Yellow Light Waves

by Comma Typer

Fishbowl

Sky made good progress for Ocean.

With the permission of (and some allowance from) Mayor Kiting, Sky Beak visited every place in town that wasn’t a house, and chatted with everyone who went in and out. The surveys didn’t rest on his claws this time; now, he had the questions in his head, and he would stick them into conversations without anyone noticing.

He’d learned a great deal. Nettle, for one, was good at more than just knitting and crocheting. He then asked whether they could be set up for sale in a store, and that ended up with him hawking the “Nettle Mettle merchandise” around town, with a sweater sewn on his tail as punishment.

After suffering that embarrassment, his next task was to pin notices in public places, reminding everyone that they had to open doors a little longer. Otherwise, a poor hippogriff would have his tail jammed, and he’d trip and fall. Lingon, the deer from the van, boasted that he wasn’t subject to that, but then his antlers got stuck in the doorway.

But while Sky was taping another notice in front of the café, he encountered Breezewood, an eccentric neighbor who’d insisted on wearing a tie every single day. Instead of banter, however, Breezewood kept his beak shut, letting the cargo he’d been pulling grab Sky’s focus: a huge fishbowl, containing a single goldfish, inside a wagon.

“So, no need for introductions, mister!” Breezewood proclaimed. “I’m sure this will do the trick for Ocean. You know about this, don’t you?”

“I, uh, saw it on a sign on the way here,” Sky said.

“Yeah! It’s a piece of modern art! I’ve been to Manehattan, and they stuck an apple on a wall and called it art! So I thought, well, suckers like you will get a load of this!” He stepped aside, seeing, giving Sky a better view of the lonely fish just sitting still. “It’s the thought, the concept, the thing of it! Art! Just give me some time, and I can get the wheels to move on their own via remote control... and you know what to do!”

“Uh, no. I don’t.”

“They pay me a dollar to pull my fish around for five minutes!”

He shot air out of his beak, whistling like a bird. “That’s... nice. But I still don’t catch your drift.”

“Are you daft?” Breezewood asked, agitated. “Doesn’t this fish here give you a clue about what you can do to impress Ocean?”

---

In another meeting with the Board, another emergency gathering for Ocean to attend from Basalt’s shore, Queen Novo had made it clear through a formal announcement. In discussion now was the fallout.

“So, that’s half a hundred million slashed,” Hope continued. “Almost a hundred. This is worse than I thought.”

The youngest and latest member of the Board mentioned that they still had enough to spend on existing projects, but as a tired Ocean pointed out, “We’ve yet to see how we’ll pay the construction companies when their workers can suddenly fly or can use spells to expedite the process. This is without changing blueprints because human height no longer applies to our architecture.”

The keen suggester bowed his head.

Ocean cleared her throat. “Well, what I meant to say is that they would face complications in light of the past week.”

When the meeting finished and the Board set to coast until at least half a year from now, she left the meeting there. She sat, half in the water, by the table and laptop that Sky had brought her.

As of late, he’d been returning with just the same. Just quick check-ups, and he’d scale the dirt path back up to help the town get used to being hippogriffs. He’d come back by dinnertime to bring in completed surveys and his own notes, then he’d disappear.

But yesterday was different.

Sky had stayed on the beach for longer, drinking in the sunrise right after she’d woken up. “They say we were early birds,” he’d then joked. “And now that we’re actual birds... I’ve become one.”

She laughed. “That’s terrible to know. When those rescue teams finally get to me, I’ll thank them because I won’t have to be lonely here in the water ever again, then fear that they’ll eat worms and vomit them into my beak.”

“Oh, but I’m here to keep you company, right?”

“Often enough, and you’re not vomiting your breakfast at me, so that’s a start.”

Sky snorted, then changed topics. “Hey, have you seen the footage on the news, about Mount Aris and Seaquestria? They’ve been eating good! Corals, sushi, fish... tea! They somehow got tea to work underwater.”

“Hmm. Fish eating fish. And we don’t mind it now.”

“Yeah... you know what? A trip there would be nice, cool our heads over there one day. Once this whole thing is over and you’re a hippogriff, we’ll travel there, get some real flying in.” He rotated his wings just enough without them hurting. “And they must have good sports, too, because they can fly! And since we’re half-horse too, I’d pay a thousand to see some aerial jousting.”

Silence had then left them alone, with Sky sitting down on the wet sand and Ocean half-stranding herself on the edge.

Today, though, she didn’t even have Sky but the laptop she’d closed. She sunk underneath, closing her eyes. Part of her report had been complete, and the findings were to be expected. There was no need for tour operators here because Basalt Flow barely had anything of note, save for the stuff obviously meant to lure in outsiders. Many Bays’ sashimi cart, and the low-quality wine from the vineyards just a few kilometers inland wouldn’t be enough. As for agritourism, that was out of the question with the farms being a considerable car trip away; the big cities also just had better-looking farms, with fatter harvests, just twenty minutes away from the metros.

Basalt Flow was a glorified pit stop.

