They was a-splishing and a-splashing

[schoolingfish]

WHO: One open thread, one thread closed to Luca and Alberto
WHERE: The Library of Alexandria and the cove with the mermaid girls
WHEN: Sometime in September
WHAT: Luca reading and Luca and Alberto babysitting badly
WARNINGS: Little girls attempting to bully their babysitters and saying they have fish breath


Great Library of Alexandria - OTA
Some people in the library were searching for more information on people they knew who had died. Others were riding a surge of creativity. Luca, on the other hand, had gone through the library, piling up books on various subjects like the stars and ancient machines before holing up in the corner of the library, reading. If he sees a particularly entertaining performance or anything else of interest, though, his attention might be drawn away from the books for a bit.

Babysitting mermaids! - Closed to Alberto
Luca is excited about this. They made sure to grab everything they might need like snacks, regular beach supplies, even grabbing a comb that had just appeared a while back, and then rushed off to go babysit. They were finally meeting sea folk who didn't eat people, and it's nice to know they're not the only people like them in this world. Sure, the sea folk here are definitely very different than them, but they'd already figured that would be the case. After all, this is a whole different universe

So as Luca and Alberto walk up to the cove to meet the girls, Luca's feeling optimistic about all of it, completely oblivious to how horrible it will all go.

Comments

babysitting!

[prontissimo]

[ Alberto's feeling just as optimistic as Luca. Alberto fancies himself pretty good with younger kids. He was fond of all the children in Portorosso, and in the brief week-plus that he got to work as a lifeguard, shortly after Massimo hired him, he felt he'd made a good rapport with human children back home. He's got a five-year-old friend here whom he clicked well with (though, there's much to be said for his own immaturity there, too) and that little girl was technically the first person to learn his secret in Kaisou. So far she's not broken his trust as far as he knows, so it just betters his opinion of human kids even more. Sea monster kids? Probably even better then, right? Right. Of course right.

He's got a canvas tote bag crammed full of all kinds of crap — random color pencils and crayons and markers, fistfuls of paper, a few forks for hairstyling in case something happens to this new mystery comb they'd found... Forks work just as well for them, so they'd not even gotten around to trying it out til now. And forks they have in abundance. He also fancies himself a good hairstylist — I mean, just look at his hair — so he's certain this is gonna go swimmingly. He gives Luca a conspiratorial little nudge and a wink and a smirk just as they walk up... ]

Hehe, hey— we've got this~ Who knew saving up for our new Vespa would be this fun, eh?

[ ...Joke's on you, Alberto. Joke's on you. There's a chorus of shrill, gleeful, girlish laughter trilling through the air just around the bend before they round it. The birthday vibes are already buzzing... ]

[schoolingfish]

Yeah! I never knew making money could be so easy!

[Luca walks up to where the girls are, waving at them.]

Hi! I'm Luca, this is Alberto. We're going to be your babysitters today!

[And the girls pause in what they're doing, just giving them a look that screams 'yeah, and...?' Well.]

We brought a lot of stuff for drawing and hairstyling and stuff!

Let me see. [One of the little girls says, her tone more demanding than curious.]

Um...okay. Alberto? Did you want to show them?

[prontissimo]

[ Alberto's caught off-guard by the lackluster welcome, having expected more fanfare than this, but— y'know what, whatever, rolling with the punches...! He brightens his smile determinedly, and once he's close enough to them for all the girls to see what they've brought, but still ashore so that all the items stay dry and within his grasp, he kneels down and unceremoniously dumps his whole bag out on the sand, grinning ear-to-ear as if showing off his many treasures.

This first moment of peace will also be the last, which is unfortunate, given how short-lived it was...

All of a sudden, there are four or five pairs of little hands grabbing at whatever they can reach, and Alberto scrambles backwards a bit, startled by the speed the girls descended upon the pile of "toys." ]

H-Hey, how'd you guys move so fa—...!

[ But anything Alberto might have to add is drowned out by peals of chittering and bickering, as the girls crowd around him, some clambering onto the nearby rocks to perch above, some sliding up in the sand beside him, before they all scatter back into the tides to examine all their new goodies. One girl is double-fisting forks right away, and goes in to try and comb her friend's long green hair with both at once, definitely causing more knots than not, which draws protest from her client very quickly. ]

Heyyy— those aren't for hair! Those are weapons! Gimme!

Nuh-uh, they're human combs, and I found them first, they're mine!

You have two, so you need to share, Pearl! Or else I'll— hah! [ Snatched. ...And stabbed. ]

OWWW! Nooo, Marina, give it back! You crabby jerk! Ouch!

[ As the other girls watch the two escalate their disagreement over the forks, more eyes fall on the pile of stuff — needless to say, searching for more forks of their own. Alberto casts a panicked glance Luca's way, then throws himself on top of the whole pile of stuff to prevent anyone else from getting at it. This just creates more protest, irritated echoes of "Hey!" and "Not fair!" and "Get off!" and the like, and leaves Alberto defenseless with his own hair being gently tugged by another girl, while being jabbed in the butt with a fork by Marina — living up to her claims that forks are weapons, and to her friend's claims that she's a jerk, evidently... ]

Ehiii, basta, basta, dai! They're for hair, they're for hair...! Oof! Why would we bring weapons...?! Jeez, girls...

