Chapter Text
"Azul, sweetheart! Jade and Floyd are here!" Azul hears Jeannie call from the living room. The young octopus smiles brightly at his mother's words, quickly grabbing his favorite shell-bag and racing towards his mother's voice as fast as his form can manage. As soon as he reaches the top of the slope, Azul spots Jade and Floyd by the front door, floating about as their mother speaks to them in a stern manner. Any sort of focus Floyd might have been offering Georgina—'might' because Azul would certainly be surprised if the crazy eel had been giving her any in the first place—dissipates instantly when Azul enters his peripheral vision. Floyd turns to face the octo-mer with an expression that is equal parts excitement and impatience, wanting nothing more to leave now and go explore with his brother and best friend (whether he'll admit the latter or not).
Slouching in annoyance, Floyd whines, "Azul, hurry and get over here! We wanna go exploring already!" The command is accompanied by a loop-de-loop in place to show his readiness to go, despite Georgina's attempt to redirect his attention back to her. Jade simply laughs at the scene.
Azul crawls down the slope, a carefree giggle being drawn from his lips at Floyd's behavior. "I'm here, I'm here! Ma, can we go, can we?!" He looks to his mother with shining eyes, who is approaching the gathered children with a fond look. "Alright, but remember, Azul—pay attention to your surroundings, do not stray from the twins' sides, and-"
"-and don't, under any circumstances, leave the city's bounds. I got it, ma, we go over the rules every time!"
Jade and Floyd both assume smug looks at the inclination that they are some kind of trusted protectors of Azul; at least, that's how they interpreted it. Jeannie holds her stern expression for a moment longer, before dropping it with a sigh. "Alright, alright, I hear you. Wait— do you remember our list of safe mers to approach, if you make a wrong turn or the like?" Azul nods confidently.
Georgina places a hand on the top of Jade's head, patting it to show praise, "I also had Jade memorize the list, just in case. He recited it for me this morning, so I'm confident they can rely on him for backup." Jade's smile becomes a bit prouder, his shoulders squaring. She continues, "I tried to have Floyd do the same, but he was quite uninterested in the whole ordeal. I suppose I'll have to hope our dear Azul will be able to keep him safe!" Floyd's jaw drops dramatically, as if he'd been cruelly betrayed, then shifts to a pout as he decides to sulk to the side. "Memorization is boring. And I don't need Azul to keep me safe, I can keep myself safe! I'm super scary!"
Azul and Jade snicker at the view, while Jeannie and Georgina share a humorous look. Jeannie chuckles, "You sure are, honey." Floyd puffs out his chest.
Georgina laughs brightly. "Alright, boys—" Her voice gets more serious and her mouth sets in a hard line— "but remember what we went over before we got here." Jade nods, while the shift in tone gets Floyd's attention and he stares up at his mother curiously. Once the words process in his head, he nods as well. Georgina smiles again. "Good. Well then, Jeannie, is there anything else you have to say to the boys?"
Jeannie thinks for a moment, and seeing the impatient glints in the boys' eyes, smiles sweetly. "Have fun. Run along, now." Azul and Floyd shout excitedly, and though Jade attempts to keep his expression neutral, his eyes sparkle as he turns to his more outward friends. They all race out the door, slamming it shut behind them. Georgina and Jeannie look at each other, then let out what can only be described as an in-sync witchy cackle.
Azul giggles to himself, watching as Floyd darts forward, recklessly twisting and turning and spinning constantly in his excitement. Jade chuckles at his brother’s excitable nature, a wide smile making its way onto the boy’s face as the energy begins to spread. He doesn’t speed up, though, choosing instead to stay nearby to Azul only now at a taller height.
The three boys have been slowly moving through the reef—much to Floyd's dismay—enjoying their exploration of whatever they have not yet chanced to see as well as revisiting some older areas that might have changed. "Why do you gotta be so slow? Catch up, I wanna go play with the Trevallies!" Floyd says excitedly, swimming back to them from where he'd strayed a bit.
