of the sea

quinn van der zee. thirty-five and counting. drugs, alcohol, and ego--all right, fine. just alcohol and ego.

[milocoleman-deactivated20191214]

Many Hands || Milo + Quinn

[quinnofthesea-blog]

milocoleman‌:

Milo let out a nervous laugh at the suggestion that his work could be considered art. “I guess it’s all in the audience, isn’t it? I’ve done some stuff that’s got nice carving, but I’ve never done anything that could be called art and art alone. I’ll have to consider trying some.”

When she asked about a knife, Milo readily reached into the bottom pocket on his cargo shorts to pull one out. When Queer Eye had started on TV, his kids had pointed to it and tried to use it to explain why he should never wear cargo shorts again. He’d compensated by agreeing to only wear them on work days. 

He reached for a couple of the untied beams and started moving them into place while Quinn cut things apart. 

Quinn nodded. Almost anything could be considered art these days, and she had a feeling that Milo put a lot of heart  and thought into his work - he just seemed like that kind of guy. “Let me know when you do.”

She paused when he handed her the exacto knife without a second thought, but didn’t comment on it, instead getting to work cutting through the ties while Milo started to move them. When she was done, she helped with the last few beams, moving them into place.

“So, what’s your favorite thing to do around Soapberry?” she asked as they continued to work. She didn’t mind silence - preferred it, in fact. But she didn’t see the harm in trying to get to know the townsfolk a little better, either.

[quinnofthesea-blog]

menace managed || River&Quinn

[quinnofthesea-blog]

river-phillips‌:

River knew their plan was convoluted and fucked, but she couldn’t really think of an alternative either. She helped Quinn get the crates ready, lining them up right outside the office door with the cage doors open. She nodded to confirm that she’d grab the weights, deciding to grab two of the iron 5lb dumbbells, figuring they’d be easier to swing than the big barbell weight plates. Too bad they didn’t have any sports equipment here, because it would have been nice to have some armor. 

Once she was ready, she held her weights up in a fighting stance and nodded to Quinn, who nodded back before opening the door. River snaked her way in first, followed close by Quinn and a slam of the door behind them. Instantly, all the attention of the little flying pixie things were on the two of them, and before they could even react, they were being divebombed by the lot of them, swirling around their heads, grabbing at their hair, clawing at their arms and faces. Yeah, this had been a bad idea.

River swung her weights around wildly, feeling the iron connect with a few of the grubby little fucks. One she’d definitely hit hard enough to knock out, hearing the unmistakable thud of it hitting the ground. She was able to dispatch two more, finally able to get her bearings and glance over to see how Quinn was doing with the net.

Quinn took a deep breath, steeled herself (and god, how she wished that could be a literal statement), and faced the flying assholes. The solid metal tail end of her net - though probably not iron - was proving oddly effective in knocking them out, and she managed to immobilize a couple of them. Behind her, she could hear the thuds as River’s dumbbells made contact - and the following thud that signaled the little beast had hit the ground.

When she finally looked up around them, she realized that they had done it, and she grinned at River. There were a couple of noticeable scratches on her own face and arms - a small price to pay for knocking them out. “Nice work,” she said with a grin, toeing two of the creatures into the net and making her way back over to the crates, depositing them there before going back for more.

As she plopped the last two creatures into the crates and slammed the door, she looked back at the other woman. “Thanks for your help. I definitely couldn’t have this without you. I can cart these brutes off to the sheriff’s office, then come back and help you try and get this place in order.” She mainly didn’t want to transport them when they regained consciousness. “That okay?”

[river-phillips]

“Be like the ocean. Mysterious, wild, and free.”

@quinnofthesea

[asilkyselkie-blog]

A (not so) Grand Opening

[quinnofthesea-blog]

asilkyselkie:

Lea was pleased to see a stranger come into her restaurant, and she immediately bustled over to meet her. “Hello, hello, welcome! I can seat a table for one, unless you’d rather do takeout. Let me get you a menu…”

She pulled out one of the new, glossy menus and started towards one of the smaller tables near a window. It had two place settings, but she picked one up as she set the menu down on the table. “Can I get you started with something to drink? Or would you like a chance to look things over?”

