Chapter 50: Lobster


    I''d seen Snips excited before, especially when waking me up, but the fervor with which she woke me this morning was at a previously unseen level.


    She and ws both led me toward the saltwater pond, running ahead of me on the sand and urging me on with varied noises, gestures, and bubbles.


    The sun had not yet risen above the eastern horizon.


    Thendscape slowly lightened, the growing brightness a promise of the day toe. A cool breeze tickled my body as I jogged to catch my two over-enthusiastic friends. As they both once more turned and sprinted, flicking up sand in their wake, a smile came to my face and gratitude swelled up, suffusing my entire being.


    We arrived at the pond, and I looked down in confusion.


    It appeared the same as the previous day, if a little dimmer because of theck of sunlight hitting the pearlescent stones.


    I wondered about our purpose here.


    <em>Do they want to watch the first rays of daylight hit the stones together when the sun rises?</em>


    "What has you two so excited?" I asked.Corporal ws ran in circles, only pausing intermittently to stare at me in anticipation.


    Sergeant Snips'' entire body shook, her excitement unable to be held within.


    She scuttled to the far wall, the one closest to the ocean, and picked something up.


    She held it high above as she ran back to me, and I looked down at it, my brow furrowing.


    It was a dead fish with a vicious line in its head telling me that Snips had ended its life in an instant.


    "Er—is that breakfast? You want to cook and have brekkie here?"


    She shook her whole body in the negative, a slew of bubbles streaming.


    With her eye locked on me, she threw her w up,unching the dead fish high into the air. It arced backward, plummeted toward the pond, and hit the water with arge ssh.


    I blinked.


    <em>What...</em>


    Corporal ws sprinted to the side of the pond, her head darting between me and where the fish hadnded.


    Sergeant Snips hissed bubbles of joy and scuttled beside her, urging me on with one cker.


    "Uhh, you guys know that fish is dead… right?"


    They stared at me in confusion, so I continued.


    "That fish can''t live in there—it''s already dead..."


    ws chirped, Snips hissed, and each of them pointed at the water where the fish hadnded.


    Curious, I stepped up, squinting to make out the fish. It had sunk to the bottom of the pond—it sat there before the cave entrance, unmoving and most-definitely dead.


    <em>What do they expect me to—</em>


    Movement from the cave''s mouth cut off my thoughts, and what looked like a stick poked out. It waved up and down in the water, searching for something.


    <em>Is that...</em>


    The creature emerged further from the cave, and my suspicions were confirmed.


    It was a lobster—a <em>giant </em>lobster. The thing''s body was enormous, as round and long as arge dog. It had pincers like Jaws of Life; the ws had grown humongous in what had to have been a long life.


    The lobster slowly left its den, making its way toward the dead fish. One of its pincers reached out, grabbed it in its vice-like grip, and ponderously made its way back to the cave.


    Just as the lobster disappeared from sight, the sun rose high enough to crest the walls of the pond. A trickle of refracted light spread from the pearlescent boulder, but the sun continued climbing, and in a matter of seconds the entire pond was bathed in a colorful, swirling rainbow.


    I sat down atop the wall, my feet dangling down toward the water.


    "W-where the hell did you find it...?"


    Corporal ws pointed out at the bay, and Sergeant Snips nodded.


    The first thing I thought of was Sebastian and the Cult of the Leviathan.


    <em>They would lose their minds over such an old lobster, and it isn''t like the lobster has ascended or evolved or whatever...</em>


    I shook my head.


    <em>No. Sebastian is too unstable, and I can''t trust him to not harm such a magnificent creature.</em>


    I nodded to myself, and a broad grin spread across my face as I imagined the giant lobster joining us by the fire.


    <em>It will stay here with me—with us.</em>


    I bent down to pet both ws and Snips.


    "You two are amazing, you know that? Is this why you built the cave in the first ce, Snips?"


    She nodded, happily bubbling as she leaned into my touch.


    Turning, she stared up at me, blowing questioning bubbles and tilting her carapace to the side.


    "Yes, Snips, I was pleasantly surprised—thank you."


    She shimmied as I scratched her head again, my joy resonating with hers.


    I turned to look back at the pond and its radiant color.


    "Man, I could just look at this all day..."


    Both animals nodded beneath my touch, agreeing with the statement.


    I let out a content sigh as I stood.


    "Alright. I have some more farming to do today unfortunately, so I''ll have to get a move on. Should we have some brekkie first, though?"


    Snips hissed her assent; ws chirped hers.


    ***


    I ruffled my shirt, and struck by inspiration, made my straw hat sit askew atop my head.


    Nodding to myself, I crossed my arms and joined the line.


    It moved quickly, small as the line was, and I met the owner''s re with a proud smile.


    "What it do, Lena? How''s ya week been?"


    Her re deepened into a scowl at my gibberish, and she pointed at the counter.


    I ced the mug there, my grin not disappearing for even a moment.


    "This is thest one," she said, turning her back to me.


    "Oh, I''m well aware! I''m going to miss your bubbly personality, but it''ll be nice having coffee even closer to home."


    Her body went rigid, and she looked at me over her shoulder.


    "Coffee closer to home…?"


    "Oh, George didn''t tell you? I organized a coffee machine for Sue, so this is thest one I''ll be buying from you—your business is well established, after all, and I''d feel morally better about supporting a smaller business."


