Love & Fear (What not to do at the Beach)

Never in Mochi’s life had he ever wanted to see something so badly and not known just how much he wanted it until he laid eyes on it.

Seeing the city was a shock the first time he went outside after spending so long staring at blank, grey walls. Being suddenly exposed to the good and the bad of society all at once was overwhelming, to say the least.

But this? The boy had never been awestruck before.

Sure, the now-defunct bunkers that lined the beach were cool and all, and the cadavers of war machines that littered the sands, now deteriorated to time, were a spectacle, but in comparison to the great blue before him? It was no contest.

Light twinkled atop the shimmering waves, moving in patterns he’d never seen before. The biggest body of water he had seen up until this point was the one in God’s Wound’s chamber, and it slowly began to dawn on the squid just how big the world really is.

There was an odd sense of belonging churning somewhere inside of him. An unknown part of him that told him to just keep walking forward. Something was telling him this was where he belonged, but it wasn’t a call he could answer alone, not just yet.

The loose parts of his t-shirt he hadn’t fully tucked into his shorts flapped in the wind as he felt the waves lap up to his knees for the first time. It was colder than he expected, but he didn’t mind all that much.

Something about the wet sand sink between his toes, and the sea spray slowly caressing his skin felt right. In moments like this, he could do nothing but appreciate it.

That said, the boy was taken aback ever so slightly; no one ever told him that the ocean was salty. The need to complain about it was the first thought to come to fruition as the squid looked about for his handler, only finding him as far away from the waters as possible upon a stone walkway.

“Come on! It’s really nice actually!” the squid cried, garnering the attention of a passing dogwalker.

“I’m good!” Raian quickly snapped back, “This is close enough!”

Mochi always found it odd how someone who claimed they were scared of the ocean was so willing to spend so much time around people that often embodied the very fear itself. The boy knew this full well. He heard Raian hype himself up in the mirror once or twice.

Mochi never figured out what was so scary about it, or why the man was spooked by the likes of God’s Wound or Agoni*, but not him.

He didn’t have lots of teeth or big muscles for that matter, or an exoskeletal plating that can withstand cannon fire, nor was he able to throw a strike that could punch holes through several inches of steel. In fact, he couldn’t throw a punch to begin with. He tried once, and only once, and he just hurt his wrist.

The squid was very much conscious of how different he was in comparison to his brothers and sisters. He knew at the very least what all these whitecoats were looking for and actively praised, and it’s that exact reason why he garnered very little attention to begin with.

Being acutely aware of his differences often weighed on his mind, but if those differences are what made Raian like him, then maybe they’re not so bad after all.

Mochi emerged from the waters, giving his sandals the cold shoulder and breaking into a sprint that would put some lesser athletes to shame with a singular goal in mind: Wrapping himself about Raian’s arm and pulling with his entire body.

Damage was expected in such a move, such as a pulled muscle for example, but the only damage was to Mochi’s ego when Raian didn’t even budge an inch. At least, that was the case until Mochi put his feet against the railing and began to strain himself.

Raian was mildly surprised about having to use something a bit more than his own body weight to resist the squid, but the more he pulled, the more Raian began to lean over the edge of the railing.

“Stop that! You’re going to hurt yourself!”

Raian may as well consider himself a prophet at this point, as mere moments after, Mochi’s grip broke. A quick snag of his shirt did the trick to stop his fall, but not without the sound of a few threads tearing.

The squid reaffirmed his grip, wrapping his fingers about his handler’s arm once more to pull himself toward the railing. A twinge of bullheadedness came to mind, and Mochi tilted his head.

“Are you scared of water?” he asked, wanting to hear Raian admit it.

The squid adjusted himself, letting go of Raian for a moment to step upon the crossbar of the rail guard, and for once, matching his handler’s height. It was odd, for both of them in fact, and the fact that Raian continued to let the cry of seagulls talk over him was evident enough that he hit the nail on the head.

