RE-RE-REMIX

“Pff…”

“Pfffhahaha!”

Oh, dear. Your one horrible, deep-rooted weakness – cheesy puns. You stand there and laugh like a fool until you catch your breath. The flowers sway around as if giggling, themselves.

“Gosh, I’m… I’m sorry,” keep breathing, “that was so good. Since we’re in the park, there are trees everywhere, it… ahaha…”

.: [ 🐙 ] :. What Octavio intended to be a threat clearly landed as a joke to the human, rendering him speechless for a second before he sputtered out a response.

“Wh-- Stop laughing! It isn’t funny!” And yet, his outrage wouldn’t last for long. Swallowing down whatever rage he had, Octavio instead tried to brag his way to success.

It seemed Judd had been sniffing the tentacle when Octavio withdrew it. The cat’s nose wrinkled up and he gave a real nasty gagging noise. ‘Ew, is right. Do you even groom yourself,’ came the cat’s reply in Octavio’s head. To be honest, the Octarian had set only set that one up and it was much too difficult to resist.

.: [ 🐙 ] :. Octavio flinched for a fleeting moment before firing back at the monochrome mammal.

“Watch it, cat! You gotta whole lotta lip for a four-legged furball with a flag up your butt!” Octavio didn’t restrain himself when he pointed a tentacle in Judd’s pudgy face. “When are you gonna stop this dumb animal act? I know darn well what you really are.”

Judd looked back to face the big Octarian. On one hand, he could freely take the chance to retort back at Octavio. On the other, Judd was too spiteful and petty for that. “Hrrrha,” came the cat’s response. Octavio wouldn’t catch this cat giving him an intelligent response.

.: [ 🐙 ] :. Of course he wouldn’t give Octavio a proper response; that’d be asking too much of this miserable cat. Experience taught him the cat would always come back, and he hadn’t done enough (yet) to warrant throwing him out.

You jump at the noise, whirling around.

“Hello?”

“Is someone– oh!” You gasp, holding a hand to your chest. “Hi! God, I, haha, uhm,” you turn bright red. “Are you out for a walk, too?!” You lean awkwardly on the tree, and straighten your collar. “It’s a great night for a walk. I agree!”

.: [ 🐙 ] :. It was obvious the guy was trying to save face after an embarrassing moment like that, but it elicited no pity from the ornery Octavio, only a sneer and a snort of disdain.

“I got better things to do than make small talk, creep. Go make like a tree and leaf, why don’t ya?”

— [ ♥ ] — She waves at him, a chipper, ALMOST insulting little thing, exuding nothing short of a casual air. Her lip hooks upwards in an amused little half smile, coyness becoming her. It is amusing and ALMOST endearing how easily he riles up. In truth, Satori can hardly believe how easy it is to get under his skin. ( She isn’t MUCH better, but in her defence it was difficult to keep cool when all you can hear are the screams of fish. )

❝Well I SUPPOSE I could. Always wondered how octopus TASTES when grilled,❞ she teases with a WINK of a lazy eye. Unreadable in almost any way, what is clear is her DISTASTE for the Octarian. ❝Feeling up to a fight, or is the cold weather getting you down, DJ?❞

.: [ 🐙 ] :. Vengeance burbled through Octavio’s brain; he thought of knocking her chair over or smacking her milkshake away. The fact that he just sat there and took it made him redder and redder by the second. He may have not been literally grilled, but it felt enough like it, figuratively speaking.

“Watch it, punk. It’ll just a second to wipe that smile off your face.”

.: [ 🐙 ] :. “Stick it in your cornhole. The system is wack.”

DJ Octavio leaves Callie in the dust by taking off on his Harley Davidson.

...

     “I’d quit gawkin’ if you’d just share with me–” Wait. That’s a talking octopus.

A talking octopus.

     “aaaaaAAAAAAAAHHH WHY ARE YOU TALKING? ISN’T THAT CANNIBALISM?” No, it’s not. That’d only be the case if he were eating another octopus.  “WHY ARE YOU TALKING?”

.: [ 🐙 ] :. Normally, he’d tell this human off with a line like ‘none of your flippin’ business’, but oh, that fear! That glorious fear! Now that was just too good for words.

Nope, he looked ready to tussle and she was absolutely not equipped for a battle. She leans back, a halo of light blooming around her before she winks out of existence, back to the safety of her room. Cheating something that looked like an elder got out of its money might come back to haunt her, but that was a problem for future Gwyndolin.

.: [ 🐙 ] :. As soon as he thought she was making a move, Octavio leaped forward to grab her by the sweater, but all the Octarian got for his troubles were a fistful of air and a faceful of pavement.

He peeled himself off the sidewalk and looked around in a huff, muttering and grumbling under his breath.

“Grrrhhh! That lousy snake-walkin’ lady... Makin’ off with my moolah like a charity case...”

No matter how much he stormed about, he couldn’t find her or his cash anywhere. He might’ve well just thrown it down the gutter and that would’ve been less frustrating to him.

With all this pent-up rage and nowhere to vent it, Octavio expressed himself as thoroughly as he could.

“...GLAARRGGH! I CAN’T BELIEVE SHE DID THAT!”

“THAT THIEVIN’, ROTTEN ‘SUNNAVABEA--”

“You should have examined it more thoroughly. It’s not robbery if it’s freely given.” A few of her snakes raise themselves up, hissing and baring their fangs, just in case he decided to try anything. He was much bigger than her, but she still had a teleport or two left before she used up her daily allotment. “As a newcomer I believe we both can agree I need it far more urgently than you do.”

.: [ 🐙 ] :. “Like heck it isn’t! It’s still MY CASH! And I don’t give out free passes to newbies, either.” Like Octavio said, it wasn’t part of his paycheck. This was tip jar money on the line!

“It was in the porcelain animal you gave me.” Perhaps he should have looked inside first? It was her money now. She tucks the money back into the pocket of the sweater she’d thrown on over her robes. An ugly, though warm article of clothing she’d been provided upon her waking. “What exactly is a sound system?” 

.: [ 🐙 ] :. Octavio blanked out. The porcelain animal? He could’ve sworn he had something like that.

...

“...”

...Oh, for crying out loud.