Playing Koi (22) (Patreon)

What did it take to heal an injured soul?

It started with a trip back to civilization, where someone could be surrounded by others who could sympathize with their condition and wanted to help them.

Kisten and the other goldfish survivors reacted to Algaegard a little like animals rescued from abusive homes—with terror, anxiety, and isolation. No goldfish beside Kisten had ever known a plural society—and what they'd seen of it since the barrier fell was hardly going to inspire a desire for integration.

Some voices on the city council wanted the refugees summarily ejected, where they could fend for themselves in some other part of the tank. "We won't hurt them, but they're not our problem." Not a universal sentiment, but not uncommon.

Jemma hadn't helped build the community for nothing, though. With the right arguments and the right friends, she could change minds. The aquarium wasn't infinite, but it also wasn't limited in a strictly Euclidean sense. Otherwise, the resources would've ran out a long time ago, and the water would've fouled beyond recognition. 

Algaegard had plenty of empty homes, thanks to the same war that took Liam and many other good fish. All they really had to do was move, reorganize, and they had themselves the “Gold Quarter”.

That was a first step, but many more remained. With one exception, the new goldfish were little better than the feral barbarians swimming through the rest of the aquarium. Goldfish were naturally docile, and too small to consume many resources. But there were still several hundred new ones, all without any education beyond their instincts to school.

Most of the older ones had lived their lives as scavengers in the ruins before the barrier fell, desperate survivors who did who knew what to last that long. Few had families or anything like them, casualties from the fall were just too severe.

Kisten got her wish to use magic on fish after all. Things were more manageable when they could actually build a school and have fish the right age to swim obediently and learn. Algaegard already had programs in place for younger immigrants to the city, who had the right attitude but grew up in the wider aquarium. All they really had to do was find enough willing goldfish teachers to join.

Few fish in Algaegard even monitored the situation enough to notice the Gold Quarter transform from a cloud of mentally scarred, suffering goldfish into a boarding school.

Even with the incomprehensible magic Jemma's girlfriend wielded, Jemma still needed to contribute. She sold everything, gathering the wealth of a lifetime of contribution and every little piece of real estate she owned in the city, all to build the trust that would sustain and outfit the Gold Quarter. When that wasn't enough, she called on some old friends to make a few donations.

One family was eager to help, but they couldn't contribute quite yet. It took another few months, for Arlo to find another goldfish to take his place on the city council.

When that was done, he and Nicole could quietly pass away, leaving almost everything to the Gold Quarter. A sensible choice to make, seeing as they were both going to live there.

There were too many goldfish to get hundreds of fish adopted into new homes at once. They had to prioritize the youngest and most vulnerable, while the rest would grow up in the Quarter, separated into small dorms with a single fish or a couple providing the adult support they couldn't get from their teachers.

If Jemma had the magic to do it, she would've forced Kisten into the “gold school” along with the other fish. She was clearly as badly damaged as any other Thetrian survivor. The goldfish could transform herself as easily as anyone else, that wasn't the problem.

Kisten was human, so she wouldn't grow up again. If they stuck her into the school, she'd be there forever.

It was a moot point, anyway. Kisten had too many important things to do. This time, Jemma made sure she didn't do any of them alone.

She spent a lot of the next few years sharing a bedroom, watching her from a separate bed. Most nights Kisten came into the bedroom late, muttering to herself about the inferior materials or the education of her research assistants assigned by the city.

"I want Arlo," she said one night, clutching a little glowing moss in one hand to light the room. Otherwise, Jemma wouldn't be able to hear her. She still didn't want to—couldn't she just talk about this tomorrow? "He went to university. A real university, not what you call it here. He started his classical education before he left. Guess... he never finished it."

Jemma rolled sideways in bed, watching. The goldfish still didn't have a real sleep schedule—but how could you, after spending decades underground? "He's teaching now, remember? He's teaching the elevens 'Principles of Thaumaturgy.' I think that leaves Nicole on... Written English? Not sure. Her classroom is across from his, and they're both busy."

"I need someone," she said, exasperated. "Wasn't that the point of coming to this backwards town? They're supposed to lend me all the inadequate assistance I require. Do you have anyone?"

"My youngest, Melody," she said, without thinking. "I think she's got my talent, but we didn't know how to train her. Her wife Misty is just as sharp. Or... she was. They're both retired now."  

"Easy fix." Kisten looked up. "How does yours feel about being a goldfish? Would make things easier."

With every word, Kisten got a little closer, until she was practically next to the bed. At least the last few months had helped her recover her ability to swim. She wasn't back to the graceful little fish Jemma first met, dancing through the water more than swimming. Maybe she never would be again.

Jemma reached for her, resting one hand on her wrist. Seeing the way this fish acted, maybe she was starting to understand that sorceress who had first cursed them. She had the same dubious ideas about magic, and consent.

"Melody is very important to me," she said, voice flat. "She's..." She sniffed, wiping away tears. "She means what Arlo does to you. She's my little survivor. You don't do anything to her without permission."

