She was hunched over in her chair, bleary eyes scanning back and forth across the computer screen. Coffee stained cups littered her desk and the floor around her. Crumpled paper spilled over the sides of her waste basket and decorated the floor around it. Her dark tentacles drooped lifelessly from her head and her brown skin had a hint of grey to it that was a clear indication of worsening health.
Pearl looked on from the open doorway to Marina's room, her gremlin-like features scrunched into a worried frown.
How long had Marina been like this? It seemed like every time Pearl came home these days she found her either furiously working at her computer or frantically scribbling on a piece of paper. When did she sleep? When was the last time they had a meal together? Pearl was struggling to remember.
She stepped lightly into the room, her socked feet hardly making a sound on the hardwood floor. The smell of old coffee irritated her nostrils and the air tasted stale. That made Pearl's first mission clear.
Without a word, Pearl stepped around the octoling still oblivious to her presence and went to the window, knocking aside the curtains and throwing the window open. Natural light flooded into the room and a blast of fresh, cool air finally broke Marina's intense focus.
"Huh? What? Pearl?"
"Nice of you to notice me," Pearl said dryly. Her irritation diminished somewhat, replaced with worry, when she saw the state of Marina's face.
The octoling's eyes were veiny with dark bags underneath, her eyelids discoloured. Her face looked dry, her normally luscious lips had sharp indents that showed she'd been biting them for extended periods.
Marina lifted her longest tentacle away from her face, sighing. "Sorry, Pearlie, I've just been so focused. I feel like I'm finally making some progress."
"Doing what?" Pearl asked sharply. "Putting yourself into an early grave? 'Cause that's what it looks like to me."
Marina shrank into herself, lifting her shoulders like a child getting a dressing down from her parents.
Good grief, when did I become the responsible one?
"I-I'm fine, Pearl."
"You're not fine! If you stepped away from that computer for a second long enough to look in a mirror you'd see that."
Marina's hands unconsciously went to her face, her drowsy eyes widening slightly as she felt how dry and course her skin had become.
"I seem to be a little dehydrated."
"Among other things." Pearl stepped to the desk and peered at the coffee cups littered around. "Have you not even been letting Eight in here to clean up? Have you only left this room to get more coffee?"
Marina averted her gaze, as good an admission as any. Eight was a dutiful housekeeper and loved Marina like a sister, but her upbringing meant that if Marina told her to leave her alone Eight would obey, even against her better judgment.
"Marina."
"I'm fine, Pearl, really, I just slipped a little bit."
"A little bit? Marina, you look like you haven't slept in a week! I've hardly seen you lately. Every time I see you you're in here slaving away at this computer!"
Marina frowned and became defensive. "I'm not slaving away, Pearl, it's just hard work. You know I like a challenge. Besides, what I'm doing is important."
"So is looking after yourself."
"I can look after myself just fine, Pearl, I'm doing this for the people who can't. I need to help design a new water filtration system for the domes before the current one breaks down and the breeding pools get contaminated – which could kill a large number of the hatchlings. Some of them might be my own siblings."
Pearl faltered, her argument suddenly tripped and skidding along the ground just when she thought she'd hit her stride. Marina didn't give her a chance to recover and kept going.
"On top of that, the domes need urgent repairs to keep them standing long enough to migrate our population the surface, a process that will probably take decades; and Callie's idea of using wind-power for the surface installations isn't going to happen itself. People are counting on me to do this, Pearlie, my people, who have finally been given a chance. I can't let them down, I need to do this as soon as possible."
"But nobody wants you to kill yourself doing it," Pearl retorted, trying desperately to find her feet again.
She knew how important the Octarian Restoration was to Marina – to all Octarians. After more than a century of being stuck living underground in deadly, collapsing domes, they were finally being given a chance to save themselves and, under Callie's leadership, they were making huge strides. They still had a long way to go but every octoling, Marina included, behaved as if every minute counted, as if time itself were trying to kill them. Maybe that was another product of their upbringing, growing up in a place where the end of their world never seemed far away.
Marina picked up her stylus and pulled her seat closer to her monitor. Then her facial features softened, the ends of her tentacles curling outwards as one of them lightly brushed the silver inlayed ivory ring around her right ring finger. "I'll rest up after I finish this project, Pearl, I promise."
Pearl tenderly brushed the matching ring on her own finger, as if to make sure it hadn't left on its own. "Sure..."