[ Seeing Alberto's helplessly flamboyant reaction draws a laugh through the group, at least? And the chaos starts to subside as quickly as it started. But Marina gives his butt one more deliberate poke with the fork for good measure, smirking at her friends — and then knowingly at Luca... ]

Oh. ...Well. Works as a weapon, too~ Hehe!

[ Per mille sardine... Alberto just— stays still... lying flat in the sand, guarding all their other supplies under his belly, managing to stay dry so far, but turns to shoot Luca the most incredulous, bewildered, outraged expression he's shot him all week — and Luca gets those looks pretty often, for all their own various misadventures. But "inadvertently inciting a fork fight in less than five minutes" takes the cake... ]

[schoolingfish]

[The way the girls descended on the forks like a pack of hungry sharks startled Luca. Oh, carp, these little girls are all spoiled brats. This is going to be a lot harder than he was expecting. Luckily, unlike Alberto, Luca is at least aware of bratty children being a thing. And so he summons up memories of angry adults lecturing bratty children for inspiration.]

Well...maybe it does, but...um...if you use the fork as a weapon, then we'll have to take them away. But there's enough forks for everyone, so you don't have to fight over them anyway.

[Maybe he should have said this with more confidence. Maybe it wouldn't have mattered. All that he knows is it very soon becomes clear that his attempt was completely ineffective.]

Oh, yeah? [Mariana stabs Alberto again to prove a point.] What are you going to do about it?

[And to challenge him further, Mariana then decides to dive into the cove and quickly swim away, clearly thinking she can't be followed. Luca decides to jump in after her, quickly transforming into his natural form, before racing after her to take the fork. After all, he's pretty sure he'll have to be firm on this whole fork thing if he wants her to stop stabbing people.]

[prontissimo]

[ There's a collective gasp through the group as Luca transforms, watching his tail disappearing into the water to chase after Marina. And after a silent beat and a wave of "did you see that?!"-type glances at one another, all the girls disappear into the water to chase after Luca. Alberto takes this moment to scramble and collect all the stuff he'd dumped on the shore, shoving it back in his bag hastily, which he hides behind a rock a little ways' off, where he thinks the girls won't go so far up to find it. They'll deal with that stuff later. He also takes this moment to inspect his butt for fork-shaped puncture wounds, excuse him...

Meantime, Marina was completely shocked, herself, to see Luca take after her and transform. It doesn't stop her from swimming away, though, until all her friends show up in a giggling gaggle to go inspect this weird boy. When the group approaches, Marina zips around to the back of the gang, trying to stay out of Luca's reach. If they end up swimming literal circles around the rest of the girls, like a cartoon... so be it, she figures. She's not giving up this fork so easily. But for the moment, she merely hides with it behind her friends and sisters, as the other girls all crowd around Luca, several of them firing off questions for him, talking over each other energetically, before it descends into bickering again. ]

Woah, what are you?!

He's not human! Haha, look, he's not human!

Whaaaat, haha! Are you a frog-boy?!

He's not a frog-boy, Mayim! He's a fish-boy! Right?!

Nooo, he's a weird mermaid!

Nuh-uh, Coraline, he's too ugly to be a mermaid!

You're too ugly to be a mermaid, Shelly!

Nooo, you're too ugly to be—

Shut up, Shelly. He's a weird fish-boy.

To~ooold you~

[ As the girls start squabbling, Mayim and Pearl begin examining Luca closer up, grinning at each other as they absolutely invade his personal bubble, peeking at his tail and his head of frills and his feet, sometimes touching the tips gingerly between their fingertips, as if he were some gross delicate thing. The other girls keep distracting each other with their off-and-on needling without even listening to Luca answer; primarily because Narissa keeps trying to ask Luca more questions, but Shelly keeps interrupting her to ask a similar question worded differently, so neither girl is heard well. This is much to the annoyance of Coraline, who clearly has issues with Shelly — especially considering it's not even her birthday, it's theirs, which she reiterates to Shelly twice...! And Oceania has just been over it from the start, holding out for presents above all — forget about being the birthday princess, she's acting like the birthday empress... She has had the least impressed reaction of the bunch over Luca's transformation, but reserves her comments about his appearance, since she doesn't really have anything nice to say — because after all, if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything until everyone can hear you. Or else what'd be the point? She can wait. Shady little girl...

Meantime Sandy swims off to the back of the group and starts whispering to Marina... The two of them make eye contact with Luca over the others, and start giggling and whispering again. Which is... maybe mildly foreboding? Especially when Sandy pulls out a fork she'd hidden in her mess of braided hair. She pretends to start brushing Marina's hair with it, both of them making direct eye contact at Luca and grinning way too deliberately, as the other girls start ambushing him again with indiscernible comments and questions on full volume. This is going... not as swimmingly as they'd imagined. Oh, boy... ]

[schoolingfish]

[Wow. Ouch. Too ugly to be a mermaid? Really? He's quickly overwhelmed by all of this, though, and decides that maybe he can deal with this by answering some of their questions.]

Well...we're sea folk, so that's kind of like a weird mermaid?

[This was the wrong thing to say, as they're all instantly shocked and offended by this statement. Except Coraline, who crosses her arms and pouts, muttering about how she was right.]

You're kind of like us?! We're mermaids! Beautiful ocean princesses! Not...not...weird gross boy fishes with fish breath!

[Narissa giggles at that.]

Fish breath, fish breath, you've got fish breath!

