Chapter Text
Soft breathing filled an octoling’s ears as they laid awake, unblinking and deep in thought. Blankets covered their body, keeping them warm. However, it never seemed to help them much. Their eyes darted around the room after a few minutes of thought, tracing over the sleeping figures of their colleagues. There were about 3 other octolings in the room, all of them sound asleep, used to this cold night air. The one who was lying awake didn't understand how the other could sleep through it, as they never could get any sleep during this time of year, with the cold air filling the domes from the kettles above. It was confusing, to say the least.
The octoling sat up, careful not to make much noise as to wake up the others, and softly clambered off the bed. The cold air wasn’t the only problem, the bed was as stiff as a board. How anyone could sleep on those things was beyond them, and yet, they had grown to deal with it. The octoling quietly walked out of the room and into a small balcony that they had the leisure to access because of their rank. The air was still, like it always has been.
The dome was quite dark, not many lights on in the surrounding buildings, and no chatter of octarians that stayed up so late. It was lonely here. It has been to the octoling for about two years, since the only octo that they could call a mother went “AWOL” as they called it. In reality, she’s missing. She wasn't their biological mother, as they were almost the same age, and yet, She still acted like one. They missed her deeply.
The short octoling leaned against the rails, sighing. They hated reminiscing about their so-called “mother.” It brought up too much pain for them. But on quiet nights like these, their mind can only drift off to the times where they sat on the same balcony, quietly chattering.
“Shiver?”
They jumped at the tired voice that came from behind them. Shiver whirled their head around in shock, their voice trembling in surprise.
“V-Valerie! Hi, what are you doing up so late?”
The magenta-tentacled octoling only stared at them in disappointment, arms crossed. Valerie was taller than shiver, and they could feel her soft gaze behind the goggles she wore.
“I could say the same to you.” She stated flatly.
“Well, I’m-“
Valeria only stared at her, and Shiver swore that she rose an eyebrow.
Shiver sighed in defeat, reaching their hand up to fiddle with the blue tentacles that hung slightly above their right eye. They averted their gaze from the taller octoling, who was waiting for an answer from them.
“I couldn’t sleep..” Shiver stated in a quiet tone.
Valerie looked at Shiver with a small smile, and her eyes softened. “You could’ve just woken me up? It’s because of the cold right? Come back inside, we can cuddle if you want?”
Shiver looked up at her, their expression lightning from the gloomy one they had on minutes before. Valerie’s been there for Shiver as long as they could remember, growing up as siblings, although they were not related by blood, alike with her “mother”. She always had Shiver’s back, and could help them back up if they fell down. Valerie is older than Shiver by a few months, and due to their timid nature, she assumed the ‘big sister’ role in Shiver’s life. The two of them were much closer than actual siblings, as they had to grow up mostly relying on each other, but it never seemed to bother either of them.
Shiver followed Valerie to her bed, who lifted the blanket and gestured for them to climb inside. They obliged, and Valerie climbed in beside them, wrapping her arms around them in a light hug. The new warmth made Shiver drowsy, and they felt content in their sister’s arms. Shiver started to let out a very soft purr as they drifted to sleep. Valerie could only smile at the soft noise as she did the same.
It’s been a few months since Shiver’s last mission, and they were growing antsy at the fact that they haven’t been needed for another. They were currently fiddling with the scratchy blanket while they sat on their bed, awaiting the return of their colleges. Shiver could barely find anything to do around the small housing unit they were placed in, all they had for entertainment was a window that led to the balcony, that gave them the view of lower ranked octarian’s places.
Today was the day of DJ Octavio’s first concert in over two years. The last one was a mess, he lost to the New Squidbeak Splatoon’s newest member and the squid sister's enchanting melody. At least, that is how their mom described it, the night before she disappeared. They also took the great zapfish back from his possession, and that was that.
It was different now, though. The mission they were last sent on was the most important missions that they’ve ever been assigned. And they, singlehanded, succeeded. The mission was to observe the most emotionally vulnerable squid sister, which, at the time, would be the one they called ‘Callie’. When the moment presented itself, they were to slip on a new device made by DJ Octavio, called “Hypnoshades”, over Callie’s eyes.
With their extreme stealth and quickness, they managed to pull it off, however, they were sure Callie got a good look at them before they slipped on completely. Shiver was sure that it would come back to bite them eventually. But, that was something to worry about later.
Although, the look on callies face the moment before will always haunt them. She looked absolutely devastated. The fresh tear streaks led up to her tired eyes, and her mouth curled into a soft frown. Shiver could tell that she was lonely, as they themselves before had felt the same way. They were mad at themself for emphasizing with and inkling, but it was just a feeling they knew all too well. Her emotional state had only made Shiver’s job easier.
DJ Octavio, now with the power of Callie of the Squid Sisters, and the great zapfish from inkopolis square, the next concert was bound to happen. Despite how excited Valerie was, Shiver wouldn’t go. They were scared of what would happen there. The rumors that the New Squidbeak splatoon was back was spreading like wildfire through the domes.
