#featuring cacucu

It wasn’t often that you found yourself waiting on Ifa, of all people. After all, he was usually fairly punctual since he’d never been one to keep others waiting. But you figured you had a pretty good idea of what was keeping him away from your planned meeting.

Namely, a saurian of some sort. Either a sick one or possibly even a horde begging for treats.

Though it was also possible that a horde of children requesting treats might be the issue.

Either way, you were reasonably confident you could track him down.

You pushed yourself up from your seat and turned, heading off down the familiar path to Ifa’s clinic. And you could hear sounds of chaos before the building ever even came into view.

Cacucu’s shrill, “Oh dear! Oh dear!!!” was followed abruptly by a crash that had you cringing as you reached for the door. Already bracing yourself for whatever might be going on this time.

You’d helped Ifa enough times that you knew whatever problematic saurian was in there would doubtless make a break for it the instant it saw the door open.

You’d have to be quick, and a small part of you questioned whether you should even bother going in. After all, dinner with Ifa could wait until another day, considering he was obviously rather busy.

Another bang followed by a muffled curse from Ifa answered that question, though, as you made up your mind. Because, evidently enough, things were not going well in there, and if you could help, then you certainly would. Just like you always had in the past.

You inhaled deeply before yanking the door open and practically throwing yourself inside before slamming it shut behind you as you pressed your back to the scratched-up wood. Fully prepared to catch whatever Saurian came flying.

Or so you thought.

Your eyes widened at the sight of the adolescent tatankasaurus that was now staring at you with wild eyes as Ifa looked at you from where he’d evidently enough been tossing into a cabinet. And, for the briefest of moments, everyone simply just stood there. Frozen. And then everyone was moving at once.

The tatankasaurus charged as you threw yourself  to the side. Managing to bodily slam directly into Ifa, where he’d seemingly launched himself at the saurian and instead found himself catching you. Meanwhile Cacucu flew in a disgruntled circle, scolding the tatankasaurus, “What the heck, bro?!” 

And finally, for its part in the chaos, the tatankasaurus slammed into the door that somehow did not shatter upon impact. 

Ifa’s arm wrapped around you reactively as he stumbled backward from the way the two of you had collided. Together, you bumped into a table that rocked treacherously as Ifa muttered something under his breath. Reaching down, he whipped out his pistol and his gaze darted back up to the still upset tatankasaurus that was now turning in place, no doubt preparing to charge in some other direction and wreck still more havoc.

And despite the fact that Ifa’s expression was anything but pleased, there was little to no hesitation before he fired, launching the recognizable bullet filled with potent tranquilizer into the air from around where he still had a hold of you.

And if you hadn’t seen it work before, the thought of such a tiny bullet phasing the tatankasaurus would be laughable. But the tranquilizer did its work quickly. Calming the previously rampaging saurian until it fell into a surprisingly peaceful sleep that was at odds with the chaos from mere moments earlier.

Ifa sighed, holstering his gun with a shake of his head as his arm relaxed from where it remained wrapped around you, “I hadn’t wanted to do that….”

You stepped away from him as he spoke, frowning slightly in a guilty fashion as he glanced your way. Unwrapping his arm from around you as you looked down at the tatankasaurus, “Was it just scared, or…?”

You trailed off, and Ifa shook his head, nonchalantly walking over to the saurian before he knelt at its head, “Maybe a little. But this fellow just needs a tooth pulled.”

You blinked, feeling your eyebrows arch as you crossed your arms, a smile creeping onto your face, “You do dental work now?”

Ifa barely even looked your way as he nudged at the Saurian, carefully opening its mouth and peering inside even as he wrinkled his nose at the odor, “Only for these guys.”

You snorted but walked over to join him as he continued with a largely unbothered shrug of his shoulders, “Anyway, I’d thought this would be a quick fix. Hadn’t expected the dude to freak out on me when I went to get the tooth.”

You hummed your response, nodding slightly as Ifa looked your way. And of all things, he looked sheepish despite the fact you were the one that had entered and gotten squashed by the distressed saurian with a toothache.

“Sorry for leaving you hanging, by the way. For the record, I didn’t forget about our date.” His gaze met yours as he gave a slight smile, watching for your reaction.

You simply shook your head, though, a smile of your own appearing on your face as you bumped him with your shoulder fondly, “It’s okay, I figured something had happened. Duty calls, after all.”

Ifa nodded, a slight smile on his face before standing and looking down at you. He crossed his arms slightly as he visibly scanned where you knelt with a slight frown, “You didn’t get hurt just now, did you?”

“What the heck, bro?” 

