Chapter 1 - the house by the whispering sea
The sea was quiet that morning.
Not silent—never silent. The ocean never truly slept. It breathed in long, slow sighs as waves rolled toward the pale sand, whispering secrets to the shore and pulling them back again.
The beach house stood proudly above the tide line, built from pale driftwood, polished coral beams, and wide glass windows that reflected the endless blue horizon. A wooden sign hung above the porch, gently creaking in the breeze.
HOME.
Inside, chaos lived happily.
Utter, beautiful chaos.
“WALIE! PASS THE BALL!”
THUMP.
A basketball slammed against the living room wall.
“Hey—HEY! Not inside!” someone yelled.
Too late.
The ball bounced off a couch, ricocheted into a lamp, and finally rolled across the floor to stop at the flippers of a very annoyed sea turtle.
Ava slowly looked down at it.
Then up.
Her green eyes narrowed.
“…You have five seconds to explain why you two idiots are playing basketball in the house.”
Across the room stood Walie, a tall anthro-whale with deep blue skin and broad shoulders. At nineteen he already had the build of a professional athlete—strong arms, powerful tail, and the kind of confidence that came from thousands of cheering fans.
Beside him stood his older brother Jason, an anthro-dolphin wearing his usual bright orange sports outfit.
Jason grinned.
Walie scratched the back of his neck.
“Uh… practice?”
Ava inhaled slowly.
“…One.”
Jason grabbed the ball.
“RUN.”
The two brothers bolted.
Ava threw a pillow at them with terrifying accuracy.
In the massive kitchen, Jasmine sat at the long wooden table surrounded by fabrics, threads, and sketches scattered like colorful confetti.
She held up a design proudly.
“Lu-lu, what do you think?”
Across from her sat the smallest creature in the house.
Lu-lu, the three-year-old cat-squid, wore a tiny pink hat that Jasmine had sewn the night before. One of her eyes had a playful X-shaped pupil while the other looked perfectly normal.
She stared at the drawing.
Tilted her head.
Then clapped excitedly.
“Blub-mrrrp! Mee-mee-blip!”
Jasmine gasped dramatically.
“You LOVE it?! I knew it!”
Lu-lu spun happily in her chair.
“Bweeee!”
Suddenly—
THUD.
The basketball rolled into the kitchen.
Jason skidded into the doorway.
“Jasmine! Emergency!”
Before she could answer, Lu-lu turned.
Her expression changed instantly.
Her eyes narrowed.
Her tiny teeth bared.
Jason froze.
“…Oh no.”
Lu-lu launched herself across the room.
“MRRRAAA!”
“HEY—NO—NOT AGAIN—!”
CHOMP.
She bit his tail.
Jason yelped.
“WHY DO YOU HATE ME?!”
Lu-lu released him and crossed her arms proudly.
“Bleh.”
Jasmine sighed.
“Jason, what did you do this time?”
“I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!”
From the hallway Ava’s voice echoed:
“STOP RUNNING IN THE HOUSE!”
Jason grabbed the basketball again.
“…I’m leaving.”
He sprinted out.
Lu-lu chased him.
Upstairs, the house was calmer.
Soft violin music drifted through the hall like a quiet breeze.
Inside her room sat Luna.
The blue anthro-axolotl rested on the window seat, bow gliding gently across her violin strings. Her mismatched eyes were half-closed as she played—one blue with a blue pupil, the other green with a black heart-shaped pupil.
Her music wasn’t loud.
It was delicate.
Almost fragile.
The melody carried a strange emotion—something between sadness and comfort.
Like a lullaby.
The kind that made the sea itself listen.
Behind her, the door creaked open.
“Luna.”
A soft voice.
Kitty entered.
The blue anthro-jellyfish floated lightly above the floor, careful not to brush against anything. Her long sleeves and gloves hid the electric tentacles that could shock someone if she wasn’t careful.
She leaned against the doorframe.
“You're playing that song again.”
Luna didn’t answer.
She rarely did.
Instead she finished the melody before lowering her violin.
Kitty walked over and sat beside her.
Outside, the sea glittered.
For a moment neither spoke.
Then Kitty sighed dramatically.
“Okay I need to tell you something.”
Luna slowly turned her head.
Kitty whispered:
“…I think I like Walie.”
Luna blinked.
Once.
Then she reached beside her and grabbed a small piece of paper.
She stuck it on Kitty’s face.
🙂
Kitty laughed.
“HEY!”
She pulled it off.
“You're supposed to support me!”
Luna quietly wrote something on another paper.
She held it up.
Everyone already knows.
Kitty froze.
“…WHAT.”
Meanwhile downstairs—
In the library-lab hybrid room, Alexander stood surrounded by bubbling glass tubes, glowing liquids, and stacks of research papers.
The anthro-shark adjusted his red tie nervously while scribbling notes.
“Pollution toxin levels… still unstable… antidote mixture three failed…”
He rubbed his forehead.
Outside the large window, dark streaks of murky water drifted slowly through the sea.
Pollution.
Poison.
The ocean was getting worse every year.
Alex clenched his pen.
“I will fix this…”
A voice behind him interrupted.
“Well if you don’t take breaks you're going to collapse.”
Alex jumped.
He turned.
Standing in the doorway was Ava.
He instantly straightened.
“O-oh—Ava. I was just—uh—testing something.”
She crossed her arms.
“You’ve been testing something for ten hours.”
“…Scientific dedication.”
She raised an eyebrow.
Alex’s face turned slightly red.
“…Also I forgot to eat.”
Ava sighed and tossed him an apple.
“Eat.”
He caught it awkwardly.
“…Thank you.”
She turned to leave, but paused.
“By the way.”
Alex looked up.
“Yes?”
“…Your research is impressive.”
Alex froze.
His face turned bright red.
“…Th-thank you.”
Ava smirked slightly before walking away.
Alex stared at the apple like it was a bomb.
“…Oh dear.”
Outside on the deck, Jack sat in his small music studio with a guitar resting on his knee.
The anthro-clownfish hummed quietly as he wrote lyrics in a notebook.
Across from him sat Sofyé, wrapped in her bright blue scarf, moving checker pieces across a small board.
“Check.”
Jack looked down.
“…Again?”
Sofyé grinned.
“You're bad at this.”
Jack sighed dramatically.
“I’m a musician, not a strategist.”
She moved another piece.
“Check again.”
Jack leaned back.
“You're evil.”
“Only when people deserve it.”
She twirled one checker piece between her fingers.
“So…”
Jack froze.
“Oh no.”
“You're staring at Jasmine again.”
Jack choked.
“I AM NOT—”
“You are.”
“I was looking at the sky!”
Sofyé smirked.
“The sky is inside the kitchen?”
Jack covered his face.
“I’m never confessing.”
“Coward.”
“…Yes.”
Inside the house, laughter echoed through every room.
Friends argued.
Music played.
Lu-lu chased Jason again.
Everything felt warm.
Safe.
Alive.
But far out in the dark water beyond the reef…
Something ancient stirred.
A low vibration moved through the deep sea currents.
A sound.
Soft.
Cold.
Almost like…
a lullaby.
And far away, Luna suddenly stopped playing her violin.
Her eyes widened.
She whispered quietly—
“…That song…"
