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Inklings and Octolings were an interesting species, with a very unique trait: the ability to change the colour of their tentacles at will. Any colour on the spectrum was available to them, and they all grew up learning how to do it. They all had a colour they were born with, but many liked to change styles every now and then, or to coordinate with their teammates in turf wars. They could change it on command, or absorb another’s ink to match theirs. It was a way to connect with others, to express themselves, to experiment.
Although, there were times where it wasn’t exactly by choice. Mood was a huge factor that caused spontaneous colour changes, and it was anything but subtle. There were a few basic ones, like red sharp bursts for anger, orange dots for happiness, blue swirls for sadness, ones that were the easiest to read. Then there were some more subtle ones, like pink for love, white for shock, or even desaturation of colours to communicate drowsiness.
There wasn’t any opportunity to be closed off and aloof, because the colour of your tentacles gave you away too easily. In some ways, it was almost a blessing for those with trouble expressing their feelings.
Shiver had no such problems… most of the time. Sure, he was closed off with most people, he had an image to maintain after all, but with the people that mattered most he was a willing open book.
Those people being the rest of Deep Cut, of course. The trio had known each other since childhood, and trusted each other with everything, even the not-so-pretty emotions that reared their ugly heads every so often. Shiver didn’t have to worry about his tentacles exposing anything, because Shiver didn’t have a single thing to hide.
…Well, except maybe one thing.
-
“Do you promise not to cause any mischief, none at all?”
“Yes ma’am, absolutely ma’am, one-hundred percent!”
Deep Cut all stood at attention, rigid with their heads up as Marie raked her gaze over them one by one. Frye was stiller than Shiver thought was ever possible, knowing the Inkling’s need to fidget at all times. Her being perfectly frozen in place proved how truly intimidating Marie could be without even having to try.
The trio found themselves in Alterna, the ominous and spacious underground dome they had sought to plunder previously. Currently, they were at the Squid Sister’s camp, though only one of them was present, and neither the Captain nor Cuttlefish seemed to be around. Deep Cut was at the sole mercy of their boss this time, no Callie around to mitigate her cousin’s impatience.
“I’m being serious.” Marie continued sharply. “You have to promise. I can’t have you messing around in here any longer than you need to, because I’M going to be responsible for any disasters you may cause.”
“Ay, ay! Ay, ay ay! (We swear it, boss! No fooling around, not from us!)” Big Man chirped, his usually flowing tail and fins completely motionless under their boss’ stare.
“We’d never fool around, not us.” Shiver assured.
Marie’s piercing glare swept over the three of them again, and Shiver found himself a little fearful. Maybe ‘never’ was an overstatement.
Then, at once, Marie’s eyes softened, and she pinched her brow in exasperation.
“…Fine. You can keep looking around. But if I hear a single sound alluding to any mayhem or tricks, I’m splatting you all and sending you back to your studio. Understood?”
Despite the threat, which they knew for a fact was far from an empty one, Deep Cut all immediately relaxed and loosened their shoulders, Frye beginning to sway on the balls of her feet as she usually did. “Understood, ma’am!” They all shouted in unison, causing Marie to wince at the volume.
Frye was the first to break into a jog, always the exuberant one, wanting to go further into the island. Shiver and Big Man went to follow her before Marie was speaking again.
“Oh, and don’t you dare start any fights with Agent 3, not this time! She’s busy.” she called after them, before returning to the papers she had been busy filling out when they initially arrived.
As if on cue, the three heard the sound of a kettle opening on the other side of camp, on a ledge. Out came a disheveled and panting Octoling, yellow tentacles curling and swaying in discomfort. Her matching highlighter hero suit was spotted with a swirling purple ink, and she went to wipe it off before wincing as she touched it. Stumbling a bit while exiting the kettle, she sighed deeply.
“Hey, Three!” Frye called excitedly. “We didn’t think we’d run into you!”
