A Slice of Ocean in a Glass Box || Open

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Athena looked at the tank in front of her and sighed. It was nice to go out during the day, not have to really worry about much. Just being able to walk around, enjoying the weather, whether or not it was rainy.

She decided to come to the aquarium because, well, she never really had time to go to it before. Besides, seeing fishes swim around was a bit amusing...in a way. Some people seemed to be enjoying it far more than her, but those were usually the children walking around with their parents. Occasionally, a few would apologize to her about their kid's loud exclamations, but she only said a soft "It's fine" before waving to the kid as they drag their guardian elsewhere.

Yes, it was a nice day so far, that she had to admit.

The Greek woman was currently staring at the jellyfish, watching them just float about their tank. She was pretty sure they were her favorite sea creature, well, besides angelfish. She liked how they just floated around, minding their own business, free from almost everything. They had it easy...

Perhaps that's why she was fascinated by them. They always seem so carefree... Though, despite looking so beautiful they were dangerous. Well, some were. Their sting was something to beware, that she knew. Nevertheless, she still loved the little creatures.

She reluctantly pulled away from the tank and look at the larger one with a multitude of fish, varying in species. She smiled slightly, seeing a few clown fish make their way by. It only grew when she heard a child nearby saying that it was Nemo.

She hummed softly to herself, letting her eyes wander around the sight. There were so many colors, from fish to coral. She was surprised how many different patterns each kind of fish had, from simple ones to far more complex ones. It was breathtakingly beautiful...she wishes she was able to visit more often. She had other things to do, things more important than going to a zoo. She was glad she made time to come, since it really lightened up her day, even though it was bright to begin with.

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[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=style, width:400px; padding: 5px; background-color:FFF2F8;,bTable]	You told me you wanted to eat up my sadness. Well jump on, enjoy, you can gorge away. You told me you wanted to eat up my sadness. Jump right! Baby, you've got to be more discerning. I've never known what's good for me. Baby, you've got to be more demanding.
[cs=2] Even if she really wasn't one of those big-time stars that frolicked London, she had to admit that being in the performing arts was always tiring and always required a lot of energy. Her agent was freaking demanding, and so when she wasn't performing in front of a crowd, she was either going through vocal exercises, rehearsals, other performances... all the not-so-fun stuff. So really, any moment where she could get a break and actually relax was always welcomed. She was glad that she wasn't the most popular thing around. Honestly, the attention that some of the others endured was just plain awful. She didn't expect a large fan following to be stalking her every move (and if she did, she would have a friend of hers help curb that), and so she pretty much only expected getting picture or two taken today. Sans the autograph. It was a nice, somewhat slow day at the zoo, and so the aquarium really shouldn't be crowded if the zoo isn't crowded. This should definitely be relaxing, stress-relieving, and entertaining. The Aquarium is the oldest public aquarium in the world, which of course ushered a slew of aquarium enthusiasts (who knew there was such a thing) and some tourists who happened to enjoy having their slice of history before tea. Separated into three halls, there was a variety of different kinds of fish in each hall. The first hall contained freshwater fish like rudd and European eels. The second was coral reef themed, containing the colorful clown fish and stingrays who were proud of their colours and weird forms. The third hall had fish from the Amazon River, with piranhas and electric eels. The "Big Fish Tank" had the largest fish of pet owners who simply did not know how to care for their pets. At the moment, Cerys had decided to take a peek at the second hall, which sounded the most lovely since she didn't happen to be a fan of European eels, electric eels, and large fish. But of course, she ended up looking at a somewhat scarier fish than the eels. The jellyfish. Oh boy, they say that the sting of a Portuguese Man-of-War can induce fever, shock, and even hinder the function of the heart and lungs... oh dear that sounds painful. It was good a relief that the Portuguese Man-of-War was behind the glass. She felt more fear for the sting than admiration for the beauty of that one. Even the Box Jellyfish was frightening, the sting reportedly able to kill humans. She wondered how they were able to clean the tanks without getting stung. She turned towards some prettier fish, like the yellow tang and the mandarinfish. She looked at the sign for that one. MANDARINFISH Synchiropus splendidus The Mandarinfish is a member of the dragonet family. It is native to the Pacific. A very colorful fish, quite friendly in its environment. Its diet consists of fish eggs, polychaete worms, and small gastropods. They can be somewhat difficult to keep in an aquarium due to their diets. The mandarinfish appeared on a 39 kip postage stamp from Laos issued in 1987, and a 40 cent postage stamp of the Federated States of Micronesia issued on 26 August 1993. Interesting... If only some "colorful flashy" people were "friendly"...
[cs=2] 588 Athena Fishyfishyfishy

LAIKA OF BTN!

