Sharkbait couldn't ask, 'is everyone okay?'–because they were too far underwater. But the belemoid paddled around, helmet strapped tight around his neck, as he checked on the gear of the other three explorers. As the colonist with the most experience with living, gathering, and traveling underwater, he felt it his duty to keep the other three safe.

Jushio's eyes were shut and his body curled as he allowed the weight of his form to pull him deeper into the dark. Aisling and Brennegan, as saltwater tsabhua, had complained about being required to wear diving gear–but now that the sun was filtering through fifty-feet of water above their heads, they felt grateful that they didn't have to continually paddle up for air, and then back down again.

Each had been equipped with battered baskets–a simple way to bring back supplies–and Aisling wore a friendship bracelet that still sparkled, even at these depths. A submarine certainly would've been useful–maybe one with a claw hand, but that was too high-tech for their mission. The air tanks, well–those were slightly concerning, including one that appeared to be patched up with gum and band-aids.

They were diving on The Manhattan–a relatively shallow, but still off-shore wreckage. They weren't archeologist, though–there was still plenty of worth in a scientific endeavor to gather artifacts, or perform wood analysis using the vessel's degrading hull. But rather, to collect a rare species of blue coral that had begun growing around the wreck. Supposedly, it could even be used to craft pigments, or philters–strange potions that could leave xiunari with a fresh set of markings.

"They first spotted it growing about a month ago," Aisling had explained to the other three with a wide smile. "And I think it's true, too!" Brennegan had replied, "Don't they always say that unique ecosystems can cause adaptions or evolutions? At least, that's what scholars talk about…" Jushio had thought about it for a bit, tapping his pink chin. Then, he'd asked, "Sharkbait, do you know where the wreck is?" The blue-and-grey marked belemoid had nodded–and now they were here.

"There it is," he introduced. Aisling and Brennegan paddled ahead, racing in circles to see who could reach the ship first as it came into view. The hull, what started as a black shadow, focused into shapes with cracked planks and port-holes. And there–Jushio spotted them, for the first time, were blue growths edging up the long, narrowing bow of the vessel. Sure as day, the vessel announced itself with the nameplate on the side, though a few letters were missing, so it may have only been the, "MAATTN."

As the two belemoids closed in, the saltwater tsabhua had already swam in close with their battered baskets. Aisling investigated the coral-growths with an inquisitive grey eye, while Brennegan scraped at one with his sharp claws, managing to break it free. He grabbed it in his second set of arms and waved it, his mouth opening and closing as though he was trying to speak. Jushio nodded and affixed himself to a large piece of coral. He pushed his full force on the side of the ship, managing to snap it loose.

The only main difficulty that the quatro of gatherers would find, were–well, two things, really. The first was that with their limited oxygen tanks, they still had to surface every twenty minutes. The second, then, was that it was surprisingly tricky to keep the light, branching coral from escaping the baskets the moment you glanced away. Sharkbait snatched a small piece floating away between a small gap in Brennegan's basket.

When Jushio noticed something floating inside the ship's hull, however, he waved at the other two–to call off the mission and surface. "There–" Brennegan mouthed, pointing out the interior to Aisling. A crack in the vessel revealed the internal structure fully covered in blooming corals, but something else, too. Fishjellies, Sharkbait gulped at the sight of the translucent, clear beings with jet-blue organs.

They pulled themselves onto the boat, reaching back claws to help up the other colonists. "How much coral did we get?" Jushio called, pulling off his helmet with a funny-sounding pop. Aisling and Brennegan sorted their baskets into the belemoid's, forming one big pile of sparkling blue pieces. Sharkbait modestly stood before his own, keeping it modestly separate. "Only one way to know!" Aisling laughed, "We gotta count!"