Page 21 of Geoffrey the Very Strange
"Strange how?" Ishi's soft voice held a sharp edge Aspic had never heard before. "Was he too, ah, forward with you?"
Timms made a strangled sound. "Thatdoesn't sound like Geoffrey."
"You never know until you're alone with a man," Ayla countered with a dark frown.
Oh hells. They think Geoffrey tried to hurt me.
"No, no." Aspic gestured frantically. "It was nothing like that. Geoffrey kissed me. It was nice. Nothing I didn't want. Then he told me he'd just been curious about kissing demon spawn. So I left."
Several pairs of eyes widened at that, and there were severaloh's, followed by an uncomfortable silence.
Katya finally cleared her throat. "I guess we're not going up to Geoffrey's lair to beat the stuffing out of him?"
"I'd say that would be kind of an overreaction," Heliotrope said to her mead glass.
Aspic glanced around the table. "Wait. You were going to dowhat?"
"Probably not a thing that would've happened, regardless of what you told us." Clover patted his hand. "Though Katya did suggest it."
Katya snorted. "I wasn't the one who thought Aspic might've been—"
"Right. Stop, all right?" Timms had his ears all the way down as he huffed out a breath. "Sorry, Aspic. You wouldn't say anything to any of us, so some of us thought the worst."
"You've been… talking about me? To each other?" Aspic waited until everyone nodded. "I don't know how to… is thisnormal?"
Ayla tilted her head at him. "Sometimes. Friends worry. Then they talk. And argue, and eventually talk to the person they need to talk to."
"Oh."
This feeling… Aspic wasn't sure what to do with it. Warmth bubbled up inside him because these people considered him a friend, while at the same time familiar old panic sank icy claws into his back because people hadnoticedhim, thought about him, discussed him. From a reasoning standpoint, he knew anonymity was impossible here, but his instincts screamed that he wanted to be invisible again.
Ishi's claws closed over Aspic's. "You've gone a little gray."
"It's fine. I'm fine." Aspic waved his free hand at the table. "Just not used to all this."
"You were alone a long time," Heliotrope said gently. "We understand that it's all a little different for you."
"Geoffrey…" Ayla began, then took a sip of mead and started again. "I've known Geoffrey's family a long time. I watched Geoffrey grow up. He's always had trouble talking to people. Not troubletalking, but actually making himself understood."
"Saying what he means," Clover chimed in.
Ayla nodded. "It frustrated him so badly as a child he would scream. The other children weren't always kind. People still aren't always kind."
"You're saying he… Whatareyou saying?" Aspic shook his head, no longer following the turns in conversation.
Heliotrope put another slice of wheat cake on Aspic's plate. "That he throws up barriers around himself. Lots of them. That sometimes the things he says are just that. Great big thorny hedges."
"Maybe." Aspic ate a few bites, thinking. "But I'm not running after him to find out so he can do it to me again."
"Sensible," Ishi agreed. "But if he comes to you, perhaps hear him out."
"I don't think he will, but I'll consider it."And I'll try not to think so much about him until then.
7
One Enchanted Evening
Mrs. Pickle's spines drew down to her eyes. Amazing how such a cute face could quickly become menacing. "He's not home."
