-Dice's POV-
Silence is pounding in my ears and I look back at the girls. Horror is laced on Wheeler's face and Marie looks a little shaken. "Wait a minute girls!" I say charging up my weapon to quickly make a path. "Painter said he saw our headphone lights! I can make out a pillar in the distance."
Marie started firing her charger rapidly creating path a for herself. When Wheels tried to swim in my path she was cut off by the green ink. "Ugh, Marie please change to blue for the sake of all of us!" Groans Helmet helping the younger girl up. Marie tilted her head in confusion, then grinned.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath and soon the green color of her hair turned to light blue then dark blue. "Ugh, man we've got no time to waste. Come on!" My crush told herself as she charged another shot and fired blue ink onto the light grey pavement. Heh, didn't know she was so good at this recon stuff.
While the rest of us swam, Helmet was trying out a technique. "It's called squid hopping, you paint the ground, swim, jump and go far then repeat." She told me before in our room while we left. It was going pretty smooth with a melee weapon like the Slosher and I wish I could try it sometime. Of course with a weapon that isn't a charger class, like my Splat Brella.
"Guys, it's an Octarian sniper of some sort." Painter catches his breathe on the phone. I sigh in relief that their okay. We can all hear a noise as Painter gives his phone to that Tober fellow.
In front of is a large wall that has a hidden walkway. There is a large creature that has a faint pinkish yellow front and two large purplish maroon strange shaped tentacles. Attached to it is a large charger holding weapon and it has a scope covering it's right eye.
Tober decides to tell us something. "Okay guys don't engage with him from your distance, the sniper has the higher ground. Painter and I have the advantage and we may not need to fight."
I nod in understanding, though the boy on the phone wouldn't be able to see that. The four of us are hiding behind a plastic barrier, waiting. Wheeler was trying to figure out Tober's plan; "So wait you can speak to that sniper and convince him to not shoot us where we stand. How?"
He's an Octoling remember. Why can't this girl have a better memory!? Helmet smacks her on the head, causing the latter to cry out. "Ouch Helm! I get it now Tober is an Octoling so he can probably speak their language!"
There is no noise coming from the otherside and Marie peeks up from the wall to see if anything is happening. "Oh guys look! We're close enough to see Painter and Tober!" she whispers, excitement heavy in her voice. I take a short glance over the wall and see Tober walking towards the foe, his mouth moving.
What in the world is his hairdo? He needs some major help once we get out of this shellhole. I guess all five of us are carefully watching the unarmed Octo kid chat with the rogue soldier.
After about a minute the sniper gets down and starts rolling away, since he doesn't have legs. "Way to go guys!" Marie cheers, as she climbs over the wall and runs towards the boys.
"Yep, it couldn't have been done without my quick thinking." Tober says from Painter's phone as we all get closer together. As soon as he's in her sight Wheeler jumps on Painter, tears in her eyes.
I smile at the cute reunion of the roomates from the bridge, not wanting to waste my energy racing up to them. Painter couldn't contain his happiness and has a big grin across his face, as well as tears running down his cheek." Wheeler, Dice, Helmet! I've missed you all so much!"
At the side, Tober looks out of place, awkward almost. Then I realize he has a large notebook his hands and is staring at the girls and I. The sheck is he writing!? Peering over to take a peek all I see is a bunch of scribbles. The strange boy notices me " Oh, Nathan was it is, I'm just taking some notes for my father."
Painter suddenly strikes the poor dude over the head with his bandaged hand. "Tober stop being creepy and socialize!" My older friend demands, forcing the octoling to put his book down. I shake my head and yawn. While Painter starts rambling about something to me it looks like Marie wants to get our attention
"Hey everyone, why don't we take the conversation back to my place or better yet above ground." The pop star says rubbing a hand behind her head. "Cause I'm getting the slightest inkling that it's getting late." All of us made eye contact and then turned around.
After what seemed to be about 15 minutes we have reached the brown and orange shack. "Ugh, Tober you're getting annoying. I'm putting you on a 10 questions per day limit!" groans Helmet pushing away the octo kid. His dark orange eyes look defeated so he starts walking over to me, while Marie and Painter were having a chat.
He stared at me for awhile, making me unreasonably nervous. "What is it Tober?" I ask hoping the boy would avert his gaze. I have the eeling that I triggered a mood. The blackette runs his hand up to the random piece of kelp attached to his hair.
I just realized something, the tips of his hair have been changing colors this whole time. Why is that?
The boy spoke up to my surprise. "So do inklings not change colors quickly or something? Also why does inkling ink smell so good but burn me when I touch it? How come-" Thankfully Painter cuts him off again. I guess those two are done chit-chatting.
"Tober I said socialize, not bother them! Plus we should be ready to swim on outta here. " The bandaged inkling put gently, letting me see the slight bags under his eyes. My close friend tapped me on the shoulder. "Marie has something for us, I think you'll like it."
