Solo [Job Thread #1] It's Starting to Smell Fishy

[Nyael Atuin]

Day 17 of Summer, 513 Nyael could barely contain her excitement on her fist day working as an Aquaculturist at the Menagerie Aquarium. She showed up at the Aquarium just as the sun's rays breached the horizon to begin its ascent to the zenith. Nyael could tell it would be a hot day, but she didn’t mind. She would be in the water soon, swimming with fish and tending to kelp. It couldn't have been a better fit. She would be working with very familiar plants and animals in an equally familiar environment, albeit in a much smaller space.   Seafoam greeted Nyael warmly at the entrance. “Welcome, Nyael! I’m glad to have you aboard. The staff will convene shortly for our morning meeting and afterwards the fun begins!” "Thank you," Nyael said in her best Common tongue accent, "for this…opportunity. I am very grateful." "I'm very grateful to have you here as well," Seafoam responded in Char. "Another Charoda will be very helpful at the aquarium." Nyael would have skipped to the conference room had Seafoam not accompanied her.   The staff discussed new developments regarding their animals. Oata would soon be birthing a new set of octopus hatchlings for the menagerie. Jiril, the new sea lion, was finally socializing with the rest of the pod, and Perage the pink dolphin had been exceptionally receptive to training and just learned to leap through hoops for juicy mackerels. Some of the pygmy pipehorses had developed a whitde fungus and would need to be quarantined and treated.   As the meeting drew to a close, Seafoam passed out the day’s itinerary. “Lastly, please help me welcome Nyael to our team. The safety of our wards and our staff is of the upmost importance, so if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask anyone.”   Nyael smiled and waved as the rest of the staff broke into a chorus of “Hello’s.”   “This is Risine,” Seafoam introduced Nyael to one of her new coworkers. “You’ll be shadowing him today to learn how to perform all the entry-level tasks you’ll be responsible for.”   Risine motioned Nyael to follow him to the backrooms behind the above-ground holding tanks. He pulled buckets of chum and whole fishes out of some ice as well as a few bags of dried foods in the form of pellets and wafers from a cupboard.   “All the animals in our exhibit are on a very strict diet.” He grunted while straining to lift a bucket of chum onto a scale. “There are empty buckets in that box. Each is marked to correspond with one of the above-ground tanks and each has instructions written on the side that’ll let you know what type of food and how many parts of food and vitamins are needed for the animals in that tank. Make sure all the food looks fresh and weigh everything before feeding.” He measured out two cups of powdered vitamins and mixed it in with the bucket of chum on the scale and then set the entire bucket aside. Risine took out a notebook full of tables and graphs, recording the date and amount of feed in his bucket. “Also, record everything." Risine stretched his back. "One more of those and we’ll be done with our fist tank. Why don’t you do the second bucket?”   Nyael picked up an empty bucket, set it on the scale, and scooped out a cup of chum for the bucket. The smell made her instantly nauseous; her skin turned a few shades greener.   “Yeah, you’ll get used to the smell.” Risine laughed. “Just wait until you’re cleaning out the filters! Oh, the feed for the sea lions are a lot different! You have to stuff vitamins into a whole fish like this.” Risine picked up a fish and a vitamin tablet and, without a moment of hesitation, shoved the tablet deep into the fish’s throat.   And that’s when Nyael lost her breakfast.

[Nyael Atuin]

Evening 17 of Summer, 513 Nyael's feet drug across the floor and her shoulder were slumped over. It was the end of her shift, and she was on the verge of collapse. She reeked of fish, her feet were sore, and a hot pain burned in her back from lifting countless pounds of chum and scrubbing tanks and filters.   "Nyael!" She heard Risine call to her. "Don't leave yet! We've got…a thing…a staff thing."   "I'm…really very…tired," Nyael objected to no avail. He took her by the hand and led her to the hermit crab exhibit.   "It'll be fun," he promised.   When they reached the tank, Nyael saw that someone had set up lanes in the tank, and in each lane was a hermit crab in a small holding box. Small pieces of fruit lied at the end of each lane.   "We used to race the sea lions, but Seafoam got mad." Risine smiled. "Who do you want to bet on? Thanto is favored win this round."   "I, uhm…I am not much for betting." Nyael smiled. "Perhaps…this time…I watch."   "Well, that won't be any fun!" Gartha bellowed. Nyael recognized her as one of the large mammal handlers. "Put down a few copper mizas or even an IOU note. Risine owes me two gold mizas, at least!"   "No," Risine winked mischievously, "I owe you a backrub worth two gold mizas. Redeemable anytime, Gartha."   Nyael paused to think and choose her words. “Would…a note for a home-cooked Charoda meal be alright?”   Everyone nodded enthusiastically. Nyael cast her bet with Thanto, as suggested by Risine, and then the race began. If it could be called a race. Four of the crabs holed up in their boxes. One scampered about in circles. Another got out of its box just to climb a top it. Two made it halfway through the track before retreating into their shells. All the while, the Menagerie staff shouted and cheered for their respective crabs.   “Go, go, go!”   “Just a bit further!”   “You gotta leave that box, buddy!”   “You’re tilting the table!” Gartha playfully accused Risine.   Risine raised his hands innocently. “I wasn’t tilting it; I was leaning on it.”   “You were tilting it!” Gartha lightly punched him in the arm.   Risine laughed heartily. “I swear I wasn’t!”   “This worked better with the sea lions…”   Nyael giggled uncontrollably at how absurdly invested they became in a meanderings of a half dozen hermit crabs, but she loved it. And, it suddenly occurred to her that she had made friends. She had found a job that would eventually lead to a proper career. She wasn’t so scared of her future anymore. All of her stress melted away as an intoxicating mirth filled every inch of her soul.

[Magpie]

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Nyael :

XP:
Animal Husbandry +1
Gambling +1

Lores:
New Happenings at the Aquarium
Aquarium Feeding Protocols
Making Friends on the Job

Notes :

As there's no established fish-care skill, I awarded you general Animal Husbandry for your work in learning to care for the fish/sea critters. Not a whole lot going on here, but a cute little thread to get you started working.

If you have any questions or concerns about what was awarded, please don't hesitate to PM me.
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