Chapter -103: Carmine of the Forest
A couple months following Sarajin's departure from the planet, the Tribes settled into yet another lull in conflict. Some having an easier time than others, like the people of Tanglefae.
However, that didn't necessarily mean they were free of all problems...
It was bright and early in the morning. Carmine arose from his wooden bed at home and said hello to his parents and grandparents, who all lived in the same family tree.
After enjoying a three-leaf salad and a drink of pure fruit essence, he was ready to greet the outside like he always did.
He craned his head back and soaked up the sunlight, which made the collar of his coat rise to full bloom as well. He then greeted his neighbors with brief, punctual hellos.
The calm of the forest was the status quo he had come to love over the course of his life. But today would offer some new, enlightening experiences...
"Hmm?" His eyes perked up at the first sight of his neighborly gardeners in a hurry.
He followed them at his brisk pace towards the border of the village, where they dropped on their knees and tended to the rows of seed filled dirt.
There were sprouts perking up from the surface, dancing and blossoming to the rhythm of time and sunlight. But this bountiful landscape was slowly becoming a graveyard, as the gardeners mourned the seedlings that had gone inert before ever getting to show their potential...
Carmine focused on the once flourishing cornucopia of vegetables and began to count the survivors. By his estimate there'd still be produce in good supply for the village, but the decline was going to get worse the longer it went ignored...
Some gardeners kneeled on the dirt and paid tribute to their resident Titan and his best friend in the forest. It was a poignant gesture, one that pained Carmine just as much as he knew it pained Ividae back...
Carmine puckered his lips and silently snuck past the gardeners when they had made peace with the seedlings' demise.
He got on one knee and dug two fingertips into the soil. It felt cracked, like the bark of a tree. And when he put it in his mouth, it was lacking in nutrients.
"Mmm..." Carmine popped the fingers out of his mouth and stood up, gesturing his hand out from his hip towards the nearby creek, which was a fraction of its former self, hardly even a trickle.
"It's been in decline for months now," Carmine began to pace along the bank of the creek out of the village, his eyes beginning to narrow with worry, "It shouldn't affect the forest. The water's just here as a gift from Aquamoria's Titan to help our food nourish."
"So why is it waning now?" He followed the creek all the way towards the edge of the forest like he'd done the week before, and the week before that, and the week before that...
But his investigations always end the same way: He reaches the forest's edge and can find nothing in the trench leading the water along that would clue them in to what's going on.
All he saw...were the palm trees Ividae had planted on the sandy beaches of Aquamoria, and the water that moved between them also in decline.
Carmine slowly started to extend his hand past the bushed, only for them to ruffle with an obscenely loud noise for leaves.
"Ividae..." Carmine said softly. With a brief nod of his head he kept his hand held out. It was shaking, and his vision was growing blurry.
And for reasons he could not fathom, his heart was racing, and he did not like it.
Carmine thus withdrew his hand behind his back and noticed a little bit of sweat on the sides of his face. He decided to soothe his queasy stomach by joining his friend in a nap...
But their sound slumber was disturbed by Carmine's worries for his home and his people, "If the water goes away, then you'll have to exert more energy to keep us fed."
Carmine sat against his friend's side and propped his knee up, laying an arm down on top of it while thinking long and hard about the chain of consequences that would unfold.
"Any invader would have an easier time getting in and attacking if you spread your concentration further."
Ividae craned it's head back and moaned with sadness, causing Carmine to look back and say with an assuring smile, "I was thinking the same thing."
He then faced forward and commented, "The only two Tribes who would be able to do something to the water would be Canofloe...or Aquamoria."
"If only Sarajin were here to check...for...us..." Carmine slowed down, feeling a sense of guilt welling in the pit of gut.
"Sarajin..." He sunk his head against his chest and thought back to all the times he's asked Sarajin for stories or favors regarding the outside world.
"I've only ever experienced the outside world through his eyes and mouth, never my own. He's been a great friend and now here I am, only wanting him to be here because I can't solve our problems."
Ividae rustled around in place and spooked Carmine into a more chipper state of mind. Carmine turned aside and patted his friend on the back as they moaned and creaked like unsettled wood.
"I know, I miss him too," Carmine said fondly, his heart sinking deeper into his chest, "Haaa..."
His body felt the pull of lethargy cling to him like pollen. It'd be so simple to just lie down, and let these halcyon days pass by until Sarajin returned...