Three looked up at the noise, and upon seeing Deep Cut, her eyes shone in excitement for a split second, though it was gone as soon as it came, and she hobbled over to meet the trio halfway.
“Hey, Deep Cut,” her words slurred the slightest bit from apparent exhaustion, tentacles slightly pale, thought it was hard to notice due to their colour. Her Small Fry, Mango, stirred slightly from where it was asleep in the pouch next to her ink tank. “Didn’t think I’d see you out here like this either, frankly.”
“Ay? (What’s got you coming out here today?)” Big Man asked, curious.
“Ugh, I’ve been going at this stupid kettle for hours.” She glanced back at the kettle she had just emerged from, hate in her eyes, before looking back at Deep Cut tiredly again. “12 hours. I’ve been going at it for 12 hours, specifically.”
Shiver blinked. “Twelve…? Surely that’s an exaggeration?”
“It is not.”
The eyebags under her eyes proved that to be true. The trio all separately decided not to press that subject any further.
“Anyways, what’s got you guys out here too?” she continued, smirking. “I assume it’s not to fight me again.”
“Heh, nope, Marie put a stop to that real quick.” Frye chuckled, a bit bashful, remembering the amount of times they’d caught Three sniffing around in their arenas again before being challenged by the bandits. “We’re doing some more treasure hunting! We were kinda too busy warding you off last time to actually look around that much…”
“Treasure hunting, nice.” Three hummed thoughtfully. “Well, this is definitely a good spot for scrap. I’d say you’ll have some luck, though I wasn’t really looking out for it when I first made my rounds.”
“Why don’t you join us, agent?” Shiver offered. Though they had all spent much time together up on the surface, the agent’s presence was always a welcome one. “Frankly, you seem like you could use a break.”
Three slumped slightly. “Ugh, I know, Agent 2 keeps telling me over and over…” she shot a look towards Marie, who was sitting not far, clearly pretending not to listen.
“Ay, ay… (Well, you do look tired…)” Big Man, ever the gentlemen, came forward to rest a fin on the agent’s shoulder, which she gratefully leaned on.
“I suppose a break would do me well. Thanks for the offer.” she sighed. Catching her reflection in her hero shot, she suddenly scowled.
“Ugh, yellow is not my colour.”
At once, her tentacles began shifting colour, to a reddish-orange, the roots to brown and the tips to green. The ink in her tank changed accordingly, and she unzipped her previously matching hero suit to reveal a regular black top underneath.
“That’s much better. That yellow is way to offensive on my eyes.” Then she froze. “No offense, Frye.”
The inkling seemed entirely unaffected by the comment. “None taken!”
Shiver nodded thoughtfully. He was secretly grateful he didn’t have to keep staring at the blindingly bright yellow the other Octoling had been previously drowning in. “I have to agree, Three.” he hesitated, before quietly adding, “Though Frye really does pull it off better than anyone I’ve seen…”
Out of the corner of his eye, the Octoling noticed Three raise her eyebrow at him. Shiver hadn’t really intended that comment to reach Frye’s ears either, but ever perceptive, she beamed at the compliment. “D’aww, thanks, Shiv!”
Shiver was momentarily stunned at the shining smile Frye sent his way, having seen it so many times before, but day by day it was becoming more of a priviledge to witness. Even if Frye smiled at every possible thing she came across. Somehow, it was still special to Shiver every single time. And it made his chest hurt… for reason’s he wasn’t all that eager to think about.
“Ay! Ay! (Guys! I saw something glint in the dirt over there!)” Big Man’s voice was a blessing to Shiver when the all-too familiar feeling in his stomach returned as Frye’s gaze swept over him. Her eyes immediately darted away and towards where Big Man was gesturing.
“Good eye, Big Man!” she cheered, elbowing him. “Race ya there!”
Suddenly, she was off like a bullet, and Big Man hobbled after her as fast as his legs could carry him, which, admittedly… wasn’t very fast.
