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Only a squid who was crazy or obsessively thrill-seeking would go out with friends during a storm.
On one of Inkopolis’s many sunny days, Agent 4 had invited her dear coworker and friend, Agent 8, out to eat. It had been nothing but sunshine when she texted the invitation, and nothing but sunshine when Eight had agreed enthusiastically, setting their rendezvous for two o’clock in Inkopolis Square. When Agent 4 had arrived ten minutes early in an attempt to beat Eight there, only to find the Octoling already leaning against a nearby building with her eyes on her phone, there had been spotty cloud coverage at most.
Honestly, if you’d looked at the sky while they were chowing down, Four showing off some funny videos she’d found on the net and being rewarded with Eight’s weird but oddly charming laughter, you would never have guessed that rain was coming. Never in a million years, not in a trillion years! You would have agreed with Four and said that it was probably going to be sunny all day!
That is, of course, unless you had checked the weather forecast, which predicted a ninety percent chance of precipitation and a forty-five percent chance of thunderstorms.
Now, Agent 8 had an excuse - as an ex-soldier of the Octarian military, things like “the weather” had never been an issue for her in the past. Confirming schedules and shift rotations was one thing, and Eight almost obsessively checked the New Squidbeak Splatoon chatroom for updates to their assignments, second only to Agent 3. She’d had a few discussions with Off the Hook about the weather - practice for social events, they’d said - but the idea of going out of her way to determine what the weather would be had never crossed her mind.
Agent 4, meanwhile, just didn’t watch TV if she could help it. Nor did she trouble herself with boring websites like weather.ink or any news sites. She liked to think she was very casual about things like the state of the world and how it related to her. And usually, that worked out pretty good.
But the clouds, unnoticed by Four as they finished their meal and she pulled Eight along with a smile, were only growing thicker and darker in color. Eight had spent a lot of time underground thinking about the sky, and the concept of rain wasn’t foreign to her - condensation of atmospheric water vapor and its subsequent fall due to gravity was simple enough to grasp. Besides, she had already seen the rain once or twice from the window of Three’s apartment.
Even though she knew this, though, Eight didn’t take the time to concern herself with what the blackening clouds meant. Four was excitedly pulling her along, wanting to visit some “amateur turf zones” - whatever those were - and Eight was happy to follow her friend wherever she wanted to go.
Maybe that was at least partly why Four was feeling so guilty about how things were turning out? She’d never intentionally get herself or the Octoling caught outside in a thunderstorm - she really had expected it to stay sunny all day, perfect hanging out weather - but she was playing the part of Inkopolis tour guide right now for her innocent fellow agent, and couldn’t help but feel like she’d done the girl a disservice by not checking the weather.
Being caught in the rain had never bothered Four much, definitely not enough to take precious time out of her day to view the Inkopolis Forecast, but she would have to revisit her policy on weather.ink after today.
Four only noticed the color of the sky once they had stepped out of the turf lounge she was introducing Eight to. The streets were a lot greyer than she had been expecting, the sun covered over by a dense cloud cover. Still, she didn’t think it was much cause for concern. Some clouds and their chilly wind had never hurt any squid.
Even when the drizzle first started, the yellow-headed Inkling hadn’t been too worried about it. A light rain was refreshing, and it watered the plants and junk. She stopped by a streetside stall that had some good-looking sandwiches for sale, catching the shop owner just before he’d started closing up (not a lotta squids gonna be buying sandwiches in the rain), and led Eight to a large brick patio with benches and tables that usually served as a picnic area on sunny days. A series of wide cloth awnings reached out over the patio, serving as decent shelter from the rain, and so Four took a seat with Eight, munching down and watching the ongoing sprinkling, waiting for the rain to die down.
It did not die down. Over the next twenty minutes as she chatted lightly with Eight about the indie turfing scene, Agent 4 noticed with rising concern that the storm only seemed to be growing in intensity. The rain was falling heavier, light taps on the awning that turned into forceful and rapid thumping.
After a few minutes, Four realized that her Octoling friend had stopped speaking. She glanced over at Eight to see the girl giving her sandwich wrapper a determined look, hands clasped in front of her. The Octoling’s ears were twitching every so often; moving away from the table and looking up at the sky from underneath their shelter, Four could make out an occasional flash.
Did Octolings have storm senses or something? Four had heard the captain talking about his cuttlebones sometimes before a storm hit, but as far as she knew, Eight didn’t have any -
A sudden thunderclap made her jump, echoing through the sky. The Inkling took a second to collect herself, giving an agitated glare towards the clouds. Freakin’ storm, scaring her like that - uncool. Hoping that Eight hadn’t just seen her catching air from a loud noise, Four laughed, rubbing the back of her head and turning towards the girl.
“Man, that startled me!” she grinned. “It’s crazy, even when I can see the lightning, I still get caught by surprise pretty easily…”
Her voice faltered at the look on Agent 8’s face. The Octoling was looking pale, eyes growing wider as she continued to stare at her hands.