"And I would have done that if I was still just Carmine Rose, the person..." Carmine weakly curled his fingers into his palm and his smile widened, his eyes closing as he pushed himself forward with all his strength.
"But he invited me into his life and made me feel...more than that. I am Carmine Rose, Sarajin's friend. And...I can't keep relying on him forever."
"'Every seed must eventually find a place to plant its roots in the world.' Is what my father always said." As Carmine made that declaration he prepared to stand up...
But Ividae gently grabbed onto the plant-like parts of Carmine's dress with moss and helped pull him down onto his back, jostling it's head with a worried moan.
Carmine peered up into his friend's eyes and smiled, using just a mere brush of the hand to put the moss at ease.
"I know. It's sudden. It's worrying...And, I'm scared," Carmine got on his knees and Ividae lowered its head until they were nose-to-snout. Carmine's smile widened and he brushed his friend's smooth, peerless face, "Do you trust me to be safe?"
Ividae's moans softened and it nuzzled Carmine with it's sappy snout until a chuckle emerged from his lips.
"Alright. Thank you, Ividae." The two withdrew but the Titan imparted him with a gift: A small, wiggly little vine that moved almost like a worm and crawled it's way up around Carmine's right ear.
"Sneaky." Carmine said, and the Titan neighed in a humored tone.
And so, there was nothing left for him to do but make his way out of the sanctity of his forest home for the first time...
He returned to the exact spot he hesitated before, finding it was still a little nerve-wracking to get near the border.
The bushes were parted by Ividae and the way to Aquamoria's sandy shores were just a footstep away.
Carmine took off his shoes and wiggled his toes into the dirt, wanting to imprint the familiar touch of home into his senses one last time until he ventured into the unknown.
His breath was bogged down by his nervousness to proceed. His head, being pounded on both sides by a feeling resembling wooden plates.
He took a deep breath of the fresh forest air and then swallowed hard.
"It's not too late to go back..." Whispered a callous, inviting voice in his head, "Just nap away your troubles."
The voices continued to speak in belligerent tongues as he closed his eyes and just let his feet take the first step forward without a second thought.
And then they were silent, with his body getting stung up to his head by something hot that caused him to jump back into the forest.
"Ow!" He shouted with a high-pitched squeal.
His lips then curled with peckish delight while his skin tingled with goosebumps. It was like discovering the flittering footsteps of a tiny bug on your shoulder for the first time...Frightening but at the same time, delightful.
It took him back to youthful, nostalgic days. And where there was once turmoil planted in the soil of his heart, Carmine now found curiosity, blossoming from there to his mind.
He inched out onto the shore and felt warmth blowing against his face and hair, this land's own manifestation of the wind...
It carried with it a peculiar scent that he didn't much care for. It was too strong, like the leaves of a coltsfoot flower.
He was only a foot away from his home. He had to keep going, he MUST keep going...For his people but more importantly, for himself.
The sun, once his friend, now tried to beat him down with it's intense rays of heat. He quickly broke into a sweat before he made it to the first palm tree and had to lean up against it to catch his breath.
"This is a bit much...!" He said, his heartbeat elevated with excitement.
The vine around his ear grew to crawl up the tree trunk and plucked one of its leaves off, tying around it so it could act as mobile shade for it's friend.
Carmine gave the vine a curious glance and wondered, "Is that ok?"
The vine wiggled, and Carmine couldn't help but chuckle, "Yes, I suppose this IS your property to begin with!"
Once he caught his breath he could keep going onward. But his foot sprang up in recoil from the hot sand for a few more steps until he could get used to it.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" He chirped.
He then calmly strode along the shore with confidence, gazing out to the vast blue waters that Sarajin described as "the sea".
Carmine's eyes burned looking at the sparkling sea and he had to look away, wiping the tears onto his sleeve.
"It's brighter than I expected." He said, to which the vine on his ear perked up and let out a tiny moan.
"I mean the whole world..." Carmine whispered, "I think...I'm really experiencing sunlight's true and frightening beauty for the first time today."
But he said so with a smile, "Now I understand why the plants rise towards the sun. Because they covet what it has."
Philosophical musings aside, Carmine quickly realized that he...had no idea where he was going.
The sand seemed to stretch out forever and if he hadn't looked back to confirm his progress he would've assumed he was still at the forest entrance.
