They switched buses, headed up to Delaware, and hired a taxi for the final stretch of road. Now, as the taxi pulled away, It and Mangle stared at the two-story building hidden in the trees from the gravel driveway. “So, this is home,” Mangle said awkwardly. “First things first, I’ll take the old car out of the garage, make sure it still works. My clothes and things should be here in a few days, but we have to buy you a whole new wardrobe.”
It nodded. “Do you have the key?”
Mangle pulled out an old fashioned key-ring. “I always have it with me, wherever I am, just in case.”
They slid the key in the hole, and turned it cautiously. The door unlocked, and Mangle pushed it open. It walked in near-silently, the gravity of this moment weighing on both of them. They looked around, showing It where everything was. There was a parlor area immediately when you walked in, and short halls to the right and left. On the right, there was a linen closet, a bathroom to the left, and a master bedroom to the right. On the right, there were two bedrooms, and a bathroom between them. There was a set of stairs leading to a loft from the parlor. There was a kitchen behind the parlor, and a dining room across from the kitchen. The living room was behind the kitchen, Mangle knew, but they didn’t tell It any of this because they didn’t want to ruin the surprise of exploring a new house. It turned around and grinned. “I like it,” she decided.
Mangle smiled. “Yeah? I know that the furnishings are sparse, but we’ve got tables, a sofa, beds…”
It nodded. “I like it,” she repeated.
Mangle closed the door behind them. “Yeah, it’s definitely...nice. I forgot how peaceful it was to be out here. I bet you’re gonna want your bed in the loft.”
It’s eyes widened. “The what?!”
Mangle grinned. They hit the nail on the head. “Follow me.”
They both ran up the steps from the entryway into the loft. The entire space was maybe 10 feet by 7 feet, maybe, but It was in love. “It’s so high! Every morning I could fly down to the ground for breakfast! And I can see the living room from here! And the TV! How cool is that?!”
“So I take it this will be your bedroom then,” Mangle nodded. “All right, I’ll find another room to sleep in. Since the whole family visits sometimes, there’s 3 more.”
It turned around. “Really? This place is huge!”
Mangle chuckled. “You’d think so, but with 2 individual families it starts to overflow pretty quickly. There’s my sister’s, and then my parents always like to come at least once a year, and occasionally my cousins and my grandparents on my mom’s side will come down here, because even though my mom got it, it’s just big enough to house everyone, and it’s a 20 minute walk to get to the beach.”
“The beach!” It gasped. “I forgot! We can walk to the beach! Can we go? Can we?”
“Woah, slow down, sweetheart. We have to buy you a change of clothes, it’s not the sort of beach you can streak on.”
It scowled at the mention of streaking and Mangle chuckled.
“We need at least one more outfit for you, probably a swimsuit...it’s August, so that means that it’s the busy season, and we can probably get you a few clothes on the boardwalk. Then goggles would probably help with the spray from the waves...and probably some floaties or something until you can learn to swim.”
It gave Mangle a look. “Dad. I can fly. Using what you called ‘swimming motions’ all I have to do is repeat that with my arms, maybe kick my legs? I’ll be fine.”
Mangle sighed. “Still, sweetheart, it’ll help until you develop your muscles for swimming.”
It growled sullenly. “Fine. But I don’t need them!”
Mangle laughed. “So...do you want to go clothes shopping, sweetheart?”
It perked up a bit, but still sulked a little. “Sure.”
Mangle laughed lightly.
The car was in good condition. Not perfect, and it’d need an oil change soon, but it was good for driving. Mangle pulled out their residential pass and parked in a parking lot off the boardwalk, and walked the rest of the way, It holding their hand in a vice grip. Mangle smiled at her. “Breathe, sweetheart. This town is really small. It’d be hard to lose you, especially because you could fly up and find me immediately and swoop over.” It nodded and relaxed about three hairs, wings tensed and ready for a huge fight or flight maneuver. Mangle walked them into a small surf shop and walked around until they found clothing in It’s size. Mangle pulled out a seafoam green one-piece bathing suit and held it to It. “Do you like it?” Mangle asked.