The lighter squid sister is holding 4 duffel bags, whose contents are sure to be varied. "Alright ya'll be sure to pick one weapon from the bag and be on yur way. I wanna see those fins flying but do come visit soon." She cooed opening the door to her little home.
Wheeler opened the first bag and it had a Hero Charger, I opened the second and it had a Hero Slosher, Painter got a set of Hero Dualies and Helmet took out a Hero Brella. Sweet! These babies will be useful for testing out new ideas and skills.
From the side Tober had a look of shock on his face. "Do, do I get nothing, for what I've done!? Miss Marie open up!" the boy cried rushing up to the front door.
Helmet looked at me and whispered. " What would he get from her? A makeover?" Wow that was well said ya jerk.
Suddenly the door flew open, almost smashing Tober in the process. Marie held a Hero Blaster in one hand and a sandwich in the another. The octarian snatched the weapon from her grip happily. "Thank you so very much Miss!"
The grin on his face was enough to make metal melt and my crush smiled back, stepping forward to ruffle his long locks of hair. "Heh, no problem kid, stay safe out there guys." The squid sister yawned. So cute! The Marie fanclub will never guess what I got to see this break!
Well that's over, what are we to do now besides go home? Wheels holds her stomach and sighs. "Can we go home now guys? I'm hungry as always and wanna take a nice bath." She mumbles before yawning sheepishly. I was thinking the same thing bud.
Painter yawns in sympathy after rubbing his wrapped up arms."Man I'm beat, let's hit the road." One by one we all go into the squid grate back up, somehow okay don't ask me.
Now I've realized every single little thing from now on is a culture shock for the new guy; Tober Ozentiberg. I mean he has only been living underground his whole life and his parents may have not told him anything about the surface too much.
"The drinking Booyah Base, weapons, fashion, phrases, common street knowledge and transportation are just some of the things that this boy doesn't know about yet." Helmet grumbles while were sitting on the late train back home. I'm glad she has stopped cursing around Tober, I don't want him to pick that up.
That boy is gazing out the window in the dusk purple sky. "Wow I've never seen the actual open sky before! And trees and street lamps and-" Out of nowhere the train braked ultra hard interrupting his comment. Wheels and I both fell on the floor while Painter is clutching the hand bar above our heads tightly.
On the other hand I can see Tober face down between Helmet's legs. Wow, what a lucky guy! I don't have the stupidity to do something like that. Then again I can see that girl's tentas anytime I want if I was in the mood to get my own chopped off. Why do I share a room with a girl?
Everyone nearby who can see this either face a blushing face or a laughing one, Wheeler's was both. "Why are you laughing?!" Painter laments from his spot quietly. Does he know something I don't? Now I'm confused even more!
"Such a nice feeling here…. Oh wait I'm…" The awkwardly placed boy said, lifting his head up slowly. The girl he was nestled in between had a look of total shock and embarrassment painted on her face.
"Tober. You have 5 seconds to get off me." My older friend growled, through closed teeth. Due to fear or something the dude turned into his octopus form but was shaking. He better swim the shell away or he'll be cooked!
"5,4,3,2-" Helmet counted as she rubbed her knuckles together, preparing to punch the daylights out of him.
Lucky, just in the nick of time he hopped off her lap and onto his tipped over suitcase. Painter dashed up to Helmet to calm her from roasting the poor octoling into a nice meal over an accident.
Meanwhile Wheeler was still on the subway floor laughing her ass off. "Hahaha *weeze* Ahahahaha! Tober sure did land in a nice spot! If he were to take a little time to feel more, he would have noticed a little-"
Suddenly Wheels was kicked in the stomach, sending her flying into the bar of the seats across from us. "Shut the junk up you little piece of squit." Demanded the older girl, her arms crossed and scowl on her face. The boys and I looked at each other for a moment; Painter with a look of realization on his face.
Tober crept over to the younger girl worry and confusion baked onto him. She was hit so hard there was blood dripping out of her mouth. "Ummmmm, Charleigh? Are you okay?" The boy whispered, grabbing Wheeler's left hand and helping her back on her feet.
As he did that the metro did a slight brake and we have reached our stop. Painter grabbed his new friend's suitcase and rolled it out, right behind him was Helmet who was trying to calm down before she strikes again.
" No. Man, that eely hurt." Groaned the girl behind me, her pale face looking even more pale." I was only going to tell the truth, unless there's something wrong with that? Cod! Who put her on the planet?" The Octarian holding her hand smiled as we exited the Metro.
He took his suitcase back from the intersex inkling and faced Wheels once again. "The person who put her on the planet was Lord Eelix, the ultimate ZapFish in the heavens." We all stared at him like he was growing another set of eyes. Who the shell is Lord Eelix? Oh Cod, what have we got into now?
Passing by us was a guy who seemed familiar, dark blue eyes, headphones, short sleeve black shirt, yellow shoes and a fohawk. Oh that's right, he's one of the models for that magazine about inkling teen culture. Tober's eyes lit up and he ran over to the guy and stopped him. I have no clue why'd this dude would be so interesting. Is Tober that desperate?
