Polyp Apprentice

This article is part of NovelEmber 2024.

"Got your net ready?" I asked, patiently waiting as my apprentice fumbled around. I was certain this wouldn't end well.
"A- Almost!" He yelled from behind. I rolled my eyes, dragging him by one of his tentacles.
"Okay, it's very simple. Stretch your net out as far as you can reach, and try to catch as many jellyfish as possible. Aim for the bells, avoid the tentacles. Got it?"
"Uh... sure," He didn't sound confident in the slightest. I sighed and stood besides him. Counting down from three to zero, I prepared myself for my simple morning routine as a polyp harvester. I ran forwards, net outstretched, catching as many jellyfish as I could. My apprentice began yelping from behind and I watched as he fell, siphon first, into a smack of tiny jellies. He screamed and threw his net away, swatting away the jellies with his tentacles.

I reached out to him, grasping a tentacle and dragging him out of the mess he created.
"Well that wasn't a fantastic start," I sighed as he reached for his net, clutching it close to his body.
"I'm sorry... I-I'm very nervous. I heard about someone who had to go to emergency care after losing an arm to a jelly. He's still growing it back."
"I really doubt that happened. These jellies are practically harmless. Just a light tingle, like you sat on your two tentacles for too long. Now, you ready again? This time hold my hand and follow my lead."
His arm wrapped around mine, and I nudged him forwards as we began gliding through the water. His net began filling with jellyfish, as did mine. We continued further through the polyp field, catching more of these pests. Not a single yelp or scream from my apprentice either.

As we travelled through the farm I felt my tentacle filling up with more and more tentacles. Soon we had to stop, head back, and drop these off at the jelly depot. "You alright apprentice?" I yelled over the rushing current.
"I'm all good over here! My net is full, though. What do we do now?"
"Okay, fantastic. We'll head back to where we started. There will be a large purple tube which will shoot the jellies out far beyond the city," He gasped, eyes lighting up. "That's so cool!" He exclaimed, beak chattering away.

As we travelled back to the farm's entrance I asked him some questions about his life. Generic things, about his hobbies and where he originated. Apparently he descends from an ancient line of kephalons that live close to the Ichthys Islands. What he's doing all the way out here, I have no idea.

We approached the tube, nets at the ready. My net's hoop slotted perfectly over the tube, and I grabbed the other end to pour the jellyfish in. My apprentice stood idly by, watching closely to avoid making mistakes. Once finished I stepped aside and let him proceed. He placed the hoop over the tube as I did. He tried to grab the other end of the net, but was stung on a sucker. He yelped in pain as I simply grabbed the net and shoved the jellyfish inside the tube.
"We'll do a better round tomorrow, okay?"