You snorted at Cacucu’s interjection that had Ifa flapping his hand irritably at the petite saurian as he rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah, I know. I should’ve already asked.”

You shook your head amusedly, letting your hand run idly over the tatankasaurus’s bony crest as it continued to doze peacefully, snoring slightly as you smiled, “I’m fine. I was more startled than anything else. Normally you don’t have a mostly grown tatankasaurus running around in here.”

You paused, glancing down at the still-slumbering saurian whose ears twitched as it dreamed about something, “I’m guessing our dinner plans are canceled for tonight though?”

Ifa dragged a chair over, plopping down in it and rubbing at the back of his neck as he glanced around the positively wrecked room, “Certainly looks like it….”

He tilted his head, meeting your gaze with an easy smile, “Same time tomorrow sound good?”

You hummed amusedly, tilting your head back to better look up at him, “Sounds like a plan. But first you better get this guy’s tooth pulled while I clean up the room.”

A grin cracked its way across his face, “Thanks, bro.”

“So, uh, can I ask what happened?” Ifa gestured awkwardly to where you sat in the water. Your newfound tail completely submerged in the gently flowing water that toyed with your fins as you shifted before letting out a sigh.

“Commission gone wrong?” Your voice rose at the end, making your feeble explanation more of a question than an actual answer and Ifa paused, pressing his lips together before giving a short nod and hum in response.

You sighed, looking down at your tail and fins that fluttered in the ebb and flow of the tide. “I slipped and fell into some water near the ruins of a Dragonlord’s domain and this happened.” You paused, gesturing vaguely with one webbed hand to your tail before continuing with a frown, “Kinich found me and brought me back here, and Amina called to ask for the expertise of the Masters of the Night Wind. Citlali said that the Dragonlord of that domain had historically had a penchant for cursing things in an effort to keep any of his treasures from being stolen and that this was just one of the many curses he used.”

“Oh wow… No way, bro!” At odds with the Saurian’s energetic flapping, you simply nodded glumly in response to Cacucu’s sympathy.

It had honestly been a mess, but that was the simple explanation of what had happened. You’d been commissioned to find out if there was any valuable research material in the ruins of one of the Dragonlords, and received the surprisingly hefty payment upfront. But when you’d gotten there, the place had long since been ransacked. So, after searching for the day, you’d started to leave with little to offer for your time.

And that was when things had gone wrong. You simply mis-stepped due to some loose tiles that’d paved the ancient walkway, splashing down into the decorative pool of clear water that had been similarly paved in beautiful tiles. Almost as if it were trying to tempt unsuspecting passerbys closer.

And after that, the change had been almost instantaneous. 

It had felt like your legs had given out and gotten stuck together all at once, and you’d collapsed into the pool with a shriek. And for a brief moment after that you’d felt sick, like you were seconds away from hurling as your hands’ grown oddly sticky and your ears had warmed.

But once that feeling had faded, you’d looked down to find that your legs had been replaced with a brilliantly colored tail and that your fingers were webbed. 

Kinich was the one who’d told you that you also had finned ears when he’d found you. And you’d been beyond lucky that he’d happened across you while searching for a rogue saurian. Because otherwise there was no telling how long you’d been stuck there.

After all, it wasn’t like you could just walk back the way you came, and there was no river or stream that connected to the decorative pool.

Again, Ifa nodded. But this time there was a lilt to his hum as he peered at you from under his hat, “And that’s when Citlali recommended you get me to come and make sure nothing was wrong?”

You frowned, not liking the tone he used, but nodded nonetheless, “Yeah, she recommended you since there aren’t many doctors around. Plus she said you’d be more able to tell if something was wrong with the more… inhuman side of things, as well.”

He let out a chuckle, causing your frown to deepen even before he spoke, “Guess I’ll count myself lucky there, then.”

You felt your brows pull together in confusion, and you tilted your head so you could better look at him, “How so?”

He snorted, his lips pulling up into a smile as he glanced back up at you again as he plopped down next to you in a perfectly unbothered fashion, “ Well, it’s hardly everyday someone gets to see a merperson, much less treat them.” He paused, tilting his head with a grin that stood in stark contrast to your reaction to your transformation, “Kind of magical if you ask me.”

You felt your eyes widen slightly as you stared back at Ifa. But, in some sort of way, you supposed he was right. There was something magical about being a merperson, even if it hadn’t been a choice you’d made for yourself.

“For real now? Do you even hear yourself, bro?” 

You almost snorted at Cacucu’s judgmental interjection as Ifa gave his feathered companion a dirty look before looking back your way with a sigh. “Alright then, does anything feel off?”