He glanced at his ear and wondered, "Am I going the right way?"
The vine bobbed the palm leaf up and down, "It feels like I should have run into other people by now. Are you sure you remember things correctly, Ividae?"
The palm leaf was wiggled against his face to make him wince. He then smiled and chuckled, "Don't get cranky, I'm just curious."
The leaf then sprung up and went solid, pointing itself forward. Carmine looked up and saw what appeared to be small houses made of wood in the distance.
"There it is." He announced with a brief flickering of relief in his voice.
"Sarajin told me the folk in Aquamoria are friendly. Hopefully we'll be able to solve the water issue with little difficulty."
As he wandered into the village proper with this attitude, the reactions from the town folk ended up taking him by surprise.
The moment he was in view he was the center of attention, with some people dropping what they were doing to glare at him.
He felt the hostility and his pace began to slow to observe their still, uneasy glares. With a curious hum and an ease of mind, Carmine wondered to himself, "What's the matter? It's like they've never seen someone like me before."
The vine on his ear wiggled around and caused his eyes to widen as he let out a gasp. He then glanced at the vine and whispered, "They haven't for thousands of years?"
The vine nodded, then reduced into itself in shame. Carmine sighed and whispered as he raised his head, "I wish I had known that sooner."
So the sea folk of Aquamoria were just doing the right thing in the presence of a stranger, with the plant clothes being a dead giveaway of where he came from.
"But why?" They probably asked themselves.
Carmine wanted to give them their full assurance that he came in peace, so kept smiling even as the pressure of their gazes occasionally forced it into hiding.
"They have no reason to worry about me...right?" A flicker of doubt did wander inside, only to be snuffed out by his determination.
The leaf quickly moved down to shield him from a splash of water thrown out of a kid's hand. Carmine poked his head over the leaf and saw the toothless little guy giggling and saying, "Weirdo!"
He was quickly dragged off by his mother, who whispered audibly to him, "Don't, or he'll infest our beach with plants!"
Carmine paused and as the leaf rose over his head he grabbed his chin and realized, "I don't think I'll get anywhere by walking around. What would be proper manners here?"
He then gestured his hand out towards the crowd gathering to the north of him and said in a polite, upfront tone, "Excuse me, I wish to speak with your leader. Do you know where he is?"
"She is right here." A feminine voice with a tone like they had soil in their nose addressed Carmine from nearby and he turned to greet them, only to blink a few times when no one was there.
"A lil' lower, stalk boy." The voice commanded.
Carmine then came face-to-face with a feisty, tan-skinned woman with bleached blue hair and a strap bra made of kelp, a sea-based plant.
She was crossing her arms and tapping her foot on the sand, raising a brow in response to Carmine staring long at her face.
Carmine gave a tiny grin and chuckled at himself, "M-My apologies, it slipped my mind what you looked like Ms...Lulu Coraline, I believe?"
"Present," Lulu barked sarcastically, before brushing her hand up in a standoff-ish way and muttering, "Are ya lost, stalk boy? Yer home is the other direction. Ya can't miss it, it's green and garish, like your clothes."
The nearby people started laughing quietly.
Carmine looked around and then focused back onto Lulu, trying to keep his smile up, "I-I think we're getting off on the wrong foot here."
"The only footplay goin' on here will be yers, turnin' around and marchin' back to the forest." Lulu said, making herself as clear as she could.
"But-"
"Don'tcha get it, yer not welcome here!" Lulu raised her voice, causing a sting to form in Carmine's heart.
"Mmm..." Carmine turned around and took a couple steps away for a moment to speak to the vine sprout, "Am I doing something wrong, Ividae?"
The vine shook around, causing Carmine to smile, "R-Really? I'm...glad to hear that."
Lulu's expression slowly turned into a mix of repulsion and confusion as she turned to her fellow folk and threw her hands up, with her people collectively offering her a shrug.
She then stamped her foot in the sand and shouted, "Oi, coconut case!"
Carmine's heart skipped a beat but in a way that made him happy on top of frightened. He then slowly turned around just to hear her say, "If yer gonna talk to yerself, do it elsewhere, you'll scare the children!"
"Actually, I'm just talking to my friend." Poor Carmine was just trying to be sincere but he'd quickly learn there was a time and place for that and this wasn't it.
"Lord almighty, ya rooters are all loco." Lulu mumbled, slapping her forehead.
