Dawn: *sigh* alright.....

Dawn walked through her apartment complex with her phone in hand, scrolling through squidstagram and ignoring the "Scarlett embarrassing loss" posts that showed up on her feed every 2 seconds.

She walked into the main office that ran the entire apartment complex after rolling her eyes and seeing a desk manager sitting all by themselves and paying her no mind while typing on their phone, but still got under her skin.

Landlord:......Dawn.....I hope you're having a good day so far......

Dawn: shut up....I'm just here to get this shit over with once again.....

Landlord: what?

Dawn: what do you mean "what"?

Dawn lifted up her phone and raised her eyebrow at annoyance at her landlord, seeing them turn off their own phone from sauidstagram and set it to the side.

Dawn: my rent?.....today is Sunday and you told me it was due today. I'm here to pay it and leave to go to Inkopolis.

Landlord: what the hell are you talking about? Your rent was already paid off for the month.

Dawn:.....excuse me?....

Landlord: yeah, someone came in here and paid your rent for ya.....*shrugs* she was a nice girl.....she just left around 30 minutes ago.....

Dawn:........was she an Octoling?

Landlord: yup. An Octoling girl with red tentacles and they faded into green I believe. She was wearing a scarf and was being weird when she tried to talk to me.

Dawn: -_-....yup....sounds like Rose....

Dawn pinched the bridge of her nose as the landlord woman pulled out a squiddy cake from under her desk and began to unwrap it while looking up as her mouth continued to move.

Landlord: like....*nom* the little weirdo kept speaking to me with little notes and she didn't move her mouth a single tim-

Dawn: yeah yeah, I don't care.

Dawn rolled her eyes before shoving her hands in her pockets, turning around and scoffing, making her way to the exit. Her landlord raised her eyebrow at her as her hand reached towards the door handle, and she opened her mouth to speak to her once again.

Landlord: I recommend you actually SHOULD care about something like that. That girl went out of her way to pay your bill.

Dawn:.........

Landlord: did she know you were getting kicked out?

Dawn:......no......I only told that to my friend....not her.

Landlord: so you don't consider that Octoling as a friend?

Dawn: why should I?......after this damn splatfest is over, we're done with each other.

Landlord: what do you mean?.....

Dawn stayed silent for a moment while facing away from her landlord, looking down at the ground as her hand was clenching onto the handle of the door, slightly shaking. She gritted her teeth and pulled the door open, refusing to answer the question.

Dawn: none of your damn business....

Dawn walked from the main building in annoyance, accidentally bumping into an Inkling boy who was walking past her to pay his own rent.

Inkling boy: watch it!

Dawn: shut it, dumbass.

Inkling boy: what the hell did you say?

Dawn:.....do you really need me to repeat myself? Are you deaf, man?

Inkling boy: are you trying to start something with me? Last time I checked, you're that stupid, ugly Inkling who's dating a Pit-Dweller.

Dawn: and who are you supposed to be? Because you have nothing that tops me in anything. I know I'm ugly, but you're right by my side, dude. Even if I was dating that Octoling, I'd have a girlfriend unlike you.

Inkling boy: I have a fucking girlfriend, idiot!

Dawn:.......*raises her eyebrow*.....is she blind?.....like........there's no way someone would get with you. *shrugs* unless she's ugly too, then I'll gladly invite her in to join our little "ugly club"

Inkling boy: shut your damn mouth!

The boy threw a punch at Dawn, but she easily sidestepped and grabbed onto his wrist, using her other hand to slam her palm into the boy's stomach and lift him up above her and then slam him down on the ground, making the boy grunt in severe pain.

Dawn: anything else?.....

Dawn watched the boy look at her, yet struggle to open his mouth to speak. She simply accepted that as his answer and turned around to walk away from him, leaving him there by himself.

Dawn walked through her complex by herself until she reached her main area where her apartment was located. Pulling out a key and grumbling to herself, the inkling unlocked her door and walked inside of her home, but slammed her door shut behind herself much more aggressively than she usually does.

