Rain.
That is the first thing the young Octoling felt.
She opened her eyes and saw a bleak, grey sky. A few notes of a song were ringing in her head. Where am I? she thought, who am I?.
The Octoling stood up and found herself in an alley. She looked down at herself. She was wearing a Salmonid-leather crop top, a matching skirt, and boots that matched as well. Then, she looked around and took in her surroundings. Ahead of her was a street lined with quaint-looking shops and a trail of familiar pink ink leading towards her. When she noticed this, she patted herself down and found a long scrape along her right leg. It was no longer bleeding, but she had forgotten that she had water on her finger, and when she touched the scrape it leaked a little more ink. She walked out and tripped on two elderly Inklings' feet. "Oh, sorry!" she said, and they looked at her like they couldn't understand. The woman turned to the man and said "zói žo sáne múyo zói." and the man replied "zói pafú i ko ayokí sišú." and then stretched his hand out to her. The octoling started shaking. She felt like she should be aggressive to these people, but knew it was wrong. She shakily took his hand. "Kíse" the woman said, "wa nói mišaiyakói múyo zói."
She walked into their house and gasped. Although it was a normal Calamari County house, it was more beautiful than anything she had ever seen. Many of the walls were covered in pictures, and when she peeked in the dining room, she saw a table polished to shining with Snail Slime Glaze™. The lights bathed the rooms in a welcoming glow, and the smell of pastries wafted from the kitchen. The elderly inklings took her to a cozy living room, and the woman pointed at herself and said "múyo zói." "no," the octoling said. "Inkling". but the woman pointed at herself and said "múyo zói." again. "Ooooh!" the octoling said, and then pointed at the old woman and said "inkling!", but in the inkling language. the old woman clapped her hands and said "beóta enára!".
After many long sessions of this, the octoling was an (almost) fluent speaker of inkling. She also had a name! Her name was Maya. Today was the day she left for Inkopolis. "Goodbye my friends!" she shouted to the old couple who had raised her for a year. "I am doing the going to the Inkopolis!". And so she was off! After a few hours of walking, she saw a glint of light in the shadows of an alley. "Hmm… I wonder what that is?" she thought. So Maya ran over to investigate. A flash of pain in her head, a red dot, and nothing.