Washed Up [Part 1]
Nov. 1st, 2016 08:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
esp_dragonFandom: Noblesse
Summary: This'll be fun, Tao said. It'll be something you've never done before, Tao said. Chin-mae agrees that breaking into an aquarium on a night out is something he's never done before.
He wouldn't consider stealing an octopus as fun though. Or what happens afterwards because of it.
Contains: M-21/Tao
Notes: Nano is here! :D
I don't have this fully mapped out so uh, this might stop cold as it reaches its climax, whoops.
I'll be using Chin-mae as M-21's name since that seems to be my default now, haha. I might end up slipping and putting in a M-21 by accident though.
Thanks to Key, @hellse-bunny and @erokoneko who listened to me try to figure out what to write for WEEKS. XD; And thanks again to Hellse Bunny for the title of the fic. ;w;
Inspired by a prompt by the-story-shards-universe.
Rating: PG-13
Genre: General
Word count: 2,616
Status: Work in progress
Chin-mae looked around the dark corridors, waiting by the security room Tao had snuck into. It had only been a few minutes before Tao creeped out again, a wide grin spread across his face as he adjusted his backpack.
"Done!" Tao crowed in a whisper, pumping a fist into the air.
Chin-mae just shook his head, not trying to stop the small wry smile that curled his lips.
"We should have thirty minutes before it resets," Tao said, leading the way further into the aquarium, "which is more than enough time to do what we have to."
"Mmhm," Chin-mae said, following him, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Why did you bring me along anyway?" Tao knew what he was doing (that was why he was doing it in the first place and why he'd been called in to strengthen the building's security system a week ago) and didn't need his help.
Tao's grin widened. "What, you don't think this is a great date?"
"Most people don't consider testing security systems a date." But this was Tao, who didn't think in the same mundane lines as other people.
"And this is way more interesting than some dinner in a restaurant."
That was true; Chin-mae didn't mind eating out, but making it into a huge event wasn't for him. But still, tagging along as Tao did work? And Tao had insisted he had to come with him, not explaining when Chin-mae had asked why.
Tao chuckled, waving a hand. "Anyway, it's in case I need backup."
Chin-mae slowed to a stop, frowning at Tao. Wait... That didn't sound like- "They know you're testing their systems, right?"
"Uh..." Tao's eyes flickered and the pause between Tao's response was answer enough.
"Tao!" Chin-mae hissed. "What the hell-" They'd just broken into an aquarium?
Tao stepped towards him and grabbed his arm, his eyes wide and pleading. "Please? I really do need your help with this."
Chin-mae snorted, glancing back in case someone was coming. "No, you don't." Tao had been the one who'd gotten them in and he was the one who'd dealt with the security cameras. All M-21 had done was follow him in.
"Fine," Chin-mae muttered after a sigh, and Tao whooped, pulling him into a quick hug and he returned it. If he left the route Tao had already mapped out, he was sure he would get caught and he did not want to explain what the hell he was doing there. Not that he knew anyway.
"Thank you!" Tao leaned back and the grin was back on his face. "It'll be fine, don't worry — they don't patrol that often around here. And like I said, we'll be in and out. No problems."
Chin-mae had heard that before, but this was different from losing time inside an electronic store.
"C'mon, we're pretty close!" Tao was already off and M-21 sighed, casting one last glance around them and jogged after him.
* * *
"Ta-daaa!" Tao gestured both hands towards a tank, waving them for good measure. The room wasn't like one of the exhibition rooms in the building, made for the public. This was where the animals were cared for away from the public eye.
Chin-mae stared and then turned to stare at Tao. "Are you serious?"
Tao bobbed his head. "Yup! He was found in a lake covered in oil just a couple of miles away — he must have gotten caught up in the spill off the coast, picked up in the storm and carried inland. Poor guy."
Chin-mae covered his face and groaned. "It's an octopus." It was smaller than Chin-mae's palm, and didn't seem like it was covered in oil anymore. And it was in a tank that looked close to what Tao had been building for the past week. Ever since he'd returned from his job here. "I thought you were going to get fish!" Preferably buying them.
"How could you say you know me if you thought I would be interested in those?" Tao chuckled and turned to the tank, leaning towards it. "Say hi?"
"I'm not going to say hi to an octopus," Chin-mae muttered, eyeing Tao. There was something wrong. Tao was tense, his smile brittle. But why-
[You. You came back?]