You bounced your tail slightly, “Other than not having legs and having to stay in the water? Nope. I actually feel fine.”

He nodded, scanning you as if he were checking numerous things at once. And for all you knew, he probably was. “So you do dry out?”

You nodded, “Yeah, that almost happened when Kinich was carrying me here. We had to stop a few times. Ajaw said Kinich should have a fee for each break we had to take.”

Ifa snorted, giving an unsurprised shake of his head as he stood and circled around behind you, apparently checking something back there, “Unpleasant little bugger…”

You felt yourself grin at his muttering before he leaned around you, his eyebrows arched, “Do you, uh, have gills?”

You blinked before nodding, shifting to pull up your shirt to expose your side, “Yeah, I found them earlier. They’re right here.”

He blinked, his eyes briefly widening at the sight of the fluttering organ before he shook his head with a slight smile, letting out a soft chuckle, “Well, since they look good, I guess that’s everything.”

He paused, looking back up at you as you pulled your shirt back down and frowning slightly, “Did Citlali say anything about how long you might be like this?”

This time, a soft amount of worry tinged his voice and you smiled slightly, “She seemed to think I’d be back to normal by tomorrow, but I’ll be staying with the People of the Springs until then.”

He nodded, not looking terribly surprised as he settled into place beside you, letting his legs dangle into the water as his shoulder brushed yours and he looked at you sideways, “And do you think you’ll be alright until then?”

You laughed slightly, nodding as you playfully bumped him with your shoulder, “Mualani told me I would be a VIP guest for the night, so yeah. I should be fine.” You paused, glancing back down at your tail before continuing in a softer tone, “Thanks, though.”

You blinked as you felt him nudge your arm with a finger, “Hey, don’t mention it.” 

You twisted, looking his way just in time to catch sight of his teasing grin that was accompanied with a laugh from Cacucu as he finished, “After all, I gotta look after my patients. No matter how magical.”

You leaned to the side, pushing his hand away even as you grinned at him, “And hopefully, by tomorrow, I’ll be relieved of your care.”

I strolled along with Ifa, my hands laced behind my back, as we perused the Children of Echoes after checking in on a Tepetlisaur that had been sick. And, luckily, it was better now. Which was definitely a good thing considering the amount of effort Ifa had put into figuring out what was wrong with it only to find out that it had eaten a rag when no one was looking.

And, as ever, the Children of Echoes was filled with music and dancing people that had Cacucu flitting around all over the place. It wasn’t long until Cacucu had, evidently enough, found something he was interested in.

“Bro!” I glanced over at almost the exact same time as Ifa, and it didn’t take me long to spot the people who were dancing together to the easily recognizable style of music.

Salsa.

“What’d you find, bro?” Ifa ignored the dancers as he walked over, looking up at where Cacucu flapped around. 

I watched from a slight distance as the two chatted, exchanging varying bro-isms as Ifa gestured idly to the dancers that had seemingly attracted the Qucusaurus’s attention. And after a brief moment I walked over, feeling myself smile as I looked up at the saurian in question, “You know, Cacucu, Ifa can dance like that too.”

“No way, bro!” There was absolutely no hesitation in the saurian’s response, and I laughed slightly. Wholly unsurprised by Cacucu’s declaration as Ifa crossed his arms. A frown appearing on his face.

“Hey now, I’ll have you know that I’ve got other talents than just working with saurians,” Despite his scolding tone, a slight smile pulled at Ifa’s mouth, and I glanced back up at Cacucu. And I already had a pretty good idea of what he would say before his beak ever even opened.

“For real, now? Do you even hear yourself, bro?”

I snorted, barely managing to cover my smile with a hand as Ifa looked my way with a slight frown before he looked back up at Cacucu.

“Listen here, you. I’m a perfectly good dancer. I just prefer to strum along and let others do the dancing while I watch.”

This time Cacucu just responded with a laugh that Ifa had scowling at him slightly as I pressed my lips together in amusement. Doing my best to not openly snicker at their antics.

In all honesty, though, I’d largely known what I was starting when I’d come over here and first spoken up. But I really hadn’t expected for Ifa to reach out and suddenly grasp me by the hand.

“Fine, I’ll show you. You just perch over there,” He waved Cacucu off, hardly missing a beat before looking my way, “Dance with me, Y/n?”

I blinked at him, briefly stunned before I nodded, feeling a new smile start creeping onto my face that I didn’t bother hiding as Ifa nodded his head in confirmation before turning and starting off towards the dancefloor with my hand in his as I followed him.

