Birthday

by Daecon

Summary:

Back in Portorosso for the summer, Giulia celebrates a birthday with her fishy friends.

Chapter 1: Birthday

Massimo dimmed the lights and lit the candles on Giulia’s cake. Like her namesake, Julius Caesar, her birthday fell in mid July. That meant she usually celebrated it with her father in Portorosso, but it also usually meant her friends from Genova couldn’t be there. This would be the first time she’d have a real party to commemorate the occasion.

As her father picked up the cake, she saw Luca mouth something. She couldn’t hear what it was and realized from his distant expression that he was using his Siren’s voice. Sure enough, as he and her family began to sing, other voices joined in the song. Giorgio and Giana, both Sirens themselves, were carrying the voices of her other friends all the way from Genova. She grinned. Mind control was a parlor trick. This was what the odu sK’antinno was truly meant for: To bring people together no matter how far apart they might be.

Her father set the cake before her on the table and she considered her wish. She was already surrounded by friends and family, and even winning the Portorosso Cup didn’t obsess her like it once did. Before she could even draw breath to blow out the candles, there came a furious knocking at the door. Puzzled, Alberto turned to open it.

Antonio Gambero stood out of breath on the doorstep, his ochre scales still damp from the ocean, “It’s happening! Luca! Your sister, she’s hatching!”

“Already? I thought she had another week to go!” He tensed, and looked from Giulia at the table, out to the ocean and back again.

Giulia had no such hesitation. Her only thought was well, now I know what my wish should be about, blew out the candles, and grabbed her scuba gear. She didn’t even wait to change into a swimsuit. Her usual striped tee and shorts wouldn’t suffer too much in the salt water.

Even with swim fins instead of sandals, Giulia wasn’t as fast in the water as a natural sea monster, so Luca and Alberto took her hands to help tow her along as they dove to the Paguros’ farmhouse. Daniela looked up from the egg case as the three kids swam in.

“You made it! She’s just starting.”

They settled down to watch the egg jiggle and flex. Giulia tapped Luca’s arm and signed to him. She couldn’t speak underwater like the sea monsters, but months of experiments with the Siren’s voice had given her a gift for language and she and Luca were both fluent in Sign.

[You said this wouldn’t be for another week at least. Is she too early? Will she be alright?]

Nonna Paguro saw how Giulia was worried and hastened to reassure her, “Development isn’t so rigidly timed. Daniela was a week early too, and Luca took an extra ten days from the average. Even for humans, you can be a couple of weeks early and still be healthy.”

Giulia relaxed, then gave a muffled squeak as the egg stretched and a small tear appeared in the membrane. The fry attacked the weak point and soon had a hole large enough to wiggle through. She shook the empty egg off the end of her tail and stretched.

[She’s beautiful.]

The fry was legless and eel-like, with a silvery white back fading to transparent along the belly, where a tiny red heart fluttered. Her eyes shone like bright garnets as she took in the crowd watching her. Nonna Paguro reached into the mass of extra eggs and drew one out. She pierced the membrane with a talon and offered it to the hatchling. The guppy devoured it and curled up around the old woman’s wrist like a silver bracelet, and quickly fell asleep.

The grandmother chuckled, “Daniela used to do the same thing when she was that age. Not Luca, though. He wasn’t out of the egg two minutes before he was out exploring the house. We were pulling him out of cupboards and corners for days. One time we couldn’t even find him. He was missing for hours until Lorenzo found him asleep inside the jellyfish lantern. It’s a good thing they only eat krill.”

Alberto grinned, “You can’t blame me and Giulia for that one. He was an explorer before we even met.”

“Scared me to death,” Daniela muttered, “I was afraid he’d gotten out somehow.”

The timer on Giulia’s wrist rang. Even in her haste to see the new guppy she didn’t take chances while diving. [I’ve got about fifteen minutes of air left, guys. I have to go now. Luca, do you want to stay with your sister or come back for some cake?]

Luca hesitated, but Daniela shook her head with a grin. “Go for the cake. The guppy will still be here. I’m just sorry she went and interrupted Giulia’s birthday party.

[Are you kidding? This is the best birthday present I’ve ever had!]