What. Chin-mae jerked back a step, twisting around, trying to find the source of the voice. Except there had been an echo to it, like it had been bouncing around side his head.
[Ah, sorry. Hello.] One lone tentacle lifted up and waved a curled tip at him.
Tao's shoulders slumped as he let out a long breath. "You can hear him too, can't you?"
Chin-mae swallowed, and gave a curt nod, still watching the octopus, who seemed content to stay where it was. "This is why...?" To check he hadn't lost his mind.
"Yeah." Tao scratched the back of his head. "Think you can see why I wouldn't give you the specific details." Tao brightened. "Though it has to mean we're on the same wavelength."
"Hah." Even now with the evidence right in front of him, Chin-mae wasn't sure he believed it. But just checking if he could hear the octopus wasn't the only reason why Tao had come here.
"You can't steal an octopus." What the fuck was he saying — it wasn't the octopus that was the biggest problem. The biggest problem was they'd broken into a fucking aquarium to steal it!"
"No-one else can hear him!" Tao exclaimed, waving his hands again. "So we gotta bust him out."
"Can we-" Because it wouldn't just be Tao looking after the octopus. "-really look after him?"
"Hey, since we can both hear him, he can tell us when he needs something!" Tao beamed. "That's a lot better than people who can't hear him."
"Yeah," Chin-mae said, rolling his eyes. "The people who've learned specifically how to look after sea animals." That made sense.
"Who can't hear him," Tao stressed. "Can you imagine how lonely that is, being trapped in a box and no-one to talk to?"
"Why do you think I took the night shift?" Chin-mae muttered. Tao swatted his arm, making Chin-mae smirk.
"Not everyone is like you. Okay fine — imagine me if I didn't have access to the internet."
"I think you'd self-combust." Chin-mae eyed him. "Or steal a lot of equipment to make sure you could connect back up." Which was, in some way, exactly what Tao was doing right now.
"Exactly!"
Chin-mae scrubbed at his face again. "You said he'd been covered in oil?" He carried on at the same time Tao nodded. "Then we shouldn't take him." They barely knew how to look after a healthy octopus, let alone a sick one.
[Actually,] the octopus said, and Chin-mae turned his attention to him, [I heard the people said I was in good health.]
Tao punched the air again. "See?"
Chin-mae studied the octopus. "Shouldn't you be getting released soon then?" There wasn't any need to rescue him if he going home soon anyway.
[Ah...] The octopus curled his tentacles under himself, flattening. [I'm not sure where home is.]
"You've got instincts, right?" Chin-mae said, sharing a look with Tao. "You'll find it."
Tao scoffed. "I'll dump you in the middle of another continent and see how well you do."
"Humans are different," Chin-mae said, shaking his head. Though it was really birds that had a homing system in them, wasn't it? "And his home is probably somewhere around the oil spill." That narrowed it down a lot.
"Yeah. Oil spill." Tao drew the words out for extra emphasis. "Those can take years before they stop affecting the environment!"
...Right.
There was still something there that Chin-mae couldn't put his finger on about how Tao was acting. When Tao wanted something, he went at it full throttle and didn't stop until he got it (including, or especially, Chin-mae), but there was usually a reason for it. It couldn't just be rescuing a sentient animal from loneliness or else their house would have been overrun by any animal that crossed Tao's path.
[Would it make a difference if I said I wanted to go with you?]
Wanting to go with them was one thing, but it was another if they were actually able to look after him well.
But Chin-mae knew Tao, and Tao would have done his research.
"Fine," Chin-mae said in a long hiss, opening his arms when Tao threw himself at him, wrapping Chin-mae up in a hug. "But if he gets ill again, we're returning him."
"Yeah." Tao squeezed him. "But he won't! Because I've made the best tank!"
Of course he had.
The octopus had edged his way towards one end of his tank, pressing up against it. [I think someone's coming?]
Chin-mae jerked his head around at the direction the octopus was indicating as Tao took the tape off around the tank. There wasn't a door there, only a large steel sink. But maybe the octopus could sense something, or could feel something through the vibrations in the water.
But that was enough of a reminder of where they were and what they were in the middle of. "Why the fuck did they tape the lid shut?" Chin-mae muttered as he helped Tao get the rest of the tape off. Once it was off, they shifted the lid to squeeze an arm through.
