Susan found Tzan waiting for her as she returned Mieni after joining Mike and Mary for their play. The Hammerhead Shark Animalian was sitting quietly on one of the small wooden docks that was there for small boats to dock inside the lagoon and had her head tilted so that her right eye could focus on Susan as she swam toward the shore and eventually rotated her body so that her legs would carry her when the water became shallow.
"So, where are your friends?" Tzan asked as Susan walked out.
"They wanted to go look at the other islands that make up the atoll," Susan answered, "I told them I'd like to go and explore with them but that I had other things I had to do..."
Tzan rolled her eyes as she detected an almost glum tone in Susan's answer. It was like she didn't want to engage in the planning they would need to do if their whole "Odd Couple" idea was to work. Granted they'd need to wait until after Animalia's ambassadors finished their Spring Break and returned to Animalia, but Tzan knew that didn't mean having some planning couldn't hurt. After all, they would be filming parts of their lives and there were some things that should be private. If and when either of them took mates, Tzan figured that taping the other having sex was NOT something they should do. They needed to set some ground rules as to what they could and could not film. That made sense to Tzan, but Susan didn't seem to have the attention span for it.
"That's right, you had more important things to do," Tzan spoke, "Like making sure we know what we're doing with the web show... not mindlessly going after what looks like fun."
"Why can't you find something fun to enjoy?" Susan answered, "I mean... all the web-show will be following each other through the day and showing we can have fun together."
"That is the base idea," Tzan replied, her tone almost scolding, and ignoring the "have fun together" part of Susan's comment, "but there's still a lot to do and plan. Like, what are NOT going to film and so on... and how are we going to show the episodes. The ambassador's web-show is a daily update and explanation of Animalia. They do it every day. Are we to do something like that? There is A LOT to do before the cameras arrive, and it'd be a good idea to have a plan before we get the cameras and actually start filming."
Susan sighed and sat down beside Tzan, slapping the dock with her tail. Tzan was always so serious and at times even brooding over something. That couldn't be a "shark" thing, as while Ran and Gaz at times seemed rather serious as well, they didn't take it to anywhere NEAR the degree that Tzan took it. As far as Susan saw things, things would work out okay and they could have fun with the project. Planning things out made it seem too much like work, and a lot of the people she'd seen working never seemed to be happy.
"Why not go with the flow?" Susan asked back, "Why not have fun and show how life is and can be rather than running around trying to be serious?"
"Because life isn't always fun," Tzan answered, "do you think it was fun for the fish we ate before we were uplifted? And suppose a male dolphin is uplifted and you get a mate. Do you want me taping you having sex with him?"
"No," Susan protested.
"And that's the end point," Tzan pointed out, "Set rules on what we aren't filming and putting out on the internet. The rest is going to relate to the work that will have to be done to make the program both fun and successful."
Susan raised one eyebrow, "Fun and successful?"
"Yes," Tzan answered, "being serious isn't about not having fun. It's about making sure things are done right and making sure we don't have to work quite so hard to get the product out and made well. Fun isn't just running around and playing games. That's nothing being frivolous... and that causes trouble."
Susan was surprised by Tzan's commentary and paused to think for a moment. She thought over what the Horizon scientists had said about the old television show.
"Well... I suppose we can do it as a weekly series," Susan said slowly, "like how the old sitcom aired on TV. It might make the work less intensive and give more room and time for fun."
Tzan nodded and accepted that. Susan might be annoyingly peppy, but she had so far found that the uplifted Bottlenose Dolphin wasn't stupid. She'd merely seemed to look more toward what would obviously be fun to enjoy.
"And things not to film..." Tzan said slowly, "I'd suggest anything in the bathroom, sex... should either of us get mates in the future, and any planning sessions for the episodes."
"Okay," Susan slowly nodded, "that makes sense."
At this, Tzan did smile, which made Susan happy.
"Now, do you see what happens when you focus on something?" Tzan asked, "We got a lot done in one conversation."
"Now all that needs to be done is teach you to play," Susan smiled.
Tzan's frown returned, "Don't push it."