Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership to Luca or any of the characters associated with it.

Chapter 2: The Donnaiolo

The underwater farm looked much as it had all Luca's life, though their stone cottage was slightly more covered in algae and the towering tree of seaweed had grown a little taller. In a way, everything felt smaller than it had when he was growing up. For much of his young life, this farm was his whole world. He never envisioned much beyond the rolling reefs of their little undersea community, living day to day shepherding their small herd of goatfish and living in fear and awe of the mysterious human world above. Now that he had left this place and seen more of what the real world really was, his childhood home now felt tiny and smothering. Yes, it was nice to be home for a visit, but he knew he couldn't stay for long. His ache for adventure and learning would eventually draw him away again. Such was the life of a scholar like Luca. He was too hungry for knowledge and new horizons to stay stationary for very long.

Even though it was still early, poor Daniela had obviously been too excited for her son's return and had already prepared a welcoming meal of seagrass salad with fish roe and sun-brined lobster ("I had to sit out by a sunny rock and watch them dry out for several hours because of all the darn seagulls! I slapped a few of them away more than once!"). It was nice to catch up on all the goings on under the waves while they ate their supper. Luca enjoyed hearing about their neighbors and how everyone was faring both in and out of water. He even endured his mother's ranting about her most recent beef with Bianca Branzino, even though he secretly believed the two would be great friends if they only got over their silly feud with each other. However, as the conversation wore on, Luca started to feel like he had heard all the recent gossip about every Thalassino except one.

"What's new with Alberto lately?" he asked, trying to casually drop his curiosity without letting slip his residual disappointment at Alberto's absence that afternoon.

Daniela and Lorenzo shared a glance that Luca took instant notice of. His father looked distinctly uncomfortable at the question, and Daniela pursed her lips in a very annoyed-mother sort of way. Luca's grandmother rolled her eyes. She wafted up to exit the room, uttering something about "Going to wash up." Clearly, she didn't want to participate in whatever was coming next.

"Well son," Lorenzo cleared his throat. "It's like Massimo said. Alberto has become very busy with the fishing business. We, uh… don't really see him around much anymore."

Luca gulped some water through his gills, trying to read between the lines of what his father was obviously not saying. "The business must be booming then." Luca glanced around the table and fought to feign excitement. "That's great."

"Yes," Daniela said tartly. "Not that we would know, honestly."

Confused by his mother's sudden harshness on the topic, Luca tried again appealing to his father with a concerned and questioning stare. Lorenzo sighed. "We haven't seen Alberto around because, well, he moved up top. Permanently."

"Up top…? You mean, he's living in Porto Rosso full time?"

"Yep. Not long after you left for your last fall semester. He's been living full time with the humans."

Luca took a moment to absorb this new information. Overall, it wasn't the horrific news he'd been anticipating in his gut. Alberto had always had an affection for human things, and he was adopted by Massimo, after all. While it was a little odd to believe that a Thalassino would leave their natural habitat to live fully immersed with land beings, was it really so much worse than going off to study at a human school for several years, as Luca had done? What was the big deal?

"Well, that's not so bad." Luca said. "I'm sure it was just easier on Massimo and the business for Alberto to live more centrally." It wasn't a great explanation, but he still felt an obligation to defend his best friend.

Daniela was clearly not impressed, and she could no longer hold back what she was bursting with irritation to say. "Hmph. It's one thing to live with the humans, but it's an entirely different matter that he—"

"Oh, leave it alone Daniela!" Luca's Grandmother's voice hollered from the other room. She was clearly more invested in the conversation that she had let on, and she floated back into the dining room with a scowl on her face. "He's a young man and he's allowed to do what young men do without you sticking your beak in it."

"That's just the issue, Mom: he's not a man, he's a Thalassino and he should act like it." Her head fins were bristled with agitation. Lorenzo sighed, obviously wishing they would have avoided the topic, but his wife was stubborn. "Luca deserves to know, and I don't want him to be pressured by that boy's bad influence."

"Bad influence?" Luca was shocked. What on earth had Alberto done that had his mom so upset? She used to treat Alberto like a second son, but now she acted disgusted by the very thought of him.

