142- Hi, my name is Jane, but you can call me tonight.
JANE
It’s loud upstairs tonight. Laughter rattles down through the beams. Someone’s dropped something glass, it doesn’t break. A good omen I suppose but it’s a shame I won’t get to eat the shards. My friend Rina explained to me earlier that they are hosting a ‘team building slash family night.’ The phrase makes no sense, but the sentiment is clear. They are gathering together their favourite beings. They are loud. And I am, as ever, beneath it all. But I don’t mind because she remembered me too. A platter waits by the trapdoor. My trapdoor. A tray of snacks, all for me. There’s tea, too, warm and fragrant, left in a very large tea cup. I uncoil enough to sample the offerings. Rina knows what I like. She always does. She’s a nice person. Above me, the crowd is growing. I know the sounds of their steps. The steady ones like Torin, the stompy ones like Laura, there are the ones that hesitate at the bar before committing and coming closer. The hesitant one is Richard, unsurprisingly with the little selkie Lindy who hums as she walks. She’s nice to him now. I liked it better when she called him Dick. The young one Wren whispers excitedly to whoever is nearest. Kyle tells someone they’re cheating in some gambling pool they’ve started. He’s probably right. The floor above me thrums with life, with voices I’ve come to know. Familiar weight shifts. Shared laughter. Something clatters onto the table and someone curses in a friendly tone. Rina's presence moves through it all like a melody, steady, strong, unmistakably hers. I like to keep track of her. She’s my favourite. Beneath all of it, I listen. Not because I’m hunting or guarding or waiting. Although I often do all of those things. I’m listening just… Because it’s nice. I am not at the table with everyone else. But I am part of the evening. I am here, tucked in my shadowed hollow, snack platter and warm tea steaming gently beside me. And it is good.
I nibble another cookie, it’s buttery, and sweet, it actually doesn’t do anything to fill me or nourish me, but I like eating. Above, the front door creaks open. Two new sets of footsteps enter. These ones are familiar now. Clare and Lukas.
“I’m sorry Julian couldn’t make it. He’s on a date. Sent me a weird text about a baby griffin?” Clare says, voice light but apologetic and a little confused. I pause mid sip of tea. A griffin? How charming. I believe they have some cat like features. I like cats. Rina brought her kitten Crash along with her today which pleases me. I was playing with him earlier but he is asleep now. Rina, delighted to see her friends, skips across the floor.
“Here’s a cookie.” She says, handing one to Lukas. He takes it, visibly confused.
“Why?” He asks.
“Because you’re joining a very exclusive club.” She responds immediately.
“What club might that be?” He asks warily. She grins.
“The ‘sold by a parent to Solem but got out of it’ club.” She answers with a giggle. I chuff quietly. A pleased, amused sound that vibrates through the floorboards. A very exclusive club indeed. The door opens announcing more arrivals. Footsteps I know too well, the charged energy of Eli and the steadier presence of Damien. Eli bursts through the door like he owns the place
“Rina, show me your phone.” He immediately demands. She hands it over, unbothered.
“Damn it!” Eli groans, apparently displeased.
“Why is your brother number one on your speed dial and not Torin?” He complains. Rina blinks.
“I live with Torin. And work with him. I’m more likely to be calling my brother. It just makes sense.” She explains. Eli seems unhappy with her answer, but then suddenly jumps up and spins toward Damien, full of enthusiasm.
“We should live together!” He suggests loudly. Damien is much quieter and barely even reacts.
“Dude… Slow down.” He responds. Eli pouts but he does not seem truly upset. I like These two, they are amusing to watch. They seem closer than the last time I saw them both. I sip my tea, deeply satisfied.
Laura sweeps into the main room carrying a corkboard that is nearly as tall as she is. On it, in bright glittery letters is the title ‘WHAT IS JANE?’ The board is a masterpiece of chaotic speculation. Beneath it the heading, red string connects blurry photos, coffee stained notes, and a deeply questionable Venn diagram. The diagram is labeled;
Definitely Tentacles
Probably Has Teeth
Unconfirmed Shadow Beast?
