#((but the NSS here is slowly healing. and julian got to meet agent 4!))

[tfsroleplay]

"That’s the issue… I don’t know. I didn’t know I could actually do something like that until a few years ago, back when Octavio took the Great Zapfish. Arius and I were fighting against him, and he got really hurt…"

She frowns, leaning her elbows on the coffee table.

"I was trying to help him, to at least get him away from everything... and when Octavio went to splat us… Well, that’s when it happened for the first time. I just lifted my hand like I wanted to shield us and suddenly the ink was solid and protecting us."

Adria frowned, she’s never been told exactly what happened when Cordelia fought Octavio. Even Marie seemed to skip on the details, which was a bit strange but she never questioned it too much.

"…Okay… So, for some reason, you can make ink solid. But… what about your appearance? That was a rather… drastic change."

"Again, I don’t know. I can’t even see out of this eye properly every day. Its only when I did that for the first time did I realize I could see out of it. Even my mask changes! And I don’t have the faintest reason why."

Cordelia leans her head on her arms, sighing gently. She’s been asking herself questions for 5 years, never really knowing who to even go to about it.

"Though, I have noticed that my tentacles will like… kinda disappear? It’s like I’m using that part of my body in an emergency and letting it regenerate when I’m safe. Maybe instinctively I use the ink from my own body?"

Julian tilts his head, grabbing another dessert.

"Special power. Like... magic?"

Cordelia chuckled, shaking her head and putting her eyepatch back on.

"I don't think magic actually exists, Julian. There's probably some explanation. I just... don't know it. And I feel like I should clarify that my parents do know about it, but they're just as in the dark as I am. Apparently I've done something similar when I was really little, but I don't have any memory of it..."

She leans back slightly, looking at all of them.

"...So... that's all I really know. I know it's not much but... I figured I owed you an explanation after just being MIA for a while..."

Hayden clears his throat, having been silently listening the whole time. He leans forward a bit, looking at Cordelia.

"...If I can interrupt... While I don't have the best memory of your time fighting in Octo Canyon, I do remember Octavio talking about you. Now that we're on better terms with him... Well, you might want to talk to him and see what he might know."

"...Arius said something similar, too... It's something I'll think about. I just don't know when I'll feel ready, you know...?"

She claps her hands together, seeming to relax now that she's said what she needed to.

"For now, though, consider myself back from the impromptu break I took! Agent 5 is back, baby!"

Adria chuckled as Julian began to cheer, Lil Buddy bouncing around Cordelia happily. Hayden bumped his shoulder against Adria's, lowering his voice as they watch the two inklings in front of them. The amount of times he's stayed up late to Adria freaking out about Cordelia's situation was too much for him to count.

"You feel better now? I think she was more afraid that we'd be scared of her and wanting her to stay away from us than her wanting to leave the NSS because of this..."

"...Mhm. I feel a lot better knowing things will somewhat go back to normal..."

Hayden hummed, chuckling as Cordelia laughed loudly. Lil Buddy had begun jumping on top of her, playing a bit of a game of peakaboo. The sounds of laughter and joy would echo throughout the halls of the apartment building throughout the rest of the day...