Carmine raised his brows curiously and then started rubbing his chin, "I'm...sensing a lot of hostility here. Sarajin told me you're supposed to be friendly."
"Hol' up," Lulu suddenly chimed in much to his surprise, "You know who Sarajin is?"
A spark went off in Carmine's head and he gestured his hand up, feeling like a fool, "Ah, of course. Sarajin's our common friend. So you understand-"
"I don't buy it," Lulu remarked with a scowling, "Sounds awfully convenient."
"What's with all the tension around here?" Another figure walked onto the scene. This one a young man, possibly about Carmine's own age, with a bit of hair on his chin and a very odorous vest. Or perhaps it had something to do with his sweat...
Carmine's nose scrunched up a little and he took a couple steps away to get some fresh air.
The new stranger directed his attention towards Lulu with what appeared to be a rod made of wood gripped over his shoulder.
"A fishing rod?" Carmine deduced from Sarajin's stories.
"This stalky boy's claimin' he's a friend of Sarajin's." Lulu said with a blunt gesture of her thumb Carmine's way.
The stranger looked at Carmine and rustled his fingers along his chin vigorously, "Mmmm."
"Hmm?" Carmine looked back with a few fluttery blinks.
"Deep red hair, relaxed expression, tall, looks easily breakable..." The stranger mumbled
"Easily breakable?" Carmine was taken aback.
The stranger then startled him with a snap of his fingers and a cheerful declaration, "I know you! Yer Sarajin's chum from the forest next door, Carmine Rose yeah?!"
Carmine's heart was uplifted and he replied with a smile, "I am. And you are?"
"The name's Brine Aqua!" The stranger thrust his hand right out and grinned, "The friend of my friend is my friend too!"
Carmine was ready for this moment. Years with Sarajin had trained him to respond appropriately. He began to extend his hand slowly, only to miss his chance when Lulu slapped Brine's hand out of the air so hard it was like she was made of wood.
"You dumb, boy?! Just cause he's Sarajin's 'chum' don't mean anythin'!"
"Oooooow," Brine groaned, rubbing the back of his hand, "Teach, don'tcha think the fact he's outta the forest means something?"
"Mmmrrr..." Lulu crossed her arms and grumbled internally.
"Haaaa," Brine turned to the puzzled Carmine and gestured his hand out again, "Whatcha out here for, Carmine?"
"I-"
"DON'T..." Lulu started viciously wagging her finger in Brine's face, "Go underminin' my authority, ya guppy."
She then looked at Carmine and brushed her hand up, "Alright, say what ya need to."
Carmine blinked steadily twice and thought, "Conversations are hard..."
He then paused a bit to make sure he finally had the ability to speak freely. He smiled and gestured his hand up beside his shoulder, "Are you aware of the collaboration between your Titan and ours?"
"The one where ya get a steady flow of water in exchange for us getting palm trees for our fishing supplies, ya I'm aware, get to the point." Lulu stated very matter-of-factly.
Carmine continued, "Well somehow, the water flow has been dwindling. And we thought that maybe you're involved."
"What?!" Lulu barked out, "That's ridiculous! What'd we hope to gain out of it?"
"..." Carmine rubbed his chin and looked away, "Well, if you thought about attacking us, weakening us would be the first step."
Lulu's expression hastily soured to the point her eyes were probably redder than Carmine's hair, "We're already dedicating enough resources to keepin' our land from being overrun! Why'd we waste our time on a bunch of flower-sniffing wusses like you?!"
"Hmmm..." Carmine quickly pursued another avenue, "Maybe if I talked to your Titan-"
"Oooo ho ho ho! No way, stalk boy!" Lulu howled voraciously, "I barely trust ya standin' here, I ain't givin' ya private time with our protector! Ya'd probably do somethin' to them!"
"Well that and...we don't know how to get in contact with them, chum," Brine pointed out, "They sorta just...go with their own flow, ya get me?"
"...Sort of?" Carmine sincerely admitted, before proceeding to rub his chin and try to piece together another idea.
"It doesn't sound like their Titan knows what's happening then. Maybe it IS Canofloe?" A little further thinking caused him to shake his head with doubt, "No...wait, that doesn't sound right either. This started happening before the war resumed. Canofloe wouldn't have had a reason to enter Aquamoria territory to affect the water until the war started back up again."
Carmine furrowed his brow and whispered, "We're missing something..."