Kisten retreated, her fins hanging briefly limp in the water. Finally, she nodded. "But you want me to help her, right? And I want someone who can help in the lab."

"That's true," Jemma admitted. It was unfair, of course. Was she going to ask for the same treatment for her eldest? If she did, what happened with the rest of the aquarium? It was all unfair. Would Liam have been so willing to charge out to fight and die in that war if he had another lifetime together?

Other fish didn't get their loved ones back. Other humans had to watch their children die. Jemma had to move the monuments, but she still had a whole room of displays to those she'd lost. If you were with me, none of this would've happened.

Jemma tugged the goldfish into bed with her, resting her arms around her shoulders. Once, long ago, she hadn't thought to ask permission for this. It wasn't the least bit strange that she was the one to tell Kisten what to do and when.

That was another world—where Kisten's curse made her dependent and practically helpless out in the real world. 

The goldfish reacted more or less the same way. She stretched to her full length, her shoulders relaxing. She closed her eyes, resting both hands against Jemma's chest. It wasn't totally dark anymore, not thanks to those tattoos on her arm. 

But Jemma could get used to those. "When I first found you in Thetria, you told me... you had to stay. You were keeping up the defenses. If you left, the spell would fail."

Kisten nodded, not saying anything even silently.

"Algaegard doesn't use magic to protect itself. Do you remember the way out?"

Kisten's body tensed. She squirmed to one side, but Jemma's grip was too strong. She wasn't fighting hard enough to escape. She gave up quickly this time, anyway. "I won't leave them trapped in this tank. I'm not leaving without the Worldgate."

Jemma pulled her closer, resting one hand on Kisten's back. After all this time with someone else to hold her, maybe she could see the appeal of being the one who gave support. For a while, anyway.

"What will that take? Without... sacrificing your life for it, or anyone else's. If we did it smart."

She sat up, looking thoughtful. "Powerful magical talent. We have some of that already." She moved in close, for her equivalent of a whisper. "When the fish of Thetria left, I had a half dozen—disciples. Control group, here to document the aftermath. They... stayed with, tried to help for a while. But none of the Luddites wanted to come and study. Blamed us for destroying their home, and we kinda did I guess."

She moved her fingers weakly through the water, leaving a trail of glowing spots behind her. "After a while, they were going through our supplies too fast, without helping me anymore. They came from good families but didn't know enough about portals. I got kinda frustrated, and..." She sighed silently, drifting back to Jemma. "They're in the school downstairs. Not sure which ones anymore. Kinda... lost track."

It was Jemma's turn to tense. The fish in bed with her looked exactly like Kisten, but she wasn't the same person anymore. Getting this close to her was a bit like curling up with an exotic animal. Sure, she was affectionate now. But would she turn those claws on Jemma next?

"Focus," she said, as gently as she could. Like with any dangerous creature, she kept her movements deliberate and her voice soft. "Magical talent. You have some of that. You have me too, I can help. We just might have to wait for your old... disciples... to re-learn."

Kisten nodded. "Second thing, I need help in the lab. You hear that a lot I bet."

She sure did. Every night, in fact. But Jemma spent most of her time at the school. She'd already run one. Besides, thanks to Kisten's “treatment” of Nicole, there was one fewer non-goldfish who could talk to visitors or interface with the delivery fish, movers, or laborers they had working to expand the school.

"Don't tell Arlo, but he wasn't in Thetria long enough to learn. My disciples might've remembered a long time ago, but they got a little more scrambled each time I... helped them." She rolled off of Jemma's chest and onto the bed next to her. "Not sure what to do."

Jemma watched her for a few more seconds, judging her face. If the goldfish wasn't comfortable enough, she might lash out, and that was the last thing Jemma needed. If she made her into a goldfish, would Jemma still be cursed when they left? 

But if she didn't say something now, she might never have the courage. "I think I know how to do this. It's not impossible, but it will be hard. You might have to be a little uncomfortable."

Kisten laughed; her face twisted into a bitter scowl. "That I can do. What do you see that I don't?"

"What's right in front of you," Jemma said. As daring as she used to be, when she could put Kisten in her place almost any time she wanted. There was no telling what any of those old strategies would do now. Maybe the goldfish would melt the way she used to, or maybe she would melt Jemma.

"You want help, but the recruits aren't good enough. So, close the lab for now. Put all the crystals and Worldgate mirrors into boxes and get the books instead. Come to the school and teach. Lots of your family are there already, and even some of mine. I'm sure you'll do great."

So long as you don't send fish back a few years whenever they upset you.

Even before the aquarium, her girlfriend had high standards, very easy to upset. She would have to be more tolerant with her students. The orphans she protected only had good things to say about her—but she didn't actually expect anything of those fish. The same might not be true when she was teaching them.

"Do it myself. Guess I could... come up with a curriculum. I know a few of those kids were good at this once. Not knowing which ones makes it fun. Maybe someone else will impress me."