“So, she gets this bright idea to encapsulate a miniature failing jump drive into a ball, no bigger than your fist Liz. Of course, the higher-ups start fighting with her, telling her that resources need to be properly utilised and that type of thing! Anyone else would have backed down, but nope, our fox over here locks herself in her lab for two weeks straight and –“

 

I tuned Williams out and focused on my caramel milkshake. I stirred the drink, scooped the sauce inside of the glass up, and then let it fall; calculating the viscosity based on how long it took to come to a complete stop. Now I realise that the point of this floret get-together was to relish in my greatness, but I have to admit; I was having so much more fun being boring and running physics equations in my head. If you’re curious the result was around 543 Centipose.

 

“Zeitha!”

 

“Huh, what?” I asked, raising my head from the table in an attempt to find who called my name.

 

A girl with far too much energy and dressed in bright pastel colours, whose name I think was Katie, waved for my attention. “David (Williams) was just telling us about how you put a hole in his ship.”

 

I cast a glance his way and sighed internally. “Did he specify which one?” I asked.

 

A few eyebrows raised, with confusion spreading throughout the table. “You did it more than once?” Maybe Katie asked.

 

“On Broadside? At least 3 or 4 times if I’m recalling it correctly.” I looked at Williams. “That sound about right?”

 

“It was 5,” Williams replied. I threw my hand dismissively and went back to the better company that was my milkshake.

 

I examined the different waves of light moving through the mediums in the drink before Katie took my milkshake and moved it aside so our eyes were level. “What?” I asked, frustrated.

 

“You don’t talk much, do you?” she asked rather innocently.

 

“Not when I dislike the company,” I confessed.

 

Katie’s face morphed into one of mild irritation. It’s worth noting she wasn’t the only one at the table to do so.

 

“I think that’s our cue to leave!” Ratio interjected. “Thank you for having us!” She grabbed my arm and pulled me from the table as I helplessly reached out for my milkshake that was getting further and further away. We had barely made it 10 paces before the both of us were scooped up.

 

“Do I want to know why you’re both leaving the meal early?” Miss asked.

 

I settled into her vines and cuddled up to Ratio. “They bore me. I don’t know why you insist on making me socialise,” I whined.

 

A vine went to Miss’s brow and she looked momentarily upset, or maybe worried? Whatever it was it quickly passed, but I was left with the regret that maybe I should have tried harder for her sake. Miss spoke to her companions, pointed in the direction of the table and then patted her vine against my head. The other Affini nodded and as we were leaving one made their way to the floret table where I found Williams smiling and waving goodbye. I waved back

 

 

“What am I going to do with you?” Miss asked rhetorically.

 

You could let me become an independent or at the very least stop putting me in social situations. I shrugged, spotted the approaching vine and failed at dodging the scratch behind my ears. Half of me was frustrated that my weakness was being targeted and the other was happy for the long silence finally being over.

 

The vine retracted to reveal Miss looking down at me. “What’s on your mind?” she asked.

 

I fidgeted and averted my gaze. “Are you angry at me?”

 

“No, darling. Why would you think that? Was it the silence?” I nodded. “Oh darling I’m sorry, I was lost in thought thinking about why the previous party hadn’t held your interest. I was confident you were going to enjoy it and seeing you leave early has me thinking I may need to change my approach. But to reiterate, no, I’m not angry at you.” She kissed my cheek. It was warm.

 

Miss continued walking, Ratio and I still held in her vines; and while the conversation didn’t pick back up, she did fill the silence with her humming. I glanced to my left and found Ratio with her eyes closed and humming along, completely in sync. Had they practised this before? I wonder if I could sync up as well? I’d heard the tune she was humming plenty of times and I was confident in my ability to recreate it if required. I closed my eyes and hummed. My addition was slightly out of tune, but not completely, and there were stages where we harmonised almost perfectly. Interestingly, putting less thought into it yielded better results. Looking back, I now know why that is, but at the time, I was hopelessly oblivious. Still, I remember being content; a feeling that lasted throughout the night.

 

“Girls, we’ve arrived~.” Miss sung.

 

Her vines unravelled as Ratio was placed down first, with me quickly following. “This isn’t the –” I looked upon the ocean in amazement, my hands falling to my side and my mouth hanging open.

 

“I thought you might like it,” Miss chuckled.

 

I continued to stare at the canvas of blue, devoid of both human waste and toxic chemicals. “Is… Is that real?” I asked.

 

Miss nodded. “Go. Have fun,” she said, pushing me towards the water. Ratio was suddenly in front of me, taking both of my hands in her own and pulling me the rest of the way. We reached the water’s edge which she happily threw herself into after letting go of my hands. I reached down and ran my hand across the surface, watching the ripples expand outwards.

 

“Sis, get in here! It feels great!” Ratio shouted before diving beneath the surface. I took my shoes off and left them neatly next to Ratio’s not-so-neat heels and made my way in. The water was cold but refreshing and despite being submerged at waist height, I could still see my little toes. I fell backwards, floating with the current and looked at the canopy of stars. I’m trying really hard here not to use beautiful to describe the scene I was experiencing, but words were never my strength and so I’ll stick with what I know. It was beautiful, some may even say magical. It was the type of scene that archived itself to stories and myths, one that I never imagined I would live to see.