Well, I did say a weird mermaid. Like a weird, deformed, merboy thing. It wasn't that stupid when I said it. It's dumber when he said it, though.

Shut up Coraline! It was a stupid idea! You're just making yourself sound dumber!

[It's then that Luca finally notices Sandy and Marina are making eye contact with him and grinning suspiciously.]

Wait, what are you two up to?

[And then, suddenly, they got from their mischievous grins to a wide eyed faux look of innocence.]

What do you meeeeean?

We're just using the hair stuff to style our hair.

Like you told us to.

[They're lying. Luca knows they're lying. He also knows that they haven't done what they're planning yet and that they'll act like he's picking on them if he puts his foot down now. And so he shifts his attention to the other girls, but staying on high alert for the inevitable fork jabbing that he knows will come. And it does. Not even a minutes passes between him looking away and Marina jabbing him in the arm.]

Ow!

[Luca turns, pulling the fork out of Marina's hand.]

That's it! No more fork privileges for you!

But it's not faaaair! That wasn't me! Mayim did it!

I did not!

[prontissimo]

[ As Marina and Mayim begin to bicker, following Marina loosing fork privileges, Sandy knows she's next, and uses their squabbling as a chance to go hide her fork above the surface. Since she's pretty certain everyone's about to lose fork privileges, at this rate... She wants to be the one to win out, of course. So she dashes off, looking over her shoulder as half the other girls continue to badger Luca and the other half badger each other. What she didn't expect, though, was to literally run into Alberto, colliding into him as soon as she hits the shallows. He'd just dove in to come see what was going on, and his sudden appearance startles Sandy, who brandishes the fork at him. She's less brazen than Marina, though, so that's about her best move right now — and in an instant, Alberto grabs her wrist and the fork's snatched out of her hands, no hesitation or questions asked. He's not about to get a fork in his butt again, no way. They're still near enough to the surface that he swims forth a little, enough to stick his arm back out of the water and just huck the fork into the air... No apologies, either. This harsh solution draws loud protest now as they descend back toward the group, Sandy's wrist still in Alberto's grasp. ]

H-Hey! Let me go! That's not fair! That was mine!

Uh, no, that was mine, kid... What is going on down here?! Luca?

[ Alberto's stunned to see Luca clearly in the midst of his own fork removal drama, Marina now having taken attempts to stealing the fork back from Luca so she can poke Mayim. It's not going well... Clearly. But Alberto's entrance pauses all that chaos, the girls turning their eyes on him now. Oh, no. He gets an immediate bad gut feeling, especially since Sandy starts wriggling to get her hand free again — but Alberto just tightens his grasp a bit and tugs her closer. Like hell he's letting one of them go when he's about to get ambushed in, one, two, thr...— ]

Oh my gosh, look, it's the other kid, hahah!

"Whaaat theeeee~...—?!" He's a weird fish boy, too! Oh my gosh! Hehehe!

[ Aaand they all start swarming him... ]

Why do you guys look like that? Pfft!

Haha, you look even weirder than him!

Yeah, really, though. What's wrong with your fins...?

[ Alberto is obviously taken aback by all this, shooting a look at Luca from where he floats like "what the shell is happening." Sandy, too, shoots a look to Marina beside him, pouting about her fork being thrown away still. And while Alberto is momentarily disarmed, she snatches her wrist out of his hand, turning to stick her tongue out at him as she swims off toward the back of the group to join Marina and Luca. But not without a clapback, of course: ]

Meanie...! Bet you have fish breath, too!

[ Alberto looks so affronted, his face turning to each girl as they all kind of, um, insult him in rapid succession...? The bit about his fins kind of stings, damn??? That girl's ruthless. But the fish breath accusation just baffles him? Even if it's true probably most days, today they didn't even eat fish?! Alberto's flummoxed from the start, man. ]

Wha—? I— N-No?! What!?

[schoolingfish]

[Fortunately for Luca, while he's not exactly tall, he's still bigger than an eight year old and is able to hold the fork up high enough to keep Marina from snatching it back, moving it around as she tries to make more grabs for it.]

No! You can't have the fork back until you learn how to behave!

But it's not fair! It's my birthday!

[Hearing Alberto, Luca turns to him and mouths 'I don't know', because really...well, he supposes he does know. What's going on is that they have a swarm of spoiled brats on their hands, but he knows it'll only get worse if he calls them that.]

Nothing's wrong with our fins. We look like this because we're sea folk from another world. All sea folk look like this where we come from.

[prontissimo]

[ Alberto shakes his head incredulously at Luca, then starts shooing away all the girls, waving his hands at them as he swims forward and breaks up the crowd. Anyone who starts messing with his tail gets swatted by it, as he joins Luca's side. He grabs Marina by both shoulders, holding her down in place; she violently tries to shake him off, but he holds her back against himself — noticeably immediately forceful with these kids, even if he's resorted to physical restraint right off the bat... None of them like this impression one bit, as the group reconvenes surrounding them again, pestering all at once still. Alberto just raises his voice over them. ]

Okay, first of all? No more forks. For anyone. Gone. Finiti.

[ And that gets instant protest from everyone, and for once they actually all band together in conversation to heckle him. ]

Hey, you can't do that...!

That's not fair! Let go!

We're basically princesses, you know that?!

Yeah! They're basically princesses, mmhmm!

And it's our birthday!

