Skipping Time

With all the squidmas hanging on most windows and stalls, Ceylon wondered if she may as well just spend a little of her cash on this instead of making up some dinner in the end. It'll end up being curry leftovers anyway of whatever she ended up finding back home so what's a bit of shopping going to hurt? She looked around at the stores before shopping at a squid phone outlet store selling assorted keychains, phone accessories, and covers. "What to get, what to get..." she thought in open debate as her eyes poured over the items. Sticker brands were neat and it would be cool to add a few keychains to her weapons to further identify them. 

Suddenly her eyes caught onto a figure she was very much familiar with. "A Squidmas Aloha squid!!" Her hands and tentacle were pressed up again st the display case as she looked at the figure. It was the dancing squid figure on her Aloha T-shirt only with a cheesy squidmas hat and some colored lights on it. It even lights up, dances, and sings! As tacky as it looked, Ceylon couldn't resit anything related to her number one favorite piece of gear. "HowdoIgetit? HowdoIgetit!?" She asked the sales Krill who gave her the oddest look for being so hyper active for it.

"Miss, we have a lottery for these items as we count down till Squidmas."

A lotto barrel rested on the counter with prize balls and mystery bags behind the counter. One of these has to have the figurine, even if it was a mid-tier prize. "I need to think this through." She slinked back away from the glass to start plotting how much cash she had versus the number of rolls she could make.

There it is. Squidmas. It was the first time Basor had ever participated in a lovely festival like this one. 

Her friend Oca has lent her a hoodie to wear, saying that it'll be cold on the surface, in a weather like this. And it's true: it's freezing cold.

"Brrr! It's been warm and sunny in Octo Valley 24/7." she murmured. "Can't believe it's THAT cold up here."

The chilly, dry hair irritated her eye. She is forced to close it until she walked into a less windy place, which happens to be a shop packed with various creatures. Not just Inklings, but jellies, lobsters, fishmen and many others.

All these creatures had one thing in common though: They have two eyes. Basor can already feel uncountable pairs of eyes staring at her.

Already expecting uncomfortable stares from others even before she leave Octo Valley, she ignored them, and instead looked at what's in the stalls.

A line of figurines caught her eye. "These figurines will be a great souvenir for my friend!" she whispered under her breath. The exclusive ones would be even better, but they are only obtainable via lotteries... "No, I don't think I have luck for this."

Despite that, she continued to scan through all the lottery set ups. There are so many different kinds of prizes, like unique clothing, toys, books, food, special tours, spawner color codes for unique ink colors, and one of them is a splattershot made out of gold.

"I'd rather go on a tour instead." she sighed. She looked through the prizes until she saw a sign, in bold letters, saying: "The grand prize is a private tour of Ancho-v Game's offices and a very special figurine!!"

"If I win this one, I can go on a tour... and get that figurine for my friend!" this sounded like the perfect lottery for her to participate in. Strangely enough, this lottery stand isn't packed with inklings, unlike the others.

An Inkling girl stood right next to her, her face beaming with excitement. "No way! If I can win the tour and record that and put it on my channel, then everyone will be very jealous." she exclaimed.

"Excuse me, miss. Are you participating in this lottery too?" she tapped her shoulder.

( maria jones )

She looked around a bit to see if there's a line for the lottery. She then felt a tap on her shoulder. She spun around to see an octarian? That's weird. You don't see them often.

"Maybe. Haven't decided yet." she then answered with a nervous tone in her voice.

(basor )

Basor can hear the fear in the Inkling's voice. They're afraid of us, just like what Oca told me. She let out a sigh. She's still surprised that the Inkling didn't say anything about her single eye, though.

"Hm... so is going to tours not a thing for Inklings? I don't see a lot of them lining up for this lottery set." she asked, trying to start a topic. "Well, I am participating in this lottery. Have you made up your mind yet?"

She peeked behind the lottery set to see a sardine fishman sitting behind the set. "Excuse me sir, one roll please."

The sardine looked surprise to see an Octoling joining a lottery. "That'll be 500 coins, miss."

Basor took 500 coins from her pocket and handed them to the sardine. "Here. 500."

"You may pull the lever and start." he pointed at a small wooden lever by the side of the barrel.

Hands shaking, she slowly reacher for the lever. Time for her first roll.

"What color is the bead for the first price?" she asked.

"Yellow." the sardine replied, not even looking at her. "Good luck."

She pulled the lever alas, and the barrel spun. A few turns later, a small plastic bead dropped out of a hole.

"It's a white bead! Too bad, miss! Better luck next time."

(maria jones rest in pieces Basor's confidence)

She thought for a bit then said "It seems so." The line was short after all, since everyone else wanted that special gold splattershot figurine. "I could try at least." she then added. She felt nervous as the octarian in front her took a draw but didn't get it. "Good, I thought I lost it." she said to herself.

Just as she was stepping up to the table, another octarian ran towards the line. "Oh boy." she then said to herself.

(basor oca ceylon Yes!!!)

"Oca! I-I'm sorry! It's my first time up here... I kinda lost my patience..." Basor apologized. "Ah, I lost that roll! So you're giving a try too? ...oh wait!" she realized that she started a conversation with a stranger without a proper greeting when she tried to say the inkling's name.

"I haven't properly introduced myself yet! My name is Basor! And this is my friend Oca! We came from Octo Valley! B-but... we're not here to hurt anyone...! Ugh... We're just here for Squidmas..." 

Her voice trailed off and she felt more glances from others. She shouldn't have mentioned the Octo Valley. 

"...sorry, I'm not that good when dealing with strangers..."

(ceylon maria jones oca )