Terror from the Deep

"Woow…" Riliane gazed at a school of tuna swimming in front of her eyes. Rin had taken Riliane over to an aquarium and seeing fish up close is a sight to behold.

"You like this place, don't you?" Rin couldn't help but smile at Riliane being in awe.

"Yes! Yes I do! This place is amazing!"

"Well, there are other fish kept here too! Like jellyfish, stingrays, sharks…"

"…S, Sharks…?" Riliane turned to Rin nervously just as a great white swam just behind her.

"…Y, Yeah! W, why don't we look over there? …Or should I say, move away from here?"

Rin took Riliane's hand and led her away, sweating like hell.

"Oh look, it's Luka!" Rin spotted Luka near a demonstration area, "Hey Luka! Over here!"

"Hmm? If it isn't Rin and Riliane," Luka greeted the girls as they made their way over.

"Hello, Luka," Riliane bowed slightly.

"What are you doing here?" Rin asked.

"Well, my reason is the same as yours. And, I was just admiring that octopus over there…" Luka pointed that over at the tank before her.

"O…Octopus…?" Riliane stammered.

Suddenly, the octopus reached out an abnormally long tentacle…towards Riliane.

"AAAAAAIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!" Riliane screamed and ran like the wind.

"OH MY GOD…" Rin jumped back but didn't flee, as if she is used to this every time.

"W, wait! Riliane! Where are you going?" Luka called, unfazed by what happened.

"I'll stand over here! It's much safer!" Riliane yelled back.

"Wait Riliane, look! Look! The octopus is going to open a jar!"

"I'LL PASS!"

"Are you sure? Come on, Riliane! Don't you wanna see?"

Riliane did not want to come any closer to that eight-limbed monstrosity. But even so, Luka seemed persistent. Riliane came back and hid behind Rin. Sure enough, a jar is placed next to the octopus. It gripped the jar, unscrewed the lid, and grabbed the crab that was inside. Riliane continued to hide, although she did have to admit that it is impressive.

"Aw! How cute!" Luka cooed in awe.

"You…like this thing?" Riliane squirmed.

"Yes I do! It's a very amazing octopus!"

Riliane gulped. She swears she has heard that line before.

"Heck, we even have a mascot…" Rin muttered.

Riliane blinked, "A mascot?"

"Check this out," Rin pulled out her phone and showed Riliane a picture.

"…"

"…"

"…Rin?"

"Yes?"

"…What…is…that?"

"TakoLuka."

Riliane stared open-wide at that…thing. It looks like a head of Luka with her hair spread out like tentacles.

Luka leaned over to peek at what Rin is displaying, "Oh you're showing TakoLuka to Riliane?"

"Yep."

"Oh well I just happen to have her here in my bag!"

"…Wait what?"

Before Rin could talk further, Luka reached into her handbag and pulled out the creature known as TakoLuka.

"AAAAAAIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!" Riliane screamed again. TakoLuka is waving her tentacles about as onlookers piled up.

"Oh Riliane! Don't worry! TakoLuka is friendly!" Luka offered TakoLuka to Riliane. When Riliane obviously didn't want to hold that "thing", Luka shrugged…and then TakoLuka jumped on top of Riliane's head.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKK!" Riliane screeched.

"Wait! Wait one moment! See? She likes you!"

Sure enough, TakoLuka is playing around with Riliane's hair. Riliane moaned. Even if TakoLuka meant no harm, the feeling of moving tentacles makes Riliane want to puke.

"You really have bad memories with octopuses, do you?" Rin asked.

Riliane winced in mental pain, "Yeah…like that one time when Elluka Clockworker got one of those…"

"Uh… First of all, Queen Dowager Prim and King Kyle were very pleased with the honoraria we sent… so they deliberately ordered me to bring something back."

As Minis finished, he signaled servants to move up something. In gold and silver jewelry, a small glass container drifted along. In the container filled with water, there was only one weird eight-legged creature swimming in the water.

"Wow… What is it?" Riliane stiffened her face.

"They said that it's one of the baby octopuses they often capture in the coastal waters of Marlon. Because of its weird shape, nobody wanted to eat it."

"What in the world is this?! Is this a hoax or something?!"

"No… This is a gift for Elluka. Queen Dowager Prim said that she'll be pleased to see it."

Allen looked at Elluka; He saw her eyes shining while gazing at the octopus. This is far worse than what she usually looks like.

"That's… really something good. That's a 'Very Amazing Octopus'!"

"… What part of it is amazing?"

"Everything about it is amazing… very amazing!"

Riliane sighed, "Honestly, what is so amazing about it?"

"I'll tell you why!" Luka blurted out.

" WHAT IS SO AMAZING ABOUT IT?' Why do you hate me so much?" Rin recoiled in agony while Luka started belting out her explanation.

"Just like what you have seen in the demonstration earlier, octopuses have high intelligence, which is often debated by marine biologists for some time. In fact, there is this one video online that shows an octopus using a coconut shell as a makeshift shelter! Also, octopuses have an excellent sense of touch, allowing them to taste what they feel! Furthermore, they can differentiate…"

After who knows long of nothing but "amazing" facts about octopuses, Riliane returned to Rin, all worn out. TakoLuka continued to fumble about in Riliane's arms. It seems that Riliane's fear of TakoLuka is somewhat diminished.

"Rin? Are…all pink haired people like her and Elluka?"

Rin merely looked at Luka, who has returned back to the demonstration area and resumed admiring the octopus in front of her, "…No. You're exaggerating things, although only someone with a twisted mind like hers can recite all that."

"I…see…"

Riliane could've figured it all out. After all, Elluka is rather eccentric, even back in the day when Riliane's father and mother were still in power.

"But you know what?" Rin whispered, "This may sound strange, but I bet Luka can communicate with octopuses as well."

Suddenly, as if on cue, the octopus shot ink at Rin's head.

*Splat*

"Kya! R, Rin…!"

"Oh my! It actually understands! That is so adorable!"

"…SON OF A B…"

"Uh, I think we should go!" and with that, Riliane handed TakoLuka back to Luka and hurried Rin off towards the bathroom.