Shiver made a beeline for Tres, who had his back turned against her as he studied over the studios' building plans. She sauntered on over, head held high and hips swaying to and fro a silent rhythm. It was all so very extra, yet the graceful demeanor she carried herself with was more for own sake rather than Tres's. If she carries herself with the same level of etiquette that's been drilled into her since birth there should be no issue.
"Hello, Tres," she said rather huskily, eliciting a flash of surprise upon her visage before she composed herself. She hadn't meant to come off sounding so eager.
Tres jumped from the sound of her voice, startled. He quickly turned around before placing his hand on his chest, sighing in relief as he spotted Shiver. "Oh! Hiya, Shiver. You startled me there."
"Shiver?" Shiver raised a brow, a coyish grin forming behind her fan. He really was such an endearing goof. "Please, we're well beyond being just acquaintances. Call me, Shiv."
"Ah, you mean it?" Tres brightened, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, if you insist... Shiv."
Shiver shuddered inwardly, eyes fluttering dreamily. "You know, for someone working security getting snuck up on isn't good for your performance review."
"Yeah, well, my situational awareness kinda goes down the tubes when I-" He let out a yawn, politely covering his mouth before smacking his lips. "When I haven't gotten much sleep."
"Oh, you poor thing," Shiver consoled, caressing his cheek. "The Captain's been working you down to the ink, hasn't she?"
"Hmm, yeah," Tres blushed at the gesture. In his bleary-eyed state he didn't realize he had leaned into her hand, treating it like the softest silken pillow. He hummed happily, closing his eyes for a spell. "Eh, it isn't so bad. I got to hang out with everyone in a massive underground bunker full of danger and discovery. Heh, I got to hang out with you..." he mumbled drowsily.
Shiver went wide-eyed and hastily pulled her hand away from Tres's cheek as if it had caught fire, snapping him out of his daze. He probably didn't mean anything by it, but his words, spoken in half-consciousness, had sent her hearts beating wildly within her chest.
"B-be that as it may," Shiver stuttered, swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, "you need to take it easy. We can't have you collapsing from exhaustion, mister security squid."
"Heh," Tres grinned dumbly. "Thanks, mom." Shiver's expression shifted quickly from enamored to annoyed in an instant. That response had earned him a swift smack over the head with her fan. "Oof!" he groaned, rubbing at his forehead.
"Don't call me, mom," Shiver huffed, frowning. She turned away, folding her arms, side-eyeing him as he kept that stupid grin on his face, the very same that made her want to melt. Sighing, she flicked her tentacle and pointed her fan at his nose, assuming a take-charge attitude. "Listen here, I've decided to graciously lend you my help. Rejoice, for the Megalodon Mistress will lend you her aid, if only to prevent you from straining yourself any further."
Tres was taken aback by the offer, but was no less thankful about it. He let out a humble chuckle. "I'll take everything I can get. I appreciate it, Shiv."
"And I would appreciate it if you start taking better care of yourself," 'and maybe go out on a date with me,' she almost added. "Now, come on. Show me those plans, I'll help however I can."
She sidled up beside him, standing shoulder to shoulder, ignoring the heat building up from within. It was highly peculiar, for someone who purportedly rummaged around in trash all day he somehow smelled considerably less offensive than your average sweaty Inkling male. Rather, he smelled of rock and minerals, a not-at-all unpleasant earthy scent that reminds you of a summer's day. It made her want to get closer than they already were.
They started to chat, professionally at first; what to do, how to do it and the best way to achieve the best possible result. Slowly but surely they dropped the formalities with one another, casually cracking jokes and making snarky comments in response. They talked about their experiences together, all they've done in just half a years time; the time they spent exploring Alterna, their heated battle.
Big-sis Callie was right, Tres had a lot of good things to say about her. Every compliment hat came out of his mouth was genuine, devoid entirely of any subtext. They were like the sweetest honey being poured into her ear. It left her feeling both euphoric and hopeful for the future.
So absorbed were they in their conversation that Shiver and Tres hadn't even noticed that they were hovering over the map together, oblivious to the world around them, and to what was happening right between them.
Shiver, in her enjoyment, had failed to realize her innate love for Tres had begun to manifest itself in a way that was considered extremely rare for Octolings. Her tentacles, which covered her left eye, had unfurled itself as if it had a will of its own and wrapped itself tenderly around the back of his neck, slipping its way into his shawl with a soft slick squelch. Its suction cups tickled and massaged his neck with gentle faerie kisses.