It examined the clothing, and gave it a stretch. She nodded. “It’s not bad,” she decided. “It’s a little stretchy, though.”
“Bathing suits are designed like that.”
“Oh. Then it’s perfect,” It decided.
They wandered around some more, got a few T-shirts, a pair of boardshorts, and some fabric shorts that would wash easily. Mangle rang it all up and thanked the Lab silently for paying them so well. Mangle put everything save the bathing suit in the trunk and rummaged through some old bags. “It should be...ah! Here we go!” Mangle pulled out their own bathing suit, a pair of floaties, and two towels. “Want to go down to the beach, It? We’ve got everything we need right here!”
It light up and nodded. “Yes! I finally get to go to the beach!” she cheered.
Mangle smiled and glanced around. “Do you think we can get away with changing in the car?”
It looked around herself and nodded. “Probably.”
They ducked inside and Mangle quickly changed, promptly helping It with her bathing suit as well. They exited, and Mangle picked up the towels and floaties. “Sunscreen!” they exclaimed, and quickly went back in the trunk to look for some.
It stood beside Mangle in confusion. “Sunscreen?” she questioned.
“Yeah, the sun can hurt you if you’re out in it for too long. It can cause wrinkles, sunburn, even give you cancer if you’re not careful.” They popped open the bottle and started applying it to themself. “You’re next,” they said.
It wrinkled her nose. “It looks slimy,” she complained.
“It’s not nearly as bad as sunburn,” Mangle replied, approaching it with greasy hands. “Hold still,” they chided.
It tried best she could, but the sunscreen and Mangle’s hands tickled her, causing her to laugh uncontrollably. “S-stop!” she protested.
Mangle finished and let It run away a few feet, where she paused, looked really scared briefly, turned back, saw Mangle, and rushed over again. “Don’t leave me,” she whimpered.
They chuckled. “Don’t worry, It, I’m here for you.”
It took a deep breath. “Beach?” she asked.
Mangle nodded and picked up their stuff, heading to the end of the street where the beach was waiting. As they reached it, dozens of people became visible across the beach. It held Mangle tighter. Mangle stroked her hair and found an empty spot on the beach to lay down their towels. They put It’s floaties on and led her down to the shore. It bristled at the cold sand underneath her now bare feet. A wave approached and crashed against the sand, lapping at both of their toes. “It’s cold!” It exclaimed.
Mangle nodded. “Want to go further?”
It nodded eagerly and ran forward until the water lapped at her calves. She laughed incredulously. Mangle smiled, and then noticed a giant wave approaching. “It, look out!” they warned as the wave crashed over It, almost as tall as her head. She was unceremoniously bowled over and dragged into the ocean as the wave receded. Mangle rushed forward to catch her, but they couldn't spot where she was. Another wave came in and receded, but there was no sign of It. “It!” Mangle called. “Where are you?”
For a blood curdling moment, a piercing scream bombarded Mangle’s ears. Mangle whipped their head towards the sound, and saw it swimming-no, treading-water above the rising waves. “Dad! Look, I can swim!”
Mangle sighed. “Yes, I see that sweetie, can you come back over here, please?”
It started swimming and wound up surfing the approaching wave. She laughed hysterically as she body-slammed Mangle and both of them were thrown into the sand. Mangle clutched at It as the waves crashed around them. “Are you okay, Dad?”
“I thought...I thought you were sucked under the water,” Mangle sighed. “I thought you were drowning.”
It sat up and smiled. “I’m okay, see?”
Mangle sighed. “Yeah, I was just worried.”
Neither of them noticed the even bigger wave approaching, which dragged them both out into deeper waters. Mangle surfaced quickly and glanced around. They couldn’t see the bright yellow floaties anywhere. “It-” a wave crashed over Mangle’s head. A storm must be approaching. “It! Where are you, sweetheart!”
They saw a quick bob of yellow and swam over as fast as they could. They reached around until they found a hand, and pulled. It’s head surfaced just long enough to scream before she was pulled under again. Mangle noticed that the people on the beach were now taking notice of the scene, and a few lifeguards were running out. Mangle pulled harder and It came up to the surface again, sputtering. “H-he’s got-!” she was pulled under again.
