.+*[the little sea monster]*+.

ch.2

scuttle hums on his island, looking around through a telescope. little does this seagull know, the telescope is the wrong way.
"scuttle!"
he turns to the direction of the noise, he shouts as he sees luca waving at him with giuseppe bopping from the water.
he shouts out for them, "woah! sea monster off the port-bow!" he laughs, tightening his grip. "luca, how are ya kid?"
he lowers the telescope, revealing a giggling luca whose at wings length. "woah," the seagull breaths, "what a swim."
"scuttle," luca grabs his bag breathlessly, dropping it on the island as he laughs. "look at what we found!" he beams.
"yeah!" giuseppe begins to explain with a nod, "we were in this sunken ship, it was really creepy." he bleated with a laugh.
"human stuff, huh?" asks the bird, cocking a brow as he winks, biting down on his tongue which is lolling out on the side. "hey, lemme see." he quips.
at lucas nod of permission, he grabs an anchor and slips it down to slide down and up its rope, but said rope is around his foot and he yelps as he falls down with it.
giusepe exchanges a look at luca, who just laughs, as the seagull dives into his bag.
his tail suddenly springs and dances as he recoils, holding the shiny object. "look at this!" he twirls it around in his feathery fingers, winking at luca and nodding approvingly as he sends the boy a finger gun. "this is special. this is- this is very unusual." he babbles.
"what?" luca nods eagerly, "what is it?!"
"it's," scuttle lisps, "a dinglehopper!" he presents it to luca and giuseppe, who gap at it. "land monsters use these little babies," he groans as he stabs the dinglehopper into his head, twirling with a grin, "to straighten their hair out."
luca leans in, watching with awe as scuttle pulls it in different directions, still twirling it making luca afraid it'll slip from his grip from the spinning. "see, just a little twirl here an' a yank there and—"
he pulls it out, smiling victoriously as his hair puffs out to its full potential. "voiolay!"
he nods vigorously, stroking through his hair with his winged-hand, "you got an aesthetically pleasing configuration of hair that they humans go nuts for!"
he hands it to luca, who gasps and looks down at it, repeating its name with a baited breath. "a dinglehopper."
"what about that one?" giuseppe asks, nudging a darker object that had fallen out of the bag when scuttle grabbed the dinglehopper.
scuttle picks it up, eyes widening in recognition, "ah, i haven't seen one of these in years. this is wonderful!" he squawks, "a banded, bulbous, snarfblat."
luca and giuseppe stare at in and then to each other in awe. "oohhh." they coo.
"now, the snarfblat dates back to the prehistorical times, when humans used to sit around," he suddenly leans into lucas face, wide eyed as he stares into lucas soul, "and stare at each other. all day long."
he pulls back as luca blinks, eyes screwing and nose scrunching at the idea. scuttle shakes his head in agreement, "got very boring." his eyes brighten as he beams, "so, they invented the snarfblat to make fine music!" he cocks a brow, "allow me." he takes a breath.
then blows into the snarfblat, but instead of fine music, seaweed pops out.
"music?" luca blinks, nose scrunching. that doesn't sound like music at all. but then he suddenly remembers he's supposed to be home practising music in preparation to appeal to a mate and shrieks.
"oh, practice!" luca squeaks, hastily grabbing the dinglehopper and shoving it into his bag. "oh my gosh," he mumbles, his voice ringing in absolute panic. "my mothers going to kill me!"
"practice was today?" asks giuseppe, blinking.
scuttle inspects the snarfblat, contemplating it. "maybe you could make a little planter out of it or something."
"uh, i'm sorry," sputters luca, who stumbles as he grabs the snarfblat from scuttle. "i gotta go." he turns hastily, then turns around and waves. "thanks, scuttle!"
"anytime, sweetheart!" scuttle calls back to him, watching him and giuseppe disappear under the water. "anytime."