"Excuse me sir, but where did you get that haircut?" Painter tried to run over and stop him but he flinched pretty hard. I bet it has something to do with wrap around most of your body, don't push yerself.
The model stared at the octoboy and then back at us. "Wow, I didn't know that Blue Ink Rapids had a Octoling hanging out in the mix! Oh and buddy, your friends can prolly give you my style if you asked them." He told him before waving and walking the other way. That left Tober in confusion once again.
Painter beckoned him over so we could walk in the direction of our apartment. I felt a tug at my sleeve and turned around. "Hey, Nathan what's Blue Ink Rapids? Is that an group or something you guys are part of?" The Octarian asks me. I want to wait for a better moment to explain it, so I don't answer.
Wheeler walked over from the shade of a tree, her loud footsteps planting on the brick ground. The apartment is in view and we all feel excitement. Painter and Helm are already up the stairs somehow, they walk too fast. Maybe they walk fast because I'm slow or maybe I'm just too worried about our troublemakers?
From the corner of my eye I see as Tober is suddenly lifted up off the ground from behind. It was by Wheels of all people. "Heh ha! You're lighter than expected buddy! Since you asked earlier, Blue Ink Rapids is a squad the four of us are in that competes in things called Turf War and Ranked Battles but on another level." She says putting the boy on her shoulders and running up to a newly fixed ink rail.
"Woah!" The startled kid cries, a light blush appears on his face as the older girl leaps onto the upwards diagonal moving stream. "Pu,p-, put me down please! Charleigh!" Wheeler is so mean to him, it's kinda funny.
She reaches the third floor and jumped down, stomping on the ground beside our door. Tober was shaking in his Octo form in her grasp and hops away. I waltz up to the girl and smack her across the head. "Ouuch, Lucky that hurt!" Wheeler holds the spot that I hit. You know very well why I hit you. Behave!
The octoboy looks at us with a concerned look, but also something else in his orange eyes. "Tobey I'll tell you more about Turf War later, right we need to get inside our apartment and rest." Wheeler says fishing through her bag pockets for the key. Unlucky for her I beat her to the punch.
Our door slams open and we enter in. The leftover box of pizza is still sitting down out on the table and it gathers Tober's interest. He opens the box and peers inside, but my girl Helmet takes it out of his reach. "Okay rule one, wait till everyone enters before trying to eat something." she demands as she places the box near the oven.
Wait a minute our hands are filthy and she's worried about that!? "You're forgetting something Helm. We need to wash our gross hands first, don't want to get sick before the party!" I say before peeling off my gloves and walk to the kitchen sink.
The others just look at me plainly. What, something wrong with basic hygiene?!
Painter heated up the pizza and soon it was ready for us to eat. For some reason Wheeler had changed into her pajamas and was lounging on the sofa, showing Tober our electronics. "Hey guys the food is cool enough to eat now!" I call, hoping we'd be able to sit at the dinner table and eat normally.
"Coming!" the younger kids say pausing whatever game they were playing, I couldn't see the whole screen. Helmet has pulled up a bar stool for herself, so our new roomie can sit on a normal chair. I hold the plates in my hands and give them out to everyone.
Their shout made me think of something. "Wouldn't have been funny if you Inkcoming instead guys?!" I ask laughing. No one else is laughing with me and I eel very defeated at the moment. "Where is your sense of humor guys!?"
Tober looks at the food with a big smile before biting into it. I guess that he's never had pizza before since he lived his whole life underground. Happy tears rolled down his face. "Is it good Tober?" Painter asks causing me to inspect his plate.
Wow he finished 2 of these huge slices his so fast. Well time to establish order, how else am I going to take over as team captain from Helmet. "Ahem." I clear my throat and grab the fridge magnet board. "So tomorrow we are going over a friends house for a party. We are in charge of bringing the snacks so we better go to store before we get there."
Everyone nodded their head, but Painter decided to remind us. "Umm the party starts at noon right? We should leave at 10:30 am alright?" He asks us a rhetorical question as he answered it himself. I throw my head back in laughter at Tober playing with our smart fridge.
Looking back at him, he's fascinated with the fact that he can get clear drinkable ink into a cup along with ice. "Have you ever been to a party before?" Wheeler asked the octoboy grabbing a hand full of his long black unkempt hair. In response the kid turned around with a smile.
He grasped her hand and took it down to her ear. "No, Charleigh I haven't, but will you be willing to fix up my hair-" He started to ask when, Helmet walked up to them. "Oh hi, whatcha need Adrien?"
She took his head in her hands and made him face her. "Before you go anywhere with us we need to give you a haircut." He followed her to the bathroom but she closed the door on him. Soon she returned with some really nice scissors.
Everyone else gazed at her with worry and mild confusion. I'm not too worried since she's done my hair before well. Helm took him by the hand with Painter right behind for some reason.
"Don't keep your eye off him, Helmet!" The oldest squid warned.