Uh-huh, and that means we get to do whatever we want! Daddy said so!

And we can't get in trouble...!

Us neither! Cuz we're their best friends, and we're like princesses, too!

It's a birthday party... It's supposed to be fun. Meanie.

[ Marina tries to wriggle away again, writhing in Alberto's arms, but he just hugs her close to his chest with both arms now. ]

Oookaaay, so let's have fun without stabbing people, maybe? We brought lots of other, non-stabby, fun stuff — right, Luca?

[ Alberto's at least trying to keep his tone congenial, but Luca knows him well enough to see that he's already growing annoyed... He's never seen any kids behave like this. It contradicts everything he knows about his own childhood — and he's still deep-down convinced that he was a bad kid, so that's really saying something in his book. ]

[schoolingfish]

[Luca forces a smile onto his face in an effort to be encouraging.]

Yeah! we have lots of stuff for drawing. And a comb! If you want to try a different human hairstyling thing!

[He's hoping the comb will be harder to stab people with. He watches and waits, tentatively hoping they'll be on board with these suggestions. That's when he notices Oceania moving her hand behind her back. Suspecting he knows what she's up to, Luca swims around and...yep, she's hiding a fork. He snatches it away from her faster than she can react.]

Hey!

Sorry, no more fork privileges.

[prontissimo]

[ Oceania just glares daggers at him, pursing her lips in silent fury; she doesn't do any more than cross her arms petulantly over her chest, but as her gaze follows Luca resentfully, you can almost feel her thinking, "My father shall hear about this..."

The others all seem incredibly unimpressed, silently exchanging looks and mumbled comments amongst themselves. Forks for drawing and one comb doesn't seem like an enticing trade-off... The thrill of the forks being banned now holds its own appeal, too, which most of them obviously don't want to let go. Coraline, Mayim and Narissa all look from Marina to Oceania without a word, then roll their eyes and shake their heads together, communicating just with looks as only quintuplets can. Mayim swims over to rub Oceania's back soothingly, while Narissa is the first to ascend, waving the other girls along toward the surface. ]

C'mon... Let's go draw stuff, I guess.

[ Pearl, Sandy, Shelly follow Narissa's lead, but Coraline trails behind them to stay closer to the boys and Marina as they all swim up together. The group's vibes are more defused now, which is good, but it's because they're pouting, so this moment of peacefulness surely won't last... At least Coraline speaks to them a little more— normally? "Friendly" would be stretching it. ]

So you have another human hair thing? Is it cool or is it just— a comb...?

[ That Coraline's being a little nicer just seems to irritate Marina further, who's still trapped in Alberto's custody now, being held close with his hand around her upper arm. She's been the most stab-happy — so now she's gonna be Alberto's special buddy. Much to her chagrin. ]

Pssh, what's it matter, Cori? He said they only have one comb... Why don't you listen.

I dunno, maybe it's special, Rina, you don't know! I'm just asking!

[ Marina scoffs and rolls her eyes again, halfheartedly jerking away her shoulder in Alberto's grasp — but not to escape, just to make her annoyance known. Alberto shoots Luca a silent, haggard look of his own as the four swim up together behind the rest of the party. This is not going as expected at all. Luca can guess how much of a wild child Alberto must've been at their age — still is at almost twice their age! — so for Alberto to be making this exasperated face already? It really says a lot... ]

[schoolingfish]

[The fact that Caroline is being nicer makes Luca want to just give her exclusive comb rights, but he knows that would be a terrible idea. With his experience with brats, the second one person is treated better, no matter how much worse everyone else's behavior was, they'll all pitch a fit and turn on that person.]

It's just a normal comb. But you guys can take turns with it. Maybe we could braid your hair and use the comb to comb out your hair before we braid it.

[He had enough experience with weaving and braiding seaweed that he figures he can manage that.]

[prontissimo]

[ Coraline nods along at that, considering. She does like having her hair braided, that is true... Marina's still not impressed. ]

We do each other's hair all the time. It's our birthday, we wanna do something special.

Okay, Rina, then you can do your own hair. That'd be "special."

Pffft...!

[ Shit, mermaid shots fired. Y'know, though, good for you, Coraline. Alberto can't hide a small smile at that sass, though to be fair he doesn't try all that hard to hide it. It made him laugh — if it's funny when she misbehaves, does it still count as misbehaving? Marina notices Alberto's little snort of a laugh and takes personal offense to it, wriggling again; and Coraline notices Marina doing that, so shoots Alberto a wicked grin yet still feigning innocence, like they've just formed some pact cuz he took her side or something... The girls stick their tongues out at one another emphatically, and Alberto can't hide his amusement at how ridiculous this exchange is, flashing Luca a wry grin so as to say "what the shell is happening...?" While it might be funny in a certain sense, now that they're just dealing with two bickering calmly, it's not at all useful that Alberto's laughing at it. And in a moment, once they're back on the surface with the rest of the party, that little slip-up might have just cost them some peace. Him showing any sign of entertainment in these antics will almost definitely encourage them — that's how brats are. They can sense weakness... He can't come in here playing the tough guy and then stoop to their level a moment later, man — if there are gonna be rules, they have to stay consistent...! ]

[schoolingfish]

[Even if showing his amusement was probably the wrong choice there, Luca honestly can't blame Alberto for his response. Sure, they might all be brats, but Coraline's sassiness was amusing, and it's nice to see one of them standing up to the nightmare that was Marina. He's wary, worried what might happen next, but for now...for now things are calm. Nervously, Luca goes on shore, shaking off the water to revert to human form before starting to walk over to the bag. Unfortunately, he is, apparently, too slow. First, before he realizes what's about to happen, he hears a high pitched voice ring out.]

