How Green Becomes Wood

"Really? Do the real ones like the py ones? Do they make friends, or is it totally 'get off my lawn' kind of deal?" Alec asked, watching the little octopus hide under a shell.

Xander spotted another one in a neighboring tank. "That one's a common octopus. Rude."
 
"I think there is a tacit acceptance," Dark replied, not realizing he was actually mistaken about what kind of robot octopuses he had seen, "Rude because it is called common? It could be worse, gibbons are termed 'lesser' apes."
 
"Wow. Doubly rude," Xander stated. "Cute little things." He read the sign off to the side. "Octopus are known for being really clever and loving puzzles. They require special housing because they are absolute escape artists. They can squish themselves through any hole larger then their beak, meaning some of those giant octopus you see can go through the size of a quarter. What the heck? Are they made out of slime? Anyway, if you see any bottles or jars or other small containers in the tanks, they are there for enrichment purposes."

"Oh, that one has a little puzzle box," Alec reported, pointing.

"They also taste with their suckers," Xander said. "Huh. So if they are feeling you up, they are also tasting you? Is that like having taste buds on your feet? Hopefully they can turn it off and on."
 
"I imagine it is perpetual," Dark replied, looking curiously at the puzzle box, "If I could make items from materials other than wood, I would be curious to give one of my creations to an octopus." Then, as he looked at the puzzle box a little bit longer, a new thought came into his mind and he looked down at Ivy, who was happily sucking on her fist, and then back at the puzzle box. Then he chose not to say whatever thought passed through his head.
 
"Maybe wood would be a good choice because it's something they would naturally come across," Alec suggested. "And the fact that it floats a little, that might add to the difficulty and make it more interesting. But some wood sinks, doesn't it? Eventually?" He pointed to the bits of wood used to decorate the tank. "I wonder what the difference is?"
 
"Wood density makes the difference, but I would worry about what the water would do to the wood." He paused, tilting his head, "Then again, wooden shipwrecks can survive underwater due to becoming waterlogged and last longer than they would on land. I do not know if the puzzle mechanisms would remain functional, though."
 
"It would be, but that is for a different time. Woodworking is ninety percent sanding and I do not have the time to build so many identical puzzles. Nor do I have octopi to test them on." Dark said, scratching his beard and walking on with his family after spending a bit longer observing the octopus. A few tanks down, he stopped at the sight of a long, green sea creature slithering out from beneath a rock, "Oh look, an aljarith."
 
"A green moray eel, according to this," Xander said, reading the sign. "There are over 800 species of eel, both fresh water and salt water. The Anguilla japonica or Japanese eel is the one most commonly used in Japanese cuisene such as sushi. There's more about the salt water ones, too, and down there," he nodded down the row, "is an electric eel."

Alec grinned at Dark. "You didn't know what an eel looks like?"
 
"Cooger just told me it was a fish!" Dark replied, looking with new shock at the slimy thing, "Do not tell me Snapper is like this also!" He walked down, continuing to look at the eels, "I did not even know aljarith were fish, they do not look like them."
 
"It's a species called a 'ray-finned' fish," Xander told him. "I thought a snapper was a turtle?"

"No, red snapper, the fish," Alec said. He glanced at the tank for the electric eel. Underneath the tank were two small metal rods that were capped in rubber so people couldn't hurt themselves but with enough exposed metal to hold with at least two or three fingers. He smiled devilishly and held out his hands. "Ba, why don't you give me Ivy and try holding those two rods?"
 
"Nobody looks up photographs of every fish they're served at a sushi restaurant," Dark said adamantly, almost aghast at what he had been eating unquestioningly. Then he looked at Alec with a frown, "I already have been told there is an electric eel in there, do you take me for a fool? You try it first."
 
"Okay," Alec instantly agreed. He reached down and pretended to take hold of the metal, but his pinkies were wrapped around the very edge of the rubber only. The rest of his fingers were just far enough away to not touch, but it looked like he was holding it for really. "Huh. It feels like putting your tongue on an old battery," he remarked, stepping back and shaking his hands as if he felt something. "It tingles!"
 
Dark huffed under his breath, handing Ivy to him, "I do not believe you but I have no proof." Then, after removing his wedding ring and sticking it into his pocket, and hesitating slightly, he grabbed onto the metal and promptly pulled his hands back, swearing under his breath, "You are a liar."
 
Alec gave Dark a look of offended innocence. "Why! I never! Ivy, did you hear what Ba called me?" He bounced her gently. "What did he call me, huh? That's not fair."

Xander snickered as he followed them, still with the stroller. "What, did you get bit by the aljarith?"
 
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