“Hey, Ocean!”

She raised her head above the water once more, listening to him clear.

Sky was back. His cast leg still limped, and his wings were still bound, but he had a bouncier swing in his step.

He’d brought some friends.

“Hope you’re doing alright. Want to have some breakfast together? Good old times? Oh, and this here’s Leeway Cape and Lingon, the only tourists here, I’m afraid. They’d be glad to talk to you about your work.”

Ocean couldn’t suppress her smile. “That’s good. Glad that you could stay focused on government work for once.” Ignoring Sky’s brief scowl, “Well, I’m hungry. What did you bring?”

“Food from the gas station’s greasy spoon,” Sky said, and with Leeway’s and Lingon’s magic, several lunchboxes fell down upon a picnic mat.

Pancakes and waffles, drizzled with a fountain of syrup. Crispy gold hash browns had been topped with a dozen tiny onion rings, with the red meaty river of baked beans running through them. On the side lay a bowl of fresh coleslaw as well as dripping-wet cans of soda, cheap-brand packs of peanuts, and some slices of plain white bread.

“Oh, birdy boy, wait until I throw some bread crumbs your way!”

“You’ve got to be kidding—“

She crushed some bread in her fins and threw it at him, with Sky stretching his neck out to catch the crumbs, his beak snapping and clicking open.“Okay, I was not ready for that, I swear! Stupid bird instincts.”

They laughed, and with Ocean back to her work on the laptop as Sky tore at his waffles, she looked past her computer then made eye contact with the visiting guests on shore.

They shot the breeze. Leeway talked about the van just parked outside—him and Lingon, some old friends from college, doing a little road trip to enjoy the sights, and Lingon just happened to be on that business trip. The company had called to tell him that the meeting up in Dove Sandal would be canceled.

“And how was your stay here, for the both of you?” Ocean asked.

That set off several answers, starting with Leeway’s.

“Alright. I told Sky Beak some of it, but Basalt’s an okay town. Honestly—“ he looked over his back to make sure no one else had entered the beach “—I won’t have too many memories of this place. But it’s still quiet. I’d be afraid of having the whole pony thing happen while we were back in Aris City.”

“It’s not as chaotic in Aris as you might think,” Ocean said, “but that’s a fair perspective. And what about you, Lingon?”

Lingon wiped his head. “It’s hot and sweaty, and it’s only spring. You know how it is back in the north with Reine-Olenia. I had some overseas business here in Aracea, checking up some trucks and exports on fruits in the country.” He levitated a cup of iced coffee to his mouth. “Then this happens. I don’t mind it too much, though. The hippogriffs—er, the locals here were quite accommodating. Didn’t matter if I was obviously from out of town; they saw me, asked me if I was alright and if I could walk, then they started giving me cabbage.” Standing up to make a point, “Everyone just got turned. We all need each other’s help.”

Sky beat his chest. “While this town isn’t as famous for its attractions, the best part of any place is undeniably its good people. Hmm, maybe that’s one for the spreadsheet, hm, Ocean? ‘Conduct of region’s inhabitants towards tourists’ gets a thumbs-up from me.“

Ocean shook her head. “With your attitude, I know you can get everyone running to the vineyards just because you drew some marathon’s finish line over there.”

“Actually, you know what? Let’s do that! We’ll get you down and you can run with all of us! The first ever Basalt Marathon!”

She glared at him. “Did you forget I don’t have legs?”

“Then let’s hope they bring that shard over here soon, Ocean!”

Sky then dove back into demolishing his bread.

---

The hippogriff had gone on to talk to even more of Basalt, his face popping up in yet more of the small crowds gathered around TVs and radios. Sky still punched in time for his clerk job in the town hall, updating everyone’s records to also include individual species. All of Basalt later on had appointments in the town hall for getting their photos taken to aid this effort.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it, Miss Vapor Tide?” Sky said, getting the camera off and quickly inputting data on the computer, making sure it was just the tips of his talon for minimal damage. “Nice. And would you be joining the little marathon we’ve got all the way to the end of the town’s boundaries? It’s coming up in three days.”

“Oh, I don’t really mind! Is there any prize?”

“Ocean Flow’s here from the Board of Tourism, and she’s shelling in some prize money for the top three from her personal pocket.”

As for Ocean herself, she’d told him that the reports were almost done. Nothing had changed her initial judgment of the place as being beyond saving, but she’d promised to make a note about the little village’s warm hospitality.

Before the day would end, he found himself setting up the event’s finish line by the far-off vineyards. Fresh breeze swept him up, and the vast expanse of the farmland and the wheat fields swayed yet stood tall long past the grapes. His wings kept ruffling in the bandages, though the vet-turned-doctor removed a few more. His leg was getting better, too, subjected to less of a limp in his gait.

As he helped draw the line, setting up its ribbons, the radio blared more news from the capital.

“...and Equus’s Queen Novo has already sent in the first group of the hippogriffication team. Aris City is slated to have all its seapony population turned into hippogriffs by the end of next week, paving the way for what Aracea’s queen has said will be ‘an alliance between the parallel states.’”