After about 5 minutes or so they both emerged, looking quite happy. Tober had only one tentacle directly on top of his head in the middle going forward and the rest in back. "OOOHH, get it Tober!" Cheered Wheeler running her hand through his hair. I smell a secret coming along.
"Alright, alright." Painter spoke up bringing us to look at him. "Tober may have an acceptable hairstyle but we still need to buy the snacks." I looked back down at the intersex inkling and back to the Octoling. Yep that kid is right.
My roommate smiled as she shook her head, dark blue curls bouncing in the air. Then she put her hands on my shoulders. "Should we bring him along?" Helmet asks glancing at the clock above the wall. It read 9:50 PM.
Just then Wheeler yawned loudly and stretched those fine arms. I've always been able to see that the girls were slightly built, especially our older friends Sailor and Hunter. "Yeah, but let's do that early tomorrow, before the party. Good night." I responded walking towards our room.
I should research proper bi and tricep exercises and maybe some calf and thigh ones. Tober's gonna need some if he wants to keep up in turf war and all our activities.
With that we all did our night time rituals and went on to bed. Tober, since we didn't have an extra bed or air mattress had to sleep on the couch. Poor guy, just got here and already is sleeping on the couch.
"Ahh man! You guys don't have a cot or futon I could use?" Tober had groaned, wailing his fists on Painter's chest. The oldest just stood in front of the Octo, arms crossed flinching slightly after each hit.
The red eyed inkling eventually grew upset and threw a blanket and pillow at the younger teen. The foreigner narrowed his eyes and grumbled. "I wish I could just stay in your room, with Charleigh!" He then went to sleep and so everyone else fell into slumber as well.
-Tober's POV-
My dream was wonderful for such a strange day. I bet Father would love this. I even wrote it down in the journal as a log for day 1.
Wow, yesterday was so crazy. I met an inkling who was intersex and helped him escape the Facility to go up to Inkopolis. Along the way we met up with the inkling's whose name is Painter Calligraphy friends; Nathan, Adrien and Charleigh. A girl known as Marie from the Squid Sisters was helping them. Then they took me back to their apartment and I had so much fun.
Suddenly I jolt upright in bed, er the couch. I can hear faint breathing from near the kitchen, but it's almost pitch black in the whole room. The blinds could only let in little light from their closed state. Do inklings like to be in complete darkness in the morning? I know I sure don't.
I pushed the plush blanket from my lap and stood up. Being an Octoling gives me some nice night vision once I get the sleep outta my eyes. "Hmm, is that big sister Adrien?" I whisper to myself as I creep into the light.
The figure in the kitchen tiptoes or walks silently over to the window and grabs the bar and pulls it down, revealing the early morning sunshine. It's Adrien who is standing there, hands wrapped around a mug of something hot. "Good morning Adrien!" I say causing her to perk those pointed ears and turn around.
The way she stared at me made my heart race just like when Charleigh had me ride the that 'ink rail'. "Oh," the older girl smiled back, placing her hand on top of a book on the counter. " good morning Tober. Didn't expect you to be up so early, like me."
I stare up at her features, such lovely brown skin and green heavenly eyes. On instinct I reached out grabbed her hand. "I-i heard you up so I couldn't stay sleeping. Are you drinking tea?" I say walking up to the counter and gaze at her book. Dang, must be in Inkanese so I can't read what the cover says.
Suddenly we can hear a door creak open and Nathan emerges. He has a nightcap on top of his head and his solo long bang is peaking out. "*Yawn* Ahh, good morning guys." The boy seems to disappear into another room and I'm curious so I follow him. I use my foot to stop the door.
"Tober, I'm trying to pee here. Wait till I'm done, okay." He breathed, panic laced in his face. I complied and backed away. A bright blush was hitting my face and I walk away towards Adrien.
Confusion is raked in my head, why was I embarrassed about that?
She's still holding that book by the time the boy exits the bathroom. I try to peer over her shoulder but even up close I couldn't make out the words. " Umm, I have a few questions Adrien." I ask sitting down at the chair across from her. We sat in silence for about a minutes, before I broke the barrier.
The girl I spoke of decided to look up from her book, after sipping some her tea which had cooled down. Before I could say anything she cut me off. "I can bet you're gonna to ask what my book is about, huh Tober?" Caught in a net I nod my head and look away. Man, she's good.
When she gets up and sits next to me, Painter decides to come out of his room. But unlike Nathan and Adrien, he has his day clothes on. "It's a book about early Turf wars and the making of weapons." Helmet says before turning around.
I was staring at Painter and she happened to notice. A trigger was pulled in my head and another blush on my face. Adrien gazed at me with some form of confusion and disgust and waved at the older boy to get his attention.
"Oh hey, sorry I didn't notice you guys at first!" the red eyed inkling said before laughing. His open mouth gave me a nice view of his teeth, which had two canines pointing out on top and one on the bottom. Suddenly he walked past me and put his heads on Adrien's shoulders.
