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The hot sun beat down onto the fragmented old wood of the Hideout Ship and it bobbed across the clear seas of the Spirhalite Islands. It was unbearably hot today as if the sun itself didn’t want Deep Cut to be here.
Frye was slumped in one of the seats that they’d salvaged from the helicopter crash a few days ago, it wasn’t comfortable in any way and it felt as if her back was attempting to fuse to the bright orange material but it was better than getting exhausted from standing all day.
She looked to her left, Shiver was taking turns between fanning herself and Big Man who was taking the brunt of the heat due to his size. The sight itself would have been funny if Frye wasn’t too drained to laugh right now.
On her right was the Mechanic, wrench in hand working on something, she’d tried asking them about it before but it seemed that their former pilot and current mechanic was much of a talker. Then Frye noticed it, it was something nearly indiscernible to anyone but someone with a keen eye like Frye.
The Mechanic was squinting down at what they were working on. It wasn’t the first time Frye had caught onto something like this, she’d noticed them constantly pushing their choppy sun dried teal tentacles from their bright red eyes, trying in vain to tie them back or keep them from slapping against their face.
Frye tilted her head to the side as she looked at the hard at work inkling, she peeled her back from the seat to lean forward with her elbows against her knees and her hands cupping her face
“Hey! Mechanic!” She called out, watching as the inkling turned to face her with nearly entirely covered eyes and a bright red face from working in the sun all day, they never seemed to take a break even though it really looked like they needed it.
“How’re you meant to see what you’re working on with those tentacles covering your face?” The Mechanic waved a hand at her, Frye didn’t need to hear them speak to know that they were probably telling her “I’m fine, don’t worry about me”
Frye stood up from the helicopter seat and walked over to the Mechanic, she leaned forward with her hands clasped behind her back as she looked down at their work, they were making some kind of gadget, they always seemed to be tinkering at something that helped them beat up those vicious Salmonids.
“Come on, Mechanic. I’ll do it for you, I cut Shiver’s tentacles and they look awesome!” Frye grinned as she tilted her head towards the blue octoling stood in the shaded part of the ship
The Mechanic stopped tinkering. They stared down at the gadget in front of them and placed the beat up rusty wrench down at their side and turned their head to Frye with a nod
Frye beamed, she stood up straight and grabbed the Mechanic’s hand, pulling them to their feet as she began to guide them towards the chair she was just sitting in.
When the Mechanic settled into the chair Frye walked around to the back and she took a closer look down at the inkling’s tentacles. They were messy, choppy, sundried on the ends but with a beautiful greenish blue colour everywhere else. Frye tapped a finger against her chin as she analysed their head, flicking a few of the tentacles sticking out on the sides
“I need something to cut these…” Frye muttered, then it was like a lightbulb went off over her head. She turned to look over at her bandmates in the shade, the cupped her hands to the sides of of her mouth
“Hey! Shiver! I need that bit of your mask!” Frye yelled over to them, she watched as Shiver put down their fan while they rolled their eyes
“You better give me this back!” Shiver called back as their hands went up to their bun, they pulled the last shard of their mask out and their cobalt blue tentacles fell down into a more loose style.
Shiver’s hand tightened around the shard as she threw it with all of her strength to Frye without leaving the shade, like a vampire. Frye jumped up and caught the shard before it could go soaring into the vast ocean around them
“Thanks Shiver!” Frye cheered with a big toothy grin as she turned back to the Mechanic who was now fidgeting with the sleeves of the dirt and sand covered jacket wrapped around their waist
Frye placed their hands on the top of the chair, she had two ideas in mind for the Mechanic’s style but she wanted their input before she did anything drastic
“Okay, I can do a bun style like I did with Shiver’s, or I can do braids, whatd’ya think?” Frye tilted her head to the side as she looked down at them
The Mechanic thought for a moment before they held up two fingers, the braid hairstyle was the one they wanted.
“You’ve got it, Mechanic!”
Frye’s free hand reached for the choppy uneven fringe at the front of the Mechanic’s head, then the hand with the shard moved to the front, it sliced through the tentacles and they hit the wooden ground of the ship with a splat
The fringe barely touched the Mechanic’s forehead now, Frye grimaced slightly looking at it “...That’s a lot shorter than I thought it’d be- but it’s fine! We can work with this!”
Frye was thinking again, how was she gonna hold the braids in? She could twist them into shape but they’d spring back out in a minute or two then they’d be back to where they started in the first place! Her eyes drifted off to the side towards the metal railing they’d propped up around the sides to stop anyone from falling off and getting splatted. Draped over the sides of the railing were coloured striped ropes, they’d been using them to hold the whole ship together but these were the leftovers
This sparked an idea in her head as she untangled the colourful ropes from the railing “You’re gonna have to trust me on this one Mechanic.” Frye stated as she reached forward, beginning to wrap the rope around the left set of the Mechanic’s to hold the shape of the braid together
Then she moved over to the right set of tentacles, tying the bottoms of the both sides with a little knot to keep them secure
After twenty minutes, a lot of cursing, nearly ripping her own tentacles off and a break on the other side of the ship, The Mechanic’s hair was finished.
Frye wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand as she looked down at the finished product with a lopsided grin
“So… Whatdya think?” Frye asked in a slightly nervous tone, to be honest if the Mechanic didn’t like it she’d probably throw herself into the water…
The Mechanic stood up and walked to the railing of the ship, leaning over the edge to get a glimpse at their reflection in the bright ocean waters
The hairstyle was a lot different than the cuts they’d usually get but to be honest those themself were few and far between, they’d usually just let it grow out then chop it almost all off
The Mechanic’s hands pushed themself back from the railing, they leaned backwards slightly and turned their head towards Frye, on their face was a big toothy grin. They liked it!
“I knew you’d love it!” Frye cheered, throwing her hands in the air
“It does suit you, Mechanic.” Shiver stated as they finally walked out of the shade, one arm covering their head from the sunshine and the other hand had their fan clasped tightly in it
“Ay! (It’s a good look)” Big Man said as he walked out alongside Shiver.
The four of them were still gonna be stuck there for who knows how long but as long as they kept morale high then everything would be fine!