“Do you think it’d be funny,” Stinger said as she finished up with the other side of the finish line’s rope, “if, like, we had our own versions on the other side?”

“Oh, wouldn’t it be nice?” he said. “I get to meet my other self, and you get to meet yours. And Ocean, too... though, what came first? The hippogriff or the seapony?”

“Hippogriff,” Stinger replied. “Sorry, I’ve been paying way too much attention to all the reports coming out there.”

“Oh, that’s alright. Everyone else has been, no?”

“Yup. I’m surprised you didn’t know that the whole seapony thing was actually a big emergency.”

“Emergency?”

“Yeah.” A small frown hit her. “A tyrant took over their land, so they had to retreat to the bottom of the ocean, build their life there until he was defeated.”

Sky tapped his claws together. “So you’re saying, that Ocean...”

“Oh, I wasn’t talking about her, but now that you mention it, yeah, if some guy didn’t invade a country in a world that we didn’t even know existed until a while ago, she probably wouldn’t be stuck there. Maybe you wouldn’t have to do all of her papers, too.”

“You’ve got a point,” he said gruffly, mindlessly tying some ribbon scraps around his claw.

The radio blared on with a PSA from Queen Novo reassuring everyone that everything would be fine.

---

The first few months after Terramar finally left home for the prestigious Hare Warden High School in Amareica were an awkward time.

Both Sky and Ocean had researched on the empty nest syndrome, but quickly scoffed it off. Their children had excelled in and out of school, and their decades-long duty was complete, so the couple could live out the rest of their lives as free man and woman.

But Sky now shivered in Aris City’s freezing autumn, seated in an SUV that he’d been told would be tailed by another from the government, to defend against the rare but never impossible paparazzi ambush.

They were headed to yet another restaurant, with good food though no wine.

The couple had woken up with just each other. She had her own patron university to chair, along with charity work across the strait, not to mention overseeing the bureaucracy behind the Global Games that would be taking place here in Aracea next year. On that last one, Sky could boast about putting in his feedback on how to maximize the hype of each event, if only because the Games had always looked awesome to him.

Sky also had his own dealings. With the children away, it’d been high time to get back into the pro-am cricket circuit, with inquiries already made for the coaching staff. While the International Cup would be far from his hands in the managerial position, he had the tactics, and he had flashed his high school/college credentials before. Most teams would come close to kidnapping a member of the royal family like him if it meant total domination over the domestic league.

True, the money he’d make off of sports for the rest of his life couldn’t begin to compare to what Ocean made in a month. Still, a dream come true was a dream come true for him.

At the table, the food would be a long time coming. Some spilled drinks from another table across, and one of the waiters broke his finger after burning his own leg with scalding hot tea.

The talk over the surface, once the mutual awkwardness across the restaurant died down, was about the poor man. Ocean could see Sky wince. Age would catch up to him; soon, he’d no longer be able to perform at even the middling levels of quality he was struggling to keep. She herself wasn’t getting any younger, but she chided herself mentally: she had much to do.

“So, how’s your sister?” Sky asked. He always asked that question, the first question he asked every meal time since the nest had been empty.

“The usual.” She tapped her fingers, waiting. “Novo’s been handling some trade deals involving international highways and railroads into a couple smaller Abyssinian towns.”

“Uh-huh.”

They turned their heads towards the kitchen. Their order was still cooking.

“What about you?” she asked. Last time she’d seen him other than in bed was the previous morning. “How did your match go against Caladium?”

“Went, uh, almost well. Then we had a batsman out hit wicket, and the rest was history.”

“Oh, breaking his own team’s bails? That must’ve been awful...” She’d named a college cricket league trophy after him.

“It is. A cold day for Cryo Geyser. He wants to take the rest of the season off, but I told him that he can’t quit over one bad day.”

Ocean took out her laptop from the bag, and the rest of dinner was history, tapping things out while sirloin steaks and trout served themselves on silver platters.

Today was Sky’s most free day of the week, but Ocean had seen his calendar, too. There would be training with the cricket team today, as well as talking with some cycling club he was planning with to make a fifty-kilometer journey into the southern mountains.

~~~

“That would be three hundred dollars, ma’am,” said the waiter, who snapped her out of her work.

It struck Ocean like lightning, then she took out her credit card. “In full. No royal discounts, please. And dear, Sky Beak, what would you say was the best of the dinner here? I think it was top-notch, all things considered.”

Sky tapped his fingers on the table. “I did like the trout a lot. That experimental juice was quite a delight. I had no idea you could make juice out of salmon.”

The waiter bowed and nodded. “Thank you very much!”

With everything paid, Ocean stood up, and Sky stood up too. They left the place and got back into the limousine.

“We return home to refresh with a bath and a set of clothes,” she muttered to herself, “then we’re back outside.”

“And I’ll be taking this car too, if you don’t mind,” he said.

The next time she’d end up seeing Sky Beak other than in bed would be after his cricket team started a new season.

That was April of next year.