"Eh?" Lulu and Brine whispered while tilting their heads in opposite directions.
Carmine peeked over his shoulder briefly and whispered, "What do you think, Ividae?"
The vine wiggled around and Carmine nodded, "Yeah, I'm thinking the same thing."
He then turned to Lulu and Brine and waved his hand out peacefully, "Lulu, I'm telling the truth. I have no ulterior motives behind coming here beyond figuring out what's going on with the water shortage."
Lulu narrowed her eyes into a nasty glare and frowned. Carmine tried to appease the kindness he believed she had by laying a hand on his chest and asking, "Is there ANY way I can earn your trust?"
"..." Lulu closed her eyes and let out a deep and begrudging sigh, "Ya don't know the first thing about how things work around here. You and yer kind ain't ever worked an honest day in your life."
Carmine's haze slowly panned over to Brine and focused in on the fishing rod on his back. With an enlightened look in his eyes Carmine smiled and thought, "Actually...I do."
He gestured towards Brine to secure his attention, "Brine. Can I borrow your fishing rod?"
"Eh?!" Brine widened his eyes and recoiled back.
Carmine closed his hand and brought it down to his hip, calm with his determination as he looked over at Lulu, "I'll do things your way, ok?"
Lulu gave a doubtful look and wondered, "What're hoping to prove with this?"
"Maybe...this can be the first step towards unity between our Tribes?" Carmine admitted without a hint of doubt in his words.
Lulu's eyes slowly widened for a brief moment only for her to bring them down and mutter, "...Fine. But ya ain't takin' Brine's rod. I'll grab ya a spare from the marketplace. You just worry about getting to the docks."
She gestured to Brine to order him around, "Go on, show 'em the way!"
She then turned around and announced to the crowd, "Line up on the docks if ya wanna see the rooter flop like a flounder!"
After she walked up Carmine rubbed his chin and said in a puzzled tone, "Sarajin made her sound...nicer."
Brine patted him on the back a couple times and chuckled, "She's just havin' a rough time of it lately. Don't mind her."
"C'mon, I'll take ya to the decks." Brine then took the lead among the two, though they had to stick behind the crowd looking to get a good time out of Carmine's presence.
Brine kept glancing over his shoulder at Carmine for a bit, causing Carmine to point at himself and wonder, "Is something the matter?"
"Ya got even thinner arms than Sarajin did back then," Brine said with some mild concern, "Ya sure you'll be able to do this?"
"Is there any advice you can give me?" Carmine wondered, "Sarajin always said you were a great fisherman."
Brine blushed and rubbed the bottom of his nose with a smug smile, "H-Heh, I'm still pretty kelp green compared to my teach."
But he then extended his rod out, firmly grasping it in both hands before his waist, "Ya want to hold it tightly like this."
"Ok." Carmine nodded.
"Then once the line's in the water, wait for it to wiggle. Then you pull to snag the fish, and then reel it in!" Brine pulled the rod back with force.
"That's it?" Carmine sounded surprised.
"That's it," Brine grinned, "Easy to learn, takes a lifetime to master."
"Thank you for the advice, Brine." Carmine bowed his head.
"Heh, you're a lot more talkative than I was expectin', Carmine," Brine said in a humored tone, "I just assumed ya'd be quiet like the trees yer livin' among."
"This is considered talkative?" Carmine was taken aback a little, "Really? I feel I'm...lacking compared to Sarajin, Auris or even Justek."
"Guess they must've rubbed off on ya!"
"Yeah, they did," Carmine smiled weakly, "I...miss the time we spent together."
"Haaa, yeah..." Brine's expression went sour, "First Justek got snatched up, then Auris holed herself up in solitude, and now Sarajin's off floating among the sea of stars above..."
"But ya know, I guess it ain't all so bad..." Brine turned around and chuckled, "It gave us a chance to finally meet one another."
Carmine paused and a slow blush grew in his cheeks, with his heart racing against his chest with joy, "I hope we'll get to keep being friends, Brine."
"Well first, let's get teach on-board the trust boat."
The two arrived at the docks soon after and Lulu was at the ready with a shabby looking rod in hand. She handed it off to Carmine and he could tell by touch that this was a genuine product created from a tree.
"Well," Lulu urged him on, "Go on. Show us what ya got."
Carmine looked behind him and Brine was silently rooting for him while the rest of the crowd were eating up his dumbfounded face.