Shiver couldn’t contain a chuckle. “Frye, that’s not very fair to him, now is it…?” He tried calling after her, but she was way too far out of his range. Shaking his head, he fell into step with Three as they made their way towards the other two at a much slower pace.
They were quiet, and Shiver was content with that, until he noticed that the agent was staring at him the whole time, eyebrow still quirked, mouth a thin line.
“What’s that look for?” Shiver asked, confused and slightly defensive.
Three was quiet for just a few moments more, up until they made it to where Frye and Big Man had nearly finished digging up the scrap they had spotted. Three’s scrutinizing gaze morphed into something sinister.
“You like that girl, huh.”
Shiver would swear until he died that his shock at the comment had all to do with the sudden Octarian and absolutely nothing to do with the statement itself. His fan, usually held loosely between his fingers, clattered onto the hardened dirt. His eyes widened in shock, and despite the freezing water that entirely surrounded the island, he suddenly felt very, very warm.
Clumsily, he reached down to pick up his fan, distantly aware of the agent’s quiet snickering. He opened it and hid his expression with it, knowing that his emotions were likely plastered all over his pale face.
Someone must’ve been out to inconvenience Shiver specifically, because Frye and Big Man had finished digging by then, and the Inkling’s attention was all on him.
“Hey hey HEY! What did you just say to Shiver? He’s all red! I’ve spent years mastering what exactly makes him turn that colour! No fair!” she pouted and sent a questioning glare in Three’s direction, but the Octoling just shrugged.
“Oh, just an Octarian inside joke. I’m afraid it doesn’t translate very well into Inklish.” she lied through her teeth, smiling all throughout. Shiver’s embarassement was slowly being replaced with anger.
“Shiver, is that really what she said?” Frye cocked her head at Shiver innocently, trusting him not to lie.
Immediately, that anger was gone, and Shiver held his fan up higher to hide more of his face, or at least, he hoped that was what it was accomplishing. Cod, it was a blessing Frye hadn’t learned enough Octarian yet.
Shiver sent a quick glance in Three’s direction, but the Octoling was still just smirking.
He spoke through gritted teeth. “Yes. It… was an embarrassing joke, though…”
Not entirely a lie, as it truly was embarrassing enough for Shiver to want to hide in that hole the other two had just dug up, but it wasn’t a full on truth. Frye didn’t have to know that, though.
She seemed satisfied enough with that. “I should really brush up on some Octarian, then!” she laughed, and turned to focus on the object they had dub up that Big Man was now holding, something strange that Shiver had no interest in analyzing right now.
“Ay! (I see another glint!)” Big Man suddenly cried out, leaving the object in the dirt to be collected later. Immediately, he was off with Frye again, this time much further away, just behind a big container with numbers painted on the side, near the edge of the island.
Finally having escaped Frye’s eyes, Shiver snapped his fan shut and glared at Three. The agent didn’t even falter under his icy stare.
“A bit oblivious, that one.” she said nonchalantly.
Shiver felt a twinge of cold anger flare in his chest. “I’d watch your words if I were you, agent.”
“Ooh. Getting protective?” she teased, until Shiver’s glare turned even colder and she was seemingly reminded that this Octoling had a pet shark. “I jest! I jest!”
Shiver relented, but crossed their arms, still annoyed. “Whatever, it’s not like it’s any of your business anyways.”
“Mhm. Well, just an observation I had.” Three began walking towards the edge, where Frye and Big Man had begun digging again.
Shiver followed, scowling. “Then stop observing.”
Three just laughed, like she was in on a joke Shiver couldn’t possibly understand. “Hard not to. Your back tentacles turned entirely pink.”
“They-“ Cod damn it all, the agent was right, as Shiver brought one of his back tentacles forward, only to see it was tipped pink, most of it having already faded. He scowled even deeper and flung it back behind his ear, gritting his teeth as the agent laughed even louder. “Don’t look, then!”