The spot where they all intersect is a bold scribble of my name with a smiley face drawn underneath. One corner of the board simply says ‘Not a ghost?’ and another is dedicated entirely to a theory titled “Possible sea creature.’ It is, objectively, terrible. I like it very much.
Laura stands beside the board with her arms crossed, clearly proud. She’s taking this more seriously than half the college theses I’ve eaten. She’s even got colour coded thumbtacks! Eli, by contrast, is not. He slouches into a chair, grinning, and starts handing out cards scrawled with thick marker.
“It’s time for monster bingo! It’s science. It’s chaos. It’s a drinking game if you’re brave.” He announces proudly. Now this I am curious about. I extend a limb silently through the trap door and pluck one of the cards off the table. The group falls quiet for a moment but Eli beams.
“See? Jane wants to play too. She gets it.” He declares. I study the card. It has many different ideas on it. I read a few.
Eats furniture
Glows in the dark
Mimics human speech
Bites someone (playfully)
Steals someone’s shoe
Sings along to music
Unexpected tentacle high five
Makes eye contact… Or at least you think she did
Likes shiny objects
Purring?
It’s a ridiculous card and oddly specific. Still… Delightful. Kyle eyes me with the haunted look of someone who’s seen one too many limb shaped shadows. He’s never been particularly comfortable around me, but he is generally respectful. So it’s fine.
“I’m not playing, I’m not tempting fate by gossiping about the giant basement dweller. I know my role, and it’s snack guy.” He mutters firmly. I like that about Kyle. He understands his place in the ecosystem. Rina tosses a cookie toward the trapdoor. Bribe accepted, I think, snagging it silently. I curl up down below, bingo card and snack in hand, listening to the chaos build. There’s something genuinely satisfying about being the question at the heart of this little game they’re playing. A creature of mystery, wrapped in affection and very bad science. Let them guess. This is fun.
I observe as they all settle in, drinks in hand, snack bowls passed around. The lights are low and the energy is buzzing, warm and curious. Rina claps her hands for attention, holding court and managing everyone like she always does.
“Okay. Rule one, no poking Jane. We’ve all agreed on that.” She says firmly. Eli immediately raises a hand, holding up a spoon like it’s a legal objection.
“No physical poking. What if I just hold up a mirror and see if she has a reflection?” He asks. Damien answers without looking up from opening a bottle.
“She’s got tentacles and she once ate an entire chair. I think we can assume she’s not a vampire.” He responds calmly. Eli is undeterred.
“Unless she’s a tentacled vampire. You don’t KNOW. That’s the point of tonight. None of us know!” He insists. The vampire tangent spirals into a heated debate about what I can and do eat. The answer they all come up with is basically that I eat anything. They’re not wrong, I CAN eat anything. The effort is minimal. Sometimes, it’s even fun. Wren tilts his head.
“Wait, what did Jane eat before Rina got here and started feeding all the time? Did she eat?” He wonders. Everyone turns toward Torin with the exact same question hanging in the air. Torin shrugs, unsure.
“Not to my knowledge…” He trails off. There’s a pause.
“So, Jane eats anything, but doesn’t NEED to eat? Or at least not often?” Laura sums up, setting her drink down.
“Unless… There’s something else down there that she’s been eating.” Damien says slowly. All eyes swing toward Rina. She lifts both hands.
“It’s pitch black down there. I didn’t see a THING when I was hiding from those guys. Just… Shadows and cold and a smell like wet rock and old paper. I also ended up very dirty. But Jane has given me gifts before, so clearly she’s got stuff down there.” She points out. Rina is right. I DO have stuff. Trinkets. Trinkets are valuable. Well, some of them are. I just collect things that I like. A stolen bar spoon here, a broken charm bracelet there. A really pretty rock, it’s deep blue and shiny. I think a sapphire? I also have an entire rocking chair. And the top half of a mannequin I found once. The mannequin is wearing Rina’s old scarf. She gave it to me. Then Lindy softly asks a question.
“Wait. Is Jane stuck down there? Or does she choose to stay?” She seems concerned. How sweet. The room goes very still. No one answers. Probably because they don’t know. And I don’t tell them because I like it that way.