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Athena laughed slightly when she saw a few clown fish swim in and out of their anemone homes. It was fairly amusing, since it was as if they were going through a dance routine.

Out; One, two, three. In; One, two, three. And out; One, two, three. And in; One, two, three.

Now that she thought about it, the voice she had imagined was one of a workout instructor. It fit pretty well to, which in itself caused her to smile. Now instead of a dance, it was more like the bigger of the fish was teaching the smaller one how to "burn those calories". Now the scene in her mind had changed drastically.

And one, and two. Front, and back. In, and out. Come on fishes, we don't have all day. One, and two. One, and two. Come one, you need to go faster than that if we're going to get ready in time for summer! You want to get all those males to be all over you, don't you?! And one, and two. One, and two. That's right, shake those fins!

It was a bit embarrassing to think such a thing, but it was putting more fun into the day. Besides, if kids can think of Nemo, then it's perfectly fine for her to think what she did. Well, at least not aloud. She would probably get some awkward stares if she did voice it. Hopefully there were a few people around who didn't have silence going on in their mind, and were thinking enjoyable thoughts like she was.

She glanced over and saw a woman nearby reading the panels on the walls, the ones all aquariums had that described the fish and stated the common name, as well as the scientific one. Ah, she remembered being a child and always ignoring them, but now she did read them from time to time if she liked the creature she saw.

She made her way over to the panels, figuring she would at least try to talk to the lady. They were both grown women, alone on their individual trips to the building. There couldn't be any harm in trying to start a conversation of some sort, right?

"...Hm, what a n-nice fish. Not only is it pretty, but it is fairly nice as w-well..." she commented softly, looking at the description of the Mandarin Fish. It was true, it was a beautiful fish. Not one of her favorites, but it could come close to being so. The colors were fascinating, they had a way of catching one's attention. Good thing people weren't made in such colors. Surely looks would be more than deceiving. As if it wasn't bad enough as it was, the last thing the world needed was another reason for humans to be more appealing than they are inside.

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Just because I'm losing

Doesn't mean I'm lost, Doesn't mean I'll stop, Doesn't mean I'm in a cross. Just because I'm hurting, Doesn't mean I'm hurt, Doesn't mean I didn't get what I deserve, No better and no worse. I just got lost, Every river that I've tried to cross, And every door I ever tried was locked, Ooh-Oh, And I'm just waiting till the shine wears off...

"...Hm, what a n-nice fish. Not only is it pretty, but it is fairly nice as w-well..." a voice speculated.
i
"It is a very nice fish, isn't it? Too bad they don't do too well if the venture just a ways off their coral reefs," she commented "Heh, even we wouldn't do too well if we ventured too far from home, now would we?"

She turned around to face the source of the voice.

"Hallo there, how has the exhibit been for you?" she asked, the glow of blue from the aquarium tanks the brightest light source around. It really was awfully tranquil in comparison to just how boisterous the life at Barbican tended to be. It was most certainly a more placid environment than the bars and lounges she has performed or simply loitered at. And so, this would be her bit of conversation as it seemed. There were few people at the aquarium today, the zoo being the more popular place in Regent's Park to be at. 

"I'll have to say the selection of fish in the aquarium is definitely wide. Have you taken a look at the freshwater dolphins? I heard they even have puffins and some aquatic birds around here. I just wish the price on food and merchandise here wasn't so steep," she observed, continuing along the carpeted path to reach an exhibit filled with Amazonian aquatic life.

"It really is wonderful how diverse aquatic life is, how peaceful it sees when you look through the glass here, but once you realize that these fish usually would be swimming for their lives, it is a bit austere. Oh look, they're feeding the sharks in the shark exhibit right now," she said, soon wandering off to see a grotesque display of fish being placed live in the water and being munched on in a bloody cloud of red. It would have been a disturbing scene, if not for how realistic of a view she had with things. After all, why cringe and something that nature finds natural? If you really wanted a slice of ocean, you would need to see that it's a fish eat fish world, and if you don't swim fast enough, you would eventually get eaten.