She knew that continuing to try and argue wouldn't get anywhere and it would just result in them getting angrier at each other. She'd known Marina long enough to know that, long enough for them both to wear the Bond of the White Lily.
Pearl tread out of the room, her steps becoming heavier as she travelled along the corridor to the main living area, becoming stomps by the time she reached the entry way.
Eight was standing atop a footstool, dusting some shelves in the living room. She eyed Pearl anxiously as she passed. She'd obviously overheard their argument.
Pearl grabbed her jacket and slipped her arms into its sleeves. "I'm going out for a while. Make sure to bring Marina some actual water to drink."
Eight met her gaze, a small smile touching her lips, pleased to be given an order. "I will take care of her."
Pearl paused for just a second. Was it her imagination or was there a hint of playfulness in Eight's tone? She shrugged it off. She needed to go blow off some steam and home wasn't the place to do it, not when it was the source of her anger.
Summer was taking its sweet time coming to Inkopolis. The wind carried a slight chill up from Inkopolis Bay and the sun hid behind a thick bank of cloud that threatened to spill rain at any moment.
Pearl hailed a taxi as it dropped off another passenger. The driver was startled when he saw who climbed into his back seat.
"The Captain's Table."
The driver hesitated for a moment then quickly turned to face forward and started driving, not saying a world. Good, she wasn't in the mood to talk.
The Captain's Table was an exclusive restaurant that catered to a clientele who wanted an escape from the public life and desired a simple restaurant experience without cameras constantly being pointed at them. The exclusivity was enforced not by the size of one's bank account but on vetted invitations, so a variety of people could be found there from different walks of life, making it preferable to the stuffier clubs Pearl also had access too.
Pearl stepped inside and allowed the attendant to take her jacket before she stepped up to the waiting waitress behind the pulpit and extended her membership card to be scanned. The employees knew her but the policy was everyone had to offer their card.
The smiling waitress quickly scanned Pearl's card and handed it back. "Will you be dining alone today, Lady Pygmy?"
Pearl grimaced. She still wasn't used to being referred to as "Lady". The honorific had been granted to her in recognition of helping to save Inkopolis from a crazed artificial intelligence, among other things. Marina and Eight had been given the same honour and the two had been so overwhelmed Pearl hadn't had the heart to refuse receiving it herself.
"It's actually Ida now," Pearl corrected gently, showing the waitress her bond ring.
The waitress blushed lightly and gave Pearl a big smile. "Forgive me, Lady Ida. A force of habit. Again, will you be eating alone?"
Pearl opened her mouth to answer that she would, only for the ringing of the door chime to interrupt her, followed by a sharp intake of breath from the waitress as her eyes went wide.
"L-lady Scarletteri."
Pearl turned around, seeing a young inkling with a deep green mantle and sharp ruby eyes step into the entrance way, dressed in the black and scarlet uniform of the new Imperial Army. Pearl was still surprised how comfortable the girl was in a skirt, not that it made her look any less intimidating. The girl had a glare that could freeze steam solid and she exuded a cool confidence that came with knowing she was the most dangerous person in any room.
She walked up to the waitress and offered her own membership card then turned and gave Pearl a pleasant greeting through her mantle.
"Hey, Three. I didn't know you had a membership here," Pearl remarked.
"Marie insisted. Four has one too."
"Probably a good idea. Mind sharing a table with me?"
Three looked at her for a second then flashed her mantle in acceptance.
The waitress escorted them to their seat. Every booth was a private one. Rooms could be reserved for large groups.
Pearl nodded or waved to some of the other patrons she saw on the way. Most members knew each other. They all showed some form of anxiety or hesitation when they noticed Three though. Pearl couldn't help but smirk a little at that, wondering if they were intimidated by the fact that one of the deadliest inklings to have ever lived was in their midst or that she was just one step shy of royalty, being the true sister of both a queen and an Empress. Maybe it was both.
They settled into their private booth and asked if they would like to order drinks while they decided what to order for lunch. Pearl asked for a green tea. Given that she suspected Three got her groceries from a hardware store, she half expected the girl to ask for kerosene, but she ordered rosemary tea instead.
"You come here often?" Pearl asked.
Three flashed red. "No, too expensive. Privacy is nice though."
Pearl arched an eyebrow, mantle turning a questioning yellow. Her eyes went to the epaulette's on Three's uniform tunic. It had an embroidered silver octogon that indicated her rank in the army: Executrix.