“Still telling jokes in Octarian?” The Octolings had made it to where Frye and Big Man were struggling to dig up the particularly stubbornly buried treasure. Frye pouted up at Shiver. “I feel like I’m missing out, You’re making me all sad!”
Shiver snorted from where he stood by the water, looking over the horizon. Frye had the natural ability to stabilize his mood, no matter how annoyed he was. “Trust me, you aren’t missing out on anything.” he cast an unimpressed glance at Three, who lifted her arms up in defense.
“I bet my Octarian jokes would be way, way funnier.” Frye bragged, leaving poor Big Man to struggle with digging by himself. “You’d be all like, ‘oh Frye, you’re so much funnier than me and Three could ever be!’ and then I’d rub that in all your little faces for leaving me out of your joke telling that one time.”
“How modest of you!” Shiver joked as Frye stuck her tongue out playfully. “You’d win the modesty award for that one, for eel!”
“Modesty AND comedy!”
“Of course, of course, you’d have to add that to your title, then. Frye, Queen of Eels, modesty, and-“
There was a sudden cracking sound that interrupted Shiver’s joke, and he barely had time to process that it came from under his feet when-
“SHIVER! WATCH OUT!!”
The Octoling’s body was yanked, hard, in one quick motion that knocked all the air from his lungs. He felt himself go weightless, legs lifted off the ground as he was pulled back just in time to see the part of the ledge he’d been standing on give out and crumble into the water. The hardened dirt dissolved and more dirt rolled down alongside the bigger chunk. The rest of the cracked dirt shifted in warning, but it remained steady and in place. The treasure that was nearly entirely dug up then shifted, and with another loud crack, that entire section also crumbled into the water, the treasure sinking immediately with a bubbling sound.
Shiver saw Big Man and Three’s reaction before he registered his own, Big Man having jumped far, far away from the ledge. He trembled in fear, frozen in place, while Three was in a defensive stance, eyes wide and breathing heavily. Nobody dared move, in case the shifting of their feet caused even more dirt to come loose.
Shiver’s soul finally returned to his body as he blinked in shock, tentacles pale blue. Suddenly remembering his feet weren’t on the ground, he momentarily wondered just what position he was in before he registered-
-Frye’s face, inches away from his own.
The Inkling was holding him bridal style, arms under him holding him tight and steady. Her breathing was quick and tickled Shiver’s nose, and her eyes were blown wide, staring ahead. Her hands gripped him tight, holding his body against her chest and stomach. This close, he could easily feel her heartbeat, though not hear it, because his own was pounding in his ears.
Oh, Frye is carrying me.
A moment passed.
Oh my cod. Frye is carrying me.
He sucked in a deep breath-
-and at once, all of his tentacles exploded into pink.
Well, if Shiver had a list of situations he’d never want to be in, this would probably rank pretty high. His tentacles rippled and cycled through different shades of pink, dots of red at the tips, with small bursts of white from the shock.
His brain caught up to his body and he let out a shriek.
“Gh-! F-FRYE?”
Frye’s eyes were on him instantly, and he felt himself begin to die even more. It was like part of him had been left behind on that ledge and dissolved into the water below.
The inkling’s front tentacle brushed against Shiver’s cheek as he shut down even more. “Are you okay?! Shiver!” Frye cried, shaking him slightly.
“Ah… uhm… uhhhhhhh…ghh…” Shiver couldn’t even speak. He just stared up at the eerily blue ‘sky’, anything to not look at the inkling’s terribly close and insanely pretty face. His tentacles, thank cod, turned a very pale pink, which could easily pass off as white for shock.
“Oh cod, he’s not!” Frye began to panic, shaking him even more. “Big Man! Three! Go get Marie!” she yelled.
“No, NO, wait, Frye-“ Shiver heaved, fear of Marie registering right below everything else, “I’m fine! Just… momentarily shocked… is all.” It was the faintest truth he could supply at the moment.