There was a sort of…familiar feeling about this person. Lea didn’t know her, but she felt like she wanted to be friends. Well, Lea wanted to be friendly with most people, but it wasn’t that often that she really just wanted to hang out and talk instead of…well, focusing on her job. Running a restaurant meant doing more than just talking to customers, but Lea hoped that she’d have enough time to do so.

Owning a restaurant may have fallen into the category of being in the hospitality industry, but the warm welcome still came as a bit of a surprise to someone like Quinn, who was by and large unused to warm anythings. Even in this town. Still, she allowed herself to be ushered to a table, taking in her surroundings as she took a seat. At the question of what she wanted, Quinn didn’t hesitate before responding, “A beer, please.”

And then she was left to her own devices - for the moment, at least, and she used the time to pick up the crisp, glossy menu and peruse it. None of the names were familiar to her, and she was glad for the description right under the names. “I don’t think I’ve ever had food like this before,” she admitted with a wry grin - even though she hadn’t ordered yet - as soon as the woman returned with her beer in tow. “But everything sounds good. Did you just open today, or…?”

[river-phillips]

9: Underwater Kiss

“It’s right down there,” River said, pointing to the small alcove that was barely visible under the waves, but the crystal clear water still let the shadow be known through it, even if it refracted on the water and was obscured by the foam of the crashing water.

“And you’re sure about that?” Quinn asked, quirking an eyebrow. River didn’t blame her, this definitely sounded fake as fuck.

“Yup, a bona fide treasure chest down there. Like, skull and crossbones lock, the whole thing. Either it’s real or somebody lovingly made a fake and you could probably still sell that shit on Etsy.” She shifted uncomfortably in her wet clothes, seeing as they’d already had to do some spelunking to get here in the first place.

“Alright, let’s do it,” Quinn relented, diving into the water without another word. River followed quickly after. 

The chest was a little smaller than she remembered, but it still required two people to haul it out from underneath the rocks that had tumbled onto it, only leaving a corner exposed. With some bracing and heaving, they’d managed to free the little wooden and iron chest from its rocky tomb, and Quinn wasted no time picking at the lock right there underwater, flicking the lid open moments later.

River thought her eyes had to be playing tricks on her as she saw literal gold pieces piled to bursting in the chest, some even spilling out as the lid opened, Quinn’s face lit up, and she took one of the pieces and bit into it, clearly determining it was real by how her face when from distant star to the motherfucking sun levels of brightness. 

“I’m rich!” Quinn gurgled in mermish, before grabbing River by both sides of her face and giving her a quick celebratory kiss on the lips. 

@quinnofthesea

[quinnofthesea-blog]

what are the things that other players write or other characters said about your character that you've never thought about but agreed to?

Quinn still has plenty of people to meet in town, but there was once that Iann mentioned she was a scoundrel - I had to squee a little bit, because it hadn’t occurred to me until then that yes, she most definitely is one. And then I think in the thread with River, where River was glad someone took charge (and this wasn’t really a Quinn-specific comment). I remember that because I hadn’t thought about it at all, but I guess she really is someone who is used to (whether willingly or not) taking charge of situations. 

[milocoleman-deactivated20191214]

18: Jawline Kiss

Milo let out a small chuckle as Quinn pulled herself onto his lap. “What’s this?” he asked, letting his hands rest on her hips. “I thought you were worried about being late to this thing?”

Quinn smirked, pretending to sooth down the collar on his polo. “Yeah, well, I thought about it, and if I’m going to be late, it might as well be fashionably. Gives me a little time to kill.”

“Time to do what?” Milo asked, although he had a pretty good idea. Without waiting for her to answer, he angled his head up to press soft kisses on her jawline.”

Quinn giggled, a sound Milo didn’t hear from her very often. “You’re going to say later that I started it, but I’m pretty sure what’s what you just did.”