Chapter 2: C’ska Jinno

The ceremony of C’ska Jinno took place on the traditional twenty-eighth day after hatching. Literally, the “first swim,” it represented the new guppy’s official introduction to the sea monster community. The child’s parents would bring them around the village to show the neighbors who would naturally coo and admire the probably confused or indifferent youngster while the proud parents chatted. Given the stresses of caring for a quickly maturing egg and newly hatched fry, it was usually the first time in months that they’d been seen in public.

It was a festive atmosphere. Agricultural communities work hard and take their celebrations seriously, and the crowd of well wishers quickly grew. Mr. Branzino brought out his sk’eena, and Mrs. Labro her triton’s trumpet, a horn formed of a snail shell over half a meter long. Nonna Paguro had an excellent singing voice, though her skill at the piano was only useful on land.

Most of the sea monsters expected the party to circle back to the Paguros’ farm at this point. This was a first for the tradition, though, as the Paguros traded the basket their new daughter rested in, for a large, clear jar, and continued the parade out of the water and into the streets of Portorosso Della Terra.

The townsfolk looked curiously at the group of sea monsters. It was rare for so many to emerge at once. Concetta and Pinuccia immediately recognized the significance of the parade, though, and were the first to meet the new guppy. Others in the crowd quickly followed their example. Human or sea monster, a new mother showing off her baby always made an adorable display.

The child peered curiously at the line of well wishers. Except for the Aragostas, it was their first time seeing a sea monster at this stage of development. She wasn’t even humanoid yet, though her scales had already started to darken to a silvery gray and small nubs had started to grow, what would soon become her arms. The lower legs wouldn’t start for at least another month.

Andrea Giorgioni had been informed of this ceremony, and was on hand to dutifully admire his new granddaughter. Having recently discovered that he was her biological father, Daniela insisted that he join the family and be part of the child’s entourage. She gave the same invitation to his other daughter, Electra Visconti, but she demurred. Electra’s relationship with her aquatic half sister was strained and polite at best, but at least she was not as openly hostile to the seafolk as her husband.

Achille had flatly refused to acknowledge the sea monsters’ ritual at all, although Ercole was curious enough to lurk at its periphery. Luca was a little worried he might be a problem, but whatever his opinions of sea monsters in general, he was far too terrified of Daniela to be disrespectful.

The Marcovaldos came out to the plaza. They already knew what to expect, as Luca had already told them about the tradition and Giulia had helped to prepare for it. There had been a moment when Alberto realized that he would not have had a similar parade in his honor. With a human father, and hatched on land far from any other sea monster settlements, there were no neighbors for him to have been introduced to. He was thrilled to be a part of this ceremony, though.

Giulia smiled at the guppy, “Jinnova st’rada, tesso. (welcome to the surface, my darling) And how are you doing with all this excitement? All these new people and everything?” The child peeked at her apprehensively, but with Daniela’s encouragement, consented to sniff Giulia’s fingers. Then, recognizing her scent, trilled and peeped with delight. Over the past few weeks, Giulia had continued to visit the Paguros and played with the guppy, but underwater and wearing her scuba gear. The child must not have recognized her without the mask. Well, it was really no different than a sea monster’s changing appearance, except that Giulia’s underwater form was a product of equipment rather than a natural one.

Lorenzo chuckled, “I think we’ll all sleep well tonight. That’s why the C’ska Jinno isn’t just immediately after hatching. It gives the parents a chance to learn how much stimulation the child can handle without stressing them too much.

Like Andrea, This would be Massimo’s first time meeting the guppy and he greeted the family with a kind smile. Even he couldn’t keep a stoic face before the Paguros’ obvious joy.

“Her name is Bianca.” Daniela told him, “Bianca Libera Paguro. Libera is mom’s middle name, and Bianca Giorgioni was Andrea’s mother. I want my daughter to be comfortable with her human ancestry as well as her k’tosi, after all. That’s why we’ve decided to include a human tradition as well. I’d like you to stand as her godparent.”

“I…I would be honored.”

Notes:

Father Eugenio: Okay, so I guess I have to figure out how to baptize a fish. I don’t remember covering that in Seminary.