"It's because octopus are smart enough to know how to get out of their tanks," Tao said with a short laugh, setting his backpack down and rummaging through it. "There's a couple of stories - ah, I'll tell ya later. The important thing is some don't make it back in time before they dry out."
Oh.
Tao nodded, pulling out a small plastic tub with holes in the lid. "It's for their own safety." Tao paused, tilting his head as he pried the lid off. "Okay, and it's to stop them from snacking on fish in close-by tanks. It's for everyone's safety."
Lid off, Tao leaned over the tank and dipped the tub in. "Time ta go!"
Tao had only held the tub just below the surface of the water but before Chin-mae could comment, the octopus climbed up the glass and slid into the tub.
"One telepathic octopus, acquired!" Tao closed the lid and wiped his hands dry on his clothes. "And time for us to make a swift exit."
"They're not going to believe an octopus escaped by taking the tape off," Chin-mae muttered as they left the room. But they didn't have the time to put everything back where they should be.
"Well they're not going to know it was us anyway," Tao said, giving him a thumbs up, his other hand curled around the tub, making sure the inside didn't slosh around too much.
"Should people be worried it was this easy to break into a building protected by your security system?" Chin-mae said dryly as they snuck down corridors.
"Yeah, my own security system, so I have the admin password." Tao wrinkled his nose. "I'd be terrible at my job if I didn't have a manual override for whenever someone else touched something they shouldn't."
Chin-mae snorted and continued following Tao through the building.
Chin-mae didn't hear or see anyone else coming as they left, but he couldn't help turning his head at every echo, every squeak.
"S'all right," Tao whispered, peering around a corner. "Like I said: they barely patrol."
"Which is why you're cautious too."
Tao turned back to grin at him. "Hey, I gotta make sure I don't trip over anything in case I drop our friend."
"Then you'd always be looking at the ground."
"Heh, okay." Tao didn't seem put out at being caught in the lie, but they had more important things to worry about.
* * *
"See?" Tao said, closing the door behind them with a definitive click. "No problems."
"Still cameras here," Chin-mae said, casting his gaze upwards, trying to find them. All he got was a face full of rain and he grimaced, wiping at his face. "If anything else, you don't have to worry about him drying out here."
Tao chuckled, diving forwards, heading for where Chin-mae had parked the car. "Yeah, you'd think the storm would have blown itself out by now."
They reached the car bringing in as much water as had been in the octopus' tank.
"Brr!" Tao shivered, sliding into the seat with a wet squeak. "We were only out for five minutes!" He ran a hand through his hair and flicked off the excess.
"More than enough time to dump the entire sea on our heads," Chin-mae grumbled, watching Tao reach over to the backseat with the tub in his hands, to the icebox he'd placed there. So much for there being food in there like Chin-mae had assumed.
"I'm gonna put you in here while we're travelling, okay?" Tao said. "I don't want the temperature dropping for you any more than it already has. It'll only be dark for a little while." Once Tao had placed the octopus in the icebox, making sure the tub wouldn't move, he said, "You okay in there?"
[Yes. The container won't be moving any time soon.]
Tao grinned, leaning back for a second before strapping himself in. "Good."
Chin-mae switched on the heating as soon as the car was running and as he drove off, he held his breath, expecting to hear shouting or an alarm behind them.
Nothing.
"Tooold ya," Tao drew out, stretching. "In and out. Easy." Tao looked over his shoulder to glance at the icebox. "So, what do we call you anyway? Do ya have a name?"
Chin-mae frowned as he waited for the octopus to respond. How did...?
[...Takeo,] the octopus said after a pause. [I think that's the only thing I remember before waking up in that tank.]
"Man, that sucks," Tao said, exhaling.
"How are you hearing us?" Chin-mae asked, slowly going over the slick roads. Through the tank and water, and now through the icebox and even more water. It had happened so naturally Chin-mae hadn't questioned it.
[Huh? Why wouldn't I? You're talking to me.]
Tao prodded him in the shoulder. "He's a telepathic octopus, so maybe he's also hearing our thoughts or intentions too."
Chin-mae raised his eyebrows at him, because it was one thing to talk to an octopus, but he didn't want his brain being rooted around in because of it.
"Why?" Tao grinned at him, waggling his eyebrows. "Are you hiiiding something?"
Chin-mae rolled his eyes and nudged Tao's shoulder. "No."