"i just don't know what we're going to do with you, young man." growls daniela.
luca is back at the cave, having successfully snuck giuseppe back at-least, but unsuccessful in sneaking away from danielas admonishment. she sighs, rubbing her temple with a claw and crossed arms, looking down at luca.
"mum," he squeaks, "i'm sorry, i just forgot, i-"
"as a result of your careless  behaviour," begins daniela, pointing at him.
"careless and reckless behaviour!" lorenzo adds.
daniela nods in agreement. "you missed out on your singing practice, and your chores-"
"which i had to do!" barks lorenzo, "now thanks to you, i am a laughing stock to the entire village!" he roars, crying.
"but it wasn't his fault!" says giuseppe, streaming in. lucas parents flinched, still not used to the idea that luca had taught giuseppe how to speak, he babbled, "ah- well. first, ahh, this shark chased us!" giuseppe grinned, unbeknownst to the horror on the paguros faces as he continued, not seeing luca frantically shake his head like it would fall off.
"we tried to- but we couldn't! and, grrrrrrrrr, and, and we- whoooaaaaaa!" he explained, rolling around with his fins straining to his head in shock, "oh, and then we were safe! but then there- this seagull came!" he chirped.
the paguros perked up at that, towering over luca who was actively trying to hush giuseppe now, sending long shadows to the pair. "and it was all this, and that is that, and—" luca slapped a hand over giuseppes mouth, making him hum angrily and lick it, trying to deter luca with a bite, making the boy yelp and grab hold of him, throwing him behind his shoulder and out of the cave.
luca laughed nervously, smile stretched and straining his scaled, freckled cheeks.
"seagull?" asks daniela, crossing her arms. "what? oh, you went up to the surface again, didn't you?" she asks, leaning in.
luca sputtered, mouth babbling as he went to explain.
"DIDN'T YOU?" she asks with a growl, claws tightening in her arms as her eyes slit.
"nothing . . . happened . . ." luca replies weakly, biting his lip and fidgeting.
"oh, luca," lorenzo sighs, "how many times must we go through this?" he asks, slumping in defeat. "you could've been seen by one of those barbarians," he waves a hand up, "by- by one of those land monsters!" he squeaks.
"papà," luca croaks, "they're not barbarians—"
"they're dangerous." he insists, "do you think i want to see my only son snared by some fish eaters hook?" he asks desperately, grabbing his sons face.
luca tears away, cursing his baby face. "i'm sixteen years old," he hisses, standing his ground "i'm not a guppy anymore—"
"don't you take that tone of voice to your father, young man!" snaps daniela, "as long as you live in my ocean," she points her claw down, "you'll obey my rules!"
"but if you would just listen." luca pleads.
"not another word," daniela snarls, jabbing an accusatory at him now as her scales and fins sharpen, "and i am never, NEVER to hear of you going to the surface again." she hisses, "is that clear?"
luca straightens up, lip trembling as his eyes brim with tears. his nostrils flare as he blasts past him and into his room, knocking past grandma paguro, who watches him go, then glares at daniela.
daniela sighs, gripping the bridge of her nose as she slumps down in the water.
"hm!" huffs lorenzo, turning to place reassuring hands on danielas shoulders. "teenagers, they think they know everything. you give them an inch, they swim all over you." he grumbles.
"do you think, er," she croaks, looking up at him, "think i- i was too hard on him?"
lorenzo blinks, danielas eyes are soft and dilated, vulnerable. an expression she hid but was definitely passed onto luca.
"definitely not." he whispers, giving her a quick peck on the forehead, "why, luca is my son too. i just wish i could show him who's boss." he admitted with a sigh, "none of this 'fitting to the surface' and other nonsense."
he mimicked lucas high voice by going up an octave, fluttering his arms around as he swirled, flinching under grandma paguros glare. he slouched, shrinking submissively as he turned back to his mate, "no, i just wish we could keep him in tight control." he sighs.
"you're absolutely right, lorenzo." purrs grandma paguro, uncrossing her arms.
"what?" he asks, looking over to her. even daniela perks her head up in confusion.
"i mean," he laughs awkwardly, feeling small and like prey under his mates mother's gaze, "of course i am." he croaks.
"luca needs constant supervision." she nods.
"constant." he repeats, straightening up.
"someone to watch over him," she swims over, jabbing a finger into his chest, "to keep him out of trouble." she hisses.
"all the time." lorenzo nods vigorously, feeling teared up that his mother-in-law finally saw something in him and trusted him with her grandson.
"and i'm just the sea monster to do it!" she grins, before blasting off to her and lucas room.
lorenzo blinks, sniffling weakly as his ears and moustache drop. daniela pats him on the shoulder reassuringly, no, sympathetically.