Felix slowly turned the object over in his hand, examining it closely. He had found it nestled in a rock formation near the edge of the merpeople's territory, so small that he only spotted it by the glint of sunlight reflected off its smooth surface.
The intricate designs etched onto the outside of the disk-like object indicated extreme attention to detail, although the meaning behind the markings was lost on him. Were they symbols? Some kind of language? Or meant as art? And the chain attached to it seemed just as puzzling. It was far too delicate to have any sort of weight tied to it, and too short to reach any kind of useful distance. Perhaps it was missing a piece? That could explain why the object seemed so strange. But it looked to be in excellent–
"Felix!" Tikki whined, swimming in front of him. "You're going to be late!"
Felix waived his hand, creating a small current of water that pushed the tiny guppy away.
"I still have time," Felix assured his friend. "And where there's one human artifact, there's usually more. I still need to search the area."
Tikki looked unconvinced. She was always so nervous about everything, and while that was regularly a point of contention between them, he did understand why a fish of her size might have that demeanor. But with him around, what was there to be afraid of, really?
"I'm having trouble figuring out what the humans use this for," Felix admitted to Tikki, holding up the chain and disk to show her. "Have any guesses?"
Tikkis eyes shifted nervously, seeming to pay more attention to the open ocean than Felix.
"What if we looked for more artifacts nearer the castle?" Tikki suggested. "Some might have been carried in by the schools of fish that visit the court."
Felix shook his head. "No, we need to go the other direction. The further from the merpeople the more we'll find. And Plagg said-"
"You can't believe everything that seabird says, you know," Tikki interrupted, rolling her eyes.
Felix huffed. Tikki often criticized his interactions with the skua named Plagg, who often chatted with merfolk in the kingdom, but Felix was far too enthralled by Plagg's tales of the overworld to ever stop seeking him out.
"Plagg knows more about the humans than either of us," Felix reminded her. "He literally has a birds-eye view of them. And he said he had seen something interesting only a few days ago. It wouldn't be far, I think the shipwreck is nearby actually."
"A shipwreck nearby!" A new voice joined their conversation.
Felix turned to see the Duusu, his father's right-hand shrimp, perched at the top of the rock formation, gazing down at them.
"That's scary!" Duusu continued. "The debris could have damaged our reef!"
Felix was fairly certain the wreck hadn't been that close, but this was not a discussion that he wanted to continue with Duusu at present.
"Did my father send you?" Felix asked, already knowing the answer.
"Of course!" Duusu replied cheerfully. "You're wanted at court immediately, you're late!"
"I told you so!" Tikki chimed in unhelpfully.
"You go ahead Duusu," Felix offered. "We'll be just a moment and I'll meet you there."
Dussu fluttered his multicolored scales, making a frustrated chirping noise.
"Your father expressly requested I accompany you to the castle," Duusu rebutted, giving Felix a knowing look. Duusu always seemed to know what he was up to.
Felix's mouth twisted in frustration. With Duusu accompanying him, he wouldn't have the opportunity to hide this new find with his other treasures. And he certainly couldn't risk taking it to court with him. His stomach churned in disappointment as he realized he'd have to leave it here, and hope no other sea creature came along to grab it before he could recover it.
"Fine," Felix surrendered, using the rock to push off toward Duusu and subtly drop the object back into its original crevice. He tried to shift some seaweed on top of it with a flap of his tail, but he couldn't risk looking down to see how well it was hidden without possibly alerting Duusu to the peculiar shimmer.
Duusu seemed satisfied with this response, and cheerfully perched himself on Felix's shoulder to hitch a ride with him back to the castle.
Am I a prince, or a shrimp taxi? He thought to himself, frustrated that his father had sent a reminder at all. Perhaps rumors of his extracurriculars had gotten back to the sea king, or at least other members of the court. He would need to be more careful with his illicit researchings. If he was reckless, his father might expressly forbid him from learning more, and then where would he be?
He was reassured by the soft brush of Tikki's fins against his arm, reminding him that he was not alone in this venture. As much as Tikki complained, he knew she would stay with him even as he pushed his father's limits. And as much as it annoyed him at times, her paranoid nature did come in handy on occasion. She was a valuable ally.
"Felix, you may want to pick up the pace," Duusu chimed from his shoulder. "You are late, remember? And you know how your father gets when he has to wait."
Felix felt his chest tighten for a moment, but quickly pushed the feeling away, replacing it with annoyance toward the shrimp.
Reluctantly, he pushed harder with his tail, speeding them even faster toward the last place he wanted to be right now.