The kitten followed the exchange with her eyes, interested, and purred once, but very loudly, to signal her approval. She turned to sniff her owner's hands, but he simply petted her little black head between the ears. The only available source of cheese kibble was the stranger.

«How cute» Sangreal commented, softening

«That's true. Did you hear that, Fili? Mr. Sangreal thinks you're cute. Why don't you go say hello?».

The kitten craned her neck.

Seraphin snorted a soft laugh, while Sangreal slowly extended a hand toward the animal, intent. Fili began to retreat, but as soon as she caught the scent of food coming from the big man's closed fingers, she forgot her wariness: she began sniffing his hand, tickling the skin with her long, dark whiskers.

«I wanted to ask you...» Seraphin began, observing the kitten's reaction «How do your people celebrate? If there's anything in particular you'd like to do, I'm sure my sisters and I could incorporate it. I want you to be comfortable, and we like to try new things»

«My people» Sangreal repeated «Hm. We have more intimate celebrations. When there's something to celebrate, not… our brothers and sisters are rarely with us.” He gestured with his free hand to Seraphin's sisters, who were dancing and having fun together.

Marti had almost missed her turn, but managed to hold her position with a quick pirouette; Nana clapped her hands in time to give herself energy.

«Oh. No sisters. So who's here, then?»

«Our partners, usually».

The tone in which he said it made the researcher turn around. «Partners? As in girlfriends, or wives, or…?»

Sangreal nodded, his lips pressed together «Yeah»

Seraphin looked at the ceiling, weighing his words.

«I think I've celebrated all the important things in my life with my sisters. Graduations, birthdays, assignments, practically every seasonal holiday… Marti's older than me, so I even got to celebrate my own birth with her!» He lowered his eyes to their host again, his expression mischievous «Is it inappropriate to have invited you home? Is this a partner thing?»

«No, no, it’s not inappropriate. As I said, I’m grateful for the hospitality you’re showing me. It’s just that we… there are so few of us, and there aren’t many opportunities to share important moments with those who aren’t already very close to us, people whose lives you don’t share, and therefore it wouldn’t make sense to celebrate the same events»

«I understand… all the more reason, then, to have someone who’s interested in celebrating with us» Seraphin kept his eyes half-closed in a pleased smile.

Fili had made up her mind and was eating from Sangreal’s open hand, scrunching up her face while eating the kibble. Finally, she let him touch her: the ginger man managed to stroke her head with two joined fingers, tracing small circles on her dark fur.

«Magnificent!» Seraphin approved

«She's really soft. Do you trust me, little Fili?»

«It seems so. Awww, she's really sweet... And she doesn't like just anyone, you know? She's usually very shy!»

«Maybe it's because I smell like fish»

«You say she can smell your little fish, your pet?» the other chuckled

«More likely, she can smell me»

«You don't smell like fish!» protested the professor, amused

«Oh no?»

«If we are what we eat, I can grant you that she smells like shrimp. By the way, I'd be curious to know more about your work with krill! We'll be studying it on the ship. Do you have any homework to give us about it, as your supervisor?»

«I imagine so, yes, you'll be studying krill. Your ability to study is unstoppable»

«Pfft, come on! I'll have an expert with me, it's a great opportunity! If you want to teach me something, I want to learn, please, Mr. Expert» Seraphin tilted his head and clasped his hands under his face, trying to look adorable

«If that’s what you want, I’ll try to be helpful» Sangreal said, suddenly solemn.

He raised his eyebrows. An energetic voice blared from the speakers, almost confused by the accompanying instrumental, saying, «Should you blend some milk? You’ll have a milkshake! Should you blend this girl? She’s having fun! Shake shake and blend blend and…»

«Do you miss listening to Hawk Storm already?» Seraphin teased

«A little. Especially the lyrics, the ones Mrs. Hollow wrote… not that this blending song is all that unpleasant».

When the girls had had their fill of dancing (Ionia had won), Seraphin left Fili in Sangreal’s arms and helped them put the coffee table back in its place. While their guest waited, petting the black cat with regal composure and turning his beautiful, elegant head to gaze around like a prince surveying his kingdom, they gathered the necessary items and let him choose: would he like to play a board game? Use a game console?

«What would you like? I'll gladly join in» He said politely

«No, no, you have to choose» Celestine insisted

«Well, then I think I'd like to try some electronic games...»

