The two days after Vaish's last encounter with Arlo seemed to pass agonisingly slow. She could barely think, her thoughts had devolved into a pulsing rhythm moving between "is it Thursday yet??" and "I'M GOING TO SEE HIM!!! I'M SUCH A RIZZLER!!!!", with little space in-between for practical tasks. At last, syrup-slow time came to a rest on Thursday morning. Over text, the pair had agreed to meet one another at the cafe next to the aquarium before proceeding inwards, at 8:30 AM.
So there Vaish was at 8:31 AM, waiting at the cafe for the alleged love of her life to show up.
The cafe held a large terrarium which held some sort of gecko, which was lounging about in the sunlight at the moment. There appeared to be various carnivorous plants carefully cordoned off but on display to the patrons scattered throughout. Vaishnavi found herself absentmindedly staring at a pitcher plant, wondering if she ought to dissolve herself in one if Arlo ended up not showing up.
"You waitin' on someone???"
Vaish was snapped out of her stupor by a very small man appearing before her. He was an odd sight, but not for his height- in one hand, he firmly gripped a fish bowl with a small goldfish in it. Or, rather, a fish sphere- there appeared to be no visible openings in the aquatic habitat.
"...Uh, dude, your fish might die." Vaish said, somewhat dazed.
The very small man began to crack up.
"Oh, don't worry about Ash here- she's very oxygenated. She's been trapped in a sphere as a punishment for various crimes she has committed, but she is perfectly healthy."
The goldfish stared balefully out of the sphere. Vaishnavi could've sworn she heard a faint, very mournful, blub blub.
"So, anyway, as I asked before," the very small man continued cheerfully, "Are you waiting on someone to come here?"
Vaish shook herself out of her dumbfounded confusion- what do you mean the goldfish committed crimes?- and tried to formulate a response that wouldn't cause her to burst into flames at the very mention of her one true love.
"Uh, yeah, I am. He's running late, though." Her voice began to shake ever so slightly at the very thought of him.
The very small man sympathetically nodded.
"Ah, I see how it is... hey, if you want, I'll give you some coffee as you wait?," He volunteered. "On the house! I should've mentioned earlier- I own this place."
Vaish smiled wanly.
"It's a wonderful place. Even if the- person- I'm waiting on doesn't show up, I'm glad I stopped by here. Love your plants, dude."
The owner of the cafe nodded enthusiastically.
"Thank you very much. I'll get your coffee! I'm Duncan, by the way. What's your name?"
Vaish couldn't help but be cheered up by the very small man's enthusiasm.
"I'm Vaishnavi. It's great to meet you, Duncan!"
Any further conversation was unfortunately interrupted by the front door exploding and a figure with a haircut reminiscent of Moses parting the red sea bursting in, followed by Arlo.
"DID SOMEONE SAY COFFEE???" The guy with the parted hair inquired. His tone was nearly as explosive as what he had done to the door prior.
The very small man- Duncan- heaved a great sigh and rolled his eyes.
"Nice to see you too, Warren. It's got milk in it, for the record."
Arlo frantically locked eyes with Vaish and began tapping on the floor rhythmically.
Vaishnavi, still reeling from the door exploding, managed to faintly register the tapping as morse code.
'...- . / -... . . -. / -.- .. -.. -. .- .--. .--. . -..'
"YOU'VE BEEN KIDNAPPED???" She blurted in terror.
Arlo sighed and smacked his face with his palm.
The guy with the parted hair- Warren, Vaishnavi noted mentally- turned to face her and began to maniacally laugh.
"HERGRHEHHHAHAHEHAHAHAHHEHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHEHEHUHUHEUEPWWHHAHAHAUEHEHAHAHAHAHAHEHRHEHHHEEUEUEHEHJAJAJEURHEHWHAHAH-"
"Warren, what the hell are you going on about???"
Duncan interrupted, depressedly. The goldfish in his sphere made a confused glub glub.
Arlo seized the opportunity. Before she could process it, he had grabbed Vaishnavi for the arm and made a run for the aquarium next door.
"AEFHHGH- thanks for the coffee, Duncan!!" Vaish yelled as she was spirited away to the marine safe haven by the love of her life.
She barely had time to register an ominously tall figure holding on to a stuffed shark near the entrance, before the world faded into soft blues and neon violets inside the aquarium.
A/N arlo pls don't kill me for this 😨
duncan, im sorry
vaish im not sorry 😘
p.s. warren i hope u enjoyed ur formal introduction. also wenhaj cameo 😱
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vaishlo: the formening 🤯
Roman d'amourim so so sorry vaish and arlo. but it had to be done. get plarped, idiots. vaishnavi is an emo brocken edgy loner who really likes wandering around hallways. arlo is some guy who talks like an edwardian gentleman for reasons unknown to everyone. any...
