No matter what Mr. Wright says, there is always time to go to the Shipshape aquarium, and Athena knows this for a fact.
How could she even resist the desire to see Orla and Ora once more anyway? They were part of her basic needs - just like you'd need to eat, drink and sleep. Okay, maybe not, but they were just too cute to be ignored.
The young lawyer giggles in anticipation, swaggering her way through the aquarium entrance like she's a celebrity walking on the red carpet. (But if she's being stared at, it's really because of her bright yellow outfit.) Today's a good day, a good day indeed. She loves this place too much.
The tunnel is her second - no, third favourite place to be at Shipshape, because it's so pretty. The first one is the live stage, and the second is the orcas' private aquarium - these are the only places where you can see them after all. But the underwater tunnel is so impressive, and so very calming it's almost breathtaking. It's probably because of this deep, luminous blue colour surrounding you when you walk - and because of all the fish swimming in great circles all around the place too.
Skree, skree, Athena hears while she marvels at a whale shark undulating with its mouth wide open like it's about to swallow her as a whole. She couldn't mistake this call for any other one - she turns to its source with a wide smile.
"Rifle!" She faces the female penguin with her arms wide open, like a welcome, but it's really scarier than anything to the bird. "There you are!"
Athena strikes a thoughtful pose, her eyes up on the tunnel above her. "Too bad I don't have any fish on me, though," she adds, rubbing her chin.
Skree, skree once again - the penguin glares at her marine friends - preys? - swimming around in the water around her, ignoring the lawyer completely. Rude, way too rude.
"But," Athena starts off again, kneeling to get a better look at her feathered companion - do penguins actually have feathers? It doesn't really seem so, but she's not a specialist. - "... what are you doing here again, Rifle? Are you lost?"
It is natural for Rifle to constantly wander around the aquarium, even though she always has an extremely important place to go to really often - the veterinarian's lab. For this is where her offspring usually lives ; amidst the vet's luxuriant hair.
"Rifle!" she whispers once, hoping that the penguin will approach her.
"Rifle!" she murmurs, tapping the ground with her fingers as if she's trying to call a dog or a cat.
But there's no answer, and the penguin walks away after giving Athena a mean look.
"Rifle..." The girl groans and stands up, clenching her fists - "you will become my friend this time, I'm telling you!" And there she goes. She dashes at the speed of light, chasing the penguin who stares at her hesitatingly for a second before realizing she's in deep, deep trouble and rushes away as well. The lawyer chases the bird like in some kind of action movie, and it's a sight to behold - it's almost as remarkable as the Swashbuckler Spectacular.
But as Rifle takes a swift look behind her to analyse her opponent, she accidentally slips and stumbles and ends up falling with a loud and desperate skree, not moving an inch. Athena stops and gasps, Widget turning dark blue - as dark as the water surrounding them in the tunnel, and she runs over to the injured penguin.
"Are you okay there, Rifle? That was a nasty fall!" she exclaims and bends over, her hands on her knees, inspecting the aquarium mascot. "You know who you really do need to see now? The vet! To the lab!"
She delicately picks up her reluctant feathered friend and heads off to the Pub O'danger. (It's only a few steps away, really, and she remembers exactly where it is.) And she kicks the door open, naturally, because her hands are full.
The place is as messy as ever - and dark, incredibly dark, despite the bright lights coming from all sorts of computer screens all around. There are technologic devices all around, bits of food here and there, and boxes ; innumerable animal food boxes and bottles and flasks and microscopes scattered all over the desk. And naturally, there's the veterinarian.
"Gah!" The vet jumps and turns to see the young lawyer holding the agitated penguin - which is getting rather heavy after a while, you wouldn't even guess - "It's... you young lady again!" And he's practically glaring daggers at her like he does with almost everyone he meets.
"No time to talk, Mr. Crab, I need to get this girl here examined! She fell right before my eyes. I think she hurt her leg or something."
Athena brings the penguin over to the doctor and she squeals softly, because she can sense Sniper isn't far. The vet examines his patient carefully, not uttering a single word, his fingers rubbing his chin. He palpates the penguin's leg and feet with great attention.
"I guess she probably just injured her foot when she fell. It's a small contusion, nothing more."
