Chapter Text
Floyd, Jade, and Azul landed last, touching gently down several minutes after Shrimpie, Croc, and Baby Seal’s significantly less smooth landing, and Sea Otter’s borderline crash. Floyd took a moment to stretch and check for any injuries from the disastrous fight with Sea Snake. Nothing seemed broken, he had some soreness in his muscles, but since none of it was worse than the ever-present ache in his legs, it was probably no big deal. Even the shovel was unharmed. Jade was doing the same check next to him, taking extra care with his fingers after gripping his wand so tightly for their entire descent, and Azul was mostly just shivering. Both of them looked like Coach Lobster had decided to make them stay after flight class until they could get some real height. He leaned over to give Azul a hand up, “Aw, what’s the matter, Azul? Scared of heights?”
“I am not! I just- need to catch my breath a little, that’s all!” Despite his words, Floyd could see some of the tension at being offered help bleed out of his shoulders at the mockery. Also, the look on his face when Floyd spoke was priceless. He seemed to have been getting used to his new voice by the time they confronted Sea Snake, but the time falling and not speaking must have been just long enough to startle him all over again. Even Jade’s mask-like smile seemed to strain at the sound. Unfortunately, before Floyd could really get going, the sound of sobbing drew their attention.
“I- He just- How could he-?” Sea Otter didn’t finish the thought, instead breaking into inarticulate wails occasionally punctuated by gasps and hiccups. These were somewhat muffled by Shrimpie’s left sleeve, which had been torn badly enough in the disastrous confrontation with Sea Snake that they had given up on trying to keep it attached, and just given to Sea Otter as a makeshift handkerchief. Baby Seal had retreated back up onto Crocodile’s shoulders, clearly not eager to get sobbed on. Jade and Azul sidled up to the group, their faces a picture of carefully calculated sympathy, and Floyd followed. After a couple minutes, Sea Otter managed to speak coherently again. “I just- I never thought he would do something like this! He’s always been there for me, and he always helps me when I need him, and, and- He’s always been my best friend!”
Jade and Azul stepped in then, offering platitudes and encouraging him to be angry, but something was bothering Floyd about what Sea Otter had said. He opened his mouth to interject, realizing at the same time the thought formed that this was probably not the right thing to say in this situation, and he was definitely about to make the crying even louder and messier. Fortunately, he was saved from putting his foot in his mouth when Shrimpie beat him to the punch.
“Look, this sucks, get revenge, no objections there, but that thing you just said? That’s definitely part of the problem.” Fortunately, Sea Otter didn’t actually start wailing again, and just stared at them, apparently shocked into silence. Floyd took the opportunity to continue that line of thought.
“Yeah, like, Sea Snake works for you, right? Or at least, his folks work for yours? So what happens if he decides he doesn’t actually wanna go along with what you want?” Halfway through, Azul groaned in frustration somewhere behind him and Floyd heard the sound of tearing paper as his voice returned to its normal pitch. A shame, but nothing lasts forever.
Sea Otter blinked, confused, “We do something else?”
Azul caught on first, likely because of how much time he spent talking at Sea Snake in Alchemy. “Has that ever happened, though? Jamil said he didn’t want to throw a party, or redecorate the lounge or something, and you agreed not to?”
“Well, no, but-”
“But he doesn’t ask, he just quietly grumbles and then goes along with it?” Sea Otter looked defensive, but before Azul could press his point further, Crocodile butted in.
“Of course not! What kind of loyal retainer would he be if he rejected the wishes of his lord!”
Shrimpie raised an eyebrow, “I mean, we just established that he’s not , but that is almost the point I was trying to make, so thank you.” Croc started yelling something about Shrimpie’s tone, but they just plowed on, “Kalim, Floyd asked what would happen if Jamil didn’t want to do what you want to do, but I think the more pertinent question is what he thinks would happen. If, as your servant, Jamil cannot refuse to do what you want, then can he really be there for you as your friend?”
