I’m doing Nanowrimo, and I promised a few people I’d put up a preview of my favorite part so far.
‘Informata’ is based on the premise that things on the Internet exist in a dimension that certain people can access and maintain, so it was a natural choice that the Fail Whales of Twitter fame should make an appearance.
Plus they are so ridiculously cute.
Disclaimer: I don’t own, and don’t claim to own, any of Twitter’s trademarks. The Fail Whale belongs to Twitter. I’m not making any money off Informata, because I fully intend to bury it in my hard drive forever after November.
That being said, have Part 1 of a preview!
Elaine was splashing about in the water when Rain reached the beach. There was a baby Phail Whale there, singing happily, swishing its broad tale up and down as Elaine splashed about with it.
“Ftl ftl fffaalll,” it sang happily. It made a “ftft!” sound when Elaine splashed water playfully at it.
“Rain,” Elaine greeted cheerfully, waving at her. “Come join us!”
Lina was in the water too, wearing a big loose scarf around her waist. She was standing in deeper water; where the water was at Elaine’s thighs, Elaine was fully chest deep in water.
She was patting the side of a larger baby Phail Whale. Its tail was flapping happily as well.
“Is there space?” Rain grinned.
“There’s always space!” Elaine giggled. She had never seen Elaine quite so… girly before. She was still in her overalls, but she didn’t seem to care that she was getting soaked. She was having too much fun with the Phail Whale.
Rain threw her towel over a convenient low branch and waddled into the water. The Phail Whale Elaine was playing with circled around her, singing in what sounded like a curious tone as she approached. “Faaaaa?”
“Aaailll,” Lina sang back. “Illlll. Ftt.”
“Fffffft,” it sang back, then swam right against her leg in greeting. It felt soft and slightly squishy.
“Can I touch him?” she asked Elaine, her voice hushed.
“Go ahead,” Elaine grinned dreamily. She put her hand in the water and the Phail Whale swam right up to it, bumping its nose against her hand
Rain tried it too; she put her hand in the water, and seeing it, the baby Phail Whale swam through to her. It bumped against her hand but didn’t go away, instead bumping against her repeatedly.
Then it sang. “Fffffft. Ffftallllll. Faaaaaaailfff…”
“He likes you,” Lina smiled. “And he wants to play.”
Elaine splashed her and laughed. Rain splashed back and the Phail Whale sang happily. Its tail, shaped like an exaggerated upside down handlebar moustache, wriggled happily.
[...]
Lina beckoned her, and she swam out to the deeper waters. The two Phail Whales circled them, singing happily.
“You can understand Whale song?” she asked Lina as they splashed water at the Phail Whales.
“Sure I can,” Lina smiled. “I’m here because I’m the only person they could find who’s fluent enough in Whale song. I’m actually our Phail Whale specialist. Everyone else specialises in the Twitter birds.”
“By the way,” Lina continued, “Did you see my uncle? He works at the Junction City air docks. Ian Woon?”
“I did,” Rain said. “Rodney promised to bring back saltwater taffy for him.”
“In saltwater, I hope,” Lina smiled. They laughed.
“Faaaaaaaaail,” the larger Phail Whale sang, its tail brushing against her hand.
“Guess we couldn’t ignore them for too long,” Lina laughed. She reached down and tickled the Phail Whale’s chin.
“You can do that?” Rain exclaimed.
“Yes,” Lina grinned. “See?”
She took Rain’s hand and guided it under the water. The larger Phail Whale sang, almost purred, as she scratched it under the chin.
The smaller one, clearly the younger whale of the two, swam up to them, not wanting to be left out. “Ffft? Ailll?”
“It’s okay, we haven’t forgotten you,” Rain laughed, reaching underneath and tickling it under the chin.
The Phail Whale shivered, its entire body wriggling, and it swam around her happily. “Ffft! Ftl ftl fttttttl.”
“He likes it,” Lina translated.
Rain giggled. “Who’s a good little Phail Whale? Who’s a good widdle Phailey Whaley?”
“Fffft! Aaaaiii.”
It splashed water at her. She laughed, tasting the salty orange water. She splashed back, and before long they were involved in a playful splashing match, their laughter echoing back to shore.
End of Part 1. Stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow!
Part 2 is now available! Click me to go the second part of the preview!
[...] Here’s the continuation of the preview from yesterday. The first part can be found here. [...]