The troubles of knowing yourself

Concessions

Pearl drew in a breath. Brought her palms together. Stared at Eight like she had two heads.

"Eight...we love you." She began.

"We love you a whole lot." Marina added.

Eight averted her gaze.

Pearl breathed deeply for a moment and continued. "And you know that we trust you to make good decisions. And you're very good at it, for the record; you're good at keeping yourself safe."

"And were very proud of you for that!" Marina added again.

Eight was bracing herself, not risking saying anything yet.

Pearl opened her mouth to continue, then promptly closed it with a frustrated sound in its place.

Then, she gestured to the slightly ajar bathroom door. Within, Deco was swishing his tail about in the full bathtub, chattering to Benny about warm water and clear air. Benny laughed in turn.

And Pearl was still staring at Eight incredulously. "Just, please, explain to me, Eight. There's a Salmonid in my bathroom." She spoke, tone very clearly communicating how absurd the situation was without having to explicitly say so.

Eight rubbed her arm. "I-I know, I just...we were both kinda panicking and he didn't want to come with me unless I brought the Salmonid too and I was just...I didn't know what else to do. I'm sorry, Pearl. I'm sorry Marina."

Marina sighed, turning sideways towards Pearl. "Sorry is all well and good, and I understand that the situation was likely emotionally charged, but..."

Pearl threw her hands up in slight exasperation. "I agreed to letting your friend stay here! I didn't agree to harboring a much less ambiguously illegal fugitive fish!!" She shouted.

Eight flinched at the tone, and Pearl instantly put her hands back down. "I'm sorry for yelling, I just...Eight. This is dangerous and definitely against the law."

The Octoling looked confused and alarmed. "Wait...it...it is?"

Marina sighed. "Contact with Salmonids in general is illegal, yes. Grizzco is a bit of a strange case, but they've got far too many lawyers to need to worry. The rich need not show concern for the law, apparently." She grumbled.

Eight blinked and looked back at Pearl. "But...you're rich too...?" She questioned, confused.

Pearl gave an exaggerated sigh. "Well yeah, but I'm not making an effort to abuse it! Just because I can buy my way out of trouble doesn't mean I want to be inviting legal trouble whenever I can!" The Inkling took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and pinned Eight with a look. "Seriously Eight, what's your game plan? What do you expect to happen from here?"

The Octoling rubbed her hands together, and paused to listen again to the pair of friends in the bathroom. She could hear Benny offering Deco words of assurance now, and Deco grumbled back. Seemed they could hear the conversation from in there. Not that either of them could understand it, most likely, because they were speaking in Inkling, but the tones likely made it clear what kind of discussion it was.

Eight considered her words carefully. "I...well I figured...Benny probably wouldn't leave the house much, right? If at all? If anyone were to see him, they'd know he wasn't an Inkling right away. Most Octarians don't blend in with Inklings, and that's why all the ones that were freed stayed on the mountain...and ended up..." Her thoughts drifted to Kamabo for a moment, and she shook her head to clear it. "S-so, I figured, if Benny wasn't going to leave the house, then it was safe for him to be in here, and no one would know any better, right? So, uh, you know, wouldn't the same be true for Deco? If he stays in the house? N-no one would know any better..."