"Luca—it's not just that Alberto has moved to live on land full time… It's that he's apparently trying to be a human now. We never see him in the water except when he's going to and from on the fishing buggy. He only goes around in his human form now, and—"

Luca's grandmother groaned. "Daniela!"

"—and he's been… well… he's been consorting with human females! It seems there's a different one every week! Always falling over and slobbering all over him in public spaces around Porto Rosso. He's become a regular donnaiolo, if you know what I mean."

Luca was stunned. Alberto? A playboy? He hadn't ever taken time to consider Alberto in any way other than as a best friend and a brother, but suddenly imagining him intertwined with some fictitious human woman brought a hot blush into his scales. He felt suddenly embarrassed, both for himself and for Alberto, whose sins were being aired when he wasn't even there to defend himself. Of the handful of letters they had exchanged over the last year, Alberto had never mentioned moving to live on land full time or that he was dating any girls in town… Luca felt sure that his best friend would've told him something along those lines if his situation was as drastic as his parents were painting it to be. Perhaps he should try to save his friend's honor…

"I-I'm sure there's a misunderstanding…"

"Luca, sweetheart, I know he is your friend, and you want to see the best in him… but what he's doing is simply not natural." Daniela crossed her arms over her chest, clearly satisfied that she'd finally gotten to state her piece. Luca, still stunned, gazed at his father for a lifeline of hope.

"Look, son, it would be one thing if he was out swimming circles with some Thalassino gals… I mean everyone goes through that phase at some point in their life. Even I was quite a shark when I was in my prime, you kn—"

Daniela cleared her throat loudly.

"—Aha, I mean… uh, never mind. The concern we have for Alberto is that he's only dating human girls… And it just doesn't sit well that he's not even with his own kind. I mean, we love the human community up top. They're wonderful people. But we just don't think Thalassinos and Humans should… you know…" He gave his teenage son a very uncomfortable glance.

"Dad—stop." Luca felt queasy, not from the idea of Thalassinos and humans consorting, but rather his discomfort from discussing things like this with his parents in the first place. This was not at all the way he thought this conversation would've gone.

"I told you not to get involved," Luca's grandmother huffed. "It's the boy's best friend, and it's not your business to meddle in anyways."

"It's all our business to protect our species! And maybe Luca will be able to talk some sense into him!"

All this was making Luca wildly uncomfortable. Without any hint of subtlety, he floated quickly up from the table. "How are the goat fish, huh? I-I think I should go check on them. You know Giuseppe is a sneaky one, hah…"

He heard his mother protest as he flitted out the cottage, but he didn't stop. The whole conversation had been too much for him to handle at once… first Alberto had abandoned their tradition of welcoming him back at the train station, then he finds out that Alberto had all but disowned his identity as a Thalassino to live on land with the humans. Well, not just live with them, apparently… Again, he tried to shake away scandalous images from his mind. It wasn't so much that he was bothered by the interspecies mingling as much as his family was, but he didn't want to think about his best friend in that way. It made him feel weirdly prickly all over, and he felt dirty imagining even fabricated depictions of that sort of stuff, particularly when it involved Alberto.

The goatfish bleated suspiciously at him, regarding him as a stranger after so many months away. He swam into their enclosure, grateful for an escape from the uncomfortable dinner conversation. Mostly what bothered him about the whole situation is that, for the first time since he had met Alberto, he suddenly felt very distant from his best friend. They had always been close, sharing dreams and thoughts and life plans with each other. Alberto had been the one who liberated Luca from the sea and shown him the wonders of the human world. He owed Alberto everything… but suddenly he felt that Alberto was somehow a different person. Why hadn't he told Luca about living on land? Why hadn't he told him about his escapades dating women in town? Did he think Luca would judge him, the way his parents were doing? Did he expect Luca to villainize him as a donnaiolo, too?

Surely Alberto knew Luca always had his back no matter what… right? It's got to be just a misunderstanding… Luca thought sadly as he settled onto a rock and rested his chin in his hands. He would see Alberto soon, and then everything would be ironed out once they could talk together again.

Tomorrow. Everything will be better when I see Alberto again tomorrow.

Such scandal!

Thank you for reading.

-Olly