Ariel, or as she's more popularly known by her stage name, Aqua Marina, had been looking forward to performing at Mieni Atoll for multiple reasons. Since her performance at the IAC, her underwater singing gimmick (commonly referred to as 'aquacoustics') became very popular. Quite soon, she found herself flung into the whirlwind world of pop music. To promote her new singing style, she was going on her Oceanic Tour. That meant she was traveling to different islands in the Pacific Ocean to perform for the people who lived there and the tourists. There were many popular stops like Hawaii, Samoa, Tahiti, Fiji, the Philippines, and even Australia and New Zealand. While at these places, not only was Ariel going to sing popular songs, but she'll be singing some of the ancient songs by the islands' native people.
And the first (and last) stops on her Oceanic Tour was Mieni Atoll. Ariel had been eager to see the island ever since they set up the colony there. Even if she was a freshwater fish, she had been wanting to see the sea for as long as she had been uplifted. Swimming in it was a bit of a problem as the salinity would overwhelm her body if she 'breathed' too much water. To get around it, she had to hold her breath underwater, which was a very novel thing for her. But the scientists at Horizon were working on designing a 'gill tank' that severed a similar function to scuba tanks except it pumped desalinated water to her gills.
But one of the biggest things Ariel was looking forward to was seeing Ran again. She missed him ever since he moved to Mieni Atoll. Oh, they have kept in regular contact by webchat. She was rather eager to meet Gaz in person. She had talked with Ran's mate over the webchat, but it would be a pleasure to see her in the flesh. She was also curious to meet the other uplifted fish as she hadn't known any freshwater fish until the Amazon specimens came to Lyre.
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The concert in Mieni Atoll was very well-attended. It helped that a lot of people had come to see the grand opening of the Nautical Museum. But Aqua Marina's concerts attracted plenty of attention themselves. And it was just because of the interesting spectacle of a fish woman wearing a seashell bikini swimming around in a giant fishbowl. Her fishbowl was specially designed with inbuilt audio receptors that allowed her voice to project as clearly underwater as it did through air. And there was certainly nothing wrong with Aqua Marina's singing voice. There were many people already calling her the 'Popstar Mermaid'. Of course, this was immediately followed by many lewd jokes about her not having the infamous 'mermaid problem'. She has also gained the nickname 'Melodious Melusine' after the freshwater spirit of legend.
After the concert, Ariel was welcome to several backstage visitors. The first of them being Ran and Gaz.
"Ran, it's been too long," said Ariel, hugging the Great White Shark.
"Yeah, I suppose I could have come back, but I've got a home here now," said Ran, hugging her back.
"I can understand. The ocean is amazing, even if it's a little too salty for my taste," said Ariel.
"Too bad," said Gaz, "There's a lot more oceans and seas than rivers and lakes."
"Gaz, it's so nice to see you in person," said Ariel, giving the she-shark a hug. Gaz was looking rounder now and Ariel could certainly feel her bulging belly as she hugged her. "Can I feel it?" she asked.
"Sure," said Gaz, lifting up her shirt to reveal more of her swelling belly.
Ariel ran her hand over the pregnant shark's stomach. It was not as smooth as a human's. Even a shark's underside was covered in rough scales. But Ariel could practically feel the life growing inside her. "You're going to be such a good mother," she said.
"I'm lucky I only have to wait 9 months instead of 11," said Gaz, "But I'm still going to be later the other mothers like Jane, Gladys, and Rita. Even Kirana is going to have her eggs hatch before I'm ready."
"It'll be worth the wait," said Ran.
"And I hope I'll be there when it happens. Or at least be on webchat for it," said Ariel.