[Trade] Opposites Attract

Mako’s morning was as boring as it usually was. He made a few laps of his territory, finding no one in his remote corner of the sea and settling back down in the shallows to spend the rest of his day grazing. Monotonous, dull, uneventful, just the way he liked it. He had spent enough of his life being tossed from place to place, conflict to conflict, he had earned his solitude with years of suffering. His scars tingled as he recalled their origins but quickly stuffed those thoughts back down. No room for that in his retirement, just time for him and his underwater crops providing him with all he needed. He began to uproot some pesky weeds as he chewed on a mouthful of seagrass, enjoying the leisure of both tending to his food and eating it. It was nice to grow something from scratch, to nurture it and see it thrive.

His peaceful morning, his fragile peace, was shattered by a loud call from another Atopodentatus. He looked upwards, his body tensed as he prepared to defend his territory. "Coooo-eeee!" the female Atopodentatus called, approaching him belly-up. "Hey there, handsome! Haven't seen you before!" In the face of the least subtle flirting he had ever encountered in his life, Mako could only stare in bewilderment. "Catshark got your tongue? Let's start with names. I'm Minnow," the Atopodentatus introduced herself.

"Mako," he replied, still in mild shock from her brazen approach.

"Nice to meet you Mako, I'd sure love to know more about you," Minnow said boldly. He blinked at her before remembering what season it was. 

"I suppose it is that time of year isn't it?" he remarked drily.

"I mean, yes it is but there's no need to be so uptight about it," she pouted. "We could make a day out of it, do something new and exciting! What do you like to do in your free time?" She seemed to be about his age, maybe older based on how she exceeded his size. Why then, did she carry herself like a giddy hatchling? She couldn't hold still as she waited for his answer, performing slow motion loop-de-loops around him while looking expectantly at his grimacing face. Her expression never changed either, staying a hopeful smile in the face of his stoicism.

"I like to be left alone," he barked.

"You've got no hobbies? None at all?" she asked with a concerned tone that made Mako uncomfortable.

"I have all I need right here, thank you," he snapped. He whipped his tail around to perform an about face and began to swim back to his cave.  Minnow wasn't ready to give up just yet and swam ahead of him to intercept him. By the north star, she was fast, he noted, easily cruising up to his speed and blocking him with her powerful body.

“Don’t be such a stiff flipper,” she chided, "Surely there's something new you'd like to try? Something adventurous to bring a spark back into your life?" she pried. Mako remained unmoved. He should have felt no need to keep replying to her but he still found himself answering.

“I’ve seen plenty in my time.”

“I bet I can show you something even you’ve never seen before,” she bragged. Something about her tone stirred Mako to humour her. 

“Go on then,” he grumbled, ignoring the fluttering in his stomach when she cheered and bumped his side. 

“Come on then, we don’t have all day! Well, maybe you do but I don’t!” With that she was speeding off and Mako had to pump his tail hard to keep up with her. The ripples above them made light dance on the other sauropterygian’s skin, lighting up her natural blooming rosette patterns and the gentle curves of her body. Mako forced his gaze forward, unsettled by his own wandering thoughts. They came to a sudden halt in front of a large coral rock formation. It was pock marked with caves and hollows, some leading deeper into tunnels within the rock, most of them far too small to even fit their heads through. One cave was just wide enough to fit Minnow, and that seemed to be where she was taking him. She stopped just a few metres away from the hole in the rock and looked at him, beaming. 

“We’re rock watching?” he asked sarcastically. Minnow snorted, sending bubbles rocketing to the water’s surface. Even her weird snorting laugh was beginning to become endearing to him, these damn springtime hormones. 

“Watch this,” she said, backflipping into a dive down towards the beckoning cave mouth. In an instant she was gone, the current too powerful for any Atopodentatus to fight. She was pulled straight into the cave, out of sight and Mako swam to the entrance and swam back and forth in front of it with panicked rapid motions of his tail . He was about to call for her when he heard a loud whooping from the rock formations. Her mottled body streaked past him at impossible speed as she was propelled from the cave system, reaching the peak of her arc above the water and landing back with an almighty splash.

He rushed over to her, watching her laugh herself breathless and have to swim to the surface. He followed, seeing her break through the water and tilt her head back to the sun. He swam up to her level and her eyes fell back down to him. There was a softness to them that made him feel like he was the one out of breath. She tilted her head at him, like she was sizing him up.

"I meant it y'know?" she said in a low tone, "You're a handsome guy."

"You're not so bad looking yourself," he admitted, which made her giggle again.

"Is that the best I'll get out of you? I suppose I'll take it," she teased. "Come on, I showed you my hobby, now you have to show me your garden."