Table by Oblivion from BTN

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"Hallo there, how has the exhibit been for you?" the woman had asked. Athena smiled slightly, a bit glad she chose someone who seemed to be kind. "I-I like it a lot, it's v-very nice. I wish I could come more often," she replied. She noticed the woman began walking while her words were still directed to her, the Greek woman found it best to follow along. It would be rude to just stand there and let the other practically talk to herself. Ah, she hoped the other was expecting for her to follow. For all she knew, the other could be simply thinking aloud.

"It really is wonderful how diverse aquatic life is, how peaceful it sees when you look through the glass here, but once you realize that these fish usually would be swimming for their lives, it is a bit austere. Oh look, they're feeding the sharks in the shark exhibit right now." Athena followed her once more, then she tried to keep her attention off the fish being munched on. She knew it was natural and fascinating in a disturbing way, but it was a bit too much for her. She wasn't exactly comfortable with seeing things die with her own eyes.

She was a bit curious, but she didn't want it to get the best of her. She was fine not seeing it, she didn't need to see it. Oh, but she couldn't help but wonder what it looked it. Surely one small peek can't hurt...

She took a small glance at the tank, feeling her chest tighten a bit at the sight. Quickly returning her gaze to the woman in front of her, she tried to push the recent image out of her head. "M-My name's Athena. What's yours-s?" she asked. It was polite to give her name before trying to get one in return, right? She didn't want to come of as rude in any way...  That would be terrible, not to mention it wasn't her intention at all.

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Just because I'm losing

Doesn't mean I'm lost, Doesn't mean I'll stop, Doesn't mean I'm in a cross. Just because I'm hurting, Doesn't mean I'm hurt, Doesn't mean I didn't get what I deserve, No better and no worse. I just got lost, Every river that I've tried to cross, And every door I ever tried was locked, Ooh-Oh, And I'm just waiting till the shine wears off...

"I-I like it a lot, it's v-very nice. I wish I could come more often," the somewhat quiet Grecian said.


"I often do wish that I had more time to go out more as well. It really is a wonder to have a slice of ocean in a glass box, isn't it?" she mused as she continued reading the signs. She found it wonderful that she was able to keep her sense of curiosity as she grew older, and was proud that Arthur had kept his imagination. Even if he did often say that he was no longer a child and needed no tomfoolery and nonsense running through his mind. Even if so, she knew he still kept his journals and still wrote in notebooks every day, post-its on his walls as he continued to brainstorm, continued to think, continued to imagine, continued to create. He continued through his labour pains, giving birth to new lands and new ideas, new people and new stories. He kept being the mistress to reality, but his true lover lay in imagination. And she would remain proud that he lived in that world.

The cloud of red created from the feeding was not simply blood. It was nature. It was natural. Blood must be shed for anything to live. Life must be lost for the lives of others. And that is how things seemed to work. A cloud of red would eventually fade back to the blue of the waters and things would be normal again until hunger returned.

"M-My name's Athena. What's yours-s?" the girl asked.


"Athena? That is a nice name... It's nice to make your acquaintance, Miss Wisdom. My name is Cerys," she said, holding out a hand to shake.

Table by Oblivion from BTN

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"I often do wish that I had more time to go out more as well. It really is a wonder to have a slice of ocean in a glass box, isn't it?" Athena nodded in agreement. The aquarium was a lovely place in itself, full of a sort of...magic, so to speak. As if looking through a portal into the depths of the seven seas, seeing things you would never be able to without proper gear. That and not having to have the sort of cash to afford seeing it out in the open water. Sure the building didn't feel the same as seeing all these animals in their natural habitat, but it was easier on the wallet as it was more practical for people with busy schedules. "Yes, a-and the variety of sea life they h-have is a wonder in itself. Amazing how they m-managed to get so many different species..." she had said, looking back at the tank again. The red still hadn't faded from the water completely, but in time it did return to the crystal blue it had originally been. What a beautiful blue it was, it had always been one of her more favorite colors. And the way light just reflected off it, it was simply marvelous. Of course, this glass container was nothing compared to the ocean she grew up near. The sound of the waves and birds, the feeling on sand underneath her feet, the smell of sea water, the sight of waves kissing the shoreline only to be pushed back, an endless cycle that was memorizing in itself.

She was pulled away from her memories by the voice she was slowly becoming familiar with as time passed between them. "Athena? That is a nice name... It's nice to make your acquaintance, Miss Wisdom. My name is Cerys." She smiled kindly at the woman, seeing her extended her hand. "A pleasure t-to meet you as well, Miss Cerys," she hesitantly took the other's hand and gently shook it. After doing so, she quickly brought it back to where it was resting by her side only seconds before.