Come on, let's see what they've got!

[With that, the girls all race towards the bag like sharks smelling blood.]

[prontissimo]

[ Oh, no. Alberto hears Shelly say that right as they come to shore. They found the bag already. Damnit... Alberto finally lets Marina go, who can't get away from him quick enough. Before she follows after the rest of the girls, Coraline turns around and shoots the two boys a smirk. Alberto does not like this accidental alliance, as of that moment. He's regretting laughing at her clapback. He's also regretting bringing so many forks... He chases after the girls, reverting into his own human form as well, raising his voice with false authority. ]

Hey, remember, no forks! Forktime's over! Capite?

[ He's wasting his breath, of course. Oceania slings one toward them over their shoulder as they're digging through the contents of the bag, now spilled all over the ground again. Mayim has even dumped out their bags of markers and colored pencils and such, Pearl by her side, the two of them eagerly sorting through them to pick their favorite colors first. Narissa has already started eating the snacks, passing them to share with Sandy... who is passing out forks. Because of course she is.

Oceania, however, has found something more interesting for now. Some of Alberto's artwork in the sketchpad. She'd meant to start passing out papers, but noticing these random doodles distracts her. Because it's stuff like this — and that's hilarious to her. ]

Wait, wait, wait— Looooook...! Hehe... Why'd you draw yourself with big muscles? You don't have big muscles!

[ Ouch!? Alberto's stopped in his tracks before he can start collecting forks again, reeling back in over-animated offense, speechless for a moment. ]

...Psssh, gimme that. I do, too.

[ He grumbles as he snatches the pad away from her, failing to come up with a clever comeback for once. These girls keep throwing them potshots, he's off his game. He was not expecting it to go like this in the slightest. He glances to Luca with a funny little frown, handing him the sketchpad to start passing out papers. Taking the bullet, Alberto then begins the fork hunt, Oceania smirking as her gaze follows after him. Even if he's having trouble hiding how annoying and confusing their misbehavior is already, he's still hopeful they can get this under control once everyone's settled in. All the excitement of their transformations and the forks are out of the way now, everyone knows what's in the bag, drawing is always fun and absorbing, in his opinion, so they should be good soon... right? Right... ]

[schoolingfish]

I mean, he has the biggest muscles of anyone here, so...

[An attempt to defend Alberto and remind them that they were eight year olds and had no room to be talking about anybody's muscles. They, apparently, disagree.]

Yeah, but we're eight year old girls. We're not supposed to have big muscles, and we aren't drawing big muscles that we obviously don't have!

[And Luca instantly regrets saying anything.]

Whatever. You each get some paper. Blank paper, you can't take the sheets that are already drawn on.

[Oceania reaches for the notebook, but Luca pulls it away.]

I'll hand out the paper.

[Oceania pouts. He's really starting to feel like an adult and it's weird, but Luca starts pulling out blank sheets of paper and passing them out.]

[prontissimo]

[ Alberto's practically patrolling around the rest of the girls, hands folded behind his back as he leans this way and that, trying to peek at everyone to inspect all around them, searching for forks... It's earning him some dirty looks — mostly from the girls who are indeed hiding forks... But they're doing it much better this time because he's being so staunch about it. It's highly suspicious to him that he hasn't found any more forks yet, though, so he's going to continue his lookout low-key, waiting for the next Incident... Once everyone has paper and markers, though, the girls at least really do start to settle down a little. They do seem to like drawing, if only for the moment... Alberto comes and takes a seat beside Luca on the rocks, watching the girls draw, still keeping his hawk-eyes on for any fork activity. But it's nice to see them all sitting still and not saying mean things...? He whispers to Luca, nudging him with an exasperated half-smile. ]

Phew. Finally, calme. Some party, eh? Nooot what I expected. At all, pssh.

[ Oceania keeps looking up at Alberto and Luca as she's drawing, which is making Alberto mildly uneasy once he notices her doing it again, but he ignores it for now... ]

[schoolingfish]

Yeah, [he whispers back.] I expected this to be fun and easy, and it's actually really hard and stressful.

[This wasn't going to be easy money. They were working hard for every cent...which is going to make Luca that much more frustrated when they find out that the dad's going to rip them off later. While he's talking to Alberto and looking away for a moment, out of the corner of his eye he sees a quick movement from Oceania's direction and hears the sound of a rustle of pages. When he looks back, though, she looks like she's back to focusing on her drawing, though.]

Alberto? [Luca asks quietly.] Did Oceania just do something?

[prontissimo]

Yeah. And I thought I was bad when I was their age... I mean. I was, ha. But least I was nice...!

[ He has to wonder what the girls act like when their dad's around. Because he definitely acted differently when his dad was around versus when he was alone... But not nightmarish, holy carp. When Luca notices Oceania too and brings her up, Alberto eyes her suspiciously more deliberately; she quickly averts her gaze, back to her drawing flinching like she's definitely not up to anything... Alberto can't swallow a little grimace, leaning into whisper to Luca again. ]

I dunno what she's doing but she definitely keeps looking at me... Maybe she's, uh— ...drawing us...?