“Me?” Milo pretended to look shocked, even as he moved a hand up to rub his girlfriend’s back. “You’re the one who climbed over here.”

“To have a simple conversation.” Quinn couldn’t even say it with a straight face as she ducked down to kiss his nose. “Maybe I just wanted to be a little closer.”

“Maybe we should take this back inside.”

[quinnofthesea-blog]

menace managed || River&Quinn

[quinnofthesea-blog]

river-phillips:

“Sheriff’s office, good idea. I’m sure they deal with this sorta shit all the time,” she agreed, climbing into Quinn’s van and strapping herself in. She supposed they could have called the sheriff from the start, but who knows how much equipment they would have destroyed by then. They were in it now, so it was time to follow through. Quinn’s driving was a little erratic as she peeled out of the parking lot, but it was surprisingly one of the calmer things that had happened tonight. She couldn’t help stealing glances at Quinn as she drove. But the trip was short, and before they knew it they were in front of the vet clinic, and River looked expectantly to Quinn, an expression that quickly shifted to surprise at Quinn’s suggestion.

“Me? Better at talking? Uh…” But maybe she was right. It seemed Quinn had a tendency to be a bit…abrasive. Sometimes people found River’s nerves endearing. She’d just have to hope that was the case here too. As they entered, she spotted girl at the front desk, clad in scrubs and a short fauxhawk haircut, and swallowed roughly. Here goes nothing.

“Hi, uh, I have an unusual question,” she muttered, trying her best to lean casually against the desk. Quinn hung back a bit. The girl looked up at River expectantly, her eyebrows quirked, eyes searching for whatever animal or creature they were bringing in, but obviously finding nothing. The girl looked tired and just done with everything, especially this selkie with seemingly no business here. 

“Where did you get your gauges? They’re really cool.” It was off topic, sure, but the girl’s face lit up, explaining how she’d made them herself out of acrylic and painted them, River soaking up the conversation and volleying question after question about the girl, introducing herself, the whole thing. After few minutes, River remembered why they were really here. “So uh, Samantha,” she began, “we need to borrow some cages. We have a magical creature problem we need to take care of. We’ll get them back to you ASAP, scouts honor.” She held up three fingers, to which Samantha laughed. After some thought, she agreed and led them back to the storage area, but not before slipping River a piece of paper and a wink.

Once they had the van all loaded up, River felt herself blush at Quinn’s praise. She unfolded the paper she’d been given and found a phone number, quickly folding it back up in her pocket as she climbed into the van. “That’s not my usual approach to shit like that but she seemed like she’d be, uh…respective.” Or she had accidentally flirted and it paid off, but Quinn didn’t need to know that. “Me too. We better hurry,” River said, nodding as Quinn started back toward the gym. She gave the merm a little smirk. “They won’t know what hit ‘em.”

A large, shit-eating grin was forming on Quinn’s face as she hefted one of the last crates into the back of the van. “Yeah,” she started, raising both eyebrows as she slammed the back door shut. “I’d be responsive, too, if someone asked me about my gauges.” Not that she actually had any to speak of.

She drove back in record time - glad that no local law enforcement was around to stop her - and with River’s help, was able to move the crates back into the gym in good time. The manic pixies (or whatever it was that they were) were thankfully still trapped, with the reinforced glass looking no worse for the wear.

“Okay,” she exhaled, steeling herself. “How about we get the crates ready - just make sure the doors are open so we can put them inside quickly - and then we grab the net? One of us can use it to trap at least a couple of them, then the other can knock them out using the weights.” A pause. “Then we toss them in there.” She gestured to the crates.

The downside was that the remainder they weren’t able to trap with the net would probably be trying to claw and bite them, but Quinn didn’t have a better plan.

She worked quickly, reaching down to help River with the crate doors before retrieving the net. “You good to get the weights?” She had a hand on the door handle, fingers tightening in anticipation. When River was ready, Quinn nodded in acknowledgment, and opened the door - letting the selkie in before stepping in right after her, and shutting the door behind them.