Sea Otter frowned. “That’s not- He-” he stopped, as if something had hit him, and started again. “I just remembered, when we were little, he always used to beat me at this board game, mancala. But one time, his parents overheard him gloating and got really upset, and started apologizing, and made him say sorry too. Except, I was confused because they seemed to be apologizing for him winning more than for the gloating. Anyway, a while after that I finally started getting better and winning more, and I forgot the whole thing.” He looked down, worrying at Shrimpie’s ripped sleeve, “He never forgot, did he? And I didn’t actually get that much better.”
Jade made a pitying sigh, “Yuu put that a little harsher than I would’ve, but yes, that is likely the case, and their point is sound. Let’s use Floyd’s and my business partnership with Azul as a healthier example.” Shrimpie started choking on their own spit until Crocodile thumped them on the back a couple times. “Azul can ask quite a bit of us at times, but it’s because we know there will always be suitable recompense, and if a task were truly unbearable, we can always refuse. Similarly, we don’t expect him to inconvenience himself too much on our sake unless he’s expecting something in return. It works because we all have the same expectations of each other, but while you’ve been carrying expectations of friendship, Jamil has been taught to expect an employer/employee dynamic. A friend makes for a terrible boss, and so resentment has festered.” He made a shrugging motion and heaved another dramatic sigh.
Sea Otter looked up, teary and confused, “But didn’t Floyd basically just give Azul his signature spell? A funny voice isn’t anywhere near equal to that!”
“Hey, I decide what it’s worth, and I wanted a deep voice!” He decided not to add that he knew Azul would never have kept Bind the Heart anyway. Shrimpie looked like they would never in a million years buy that it was only because the price he picked was that annoying, so better not to draw their attention to it.
“And I suppose you guys were just chilling out together in the Octavinelle lounge at 2 in the morning for business reasons?” Baby Seal chimed in skeptically.
“We choose to maintain this partnership because his schemes are endlessly entertaining, his ambition and cunning seem to know no bounds, and we enjoy watching him in action. What then, is ‘chilling out,’ except our payment?”
“Ok, but choosing to hang out with someone and do things for them because they have qualities you admire and you like having them around just sounds like-” Floyd tried to convey to Shrimpie with just his eyes that their whole “saying all the quiet bits out loud’ thing was only funny when they did it to other people, and he could tell Jade was doing the same. One of them must have gotten through, because they swallowed and finished the sentence with, “-like a completely normal, professional business partnership.”
Sea Otter looked back and forth between Shrimpie and Jade, “I’m more confused now than I was before…”
“Okay, so personally I’d ignore everything about the mermafia here being a positive example, but the bit about mismatched expectations is probably correct.”
“Excuse me?” Jade’s smile didn’t move an inch, but everyone next to Shrimpie scooted away.
“What, I said you were right! And Sebek’s right about how someone like Jamil wouldn’t be able to air his grievances directly to someone like you.”
“But that’s awful!”
“It is the duty of a loyal servant! I for one would never dream of acting as that treacherous snake has-!”
“And you’re right. Er, you as in Kalim, not you, Sebek. And it’s awful especially because of those mismatched expectations Jade mentioned. You’re expecting that if Jamil needed a break, or really didn’t want to arrange a party, he would tell you. But Jamil is expecting that if he tries to do things the way he wants he’ll get punished, and apparently he has been, even if not directly by you. So you get everything you want, and he gets no breaks, ever.” Crocodile opened his mouth. “-And don’t say truly capable servants don’t need breaks, I know for a fact that Malleus and Lilia give you and Silver mandatory vacation days, Sebek.”
Sea Otter looked like he was about to break into sobs again, so Azul cut in. “Don’t blame yourself too much though, I’m classmates with Jamil, and even when he forgets to hide his personality and wit, he’s just not very straightforward. You’re very open, and to be honest, a bit of a goody two-shoes. To twisted- I mean, cunning individuals like Jamil or myself, such seeming obliviousness can be incredibly grating. The different approaches to your relationship are certainly the root of this issue, but it’s likely festered this long in part due to your different dispositions.”