Dawn stayed silent and motionless when she got in her apartment, using her hand and covering her face with it, which eventually lead to her grumbling.

Dawn:........ever since I started associating with you, you've just made my life confusing, Rose....I swear to the Great Zapfish......

Dawn flopped on her couch and didn't bother to take off her boots, instead pulling out her phone and opening it up her "Splash Cash" app, which was just basically her bank account like every single squid and Octo.

Dawn: I didn't expect her to pay my rent.............500k....just bluntly spent on me........cod......

Dawn opened up her bank account, and instead of squids and octos carrying around actual cash, it was always simply transferred to their cards or to their "Splash Cash" account.

Dawn: I guess I can stock up on some groceries right now while it's early in the evening........by the time I'm done, the splastfest should be close to starting up agai-......

Dawn laid on her side as her eyes widened in complete disbelief. She quickly leaned herself up from her couch and glared at her account with a confused, shocked, and slightly disgusted face.

Dawn:............there's no way that she just........

~~~~~

Rune: oh, hey Rose.

Rose, who was sitting at a table with Mona, looked along with her to see Rune, Conner, and Crystal walking from outside of the shoal together, holding some prizes that they recently got from cashing in their tickets. Conner simply was playing with a Cheap Yo-Yo, Rune had on a cheap party hat, and Crystal was holding onto two sea cucumber plushies.

Crystal: it was worth every ticket, my friends!

Conner: *Yo-Yo tricks*

Rune: Hey...Mona.

Mona: y-yes!?

Rune walked over to Mona with a calm demeanor before reaching into his hoodie pocket and pulling out a tiny rainbow squid keychain and handed it to her, and as she took it from him, she stared deeply at it as her mind went blank.

Rune: you said you didn't want a prize, but it only made sense for me to still get you one anyway. I tried to get something that would catch your eye...so...

Rune watched as Mona simply stared at the keychain, then he noticed a tear roll from her eye, and from that tear, came another, then another, and soon an endless stream of tears flowed from Mona's eyes as she whimpered and quickly grabbed him, dragging him into a hug.

Mona: I love it!

Rune:......*looks at Conner*

Conner: *More Yo-Yo Tricks*

Rune:......classic Mona....

While Mona snuggled into Rune, Rose smiled at them while still sitting down just before seeing Crystal walk up to her with one of her cucumber plushies in her hand, while another was on top of her head.

Crystal: hello, little Octo! I'm guessing you're one of Rune's friends!

Rose: *nods*

Rose was taken aback by Crystal's extension of her hand quickly towards her body, expecting a handshake. Rose hesitated, but then extended her own hand and shook Crystal's, standing up from her chair to now be face-to-face with the Sunglasses-wearing Inkling, who she then heard snicker slightly before using her other hand to grab the rim of her sunglasses in front of her, lifting them up and winking at Rose.

Crystal: I'm Crystal, The mayor of moray city, it's nice to meet ya. Any friend of Rune's is a friend of mine.

Rose: O-O....

Crystal: yup. *whispers* I hope you're good at keeping secrets, my friend.

Rose: *cute nod*

Crystal: awe, your expressions are pleasing, I bet they match very well with your voice!

Rose:.........

Crystal: now then.......what's your name?

Rose:..........

Crystal: no need to be shy now. Exchanging names is the first thing to do when you're first developing a bond with someone.

Rose:..........*looks away*.......

Crystal: n-no, don't look away from me! Is there something on my face? Did I do something wrong?

Rose:......*slight sweating*

Crystal: Little Octo, Please!

Rune: her name's Rose, Gem....She can't speak.

Conner: *Even more Yo-Yo tricks*

Crystal looked over to see Rune walking over to her as Mona gently and adorably clenched onto the sleeve of his hoodie while Conner traced behind them, and without breaking eye contact with Crystal, Rune pointed over to Rose.

Rune: she's my coworker, and my friend........also.....

Rune walked over to Crystal and gently flicked her forehead, which made her yelp and hold onto her head as he glared at her.

Rune: did you not hear me when we left the shoal?.....

Crystal: h-hear what!?

Rune: I literally said her name earlier....

Crystal: no you didn't!

Rune: I said "oh, hey Rose"

Crystal: how was I supposed to know that the Octo's name was Rose!?

Rune: because we were looking for Mona........and Rose was the only one sitting near her......at the exact same table.....

Crystal:.....

Rune: you know Mona's name is "Mona" riiiight?

Crystal: of course I do!

Rune: then who do you think the name "Rose" was pointing towards?

Crystal:.....uh.....

Rune: *flick* checkmate.

Crystal: ow! You're ruthless!

Rune: no...I'm just an ass. *points to Conner* he's the ruthless one.

Conner: *Yo-Yo Breaks*..................

Rune: I told you we should've gotten the sticky hands, dumbass.

Conner: *throws the Yo-Yo at Rune*