Marina's bloodcurdling scream of unmitigated horror shattered the calm shortly after.
Moments Earlier
"What's up, party peeps! Pearl is in the hiz-zouse!" Pearl's bombastic voice boomed across the air as she kicked the door to the studio wide open, nearly knocking them off their hinges. In her arms were several comically oversized shopping bags that looked even bigger in relation to her short stature. She entered the studio, carrying herself with such swagger and near literal big-headedness that one couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.
Behind her was Agent 4 and 8, both boys were dressed in black tie suits and donned dark sunglasses, their tentacles were styled in green slicked back waves and red coiffed mohawk respectively. Agent 4 was busy keeping the horde of rabid fans and media vultures away while 8 had in his arms several boxes stacked haphazardly atop one another.
"Hey, back off! The lady's got important business to attend to, so scram!" 4 snarled through gritted teeth as the mob clawed and swiped at him. "Grr, I said..." his tentacles began to glow, and with a mighty bellow, he unleashed a Splashdown that blew away the rabble and gave him some much needed breathing room. "Beat it!" He then began smoothing out his jacket and fixed his sunglasses before slamming the doors shut and locking them with an audible click. With a huff, he turned around and slumped on over to the rest of the group, fatigue evident on his weary visage.
"Thanks for the help, 8" 4 grumbled, sarcasm dripping off every word.
"You're welcome, Quattro," 8 smiled back, oblivious to sarcasm.
"Ugh," Quattro facepalmed, "I don't know what Kuki sees in you."
"My skin is not translucent, she can't see anything in me," he replied.
"...You have to be doing this on purpose," Quattro groaned.
8 tilted his head to the side like a curious puppy, "Doing what on purpose?"
"Don't go down that road, Quattro. You're gonna blow a fuse," Pearl guffawed. "Thanks again for chaperoning me, you two. You're both my very special guys." 8 beamed brightly at the compliment as Quattro silently acknowledged the appreciation.
"Anything for you, Pearl," Quattro muttered tiredly.
"And that's why you're my special guy," Pearl flashed him a cheeky grin.
"Well, well, well," Marie walked over, arms folded. "Look who finally decided to show up. What took ya?"
"Oh, nothing much," Pearl smirked smugfully, setting down the bags. "We just had a run in with my legion of adoring fans."
Yes, it was true.
While famous in Inkopolis, Pearl was outright beloved in the Splatlands. So unbelievably popular was she that Splatsville's had deemed her their very own Chaos Queen in a survey hosted by the city's local government, more or less cementing Pearl as a part of their DNA.
The Splatlandians were simply drawn to her larger-than-life personality, that legendary ain't-nobody's-fool attitude that has caused friction between Off the Hook and some of the biggest most prominent record labels in the music industry. They adored how, in spite of her cushy upbringing, she was a scrappy self-made squid who took on a world's worth of undeserved abuse from a culture infamous for its fakes, drama and elitism and kept on trucking all the way to the top.
And perhaps most important of all, they loved how at her core, Pearl was never a mask.
She was who she is unabashedly and no one, not record labels looking to manufacture her cutie-patootie image or haters seeking to drag her down to their level could stop her from swimming with the big fish, from championing an unshakeable friendship with Marina, and from absolutely rocking the world up and down, side to side and every which direction in between.
As far as Splatsville was concerned, Pearl was a Splatlandian who just so happens to be born in Inkopolis.
"Man, you guys should've seen it. I quite literally had a bunch of Inklings and Octolings throw themselves at my feet and form a working road just so I don't muddy my boots," said Pearl, her eyes positively glimmering with wonder. "I'm pretty sure some of those guys and gals just wanted me to step on them, but the important takeaway from my enlightening experience is that you can't buy that kind of respect. It has to be earned," she concludes with a sageful nod.
"I see your sudden explosion in popularity hasn't affected your humble nature, Pearl," Captain Kuki snorted.
"Oh, I think it's wonderful that Splatsville loves Pearlie for who she is," Marina smiled warmly. "The people here are so animated and lively. They see her as a kindred spirit, is it any wonder they treat her like a queen?"
"Yeah, it's great," Quattro cut in with a frown on his face and tone as sarcastic as ever. He flexed his arm, grimacing at the soreness he could feel creeping in. "Nothing like bodyguarding a celebrity in a city full of folks that chew glass in place of gum."
