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“Pendles,” her voice warned from inside the tank, “If you’re trying to sneak up on me, it’s not gonna work this time.”
Mere inches away from jolting her meditation with a knock to the side of her tank, the Roa in question deflated, leaning against the glass rather than knocking it.
“You’re kidding,” he says, voice airy, “How’d you know I was in here?”
Alani turned around, hair twirling in a whirlwind about her form as she moved to face him, cheeks a dark blue. “I didn’t,” she admits, smile brightening her features, Syl glowing in turn, “I’ve been saying that every five minutes. I’m glad you’re actually in here, this time!” She swam to the top of the tank, breaching the surface and draping her upper half over the lip of the tank. She grinned a sharp-toothed grin at him, and he craned his neck up to look at her, mirroring her grin with one of his own, hooking his prosthetic thumb in his belt.
“So, what brings you here, old snake?” she hummed, giggling when his expression shifted from the gold-toothed grin to an overly-dramatic pout, “Are you just here to scare me again?”
“Well, that had been the plan,” Pendles responds, tentacle arm curling and uncurling idly, “But seein’ as you’re prepared for that, it looks like that’s gonna have to change.”
“Really?” Alani said, voice doubtful.
“Yep, looks like I’m gonna have to find newer, more creative ways to get the jump on ya.” he continued, tongue flicking out, “But don’t worry about the inconvenience, love. The challenge is the fun of it!”
Alani responded with a carefully aimed splash, eliciting a surprised hiss and flurry of limbs, the squeaking of sneakers against tile filling the room.
“Be careful with that!” Pendles groused, shimmying backwards out of the splash zone, “You know how much these shoes cost?”
“Too much to look like that.” she baited in return, attempting to cover up her grin with the edge of the tank, without much success considering that the tank is clear.
“Oh, come on-- what, you’re still on the pants thing?” he laughed, craning his head to the side and looking up at her once more with his good eye. “That’s it, innit? That was ages ago, you need to learn to let it go!”
“Pendles. Pendakka.”
“Oh no, she’s busted out the full name--”
“--I don’t think you understand how terrible--”
“Now that’s a funny way to say totally hilarious,” he remarked with yet another grin. Alani responded with a look he was sure would kill him, if looks had the ability to do that. “Ohhh, come on, don’t give me that face! How about this: assassination, on the house, and we forget about that whole pants thing? Ah, ah-- You’re tempted, I can tell!”
Alani responded once more with no words, and something that wasn’t so much a splash as it was a very carefully directed jet of water directly onto his face.
“Alright,” He huffed, “You’re askin’ for it!”
“Asking for what?” Alani snorted, twirling her wet hair through her webbed fingers. She watched, bemused, as he wrestled with his hoodie for a moment, pulling the garment over his head. Her eyes drifted to the scarring around his joints and she clicked her tongue; they were no doubt caused by Pendles’ incessant, premature picking and pulling at his shedding scales. He discarded the shoes much less haphazardly than the hoodie, setting them carefully away from her splash range.
He left his pants on-- Alani wasn’t sure why, she guessed he’d just adopted the same offworld modesty that led her to wearing them in the first place-- but dropped his belt, more than likely to protect its non-waterproof contents. He flashed her a cheeky grin, then, smoothly disconnecting his prosthetic.
“Askin’ for this!” he says, laughter in his voice as he takes a running start towards the tank. His tentacle arm curled around the edge and Alani shrieked-- half in excitement, half in surprise, pushing off of the side with her foot.
“Pendles!” was her startled exclamation, her voice breathless from laughter.
“Hold on a moment,” he said, treading water gracelessly, “I haven’t taken a dip in… Well, not since my bloody arm fell off.” he continued, gesturing for emphasis as he regained his balance, correcting for the difference in weight.
Back on Akopos, she thought, watching as Pendles swam a few quick circles, the transition wouldn’t have been so startling. And, more than likely, a lot quicker. But there wasn’t an Akopos to be back on, anymore, and it was better for the both of them not to dwell on it.
“It’s not something you forget,” Alani chuckled, eyes following his movement, sinking down until just her eyes peeked up from the edge of the water. Her hair was outside of its usual braid, flowing around her in a great circle, looking something like an exotic lily pad when paired with the flowers in her hair.
“Right you are,” he hummed in agreement, cocking his head to the side once more, golden eye trained on her. “You know what else you won’t forget?”
Alani blew a suspicious bubble, squinting at Pendles’ gold-toothed grin. Moments later, her eyes were blown open in alarm as he slammed his tentacle arm into the water, raising a decently-sized splash.
“I don’t know,” Alani said, amused by how fast the smug grin on his face dropped when he noticed the glow of her Syl, “Seemed pretty forgettable to me. Not like this!”
Pendles swallowed a gulp of air and dove under the water. Yeah, picking a splash fight with a water bender wasn’t high among his list of Good Ideas.
“Cheating!” he heard Alani cry from above the surface before she joined him beneath the tumult she’d created. Their teasing stretched on for a while, a game consisting mostly of swimming circles around each other and racing, paused every once in awhile for Pendles to breach the surface in pursuit of a new lungful of air.
For just a moment, it felt like home. When his eye opened above the water, he felt disoriented, almost expecting to see the distant sunrise over the ocean, not Nova’s fluorescent lights. The feeling was fleeting, something equal parts comfort and sorrow, a familiar feeling to the both of them. It was in no doubt at least part of the reason they found themselves drawn towards each other’s company, their friendship a tangible memory of the home they’d both lost.
If asked, of course, Pendles would tell you that it’s all nonsense. He hadn’t been to Akopos for years before it went dark, anyhow, before everyone there’d been wiped away like a blood stain on a kama. But...Privately, he remembers something he heard her say once; something about the sea living on in the members of her order.
When their game is over, Pendles leans halfway over the edge of the tank as Alani had earlier, eyeing his discarded clothes with reluctance.
“I guess I should be off, then.” he says, finally, “Got important places to go. Important people to kill. You know how it is.”
“Being an assassin? No, I don’t know how that is.” She joins him, leaning halfway on the tank’s wall and halfway on Pendles himself.
“Alright, alright, bring it in,” he grumbles, tentacle arm snaking around her shoulders.
“Aw, Pendles! If you wanted a hug, you know, you could have just asked, you old snake!” she giggles, but she gives in anyways, leaning into the embrace and reciprocating the gesture.
“Aren’t you older than me?” Pendles counters, tentacle twirling absentmindedly through her hair. Alani scoffs.
“That’s besides the point!” she bumps him with her hip. He sighs, and in return she offers a squeeze to his narrow shoulders.
In the end, he guesses there’s some merit to the whole idea. Maybe the seas of Akopos lived on through her legacy, maybe they didn’t, but he was certain that she’d held onto something. The feeling of home, or something sappy like that. He had nearly forgotten what that feeling was.
Instead of leaving, he rested his head against Alani’s. They closed their eyes for a moment, suddenly sobered, and pretended that the gentle lapping of the tank’s filter against the glass was the rush of waves.