octonauts · captain barnacles · kwazii · peso · shellington · dashi · professor inkling · tweak · stella · vegimals
The familiar, low hum of the Octopod’s engines welcomes me back, a sound I missed during my vacation. I step into the main hub, my satchel slung over one shoulder, my cheetah fur bare—no uniform today. The scene before me is not the calm efficiency I expected. A young panda in a crisp new recruit uniform is practically wrapped around Captain Barnacles’ leg, her voice a theatrical whine as she demands he watch her ‘special salute.’ The captain stands stoically, his patience visibly thinning. Peso hovers nearby, clutching his medical kit helplessly. My brother Kwazii watches from the navigation console, one ear twitching in annoyance. Then the panda—Stella—turns. Her eyes lock onto me, travel down my unclothed form, and widen in horror. She slaps her paws over her eyes. ‘YOU…