Chapter Text
Far away. Marina first saw her from far away.
She expected to be interrogated when she reached the surface, held at weapon point and taken like a prisoner, she didn’t know what to expect, but she didn’t want to fight them. She knew that. She didn’t want to fight inklings, didn’t want to be the monster they probably all thought she was.
When she reached that first glimpse of light, that brush of a gentle breeze, she found herself alone. Only her, surrounded by trees and rocks and dirt… new light, and new sounds. Marina had only read about birds, she didn’t realize how many different kinds there were, how many different sounds they made, all the different songs they sang. They were scared of her, she soon learned, whenever she approached one by a stream or a clearing in the forest they took one look at her and flew away. Disappointing, at first, but she learned patience and observed from a distance.
Many nights she fell asleep to the lullaby of trickling streams and birds, singing quieter songs than their usual morning routine, until dusk parted to darkness.
Marina first heard her from far away. Exploring the mountainside, wistful and dreaming of the city she watched from afar; her back faced firmly to what she had left behind, she knew to watch her step, and to listen. This bird didn’t sing a song, she screeched, piercing shrieks that made Marina’s ears crackle, such powerful sound. Naturally, Marina followed it. The source of the sound, a little pale shadow, Marina caught sight of her just before sunset.
She had pink tentacles that she would pull in front of her face and scream into, but they only worked so well to muffle the sound. Grating and near-painful to listen to, this little squid probably had a lot on her mind. So did Marina. It would be nice to have someone to talk to. But she still hid, she still didn’t want to find out the hard way that inklings really did hold ill will against… her kind.
Sometimes the bird sang, instead of screaming. Quiet and slow, testing the waters; Marina found herself growing fond of those half-baked songs, sang in that uneasy voice, growing more and more confident by the day. She couldn’t deny her curiosity—this squid had caught her attention.
Marina had taken to sleeping in treetops, at night. With the birds, watching the stars. It was so, so dark out there, each tiny pinprick of light, thousands of lives away… she found they felt more grounding, like the earth beneath her feet was something she could really take root in. So much different from the way they were underground, just flickering images on cracking screens; they were little things to grasp onto to keep from slipping off the rocks and falling to the polluted water below.
When she lost her footing climbing trees, Marina could always catch herself. It started getting warmer out, the nights losing their cooler edge, so she took to climbing without her boots, bare feet against the natural footholds of the tree.
That night, birds sang late, and Marina’s grip lost its traction. When the girl screamed, this time much closer than usual, Marina yipped and her foot jerked, breaking the branch it rested on. Feebly gripping onto the branch above her head, she searched wildly for a foothold until it cracked and broke; she toppled to the ground and landed hard with a resounding thud, the wind knocked out of her. She wheezed and squeezed her eyes shut, cursing inwardly as the screaming abruptly stopped.
Trying to catch her breath and waiting for the initial shock of pain to fade, rustling came from behind her.
“Who’s there?” That voice Marina had grown so accustomed to hearing, floating over her like some sort of taunt. “Woah, are you okay?”
Marina opened her eyes and her gaze met something pale, two unsure eyes looking right back down at her. The girl she’d spent so long watching from afar, that powerful voice Marina itched to harness and project had in a moment softened with concern.
“I’m… fine,” Marina stumbled over her Inkling, hoping that speaking quieter would make her lack of practice less obvious. She waited for the anger to come, the disgust, but nothing happened. The girl helped her to her feet, offered a hard-to-read half smile.
“That’s good then, had me scared for a sec there…” The girl looked at her oddly, cheeks coloring. Marina looked down at her feet, embarrassed for all of her stalking all of the sudden.
“Hey, it’s alright— though, what were you even tryna’ do anyway, sleep in a tree?” The girl chuckled, and Marina did too, nervous. She looked back to Marina. “So… what’s your name?”
“… Marina.”
“Nice to meet you then, Marina,” She held out her hand, and Marina realized she wanted to shake hands hello—she returned the gesture with a small smile. “I’m Pearl. I better, uh, go now. But… see you around, I guess?”
“Yes… Pearl,” Marina’s heart skipped, a little.
Pearl.
“See you… around,” Marina watched her go. It didn’t feel right, it didn’t sit right in her gut, just watching her leave without another word. Just before Pearl was out of view, Marina grabbed her boots and hiked the strap of her bag up her shoulder, running after her. “Wait!”
Far away, was that forbidden paradise she had so dreamed of seeing.