"Seriously? What were you thinking back there?"
"I'm sorry, okay?! I just didn't think we would.. would've been cornered like that…"
"'Sorry' doesn't cut it, pal."
Jade leaned on the rewards counter of Grizzco, her head resting on her left hand, and looked at the duo of arguing boys with faint interest. Not even a few minutes after they arrived from their 'victory' against the Salmonids, Salem started ranting about their mistakes and how everything went wrong in their shift. She found it to be a minor inconvenience when his lecture began, but even as they headed out to the familiar square the fair-skinned inkboy continued with his scolding, now directly addressing the smaller and downcast Khal.
Needless to say, she was starting to find it grating.
Jade desperately wanted to take her mind off the boys' arguing, but it was so close and loud that she couldn't block out the sounds. Jade groaned, turning her attention to the counter with half-lidded eyes. Perhaps the arrival of her prizes could help distract her, but she really wasn't counting on it. For now, all she could focus on were the distant chatter and movement of Inkopolis Square's residents and the incessant conflict between Salem and the other two inklings.
"I'm just saying that if we stayed together and didn't run off because of a few missiles, we would've actually won," Salem said, shaking his head in the process.
"Duuuuuude," The sitting Yzel drawled, "Does it matter? We got enough eggs and one of us survived to the end. That's a win in my book."
"Would've gotten more if we all survived, but to each his own."
A quick, buzzing tune caught the quartet's attention. Anticipation grew in Jade's heart, and the retracting of the metal door caused her to perk up. A smile was starting to form in her mouth, and anticipation turned into joy as soon as her eyes noticed the translucent, multicolored orbs that emerged from the shadows.
"Hey, guys," The inkgirl started, "Instead of whining about how we should've all lived, why don't we celebrate?!" Jade proposed before pulling out various capsules from the counter, just barely able to hold them all in her diminutive hands.
Khal was the first to react, responding with a fast and nearly unintelligible "Gimme!" and dashing to the counter in an instant, also leaving behind a puff of smoke that was only noticed by Yzel. Khal excitedly grabbed as many of the reward capsules as he could, holding thirteen or so of the items close to his chest in a pseudo-hug. Unfortunately, it was not enough to contain them all, as some of the orbs fell off from his grasp. With a small gasp, the boy crouched in order to grab them until he noticed Salem facing him, holding his palm straight out towards him.
"Stop," he commanded, "I got 'em." He knelt down and carefully picked up each of the stray balls, eventually getting them all and placing them in his bag. Without skipping a beat, the inkling approached the counter to look for his own prize, however his stance faltered when it was nowhere to be seen. A stammer coming from Khal caught his attention, and when he turned towards him he saw the dark inkboy holding out a yellow prize ball towards him, still holding his own rewards with his other arm.
"Yours," Khal simply noted, a small smile plastered on his face. Salem raised an eyebrow at first, but quickly relaxed and snatched the orb from the smaller inkboy.
"Oh, those look nice," Yzel said, standing up. He, too, would've neared the counter to claim his rewards, yet as soon as he stepped forward, his legs wobbled and buckled under him. Yzel was left to fall face-first to the floor, smacking the stone ground with a loud thud.
Jade was shocked at first, and rushed over to Yzel's side to check on him. What happened to him? Was he hurt? These questions along with some others were running through Jade's mind as she rolled Yzel over and tried to help him. Despite the increased aching in his body following this mishap, the male reassured Jade with a weak "I'm okay". The girl still had some doubts in spite of this…
"Are you sure?" Jade drawled, her mouth lowering into a frown.
"Yeah, it's nothing," Yzel brushed off with a wave of his arm, "just that those Salmonids really pack a punch sometimes… But enough about that! This is about a celebration, no?" Quickly and suddenly, Yzel straightened up into a sitting position.
"That's right!" Jade nodded, subsequently placing herself between Khal and Salem and wrapping her arms around said inklings. "Here's to a job well done and to the best salmon runners ever!"
The quartet cheered, all but Salem pumping their fists in the air. Even then, he expressed his satisfaction with a smile and a small hum.
Happiest of all was Khal, still hugging all of his prize capsules and in Jade's hold. "This is so nice! Thanks a lot, you guys!"
"Aw, it's nothing," Jade replied, "Nice distraction of yours, by the way!"
"Distraction..?" The small inkling tilted his head.
"The plan. You distracted the Steelhead long enough for me to splat it when it wasn't looking."
"But you never told me about it…" Khal pouted, his shoulders hunching over.
"I.. didn't want you trying too hard at distracting it. Might have ruined the plan for being too obvious," Jade shrugged, quickly apologizing over her mistake.
"O-Ok."