 

While I lay there floating and taking in the sights, Ratio continued to splash and be the general menace that she often typically was. Her head surfaced next to mine and she propelled water from her cheeks directly onto my face. I blinked reactively and then realised the water didn’t bring forth any unwanted reactions; namely, saltwater eyes. “Thank you for that Sister,” I said sarcastically.

 

“You’re welcome!” she chirped. “Zei, you have to come with me, I promise you won’t be disappointed.”

 

She submerged without a further word leaving me somewhat perplexed. I changed my position and considered following while simultaneously judging if the water would do any damage to my unit. I figured if it was going to do so, it would have done it by now. I held my breath and followed.

 

Turns out that holding my breath was entirely unnecessary. For all my complaining this robot body sure was convenient. Ratio took me a little ways from the coast, the swim taking us about 5 minutes into the deeper depths. “Stay here,” she indicated. She was gone for maybe another minute but I didn’t dislike my time alone in the deeps. It was therapeutic, and now that the limitation of air was no longer an issue, I was free to spend as much time in the water as I liked. I always enjoyed swimming and being submerged beneath the water, which is amusing when you consider my past. I wonder why that is?

 

Once again lost in my thoughts I failed to notice Ratio swimming next to me. She blew bubbles in my direction which helped realign my focus as I noticed two luminescent pebbles in her hands. “Ready?” she asked, to which I nodded. She brought the pebbles together which made a surprisingly loud noise that reverberated across the floor. Instantly the floor was illuminated with colours I have never before seen. Jellyfish bobbed in the distance, fish swam about with scales that reflected the lights and a kingdom came alive at Ratio’s behest. I’m sure there was a logical explanation for what had transpired, but suspending that and grounding myself in the moment, Ratio looked very much like a sea deity and I couldn’t help but giggle to myself. It was… Okay, so I refuse to use beautiful in this chapter twice, meaning you’ll need to visualise the scene and come up with your own adjective. That being said, beautiful would fit the scene.

 

We stayed in the water kingdom for a period of time, before both of us felt a ping indicating for us to return. Ratio returned the pebbles from wherever they came and then the two of us headed back to the coast where we found Miss reading something. She looked stressed and deep in thought, of which I wasn’t particularly fond. I liaised with Ratio and together the two of us planned a rebellion of sorts.

 

We approached slowly, seemingly innocently. Miss glanced upwards, acknowledged our presence and quickly went back to her work, increasing the speed that she was working through it. It was at this time that we struck!

 

My tails, previously knotted into a single net, were catapulted forward with Ratio’s assistance as the water went flying everywhere. In truth, it had worked better in my head, but some of the water hit the target and we watched Miss slowly put down her wet tablet and look at us with orangey, blue eyes. “So that’s how you’d like to play?” she said, her face giving way to her predatory smile.

 

I glanced at Ratio. “I think we might have made a mistake.”

 

“I think so too,” she replied.

 

“5,” Miss started.

 

We exchanged another glance.

 

“4.”

 

“Should we, eh, do something about that?” I asked.

 

“3.”

 

“I’m thinking running might be a good idea,” Ratio added.

 

“2.”

 

“Good Luck!” we exchanged as we separated, with an intent to make the chase harder.

 

“1!”

 

Even with my slowed perception of time I barely registered Miss dive forward beneath the waves. Fortunately, she didn’t appear to be coming for me; an opportunity I didn’t take lightly. See, a normal person would stay in the ocean and try to swim away, but I am no normal person. The best place to be when someone is trying to find you is where they least expect it. What would you least expect if you were searching for someone in the ocean? The answer to that question is obviously the beach!

 

I made a 180-degree turn, reached the shallow end and ran towards safety. I wasn’t quick enough. Vines encased my ankle and my arms, lifting me up and back into the water. From an outside perspective, it would probably look like I’d been caught by a sea monster. She reeled me in slowly, affording me just enough room to struggle for freedom, but never enough to actually escape. I did the splish and the splash and even tried biting as I went utter feral. It still wasn’t enough. Miss, then satisfied, closed the distance and bound my hand with a single vine to Ratio’s. She came close to my ear. “Next time, I expect my prey to be faster.”

 

A shiver ran down my spine and my feralistic urges vanished, replaced by something that wasn’t feralistic urges. I melted into the abomination that was her wet vines and allowed myself to be escorted back to shore.

 

“So, whose idea was it to attack me?” she asked. The both of us remained silent as we nervously glanced at each other. “No answer? You wouldn’t want your pinnate to take the blame for your actions, would you?” she baited the both of us.

 

“Technically speaking…” I started.

 

“I should have known. I hope you’re prepared for your punishment~.”

 

I let out a small eek and tried to back away from her, falling over in the process. “I don’t suppose negotiations are on the table?” I asked with a half-forced laugh.

 

“I don’t negotiate with prey~.” Her vines shot forward, attacking all my sensitive tickle zones as my cries of anguish, mixed with intense laughter escaped into the night sky.