    I had all of Lena''s attention now, and her nostrils red as she stared down at me.


    "There''s another cafe opening in Tropica?"


    "Kind of?" I shrugged. "It''s a bakery, but they''ll be adding coffee to the menu with the machine''s delivery tomorrow."


    Lena snorted, then unleashed an uglyugh.


    "A <em>bakery? </em>Good luck making a profit with coffee on the peasant side of town."


    She shook her head and turned back to her machine.


    My grin broadened.


    "Oh, I''m sure it''ll be easy for Sue to make a profit—she received the machine for free."


    I''m not sure a bolt of lightning could have had more of an effect on Sue than my words did.


    She visibly jolted, her body shooting upright. Her arm shot forward, and the milk intended for my coffee spilled all over the machine.


    Her body spun at a speed I didn''t know she possessed, her eyes going wide as she looked at me.


    "What do you mean, <em>''she received the machine for free''?</em>"


    "Yeah, I thought the productivity of the workers would go through the roof if they had caffeine, so I organized it for her. She should be able to offer it at prices even the ''peasants'' can afford. Exciting, right?"


    "<em>C-caffeine?</em>" she asked, her face going white.


    "Yeah, you don''t know what caffeine is? Not gonna lie, Lena, that''s a little embarrassing."


    I raised an eyebrow, unable to stop myself from taking the little dig at her.


    "It''s the molecule in coffee that gives it the stimting effect."


    "R-right..."


    "Yeah, anyway, I really have to get back and help some of those peasant farmers out today—would you mind getting my coffee ready...? The day is wasting, and all that."


    She nodded, her eyes far off as she turned and started mechanically making my beverage.


    ***


    <em>Did I go too far...?</em>


    I shook my head, taking a sip of my coffee and delighting in the energy even its vor seemed to grant me.


    <em>Nah. That felt like just the right amount of sass.</em>


    I took a bite of the croissant I''d collected from Sue; it was buttery and ky, cooked to perfection.


    I demolished the croissant, and just after taking myst sip of coffee, walked from between two of Barry''s fields.


    "Good morning, guys!" I called to Barry and Maria, who were both unloading a cart.


    "Morning, Fischer!" they both replied, smiling at me.


    "So, this is the mulch we''re using?"


    "Aye." Barry pulled a bale down from the cart. "Sugarcane mulch. It''s good for most soils, but especially handy for the sandy soil in these crops."


    I nodded.


    "What day is it today, by the way?"


    "Trueday," Maria said, beaming. "Only one more sleep until Fielday."


    I added the information to my mental calendar.


    "I am <em>so</em> excited about Fielday tomorrow. I won''t need to head to the north-side of Tropica or deal with that toad Lena anymore."


    Maria raised both eyebrows at me, and I cocked my head in question.


    "You know, Fischer," Maria said, "I think that''s the first negative thing I''ve heard to say about anything or anyone since arriving here."


    I grimaced.


    "Yeah, that was decidedly unwholesome—my bad. I''ve been responding to her personality with unerring positivity, but I think it took its toll on me over time..."


    "Well, one thing is for sure," Barry said. "If Fischer says she''s a toad, I believe him."


    Maria snorted augh; the harsh sounding from her small frame brought me immeasurable joy.


    "What about you guys?" I asked. "Aren''t you excited about having coffee?"


    Maria''s jubtion turned somber in an instant, and Barry nced at her, his mood simrly shifting.


    I looked back and forth between them.


    "Er—what am I missing here?"


    Barry gave me a half-hearted smile.


    "The day when the merchantes is the day we sell our goods."


    "So… you get money? I''m not seeing the issue, mate."


    "It''s also the day we have to pay our taxes to the vige—they''ve been increasing every other month, and an increase tomorrow could be disastrous for some."


    <em>The medicine...</em> I realized.


    <em>Roger and Maria are still struggling, and if their ie is brought any lower...</em>


    "Well, you never know, guys." I tried to give a reassuring smile. "Maybe the taxes will go down—regardless, I''ve already offered to help with the medicine should you be unable to afford it, Maria."


    "It''s not that," she said. "It''s just that market day is a painful reminder of the rising cost of living and doing business."


    She shook her head, forcing a grin onto her face as her hair slipped from behind an ear.


    "I''m hopeful that Barry''s medicine will have more of an effect than the expensive elixirs, anyway."


    "Wait, Barry''s medicine?" I asked, raising a brow. "You made medicine?"


    He shrugged.


    "Helen''s father was a member of the Cult of Growth, and he passed down a great amount of knowledge of herbs, roots, and their natural uses."


    "The Cult of Growth…? They’re not trying to raise a sentient tree, are they?"


    Barry shook his head with a smile.


    "No, Fischer—though I think they’d be beyond pleased if a tree somehow ascended. They believe that with the cultivation and study of nts, they can use that information to create medicine to help humans ascend."


    "Huh," I said. "That might be the most sane sounding cult yet."


    "They mostly focus on using their knowledge for good—they provide remedies tomon ailments at a fraction of the cost that the Cult of the Alchemist does."


    I turned to Maria.


    "Do you think the medicine helped at all?"


    "I think so! She managed to drink most of it. Oh! I forgot to tell you, Barry—mom did something amazing after you left."


    "She did?" Barry asked, his eyes gaining an intense gleam. "What happened? Tell me everything."