vaishlo: the formening 🤯

Chapter 4: The fishening

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Drifting, floating, in the place where reality and dreams met on a clandestine tryst, creatures of the deep bathed in surreal magenta and cobalt led their simple existence within the oceanarium. Behind the glass and in the water, the world was quiet. Peaceful. In a suspended trance, living a life run by clockwork, nearly nothing could touch them there.

A couple stood by a spherical jellyfish tank, rosy light spilling onto their faces as they faced the noble creature within, hypnotised by its movements. They were at home here, in this quiet, watery wonderland.

Unfortunately, the pair dashing haphazardly into the aquarium at an obscene speed, holding on to each other for dear life, relentlessly pursued by an ominous man with a stuffed animal in his arms, rather terribly spoiled the aura.

The couple by the jellyfish tank stared for a moment in abject horror before returning to their romantic pursuits.

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"Who is this guy with a shark plush, and why the HELL is he chasing us?" Vaish demanded.

Arlo gave her no response, only a sharp look.

"Look, dude, if you're not going to answe-"

"I'll answer everything to your heart's content later, Miss Vaish," He abruptly cut her off. "For now, can we perhaps focus on EVADING the man with the shark plush?"

"Alright, alright! Can we run any faster?"

"I could certainly run much faster than this, Miss, but I doubt you would be able to keep up."

Vaish made an offended noise in the back of her throat. Arlo winced.

"My most profound apologies, Miss."

"No time to apologise, Arlo. Just RUN."

And so they ran as fast as their tired legs would let them. As Arlo had stated prior, he far outpaced Vaishnavi, so with an exasperated look of I told you so he picked her up and carried her like a newlywed bride as they dashed through aquarium exhibit after aquarium exhibit.

Vaish was too dazed to process that the love of her life was carrying her bridal-style. Her mind kept returning to the man with the stuffed shark: ominously tall and terrifyingly fast. She had caught a glimpse of slender, long fingers that wrapped around the poor shark's throat- whether he suffered some case of arachnodactyly or was simply Sergei Rachmaninoff was anyone's guess. She wouldn't want to die at his hands. They were far too abnormally long, for one.

She was snapped out of her concerns about the shark-man's hands quite quickly by an unexpected exclamation from her companion.

"Miss Vaish, please do pardon my French, but 完蛋了."

"...That's Korean."

The two had come to a sudden halt in front of a tunnel-like exhibit over which sharks swam, going about their lives.

"Well, actually, it's German." Interjected a third, unknown voice.

Out of seemingly nowhere, the menacingly looming figure with the stuffed shark had appeared in front of them, in the middle of the shark tunnel.