He started to shake her back and forth, clearly stressed. "I know, I know; you're worried about the party and the food, but it'll be okay." the younger girl cooed freeing herself from his grasp. Wow she's being nice to someone, maybe she was having a bad day yesterday!
Soon everyone was ready, well besides me. I had to take a shower and put on my same clothes, but it's better than not washing myself at all. Funny enough it took Charleigh the shortest time to get ready even though she woke up the latest. "Why are y'all taking so long?!"
It turns out that to go near the party and the closest store we didn't have to use the Metro. We are going on a walk. I don't exercise as much as my friends.
"Alright guys were going to Sand's Club to get brownies, cookies and either a sheet cake of two dozen donuts." I can hear Nathan say. He adjusts his street cap while we walk on the payment.
Charleigh was right about it being hot out today. I feel so happy being in the sunshine with my new friends, with my nice fresh tentacut. 32 degrees celsius in late summer, it was never this hot down in Octo Valley.
"What's a Sand's Club? Also didn't you say you guys were going to buy me some new clothes, if I didn't bring my notebook?" I ask tapping Painter and my new interest, Charleigh.
Painter just rubbed his hands together and sighed, a noticeable thing he does quite often. I should be sure to mark that down in his special log, which is a set of 10 pages. Also I will need a detailed drawing of everyone in the nude, that will be tough. But this is all in the hand of science and inkling research!
Both of them stared at me and Charleigh lifted up her oval shaped shades. Is the sun so bright you need to wear eye protection? Why are they shaped like ovals anyway?
"Well we are going to buy you some fresh clothes from Sand's clubs, which is a membership based shopping center." The girl said walking up some steps on the sidewalk. Though she answered I'm still confused, why are there a stairway to get up this street? The buildings around this area seem to be older, red bricks type. Why did they use redbricks while building this part of town?
I use my hand to block the bright full rays of the sun, feeling out of place. Being on the surface is much warmer than underground. "But I don't think you know what a shopping center is? Do you?" reminded Adrien from in front while we wait at some intersection.
"If you're wondering, right now we're at a crosswalk, since cars which aren't too common downtown are driving in the opposite direction." She added pointing at some of the shiny velchiles flying by at moderate speeds. So that's what they are called; cars.
The light above us flashed green and my friends directed me to follow them across the road. I took note of all the street signs and places names given to me by the outside world and the buildings that had them. Soon we reached a place with black pavement and cars of all sizes parked next to thin slabs on grey concrete.
"Is this a Sand's Club?" I ask as we take a side route on the sidewalk to avoid the danger of cars. Nathan nods his head yes just as I'm able to read out the large print in blue in the center on top of the store. Thank Eelix it's something in the common lingua franca this time.
Before entering the store we pass some jelly-like creatures. Painter tells me they are referred to as Jellyfish and if they wave I should wave back. Guess I'll need to make a log of them too.
As we get in side the store Adrien takes some card out of her purse and shows it to the attendant, while Nathan gets a blue rimmed cart.
I'm staring at the attendant as his strange spiky hair, which lacks each of the two tentacles that men usually bind into a seapony tail. Oh man I keep forgetting squids have 10 limbs not 8, like me.
"How many hairstyles are there?" I whisper to myself before Charleigh grabs my hand and leads me away. "Hold a moment!" I cry in panic, but she just easily pulls me away. I never realized who much stronger everyone is compared to me, probably cause I never have had to lift anything my whole life.
So it turns out I tuned out everything that Painter and Adrien had said about what the full plan at the store was about. Charleigh and I were to go buy me a full set of clothes, includes day wear, night wear, beach wear and underwear.
"We'll come back in fall for some cold weather clothes and once you get into turf war you'll be able to buy clothes from the Booyah Base as well." The pale girl explained.
Since she didn't like my choices she picked them out for me, spare the socks, underwear and flip-flops. Charleigh even payed for it with her own money, because I have none of this currency. When I thanked her she shook her head, "Ah, no problem! I'll make all this back after a day of battles give or take!"
Her deep blue eyes shone so brightly I had a small blush by the time we left the store. We got a box of different circular glazed pastries called donuts instead of a sheet cake mainly cause the weight of the sheet cake would be too much since we don't have a cart or anything to carry it on top of.
"We are on time guys, 11:20 so we have 40 minutes to get in the neighborhood." Adrien says hoisting the bag on her shoulder. Charleigh's wrist was in her hand and she was just eyeing her watch. I laughed as the younger girl took it back from her senior's hold. Hope their friends are just as fun and cool.
As we started to walk towards the 'parking lot' I noticed the beauty of the late morning sky. The clouds were so puffy and big I just had to stare up. *BANG* my face body fell backwards and suddenly I was in Painter's and Adrien's arms. "Be more careful next time Tober." Nathan said from in front of me. Guess I ran right into a street lamp, better keep my eyes ahead.