Sea Otter looked to Shrimpie as if for confirmation, but they just shrugged. “Maybe? The constant sunniness was kinda annoying at first until I realized you were being sincere, to be honest. Anyway, we gotta get back and kick his ass before you can confirm any of this, so anyone got any ideas on how to do that?”
It took a bit of back-and-forth, but eventually it turned out Sea Otter could fill a nearby dry riverbed, so Jade and Floyd could carry everyone back quickly. Sea Otter lifted his scepter, pointed it towards where the river’s source should be and chanted.
“Respite in the scalding sands, a never-ending party. Dance! Sing! Oasis Maker!”
The end of his scepter glowed, and Floyd sensed a massive flow of water magic swirling around the group, just before he felt the change in air pressure and humidity. Droplets of water condensed out of the atmosphere onto his skin and hair, washing away the awful dry feeling that Scarabia dorm’s desert always brought on. Near him, Azul breathed a sigh of relief, and even Jade’s grin widened, displaying his teeth. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Shrimpie’s hair almost instantly frizz up, and Crocodile anxiously patting at the gel that was probably the only thing stopping his from doing the same.
And then the deluge started, and hundreds of gallons of water crashed into the ravine before them, sweeping through its turns at a speed even Floyd would hesitate to swim against. Closest to the source, the new river churned, sending freezing water splashing over the banks and spraying the group. The current roared in Floyd’s ears, drowning out all conversation for several minutes, until the riverbed was full and it started to slow.
“Geez, Sea Otter, I thought you said your spell wasn’t that powerful!?”
“Well, we need to get back quickly, and Oasis Maker summons a lot of water, but not enough to fill this entire thing fast enough. I figured if it summons a lot of water for a small amount of magic, if I gave it a lot of magic…”
Shrimpie nodded, “Good idea, but alas, fluid dynamics is the bane of us all.”
Floyd wasn’t sure why “lots of water entering a narrow space is a Bad Idea” needed a fancy name besides just “common sense,” but land dwellers lacked a lot of the latter, so maybe that explained it. In any case, the river had finally slowed to something that might actually be manageable with two other people clinging to him, so he shed his human form and dove into the water just as Azul was insisting they test the current before just jumping in.
Ok, so maybe it was still a little too fast, and he was slammed against the rocky riverbed a couple times while trying to dig his fingers into the banks before he could be swept away. Azul was definitely going to lecture him about this the whole trip, but he definitely wasn’t going to wait around in human form any longer while there was deep water right in front of him.
Floyd liked land, in that he liked the strange foods, and alien cultures, and all the interesting humans he had met since coming to the surface. He did not like feeling gravity constantly trying to drag him down, or having to be wrapped up in fabrics all the time, or the persistent, dull ache in his legs. Trying to walk had been so painful at first, like he was trying to balance on knives, but over time he had gotten used to it, and the soles of his feet had calloused. He wouldn’t give up all the new experiences, the pretty clothes, the sports that just wouldn’t work underwater for anything, but he was definitely eager to get to stretch his tail out a bit.
Jade obviously felt the same, though he still tried to be more dignified and wait until Azul had decided the current was actually safe to get in. Floyd splashed him with his tail. “Ah, c’mon, Jade, the water’s great! I’m having such a nice time in- Whoa!” The rock he was gripping loosened, and he scrabbled at the banks for a few seconds while his traitorous brother just chuckled. He did manage to get a better grip without Jade’s help, however, and it wasn’t too long after that that Azul finally declared the river safe enough for the rest of the group. Jade jumped in with an audible sigh of relief, and then everyone else started carefully clambering down the banks to hold onto either him or Floyd.