Three was one of the highest-ranking officers in the entire army, one of its four legion commanders. Their salaries were all in the six figure range and because Three was only seventeen she wasn't taxed on it.
Three declined to comment and Pearl shrugged it off, putting it down to Three's lower-middle class upbringing. Her natural instinct was probably to be frugal.
"First time seeing you since you got back. Is the campaign finally over?"
Three and her III Legion had been sent on a campaign to wipe out the remaining salmonids within their nation's territory. Not everyone had thought it acceptable that a seventeen year old had been placed in a position of such high authority so Marie had more or less engineered the whole thing to prove that Three was more than deserving of her rank.
As if helping to hold off over twenty-thousand salmonids and crabs didn't do enough.
"I haven't heard any complaints yet," Three replied in an arid tone.
Pearl smirked and flashed grey through her mantle. "A peanut gallery is just part of being famous, Three. You're just gonna' have to deal with it."
Three's face soured, her mantle turning a malignant brown, displaying her displeasure in no unclear terms. Pearl sympathized. The poor girl had only tried to do the right thing and had never wanted to be famous, but being a national hero, that was going to happen one way or another.
The waitress returned with their teas and a basket of bread sticks. They gave their lunch orders then and Three snatched one of the bread sticks the second the waitress' back was turned.
Pearl chuckled. "Been working hard?"
"Reviews, debriefs, tactics lectures, paperwork..." Three sighed, mantle turning a deep-sea blue, showing her weariness. "Lots of paperwork. Needed a break."
It was Pearl's turn to turn her mantle blue. "I wish Marina would take a break. Kind of why I'm here right now. We had an argument and I needed to cool off. Told her she needed to stop killing herself to get her projects finished. She didn't take it all that well."
Three flashed green and grimaced. "Eight told me. She's worried but it isn't easy for her to be forceful with Marina. She looks up to her too much. She hoped you would have better luck."
"I tried," Pearl sighed, her own mantle turning a melancholy blue. "I think I might be able to help her relax once she gets this waterworks project out of the way. She promised a while ago to let me take her out but I'm not sure where to take her? You have any ideas?"
Three arched an eyebrow, her mantle turning various shades of yellow and orange that said, "you're seriously asking me that?"
"I know you're not everyone's go to, and your own love life with Eight isn't exactly on fire, but c'mon, you're the only other person I know with an octoling girlfriend."
"But you're bondmates," Three protested.
Pearl huffed. "Getting bonded doesn't make the relationship problems go away, kid. Remember that when you and Eight get bonded – or have you decided to get married instead?"
Three's face coloured and she fidgeted in her set in a particularly girlish way at odds with her typically masculine demeanour and that martial uniform. It was so cute Pearl couldn't help but smile.
"W-we haven't come to any decisions yet. That's in the future. Anyway, you must have taken Marina on dates before."
Pearl groaned. "Yeah, obviously, but I don't want to retread old ground, ya know? I wanna' do something fresh with her, something we haven't done before. She needs that dopamine to get her out of this bad state of mind she's in but I'm fresh outta' ideas." Pitifully, she admitted, "I'm not in the best state of mind either, I guess."
Three's mantle displayed colours of compassion and sympathy then brought her hand to her chin in thought. "Marina really likes machines, right?"
Pearl grimaced. "Yeah, a little too much if you ask me. Did you know that one of the first places I ever took her was to the airport? Yeah, it was before we started performing together. We were working on our first album and she was getting a little stressed out so I asked her if there was something she really wanted to see. She said she wanted to see airplanes so I brought her to the airport. I spent the next six hours in the main observation lounge at Inkopolis International with Marina watching airplanes land and take off."
Three didn't laugh, didn't even smirk, she just had the look of someone who knew all too well what that felt like. Pearl was honestly afraid to ask what her experience was but it was nice to know someone else knew her pain.
Their food arrived. Pearl had ordered crab cake while Three had ordered pasta. She'd already eaten half the break sticks.
Pearl carved a bite out of her crab cake, enjoying the savoury taste. Three simply shovelled the pasta in as if the taste didn't matter. After a couple of minutes, Pearl asked, "so, any ideas?"
Three chewed thoughtfully then swallowed and met her gaze. "If she's been inside a lot, something outside would be best."