"How do you know where the house is?" I ask a bit later when we start leaving the city area and are on a long stretch of sideway. The loud noise of the cars passing by almost blocked out my question but Charleigh heard me. She pointed to Painter's squidphone and lifted up her bags.
Getting closer to the boy I could see a map of the current area and a blue dot telling us where we are and a red dot farther off near an arrow. "It's called a GPS map, I type in the house's street address and the satellites tell me information back and we can find the right neighborhood and house." Painter said answering a question I was going to ask.
Soon we entered a neighborhood called Brine Springs, but first we had to talk to a security guard. "We are here to visit to Aaron Robinson's home." Nathan tells the Sailfish. She walked into the booth and then the gate opens. We wave to her as we walk in side.
While we were walking Painter looked irritated at his phone. "Damn, I lost the signal so I don't know what number the house is!" He growled shoving his device back into his pocket. Nathan rubbed his chin and Adrien stared at the nearby houses.
"Well all the houses on this side of the neighborhood are one story so the house must be one story as well. Oh?" Charleigh was saying before a blast of ink hit the ground in front of us. We all looked at the yellow ink on the road. After walking for a bit another shot hit the pavement, I guess trying to lead us somewhere.
Looking at the ink blast it was quite wide and long, I wonder what type of weapon fired it? "It's Hunter's Range Blaster guys! She's leading us to the house cause it's in view!" Painter shouted and started running in the direction. A Range Blaster? I wonder what it looks like, thanks.
We followed him with Adrien crying out. "Hold up guys! This bag is pretty flimsy and it'll break if I run too fast!" In the crisp green grass of the front lawn was a a female inkling. Hunter is probably her nickname I have to ask for the real one. I don't understand everyone with their real names and nicknames, it gets confusing sometimes.
Anyway She had a very long strand of tentacle on the right side of her head, that was yellow. Her eyes were orange with hints of dark gold and she was wearing a short sleeved grey tee, broad brown hat, long black sweatpants and green low tops.
"Wow, ya'll finally made it, and who is this cutie?" Hunter said confusing me to no end. Wait did this girl call me a cutie?! Great now my face is blushing again.
Painter stepped in front of me while the others left us outside. I just stood there with a look of confusion on my face, letting my bags slump to the floor. "Okay Hunter this is Tober, he helped me get out of the underground two days ago and wanted to research inklings on behalf of his father." The boy said, extended his hand.
Hunter looked at me and smiled lifting both of her mighty arms and lifted her left one up towards me in a about at 70 degree angle. Shen then grabbed my hand and hit it with her palm. What did she just do to me? To answer my question she grinned. "It's called a five high Tober, have you never done one before?" Before Painter or I could reply she cut off.
"My full name is ShiRAzaki Arita, the group calls me Hunter cause that's what I do in battle. Painter's real name sounds like a codename someone use so we keep it the same, care to come inside?" Nodding my head yes the big girl walked up the ramp to the front door and banged it 4 times. I could tell Painter's name was a bit different compared to the others.
The sleek wooden door opened gently and a very tall boy was standing in the doorway, a bandana with a skull covering his face. "Come on in, everyone's waiting." The Masked inkling said glaring my way. Inside the house was a nice table and picture frames on the wall. Music could be heard from the left side of the home and there were two inklings, I couldn't fully see hanging out in the kitchen.
Another male inkling, just a few inches shorter than the masked inkling with spiky hair was sitting in an office. The grey blue eyed, bald fade inkling was sipping from a glass small cup and looked up. Where'd that masked guy go off to? Oh well let's talk to this dude.
"Hi, my name is Aaron but you can call me Pilot, welcome to the party." He said when I caught his attention. Upon further notice I could see a upside down crescent in the form of his pupil, Also it seemed Shirazaki and that masked guy had them too. Hmmm this orange haired guy seems different than the rest of my new friends.
But why do the others not have the different shaped pupils? I walk up to Aaron and he puts down his drink and smiles weakly. "Hey, um Aaron, my name is Tober and I've been wondering. Why do you have those shaped pupils, Shirazaki has them but Painter doesn't?" The young adult looked at me and then looked at his cup.
"Well usually if their an inkling older than sixteen they start to develop the family pupil or many call crest. Some may form it right after they turn sixteen or as late as twenty-one so it depends, also the shape and size is based on genetics so first line relatives usually have the same one." Pilot said before taking a sip and reclining back in his seat. Since he answered my question I decided to venture into the kitchen.
Near the island or counter there was another beautifully darker skinned inkling. He was a short male with yellow inked bangs that covered his eyebrows, he had a nice orange visor, black shirt and orange mesh shoes. The inkling's gaze was confusing, "Does he dislike me or like me?"
Now the other inkling, I'm baffled. My eyesight isn't too well so I can't tell this one's gender. They have short bangs and hair that was also yellow inked. Gold tinted shades, blue waterproof jacket and black boots. "Wow such nice clothes, I've been missing out on these fashion trends." I say.
The oddest thing was the purple trail aura coming from their left eye. Can this boy not see it? Also they are the tallest person I've ever seen in my whole life.
