The Adventures of the "Four Muskytears"

🪄 Oblivion [7/8] 🪄

69's POV:

Port Starboard's wet markets were crowded, especially the ones close to the docks.

Stick, Jester, and I went for a walk on the busy boardwalks, trying to pick up any other scent than fish.

Instead of letting our intrusive thoughts win and setting this entire place on fire, we decided to go on a shopping spree.

We weren't searching for anything specific, we just wanted to see what we could find.

Small, compacted stalls lined the paths, most of the owners selling marine life or fishing gear for their boats.

Groups of strode past us, seemingly unbothered to notice the literal hunk of a mercenary robot I was.

"They're selling harpoons!" Jester yelled, firmly tugging on my shoulder and pointing at a wooden stall with spear guns on display. "Let's go check it out!"

He was so eager to go that he practically left me behind, making a beeline for the stand.

Stick chuckled, turning to face me. "He doesn't even have anything to purchase with, what's he gonna do, steal them?"

"Probably not," I replied, crossing my mechanical arms. "I'm 99.9% sure he'd probably do something much, much worse than shoplifting."

"Actually," A quiet voice whispered in my ear, "you can trade items with the locals and bargain for goods. You don't need sand dollars."

A heartbeat later, I had socked the person square in the jaw, sending them reeling backward.

I whirled around, violently pummeling my fists into the fur of my opponent.

Wait.

Fur?

I paused in my tracks, shocked to see a hybrid strikingly similar to Polar.

She had broad, powerful paws, her icy claws splayed out and ready to score through flesh.

A powerful, whale-like orca tail lashed against the ground, tensing up and preparing to crack some ribs.

The hybrid had this intense, fierce glare, with a lilac fire in her eyes that pierced my visor and sent a shiver down my nonexistent spine.

Her muzzle was splattered with patches of frosty lavender, imitating splashes of water or something a little more sinister.

Waves of fur rolled over her lean flanks, toning her clearly muscular form.

I was a little hesitant to throw another punch after seeing what could possibly be the last person I ever see.

"What? Just remembered ya can't hit a woman?" The hybrid chuckled, giving me a cunning, toothy smile.

I faltered, realizing I had to look up at her to address her. "...My apologies, ma'am."

She shook it off, waving her paw at me. "Oh, it's fine. I'm assuming you're new here?"

I was surprised to see the bear-like creature shake off my attack like it was an unintentional scratch. "Sort of... My friend lives here."

"Heard of you, kid." "You must be Polar's little friend, right?"

Stick butted in for me, leading me aside and closing the gap between us. "We're Polar's guardians. And who must you be?"

The hybrid chuckled. "Aw, how sweet of you to look after my daughter. My name is Sonar."

That explained a lot.

When I mean a lot, I mean almost everything.

In that moment, I'm pretty sure the gears in my head churned so fast that they all fell out of place.