[quinnofthesea-blog]

How was your first kiss?

“It was... fine, I guess. More awkward than anything else. I was really nervous.”

[quinnofthesea-blog]

What did you get your last bruise from?

“From helping out at the farmers’ market. Milo and I were building up one of the stalls and I must’ve smacked into a beam or something without realizing it.”

@milocoleman

[quinnofthesea-blog]

How's your head?

“Never gotten any complaints so far.”

[milocoleman-deactivated20191214]

Many Hands || Milo + Quinn

[quinnofthesea-blog]

milocoleman:

Milo nodded, a soft small on his face as she answered his question. It was s short answer, but he wasn’t bothered by that fact. Based on what he knew of her so far, Quinn seemed to be a women of few words. That was fine with him.

“Here and there,” he said in answer to her question as they moved the load. “I do some stuff for the city. Most of my stuff I actually do based on word of mouth for people who need things fixed up or want to commission special pieces. I get a lot of work around Father’s Day actually.”

Looking around, Milo was pretty sure they were in the right spot. “End of the third row? Yup, we’re here. It makes the most sense to me to set it up at location for less moving later, but if you’d prefer, we can move it over to that green space for more work room.”

“Special pieces?” Her brow quirked upwards, her curiosity piqued. “Like, art pieces?” A grin crossed her face at the mention of Father’s Day. “Yeah, that’s because Father’s Day is when all the dads get to take a break. Someone’s gotta pick up the slack.” And it looked like that someone was Milo - but at least he did it willingly.

Milo said something about the third row, and Quinn glanced over at the markers on the ground, counting back and nodding in agreement - it definitely seemed like they were in the right place. “No, setting it up here is good,” she answered. “You got an Exacto knife?” She didn’t need to pat herself down to know she didn’t have one - she didn’t exactly carry those around, and she figured they’d have the tools they need on-site. “We can separate the beams—” that had been tied together “—and then get to work.”

[quinnofthesea-blog]

in the jungle || Ciara&Quinn

[quinnofthesea-blog]

thatwhichbindsus:

“No, not by any stretch of the imagination. I’ve been here three, four months,” Ciara explained with a wry chuckle. Perpetually in a state of leaving.

“That’s alright,” Ciara replied with a knowing smile. She was used to this, the general hesitance around magic, the certain avoidance of her own. It wasn’t for everyone, and she didn’t hold it against Quinn in the slightest. No point in taking offense, especially when they were such strangers to one another. 

The manager was a little unbelievable, but Ciara was just relieved they weren’t being charged. That would be the sourest end to this absurd evening. All she’d wanted was a quick grocery run.It shouldn’t have been so complicated, but here they were. She did, however, smirk at Quinn’s announcement, and when there was no protest from the staff, resigned to the massive clear up they would have to do, she followed Quinn back to the beer section.

“I’ll drink to that,” Ciara said, popping one of her bottles open off the shelving as she’d done earlier, and handed the bottle to Quinn. “Figure I owe you one.”

Three, four months sounded like a long time - but she was quickly nearing her second month here with no definite date of leaving. “Kind of scary how time flies,” she mused aloud, more about her own life than Ciara’s, shaking her head. “You think you’re gonna stay?”

Taking the bottle from Ciara as it was offered, she held it up to her in a cheers, popping the lid off on the edge of a metal shelf. “Thanks,” she said, sighing at the malty taste of beer on her tongue. “I actually have to run—” It turned out that saving a grocery store from being overrun by gummy bears took some time. “—but I’ll see you around. Hopefully when the entire food aisle isn’t attacking us.” She grinned at that, and then raised a hand in farewell, exiting the store.