Rune:......see what I mean? Absolutely ruthless.

Conner: -_-....

While Rune let out a little chuckle at his brother, Crystal looked back over at Rose and gently poked her cheek, which caught her attention and made her look at her, being automatically greeted with a smile.

Crystal: I'm sorry about the rough approach for your name, Rose.

Rose: *understanding nod*....

Crystal: as a token of my friendship and growing freshness!

Crystal grabbed the sea cucumber from off of her head and offered it to Rose, shocking her from it. The plushie was a yellow cucumber with a cute pink bow on top of it, and as Rose accepted the cucumber, Crystal's smile turned into a smirk as she patted on the plushie.

Crystal: she shall be our contract that formed this friendship! I named her Lola! Oh wait!

Crystal reached into her pocket and pulled out a marker before grabbing Lola from Rose once again, then began to scribble on the tag of the plushie.

Rune: why do you have a random marker in your pocket?......

Crystal: you don't carry a marker in your pocket?

Rune: no.....I'm pretty sure Conner does though....

Conner: *pulls out a marker*

Rune: I don't understand.....

Crystal: because you're not "fresh" enough to understand, Rune....hmph!

Conner:......*looks at Rune*

Rune:......what?.....did you expect some crazy reaction because she said I wasn't fresh?.....

Conner: *shrugs*

Mona: w-what she said was really mean....

Crystal: exactly! You're not fresh at all! Haha!

Rune:.......oh no....ah....my feelings.....How shall I ever recover from this?

Crystal: that's what I thought! Heh...loser!

Rune: awe man.....if only I could be as fresh as you Crysta-hmph!

Conner: *confused stare*

Rune: I think I just threw up a little in my mouth when I said that.......

Crystal: hey!

Rune: sorry. My body refuses to let me say it.

Crystal let out a "hmph" of her own before turning back towards Rose and handing her the cucumber plushie once again, and Rose looked at the tag to see that Crystal wrote her name on it along with a cute flower beside it.

Crystal: hm....maybe the teasing tactic doesn't work on him.......bestie, what tactic would work on you the bes-

Crystal stood shocked as she yelped once again, seeing Conner, Mona, and Rune walking away towards Deca tower without her, which made her quickly leave Rose behind and dash towards them to regroup once again.

Crystal: wait for meeeee!!

Rune: then hurry up so we can play some ranked matches. we'll see you at work tomorrow, Rose!

Rose: *wave*

Rose saw her friends walk away, and she sat back down at her table all by herself now, smiling at the cucumber plushie as she placed it down next to her now cold food, which made her smile turn into a sad frown.

???: excuse me.....Rose? That's your name, right?

Rose's attention was caught once again by a different voice, and when she looked up, she saw two cephalopods standing in front of her with weird disguises. While one wore a facemask and cap, the other wore a pair of sunglasses and a beanie to "cover" their identity from her.

Rose:......

???1: heya, uh.....do you mind helping us with somethin'?

Rose: *tilts her head*

???1:......uh......our car broke down! You look like a mechanic, right?

Rose:......

???2:.....*facepalm*

???1: um......w-well I can see you have potential to BE a mechanic!!

???2: for fucks sake......

Rose:.....*looks away*....

???1: you see....our car got hit by uh...a giant plane! And it made our engine stop working!

Rose:.......*confused disappointment*

???2: my cod.....just move.....let me do this

Rose saw the other girl approach her closer than the one before, then lean down until her face was inches away from the her, letting out a little sigh and lifting up her finger from one hand, and used her entire other hand, pulling down her facemask and pulling up her cap, showing Rose her gray tentacles.

Marie: *whispers* look.....we're the squid sisters, blah, blah, you get the gist. We need to pull you aside for a sec.

Callie: yup yup. Just for a talk. *gasp* your cucumber plushie is so cute! And someone wrote your name on the tag. Hold it! Let me get my trusty pocket marker to sign this bad boy for ya.

Marie: *rolls her eyes* okay....do you mind if we talk somewhere more private?

Rose:............

Marie: uh......hello?.....earth to Octo?

Just then, Marie was caught off guard and flinched when she saw Rose's face slam straight into the table, passing out from utter shock, which only made Marie groan and shake her head at her while Callie was signing the plushie.

Marie: shit.....

Callie: what's up?

Marie: she passed out....

Callie: *giggles* juuuuust like every fan.

Marie:....welp.....Callie, help me pick her up.....

Callie: so.....we're taking her?

Marie: duh. That's what we came here for.

Callie: well....it's against her will....isn't that squidnapping?

Marie: we can do that....we're the squid sisters....

Callie: I'm pretty sure that's not how it works-

Just then Marie grabbed onto Callie's wrist and pulled her over to Rose, making her drop the cucumber plushie on the ground in the process.

Marie: c'mon.....who wouldn't wanna be squidnapped by the squid sisters?

Callie:.......*shrugs* true....