Suddenly, Khal felt a tug on his pink hoodie and before he knew it, his feet left the ground and he was lifted into the air. He flailed his limbs in a fit of panic, inadvertently letting go of the prize capsules he held. They all clattered to the floor uselessly.
"Nevermind that; How'd a smallbean like you outrun those buggers back there?" Yzel pondered, his leaning body and tanned hand still dangling Khal by the fabric of his hoodie.
"Hey! I'm not small, just… shorter than you!" The smaller inkboy pouted.
"Shorter than everyone else," Salem chimed in flatly.
"Well, you're grumpy!"
Unamused, Salem merely shrugged his shoulders at the reply.
Fed up with the squids' taunting, Khal shook himself off from Yzel's grasp. He then scrambled to pick up the scattered orbs, holding as many as he could in his hands and grumbling something all the while.
"Is something wrong, Khal?" Jade asks.
"Urgh, I'm still missing one reward from the chart," Khal moaned with his head down.
"You can always get it next time, okay?" Jade reassured, putting a hand on his shoulder. Her words triggered something in Khal, who perked up after hearing Jade.
The dark inkboy opened his mouth as if to say something but hesitated. Jade and the others looked at Khal curiously, causing him to yelp and freeze in his tracks. Precious seconds passed as he twiddled his thumbs and looked nervously at his taller colleagues, until finally he spoke up.
"Could we do another shift? Right now, I mean."
The three inklings looked at him with a range of emotions on their faces. Salem had a discontent and tired demeanor, having crossed his arms and narrowed his orange eyes, while Yzel looked at him quizzically with a raised eyebrow. Jade held a blank expression on her face, managing to hide her true feelings from the inkboy and her other two partners. Somehow, even after the various tribulations they faced in their previous shifts, he was still willing to partake in another one? It seemed like a dumb and needless endeavor, but a part of Jade was surprised yet again at this boy's enthusiasm.
"Well-"
"We just spent the entire afternoon doing nothing but fighting Salmonids, and you still want to keep going?"
"I-I mean, we made a pretty good team back there, so I figured you were ready for another round and since I needed one more capsule maybe… that's a no, right?"
Salem sighed exasperatedly, furrowing his brow. "Listen,we had fun, we won, we lost, it was a good run, but.. There are times when someone seriously needs to stop."
"Aww c'mon, Salem, don't give up just yet. This could be fun!" Jade encouraged, earning a nod from Khal.
"It was fun, yes, but I'm tired. Have places to be and other things to do. Enjoy yourselves if you want," The stern Inkling readjusted the cuffs of his blue, striped Vintage Check shirt and put on over his head the zebra-styled Hickory Work Cap.
He stepped away and turned from the trio of inklings, yet as he was about to wave them goodbye, he was inexplicably faced with a nervous Khal looking up at him, phone in hand.
"Wait, before you go, can I get your number? You know, incase you wanna team up?"
Salem said nothing and merely shrugged, before pulling out his phone.
With arms crossed, Jade gazed at the two inklings. Even as the tall, rigid inkling finished his exchange and walked stiffly and without hesitation away from them, the younger, more excitable squid kept egging on him and stopping him in his tracks for the smallest things. Jade caught snippets of their exchange, like Khal asking the taller squid about his hobbies or dislikes, or Salem repeatedly brushing off any of his pleas to stay, until finally he kneeled down to his level and said.. something to Khal. Jade could only imagine what unnecessary and demanding 'advice' he would be receiving from Salem. How Khal could put up with such a bossy and rude inkling was beyond her, and her mind was already starting to fume with rage with only meres thoughts fueling it.
"Seriously, what's his problem? Sorry if not everything went exactly like you wanted, Mr. Perfect, I was trying to have fun. If I hear one more complaint coming from his stinking mouth, I'll choke him, wring his neck twice and rip out his tentacles!
...
...
… Wait, what?"
She didn't realize she was growling until a glance at a puzzled Yzel brought her back to reality. In that moment, all her angry and violent fantasies were swept away by a tide of embarrassment. The female inkling could only cover her face in a feeble attempt to hide her emotions.
Feeling a small weight on her right shoulder, she moved her hands away from her face and looked forwanrd to see Yzel gripping her shoulder, his fingers' hold creating small wrinkles in her white V-Neck t-shirt.
"I feel ya," Yzel comforted, "That guy irks me too sometimes. Probably has his reasons, but still.."
It was only when Yzel finished and let go of his grip that Jade noticed he managed to move a few inches away from her during his rambling, even with his quivering, bruised legs.
"You're leaving too?" Jade's question caught Yzel by surprise, and despite his attempts to come up with a coherent answer, the tan inkling was helpless to do anything but trip over his words. Thankfully, he managed to stop himself from committing further blunders and breathed heavily before answering.