[asilkyselkie-blog]

A (not so) Grand Opening

[quinnofthesea-blog]

asilkyselkie:

The tables were organized so that larger and smaller ones were arranged around the space. The walls were freshly painted in pale contrasting colors, oranges and greens with a few accent flourishes that Lea had done herself. There was some wall art, and, most importantly, she’d put the hours up on the front door, right beneath the sign that she flipped to ‘open’ for the first time. She took a deep breath and stepped back. Everything was ready. She had menus, glasses and dishes, a few employees waiting for their first customers, and a colorful sign placed above the door - the Sweet Papaya was ready for business.

Lea only wished that she’d done more advertising. The only thing worse than people suddenly walking through the door would be….nobody walking through the door. Well, event planning had never really been her forte. She could cater, of course, but throwing a party…that was a different beast entirely. As it was, Lea would hope that the few people she had invited would be able to help her spread the word. So she poured herself a glass of water and waited.

It wasn’t often that new restaurants opened in small towns, and when they did, word spread fast - even to someone like Quinn, who by and large cared very little (or tried to care very little) about the regular goings-on in and around town. She had just spent the afternoon helping out at the farmer’s market, and the thought of heading back to her cove, while normally inviting, was dampened by the possibility of finding a certain starfish stuck on one of her beer bottles, refusing to let her enjoy her beer.

And so she decided to check out the Sweet Papaya. Best case, she’d find somewhere she’d regularly get take-out; worst case, she just wouldn’t come back again. Stepping inside, she was immediately greeted with warm hues of green and orange: a combination that she was surprised to find worked. Then again, she supposed a papaya was green and orange…

“Hi,” she greeted the woman at the front - a selkie, she realized after a few moments - shoving her hands into her pockets. “Do you have a table for one? Or, uh. I can do take out, if you’re busy.”

[quinnofthesea-blog]

finder’s keepers || Iann&Quinn

[quinnofthesea-blog]

ianncardero:

When Quinn confirmed the starfish’s legacy in the cove, Iann knew where it was headed, but he was surprised that Quinn’s idea of bargaining wasn’t just to displace that poor dumb starfish from its heritage home, but then to blackmail it with the threat of urchins.  He stared at her incredulously, but also some admiration.  She was a right scoundrel, that was certain.

And Iann didn’t feel particular remorse for this ‘Rubio’, mostly because it was a starfish.  That it could speak reasonable English and seemed sentient though, did kind of bug Iann.  But such was life. 

But the way it kept plaintively reaching towards Quinn, aching to be suctioned and safe against her…

Iann shook his head, feeling he was going soft in the brain these days.  Damn. 

Regardless, Rubio agreed to help and Iann nodded about the flippers, using one to bat away another flying urchin.  “Fuck off!”

“You beat it! Get outta here Rubio!  Landfolk-lover!  Ocean-betrayer!” The urchins called as Iann and Quinn (and Rubio in tow) headed to the far side of the cove as quick as they could. Once there, Rubio looked longingly at his side of the cove and began speaking, afraid of Quinn turning him over to the urchins.

“I think what you call treasure is deeper in the cove, closer to shore.  There’s a lagoon with one deep entrance underground.  Swim through there, past the cave coral reef and you’ll find your treasure.”

Iann squinted where Rubio mentioned and said.  “I think I see the lagoon.  Here - Quinn, you go ahead.  Me and Rubio will follow.”

Iann waited as Quinn swam ahead, and then as Rubio sighed against Iann’s shoulder, the human asked,  “Gonna miss your home, huh?”

“Yes,” Rubio meeped.  “Those urchins will think I’m a coward!”

“Well you came begging for a merm’s help so they already do.  Look, you’re a young guy–”

“I’m not a guy.”

“You’re a young…thing, ready to step out into the world and make something for yourself.  Why stick around here?  When you can go adventuring…with her.”  Iann nodded towards Quinn as they swam along behind her.

Rubio was silent, but Iann assumed the starfish was just thinking as they entered the lagoon and hunted for the underground hole.  “It feels like the water’s getting cooler over here,” Iann called to Quinn.  “Can you see anything?”

