Caught and Released

Aquarium

"Can we start at the river stuff?" Oormila asked.

"Sure!" They headed down one hallway. The animals looked similar to octopus and crustaceans: another exhibit had shrimp-like animals with armored bodies. The next hallway held animals from Lonnetra. It was full of feathered mammal-like animals and somethings that looked like a slug with fins. They stopped by the cafeteria next.

"So, how are you having fun?"

"Yeah, these things are cool." Nathen nodded in agreement.

"I'm glad you two are enjoying yourselves."

After lunch, they went up a flight of stairs towards the interactive exhibits. There was a large tank surrounded by people, mostly children.

"Trillus! Come on, I think I see a spot!" Oormila and Kangi rushed forward, making their way towards the section with a step up against the tank.

"Do you want to go see them?" Ghantin looked towards Nathen and Daniel.

"Yeah." They followed Oormila and Kangi to the tank. A spot opened up next to Oormila and Daniel and Nathen climbed onto the step to look over the rim. The animals swimming the tank kind of reminded Daniel of a stingray, but it had two pairs of wings and was semi-transparent.

"Daniel! I can show you how to pet them. Do you wanna try?"

"Yeah, show me how."

"Ok, you wait for one to swim by, then you reach into the water with two fingers and touch their back," Oormila waited for one to swim up to them, "Like this." She stuck her hand in the water and her fingers touched the back of the trillus as it glided past, "There. Your turn." They waited for another one to come. Once one did, Daniel and Nathen copied Oormila and touched it. It was smooth and a bit squishy.

"Cool." They touched a few more and moved on. This exhibit had lots of writing and interactive sections on the walls. Amarvus and Ghantin took turns reading aloud. There was one section that was lab themed, with small tanks lining the walls. It was pretty interesting to learn about the different types of animals that were not from Earth. They went back downstairs towards a hallway that was taller than the others.

"Daniel, Nathen, close your eyes for a moment. I want you to be surprised."

"Uh, ok." They closed their eyes. They were picked up and carried forward. After a moment of walking, they were set back down.

"Alright, now."

"Woah," They were in a clear tunnel, underneath a huge tank filled with animals easily the size of blue whales. One swam over the tunnel, their four sets of fins flapped as they glided through the water, and their bodies ended in a mass of tentacles. Other animals swam beside it and through the rock structures dotted though the floor of the tank. Daniel and Nathen took a good minute to just stare at everything. They snapped out of it when the kids grabbed their hands and started talking to them.

"Come over here! This is the best spot." It was a good spot. Daniel could see both out into the tank and in a rock area where smaller animals took shelter. They stayed in that spot for a while, looking at everything. Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, Amarvus was coming to get them.

"Alright darlings, it is time to go."

"Aww."

"Just a few more minutes?" The kids tried their best puppy faces.

"Sorry, but they are going to close in half an hour. If you want to pick something out to take home, we have to leave." Getting something perked them up. They all stood and made their way to the store. "Daniel, would you like to get something?"

"Really?"

"Yes, you may pick something out."

"You too, Nathen."

"Thanks." They looked around the store. After a few minutes, they had picked something. Nathen chose a wooden figure of one of the feathered animals. Daniel decided to get a clear ornament with a trillus bobbing in between two different colored liquids. Punthia came back with the kids, both holding something. Kangi had picked out a toy while Oormila was holding a plush. They checked out and left the building.

Did you guys have fun?"

"Yeah!" The kids said at once.

"Yes, it was really cool."

"Yep." They made their way back to the monorail and were soon back at the house. Amarvus made dinner while Punthia set the table. They ate and talked about the day.

After dinner, they mostly relaxed. The kids were playing with their new toys while Daniel sat between Amarvus and Punthia, leaning against Amarvus as Punthia ran a hand through his hair. Amarvus was reading something on a screen, tapping or swiping every once in a while. Suddenly, he let out a small gasp. "Daniel."

"Hmm?"

"They found it."

"Found it?"

"Earth, they found it."

"What?!"

Amarvus let out a relieved laugh and pulled Daniel into a hug. "They found your home, Daniel! You are going home."

A/N: Ah I'm sorry this took so long! Thank you guys for being patient with me. School really takes away all your free time. Bad news is the rest of the chapters might take this long to update as well. Good news is there are only 2 to go! Question! I am having some trouble deciding how the last chapters should go. One plan is to take the full two chapters and stretch out the ending a bit. On the other hand, I think a sequel idea is brewing, so I could use the last chapter to set it up. Let me know what you would prefer in the comments! Thank you guys so much for reading! Your kudos and comments really push me to get these out!