Kelpflake

You might think that a Kelpflake is a petpet made out of kelp, but they're really nothing like kelp. Kelp grows in long, towering fronds that wave gently with the current. Krystal is a small petpet that could sit easily on a Maraquan Shoyru's head spike. Her “fronds” are actually rather stiff, not like the flexible stuff of kelp and other seaweeds, but not quite as hard as coral. Kelpflakes occur naturally in a variety of colors ranging from a deep brown through all shades of green to those with a reddish or even purplish tinge. Krystal is the light green of new tender shoots of grass, and that's how she met Katherine_The_Jewel, and subsequently how she got her name.

Katherine_The_Jewel (Kat, for short), loves to decorate her shell with various ocean life. One of her favorite pastimes is to peek into tide pools and scope out the little critters with the brightest colours and convince them to come home with her. One summer day, Kat was lazily swimming around just offshore when a flash of green caught her eye. Suddenly her mind and eyes were focused. She had been thinking of a new look, something more natural with a hint of camouflage. But always with an idea towards style, she was on the lookout for some fun greens to brighten the look and make it pop. That wonderful green she had just seen reminded her of springtime. It was perfect!

Kat quickly glided over to where she had seen that ideal colour. Imagine her surprise to find, not a new shoot of seaweed, but a petpet! Krystal looked up at Kat's big eyes and colourfully decorated shell. Slowly, she grinned and maneuvered in a little circle. On one of her arms, Krystal sported a tiny Glyme petpetpet. The Glyme was a leafy green with slight paler green spots. But most of all it had a beautiful flower-hump with shades of rose, cerise, and violet.

The Glyme wiggled its flower-hump “antennae” and bobbled its eyes up and down in excitement. It had attached to Krystal because it loved being a petpetpet that looked decorated, and it loved decorating petpets. Krystal adored the Glyme and had named it Flag because its favorite spot was on the tip of her arm that extended straight up. Krystal was very proud of how complementary her yellow-green colouring was with the deep blush of Flag's flower. And now she was looking up into the two soft eyes of a friendly-looking Shoyru. Krystal waved her arms gently and Kat moved closer so her nose was just brushing the little Kelpflake.

“You know,” Kat whispered, “you would go perfectly with my eyes.”

Krystal grinned. This Shoyru had read her mind.

“I'm Katherine_The_Jewel, but you can call me Kat. You look like a green snowflake – a beautiful ice crystal. I'll call you Krystal.”

Krystal blew some bubbles at Kat playfully.

“You and I seem very similar,” Kat continued, slowly turning around so Krystal could see all of Kat's shell decorations. “Does your friend have a name?” Kat asked, looking at the Glyme.

Flag scurried quickly to the top of Krystal's top arm and waved his “petals” slowly.

“I see. You must be Flag,” Kat guessed. “Well, if you two are amenable, you could come home with me.” Kat extended one of her flippers towards her new friends.

Krystal gladly hopped on and made her way over near Kat's neck.

“Hold on!” Kat said over her shoulder. And as Krystal tucked a few of her arms around the edge of Kat's shell, Kat shot off back to shore to introduce her new petpet and petpetpet to the rest of her family.