Grateful that Iann seemed to be on board with the plan, Quinn gave a returning nod of acknowledgment - pausing only as Iann batted an urchin away with a flipper (something that brought a smirk to Quinn’s features) before she slid back into the shallow water with Iann by her side and a starfish suctioned on her shoulder.

Quinn had never seen a sea urchin move as quickly as the one that had hopped threateningly in Iann’s direction; in fact, she didn’t even know they were capable of such things, so she was merely glad they hadn’t decided to give chase, instead content with shouting across the ocean as they swam away.

She was even more glad for the fact that she didn’t have to threaten Rubio again, for as soon as they had swum far enough away and came to a stop, he told them what he knew. She listened quietly, and when Iann suggested she go ahead, she nodded in agreement. “All right,” she said, and then turned to Rubio. “I hope you’re right about this.”

Handing Rubio to Iann (and Rubio looked almost reluctant at this, but then finally suctioned himself to Iann), Quinn swam ahead. She could appreciate just how pretty the cove was, now that they were out of the currents and away from the threat of urchins. It wasn’t long before they came upon the first landmark: a coral reef, teeming with fish and seaweed and yes, even other starfish.

“Maybe you can live here instead, Rubio,” she called back to the starfish, but didn’t stop to enjoy the view. A few minutes more, and they were past the coral reef - the sea was silent again here, a stark contrast to the vibrance they’d only just left behind. She glanced around, and it took her a beat or two before she found it: an entrance, hidden amongst the rocks.

“Over here,” she called back to Iann, waving him forward. “It might be a bit of a squeeze. Keep Rubio close.” She swam through the crack - it was a tight fit, with the rocks scraping at her sides, but she pushed through with the help of her tail, emerging on the other side.

“There’s a ship here,” she told Iann, glancing around. The water above her was eerily still, and the ship was one you would have seen in the storybooks - the sort that Captain Hook might’ve sailed - and it was old and rotting, with barnacles covering every inch of it. It must have crashed into the cove a very long time ago, and lain here forgotten as the cove built itself around the wreckage.

“It’s old, so be careful while swimming around,” she warned Iann. “You don’t want it to come down around you, or get stuck somewhere we can’t get you out of. Just… take anything that looks valuable. I’m looking for some coins, with an ‘x’ imprinted in it. That cut I promised you? You’ll get it if we find this.” Iann would get a percentage of anything she found down here, but those coins - those coins would bring them a good amount of profit, for sure.

[milocoleman-deactivated20191214]

Many Hands || Milo + Quinn

[quinnofthesea-blog]

milocoleman:

“Yeah, that’s right,” he said. “How are you doing after that, by the way? I know things were a little trippy for you, but I hope you were able to hunker down at the cafe until it ended.”

Without hesitating, Milo swung around to open the back of the truck. He began pulling out lumber. “Do you want to get the other end for me? It’s a little long, and I don’t want to swing it around too much.” As he pulled it out to carry his half, Milo shrugged about her other question. “I do a lot here and there. I don’t necessarily do a lot for the farmers market very often, but I try to do what I can for them.”

He looked around, and while there were a couple other people helping, they seemed to have settled into another task. “Looks like it might just be you and me doing this one. Does that work for you? I promise I’m competent help.”

“Uh—” It wasn’t a difficult question, but Quinn wasn’t used to someone asking how she was doing - not in the genuine way that Milo meant it, anyway. “—fine,” she finished, a little belatedly and probably a little awkwardly. She still hadn’t appreciated the way he’d spoken to her like she needed to be handled with kid gloves, but whatever. His heart was in the right place, she supposed. “I’m fine. Thanks.”

She was glad when he asked her to help with the lumber, giving him a quick nod before she moved to shoulder the tail end of the log. “Where else do you like to help out?” she asked, following his lead as they set down the lumber. “I can imagine there’s loads of places that would welcome some extra help.”

An amused look crossed her features at his remark. “Pretty sure you do this more often than me,” she responded, watching as the others paired up. It wasn’t like she really minded working with him; Milo didn’t seem half-bad, now that she wasn’t hallucinating a dragon was ten feet away from them. “Are we setting this stand up here?”