“Hey, Eight?” Four called softly, attracting the girl’s attention. “You doing okay?”
“Of course.” Eight replied after a moment, nodding stiffly and giving her a smile that didn’t quite look genuine. “Sorry, Reyna, I am a little thought lost. It is not to be worried about.”
Another roar blasted them from the sky before Four could answer, and she watched as Eight flinched so hard she almost left her chair. The Octoling almost immediately returned to looking down at her hands, biting at her lip, tentacles curling and uncurling in agitation.
Was Eight afraid of thunderstorms?
Awkwardly, Four recalled that the girl had never been in a thunderstorm before. They hadn’t had any real bangers since the new agent had come to Inkopolis, only moderate rainstorms at worst, so these huge sky explosions were probably something that she hadn’t been prepared for. Actually, did she even know that thunderstorms existed before this moment? Did octos in the domes think about stuff like lightning, or were they mostly concerned with sunny days?
She was getting off track. Four remembered cowering in her room as a kid whenever thunderstorms rolled by, hands over her ears - the big nasty sounds had always terrified her. Was it the same for Eight right now?
“Hey, Eight,” the Inkling started, walking closer to her friend and putting a hand on the table, “there’s nothing to be scared of, alright? It’s just loud.”
“I am not afraid.” Eight refuted, shaking her head as she looked down at her hands which were pretty obviously trembling from where Four was standing. “I am good for handling storms, it is without sweating.”
“Sure, no prob, Eight.”
Four glanced back up at the dark clouds, wondering how long this storm was gonna last them. Every minute made her feel more awkward about having pulled Eight out here without thinking of stuff like this - it was just a thunderstorm, but having your first thunderstorm with nothing but some cloth to protect you probably sucked a little. Did Octolings have more sensitive ears than Inklings? Probably, not, since they were smaller -
No, Four, focus.
“Well, why don’t we chat to pass the time?” Four offered, sliding back into the seat next to the Octoling. “What’s been going on in my main octo girl’s life? Any news?”
Eight nodded stiffly, swallowing before meeting Four’s eyes. “Well… I have being to a few of Pearl and Marina’s concerts recently.” she began, rubbing her thumbs together. “Off the Hook performs often, I was surprised at the juggling that they do of their jobs.”
“Oh yeah? Man, I haven’t been to a live performance since before that whole thing with the Metro. What was it like?”
“They are performing well. It is chilled to see Marina enjoying herself so much when she plays the music.”
Four smiled, rubbing at her chin as she leaned back in her chair. “Sounds like Agent 8 might be jumping from a Squid Sisters fan to an Off the Hook fan. It’ll break our poor idols’ hearts.”
“You are ridiculous!” Eight replied with a smile of her own. “The Squid Sisters will always be having a special place within me, but Marina is an inspiration to me. I am looking up to her very much, so it is being full of wonder to know that her dream is being chased successfully. I am loving her happy smile.”
“Yeah, but you can’t be a fan of two different bands, Eight. There’s laws and stuff. I don’t make the rules.”
“You are making rules right now, and they are un-fresh.”
“Ouch, Eight, right in the hearts!”
Eight was looking better. Operation Distracted Octopus was looking like a success so far. Four nodded in satisfaction, leaning forward and interlocking her fingers. “So what is the deal with you and Off the Hook, anyway?” she asked. “You guys are friends, right? You ever hang out?”
“Sometimes, if they are not working.” the Octoling replied thoughtfully, shifting in her seat. “But it is not often. I am communicating with Marina on weekends however, through the phone. She gives to me tips for Inkopolis living, and sometimes Pearl is asking me to look at lyrics for her.”
“Uh, why?”
“I do not have certainty. But Marina is thinking it is good, and Pearl is telling me that she values my thoughts very much.”
Four blinked. “Really?” she asked, surprised. “Huh. I guess you’ve got a good ear for music, if they’re running their songs by you.”
“I am not knowing about that, I am still very unknown about Inkling music. But I listened to many rap battles of Cap’n Cuttledfish and Pearl, and listened when she was telling to him advice. Some of the lessons may have become for me, as well.”
The two were interrupted by a brilliant light that reflected in Eight’s eyes like a camera flash, followed by a riotous thunderclap which sounded like it was directly on top of them, roughly shaking Four’s entire body.
Eight was caught completely off-guard; she leaped from her seat, her smile twisting into a startled mask of panic. She tried to stumble back, tripping over her chair with a yelp, and shrank in on herself as she landed, bent low to the ground with her hands pressed firmly over her ears.
Four had jumped up, too, though it was more because of concern than fear. She looked down at her friend as the girl cowered on the ground, mind racing. Yeah, so that looked pretty much exactly like how Four remembered acting when she was a kid.
Angrily, the Inkling pulled out her phone, trying to find the dumb weather app that they always put in these things by default. Wasn’t it supposed to be sunny today!? What was the big idea with the giant thunderstorm - it had been clear skies two hours ago! A biting feeling of self-consciousness gnawed at her as she saw the big thunderstorm icon displayed prominently on the forecast. Cod dang it! What kind of idiot was she, bringing her awkward friend out here on a day when it was supposed to be stormy?