[ She very well might be! Which could be innocent — or not. He wants to give these girls the benefit of a doubt, now that everyone's calming down; maybe they came on too harsh, everyone was just keyed up. But they're kids, he doesn't want to immediately assume the worst... even though they've not given him much to work with to change his opinion otherwise... But he wants to stay optimistic for now. Maaaybe against his better judgment. But he'll drown out that logical pang of worry, like so many other logical pangs of worry he's drowned out before; Silenzio (??? You-Know-Who, TBD)...! ]

[schoolingfish]

Yeah, well, at least she's being quiet?

[At this point, Luca doesn't even care if she's drawing rude pictures of them. As long as she's being quiet. He can imagine what Alberto probably means by him being bad at this age, but what he pictures is nothing like this. He knows how hyper and curious Alberto is, and he imagines he probably was always getting into stuff, breaking stuff, eating weird stuff and generally putting himself into danger. If the girls had been like that, this would all be much easier. Sure, it would have been hard chasing them all down and keeping them in line, but at least it would have been fun. This is just stressful. Quietly, Luca says,]

I'd rather be watching eight yous at this age.

[prontissimo]

[ Alberto turns to Luca with such a stricken smile, not expecting that comment, and not expecting it would hit home like such a deep compliment. It takes him a beat, just smiling, before he turns back to look over all the girls. He can't wipe his smile off, though. ]

Maybe we should teach them some of the stuff I used to do when I was eight, ha. Maybe they're just mean cuz they're bored and grumpy.

[ He could relate to that, if so. Now that they're quiet and occupied and not stabbing him, it's easier for Alberto give them the benefit of a doubt... but whether that trust is misplaced or not is yet to be seen.

Meantime, Oceania has beckoned Marina over to draw beside her, and the two are looking between her page and the boys and sniggering silently, before returning to their drawings. Alberto's just... pretending he didn't see that. ]

[schoolingfish]

Maybe! They're quiet right now so I don't want to do anything to change that, but maybe we could try that if they start acting out again.

[He sees the way Oceania beckoned Marina over, but Luca's also pretending he doesn't see it. Sure, Luca knows perfectly well they're probably drawing something insulting and making fun of them, but as long as they're doing so quietly and not stabbing anyone, Luca is willing to ignore it.]

[prontissimo]

Good plan. ...I know we brought more forks, though, sooo— that could be any minute, ha.

[ He leans back on the rock some, watching the girls with a wry smirk. Marina has now transitioned to be with Sandy again, whispering and sniggering and glances at the boys again just the same. These three seem to be ring leader trio. Narissa and Shelly have paired off, as have Pearl and Mayim, but just as Alberto notices he doesn't see Coraline, sitting up straighter as he realizes, she appears from behind one of the rocks nearby them, grinning. Stealthy kid... but the accidental alliance Alberto made seems to be coming into play. ]

I know who has the forks.

[ She startles Alberto, who just about jumps out of his skin, clutching onto Luca's arm dramatically in fright. ]

Wha—! How did you— Who?

[ He leans in, whispering, narrowing his eyes at her. Oh, no. He took the bait... ]

[schoolingfish]

[A wicked grin spreads across Coraline's features.]

If I tell you, I want something in return.

[It seems that she's fully ready to exploit this apparent alliance for all it's worth. Luca listens intently, wondering what she's going to say.]

[prontissimo]

[ Alberto's face falls. What's with these kids...! Alberto was not this cunning at any point in his life... He was taste-testing random foliage when he was eight — hell, he did that like, five months ago, here in Stardew Valley. He's really starting to wonder if they should just go on a crab hunt, cuz this is... mildly scary...? He looks to Luca concernedly, but still plays into her plot out of curiosity. ]

What do you want? You guys already took everything. Go ask your friends.

[ Coraline shakes her head, still smiling deviously. She disappears behind the rock again, and the boys can see some clumps of wet sand flying up through the air as she digs in the edge of the shore. She pops back up holding their singular comb triumphantly, but then quickly hides it from sight of the other girls. ]

I want my hair done fancy. I want lots of braids and glitter. So take a long time. And I'll tell you who has forks.

[ That is simultaneously the cutest and most innocent bribe, yet at the same time, still somehow bratty... She really just likes having her hair done, but also wants to have the best hair out of anyone, since she knows there's only one comb; she even went to the lengths to bury it and hide it, jeez... Alberto looks to Luca and just shrugs, giving him a long uncertain face. This is his territory. Alberto's dad never taught him how to weave. ]

[schoolingfish]

[When he hears what she wants, Luca smiles, relieved. This is something he can do, and something he can do easily. Back home with his family they used woven seagrass for lots of things, so braiding and weaving wouldn't be an issue at all.]

Yeah, I can do that!

[She seems pleased with her deal working, and she hands Luca the comb before sitting on a rock, her back to him, waiting for her hair to be combed and braided. Luca starts combing her hair out so he can get started with braiding, and as his eyes go wide as running the comb through her hair changes the color to a bright, stop sign red.]

Woah...

[Coraline, instantly concerned that she's missing something cool, immediately asks,]

What? What is it?

So...apparently this comb can change your hair color.

[He pulls a lock of her hair around to show her, and she squeals.]

My hair is going to be so much better than the other girls'!

[prontissimo]

[ Alberto's eyes go wide and he jumps to his feet. ]

Woah!