And behind us I could hear a slightly stunned Cacucu: “Oh wow… No way, bro!”

The words were followed by the soft sound of fluttering wings that told me that he’d gone to find a perch and watch just as he’d been told. I’d barely even glanced back at the Qucusaurus before I trotted up alongside Ifa as he slowly started to make his way through the crowd of dancers.

And he was, as ever, as easygoing as could be as he casually dodged couples and led me along with him. Turning and dodging people, occasionally stopping and nudging me back as he had to step to the side to dodge any particularly exuberant couple, “Whoops, excuse us, bro.”

He tilted his head as we finally reached a slightly clear area, glancing around before nodding in apparent satisfaction as he no doubt guaranteed that Cacucu had, in fact, found himself a good perch.

“I don’t know where he got his attitude from,” Ifa shook his head slightly as he met my gaze, and I felt myself grin at his dry tone.

I lifted one shoulder in an only slightly apologetic half-shrug, “I may have goaded him a little.”

Ifa shook his head, half-chuckling to himself, “Not like it takes too much; nice to know that you knew what you were doing though.”

“Only a little bit,” I confessed, nodding my head slightly as we both started idly shifting to the music, letting our hands swing between us where they’d found each other.

“I never thought you’d opt to prove him wrong by dancing with me,” I tilted my head as I finished, smiling in quiet amusement as Ifa’s eyebrows arched at my words.

“I don’t see why not,” He lifted his arm, raising my hand with it, and I twirled obediently. And our footwork was already gradually speeding up to match the beat of the music. But Ifa hadn’t actually been lying when he’d scolded Cacucu for underestimating him. He had a great many other talents beyond just being the very best sauro-vet around. Though he would never actually proclaim himself as such.

He could surf, play the guitar, get along with just about anyone, reassure people when they needed it, be a solid support for any friend, and, obviously, dance.

I was just lucky in that I’d seen most of his talents in person, as well as having had the opportunity to laugh along with either him or Ororon whenever something would go mildly wrong for him. Such as when he’d wiped out that one time while surfing with Mualani.

By now we were in full motion, and it was almost impressive that Ifa was even giving most of the other dancers here a run for their money. After all, the Children of Echoes were known for their dance competitions in which some form of salsa usually made at least one notable appearance.

But Ifa dancing well was certainly nothing new. In fact, he’d always struck me as a bit of a natural at it.

I laughed slightly as we rotated around each other, our arms having to swing up around the other one so that we could avoid getting tangled together as we danced, “I see you certainly haven’t gotten rusty on your salsa dancing at least.”

He hummed, swinging me around behind him as he looked over his shoulder slightly, an amused smile on his face, “I could say the same to you. You’ve definitely kept in practice since the last time I saw you dance.”

I managed a slight shrug as we continued to dance, somehow not interrupting our motions as I grinned at him, “Well, it’s something to do.”

He spun me again before stopping me abruptly with his arm wrapped around me and my hands resting on his shoulders as the music came to an end. And I looked up at him, half-startled as I caught my breath. But I hadn’t even realized that we’d been dancing long enough for the song to have reached its end.

We’d barely even caught our breath before Cacucu had found his usual perch on Ifa’s head, “No way, bro!”

“Yes way, bro. Me and Y/n told you I could dance,” Ifa hardly even missed a beat, letting go of me and stepping back as I glanced up at Cacucu in amusement.

“What’d you think, Cacucu? He’s pretty good, right?” Ifa all but snorted at my words, but Cacucu was already flapping his little wings excitedly.

“For real now!”

As if to agree with him, people were politely applauding where we stood on the dance floor. And I belatedly realized that Ifa and I had somehow made it to the center of the crowd as he waved off their applause. Somehow unbothered even as the slight embarrassment kicked in for me.

“Thanks, dudes, I’m afraid we’ve gotta go now, though. Keep the party pumping!” Ifa raised one hand in farewell, casually taking one of my hands in his other one before he started off the dancefloor. Evidently enough, picking up on my reaction to everyone’s sudden attention. And he didn’t stop even as the saddened calls rang out from behind us as we left the dancefloor and started back off towards the Flower Feather Clan.

I was half-tempted to thank Ifa, but I kept my silence as we walked along with Cacucu continuing to rest on his hat. After all, just like how Ifa being talented was nothing new, so was him being considerate. And if I thanked him every time he did something for me without me saying anything about my troubles then I wouldn’t have air to say anything else.

So I just smiled to myself, quietly pleased that I’d gotten to dance with Ifa yet again. After all, who knew when such a chance would arise again? Though I certainly hoped it would be soon.

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