Pet Café DTAE - Angel

Instructions

Hello! This is some art and story for Angel that's a bit late haha- Click, press space, and arrow keys to see more art. Lumi has lived in a darker part of the ocean for as long as she could remember. She... had parents. Her biological mother took care of her for a bit before disappearing, and then a kind fellow took care of her, going by Va. Va would call Lumi a "fry" and made sure she was taken care of and well-loved. The two were inseparable, always by each other, exchanging wild stories. Va loved to tell Lumi stories of the surface and the places beyond that. Lumi would listen to them eagerly, dreaming of the day she would swim up there and see it all for herself. Of course, when she shared her dreams with Va, she would just laugh it off. She wasn't mean about it, but she was confident that it wouldn't be worth it- it might not even be there, that Lumi couldn't do that. Lumi would object- and Va would tell her that there were plenty of cool, fun things in the ocean anyway, so why explore the surface? And that's what Lumi did. She explored every nook and cranny she could until she'd seen the same things again and again. Did as many things as she could in the twilight waters. But eventually, everything just seemed sad and old. There was nobody to talk to, nobody to share her discoveries with, to tell wild stories to. Va had started to get agitated, leaving Lumi for long swaths of time. She'd come back stressed, giving her time to Lumi even with her mind somewhere else. Lumi had also gotten increasingly worried, but Va would refuse to tell her no matter how many times she prodded, saying it was fine. It was one such instance where Lumi boiled over, frustrated with Va's distance. "Come on!" Lumi burst out. "Why won't you tell me! You're not as good at hiding it as you think!" Va smiled sadly. "It's nothing to worry about! That hiding spot of yours wasn't very good, either. You could've been hurt. Isn't it about time you went to sleep, my little fry?" "W-well..." /She's... she's not wrong... wait, she's trying to drop it again!/ "Va," Lumi said impatiently. "Please. You're worrying me. There's nobody down here and when you're gone it's so lonely." Her voice cracked. "And when you /are/ here, it's like you're off somewhere else. You barely care to play games anymore. I can't stand this." Va gazed at her softly. "It's just a new predator that's been heading in our area. Nothing to be worried about." "That's not true!" Lumi said shakily. Lumi knew all the creatures in these dark blue waters. She could sense anything miles away. Couldn't Va too? Wouldn't she know that's a stupid lie? "You've been traveling far out of our waters! Somewhere I can't-" "Have you been following me?" Va suddenly looked twice her size. "You know how dangerous it is out there! How much do you know?" "Wh-what? No, I can sense-" "Lumi, stop it. You don't have to be so worried about me." "But I am! I can't help it!" Lumi's arms started to glow. "You used to always be there for me! And now you're not, and you're so worried and I don't know why!" She started pacing. "It's the only thing baring on my mind because I can't do anything else! I'm powerless, and I can't even do anything with my life-" Lumi cut herself off. There /was/ one thing she could do. "Lumi, I'm sorry about that but-" She took off before Va could comfort her. "Lumi! What are you doing!" Va had given chase. But she didn't need to ask because it was obvious to them both. "If you won't tell me I'll find out by myself! I'll live my impossible dream and see why you're always at the surface!" Something must have slowed Va down because she used to be so much faster than Lumi when they played tag. Well, she was swimming all day so that was probably it. Lumi felt a pang of guilt. /I'm making her more tired. I'm leaving her when I don't want her to leave me. But- but she left me first, I-I'm justified!/ Lumi swam, up and away, away from Va and towards brighter blue waters. Until eventually, she broke the surface to the moonlight and the dark blue above, speckled with stars. It was so beautiful. /How do I get up there?/ She couldn't remember how long she stayed there, mesmerized. Something kept her there. She was suddenly yanked back into the depths by Va who had somehow caught up to her unnoticed. Lumi let out a yelp, Va talking over her. "They could've spotted you! Why did you do that!" She sounded seized with fear. "No!" Lumi fought her way back up. Something was calling her up there. Her effort was for nothing. Va was too strong, pulling her down, deep into the depths of the sea. The familiar, imprisoning darkness. . .. ...