Faith

Don't wake her!

She has to go to bed.

I'll carry her. Get the door.

She's more than old enough to do this herself.

And only a few years until she's grown legs and too big to carry.
Pull down the covers for me?
And... there we go. Snug as a clam in a shell.

You spoil her.

Everyone should be spoiled sometimes.

Callie scowls and asks herself, for the thousandth time, how their apartment manages to get dirty so fast.

The kitchen counters have been scrubbed, the microwave cleaned out, the stove top cleaned (she did the oven last month), all the dishes are cleaned and put away and the floor swept. The living room's been vacuumed, everything cleared off the coffee table (and in some cases simply chucked into Marie's room, teach her to leave sketchbooks everywhere) and that wiped, the computer desk cleared off and some canned air applied to the keyboard and other parts, the windows washed and the floor vacumed. Both of them look phenomenal. Her own room never needs much cleaning, naturally.

But right now, she'd rather sing another complete splatfest than tackle their disaster of a bathroom.

Her phone buzzes. Thank the zapfish, a reprieve. Callie doesn't care who's calling, she flips it open without checking caller ID. "Good morning, this is Callie," she chirps.

"Morning, Callie," says their agent, glum as always. "I had to get some help from my colleague for this, since music's my specialty, but I've got two auditions for you."

"Oh?" Callie leans against the door frame. Come on...

"You're up for the lead in Legally Squid, which should suit your bubbly, somewhat airheaded stage persona perfectly, as well as an unknown role—they refuse to give details yet, because of potential leaks—on An Unforeseen Yet Fortunate Betrayal (with bones)."

Callie squeals out loud. "Yes! Yes yes yes yes yes. Just give me the dates. Do you have scripts? Lines I can memorize? Any hint of what I should prepare as I go in?"

"They want you to audition on specific scenes in Legally Squid, so I'll send over the script segments available for those. In Unforeseen, I have no idea, but this season they're specifically looking for people who can do other languages, with singing as an added bonus. That's the only way I got you the audition—your language skills are good, even if you're a complete acting unknown. Don't blow it."

"I won't! I'll practice every day and get SUPER good and I'll give them the best auditions they've ever had!" she says, almost vibrating in her spot. "Should I stop by the office later to pick things up? Anyone I should meet? Or—"

"It'll be in your e-mail in the morning," he says. "Now buzz off and relax a bit, I have to deal with the headache about Now Or Never."

"Have a fantastic one!" Callie chirps as he hangs up on her. She does a small dance in place, hugging herself and spinning and hopping up and down. Fortunate Betrayal is going into its sixth season this year, and she's watched every episode as they came out since it started; they announced they planned for an eight-season run, so maybe the mysterious Mr. Fish will be revealed this season, or his evil henchmen be more permanent fixtures. It's almost guaranteed some will come back for the final season, and now Callie's got a chance at being one.

Her phone rings again. Callie flips it open. "Good mo—"

"Agent One," Gramps interrupts, "this is Captain Cuttlefish. Can you and Two get down here without blowing your covers?"

Oh squit. "I'll get Two," she says, her joy fading. "What's going on?"

"I'll tell you when you get here," he says. "It's not urgent, but Agent Three and I have work to do."

He hangs up then, and Callie lets out a long breath. Well then. Guess the bathroom's not getting cleaned today. What a shame.

Callie marches down the hall and flings open Marie's door. "Rise and shine!" she chirps, kicking aside the cat plushies and songbooks that litter the floor. She throws open the curtains, filling the room with light; she turns around to see Marie's pulled the covers over her head. "I'll make you a scrambled-egg sandwich, we've gotta get out of here."

"'s too early," Marie mumbles through a yawn.

Callie raises an eyebrow. "It's nine in the morning, you lazy bones. Gramps wants us. For business."

There's a pause. Marie pulls the blanket down just enough for her eyes to appear, though she flinches at the sunlight. "Really?"

Callie nods. "Really. Get dressed, I'll make you that sandwich. If you're not out of here by the time it's ready—"

"You'll drag me out of bed by my tentacles," Marie finishes, shuddering.

Callie leaves the room without a backwards glance. Making a scrambled-egg and toast sandwich doesn't take long, and she shouldn't need shades if she puts on a sweatshirt and pulls up the hood. Marie emerges in her hat and mask, sleep still marking her eyes, and has half the sandwich eaten before they've gotten outdoors.

Gramps is waiting for them when they emerge from the drain. He leads them into the shack, where Three is waiting, then looks them over. "Glasses, off, Agent One," he says, snatching them off her face; her eyes water, and she covers them with her hands. "You need to see clearly for this. Get that sleep out of your eyes, Agent Two."

The beginning of a headache presses Callie's temples when her eyes clear at last. She shakes her head once, fast, and Gramps hands her back her shades. She tucks them in the front of her shirt. "What's this?" she asks, indicating the map laid out on the table.

"Two things," Gramps says, tapping it. "The first, we've located a second area full of Octarian Kettles. I'm calling it Octo Canyon; it seems to be where the Octarians are migrating to. We need to establish a second base there for better monitoring."

Okay, fine, that definitely couldn't be said over the phone. Marie leans over the table and lets out a breath. "Through that manhole?" she asks, tapping the map. "It's in Inkopolis Square; no one'll spare it a second glance once Inkopolis News changes buildings and they finish the new turf locations."

Gramps nods. "Good. I'll have to leave that in your hands, because Three and I also found that there's some sort of squidfoolery going on in the domes closest to the ocean, and we need to look into it before anyone but Octarians get hurt."

That... doesn't sound good. "Or before more Octarians get hurt, either," Callie says.

Gramps glares at her. "Either way, Three and I will leave tomorrow. I doubt we'll be back for months. I leave Inkopolis, and Splatoon, in your capable hands."

Callie's stomach drops to her toes.

They're supposed to...?

Without Gramps?

She glances at Marie, but Marie's turned the color of her tentacles and has one in her hands; Callie grabs her before Marie can start chewing on it. Marie looks at her, and Callie gives her hand a squeeze. "We'll keep Inkopolis safe, Gramps," she says. "You can count on us."

She's been learning to be an agent since she was a squidling. She can do this.

She can do anything with Marie at her side.