Pearl flashed green in agreement. "Yeah, definitely. She needs some air, something that gets her heart pumping. It's the kind of thing we can both get into."
"Then I may have a suggestion."
A couple hours later, Pearl returned home. Eight was in the kitchen doing dishes. Pearl recognized a lot of them as the coffee cups from Marina's room. Pearl took that as a positive sign but decided to check on Marina again anyway.
Marina's door was closed. Pearl crept up to it, putting her ear against the surface and listening. She couldn't hear any telltale clacking from Marina's keyboard or clicking from her mouse. Tentatively, she turned the knob and eased open the door.
She could feel a gentle breeze as she poked her head into the gap. The window was still open, channelling fresh air through the room. The smell of coffee was significantly diminished and the hum of the computer was gone. A gentle blinking at the far end of the room told her it was in sleep mode.
Pearl stepped inside and looked for Marina, surprised but relieved to find her tucked into bed, on her side, the covers rising and falling with each gentle breath.
Pearl let out a sigh of relief, her lips curving in a satisfied smile. She withdrew from the room, shutting the door as quietly as she could.
As she made her way back to the living area, Pearl realized something was up. Marina had been tired, yes, but that wasn't enough to get her to sleep. Octarian discipline and Marina's own stubbornness meant that she could easily stay awake until her circadian rhythm told her it was her usual time to go to bed. Pearl's mental catalogue of Marina's patterns and habits told her she should still be up. Something had happened.
Pearl returned to the kitchen where Eight was drying the cups and putting them back into the cupboard. She crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow. "Okay, what did you do?"
Eight gave her a mischievous smile then reached into a corner cupboard and pulled out a small box labelled "Bellossom's Sleep Powder".
"You did tell me to bring her some water."
A huge grin split Pearl's face, honestly surprised at Eight's deviousness. She never would have imagined her slipping something into Marina's drink. Obviously, Marina never imagined it either.
Pearl reached up and gently touched Eight's cheek. "Good girl."
Eight just beamed.
It was a bright, sunny afternoon. Pearl was in the driver's seat, cruising past lush trees and gentle, rolling hills outside Inkopolis, a clue Marina had picked up on immediately that indicated they weren't going to one of their usual date spots.
It had been almost two weeks since Pearl's lunch with Three. Marina had stayed asleep until the next day, shocked and horrified, believing she had passed out at her computer, wasting so much valuable time. Fortunately Pearl and Eight were able to take advantage of that and convince her to stop pushing quite so hard.
Marina finally finished her project, though she had still pushed herself well beyond what Pearl thought was acceptable. Callie had been pleased with the results of her work but not how she'd treated herself getting it done and Marina had been forced to endure a matronly dressing down, unable, or unwilling, to rationalize herself to her queen.
"Pearl, where are we going?"
Pearl chuckled. "Don't worry, we're almost there."
Pearl made a left turn off the main road onto a gravel driveway. They passed under a sign that read "Green Hills Raceway." Marina gasped and then squealed with glee, shaking her limbs vigorously in excitement.
"I've always wanted to come here but I kept forgetting! Pearlie, are you sure you want to come here for a date?"
Pearl flashed grey. "Eh, you know, it's not like I don't like racing – we are sponsoring a team, after all. Besides, we're here for you especially, to get you out and get some fresh air. You've been cooped up inside too much and now that things are settling down we have to start recording again."
Guilt flashed across Marina's face but Pearl put a hand on her arm. "I know the Restoration is important to you but your life is important too. A lot of octolings are looking up to you to know how they're supposed to act. Do you honestly want them running themselves ragged like you were?"
Marina's head sank between her shoulders, her tentacles curling at the tips. "I-I'm sorry, Pearl."
Pearl smiled and patted her arm. "Let's just try and have fun, okay? Just be the Marina I know and forget about what happened. I did bring you here because I thought it would make you happy, at the end of the day."
Marina's head rose and she gave Pearl a smile. "Sure. Thanks, Pearlie."
The event for the day was rally cross, a race where the cars drove on a track with separate dirt and tarmac sections. Green Hills Raceway usually hosted more amateur-level racing instead of professionals, so the facility was nothing fancy. That didn't seem to bother any of the patrons; however, who eagerly paid their ticket prices and visited the food trucks and trailers before walking up the sloped path worn into the grass by countless footfalls.