"You three seem like a nice bunch, and trust me, I'd love to go another round with you guys, but honestly.. I'm beat. Can't really go run-'n-ink with these jello legs now, can I?" Yzel chuckled.
"You said it was nothing."
"Mostly nothing. Though, I don't understand how you're still here even with that nasty bite you took."
Jade was puzzled at first, but a glance at her right wrist was all it took for the events of the last shift to replay in her head. She brought her bandaged, ink-soaked wrist up and stared at it for a moment, before showing it to the tanned inkboy. "This? Oh, it's nothing. The medic said that this wouldn't hurt too much as long as I don't get in contact with large amounts of ink, so I should be fine."
"And you're going to stay and do exactly the opposite, right?"
"Don't be silly. Unless it's a boss, no Salmonid ever attacks anyone with their ink. As long as I keep my distance and avoid their attacks, I should be able to take care of myself no problem."
"Sure, whatever floats your boat. Just don't get mad when it turns out you were wrong," Yzel taunted with a smug smile and a wink.
Jade leaned back, but quickly relaxed once the full meaning of his words registered in her head. There was no doubt in her mind that this was a dare on Yzel's part, and she wasn't going to let a tiny bite scare her away from practicing her hobby. Swiftly, she leaned closer to the tanned inkling and poked her finger on his nose. "And don't you get mad when it turns out that I was fine."
"Fair enough," Yzel acknowledged, gently moving the female's finger away from his face.
A low hum caught both inklings' attention. They jerked their heads toward its source and saw Khal walking towards them. He appeared normal at a glance, but a deeper look at features like his drooped ears, small frown or slightly downcast purple eyes could be interpreted as signs of disappointment.
"Hi, you two," Khal half-heartedly greeted, "I talked with Salem and.. he's not staying with us."
"Figures… But that's okay, we could go another round if you'd like!" Jade smiled.
"Really?"
Jade nodded, giving the dark boy a thumbs up. She managed to raise his spirits a little, with Khal thanking her and cheering as appreciation, but even that seemed a little… forced to her. She could tell that he was still bothered by Salem's departure, and could never understand as to why. Who's ever sad when a jerk leaves?
"Have fun with that, you two," Yzel said. Khal was left confused, but Jade knew exactly what that meant, almost sadly.
"Wait, you're leaving, too?" Khal asked.
"Eh, there's not much left for me to do. Besides, it'd be a waste of energy trying to- Gah!" Once again, Yzel's trembling legs buckled under him, and he fell and collided into the pavement. His prize capsules also scattered in various directions. "...See what I mean?"
"Oh.. bye, I guess.."
"Sheesh, it's not as if I'll disappear," Yzel sat up, "Look, it might seem like the end of our little get-together, but that doesn't necessarily mean goodbye forever. In due time, I'm certain we'll cross paths again, my friend. Greetings and farewells have always been a part of this place and in general. As people come and go in our lives, I guess the only thing we can do is keep calm and… move forward with them. Carry our memories of them, until somehow, someday we meet those people again…"
"That's… wow…"
To hear such words from a squid like Yzel was jarring, to say the least. Jade wished to believe that in that moment, the tanned boy was briefly possessed by an otherworldly spirit who wished to impart his knowledge onto them, but obviously such a bizarre and fantastical situation would never be possible. With closed eyes and furrowed brows, she found it hard to believe that the deeper voice tone, serious demeanor and straight face all belonged to the same inkling that did nothing but fool around and complain mere minutes ago. Was that all an act earlier? Does he know more than he lets on? What is his goal, really?
While the message itself was nothing inherently evil and might be something to practice in the future, Jade had trouble trusting Yzel and feared that he might be another two-faced deceiver. He seemed like a nice guy, if nothing else…
"Welp, that's it for today. It was nice hanging out with you guys," Yzel said, his carefree and relaxed demeanor resurfacing as quickly as it disappeared. The trio of inklings then exchanged goodbyes, and the remaining pair watched as their companion departed, his legs quivering with every step taken.
Author's Notes
I told you to not expect frequent updates, didn't I?
Hello, again. To those that did take the time to read the prologue, I say thank you. I also thank the one review left here, though a more detailed write-up would be appreciated (I still would like to know more about my writing, including it's flaws). In any case, here's another chapter, the one that could be considered the proper beginning of my little story.
I am wondering about the ideal length for each update I make. The full chapter is still not wholly finished, admittedly, and am putting out this first half as an experiment (Also admittedly due to my haste in posting new content). I'll likely upload the other half and later merge them, or leave the two halves as is. But if any reader can, please provide feedback on the length of chapters moving forward, and which do you prefer. Again, thank you for taking the time to read this.
Until next time...