Carmine gripped his fishing rod with confidence and felt the vine wiggling down his ear. He pressed his fingers against it and whispered, "It's ok. Let me do this."
He then walked down the dock just far enough for the crowd to still keep watching him. He looked out towards the sparkling sea and was stunned at all the little shadows swimming around beneath the surface.
He kept his mouth agape until he sat down, following the steps as Sarajin once described them. But that's as far as his memories would take him. He wanted to do the rest...with his own hands.
"Focus..." Carmine held the rod as Brine told him to and then cast the line out to sea. He only made it a couple feet past the docks but still was among fish territory.
He kept his heart still with steady breathing but there was an unignorable smile on his face as he let the sea breeze blow over him and tickled his toes on the water's surface.
His eyes began to water, but not because of the sparkling sunlight on the sea...
"I'm feeling relaxed without taking a nap. It's just me...and this sea."
Lulu noticed the tears coming down his cheek and began to fidget and tap her fingers atop her elbows.
Minutes pass before Carmine feels a tug on his line. His eyes widened, his anticipation and child-like excitement at a peak!
"This is it...! I just have to-" As he prepared to tug, the fish tugged harder and he went careening off the dock and smashing flat on his face atop the water's surface.
"Oooooh!" Went the crowd.
"Carmine!" Brine hastened onto the dock and saw Carmine floating along, clearly not responding.
Brine toed the edge of the dock but then pulled away, his heart thumping hard.
"Gah!" Lulu shouted, lunging off the side of the dock like a torpedo and swimming straight over to Carmine.
She put him under her arm and swam back to shore with her other arm.
"Get back! All of ya!" She shouted to the crowd toeing the edge of the shore.
She dragged Carmine onto the sand and then flipped him over. With careful chest compression and mouth-to-mouth, Lulu got Carmine spitting up the water he took in.
Lulu then collapsed on her knees and let out a gruff sigh of relief. Brine then shoved through the crowd to join up with them, "W-Will he be alright?"
"Ha ha ha...!" A quiet but excitable fit of laughter scared the two nearly pale.
Carmine smiled across his entire face and slowly lifted his head up.
"...H-Huh, he's more than alright." Brine remarked.
Carmine then brought his hand to his chest and was feeling it beat so rapidly he wondered if it would ever stop, and almost didn't want it to.
He gently closed his eyes and relaxed against the soft sand, as the shore splashed against the side of his body, "I get it now. This is what it means to feel alive. And to think, I could've gone my whole life without experiencing this."
Lulu's jaw slacked and she let out a slight chuckle, "Ya just failed to catch a fish."
"Yeah..." Carmine admitted with slight embarrassment, "But I'm glad I tried."
"..." Lulu closed her eyes and shook her head around.
"Lulu?" Carmine said to get her attention, then looked her straight in the eyes with a calm, respectful expression, "I really, really, meant no harm coming here. I just want what I think we all want...safety and assurance for our people. If you don't want to trust me, that's fine. But I think we can help each other out if we work together, and preserve these happier times."
Lulu was silent for a long while before standing up and turning away.
"Teach?" Brine commented.
"Haaaa," Lulu stopped to glance over her shoulder, "If ya need a little more time to look around, fine. I'll give ya 'til the end of our clam festival tonight."
She then snapped her fingers at the crowd and they got out of her way before dispersing back towards the village and docks.
Brine stuck behind and helped him up, "You sure took a nasty dive there, chum."
Carmine winced and put a hand over his chest, "I still feel it in my bones."
Brine laughed and Carmine forced himself to laugh too. Brine then looked him straight in the eyes and wondered, "So what's yer plan now?"
Carmine shook his head.
"You got nothin'?"
"...Actually, I have one last hunch," Carmine turned and pointed towards the west, "The water streams into Tanglefae through a creek connected to the sea. I've investigated every part of the stream in the forest, but not on the beach."
"You didn't? But didn't ya come from that direction?"
Carmine's eyes widened and he turned over his shoulder with a light blush in his cheeks, "This IS all pretty new to me."
"Heh well, I'll help keep ya on track then! 'Sides," Brine whipped his fishing rod over his back and remarked, "Feel's like yer problem is our problem too."
Carmine nodded. And now, having found a partner and a friend in Brine, the two set off to investigate the truth behind the thinning water supply...
Next Time: The Roots of a Hidden Danger