Lucy ended up sitting on the end of the dock, swinging her legs. It was peaceful out here, with the lowering afternoon sun warm on her hair. Waves rolled against the pilings and then drew back with a sucking motion. Lucy realized that she had learned how to tell the difference between the tide coming in and going out. Right now it was going out.
I can't wait to find out what else there is to learn about the sea.
A lot of things, I bet,her griffin said, startling her as it spoke up from the depths of her soul.I wonder if we can catch fish like seagulls do.
Lucy had the simultaneous, conflicting reactions of thinkingEwwwwwbut also wondering what a nice tasty fish would feel like in her beak.
Oh, there you are!she thought cautiously at it.I looked for you earlier but couldn't find you.
I'm still not used to you. To us.
Where were you all my life?she asked.
Part of you. I still am.
A small chirp nearby drew her attention. She looked around to see all three of the trash griffins sitting on the dock pilings in a row, all their heads tilted to the side as they watched her.
"Oh, hi, guys! I wondered where you got off to."
There was another little chirp and then the raccoon one jumped down off the piling and waddled over to peck at her foot.
"No—stop—I don't have anything for you today." She planted her hands on the sun-warmed boards of the dock and looked at them all. "You guys really do need names. What else comes in threes?" Her mind was a complete blank. Then abruptly she thought of something. "Okay, you're now Rock, Paper, and Scissors. There you go."
The newly named Rock chirped at her again and then flew underneath the dock. The others jumped off their pilings with shrill cries and flew below as well, and an unholy shrieking arose.
Lucy lay on her stomach and looked down to see what was happening. It looked like they had found a dead fish and were fighting over it.
"I think it's going to be a while before you guys are invited to sleep on the bed," Lucy said, smiling.
She folded her hands under her chin and lay stretched out in the sun, looking down at the waves.
With a sudden splash, a seal surfaced from the water. It looked up at her with its big black eyes.
"Oh, hi, little guy," Lucy whispered. "Or little girl. Or ..." She realized that there was something familiar about that seal. It was something about the way it was looking at her, too direct for any ordinary animal. Something about the expression in its dark eyes. She leaned out even farther, and whispered, "Juanita?"
The seal dived—but Juanita Westerly splashed up. She was nude, and mostly covered in water, drifting below the dock. "How did you know?" she whispered.
Lucy leaned out still further. "Because I'm like you."
Juanita's eyes widened. "A seal?"
"No. I'll show you one of these days, somewhere less public."
"I knew you belonged here," Juanita said, smiling. "I just had a feeling about you from the beginning."
She dived again, and Lucy glimpsed a dark torpedo shape shooting out into the bay.
Lucy was still lying on the dock in a peaceful state of lassitude when Eren strolled out to join her. He ran his hand over her hair and took a seat next to her on the dock. Lucy rolled over to rest her head on his thigh.
"How did the conversation with the fam go?" she asked.
Eren petted her hair and rubbed his fingers behind her ear. "Pretty good." To Lucy's eyes, he looked very relaxed, maybe more so than she had ever seen him, although his eyes were a little bit red. "Everyone was really supportive. Have you noticed yet that Dad's a hugger? Well, you will. Dad hugs. I got hugged a lot."
"That sounds nice," Lucy said a bit wistfully. She had always wished she had a big family to hug her.
"Oh, and they also all asked me where you were and how you were doing. I think you can look forward to plenty of hugs yourself. And I told Inga that blueberry pancakes are on the menu for dinner."
"My favorite," Lucy said sleepily. She turned her cheek against Eren's thigh and reached to weave her fingers through his. "I'm glad they took it well."