Instead of sitting on the bleachers, Pearl and Marina sat on the grass hill just ahead of the starting line. Surprisingly, nobody bothered them. Pearl had changed her colour to a summery green and Marina had done the same, making them less identifiable. It might also have helped that, for once, Marina wasn't the only octoling. There were actually a surprising number situated along the embankment around the track, some in groups, some clinging to new boyfriends, a few wandering around almost in a daze.
The first heat of cars rumbled up to the starting line in a broad variety of shapes and styles. According to the program, this was the Supermodified class, cars with more powerful engines and some performance modifications.
People cheered as they revved their engines loudly. Pearl could actually see some of the cars twisting as they did so. The cheers built, the cars snarled and roared like beasts straining against their bonds, wanting to be unleashed. By the time the light turned green, Marina looked on the edge of a crisis.
The cars roared as one, kicking up dirt from their wheels as they scrambled for traction. Marina screamed with delight as they snarled past and glided around the first bend.
Pearl had to admit, it was quite a display and way more exciting than most of the car races she'd seen. Each heat was short, just a few laps, so the cars were constantly fighting for position and going all out in an attempt to get ahead. Mostly though, she enjoyed seeing Marina so energetic and happy. It felt like it had been too long. No, it really had been too long.
Good idea, Three. This really worked out. Maybe you're a better romantic than any of us thought.
Marina was weary by the time evening had rolled around and they were leaving Green Hills Raceway, but it was the healthier, more fulfilled kind of weary than the wrung out kind of weariness that had been possessing her lately.
"Thanks for the great day, Pearlie. I really enjoyed it."
"I noticed," Pearl smirked. "It's giving me an idea of how we might narrow our search when we start looking for a boyfriend."
Marina's cheeks flushed and she curled one of her tentacles around her finger shyly. "Pearlie, you don't have to do that just for my tastes."
"Who said I was? I don't see why I couldn't like a guy who can race like that. I've been to the car meet with you enough times to know it can be fun. Its a lot easier to gel with someone if you have something you can both bond over, but the opposite can happen if you try to keep a passion all to yourself."
That hung in the air like a pungent odour. Silence stretched out between them, broken only by the faint drone of the tires and the muttering of the engine.
Pearl sighed. "Marina, I care about the Restoration too. It may not mean the same thing to me – it can't; I'm just not able to feel it the same way you do, but I know how important it is to you. Just... remember that I know that when I tell you your working too hard or making yourself sick. Even if you rebuild all the buildings, what does it matter if all the people are too sick or weak to live life? You'll just be back to square one."
Marina nodded solemnly. Guilt was written all over her face. Her eyes were focused inwardly.
"M-maybe we could take a vacation some time. It might inspire some new music."
Pearl smiled. "That's not a bad idea. We could go to a place we've never been before. We might find some new sounds."
Marina smiled back. "That's just what I was thinking."
She leaned over and wrapped her arms around Pearl's shoulders and a tentacle around the crown of her head. Her familiar warmth filled Pearl with satisfaction. Maybe she'd really gotten through to her.
Pearl raised her right hand, showing the ivory bond ring. "Remember what we vowed, that we would share each other's burdens and support each other through good times and bad."
"And form a strong foundation for our future family," Marina added.
Pearl's cheeks coloured. "Uh... yeah..."
Marina laughed. "Don't worry, Pearlie, that's in the future."
"Way in the future."
"We'll see what happens." Marina giggled and kissed her cheek. "I love you."
"I love you too, 'Rina, so try not to make it more difficult than it has to be, 'kay?"
Marina settled in her seat, sitting tall, with a big smile on her face. "I'll try, but you know I'm going to throw those words back at you in the future."
Pearl grunted, knowing she probably would. Still, it was good to know that Marina was looking out for her too. As stressful as relationships were, it really was good to know you had someone to share your burdens with. Knowing someone had your back, even to save you from yourself, made living a lot easier.
Author's Notes:
People have been asking for little snippets of side characters or wanting to see events of the main story from different perspectives. This story takes place after the events of Dark Precipice. With the Octolings now free and able to restore their culture and civilization as part of the Soren Ascendancy, they are energized but fighting against the clock to get their people out of the domes and living on the surface. Some, like Marina, might be taking it a little too far but these things can happen when a century-long dream comes true and they regress a little bit back to the old ways. Pearl sees this, Marina doesn't, so it's up to Pearl to let her know.