Four shoved her phone back into her pocket, looking down at Eight and biting her lip. What had helped her when she’d been spooked by thunder? Being able to hide and having someone there to hold her, right? Worth a shot, right?
The Inkling moved forward, pulling her jacket off and throwing it over Eight’s head. Eight seized up in surprise, and Four took the opportunity to kneel down beside her, wrapping her arms around the Octoling.
She could feel Eight shaking. Man, this was embarrassing.
“You’re all good, Eight.” Four told her, hoping that she sounded reassuring. “Just a storm, it’ll pass!”
Another boom rang out, and Four tightened her grip to try and ease the girl’s trembling.
“It’s crazy to me that you’ve got Off the Hook on speed dial.” the Inkling said quickly. “I never knew much about the Squid Sisters, so getting to work with Marie didn’t really phase me - she was kind of off-put by it in the beginning, it was really funny - but Off the Hook has been crazy popular ever since I got to Inkopolis. You gotta introduce me sometime - I need to know if Pearl really does use training wheels on her bike.”
It felt like Eight was shaking less, so Four continued. She talked about whatever she could think of - her favorite song by the musical duo, rumors she’d heard about the date of their next show, how hilarious it was that Pearl wore platform boots and still only came up to her chin - and every so often, despite the occasional clap of thunder which continued to roll across Inkopolis, she would hear the Octoling in her arms laugh shakily or give some small reply in response to one of her questions. The girl leaned against Four, flinching and pressing into her harder when the clouds boomed, but she seemed to understand what the Inkling was doing and did her best to respond to Four’s words.
Gradually, the storm subsided as Four talked, feeling the Octoling beginning to calm along with the sky. When Eight had finally mastered herself enough for the yellow-headed Inkling to feel good about releasing her, the furious downpour had become a light drizzle once again. Four backed up, glancing upwards to see a few rays of sunshine peeking out through the thinning cloud cover, and nodded in satisfaction. Alright, cool, storm officially weathered.
She turned to find Eight on her feet, holding Four’s jacket in her hands, a bright flush coloring her face.
“I am… sorry.” Eight said quietly. “For being afraid of the thunderstorm. And for lying to you about it. Here is your jacket back, Reyna.”
Four accepted the garment with a smile, bumping her knuckles against the Octoling’s shoulder. “Don’t sweat it, Eight!” she said cheerily. “Everybody’s got stuff they’re bad with.”
“But it is only noise.” Eight persisted, sounding frustrated with herself. “How can I be of use to the Splatoon if I am shaking because of noise?”
“Alright, well first of all, it’s a really freaking loud noise.” the Inkling told her. “And second of all, you’ve never been in a thunderstorm. I’ve been in tons, and I was still startled - I think I jumped two feet in the air from that first one.”
She put a hand on her hip, wagging her finger at the Octoling and grinning. “Nothing wrong with you, Eight. Sometimes, a person’s just afraid of stuff.”
“Thank you.” Eight said, giving her an appreciative smile. Now that was the Eight that she liked to see.
“Hey, don’t thank me, I’m just saying what’s true. Think of this as surprise training or something, so next time you’ll be better equipped to deal with the evil thunderstorm menace.”
It was gratifying to hear Eight laugh after seeing the octo girl so spooked a few minutes ago. “I will agree with that.” Eight remarked. “I will research weather patterns, and no thunderstorm will be sneaking up from behind me again.”
“Ah, yeah. I should probably check the weather more often too.” Just so I don’t lead any more unassuming octos into a panic.
Four stuck her hand out from beneath the awning. A few light droplets fell onto her hand, and she shook them off. “Just sprinkling now; we’re good.” she called over her shoulder to Eight. “Want me to walk you home?”
“I would like that.” Eight nodded, stepping up beside the Inkling and laying a hand on her shoulder. “Thank you for the invitation today, Reyna, and for calming me during the storm. I am happy, making a friend who will be looking out for me so well.”
“You’re gonna make me blush, Eight.” the girl replied, playfully shoving the taller girl. “It’s bad for my hearts how sweet you are.”
The two exchanged a smile before Eight set off briskly across the street, her earlier distress seemingly forgotten as she hummed to herself with face beaming and hands clasped behind her. Four followed close behind, regarding the Octoling - on one hand, she was still feeling guilty about having gotten Eight stuck outside during a thunderstorm, and she really hoped she wouldn’t be seeing such an uncomfortable and frightened expression on the girl’s face any time soon.
On the other hand, she’d be lying to herself if she denied being secretly pleased that, of everyone in the Splatoon, she got to see Eight’s first thunderstorm. Now that the storm had passed and there was a smile on the octo’s face again, Four had to admit that it had been a pretty good experience. Not one that she wanted to repeat, but hey - gotta take the good with the bad. Four wasn’t afraid to spot the silver lining in a raincloud.