Tales Around Blue Blossom

The Belentine Open Aquarium was not what Henry Patton expected. Back home on Pax Aeterna, the only aquarium he had ever seen was on a school trip and that was a squat gray building full of glass tanks and dim hallways where the kids pressed their noses against the walls. This place didn’t have walls. It sprawled along the harbor in terraces of pale stone, each level stepping down towards the water, and the exhibits were pools and channels open to the sky. The wind carried the smell of brine and warm rock. It was as if the Xalteans had figured out how to weave the entire building into the rock itself. If he didn't know better, Henry would have thought they were on the coast.

“The aquarium is run by the city but funded by House Avernell,” Nish Kevet said on his left. Henry still hadn’t gotten used to how quietly that woman talked. “, and it was made open to the public and also acts as a research center for many types of scientists.”

“So anyone could be here.”

“Anyone,” Her sky blue eyes drifted over the crowd without seeming to move, still looking for any threat. “The High Baron wanted to make sure all were welcome no matter where they were or affiliation. Not all scientists are from our own House, so cooperation in that area is a must.”

Henry kept a pleasant smile on his face. He was wearing the same plain tunic and slacks from the market and the only things marking him as anything other than a tourist were the beacon in his pocket and the fact a very pretty Arch Maid was walking beside him. Nish was in her usual attire: a black choker, a sheer top that hung open in the front and left her chest bare, and a short pleated skirt that swayed with every step. The thin gauntlet with the built-in communicator circled her left forearm and her blond bob stirred in the wind. Like most Xaltean maids, she saw no reason to be self-conscious about it in public and nobody gave her a second look. Henry had mostly stopped giving second looks himself. Mostly.

“You’re worried about the other houses?” he said.

“I am always wary of rival houses, my master. The mistress has entrusted your safety to me today.” She nodded towards the stairs. “So I have made arrangements.”

Curious, Henry followed her as she found a craved path in the rock the was subtle. It seemed to be set aside for staff that worked the aquarium without breaking the natural aesthetic around them. That arrangement turned out to be the wading lagoon.

It sat on the lowest terrace, a broad, shallow pool with water so clear that the sand beneath it looked lit from below. Soft light pulsed in the depths in slow waves of blue and violet. A line of visitors waited at the edge while a young keeper in a salt-stained apron went over the rules with the cheerful cadence of someone who had said them four hundred times already.

“The most important thing is to always remain calm. They will not harm you. No sudden movements, no grabbing, no flash devices. Again, the bluedrifts are completely harmless to people. Their stinging cells only fire for the shuddermites they eat, so if you feel a tickle, that’s just them saying hello.”

Henry couldn’t stop staring. The bluedrifts moved through the pulsing light, translucent bells about the size of dinner plates with ruffled edges of violet and gold and long filaments that shimmered like spun glass. They appeared to have an eye on top in their center mass. They moved slowly like they had nowhere to be.

“Would you like to go in?” Nish asked.

“I'm sorry?”

“The wading pool is set up for people to enter. This area has been secured so you can safely enter.”

Henry looked at the water more excited than he thought he would be.

“You're sure?”

The blond maid gave him a nod and a smile.

Henry grinned at her and rolled his slacks to the knees and wading into water as warm as a bath. Nish followed behind stepping into the water. The only thing she had removed was her gauntlet and left it with the keeper. Her skirt floating up around her hips as the water climbed to her waist, and didn’t seem bothered in the slightest.

For a few minutes, it was perfect. When the young Terran lord held out his hand, a bluedrift hovered a few inches away, its filaments waving like grass in a breeze. It tilted its bell, the violet light inside brightening, and then it drifted off. The “eye” that he thought he saw had turned out to be camouflage, probably to scare predators away. A little girl nearby squealed when one wrapped a filament around her finger.

“Have you been here before?” Henry asked as Nish gently pushed her hands through the water giving a few bluedrifts a current they seemed to enjoy.

“No. I do not get a lot of opportunities to leave the estate and when I do, I prefer to stay.”

“You're a home body.”

The woman looked at him confused for a second. “A what?”

“Someone who is happy to be at home so finds comfort in staying there.”

Nish thought about it for a second and then nodded. “Yes, I am a homebody. Abiva is the adventurer.”

That made sense. The amount of energy the red head Arch Maid of the Estate legion had were enough to power a small city.

Henry saw it first. Two of the creatures appeared to be making their way to the maid, and she hadn't noticed.

“Nish,” Henry said carefully. “Don’t panic, but there’s...”

A filament touched her hip and her eyes went wide. She tried to turn to look, but the creature just floated with her.

“You okay?”

She shook her head slowly as the creature poked around with the other filaments. “I am not very comfortable with animals.”

The bluedrifts slid closer and began to climb rather rapidly up her legs and her hip. Nish gave a squeak as its bell settled against her chest with a happy think, waving it's tendrils around as if smelling. Two of them had decided to take residence on the poor maid's twin peaks.

They sat there and wiggled which was both amusing and horrifying at the same time. Nish looked like she was trying not to hyperventilate and Henry was both trying not to stare where they had rested but also not leave the poor woman to her fate.

“Uh...slenashovi,” the young man said waving to the keeper who came wading over.

“My friend here is having a bit of a problem with some of your bluedrifts.”

The young man saw the escaped jellyfish and swiftly came over gently tugging them off.

“They do get curious and love to perch on high things sometimes,” He said with a laugh. “Sorry for the surprise.”

Nish was already wading out as she tried to brush slime off of her breasts. They got back on dry land and took the nearest offered towel.

Soon, Nish's visage was back behind her sheer top, and she looked a bit more grounded.

“You good?”

“I will live, Master,” Nish said motioning for them to move further away from the tank”, but it has reminded me I am the homebody you have referred to.”

“How about we go take a look at a few things and call it a day?”

Nish did not argue but quickly moved towards the steps and away from her new nemesis.