Tao laughed anyway, wrapping his arms around the seat headrest and the sound made Chin-mae relax as he settled back to take them back home.
Summary: This'll be fun, Tao said. It'll be something you've never done before, Tao said. Chin-mae agrees that breaking into an aquarium on a night out is something he's never done before.
He wouldn't consider stealing an octopus as fun though. Or what happens afterwards because of it.
Contains: M-21/Tao
Notes: Nano is here! :D
I don't have this fully mapped out so uh, this might stop cold as it reaches its climax, whoops.
I'll be using Chin-mae as M-21's name since that seems to be my default now, haha. I might end up slipping and putting in a M-21 by accident though.
Thanks to Key, @hellse-bunny and @erokoneko who listened to me try to figure out what to write for WEEKS. XD; And thanks again to Hellse Bunny for the title of the fic. ;w;
Inspired by a prompt by the-story-shards-universe.
Rating: PG-13
Genre: General
Word count: 2,616
Status: Work in progress
Chin-mae looked around the dark corridors, waiting by the security room Tao had snuck into. It had only been a few minutes before Tao creeped out again, a wide grin spread across his face as he adjusted his backpack.
"Done!" Tao crowed in a whisper, pumping a fist into the air.
Chin-mae just shook his head, not trying to stop the small wry smile that curled his lips.
"We should have thirty minutes before it resets," Tao said, leading the way further into the aquarium, "which is more than enough time to do what we have to."
"Mmhm," Chin-mae said, following him, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Why did you bring me along anyway?" Tao knew what he was doing (that was why he was doing it in the first place and why he'd been called in to strengthen the building's security system a week ago) and didn't need his help.
Tao's grin widened. "What, you don't think this is a great date?"
"Most people don't consider testing security systems a date." But this was Tao, who didn't think in the same mundane lines as other people.
"And this is way more interesting than some dinner in a restaurant."
That was true; Chin-mae didn't mind eating out, but making it into a huge event wasn't for him. But still, tagging along as Tao did work? And Tao had insisted he had to come with him, not explaining when Chin-mae had asked why.
Tao chuckled, waving a hand. "Anyway, it's in case I need backup."
Chin-mae slowed to a stop, frowning at Tao. Wait... That didn't sound like- "They know you're testing their systems, right?"
"Uh..." Tao's eyes flickered and the pause between Tao's response was answer enough.
"Tao!" Chin-mae hissed. "What the hell-" They'd just broken into an aquarium?
Tao stepped towards him and grabbed his arm, his eyes wide and pleading. "Please? I really do need your help with this."
Chin-mae snorted, glancing back in case someone was coming. "No, you don't." Tao had been the one who'd gotten them in and he was the one who'd dealt with the security cameras. All M-21 had done was follow him in.
"Fine," Chin-mae muttered after a sigh, and Tao whooped, pulling him into a quick hug and he returned it. If he left the route Tao had already mapped out, he was sure he would get caught and he did not want to explain what the hell he was doing there. Not that he knew anyway.
"Thank you!" Tao leaned back and the grin was back on his face. "It'll be fine, don't worry — they don't patrol that often around here. And like I said, we'll be in and out. No problems."
Chin-mae had heard that before, but this was different from losing time inside an electronic store.
"C'mon, we're pretty close!" Tao was already off and M-21 sighed, casting one last glance around them and jogged after him.
"Ta-daaa!" Tao gestured both hands towards a tank, waving them for good measure. The room wasn't like one of the exhibition rooms in the building, made for the public. This was where the animals were cared for away from the public eye.
Chin-mae stared and then turned to stare at Tao. "Are you serious?"
Tao bobbed his head. "Yup! He was found in a lake covered in oil just a couple of miles away — he must have gotten caught up in the spill off the coast, picked up in the storm and carried inland. Poor guy."
Chin-mae covered his face and groaned. "It's an octopus." It was smaller than Chin-mae's palm, and didn't seem like it was covered in oil anymore. And it was in a tank that looked close to what Tao had been building for the past week. Ever since he'd returned from his job here. "I thought you were going to get fish!" Preferably buying them.
"How could you say you know me if you thought I would be interested in those?" Tao chuckled and turned to the tank, leaning towards it. "Say hi?"
"I'm not going to say hi to an octopus," Chin-mae muttered, eyeing Tao. There was something wrong. Tao was tense, his smile brittle. But why-
[You. You came back?]