"Hey! Now that's just a harmful stereotype," Frye huffed, turning her nose. "For the record, we prefer chewing rock candy."
'Wow, such an important distinction," Quattro rolled his eyes.
"Okay, Sarcasm-o-tron, we get it. Just let them have this one," Marie shushed Quattro, giving him a playful jab to the arm, causing him to wince in pain. "Oh! Sorry about that." She rubbed at the spot she hit to help alleviate the pain.
Quattro sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Pearl, just tell them about the costumes."
"Oh! Right. The reason I went out in the first place. I almost forgot about that, heh heh," Pearl flushed a bright pink before unraveling all the bags she had in her possession and motioning for 8 to do the same with his boxes.
"Here you go, Pearl," 8 presented the costumes to Pearl.
"Thank you, 8. You're a doll," Pearl tried to give him a congratulatory head pat, even getting up on her tiptoes to do it, but 8 was the tallest out of all of them, standing a good two heads taller than her diminutive height. Thankfully, 8 didn't need to be told, he crouched down and let Pearl pat him on the head. He let out a mewl of delight, practically glowing at her touch. "Alright, you two have earned a well deserved break. Me and the girls got boring idol business to attend to."
"Phew, finally," Quattro slouched his shoulders and undid his tie, feeling lighter than he had in hours. "If any of you need me or 8 we'll be in the break room. Cheers, ladies." With a brief wave, he and 8 left for some much needed refreshments as the others waved back. Once they were out of view the girls clamored around the costumes, taking delight in their fresh new threads.
"Oh. My. Gosh," Callie breathed, holding up a bright yellow and orange triangular patterned dress. The design was made to emulate the rays of the sun. "It's perfect!"
"Right?!" Pearl exclaimed, holding up her own gray and yellow outfit. It was bristling with electric zig-zags shapes on the lower half that had a series of sound sensitive LEDs installed in them, allowing them to pulse rhythmically with a warm yellow glow to the beat of music. It brought to mind the image of lightning. "Now that's tight as all heck. Real OG squid kinda cool."
They each swooned over their new outfits.
Marie was given an intricate frilly white ensemble resembling clouds to compliment Callie's sun motif.
Marina's was similar to Pearl's, only instead of bright electrical zig-zags she had cool blue teardrops, representing rain.
Frye received a wavy free flowing costume with a scarf that was patterned in white and gold, representing the wind.
Shiver, if she weren't so preoccupied with Tres, would've been gushing over her cool blue kimono dotted with clear crystalline studs, representing snow.
And as for Big Man, he would've seen his light blue see-through silk vest and cloak, representing the clear skies.
This was the look of Seven Day Forecast.
"I have to admit, I wasn't big on the weather aesthetic at first, but after seeing my costume up close along with everyone else's I can safely say I'm on board with it," Marie commented, admiring the frilly material of her outfit.
"What did I tell you? We're gonna be a massive hit! Well, more than we already are," said Pearl, feeling her ego swell.
"Ah! I love this so much!" Frye bellowed, wrapping the scarf around her neck. She twirled and danced around with it as it trailed behind her in a lustrous stream of pearlescent gold. It was mesmerizing, the way she moved so fluidly, as if she was swimming through the air. "This is going to be the best collab ever, I'm so excited!"
"I'm excited too!" Marina cheered with Frye, their combined glee was near palpable. "Where's Shiver and Big Man? They've got to see this."
"Big Man's dealing with some moderate gastrointestinal distress at the moment, he had some bad conch ceviche and has taken his rightful place on the porcelain throne," Frye explained as a mischievous grin curled around her fangs. "And Shiver's busy hanging out with Tres." She pointed over to the other side of the studio.
"Well, let's go get her then," said Marina, gesturing to the group to follow.
"Yeah, we gotta show her her amazing kimono!" Callie exclaimed, trailing along. "She's gonna love it, I just know!"
"It's probably a lot more than she's used to wearing," Pearl snickered. "I gotta say, props to the Shivering Sharkmeister for being so bold with her skin out style."
"Her way of dressing is definitely... sparse," Marie muttered shyly, hiding a blush behind her hand.
"Oh, I can hear them talking. They're nearby," said Marina as she rounded the corner. When Tres and Shiver came into view she called out to them. It should've been little more than a mundane greeting, yet it evolved into something much more bewildering as she bore witness to the seemingly benign act Shiver was engaged in with Tres.
"Hey, Shiv- aaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"