~~~~~

Shade: aaaaand, that's how you make a Marine Maroon from start to finish, Knighty Poo! It's our best and most signature drink.

Shadow: *mash mash* mhm....like, 80% of cephalopods that come here usually ask for one....I recommend you master it, dude.

Knight:....I see.....well I was going along with you, but my end product doesn't look that appealing.

Shade, with a simple cup of creamy coffee along with whipped cream, chocolate bits, and a vanilla waffle bar, looked over at Knights Cup of his marine maroon, which didn't have that much whipped cream, chocolate bits, and didn't look too appealing in general.

Knight: I understand the method of cooking.....but drinks....not so much....

Shade: hm....still looks delicious!

Shade picked up Knight's cup and took a tiny sip of his coffee, and the second she did, her eyes shot open and she coughed before placing down the cup and forcefully making herself swallow the drink, holding back tears.

Shadow: *mash mash* "StIlL LoOkS DeLiCiOuS!"

Shade: bleh! SHUT IT!

Knight: I'm guessing it was not appealing?

Shade: n-no! It was uh....not bad...

Shadow: she's trying to tell you that it tastes like shit, without telling you that it tastes like shit.

Shade: Shadow!!

Shadow: what did I do? I'm just being honest with the guy.

Knight: I see....what can I do to improve it?

Shadow: let me see....

Shadow placed down her game and walked over to knight's cup of coffee, picking it up and looking into it.

Shadow: okay....first of all....too much coffee.....too little sugar.....you forgot the vanilla waffle in the whipped cream.....but the most important thing is you're missing your "spark"

Knight:....excuse me?.....

Shadow: your spark. Everyone who makes Marine Maroons in the Café, throws their own little spin in it to make it more unique. It shows that the shifting flavor is endless, just like the waves in the ocean.

Knight: So I need to make it represent me?...

Shadow: that's basically what I meant, yeah.

Knight: how do you make your Marine Maroons?