Frye seemed unsure, but she sighed in relief, before fixing him with narrowed eyes. “Geez, idiot, you scared the carp out of me! What if you had fallen in? Then it’d be bye bye, Shiver! What would’ve happened to Deep Cut!?” tears were welling in her eyes as she began to pout.
“Okay, okay! I get it!” Frye had begun to carry her further away, and Shiver cringed under the eyes of Three and Big Man standing only a few metres away. “Now… could you put me down? P-please?” it was barely a whisper.
Frye relented, letting his down slowly. His legs were jelly, but to his credit he didn’t stumble or fall. If he had, he would have thrown himself into that water without question. His tentacles began to shift into a pale blue, slowly turning back to their original colour.
“A-ay! Ay?! (Shiver! Are you okay?!” Big Man was at his side in an instant. His voice wavered with worry as he fretted over the Octoling. “Ay ay…! (I saw the cracks but I couldn’t move fast enough…!)”
“I’m… alright, Big Man. I guess I shouldv’e been more careful.” he tried to chuckle evenly but it came out as more of a wheeze.
Thankfully, Big Man didn’t press him any further. “Ay ay ay! Ay ay… (That was way too scary! I don’t think I like this place anymore…)” he quivered like a leaf.
“Aww, cmon big guy! We just have to stay away from ledges. The rest should be perfectly safe.” Frye tried to comfort him, though even she sounded slightly unsure.
Three coughed. “Should be.”
“Ay, ay ay… ay… (If that’s the case, then I’m just gonna… move far far away from here…”
The manta ray shuffled backwards a bit before Three came to put a hand on his fin.
“Mhm, good call.” she agreed. “Come on, I think I remember spotting something over by there the other day.”
Then, only visible to Shiver, the other Octoling smirked and winked as she walked hand-in-fin with the manta ray. Shiver decided he’d had enough of this agent.
You help a guy save the world one time, and now she’s waging psychological warfare on you.
Suddenly, he was aware he was alone with a very cross Frye.
The inkling fixed him with an incredulous stare, which morphed into something irate, fangs digging into her lower lip.
“I saved your life, sharky!” she crossed her arms and tapped her foot on the hard dirt. “Could I maybe get a thank you?”
“You…” Shiver faltered. The words came out strained, not because he wasn’t truly thankful, but because there was just… so much on his mind. “Thank you. Frye.”
Frye was suddenly sheepish. She brought an arm up to play with her back tentacle. “Heh… you know, you’re surprisingly light. It was like… holding a couple feathers.”
Shiver balked at that, and flushed pink. Cod, Frye had saved his life, but right now, she was killing him.
“Either that or you’re just too strong.” Shiver replied all too quickly, before mentally facepalming.
Frye hadn’t seemed to be expecting that at all, which made Shiver cringe at his total lack of conversational skills. Who could blame him, though?
“W-well, I guess, dancing builds up muscle? And all that fighting, too, you know.” she answered, stammering. “Wait, have I never picked you up before now?”
Shiver blinked in genuine confusion. “What? In what situations would you need to do that?”
Frye just chuckled a simple heh. “In other situations where I valiantly save your life.”
Frye was leaning down to meet him at eye level, although exaggeratedly, since she was only slightly taller than him. She eyed him with a playful glint in her eye, previous awkwardness seemingly gone. Shiver crossed his arms and huffed.
“Well, I don’t think that’s ever happened before.”
“Well, it has now! Now I have new teasing material to work with.” She laughed towards the sky dramatically. “Three won’t one up me in that department quite yet!”
“Ay! Ay ay! (Frye! Three says, there’s something buried real deep over here!” Big
Man called from a distance, voice still wavering the slightest bit, in a much safer location in the middle of the island. Three shot Shiver a look which he pointedly ignored as the two Cephalings made their way towards the other duo. Interestingly, Frye stood a little further away instead of joining Big Man like she usually would.