[quinnofthesea-blog]

finder’s keepers || Iann&Quinn

[quinnofthesea-blog]

ianncardero:

Fortunately for Iann the surf was lively and the sand was soft, so he was quickly sloughed up against the shore (at least shallow enough that he could stand) while the starfish made its plea.  being able to stand up helped ease his confusion - and when Quinn plucked the creature off, Iann gasped for air.

“Why you little –”  Iann started - but how exactly was he going to attack a starfish?  Especially one that apparently spoke English?  How the hell…Iann looked around the cove, figuring this must just be some part of the cove’s magic around them that allowed him to understand the starfish. 

Which…for all of Iann’s ability to suspend his disbelief for supernaturals, this was a little stretching.  But oh no, the good times didn’t stop there.  Apparently it got even more ridiculous when the starfish pleaded for help, and Quinn followed and let him wade along too.  

Only to find–

“Sea urchins?!” Iann exclaimed, once one of them made a threat towards him.  A threat.  He was being threatened by a sea urchin.  Iann stood up tall, no longer crouching in the water.  “Okay, this is just getting–”

But he was cut off again, this time by one of the urchins literally flinging itself towards him, a la the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog.  Iann yelped and ducked and then splashed to the side, turning to see the urchin bobbing along in the surf with some sort of ungodly aim towards him.

“What the hell is going on?!” Iann yelled, as the thing made another threatening hop towards him.

The starfish ‘eeped’ and suctioned against Quinn’s shoulder.  “They’re so mean to me!  They say I don’t belong here but I do, I do.  My family has been starfishing here for eons!”

Iann hardly believed that, unless this starfish’s idea of an ‘eon’ was a few years, tops.  The urchin gathering had expanded, a roiling layer of the spikey things drifting in a group along the water’s surface.  Clearly trying to threaten Quinn.

“Hand us the starfish, ocean-shifter!” They chanted.  “He will make a good feast for our children!”

In all her life, Quinn had never been involved in something that was so… anti-climactically dramatic. She and Iann had to be at least ten times the sea urchins’ size, and yet here they were, being threatened. The thing was, she’d had enough experience with sea urchins to know to keep well clear of them - go far out enough where they couldn’t touch her.

“I’d like to know that myself,” she muttered in response to Iann’s rhetorical exclamation, glancing over her shoulder at the strange sensation of the starfish attaching itself to her shoulder in fright. God, to think Iann had this thing on his face - then again, she’d also munched on his hair once, so maybe he was used to it.

“Wait,” she started, plucking the starfish off of her shoulder and staring at him. He seemed to reach out for her again - most likely just for somewhere to attach himself. “Did you just say your family’s been here for a while?”

“Eons,” the starfish reiterated.

“So you know this cove pretty well.”

The starfish stared back at her, and then seemed to nod with its whole body.

“Look, buddy—”

“—my name is Rubio!—”

“…Rubio,” Quinn finished, looking distinctly unimpressed at the interruption. “We can’t get you your home back. I don’t know how to get rid of sea urchins once they’ve claimed a place.” And they certainly seemed to have claimed this shallow shore, with them rolling ominously right on the water’s surface. She took a step back. “But my friend and I can get you out of here if you help us find the treasure we’re looking for. Deal?”

The starfish glanced from Quinn, to Iann, and then back to Quinn again. “But this is my home!”

Quinn sighed, making to put him back down in the water. “We don’t really have time for this. All right, urchins, I was gonna offer you my friend, but you can have the starfish instead—”

“—Wait! Okay! Okay! Get me out of here, and I’ll help you.” A pause. “Ruffians.”

Satisfied, Quinn placed Rubio back on her shoulder, before glancing at Iann. “You still got your flippers?” She lowered her voice so the sea urchins couldn’t hear her. “Let’s try swim really fast over there—” She pointed to the part of the shore that was relatively urchin-free. “Then we can see what Rubio knows.”