Jade laughs and swims upward enough to be level with Floyd. "The Camidoves, you mean? Surely, you remember that there is more than one family of Trevallies. Don't be rude." Azul, halting in his observations and zoning back in on his friends, looks at the twins with a concerned expression. "We shouldn't meet with them today of all days. It's really close to their hunting day with the Viper family." Floyd frowns and opens his mouth to argue, but Jade interrupts. "Azul is right. Their schedules change often so they could have moved it up to today rather than tomorrow as planned. We should wait to visit until after they've already gone hunting—if you don't want mom to ground us for the rest of our lives, at least."
"If you don't lose them to the Vipers, you mean." Azul chimes in helpfully. Floyd rolls his eyes, and attempts to speak his part once again. "But I-" "I'm serious, Floyd," Azul stops him and crosses his arms, crawling closer to where Floyd appears to be growing more and more grumpy by the second, "just because their son hasn't tried anything doesn't mean the parents won't. We could be their dessert, for all we know!"
Jade seems to materialize over Floyd's right shoulder, adding, "And even Jamil isn't particularly civil. I mean, surely even you have realized that?" Floyd groans, ignoring Jade's quip and letting himself sink completely until he lays on the seafloor right in front of Azul. "Don't go gangin' up on me! If you'd listen instead of just trampin' all over my words, then you'd have known that momma told me the sea snakes and the trevallies already went hunting this morning…" He pouts childishly.
Jade and Azul pause in their ridiculing, looking at each other and then back at Floyd. Azul approaches Floyd and lifts him off of the floor with a sigh. He hugs the eel, an embrace that Floyd instinctively returns. Jade makes a face at the affectionate display and backs away.
"Okay… we're sorry for not listening." Azul apologizes, earning a small nod from Floyd. Jade mumbles something, unintelligible from where he'd begun to wander, that was no doubt about not wanting Azul to apologize for him when he isn't sorry. He then dashes over to the other two. "Wouldn't that still be close, though? They could still be lingering, they are very good friends." Jade can't help but smirk slyly, accidentally revealing to Floyd that he's toying with him rather than arguing out of concern.
"Jade…" Is the only warning he gets before Floyd shoots at him from the ground, leaving Azul sputtering and coughing up sand. Jade narrowly manages to move out of the way and gets behind Azul. "Come get me now, Floyd!" He calls. "Why do you always use me as a shield?" Azul scoffs and mutters, then lets out a shrill shriek before ducking just in time to avoid an angry Floyd flying headfirst into his face, his tentacles curling around him in defense. Jade, on the other hand, is tackled to the ground in his state of surprise, and he and Floyd roll around for a bit whilst noncommittally biting and scratching at each other. Azul pops his head up out of his self-made barrier, peeking at the brawl between brothers.
Azul gaze shifts to the scenery once more. He listens to the sounds of the sea creatures around them; no mers are around right now, and that's how he'd prefer it. When else can he expect to have such a rare moment of actual peace, odd as it may be when referring to the present company? The twins are enjoying themselves, not wasting their time trying to defend him—and that is what it is. A waste of time, regardless of what the two say. Azul knows that it's the truth, and he doesn't understand why everyone else is so insistent on it being anything else; sure, maybe the other kids are much quieter about their issues with Azul with Jade and Floyd around, but they still have the issues.
Azul doesn't need words to tell him that. His eyes are plenty capable of picking up the glares when he unpacks his lunch, and his ears to the snickers when he participates in P.E.
He jolts, the negative thoughts dulling as an unexpectedly gentle hand lands on his shoulder. Azul relaxes as he comes to his senses and turns to find Jade looking at him with a concerned air. Floyd swims in front of the octopus and tilts his head curiously. "Are you being depressed again? Stop it."
Azul blinks, taken aback, then bursts out laughing. Jade and Floyd startle at this, and the pure shock and confusion on their faces makes Azul laugh even harder. Maybe things aren't so bad after all.