«Leave it to me!» Nana pounded her chest. She went to retrieve a red pencil case covered in stickers and opened it, revealing many tiny, colorful game cartridges «I know what we need!».
Ionia took the opportunity to sit next to Sangreal; it was her moment, after being ignored in her fake hobby. She held a glass bowl half-filled with water, open at the top and small enough to hold in one hand; she passed it to him without a word. He took it, holding the base with his fingertips. He inspected it with his eyes. He turned it.

«Do you want me to drink it?» he asked

«No!» The girl pointed to a window, through which he could see the dark sky «It's gotten dark. I want you to shake it. I'll show you something beautiful».

Sangreal pursed his lips and shaked the glass ball.

The edges of the water lit up as if by magic, following the movement of the surface as it folded and undulated. Sangreal repeated the action a couple of times, interested.
«I've grown a small culture of dinoflagellate algae. It's bioluminescence. It sounds like magic, doesn't it? In reality, it's thanks to luciferase, the same enzyme used by many other animals in the abyss. A mechanism present in such diverse creatures, from two separate kingdoms, plants and animals...»

«That's truly remarkable, congratulations. How did you get started?»

«With great care and patience» replied Ionia, who had purchased the starter kit online.

The bowl of bioluminescent algae remained within reach even while they put the game on their console; the whole group ended up shaking it every now and then, enjoying the visual effect and feeling like witches with a crystal ball. Ionia was satisfied: her idea had been appreciated.

The gaming system used by the Panorme family was much less cutting-edge than their speaker system, but it was trusted, beloved, and equipped with a large number of controllers so everyone could participate. The object itself was quite small, a red square with rounded edges similar to a cookie box, but it could be connected to the screen and, more importantly, to the high-end speaker system to create a more immersive experience.

The initial plan was to try out several multiplayer games, but in the end the group settled on a single title with the enigmatic name "Ilbibbi," which had incredibly artistic graphics and a plot that was unclear where it was going (and perhaps that's precisely why they couldn't put it down).

When they got hungry, they ate together without even stopping playing, and Seraphin made sure to bring a generous portion of shrimp to their guest, who, like at the buffet, didn't hesitate to start enjoying it. He thanked them so politely that Seraphin found himself dealing with a sudden, unexpected bout of tenderness for another grown man.

«Oh!» Marti lightly patted herself on the forehead «I almost forgot! The gift!»

«The present!» Nana repeated «Yes, let's end on a high note!»

«We have to give Mr. Sangreal the satisfaction of opening his present!»

«Right».

Sangreal stood up slowly, first lowering his ankle, which he had placed on the knee of his other leg, then placing both hands on his thighs, finally leaning forward and tensing his back and legs. The package, however large, seemed a little smaller in his hands, a little more normal... but it was still quite large and, apparently, quite heavy.

«It's nothing too interesting» Sangreal said «They're just... decorative objects. But I couldn't show up empty-handed»

«Don't worry!» Martine exclaimed «We didn't buy you anything, so you don't owe us anything!»

«Um. Could you... would you... open it? I can't do it, I think it's rude»

«Okay».

Sangreal bent down a little and let the package fall into Martine's arms. She gritted her teeth, bracing herself for the blow, but even though it was heavy, it didn't move her.

«Okay, Seraphin, we're all passing it around like a hot potato» He laughed «I'll come over there on the couch and open it»

«Hurry up, please!» Nana begged, spreading her arms «Or I'll come over there and open it with my teeth!».

Laughing, Marti sat down next to her brother, placing the package on her lap, and together they unwrapped it, then removed the large cardboard lid of the box that had emerged from the wrapping paper.

«What is this?» Nana asked, walking quickly and almost sticking her head into the box «Whoo!»

«What?» Seraphin asked

«Ammonites! Huge ammonites!».

Martine pushed her sister's head aside with one hand and reached into the box, extracting one of the smaller pieces from inside: it was the ornate and beautiful shell of an ancient mollusk, an ammonite fossil. Turning it over, she saw that it had been cut in half and polished, the inner chambers of the shell filled with gleaming minerals.

«Let me get that!» Nana said, reaching into the box with both hands to extract another ammonite, clean and beautiful, almost a foot in diameter.

Seraphin whistled in appreciation, Celestine quickly approached, putting on her glasses, and Ionia began searching for her camera.