The lawyer sighs, relieved. There she thought Rifle sprained her leg or something!
"I must thank you for bringing her to me, though. She hasn't regurgitated in a little while now and Sniper's really hungry."
The small chick squeaks in response and hides back inside the veterinarian's hair. He lets out a groan and shoves his hand in, hoping to catch the famished, squawking little trouble making bird.
Athena lets out a laugh, and looks at the doctor trying to do his work.
"I'm so happy I could be of any help, though! Maybe Rifle and me will finally get along now!"
"Hmm... That's always a possibility. But seeing as you don't really smell like fish right now, I don't see how she would agree to stay with you."
"Was that... supposed to be a compliment?" Athena wonders - out loud, of course - with a discouraged look on her face. "...Oh, hey," she says suddenly, placing her hands on her hips, "I've been meaning to ask, but do penguins... have feathers? You know, because they don't really look like they do."
The doctor pauses and looks at her and there's something off about his gesture just now for a moment. "Yes, young lady, penguins do have feathers, like any other bird. They're just very short and dense, which is why it looks like fur more than anything else."
"Oh," she replies and she frowns for a sec - that was probably nothing, though. Nothing important.
But the vet tenses up and glowers at her again - "H-hey, what's with the staring, young miss? Are you insinuating I'm not right or what?" Nerviness, slight anger, and vague... shock? No, that's not it.
"What?" she blurts out, "No! No no, that's not it! You gave me the perfect answer just now!"
A pause. He looks away. His heart sounds... strange. "Hm. Guess you lawyer people simply don't get anything about biology or science whatsoever." He isn't looking at her. He doesn't... iwant/i to look at her? What's wrong? What did she do? Did she upset him in any way?
"If you, uh, don't mind, I would like you to leave now. And thanks again for Rifle."
His eyes meet hers and his heart races up, very briefly.
She can't make out what it wants to say - it's confused, conflicted. There's something contradictory, something it refuses to let out.
She bangs the desk next to her with her fist - "Hold it!", she shouts, and it's unintentional really - she can't control it. But there's something so fishy about all this.
"Mr. Crab... What..."
Her voice trails off as she stares at him, stares deep into his eyes and he knits his brow as much as he seems to be able to.
"Mr. Crab! You... you don't believe in romantic feelings, do you?"
He jumps - it's all too sudden, probably, he wasn't expecting that, probably. Oh Athena, poor Athena, you scared him off, surely.
"I don't... No! What? W-wh... How do you-?! When did I tell you this?"
Rifle lets out a skree.
"Quiet!" (And Sniper lets out another.) "Quiet, all of you! Dammit!"
He buries his face behind his hand and lets out an annoyed sigh.
"Hngh... I do not... believe in romantic feelings."
She lifts her chin up slightly as if to say, "liar." ("You do. Your heart screams you do.")
She opens her mouth to answer, but he's too fast this time -
"I just," Herman starts off, "thought you reminded me of a... penguin."
... And that was unexpected.
"You... what?" The young lawyer raises an eyebrow. This proved to be much more confusing that anything else. But she thinks - she's practically convinced - that the noise in Dr. Crab's heart has quieted down a bit.
"You made me think of Rifle, that's all. You, uh... Hm. Whatever, actually, I'm not gonna bother wording something so stupid." He's the one glaring now. "Out of my lab, young lady. Now."
She folds her arms and sends him back the same look - she wants to draw out an answer from him, she needs to, but it's so hard with this man and he's so far from being an open book.
"Out, I say!" he repeats a little louder, his hands digging deep inside his pockets. "Or I feed you to the orcas!"
"Fine, fine, I'll go!" Athena exclaims and springs up - she walks to the door, and turns towards the vet. "But only if you admit that you felt something strongly unusual for you just now."
"Unusual?" he echoes, frowning. "Heh... you lawyers."
"I have proof."
"Whatever. Whatever you want, young lady."
She smiles, and he can't help but smirk. But it just doesn't feel like his usual self just now. There's something of a faint victory in this smile she drew out from him.
She steps out.
And doctor Herman Crab blushes, slightly, it's almost nothing ; it's almost imperceptible. It had been a while.