. He couldn't do it. Would he be in trouble if he couldn't do it?

Evelyn only smiled teasingly at him, cooing softly at Watson as she scratched around his ears where he liked. When Garrett went on she looked up at him with a furrowed brow, ready to give him a very dry 'thanks' at being assured she had better advice than a cat, but when she saw the way he looked at her she could only soften in response.

"If you weren't making that face at me, I'd be hard pressed to feel flattered." She teased instead, her tone gentle enough it almost couldn't even be called a jab. How could she say it any other way, when he we looking at her like that?
 
"Don't like too many people?" Anthony asked, nodding. "Don't worry. We don't have to come in the day time, then." He paused for a moment, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Then he grinned. "I know! The windows in the gift shop are still see through. How about we look through the windows tonight? If you see something you like, I can come in the day time and get it for you!" he offered.

Garrett chuckled softly, his smile showing in the corners of his eyes. "I do mean it. You give wonderful advice, Evelyn. No offense, Watson," he added, finally breaking eye contact and glancing back at the cat.

Watson chirped and swatted playfully at the edge of Garrett's hat.

"Hey! I said no offense!" Garrett retorted, but he only petted the cat gently in response. What did Evelyn mean, that face? Was it that obvious he liked her?

Then he blinked a few times. No, there was no doubt about it. He did like her. A lot.
 
Luca nodded hesitantly, worried that Anthony wouldn't like the answer, and only started to relax when he didn't get angry. It was strange, thinking of Anthony buying him something when only Garrett or Evelyn usually did, and Luca wasn't sure if it was allowed, but after a moment of tugging anxiously at the hood of his jacket he finally gave a little nod.

"Okay. . ." He said in a small, soft sort of voice. "Sorry. . ." He hoped Anthony wasn't disappointed in him for not being able to come in the day. He just couldn't. What if he panicked and hurt someone again? What if he could never stop hurting people? He didn't want to think about it anymore.

There was something soft, something fond, in the lines around Garrett's eyes, in the quiet tones in his voice. It was something that Insight would usually have handed her long ago, and with the handicap of its inability to read him and the concern they both shared for Luca she had been slow in catching up. But something in her was convinced she was only making it up.

Not yet, it cried. It isn't safe. Not yet. As if she knew nothing about him. As if she could never know if he would use her or not.

"I think Watson is on my side," she said with a little laugh when he batted at Garrett's hat, sweeping away the complicated feelings as she did every bit of Insight she had ever regretted gaining, the practiced hand of someone used to smiling through even the darkest of facts. She turned, instead, waving a bit for him to look into the tank with her. "The seahorses are still active. I've always thought they swam so strangely."
 
The teen smiled a bit sadly and patted Luca's shoulder. "Hey. It's okay, Luca. Everyone has things they don't like. Like, I'm afraid of - " He paused for a moment and bit his lip, glancing briefly at Garrett, who was thankfully distracted. ". . . Promise you won't tell anybody yet? It's - it's silly."

"Oh, Watson! Betrayed by my own partner!" Garrett said, laughing. He walked up with Evelyn towards the seahorse tank. She'd looped arms with him, earlier, without even noticing her gifts were gone. Maybe . . .

He swallowed a bit and inched slightly closer. "Yeah. They do sort of tend to, uh . . . bump into each other sometimes, don't they?" he asked, subtly trying to loop his arm with Evelyn's at the same time.

Watson was immediately enamored with the seahorses. They looked like toys. He meowed and pawed at the glass, trying to catch one.
 
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