[PRP] Ankle bitters [Fisheye/Brother Shark]

[Beejoux]

They were multiplying, changing, and one of the new weird looking ones seemed to have taken a liking to him. Or Bait. Brother Shark wasn't entirely sure, and it really didn't matter. The result was the same, he seemed to have another shuppy to worry about.

The buck was making his way across the beach towards Fisheye's den, a pair of unruly shups on his tail. Yapping and snapping, pouncing on each other before going after his ankles, until he'd shake them off again, starting the whole vicious cycle all over again.

"Fisheye?" He could see a few of their kids rolling around in the sand near her den, roughhousing together, and he chuckled lightly before a sharp bight on his ankle redirected his focus. "Ah! Fish? I need you."

[Appeal]

Fisheye looked up from her work when she heard Brother Shark's call. In the dim light of the cave, Fisheye stood out prominently as the halo of light around her head illuminated the area around her. After mysterious darkness, Fisheye never had to stumble around in the dark again. Aside from that, it made keeping and orderly cave and completing work much simpler.



Fisheye looked up to greet Brother Shark but from either side of the cave entrance came barreling her own two shuppies. They were off duty in the cave, and Brother Shark was familiar, so the two shuppies ran up to greet him... eagerly. Their tails thwacking around on the wall of the cave as they both fought for his attention.

"Brother Shark," she said in a pleased, soothing tone as she stood up from her work. "How can I help you?"

[Beejoux]

The sudden emergence of Fisheye's two shuppies made the buck hesitate, ears folding back as they charged him. These two were better trained, usually kept their teeth to themselves, but they were still wildly energetic and unpredictable. He froze at the entrance to the cave, feet shifting in the shade cooled sand to avoid stepping, or being struck by, a wildly wagging tail. "Well, I--"

The newer of the two shups that'd been following him turned their attention suddenly to the two new shuppies that were bounding around Brother Shark, and they let out an odd, gnashing bark, butting it's odd shaped head into the side of the Fisheye's brown shuppie. "...er, yes. With that."

With the attention off himself and onto the other shups instead, Brother Shark could side step, moving carefully past the rambunctious creatures and deeper into the cave where Fisheye was standing. "I don't know where it came from, but it won't leave me alone."

[Appeal]

The two shuppies were obviously offended that Brother Shark left them with this weird looking shuppy, whining as he sidestepped over to Fisheye. Surge, the brown spotted shuppy, flopped over dramatically when the hammerhead shuppy rammed into them. They whined, and cried, as though they were gravely injured in battle and would soon perish. Swell, the grey shuppy companion, headbutted the hammerehad shuppy in defense of their fallen companion. It was all incredibly dramatic.

Fisheye looked at Surge and Swell, and then then new shuppy. Well then. That's... new. She stood up from her position and met Brother Shark halfway.

"It has eyes on the side of its head, that's fascinating," she observed. "You say that it just started following you? How delightful to think that there are different types. Do you think there are more? Should I look? I should certainly look."

She was definitely excited about the prospect of more shuppies.

[Beejoux]

Glowing eyes lingered on the small horde as the new one gave a pleased yip at Surge flopped over and cried. Dramatic things, the lot of them. Bait had hung back, briefly, but as Swell moved to headbutt their new friend the paler shup jumped on them, nipping at their dorsal fin.

Brother Shark's ears lay back as he watched them, a look of deep weariness on dark features before Fisheye's observations had his attention snapping back to her instead. "Fascinating, right." That wasn't the word he'd have used for it, but Fish always did have a bizarre affection for the little beasts.

"Yes, I was fishing, and when I returned to the beach he was going after my tail." Delightful was also not how he would have put it. "And Motherfather help us, I hope there's not more of them." But of course, she was going to look. He knew she was, and he also knew he was going to help her look.

[Appeal]

Fisheye seemed unfazed by the shuppies. Of course, as she decided to look for the hammerhead shuppies, she gave a whistling sound. Immediately, Swell immediately gave up their quest to jump on Bait... almost mid action. It was as though some force had pulled them back. Surge sat up off the ground, ending the theatrics. A second sound, more like a clicking, called the two shuppies to her side where they sat at command.

"Fishing, you say? So, we should start at the beach. Was it a new beach? Perhaps they just came out of the water? So many questions..."

She was looking at the hammerhead one with an intent gaze. Was their vision impaired like that? She had so many questions.
 

[Beejoux]

Brother Shark let out a soft sigh as Fisheye headed for the mouth of the den, head shaking lightly in warm exasperation. He'd come to her for help in taming the new little beast that had taken a shining to him, but he knew her well enough to know she'd be excited about the new variant. This impromptu search had been a predictable outcome, if ill-timed.

And it never ceased to amaze him how incredibly obedient Surge and Swell really were. He forgot, often, when they were tearing about as all shuppies did, but with that singular whistle, both were abandoning their current escapades and hurrying to catch up with Fisheye. Brother Shark followed as well, and where he went Bait and the new shuppy followed, yapping and scrapping at each other and him as he trotted across the sand to fall in at her side.

Yes fishing. Not a new beach, but not one we use as often. Around the bend up ahead." He nodded up the way he'd come, then winced as the hammerhead turned it's attention from Bait back to his ankles. "Agh~!"

[Appeal]

Fisheye knew which beach Brother Shark referred to and so she headed there promptly. She paused when she heard Brother Shark wince, slowing her pacing down. She looked at him, assessing the situation.

"This one, too, huh? We'll have to work on that. I'm curious why so many shuppies, despite their variances, seem to find your ankles irresistible."

Had his ankles lured this one out of the depths of the beach? Could they use his ankles to find more shuppy variants? It was a curious question, although highly impractical.

[Beejoux]

"It would seem so," he answered with a sigh, moving quickly to catch up to her. Despite the pair of rowdy little monsters trailing after him and getting caught up. In his tail.

Then grinned widely back at Fisheye, scaled brows arching. "You don't find my ankles irresistible?" Well, hopefully more than his ankles.

Had he been Ware of where he mind was wandering he'd have put a prompt stop to that train of thought. None of his body parts were available as shuppy bait.