Today my sisters and I talked about something... important.
It's absolutely infuriating that I can't talk to you about it yet, but at the same time, I'm a little happy about this, about the fact I have to keep my mouth shut. Kinda. Because at the end of it all, when Mrs. Alkahest finally gives us permission to talk to you about it, probably what... no, I can't phrase it that way, it would be too obvious what I'm talking about... um... okay, let's just say it'll be interesting.
We're also involving Sangreal himself; he doesn't think he has the talent to do what we asked of him, but he'll make himself available to us anyway.
We're gathering more information. Some of it will be difficult to find, but we really can't afford not to verify the sources. Oh no, um, I have to find a way to talk to you about it that doesn't break the silence clause Seras imposed on us, damn it.
I won't talk to you about it anymore. Imagine me whistling, with my hands behind my back.
No, no, don't worry, there's nothing strange about this blog, nothing that could help you understand what it's all about. Whistle, whistle.
Anyway, today was an incredible day! We went to the pools (that's where we talked about the project) to take some samples, and there were the fluffiest algae in the world, but more importantly, there were some new mini-fish! It really looks like spring has arrived.
Lots of Palaemon shrimp crowded the shallow, warm water, beautiful, with their transparent, streaked bodies bursting with intense shades of color, making them look like glass toys. They weren't even afraid of us! Sure, they didn't want to be touched (maybe a giant poking you with his finger isn't your thing, and I can understand that), but they seemed more curious than scared.
We found several dead crabs, and this is interesting, because while some were open, a sign that someone had pried open their shells and eaten their flesh, others were dead but closed, with some legs missing. Two different causes of death, perhaps two different predators? According to my brother Seraphin, even the first crabs were probably not forced by a predator, but rather lost structural integrity post-mortem, but I'm not convinced.
And then we also observed a "mysterious" creature. Nothing sensational, but it was a small black mass, wagging its tail from a pool, and then dived back into the sea before we could photograph or even see it. Could it really be the mysterious crab predator?
Of course, we also observed some live crabs, but above all, an enormous number of hermit crabs! I swear, there seemed to be more hermit crabs than snails; every shell we turned had a small red-orange hermit crab inside. Absolutely adorable!
Ionia continues her experiments to reproduce small marine environments in jars (very spacious jars, obviously, I want that on record), and thanks to her experience, it's working! Well, I mean, she's a marine biologist with a thing for micromanagement, and it's obviously working. Three new Phorcus richardi snails have joined the "family" in her latest jar (she'd already gotten one before, to see how it handled itself, and since it was doing so well, she increased the number), some algae (I'll have to ask her what they are later), and the shell of a large limpet covered in smaller ones.
We'll see how it goes!
And that's it, until next time (hoping to be able to give you some more information about our special little project. But until then, we'll keep our mouths shut!).
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