She wasn't done, standing to her full height and pinning me under an intense glower. It was different to the angry, frustrated and dismissive ones before. A naturally intense person. “You dance like you were made of water. Mother Moon will favour you,” She murmured, patting my cheek twice before turning away. Her palms were smooth, veins visible on the back of her hands. “We may have another dancer for the ceremony in a few weeks. Thank you for allowing me the honour of teaching you, dear.”

The two assistants giggled in their two person huddle.

“N–no problem. Have a good evening,” I beamed.

Josh and Miles were quiet on the way back. Over sand and onto a smooth boardwalk, we took our time looking around the pretty forestry and the occasional wildlife. We stopped five times for Miles to sketch some not-so-shy birds or the pair of boarlets.

The colourful insects were treated with the same amount of detail.

Morgan half lay across the couch when we got back in. Out of the chilly air and into the heated lounge room, I draped myself over Miles and he dragged me to one of the arm chairs.

“It's freezing out there! Why are youse in those thin clothes?” She squawked, even eyeing Josh's cargo shouts and thin singlet.

I perched on the arm, waving my hand in the air to bat away her question. “It's not that cold,” I said, slumping over to rest my chin on Miles’ shoulder. “You should've come dancing. We used a tuk'yim and danced with it full of water on our heads.”

“How could I have missed such a stimulating class?” She drawled. “I was busy.”

“Doing what?” I pouted but already guessed her reasoning.

“Getting to know people, making friends,” She answered. A faint perfume stuck to her skin and the dress was a new one. “Something that'd do you some good, Little Miss Nibbles.”

Yeah, l earned that title earlier than most tots. She'd never let it die either.

Miles leaned back in the chair, resting his head against my side while I lay my arm over the back. “ I would've been buying up all the books I could. There are so many strange things about this island. It wouldn't hurt to have some kind of local knowledge."

“We’ll need a whole other boat for your books and souvenirs when we leave,” Morgan teased but the scary reality was she could be right.

“Books,” I mused, frowning at the TV in thought. They may help explain the earlier urge to rip and tear into Jane. I'd ignored the water debacle for a night and then some but in the quiet of the evening, it came right back.. If what I'd experienced was a fraction of how sharks felt, then I didn't blame them for their insatiable hunger. Even now, hunger pangs were a constant.

Morgan packed up. “While you were dancing your hearts out, I got to see some people leaving. Their month was up and they were making a real mess of themselves on the dock,” She said and rubbed at her face. “I don't understand people. Just take your selfies and don't go disrupting everyone's holidays.”

“I know I'll be bawling when we have to leave,” I admitted and didn't appreciate Miles’ loud snort

“We already know that,” He teased as Josh went to the phone and started to order. He tracked him to the counter, eyes drooping with a pinch of sadness. It hurt to know he tried to pretend he wasn't affected. Josh kept glancing back too, then averting his eyes. The hells.

“We're already prepared to drag you kicking and screaming to the dock, don't worry,” Morgan joined in on the bullying. “Until then, we're enjoying everything this paradise has to offer. I feel like I could eat a whole horse.”

“Make it ten,” I grinned and turned my head, sniffing Miles’ salty hair with an undercurrent of berry from his specially formulated shampoo. “Oooh! Let's order twenty crabs and thirty fish platters. I'm starving.”

Miles poked me in the side. “You ate before we left to dance two hours ago.”

I pinched my soft belly visible from the skirt waistline. “This body needs its fill,” I protested, slapping my stomach and the small swell of fat there. “Okay, fifteen fish. That's my final offer.”

“You were gorging yourself on abalone this morning. Think you'd like a few of them too?” Morgan asked, mussing up my hair.

“Ten,” I nodded. I pressed a kiss to Miles' cheek and then Morgan before prancing into my room. I heard Josh finishing up the order through my door when I closed it softly.

I stretched in the privacy of my own room, feeling little pops along my spine. The cracked window let in the crisp sea breeze with no lingering heat. The water surrounding us began to gleam off some of the rising moon rays and I swayed over to the open curtains.

My eyes caught on movement and I gasped when an eel-like tail glimpsed out of the water. Next were two silver eyes and I waved ecstatically, tripping in my hurry to get out and onto the deck. He was gone by the time I reached the railing, ready to leap into the water after him. “Come back soon?” I heard myself beg, the wind carrying it out over the water.

Morgan's loud knock on my bedroom door interrupted my search.

“Niamh! I know you're out there! Get your ass inside before you catch a cold!” Morgan shouted from the other side of the door.

She was the one that complained I needed to make more friends and here she was, interrupting my search. “Fine,” I grumbled to myself when he didn't resurface. “Have it your way, but I'll be here when you're ready, dear friend!”

I trudged into my room before Morgan could come and drag me back inside, shutting it and then snipping the lock. The higher window remained open to let in the breeze and I felt my lips tug up into a smile.

“Oh my god, can you hurry your sweet ass up?! We're putting on the Avengers and we won't wait for you,” Morgan shouted. Josh was in there with them and I watched him from the side while he threw moon eyes at Miles.

He looked helpless when he sat next to Miles, big hands twisting in his lap.

I decided my seat for the night would be Morgan and she barely made a sound when I flopped down onto her lap. She wrinkled her nose when she leaned forward to hug me. “You're an icicle!” My concerned pseudo-sister complained.

“So?” I poked my tongue out at her.

“Someday, when your children turn out as strange as you, you will know my pain,” She shook her head, running a hand through my hair for affectionate pets. It never not soothed that dangerous spark in my soul to be coddled by my family.

“I resent that,” I huffed, eyelids getting heavy with her tender petting.

If only food would get here before Morgan sent me off to sleep.