What. Chin-mae jerked back a step, twisting around, trying to find the source of the voice. Except there had been an echo to it, like it had been bouncing around side his head.
[Ah, sorry. Hello.] One lone tentacle lifted up and waved a curled tip at him.
Tao's shoulders slumped as he let out a long breath. "You can hear him too, can't you?"
Chin-mae swallowed, and gave a curt nod, still watching the octopus, who seemed content to stay where it was. "This is why...?" To check he hadn't lost his mind.
"Yeah." Tao scratched the back of his head. "Think you can see why I wouldn't give you the specific details." Tao brightened. "Though it has to mean we're on the same wavelength."
"Hah." Even now with the evidence right in front of him, Chin-mae wasn't sure he believed it. But just checking if he could hear the octopus wasn't the only reason why Tao had come here.
"You can't steal an octopus." What the fuck was he saying — it wasn't the octopus that was the biggest problem. The biggest problem was they'd broken into a fucking aquarium to steal it!"
"No-one else can hear him!" Tao exclaimed, waving his hands again. "So we gotta bust him out."
"Can we-" Because it wouldn't just be Tao looking after the octopus. "-really look after him?"
"Hey, since we can both hear him, he can tell us when he needs something!" Tao beamed. "That's a lot better than people who can't hear him."
"Yeah," Chin-mae said, rolling his eyes. "The people who've learned specifically how to look after sea animals." That made sense.
"Who can't hear him," Tao stressed. "Can you imagine how lonely that is, being trapped in a box and no-one to talk to?"
"Why do you think I took the night shift?" Chin-mae muttered. Tao swatted his arm, making Chin-mae smirk.
"Not everyone is like you. Okay fine — imagine me if I didn't have access to the internet."
"I think you'd self-combust." Chin-mae eyed him. "Or steal a lot of equipment to make sure you could connect back up." Which was, in some way, exactly what Tao was doing right now.
"Exactly!"
Chin-mae scrubbed at his face again. "You said he'd been covered in oil?" He carried on at the same time Tao nodded. "Then we shouldn't take him." They barely knew how to look after a healthy octopus, let alone a sick one.
[Actually,] the octopus said, and Chin-mae turned his attention to him, [I heard the people said I was in good health.]
Tao punched the air again. "See?"
Chin-mae studied the octopus. "Shouldn't you be getting released soon then?" There wasn't any need to rescue him if he going home soon anyway.
[Ah...] The octopus curled his tentacles under himself, flattening. [I'm not sure where home is.]
"You've got instincts, right?" Chin-mae said, sharing a look with Tao. "You'll find it."
Tao scoffed. "I'll dump you in the middle of another continent and see how well you do."
"Humans are different," Chin-mae said, shaking his head. Though it was really birds that had a homing system in them, wasn't it? "And his home is probably somewhere around the oil spill." That narrowed it down a lot.
"Yeah. Oil spill." Tao drew the words out for extra emphasis. "Those can take years before they stop affecting the environment!"
...Right.
There was still something there that Chin-mae couldn't put his finger on about how Tao was acting. When Tao wanted something, he went at it full throttle and didn't stop until he got it (including, or especially, Chin-mae), but there was usually a reason for it. It couldn't just be rescuing a sentient animal from loneliness or else their house would have been overrun by any animal that crossed Tao's path.
[Would it make a difference if I said I wanted to go with you?]
Wanting to go with them was one thing, but it was another if they were actually able to look after him well.
But Chin-mae knew Tao, and Tao would have done his research.
"Fine," Chin-mae said in a long hiss, opening his arms when Tao threw himself at him, wrapping Chin-mae up in a hug. "But if he gets ill again, we're returning him."
"Yeah." Tao squeezed him. "But he won't! Because I've made the best tank!"
Of course he had.
The octopus had edged his way towards one end of his tank, pressing up against it. [I think someone's coming?]
Chin-mae jerked his head around at the direction the octopus was indicating as Tao took the tape off around the tank. There wasn't a door there, only a large steel sink. But maybe the octopus could sense something, or could feel something through the vibrations in the water.
But that was enough of a reminder of where they were and what they were in the middle of. "Why the fuck did they tape the lid shut?" Chin-mae muttered as he helped Tao get the rest of the tape off. Once it was off, they shifted the lid to squeeze an arm through.