Shiver mentally kicked himself as he willingly went to stand at Three’s side. The other Octoling at least had the decency to act interested in what was now being dug up by the manta ray. “Is there actually something there or did you just want to distract them so you could make fun of me some more?” he questioned her at a low volume, despite the fact that the other two wouldn’t be able to understand anyway. It just felt too risky talking about it right next to them.
Three looked offended at the accusation, putting a hand on her chest. “Firstly, yes there is something actually buried there, and second, I’m not ‘making fun’ of you, I’m teasing you. It’s different.”
The blue Octoling rolled his eyes. “Well, it feels the same to me.”
Three shrugged. “But in all seriousness, I know you got protective when I said this earlier, but she really is pretty oblivious.” Shiver shot her a glare before the Octoling continued, “Your tentacles turned bright PINK. Inches away from her face, and she didn’t even notice. Do Inklings just not experience it the same way we do?”
“No, I’ve seen hers change before, and it isn’t that subtle either.”
Three brought a hand to her chin thoughtfully. “Huh. Guess she just really, really didn’t notice, or didn’t think anything of it.”
“Frye isn’t dumb.” Shiver jumped in quickly, heat already rising in his face. “Oblivious sometimes, I guess, but she isn’t an idiot. She’d know what it means.”
Three hummed, before that cod-forsaken smirk made an appearance again. “In that case, then she probably did notice, and chose not to say anything.”
Oh, cod.
Shiver decided that was worse.
What if Frye had seen? Shiver knew her to be perceptive, but also impulsive with her words. If she’d noticed, surely she’d have said something. Then Shiver would have had to explain himself, to explain exactly why he turned bright pink in the arms of his best friend. He shook his head.
“I would rather not think about that possibility, thanks. In fact I’m going to forget we ever discussed this, actually.”
Three just snorted at the look of horror on Shiver’s face. “Suit yourself.” She began to stretch out her arms, walking forward to join Big Man as he struggled to dig by himself.
Three looked over her shoulder with one last grin. “Pleasant talk as always, Shiver. You simply must keep me updated if you ever get over yourself and admit your feelings, if that ever happens.”
Shiver opted to keep his mouth shut, desperately wanting to fire back a devastating quip but not wanting to give Three the satisfaction of hearing his rushed defense.
Admit my feelings…?
Yeah, no. That wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. The three of them had always been a trio, joined at the hip, since early childhood. Where one went, the others followed. None of them could possibly imagine a world in which one of them was gone.
And if, if, Shiver did admit his feelings and Frye didn’t reciprocate, then… it’d be over for them. Nothing would ever be the same, whether it was a disgusted rejection or a friendly one. The dynamic would shift entirely, awkwardness would always linger in the air, and their fans would be left wondering just what happened to the natural chemistry of Deep Cut.
I will never let that happen. Besides, there is absolutely no way Frye would feel the same.
Not a single chance.
-
As Frye watched Shiver approach and begin to converse with Agent Three in Octarian, she was all too aware of the pounding of her hearts deep within her chest.
Everything felt very, very warm. But not an outside warmth, not on this chilling island. Not a warmth she’d ever really experienced before. This warmth came from her. Like it was flowing from her and seeping back into her.
She twirled her back tentacle in her fingers, watching the pink tip swirl and blend with her natural yellow colour.
Huh.
She’d never seen this colour on her before. Not unwillingly, at least.
Of course she knew what it was. Everyone knew what pink meant. But… Frye was unsure. She’d never felt like this before.
For… Shiver?
She eyed the Octoling again, his sweeping tentacles, the slight blush of red on his ears, his shark-toothed smile…
The pink began spreading up her tentacle again.
Oh, no.
Frye liked to be an open book. She always shared her emotions with Deep Cut, never fearing their reactions. She knew it was a welcoming space, where she could comfortably vent her feelings, no matter what they were. Those two were her best friends, she would never keep anything from them, ever.
…Well, it seemed that starting today, there was one thing she could keep from them.