«Do you like them?» Sangreal asked, blushing a little

«They're beautiful!» Seraphin replied, craning his neck to look the other man in the face, above the sisters crowding around the ammonites «Where did you find them?»

«They were inside some rocks» Sangreal replied vaguely

«Some rocks?»

«At the bottom of the sea»

«Do you have…» Seraphin picked up a smaller ammonite, five centimeters in diameter «...Do you have any idea how rare that thing you just told me is?»

«I have a lot of free time» Sangreal laughed «What is rare to those who have no time to waste is common to those who have plenty of time to observe».

Seraphin muttered a «Wow» under his breath, incredulous «That’s incredible, Sangreal. They’re perfect, thank you, really. I’ve never seen mineralization like this in person. The nearest deposits are submerged, and the sea often ends up breaking the shells before they can fossilize… the internal chambers of these shells are full, they’re incredible to see in person, all together. They're really beautiful» he said emphatically «Have you ever seen them under a UV light?»

«I don't think so»

«Wait, maybe I'll show you something nice».

Seraphin stood up with a deer-like leap to go and retrieve something from another room; he returned holding the small ammonite in one hand, and in the other a transparent rod, capped at both ends with thick black plastic inserts. A pair of red-lensed glasses dangled from his ring finger.

«It's a UV aquarium light» Seraphin explained, waving the rod «I got it with the rest of the supplies to make a quarantine tank, but I don't use it much. It should be strong enough for a little experiment; when turned on, it has a wavelength of around 254 nanometers. So far, we've used it more like that than for the aquarium... I could have left the ammonite here, wait».

He placed the precious little fossil on the table and handed the glasses to Sangreal. The man took them by the temples, carefully removing them from the researcher's grasp.

«Should I wear them?x

«If you can. It's to protect your eyes».

Sangreal slipped the glasses on, pushing down on the temples until they were firmly on his face.

«Oh wow, you look good in them!» Nana exclaimed, clapping her hands «They're exactly your color!»

«You know what? You look great in them» Seraphin agreed

«Oh, for real?» Sangreal looked pleased; his cheeks were still slightly flushed

«They look perfect with your suit!» Nana confirmed

«Thank you».

Seraphin trotted over to the light switch, a discreet knob that adjusted the brightness of the light bulb. He alerted the others of what he was about to do and, pressing it (rather than turning it), immediately darkened the room.

«Ammonite fossils are very interesting» He explained, gesturing even though no one could see them yet without time to adjust to the lack of light «Because they have so much in common with the animal they come from. Most mollusks, both ancient and modern, form their shells with a particular mineral, aragonite. And that's where our ultraviolet light comes in! Aragonite isn't a very stable mineral, so there might not be any at all and it might have transformed into calcite over time, but if we're lucky...» he passed the light to Sangreal: «To you, good sir»

«Very kind, Professor Panorme»

«Just shine the light on the relevant specimens, and voilà, we should be able to find out!»

«What color is it under ultraviolet?»

«It depends on impurities, I think, but it should be a pale color. Yellow? That's not my field, so I guess we'll find out together» He laughed.

Ionia snapped photos of their new treasures, while Sangreal shone UV light on them, examining them carefully.

«I confirm, no, I hadn't seen them like this» She said softly «They look...»

«Good to eat» Nana completed

«Exactly».

The largest ammonite had lit up a pale pink tinged with red, similar to what you might see on a rosewater Turkish delight or a particularly tasty strawberry candy. It wasn't the entire shell that had lit up, but only an irregular spiral that followed the direction of the ancient shell, a hypnotic pattern.

The others didn't all display the same color: some had pale yellow areas, others blue, and one even had a deep magenta streak.

Just like the bioluminescent algae of Ionia, just looking at them was enough to feel like something magical was happening. After all, the difference between science and magic wasn't that great, if such a gap even existed.

«Are you sure you want to give them to us?» Seraphin joked «Look, they're beautiful! Thanks again, Sangreal».

Maybe it was the allure of that small moment, maybe it was the happiness of the entire evening spent with the people he cared about most in the world and a new friend, or maybe something else, but in that exact moment (Seraphin Panorme could feel it, and the certainty made him a little euphoric) he thought he would certainly see many more extraordinary things with his sisters and their glittery krill expert.