Frolicking down the street I regretted leaving my coat behind. The nights were getting chilly. But that's not what was on my mind at the time. Seeing demon's dark silhouette emerge from behind the corner I squealed and launched myself at him in a sprint, "Baby! Where've you been? I've missed you so!" He stood exactly where I'd left him. Probably same exact spot.

From mere steps away I lunged, shouting, "Catch me!"

Instead of flopping down on the stone pavement, or toppling over us both and landing in a heap of elbows, I was caught and hung suspended.

"You actually did," I exhaled surprise. I'd usually trip everybody down and Ruby would then add onto the new bruises.

"Of course," monster ticked quietly as though it was only obvious. Show off.

"Sooo, did you eavesdrop?" I inquired knowing the answer full well.

"I heard, yes."

"So why didn't you broadcast your permission for everyone to know? You're scaring the common folk into being unreasonable, yano."

"You assume much," demon chastised and I raised my eyebrow.

"Is that a no?"

"No."

Demon didn't elaborate and my irritation made a comeback. I swung my dangling legs up and down, to calm myself. The few dim blips aside, the surroundings drowned in the dark. The scarce torches weren't all that visible from distance. Stars above were only intensifying the feeling of being somewhere deep in the ocean. It was terrifyingly beautiful.

"What's your name anyway? I'd hate to have some other monster pop up next time I need to holler."

"Your kind has given me many names," horned monster rumbled.

I haven't seen all that many movies, but still recognised the line. I scoffed deeply irritated, "I didn't ask that. What you call yourself?"

"I do not," he said and I felt my nails rake something. There wasn't pain so it must not have been my skin, but monster haven't reacted either. Must be nice to be able to turn off every bothersome function of your body.

Released abused flesh and made a fist instead. Fine, the monster was right. I didn't call myself either, was not that crazy – yet. Before I could specify further, monster elaborated, "Speech is distinctly human mode of communication. It's inefficient."

I huffed at the stuck-up monster - of course his way was much better. Didn't protest with my inept words however, because deep down I knew he was probably correct. These things had eons to work it all out.

Tendril separated itself from a hem of his hood and twined around my neck. I tensed up. Unsettling, but the creature could rip me apart without this. Base of my skull tickled and between blinks I started knowing more. The buildings suddenly were clear as day, and I saw far further. Forest, the people in it. The swaying branches around them. The critters on the other side. The entirety of information made the tiny personality within my meat suit balk.

A powerless gargle in lieu of words focused the attention back onto us and the onslaught of information stopped immediately. I shook, revolted and exhausted. If I had any strength left, I'd leap away and retch. The negative physical sensations disappeared few heartbeats later but I still hung, breathing heavy and nobody said a thing.

That wasn't even one set of information. When I made noise the image diverged and I realised I was thrown into another detailed landscape. The later one was present. The previous must have been from when we came in. Had he tried to relay something? Things had been somewhat different, but I just didn't have any spare capacity to compare.

If monsters could assault their conversational partners with the grand totality of anything and everything, no wonder they didn't waste their breath. Speech was quite inadequate after all. Too bad that was all our puny human brains were capable of.

After what must have been way too long I snapped back and looked into the fishbowl of darkness once again. What were we talking about again? Right. Names.

"So when somebody calls you, they send you an image of you?"

"No..." This time I felt the monster try and put complicated things into a small one-sentence package for my little brain to comprehend and didn't fault him. I did decide to fault him when it seemed horned devil abandoned that explanation whatsoever and moved on from it. Eventually the chest rumbled, "Such intrusion is not usually welcome. Too easy to kill. By accident or on purpose."

I sniffled what could probably be blood and hissed, "What, too intrusive? If only there were other ways to casually shout from a distance." Stupid monsters.

There was another ponderous pause and he said, "My name is under your fingernails."

"What?" I stared at the unclenched fist, obviously not seeing a damned thing.

"The smell is specific to each individual living thing."

"You people are so damn complicated," I huffed out, rubbing my temple. Gave my nails a whiff. It smelled of the ground I've been gripping in my nap.

"It's the first time you called us people," monster stated.

"Aw, what, lil baby monster had his feelings hurt?" I mocked him for no reason besides my own defensiveness. I didn't really spend all that much time pondering the subject before leaving the city, none at all to be exact, but then at least one of them appeared and spoke. It was simple to come to right conclusions.

"No. Humans are less than bugs to us." And yet he brought it up and that told me something.

"Oh, don't be so butthurt. Plenty of humans are monsters too," I explained hastily and went back to dissecting more interesting things.

"So this smell... Fresh meat?" There was barely anything on my hands, but I vividly recalled what his maw smelled like. I grasped for polite way to say it was generic as fuck. "I'm probably not picking it up right... All innards smell more or less like that. Right? Perfume or hints of oil would be more specific to tell people apart, no? Or whatever it is you'd be around the most."

"Items and environment add clarifying markers, but they aren't the essence. Human senses are hardly sufficient to tell most of those apart."

I inhaled deep but there was nothing still. Not even on his living coat. Which was odd, and how did I not notice it earlier? Well, I guess it would be somewhat weird to be carrying tantalising fragrance of butcher shop everywhere you went. I didn't walk around with my ID taped to the forehead either.

That took a lot of effort and I still didn't have a name. Now I of course understood his side of issue, but it hardly helped. "So how do I call you? If you make me pick something, I promise you – it shan't be flattering, Hammie."

Monster ticked away quietly and then said, "I primarily smell of nerve tissue."

"Hmm... Fitting, as you do get on my nerves a lot. Brainiac? Highbrow?" I pondered. That went with the body parts theme the monsters had going, but these were far too flattering. "Noodle!"

"You sound malnourished," monster bit back and I had to admit he was probably right.

"Fine, you do deserve a normal, human name. Shall we call you Parkinson? In honour of all that restless twitching you do," I said and nodded energetically. This could really grow on me.

"Why didn't you eat?" creature asked after a short tingling sensation I was learning to associate with him doing something to me.

"Stop that," I demanded, yanking myself forward to interrupt whatever that's been happening on my back. It ceased and didn't restart even when I settled back. Why was I still lounging in his arms anyway? It was warmer, I suppose.

"Eat, or I will do it for you," monster stated. He knew I didn't like that. We've covered that extensively during the trip.

Commands didn't sit right with me at all and I frowned in disgust. Almost forgot the creature was as bad as all the rest of the power-tripping assholes. There goes all the rapport we've almost established. No matter, he will be able to be as bossy as he wants to the pile of my ash soon.

"Of all the things, that's what I need you doing least," I muttered angrily and scrambled off the alien overlord.

Monster let me go easily for once, but his hand lingered and brushed upwards as he asked, "What do you need me to do?" It felt undeservedly pleasant and a shiver emanated from his touch and down my spine. It confused me. Was I that starved of tender touches? Yes, but no. As natural as it felt, this couldn't be coincidence, with a monster that smelled primarily of nerves. I stared up at the blind horns. That was... suggestion. Right?

One way to find out for sure. "Again," I demanded. One way or the other I came here looking for some bliss. Did it matter I'd find it in hands of literal monster? Not in the slightest.