Seaweed Carry-On

K reacted that way because the normal orders he accepted from his mistress ranged from "Charge! Today we shall feast on the flesh of our enemies!" to "Pull them into the darkest depth with you, let them know the mistake of crossing us!". Now, he was told to somehow shape-shift into a compact case? Of course, the animal was going to be confused.

However, this did not mean that he was not going to try his best to complete the mission. That was his due in life, to perform the orders given to him to the best of his ability. Therefore, K thought about it and nodded at the young man who now commanded over him.

Arthur was overjoyed when he saw K nod. He did not expect the creature would understand him much less had the ability to fulfill his request. Keeping his hold on the bridle, the young man eyed the muscular equine and he really could not fathom why the creature was going to transform himself into a travel-size object.

On that note, Arthur was going to be given a lesson because he was about to bear witness to why these mythical creatures were called mythical in the first place.

The first thing that changed was K's brown coat. It started to melt but not like he was shedding skin but the molecules of his body were pulling apart so that the state of his body changed from a solid state to a liquid state.

The tail and mane transformed into seaweed and sea grass that were already weaving through them. They were washed away vertically as K's body dissolved and started to pool on the ground. The hooves transformed into seashells. Water from the lagoon pulled up to the shore and when it receded, all traces of K were gone, swallowed by the ocean... except for the seaweed that Arthur was holding.

A gobsmacked Arthur looked at the sheaf of seaweed he was holding. He still could not get over the miracle that he had just seen with his own eyes. A horse of flesh and blood just dissolved into water and washed away. All that remained of the magical transformation was the seaweed.

When Arthur recovered from the amazement, he examined the seaweed closer. It was definitely the bridle that he was holding earlier. 'So the horse has transformed into this?!'

The sheaf of seaweed was slimy and wet but at least it was better than carrying a whole horse back with him.

Arthur was happy he managed to resolve the petition as requested that he did not realize how weird he looked to others. However, when he took the bus from Caroline Shore back to the city, he found that out the hard way.

Everyone was trying to not look at him but that only made it even more obvious. Arthur was the centre of attention and it was not for good reasons.

Since Arthur did not carry a backpack with him, he had to hold the sheaf of seaweed in his arm. If he had a bundle of seaweed, it would have made more sense. 'Perhaps the young man is a fisherman and he just came back from the sea to gather seaweed,' people might think and it wouldn't have been that out of place but Arthur was carrying only one single strand of seaweed. That definitely raised some eyebrows.

The fact that said seaweed kept dripping all over the bus even though it had dripping nonstop for hours already did not help the situation. Arthur believed that had plenty to do with the fact the seaweed was actually a mythical horse. It simply would not dry!

Arthur tried to will for K to stop oozing water but there was no answer. Arthur supposed K wasn't technically conscious when he was in this state. Since transforming K back into a horse inside the bus was a big no-no, Arthur had no choice but to suffer the other passengers' curious gaze silently before he got off at his station.

Arthur took out his phone to glance at the time. It was around 7 pm and the weather showed. The sky was darkening and the temperature started to drop. Arthur considered heading directly back to the Midnight Emporium but his stomach began to growl.

With that, dinner sneaked into his plan. He found a quiet place with an alfresco dining style because he was afraid the proprietor might not let him in with the dripping seaweed. As he waited for food to be serve, Arthur eyed the seaweed which had given him plenty of trouble that afternoon and he considered buying a backpack to bring with him on his escapades in the future.

The dinner was simple but delicious. He paid and walked to First Street where he believed the Midnight Emporium was located.

He walked down the street that he passed yesterday and when he turned the corner where the Midnight Emporium was supposed to be, lo and behold, there was nothing but an empty plot of land.

Arthur was shocked and he started to think that this was just an elaborate dream that he had. However, he felt the seaweed in his hands and realized it had to be real.

Calming down, he tried to figure out an logical answer that might explain this situation. Arthur paced up and down the street and then it hit him. It was so obvious, the answer was in the name itself.

The place was called the Midnight Emporium and therefore it should show up at midnight. Arthur didn't notice he had assimilated into this mythical world so seamlessly that he did not stop to question the validity of building appearing and disappearing according to the time of the day. He just accepted it.

Arthur realized the new world he was exposed to had its own sense of rhythm and reason, and he was slowly getting the hang of it, not realizing he too had been slowly absorbed into it.