Challenge Log: Evie Frye & Sydney Clarke - Fear of Fish
january 25
EVIE FRYE + SYDNEY CLARKE
CHALLENGE LOG: FEAR OF FISH
PG | COMPLETE
When a section of an aquarium as big as this one in the zoo broke, what and how it happened became secondary (or even tertiary) very, very quickly. There was a veritable lake around Evieâs feet, a mess of algae, plankton and struggling fish slapping against her boots but that wasnât all. The person squeaking in fear very close to her location might prove to be the reason Evie lost her calm, and not the struggling fish she wasnât sure how to help. Thankfully, one of the employees had called the shelter already.
âIn the meantime, buckets? We need to place these animals in water as quick as possible! Tell us what to do, weâll help.â She said, offering herself and the other customers who werenât climbing up on things and crying at the moment.
âWould you please stop crying?â Sydney was just arriving, messy hair up and wading boots on. She was sent mostly for her abilities, in case any of the sea creatures didnât make it and uh, things needed to be set right. But there was a woman screeching as she climbed a pole nearby, and Sydney was debating murdering her instead.
âIt has teeth!â The womanâs high pitched wine made Sydney grumble and the blonde muttered under her breath, âThe better to eat you with.â Before flashing the woman an entirely fake smile. âJust stay up there and youâll be fine.â
Syd turned back to Evie and held out a bucket. âThey have extra tanks in the back, weâre just collecting and transporting. But even if you find something thatâs already died, go ahead and collect it.â
Evie took the bucket, nodded, and started filling it up with fish and stuff, careful not to actually pick up any glass. Meanwhile, the lady seemed to be breathing a little too audibly and repeating squishy over and over. While people were trying to talk her down, the staff was at the same time attempting to get customers out of there for obvious reasons. âI⌠think the lady is in a panic. Someone needs to get her out of here.â
âI canât get out of here these things are flopping down THERE!â She screamed. Evie glanced at the blonde younger woman nearby, then looked around.
âRight, have we got a tranquilizer pistol we may need to use?â
Syd did her own gathering, wading through the water and things with a slightly grumpy look on her face. Working as fast as she could through it all so nothing was more injured on her watch, she spared an annoyed look at the screeching woman before looking to Evie. âProbably just the one they use on angry hippos?â
Looking back at the screecher in question, who was attempting to climb even higher, then teenager sighed, ânone of them are venomous, poisonous or have a lot of teeth. The piranha tank is over there-â Syd thumbed a finger to the room behind the woman.
âHa, imagine if it had been the piranha-â Someone started, to which Evie retorted that they would be dying just the same and having been fed daily wouldnât start nipping at anyoneâs heels, sorry to disappoint.
âItâs not,â squeaked the trembling woman, âabout the teeth. Theyâre squishy and floppy and disgusting and-â
It all devolved into desperate whining from there so Evie sighed deeply and decided to clear a path for the lady to be taken the living hell out of there. The glass crackled under her feet mixing its sound with the sound of her boots tapping on the wet floor as she shoved things away or into the bucket almost indiscriminately. âAll right, all right. Clear the fish, careful with the glass,â she told someone nearby impatiently, âand see if the lady can be taken away before I break something.â
When someone asked whether she was staff or from the shelter Evie didnât stop working, telling him that if he didnât want her help he should at least let her clear herself some room so she could go home without stepping on any fish corpses. The man went away. Evie eyed Sydney. âWhy on Earth would you go to a place surrounded by fish if youâre not exactly a fanâŚ?â
Sydney burst out giggling at the absurdity of the situation, having someone freak out so abruptly was not in her normal wheelhouse. The people around her were almost always some level of strange calm or apathetic.
Deciding to ignore any screeching in her ear, she moved closer to the brunette badass and knelt down, setting her bucket of water someplace safe. This was the not fun part as she scooped up a fish and held it for a second, exhaling a breath. A moment later, it was flopping into the bucket like nothing had happened, and Syd moved to the next. âI think,â She talked while she worked, shooting a dirty look at the screecher. âSome people just feel more comfortable when things are in cages and tanks, and they can put their fears aside in a neat little box.â The blonde knew that first hand.
Evie would have been remiss not to notice the young girlâs strange ritual of holding dead fish until they were⌠alive.
âImpressive.â She murmured, not wanting to make a fuss. As her bucket filled, she went off to locate another and hand hers to the person handling the replacement tanks. When she returned, she continued saving fish and plankton and things next to the blonde shelter employee. She chuckled at the young ladyâs view of this entire situation. âI think youâre right. It must be good to see your fears caged up where they canât hurt you.â
Syd snorted, but focused on moving fish as delicately as possible. Gloves wouldâve been nice, all things considered, but useless for her in the long run. Still, the scales could feel more than a little off putting and her nose wrinkled both at that and diving into the thoughts about fears.
âItâs a lot better than the alternative, trust me.â She didnât really mean to get personal with someone she didnât know, but Syd also wasnât very good at just shutting up and doing her job.
The blonde young womanâs response managed to make Evieâs brow raise. She had heard from Cisco and others that the coma everyone had been in had something to do with fear, so it was only natural that she wondered if the girl had been under a coma as of recently as well.
âI believe you.â She said. âItâs common sense that it would be much better than having to face them head on.â Evie wasnât asking, but she did leave her tone and body language open for the girl to elaborate if she wanted. Well, after she went to get another bucket for the bigger glass shards, as the fish and plankton had all been collected from her area of âworkâ.
âI mean, Iâm glad I donât have a fear of fish,â Syd continued, nodding at Evieâs commentary while still keeping her eyes on her work. It was half actual, genuine relief, and half shade thrown at the screeching woman who had now been removed. âThereâd be a lot more dead things here if I was.â
She stood and switched off her bucket for another, stepping carefully around the debris. âHow does a tank like this even break?â
âI donât believe you would be working at the shelter if you had a fear of common animals.â Evie replied, chuckling. At the question, she looked up at the tank and shrugged. âImmense pressure or an immense lack of luck. Perhaps both. I donât think it is meant to, but perhaps someone with a little bit more strength than even the glass makers anticipated exercised force against it. For some reason.â
âTrue,â Syd took care of another fish, and into the bucket it went, gently. The coral was being handled with what was left of the tank, and sheâd probably have to check on that later, but as of right now, Syd couldnât find anything else amidst the glass, so she stood.
âWeâre going to smell like fish forever, now. But hey- thanks for your help. I think weâve got everything in this room thatâs going to murder the screeching woman, all thatâs left is debris.â Syd sighed, eyes aimed at the intact tanks. âAnd making sure everyone has a safe move.â
Evie chuckled to herself at the astute observation about fish smell - it was pervasive and intense, and possibly demanding ten showers to go away completely. Her work seemed to be done for now too, so she made like the young woman and got to her feet, looking around. âOh, no matter, I was glad to help.â
Someone was finally helping the lady down and out of the room, leaving Evie to wonder what had taken so long. âSince Iâm already here, but my visit to this space is better done some other day, why donât I help with that as well? Lead the way!â