Noticing my stare the boy squid kid waved at me. "Hey there, the names Flag but you can call me Fernand." My focus wasn't on him but I could hear it anyway. Fernand sounds like a boy name so he must be a dude. "Also your hair is flawless for a Octoling." he added. He's making it sound like my hair would look bad as an Octoling, then again it was really wild yesterday.
Putting my whole attention on him, I smiled."Oh, my name is Tober and I've been wondering is this other person a male or female?" Fernand looked at me with a baffled face but then saw I was swinting. That other inkling still just stared into the distance so I backed up.
"You mean Uiwfuko? Oh wow she's not actually flat so I don't get-" Fernand looked panicked for a second when I stepped closer to Uiwfuko, who had another strange name like Shirazaki. "Oh but you can just go see for yourself Tobe. " Then he leans forward to whisper. Wait have I just received a nickname?!
"I'm not stopping you and she won't… yet." This dude is so vague but he says that this Uiwfuko person is a girl. Inklings are so strange, no wonder I should make another notebook for research on them.
The second I lifted my hand on to her shades the purple aura goes away so I panicked. I leaned backwards taking the glasses away from her face, exposing her beautiful purple eyes. The girl stared at us with distress. "Fernand who is this?" The very tall girl asked my new friend. Well I hope he's my friend, can't tell with folks these days.
The darker inkling placed his hand on my shoulder and sneered. "Oh this is Tober an Octoling, he couldn't tell if you were a girl or not." Why'd he have to say that!? The older looked girl looked surprised and put her hand down towards me, palm open.
I handed her the gold tinted shades and blushed angrily. "Yeah I'm Tober Ozentiberg, I helped your friend Painter get out from underground when he was captured by my father for research. My close up vision isn't the best so I can't tell certain things apart half the time, sorry." I explained pushing the boy's hand of my shoulder.
Uiwfuko smiled and reached over to grab a plate. "Oh wow that's really cool! But, I didn't know Paint was going by he now." She used some tongs to pick up a couple of meat items. Then the girl handed me one. "Here I bet you haven't ate anything since coming here, enjoy the food man, go outside!" As soon as I turned around I heard a flurry of loud angry sounding Inkanese.
Following her orders I walked past that masked inkling and Nathan playing a card game with the others. Who and what even is out here? The sliding glass door was covered by a large set of white blinds.
Once I exited the air conditioned house and felt the heat of the outside I felt out of place. "It was never this hot back home, guess this the true power of the sun."
There was five different colored folding chairs arranged next to a round glass table. By the side of the house was a grill, at least I can recognize that object. I kept walking since I couldn't really see, suddenly I feel like I'm tripping down onto the rough floor.
Before I fell into the dip I was caught by someone. WHAT JUST HAPPENED!? I've never felt my heart race this fast before.
I was wrapped around damp strong arms and I could feel a warm body press against me. In reflex from falling I had shut my eyes so fearfully I opened them. Why would anybody else be out here? Who could it be?
"Hey are you okay?! You would have fell into the pool if I weren't here to catch you." A sweet voice told me right as I looked it in the face. Though I slightly backed away, almost at arm's length. Oh my lord, this squid beautiful even when I can't completely make out their face!
It was an older inkling, female with long orange hair in two twintails. She had a two piece suit on with shorts and some sort of bra. Flustered I turned away, but I forgot that I was in her strong grasp. "Umm, yeah I'm okay Miss." I weakly started to say gazing upwards at the taller inkling.
Now she wasn't as tall as the masked inkling but she's taller than Nathan. Then again basically everyone is taller than me. Maybe one day I'll get as tall as dad or mom. At least mom, because she's 5'7 last time we checked.
Her eyes were a rich mixture of brown shades and she had strange brown dots underneath her eyes and above her nose. Are those the freckles that I've heard Dad mention before? He said something about sunlight on people with low melanin.
The girl sighed getting my attention, apparently she had carried me to the side of the 'pool'. "Eh? You don't have to call me Miss, I'm Bailey but most people call me Sailor. What's your name?"
Now that my eyes have managed to focus I see that she has plus shaped pupils and seems to be very fit and in shape. Must be doing some sort of special training to look this good. The others aren't this fit , well maybe that Aaron guy is cause his shirt was kinda tight and I could see his abs.
"I'm Tober and I've been wondering.. Sorry if this sounds out of place or rude but; what are you wearing and what are doing out here?"
Sailor looked at me and then back down to herself. "Eh ,sorry have you never seen a swimsuit before Tober?" I shook my head no and started fanning my chest. Wish I had changed into the new clothes since it's so hot out today. "And as for what I'm doing is practicing my rescue swimming in this pool."
What? As she lifted up her left hand to push back her long strand of tentacle I could see a black watch on her wrist. On her neck was a silver tag that had an engraving on it in the lingua franca.
"Soooo, Bailey Roy what really is 'rescue swimming' and why do you do it in human form instead of squid?" I could read out her name on the tag from far away.