Mangle tugged with all their might and a lifeguard reached them, so as It surfaced, a lifesaver was put around her so that she couldn’t be pulled under far enough to drown. “He’s still got me!” she wailed. “Make him stop!”
Mangle looked under the water, ignoring the salt in their eyes, and saw a man in scuba gear pulling on It’s leg. Mangle slugged him in the nose. The guy swam away. Mangle surfaced and said. “He’s gone, for now at least. Are you okay?”
It coughed hard, a dribble of seawater falling down her chin. “Yeah,” she croaked. “Just scared.”
The lifeguard took a careful look at her. “Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked.
It nodded. “Uh-huh.”
“Do you know who pulled you under?”
It shrugged. “N-no...I know it was a guy, though, he was bald and had a bit of a beard.”
The lifeguard nodded. “I’ll let the others know. Stay out of the water for a little while, just to be safe, okay?”
It nodded. “Okay. Th-thanks.”
The lifeguard smiled and started pulling her back to shore. Mangle swam alongside them and looked at the spectators on the beach. Individual strands of conversation started popping up. “Are those wings? No wonder someone was trying to drown her!”
“Wow, what a freak! Why’d the lifeguard go out there?”
“Who’s that one beside them, though? Surely not a guardian of the thing?”
“Momma, what’s that girl doing with wings?”
“Don’t look at it, it might attack you!”
“Freak!”
“Abomination!”
Mangle got on the shore before the lifeguard and glared at the crowd. “Can I help you all? Is something wrong with my daughter?”
Everyone fell silent. Finding no response, Mangle turned to It, who was walking shakily over. “That was awesome. The waves, not the almost drowning,” she murmured.
Mangle laughed and rubbed circles on her back between her wings. “Yeah, I can see why that wouldn’t be fun. Let’s go back to our spot for a bit, huh?” Mangle offered.
They walked over and Mangle leaned back, closing their eyes and enjoying the sun. That is, until they got a scratching feeling on their legs. “It...what are you doing?” They asked, cracking one eye open.
“Burying you in sand,” she said seriously.
Mangle made an exaggerated ‘oh’ face. “May I ask why?”
“No,” It said. “That would ruin my plan.”
“Okay. Should I go back to just lying here?”
It nodded distractedly, scooping more sand in her tiny hands and dumping it on Mangle’s leg. “If that’s what you want to do.”
Mangle laid back, and felt It slowly moving up one leg, then the other, the covering sparse. When she reached their torso, they jumped up and made a “roar!” sound.
It squealed in delight and ran for the waves, but Mangle was too quick. They scooped her up and dumped her at the edge, making quick work of burying her legs in the wet sand. She laughed. “Dad! I can’t move my legs!” she cried.
Mangle grinned. “Good. Because we’re just going to sit here and feel the waves come up against us. It’s less dangerous than actually swimming, but still fun.”
It shrieked as the first wave hit them. As it left, she stuck a finger in the sand, and carefully wrote a d, then an a, and another d. “Dad, look!” she exclaimed.
Mangle looked down and grinned. “When did you learn to write, sweetheart?” they asked.
It shrugged. “I know what the word dad looks like from books, so I just copied it down from memory. Did I do it right?” she asked.
Mangle nodded. “It’s perfect, It. You did a good job.”
It smiled and another wave came in, wiping it away. “Aw,” she sighed.
“That just means you can do it again,” Mangle said.
It lit up and wrote dad over and over until her head was dropping. Mangle picked her up out of the sand and she whined. “No...wanna stay…”
“You’re exhausted, sweetheart. The beach will still be here tomorrow.”
It whined unintelligibly as Mangle wiped down her legs to get rid of sand, picked up their stuff, and carried both it and It to the car. The stuff went into the trunk, a blanket on It in the backseat along with a seatbelt, and Mangle started up the car to head home. They carefully placed It up in the loft as the sun streamed in the late-afternoon early-evening light. They headed downstairs, grabbed a quick snack, and changed both themself and It before blindly stumbling to the master bedroom and falling asleep instantly from the excitement of the day.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