[ But realizing he might attract attention, he claps his hands over his mouth and side-steps to stand in front of Coraline, blocking her from view of the other girls drawing, glancing over his shoulder to see if any of them noticed. No one seems to have for now, so when he turns his attention back to Luca and Coraline, he's grinning wide and stamping his feet a little in the sand in a little happy dance, whispering excitedly to the two of them. ]

Holy carp, it's a magic comb! That's so coooool!

[ His excitement seems contagious to Coraline, whose face lights up even more, meeting his eye. She sits up straighter for Luca to have even better reach, giving a proud little shake of her shoulders as she does. ]

They're all gonna be so jealous~ I want— um— purple hair! Make it purple~!

[schoolingfish]

Okay!

[Oh, carp. How does he control what color this changes things to? He decides to comb her hair again, attempting to think purple thoughts the entire time as he does it...and it seems to work. Her hair changes to a reddish lilac color.]

Um...how's this?

[He shows her a lock of her hair to judge.]

[prontissimo]

[ Coraline's eyes light up and she squeals quietly to herself, still trying to keep a low profile over here, but wiggles excitedly where she sits. ]

Eee, yes~! Do my whole head!

[ Alberto, however, is having more trouble than Coraline is in keeping his cool, watching the two of them with wide bright eyes and a grin to match. He's stunned. ...And bad at whispering. ]

Luca, I can't believe we own this...! Has it always been magic? I never used it — did you ever use it? Holy sharks, haha...!

[ Coraline glares at Alberto; now that she's the center of attention all alone, she has just as much audacity as her sisters, and shushes him. But what's worse is that it works? Sure shuts him up — smacks that smile off his face, too. She resumes her regal pose, raising her chin for Luca combing her hair. Alberto's so taken aback that he just got shushed by an eight-year-old, but at the same time, he agrees with her... He doesn't want the other girls to notice, because this is so cool, he's certain they'll ruin it... But he doesn't want to be successfully shushed, um?!? He glances over his shoulder to see if he'd accidentally grabbed anyone's attention; but the other girls have now switched up their drawing groups, and are seemingly still unawares of this cool amazing thing they're doing over here. He's satisfied by that quick glance, so turns back and narrows his eyes at Coraline suspiciously instead, feeling very much like he's being blackmailed or something right now. She's completely unfazed. ]

[schoolingfish]

[Luca shakes his head as he continues to comb Coraline's hair, turning all of it purple as he goes.]

No, I've never used it, either.

[After that brief response, he keeps working in silence until all her hair has been combed purple.]

Okay, it's all done.

[prontissimo]

Ohhh, it's amazing~! Wow~! ...All right, now braid it. But braid it special, okay?

[ She stops running her fingers through her hair to sit up straight again, tossing it back over her shoulders. She's nicer than the others, but— jeez, still demanding... Alberto keeps a subtle lookout, but he stands there eagerly watching as Luca finishes up combing Coraline's hair quietly. He's so excited they own this thing...! It occurs to him suddenly it's a bit too quiet behind them, with his next glance over his shoulder. The others are still drawing, but he makes accidental eye contact with Marina and Oceania. He doesn't like that they were already looking at him when he looked at them... So he turns back to Luca and Coraline, whispering. ]

Okay, I'm gonna go check on the other girls and—

No! You're the reason they haven't bothered us, they can't see me. You've gotta keep standing right there.

Wha—?! I-I can't keep standing here! We're supposed to be—

What are you guys doing?

[ Oh, no. They've been discovered. Oceania and Marina both pop up just behind Alberto, peeking over a ridge of rocks. Marina narrows her eyes suspiciously as she notices Coraline's hair, pointing to her in shock (and mounting jealousy). ]

Cori, your hair's purple! What'd you do to her hair?!

[schoolingfish]

Um...

[He looks at the intruding girls as he starts to braid Coraline's hair. He...has no idea what to do. Luca stares at the girls in panic before glancing at Alberto, eyes wide, silently wondering what they got into with agreeing to do this and how much longer until they're freed from this nightmare. He takes a deep breath...and decides to take a chance.]

I'm doing her hair. I can do your hair, too, but only if you sit down and behave.

[Oh, he hopes this will work.]

[prontissimo]

[ The boys are getting good at silently communicating because, holy carp, Alberto is thinking the exact same thing when he catches Luca's eye. He tries to swallow a grimace at Marina's tone of voice, hearing the jealousy building behind it and anticipating a storm. But he also wills himself some maturity and stands straight, chest puffed, trying to evoke more confidence and authority than he actually has... But the boys are doomed no matter how grown-up they act today. These girls are out of their depths. Marina shoots Luca a funny incredulous look, barely biting back a scoff. ]

Okay...? How long will it take? Do mine next.

No, Mari, I'm going next, cuz I'm the one who noticed them over here first...! And I'm the oldest!

Ugh, I literally don't even caaare...! You're older by like ten minutes, so what? Don't listen to her, do mine next!