Shadow: *shrugs* I don't really make them myself honestly. I spend most of my time with Conner in the back baking some pies, danishes, you name it. If you want to learn how to specifically make a Marine Maroon so you can add your twist to it, I recommend you ask Dawn or Rune.

Shade: *gasp* yes, yes, yes!!! Their Marine Maroons are the best, oh my cod!

Knight: how so?

Shadow: they've sold the most out of everyone here. Rune makes his Maroons with more milk added into it, then instead of using a vanilla waffle bar, he instead puts a mini cookie into the whipped cream. Dawn makes her's slightly sweeter and also drizzles caramel on top of her whipped cream, and puts some cinnamon on top.

Knight looked at his cup of coffee that was on top of the counter, then nodded to himself before hearing the doors to the café. Shade, Shadow, and Knight all turned their heads to see Dawn walking into the café with her casual emotionless face to them all.

Shade: *gasp* DAWNY!!

Dawn: *sigh*......

Shadow: whatcha doin' here? I thought you'd be at Inkopolis.

Dawn:.....where is she?

Shadow: who?

Dawn: *glare* Rose. I'm going to find her.

Shade: you need your girlfriend to play turf war with?~

Dawn: just answer the damn question. I'm not here for jokes.

Shadow: *shrugs* we don't know. Considering that she's not with you, and she doesn't like participating in splatfests, she's most likely at home.

Dawn: I checked. I took her home on Saturday to rest because she got hit by another squid in BlackBelly skatepark, but she's not there now.

Shade: she got hit!? Is she okay!?

Dawn: yeah, yeah, she is.

Shadow: your best bet is probably Inkopolis. She's most likely over there with Rune, Conner, and Mona.

Shade: yup!

Dawn:......yeah......I'll just check there...I'm going to turf today anyway......

Dawn turned around and let out a tiny groan, but before she made it far, she felt someone grab onto her shoulder from behind. When she turned her head, she saw Knight standing behind her,

Knight: before you go, I heard that you are good at making Marine Maroons.

Dawn:.....yeah?

Knight: do you mind giving me tips on your process? Something I can think over today?

Dawn:...not in the mood for a long conversation....it's the weekend......ask me that shit on Monday when I actually want to talk about my job.....

Knight: *nods* I see....understood. I'll remind you tomorrow.

Dawn walked away from Knight after brushing his hand from off of her shoulder, leaving the café and everyone in silence.

Shade:......I'm surprised she didn't rip your head off, Knighty Poo.

Shadow: same here....

Knight:.......

Dawn walked down the reef until she came to a complete stop and turned into her squid form, super jumping away and flying high through the air with rapid speed.

Dawn:....(why?).......

Dawn saw Inkopolis in the distance, then quickly began to land until she was directly in front of Crusty Sean's food truck.

She looked around the square...seeing many cephalopods.......most were beautiful......with a fresh body....something that Dawn lacked....her skin is pale enough to make her look like a ghost.....her body is covered in scars from head to toe.....

Dawn:.....(to waste your time and hang out with a rotting corpse like myself...)

Dawn looked at more cephalopods to see some of them having happy conversations, and high-fiving each other in the shared bond of love and trust....

Dawn: (to stick around me....giving me something I didn't need or desire....I don't need friends......I don't need you.....why can't you understand-)

Just then, when Dawn took another step, she stepped on something squidshy and soft. Thinking that it was a Jelly, she looked down and saw that she was stepping on something completely random, and she picked it up to get a good look at it.

Dawn:.......a sea cucumber plushie....mm?

Dawn looked at the tag of the plushie to see that it was Rose's plushie that was left behind.

Dawn: the hell?.....

Dawn looked deeper at the plushie, then her eyes widened in fear and shock as she read another name that was on the belly of the cucumber plushie.

~~
"Stay Fresh!!!"
~Callie
~~

Dawn:...............oh no.....

~~~~~~~~~

*Extra story art*
Dawn