Shrimpie, for some reason known only to them, had decided that they trusted Jade not to try and drown them even less than Floyd, and Baby Seal and Croc both insisted on sticking close to them, so that left Jade with Sea Otter and Azul. The land-dwellers were all confused about why Azul didn’t adopt his merform as well, and to be fair so was Floyd, even if he was used to Azul’s eccentricities by now. Everything else aside, being compacted from 3 meters long down to just 191 centimeters sucked, and Azul’s true form was even bigger, proportionately. Or maybe being compacted was a plus for him, he did always like cramming himself into small spaces.
Either way, Floyd got to avoid the lecture he was sure Azul was going to give him a little longer, since he was too busy clinging to Jade’s back to list any coherent points about not diving into a raging current, and then they were back at the dorm building. Floyd let his passengers get off, then pulled himself somewhat reluctantly back up onto dry land. He stretched, and then balanced his shovel across his shoulders, ignoring Shrimpie and Azul’s incredulous questions.
Almost before even the dorm itself was visible, they could see a churning black storm on the horizon. As they got closer they could see it was centered on one of Scarabia’s open-air courtyards, and when entered its bounds, it felt like swimming a bit too deep, and feeling the pressure around him start to push against him, his body urging him to return somewhere more habitable. He ignored the feeling, and the way the thick blot energy clinging to him like a film of oil made him think of a destroyed lounge and a terrible cry. Was this how every Overblot felt?
He turned to look at Shrimpie, who was staring straight ahead, ignoring how Baby Seal, now returned to their shoulders, dug his claws into them. They put on a good brave face, but Floyd had felt their heart pounding hard and fast against his back the whole trip over, and he doubted it had calmed any. Crocodile strode in front of them, close enough to quickly leap to their defense, while insisting it was only because “Lord Malleus had charged him with this duty!” Jade and Floyd moved to flank Azul, who had on the unphased, slightly smug smile he used with angry clients. Still, he caught his brother’s eye over his head, and they moved in a little closer, enough to replicate the tight spaces that Azul liked, without being obvious about it or tripping each other up.
As they approached the courtyard, Sea Snake was gloating as the students under his control served him and sang his praises. It was simple enough to sidle in closer while imitating them, he didn’t even notice the group shouldn’t have been there until they were standing directly across from him, Floyd already preparing Bind the Heart as the others readied offensive spells. As soon as he did notice, though, and finished yelling at Kalim, he waved his hand, and the whole horde of Scarabia students pulled their own wands out and began bombarding them.
Lights and colors sparked against Floyd’s signature spell as it redirected wave after wave of magic into the surrounding courtyard. None of it stood any chance of getting through, but everyone within the shield was having trouble returning fire with all the smoke and dust blocking their vision. He could see Shrimpie out the corner of his eye, pacing within the confines of his spell, trying to see through the mess from different angles, and Croc tailing them, pulling them back whenever they got too close to the edge.
“Hey, Shrimpie, can you hurry up whatever it is you’re doing? I’m gonna get bored of just standing here eventually, ya know?”
“Uh-huh…” they hummed thoughtfully, and then looked back toward him. “Hey, can you choose what direction to redirect spells?”
“Ehh, kinda, but I gotta focus real hard, and you probably don’t want me to stop concentrating on blocking the rest of this.”
“Yeah, no.”
Jade nodded, “It’s as we said before, during that regrettable incident concerning the finals. He can redirect any and all magic, but only as long as he can keep his focus.”
Shrimpie nodded absentmindedly. Their eyes were locked onto something in the crowd. Floyd tried to follow their gaze, but all he saw was some smallfry picking up a piece of floor tile that must have been broken up by one of the attacks. Whatever it was that Shrimpie saw must have spooked them though, as they immediately turned around to shout, “Floyd! Duck!”
“Jeez Shrimpie, relax. Whatever magic you saw can’t get through here, we just explained how that work–”
And then Azul was shoving him out of the way, as a completely unmagical chunk of stone sailed over the crowd, straight through Bind the Heart, and into Azul’s head.