[ Marina and Oceania bicker, but Marina turns back on Luca with an even more demanding tone now that she's been challenged. The way little girls fight is exhausting... The chaotic energy is building again, and there's something in Alberto's gut that tells him things are about to get a lot worse, but he has no idea how. Alberto locks eyes with Luca exasperatedly, but accidentally catches Coraline's eye, who smirks at Alberto while Luca continues to braid her hair — a pointed smirk, to remind Alberto of their deal, a look that says "remember the forks" without saying a word... She's good at silent communication, too. ]

[schoolingfish]

[As they start arguing again, Luca feels his heart race and starts to panic, fearing that once again things would get out of control. No. He can't let them get the upper hand here. His expression of panic shifts to one of steely determination. He continues to braid Coraline's hair. And then he speaks.]

I won't braid either of your hair if you keep arguing like that. You'll have to be quiet and sit down or you won't get a turn at all.

[prontissimo]

[ Both Marina and Oceania are taken aback by Luca's sudden sternness, glancing to each other with brows raised. And by some miracle... they listen. They nestle into the sand, leaning against the rocks, watching Coraline get her hair done with no small amount of jealousy, despite their resignation to... some amount of patience.

Alberto, for his part, is taken by surprise that that worked. He turns to Luca with an impressed face, brows raised too, but a light smile tracing his lips as he sees the girls behave at last. He stands taller, chin in the air and hands on his hips, and ups his own authoritative act. ]

That's right. You don't want to be in trouble at your own birthday party, do you?

[ All three girls shoot Alberto identical annoyed looks. ]

We already did it. We're sitting and we're quiet.

Luca's the one who said it. Don't pretend like you're scary.

Yeah, you're not scary. You can't put us in trouble anyway...

Yeah, you're just the babysitters.

[ Alberto's not sure why this gets under his scales, but it does...? He sputters, mouth opening but no words coming out, pointing his finger at the two girls angrily, with a darting glance toward Luca and Coraline, before scowling and crossing his arms, giving up on a comeback. Instead, he turns on his heel, throwing a hand up in the air to wave as he walks back toward the shore. ]

...I'm gonna check on the other girls!

[ Smooth exit, Alberto. Marina and Oceania giggle to themselves, Coraline smirking at the two of them but able to hold in her own laughter; she wants to keep getting her hair done, after all. ]

[schoolingfish]

[It worked. He's astonished and oh so very relieved, but it worked. Luca says nothing through the exchange between Alberto and the girls, afraid that anything he says now could potentially shatter the air of authority he's managed to generate. With his experience with weaving sea grass, he's able to braid Coraline's hair in a fairly elaborate pattern.]

All right, do you girls have mirrors? If you have mirrors, I can show you how it looks.

[Coraline quickly gets up, racing over to a table where they had different things they had been messing around with before the boys got there. Retrieving two mirrors, she holds one in front of her face and he holds one behind her.]

Hm...I want one more braid going back this way.

She gestures.

Okay, I can do that.

[Because he's not in any hurry to have this done, anyway. As long as the girls are waiting to have their hair done, they'll cooperate. Once that's done...who knows what will happen. Luca gives Coraline the additional braid she asks for and, once it's done to her satisfaction, he points at Oceania.]

Okay, you're next.

No fair! Why does she get to go before me!

I can't do you both at once. If you don't keep behaving, I won't get to you at all.

[Oceania shoots Marina a smug look before going to have a seat to get her hair done.]

sorry this took forever! kinda lost direction w it but still down to continue or drop as you please!

[prontissimo]

[ Alberto, for his part, has had it with the bratty attitudes. He was an annoying kid, himself, his dad might argue — some may say he still is — but it was in a completely different way. He was never entitled, just energetic... Although Coraline seems to be a sort of underdog in the group, he doesn't trust her now, either, having proved herself just as conniving as her sisters. Oceania and Marina are obviously the ringleaders and top troublemakers, though — so he's keen to check on the good girls who have just been quietly drawing.

Except they haven't been. Well, not all of them. Mayim, Pearl, and Shelly have stayed put. Shelly took to drawing on Mayim's skin rather than the papers they'd provided, doing some makeshift tattooing, which Alberto of course has no problem with, while Pearl continues working on her own increasingly elaborate birthday card for the quintuplets. Narissa and Sandy, however, are nowhere to be seen. It takes a second for Alberto to register this, but once he does, his stomach sinks. They also struck him as troublemakers... Just when things had started to go right, it seemed!

He scans the shores, until he catches a glimpse of movement from the corner of his eye; the girls are hiding behind some rocky alcove a ways' off. After having rifled through all the party supplies and the boys' bags, they've taken all the snacks the boys had brought. More distressing, though, they've also taken the boys' phones, which Alberto had thought he'd hidden well enough in the beginning, before he knew what they were up against. Tucked away like this, the pair are sniggering and whispering together, scrolling through Alberto's recent text conversations nosily. Alberto appears behind them, ready to scare them for funsies, trying to take a lighter hand now, before he realizes what they're up to. ]

Boo. What're you two do— H-Hey! What are you doing?! Those're ours!

Who's Bruno? You guys talk about weird stuff.

Yeah, a lot. Like a lot.

Why don't you talk to Luca more?

Yeah, aren't you best friends?

Wha— Yes, we're best friends, but we live together, a-and— What am I doing, give me that, dai!

[ And he unsuccessfully tries to snatch his phone out of Narissa's hands. Much to her amusement. So she keeps dodging him dramatically as he keeps making vain attempts to swipe it, scrambling over the rock to get at her, reacting very much like an eight-year-old, himself. And so begins what's bound to be a long, tiresome game of keepaway... Luca gets to braid hair, while Alberto gets to do... this. ]