Hell, he wouldn’t even dignify him a look; seagulls were a bit more interesting to Raian at this moment in time. It was clear he was biting his tongue, just how hard was up for debate.

Finally, Raian gave a hefty sigh and crossed his arms.

“Maybe… just a little bit.” The man’s voice was low, and hard to hear.

“What about swimming pools?” Mochi leaned closer.

“As long as I can clearly see the bottom, I’m fine.”

“Baths?”

“Somehow, more than pools, but only because Unali kept on falling asleep while taking a bath.” Raian rubbed his eyes, remembering all the times he had to drag Unali by the horns.

“Showers?”

“Definitely not.”

“What about, like, a glass of water?” Mochi inquired genuinely.

“Look,” Raian began, a bit more sternly, “it’s mostly just the ocean. It’s just… so much. It’s so dangerous.” He looked past Mochi and shuddered at the sight of the great blue.

The squid hummed, and the rattle of his brain gave him an idea so bright he saw fit to click his fingers. He now only needed to exclaim ‘By golly!’ to complete the circle.

“I got it!”, he said, close enough, “As long as we don’t go too far out, and stay in the shallows, we’ll be fine, right?”

Raian slumped and hit his head on the railing beside Mochi, knowing it was damn near impossible to talk the squid out of something after he had gotten it in his head.

“You can close your eyes too if you want.” The squid continued, shuffling along the railing, and almost falling again once or twice, “I’ll guide you, too.”

Before a logical thought could come to the scientist’s mind, he already found himself on the edge of the very thing he had grown up to dread. Socks and shoes fell to the wayside to mingle with the sand, as those were the things he couldn’t stand getting wet the most.

Deep breath after deep breath didn’t seem to help the idea of a deep death. Closing his eyes, though, that seemed to help quite a bit. What he can’t see cannot hurt him, it’s the rule.

Mochi’s gentle, leading pull helped more than he’d like to admit, although the fact that he knew where he was going still ate at him. Eventually, the cold embrace of the ocean greeted his feet, and Raian inhaled sharply.

It was a slow, painful process, but eventually the ocean crept far past his knees, stopping just far enough so Unali’s wallet doesn’t take too much water damage.

The only solace Raian found in this moment was knowing that what was before him wasn’t a fathomless, dark expanse that went on for miles and miles. It was Mochi. Mochi stood as the barrier between Raian, and that fear. It wasn’t a very tall barrier, mind you, but a barrier nonetheless.

For a moment, he didn’t quite care that his clothes were getting wet. If his eyes were closed, he couldn’t see the murky waters doing their best to drag him under. At least, that’s what he always accused the ocean of.

If his eyes were closed, he couldn’t see the bottom. As long as he could still touch the bottom, and as long as he was still breathing, maybe things weren’t so terrible after all.

Eventually, Raian lost the warmth of Mochi’s hands.

“Mochi?” he called once, with no response, “Mochi!”

The handler reached forward, only to grasp at salty air, and only then, he dared to open his eyes.

Nothing, not a squid boy in sight. He wasn’t too far from the shore, but even as he spun around, his responsibility was nowhere to be seen. At least, until he looked down. A pair of beady, golden eyes, a little nose just high enough to take in air, and a mischievous smile rest on the precipice of the murky waves.

Raian screamed loud enough to make the gulls feel insecure, tearing the squid from his crouched position with an impressive splash.

“Don’t do that!” he howled in a mix of rage and relief.

He couldn’t quite decide whether to hug him or throw him. The latter was tempting if it weren’t for more than a few onlookers. Raian instead settled for somewhat of a middle-ground, choosing to simply squeeze the boy’s head between his hands like a very yappy watermelon.

Raian made sure to give the squid a good shake or two, not unlike one would do to a Magic 8 Ball, although those won’t be invented for another 98 years.

“I’m shorry! I’m shorry!” Mochi managed to get a few words between the shaking and his own giggling.

*Agoni is another fellow Aberrant of the Orca variant. While among the strongest, he's the least agreeable of the lot. Best to avoid eye contact.