"It's because octopus are smart enough to know how to get out of their tanks," Tao said with a short laugh, setting his backpack down and rummaging through it. "There's a couple of stories - ah, I'll tell ya later. The important thing is some don't make it back in time before they dry out."
Oh.
Tao nodded, pulling out a small plastic tub with holes in the lid. "It's for their own safety." Tao paused, tilting his head as he pried the lid off. "Okay, and it's to stop them from snacking on fish in close-by tanks. It's for everyone's safety."
Lid off, Tao leaned over the tank and dipped the tub in. "Time ta go!"
Tao had only held the tub just below the surface of the water but before Chin-mae could comment, the octopus climbed up the glass and slid into the tub.
"One telepathic octopus, acquired!" Tao closed the lid and wiped his hands dry on his clothes. "And time for us to make a swift exit."
"They're not going to believe an octopus escaped by taking the tape off," Chin-mae muttered as they left the room. But they didn't have the time to put everything back where they should be.
"Well they're not going to know it was us anyway," Tao said, giving him a thumbs up, his other hand curled around the tub, making sure the inside didn't slosh around too much.
"Should people be worried it was this easy to break into a building protected by your security system?" Chin-mae said dryly as they snuck down corridors.
"Yeah, my own security system, so I have the admin password." Tao wrinkled his nose. "I'd be terrible at my job if I didn't have a manual override for whenever someone else touched something they shouldn't."
Chin-mae snorted and continued following Tao through the building.
Chin-mae didn't hear or see anyone else coming as they left, but he couldn't help turning his head at every echo, every squeak.
"S'all right," Tao whispered, peering around a corner. "Like I said: they barely patrol."
"Which is why you're cautious too."
Tao turned back to grin at him. "Hey, I gotta make sure I don't trip over anything in case I drop our friend."
"Then you'd always be looking at the ground."
"Heh, okay." Tao didn't seem put out at being caught in the lie, but they had more important things to worry about.
"See?" Tao said, closing the door behind them with a definitive click. "No problems."
"Still cameras here," Chin-mae said, casting his gaze upwards, trying to find them. All he got was a face full of rain and he grimaced, wiping at his face. "If anything else, you don't have to worry about him drying out here."
Tao chuckled, diving forwards, heading for where Chin-mae had parked the car. "Yeah, you'd think the storm would have blown itself out by now."
They reached the car bringing in as much water as had been in the octopus' tank.
"Brr!" Tao shivered, sliding into the seat with a wet squeak. "We were only out for five minutes!" He ran a hand through his hair and flicked off the excess.
"More than enough time to dump the entire sea on our heads," Chin-mae grumbled, watching Tao reach over to the backseat with the tub in his hands, to the icebox he'd placed there. So much for there being food in there like Chin-mae had assumed.
"I'm gonna put you in here while we're travelling, okay?" Tao said. "I don't want the temperature dropping for you any more than it already has. It'll only be dark for a little while." Once Tao had placed the octopus in the icebox, making sure the tub wouldn't move, he said, "You okay in there?"
[Yes. The container won't be moving any time soon.]
Tao grinned, leaning back for a second before strapping himself in. "Good."
Chin-mae switched on the heating as soon as the car was running and as he drove off, he held his breath, expecting to hear shouting or an alarm behind them.
Nothing.
"Tooold ya," Tao drew out, stretching. "In and out. Easy." Tao looked over his shoulder to glance at the icebox. "So, what do we call you anyway? Do ya have a name?"
Chin-mae frowned as he waited for the octopus to respond. How did...?
[...Takeo,] the octopus said after a pause. [I think that's the only thing I remember before waking up in that tank.]
"Man, that sucks," Tao said, exhaling.
"How are you hearing us?" Chin-mae asked, slowly going over the slick roads. Through the tank and water, and now through the icebox and even more water. It had happened so naturally Chin-mae hadn't questioned it.
[Huh? Why wouldn't I? You're talking to me.]
Tao prodded him in the shoulder. "He's a telepathic octopus, so maybe he's also hearing our thoughts or intentions too."
Chin-mae raised his eyebrows at him, because it was one thing to talk to an octopus, but he didn't want his brain being rooted around in because of it.
"Why?" Tao grinned at him, waggling his eyebrows. "Are you hiiiding something?"
Chin-mae rolled his eyes and nudged Tao's shoulder. "No."
Tao laughed anyway, wrapping his arms around the seat headrest and the sound made Chin-mae relax as he settled back to take them back home.