They were doing the same thing as they did two years ago, saving the mini zapfish, and going after the great octoweapons. All of this in search of the great zapfish. Although, Shiver knew what they were actually looking for. They’re not stupid, they’ve done their research on the Squid Sisters. Shiver knew that Callie and Marie had been close. They were sure that when Marie heard that her cousin was missing, she dropped whatever she was doing just to go look for her.
Shiver had tried to convince Valerie not to go, but their attempts were in vain. They knew how excited Valerie was for the concert, and in the end, Shiver always lost the small disputes they had over the subject. They could only hope nothing bad happened at the show.
Shiver looked out across the fading light of the city. The domes had a make-shift day cycle, so they could know themselves what it would be like on the surface. Nightfall was coming, and their colleagues would be back soon. The sound of the rattling door knob made their head snap to face the door, and they shifted so they could see the door better without straining their neck.
When the door opened, Valerie and the other octolings walked in, and Shiver smiled slightly at them.
“Hey! Your back, how was it?” Shiver chirped happily. Their smile faded when she noticed how tired they all looked. Appearing like tired zombies, none of the octoling answered, they all just climbed into their respective beds and passed out. Shiver slid off their bed and walked over to Valerie’s, a confused expression painted on their face. They placed their hand on the sleeping octoling’s shoulder and shook her, in an attempt to wake her up. After several tries, Shiver had no choice but to give up. They’ll get their answers in the morning.
It’s always been hard to sleep on cold nights. Once again, this night was no exception. Shiver laid awake on their bed, mind drifting to random thoughts in an attempt to make themself drowsy enough to fall asleep. Their thoughts were in the ‘weird’ category, when Shiver heard shuffling behind them. They pushed themself off the bed and into a sitting up position, and locked eyes with Valerie, who had her hand on the doorknob.
“Sis..? Where are you going? It’s like.. two in the morning..” Shiver stated in a low and groggy tone, clearly confused. Valerie jumped at the question, slight panic flashing through her face.
“I-I’m just going on a walk! That’s all. I’m restless and I can’t stop shifting around in my sleep, so I think a walk would help. To make me drowsy, ya’know?”
Shiver huffed, clearly unsatisfied with the answers they were given.
“Alright..” They said in a tone that gave of the vibe of ’I clearly don’t believe you but I’ll let it slide’.
“Don’t worry Shiver, I’ll be back by morning.” Valerie smiled at Shiver, who in turn smiled back. They nodded their head as they watched Valerie leave, and when she was out the door, their expression morphed into one of sadness and confusion. Something was wrong, the sudden tiredness they saw in their colleges after the concert, and now their sister going out for a walk at two in the morning.
They let out another sigh as they laid themself back down onto their bed. The thoughts swirling through their head seemed to tire them out, and they gently closed their eyes. Shiver really needed to talk with Valerie in the morning.
After that very moment, Valerie never came back.
The nights since that day have been such a struggle to sleep through in the months with the harsh cold air, paired with the stiffness of their bed. Shiver laid awake most nights, barely getting an ounce of sleep. In the morning, they had to down several caffeine filled drinks just to help themself last through the day, and so, the concept of sleep slowly drifted away from them.
Shiver always pushed themself to do the more brutal missions so they keep their mind off of those who left them behind, completely emerging themself with tasks day in and day out. There were times their lack of sleep would catch up to them, and claimed their body for some well-needed rest, but the naps never lasted long.
Those days of the times the only two people that they could call family left them haunted their dreams, and with that, Shiver only pushed off sleep even farther. They knew it wasn’t healthy, but they didn’t wanna keep dwelling on the past. They only got away with it before because they had Valerie by their side, but now, she had gone as well.
It’s been about a year since the day Valerie left, and the day that Shivers' fears were made apparent. They had found out by others that the New Squidbeak splatoon had in fact crashed the concert, and managed to take off Callie’s hypnoshades. The Squid Sisters also sang that cursed melody, too. Shiver knew that the song was the main factor Valerie had left, because of the similarity of her actions that had mirrored their mother’s just two years before.
That night, shiver was too groggy to put two and two together, but in the morning, they panicked. They had searched the domes for her to no avail, even though deep down they knew it was useless. Valerie was not the only octoling to disappear, several others went missing on that same night. That only fueled Shiver’s suspicion.
Now, all Shiver could do was wait in hopes of a false promise that she will eventually return to them, or that they would wake up and it was just a very long dream, but those moments never came. Day by day, Shiver could only feel themselves growing more cold hearted, and they started lacking the remorse that they had before. Their personality shifted to one of a timid nature to one with a stone cold stare, strong resolve and high loyalty.
Shiver quickly climbed the ranks while honing their combat skills, and they became a soldier on the front lines, decorated with kelp to show their status. Many octarians respected them for their strong will and cold nature, and their name became widespread. They were known for the fact that they didn’t talk much and tended to work alone, but many admired Shiver for that.
Shiver, on the other hand, could care less.