"Well the reason I swim in human form is to be able to carry people out of the ink or water if they can't swim or in a dangerous area, it's my job." Bailey replied standing up and stretching her arms. Those arms look so nice to be in a hug with just like Dice's.
Oh that makes since cause you can't carry or help anyone in squid form! "But what is your job then?" I asked before wiping a bead of sweat from my brow. When we get inside I need to get a drink so I don't faint of dehydration.
"My job is to be a lifeguard to all people as well as a Marine Self Defense Force Member." Bailey told me in a quieter voice as we walked over to the table where I put my plate down. "Though I'm not in duty right now since we are on our month break at the moment."
After eating the tasty bit of food, I nodded. Uiwfuko was right about it being good! "Who is 'we' and why do you have to be a lifeguard to all people. Where did this idea start and why do you have a whole month for a break?" I say before the much older girl grabs a towel and starts to dry off in front of me, despite still in her two piece.
Suddenly the sliding glass door opens and Aaron walks out looking at me like I tried to steal something. Bailey faced him while drying off her head and face.
"Eh, babe have you met Tober yet? He's such a curious boy, guess he probably doesn't know too much about surface life. " the girl said with a small grin on her face.
The boy's glare changed and his face became a little smirk and he waved my way. Guess he's not mad at me anymore, whatever I did or looked like I did.
"Yes I have andI was about to tell y'all to come inside in about 10 minutes. We are about to reveal the new mission and changes to the squad, see ya soon." The young man said before he did the unthinkable.
He kissed Bailey on the stomach, which is strange. Don't people normally kiss on the cheek or lips, what's so special about her belly? Again, Inklings continue to baffle me. "Umm wow."
Me being here made the girl turn bright orange in the face and after he left I just had to get my questions answered. "Are you two in a relationship and would you be able to answer some of my questions?"
The inkling faced me and sighed. "Yeah Aaron and I are dating. Sorry bout that, he's a little clingy around other guys. " She must be talking about the kiss, I need to get all this down when I get home.
"And as for your questions I'll start from the beginning, when I was 12 years old I went to a special boarding school. It was for children interested in military fields or service and the school was not just stationed in one location. " Bailey stopped to inhale briefly.
"We'd travel around many nations and work with the service members there to learn from them. Since the school was 6th-12th grades they were a lot of kids, it's where I met Aaron and our roommates. " She laid down quite a bit of info.
I just nodded which meant continue, can't waste any of this precious time." Well those roommates aren't here right now and we asked if we could have our team meetup at the house. Oh and when I say not on duty I mean we don't have to go out on patrol on the docks, ports and beaches. " the inkling said looking over my shoulder.
"The Squad branch that we are in is all stationed in this neighborhood because it blends in with the normal everyday folk and we are close to a port. Also we don't have to live on site till later because our group is special and by later I mean in about four weeks."
I guess Bailey is done for now cause she grabbed her bag and opened the sliding glass door. "Thanks for all that, I'd ask you more but it's time for the meeting." I say before closing the blinds and walking towards the living room.
Everyone sat either on the two sofas but Aaron and Bailey sat on two chairs. Painter beconded for me to come over to sit next to him. The others were still chatting about whatever was going on while I was outside with Bailey.
"Ahh man I wish we could have finished that game, I was about to destroy Helmet." groaned Fernand, holding a large box in his hand. That must be a board game of some type, can't read the title though.
The girl glared back at him. "Oh shut up! You'd never be able to destroy anyone with those weak weapons in those lame territories! Matter of fact-"
Aaron was having enough of their loud squabbling. "HEY! Both of you shut the junk up! The meeting is about to start, wait till afterwards to have an leaking contest, you seadiots!" The young man shouted scaring everyone into being completely silent. Wow who spilled his cereal this morning?
Thankfully his partner was way calmer. "Ok everyone today we have some exciting news, Mosaka care to explain part one?" The masked inkling suddenly stood up and loomed in front of the television, being in between the couple. Guess his name is Mosaka, good now I know everyone's name!
The tall boy pulled down his skull mask revealing a bright scary smile. That must be really offsetting if you were going against him in a match. "Heys guys, we are trying to branch out so get ready for fan activities and meetups."
As soon as he said that everyone started cheering. Nathan and Uiwfuko got up and gave each other high fives, while Painter threw a fist into the air and most others clapped.
"Say the next one sis, we're all waiting." Mosaka told Uiwfuko as he sat down. Oh I didn't know they were related, that's why they look kinda similar. The taller inkling, while smiling brightly shook his face and winked at me. What's the next statement going to be about?
The girl adjusted her jacket and threw out a hand. "Blue Ink Rapids has hired Tober Ozentiberg to be our Recording Specialist and getting more staff for Media!" Every squid looked at me and started cheering even louder.
Wait what? I didn't agree to anything! What even is a Recording Specialist and why do they need it to be me?! What did I get into!? Dad help MEEEEEE!