Happy New Year, everyone! And serious thanks to everyone who reviewed for chapter 10, you're all absolutely amazing (and the story has 51 Reviews, so that's the goal surpassed too, which is fantastic!)
I thought about it for a few days, and I decided I couldn't leave you guys with the cliffhanger that was the ending of the 10th chapter (even if that wasn't originally intended to be one, we all know that's what it ended up as anyway) for too long, so here's Chapter 11!
Reviews:
Biaxbm - The cliffhanger was not my original intention, but it definitely turned out that way. Enjoy the new chapter!
seaweedgirl1117 - Sure thing!
Guest - Thanks.
PerseusJackson230 - Thank you. It always means a lot to me when people like the stuff I write. I hope you enjoy the new chapter just as much.
Swordy10835 - Thank you.
AutumnLeaves03 - Thanks, I hope you enjoy this chapter too!
hproxx1999 - I certainly did. I think I can honestly say I did even more research for this chapter.
Guest - I know, I love writing Percy's dialogue talking about the aquarium, since it really makes it obvious how much he loves his job.
Disclaimer - If I owned PJO, MoA would not have ended on the cliffhanger that it did.
"Okay. Promise me you won't freak out too much, Wise Girl?"
My voice was quiet and steady as I spoke. Annabeth nodded, shifting so that her head was resting on my shoulder. "Promise"
I smiled. This had always been one of my favourite parts of the job. It always amused me to see the expressions people got on their faces at this point of the tour. After a couple of seconds had passed, I spoke again. "Look up".
She did so, just in time for an enormous shark to swim overhead. She recoiled slightly in surprise, and I tightened my arms around her, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Don't worry, it can't get to us. Neither can any of the other sea creatures, for that matter"
"What's separating them from us?" my girlfriend asked quietly.
"Incredibly strong sheets of acrylic glass that have been moulded in a curved shape. The sheets are lightweight, and not as hard as normal glass, but they don't smash as easily. When you consider the amount of pressure that the sheer volume of water around us is creating right now, that's probably a good thing" I replied.
There was a small carpeted walkway on either side of the conveyor belt (right up against the edges of the tunnel), and I led Annabeth over to one side. Staring into the tank, I queried "Do you see that patch of sand that looks slightly darker than the rest of the sand around it?"
Annabeth squinted into the tank. "No, not really. Honestly, it all just looks like sand to me".
I laughed. "Yeah, that's what I thought the first time I came down here too. Your eyes tend to play tricks on you when it comes to underwater creatures though. They don't move very much during the day, but if you watch for long enough something usually happens eventually…"
As I spoke, the patch of sand we were watching shifted for a second, sending a cloud of sand and silt to rise into the air, and Annabeth gave a quiet gasp. "What is that?"
"That is a wobbegong, also known as a carpet shark. They're usually found around Australia and Indonesia, though one variety has been found around Japan".
"It doesn't look much like a shark. Aren't they usually… more streamlined than that?"
I nodded. "Usually, yes. But the fact that the wobbegong doesn't resemble other sharks is partly what makes it such an impressive predator. Look, you can barely even see it now".
-Annabeth Chase-
I stared into the tank, watching the cloud of sand that had been displaced by the shark's movements as it settled lazily on the bottom once more. He was right, it really was impressive. I doubt I would have even known it was there had he not pointed it out to me in the first place. "It's almost scary how effective at camouflaging itself the wobbegong is, isn't it? You definitely wouldn't want to go into the water with one of those around".
His voice was low and gentle, almost reverent, as he stared at the patch of sand where we both knew the shark was hiding. "Why? Is it a very dangerous species?" I queried.
I could feel the motion as he shook his head beside me. "I wouldn't say that they're very aggressive or dangerous to us humans, not as a general rule. But they have been known to bite people who accidentally stand on them in shallow water as well as SCUBA divers who poke or touch them. And even if unprovoked, they do sometimes bite divers, surfers or snorkelers who come too close to their hiding spot".
"Oh".
"Yup. They have a lot of very small, but extraordinarily sharp, teeth, as well as a bite that can be extremely severe, no matter whether the diver is wearing a wetsuit or not. Plus they're very flexible as well. Even grabbing one by the tail won't stop it from biting" Percy replied.
I shivered instinctively. "Great. Thanks for the mental picture, I now have a totally different reason to hate the water".
My boyfriend placed a gentle kiss to my forehead and wrapped his arms slightly tighter around me. I leaned into his side, resting my head on his shoulder. I love how passionate he is about the ocean and sea creatures, and the way his eyes lit up with delight when he was telling me what he liked about his job. Now I can see why. "They're almost never found outside of their usual habitats. So unless you happen to pick one of those locations to go swimming, then you really don't have much to worry about".
"Thanks for the warning. I feel much better now"
Funny thing was, if I had said it to anyone else, it might have been said in a sarcastic manner. But when I said it to Percy, for some reason I found myself actually meaning it. As if his warning really did make me feel better. "Hey, Wise Girl"
Percy gave me a gentle nudge, breaking me from my thoughts. I blinked in surprise. "Yes, Seaweed Brain?"
"Do you want to see my personal favourite shark breed?"
I smiled. "Sure, why not?"
"Great".
He lifted one hand, pointing towards a menacing-looking brown and white shark. "That's the sandtiger shark, more commonly known as the grey nurse shark. Isn't it magnificent?"
"It's certainly an incredible-looking creature. Though those teeth do look rather sharp".
"Actually, sandtiger sharks are extremely docile and have almost never been known to attack humans, whether provoked or unprovoked. Plus their mouths are actually not large enough to produce human fatalities, so that doesn't really help them either".
I glanced at him. "Careful, you're sounding like a Wikipedia article again".
He laughed. "Oh, like you'd be any better at stopping yourself from sharing random pieces of information if we went to the Empire State Building or the Hoover Dam".
I quickly found myself laughing too, if only because it was so simply true. He was right, I probably would have an extremely hard time trying to resist sharing everything I knew about how any particular sight was actually built if we ended up visiting it. And this obviously meant a lot to him, it would be rude of me to force him to stop talking just because I got tired of listening to him (which I'm honestly not sure could happen, just because it's obviously something he's so excited about and his excitement is contagious). "Okay, point taken. You're right, I almost certainly would find myself in the same position if we did visit any of those locations"
And maybe we can do just that in the future… I thought idly. My boyfriend squeezed my hand lightly. "Come on, let's go further down the tunnel. There's still so many wonderful creatures to see".
Enjoying the excitement radiating from the black-haired young man whose hand was currently clasped in mine, wanting to see exactly what he wanted to show me, I smiled. "Just lead the way".
And there we go. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter.
This week's songs are:
Ocean Man - Ween
Big Blue Sea - Bob Schneider