Not an Alcoholic Friend

Crynn POV

"You must be kidding me, are you saying wine doesn't taste like grape? That's just like saying chili sauce doesn't taste like chili?" Calian retorted as soon as he heard my declaration. Well it's not so much a declaration as it is my opinion, I mean, everyone can be as subjective as they want. I'm just saying, I'm not fond of dogs and that's definitely okay to say.

"That's an unfair comparison. Chili sauce is simply blended chili while wine goes through complicated steps. You grab the grapes, crush them, and ferment them. As well as aging them for years after the process has completed. So maybe, the taste of grapes have long diminished. I don't know about you, but I have eaten grapes before, and it's flavor is not contained in the wine."

"Sure, I still think it has a rich aroma of grape," Calian backed off as he went for a sip of the deep colored drink. "A bit sweet, isn't it. I half expected for alcoholic drinks to be much bitter," I wondered aloud my opinion as I stared into the pool of purple. "You know, maybe you aren't suited in drinking alcohol," Aria hummed towards me.

"Yeah, you're right, maybe I'm not," I might be good in a lot of things, but definitely not in the tasting of alcohol. I promptly put the glass down on the table, leaving a generous volume of it undrunk. "Do you drink beer, Crynn?" Jill wiggled her eyebrows as she moved to grip the wine bottle, pouring more into her already empty glass.

"Well, no. You may think that I'm no fun, but I do go to bars and pubs though not to get inebriated. I have fun with my friends, they get drunk, I call the taxi on each of them. I don't like to think of myself being intoxicated and having my mind affected by depressants," being high is not an ideal affection, and to be influenced by a fluid is disconcerting.

"Beer tastes more like soda than alcohol, it doesn't have a high concentration of it, so no one usually gets drunk off it," Aria looks like she has her fair share of beer drinking. "When I say bar, I don't only mean beer, there's also whiskey, bourbon, gin and even Chinese Maotai once," I explained further.

"Well enough of the different alcoholic opinions, looks like we're entering the tunnel Jill previously told us about," V brought us out of the issue as I looked at the screen, a cylindrical tunnel with a diameter larger than the submarine slowly came into our view. "Being in a submarine like this, going underwater, it reminds me of a game I once played," Aria recollected her past.

"Let me guess, Subnautica?" Calian tried his hand, surprising Aria only for it to diminish a second later. "I should've known someone would guess it, it is after all, an internationally popular game," for the record, I don't know, I'm a bit behind in terms of gaming and in average, entertainment as a whole.

"Well, we're going in the polar den," V nudged everyone on as the submarine entered the tunnel. The previously dark and scary looking opening instantly turned bright and welcoming. The lights guiding the submarine through (As if! The submarine has a coordinated GPS system, I dare say, it doesn't need any light guidance) like the angler fish and it's bulb.

"Speaking of which, did we ever come across any fish along the way cause I wasn't looking at the cameras throughout the ride," not much participation points for me, I should've looked once or twice but I didn't, hahaha, I sheepishly laughed in my head. "Oh yes, there is. A couple of sharks, whales as well," Jill shared her findings.

"It's quite shocking isn't it. With the world as it is, global warming at an all time high, climate change to the max and well, all types of pollutions harming Mother Earth. I thought whales and sharks would've gone extinct already," I'm on the same page as Calian, Earth's weather cycle has gone weird, it wouldn't be strange for half the species on the planet to be dead as a cause.

"Conservation programs keep endangered species safe. You may be looking at a cruel world but at least this cruel world requires for leaders to be making themselves look better. One of the methods is by environmental protection and wildlife safety. With so many men trying to gain their reputation, geopolitics has become both a blessing as well as a mess."

"It may not look like it, but the circumstances are less than attractive. With each participant trying to protect individual animals, it could get very violent. Everyone wants to both protect their own individual aims with trying to bring the other's down. It is common to see some unknown accidental gunfire mow down a dozen pandas in succession, all 'accidental'."

"The world's getting better for the worse," ooh... Geopolitics were always a clusterf*ck, but it does help the Earth, even in this future where carnage is an accepted style to commence their goals. "How long is this tunnel?" Aria asked after ten seconds of silence, just waiting for this submarine to cruise on through and stop somewhere.

"It's not very long, the submarine had decelerated to a more maneuverable and careful speed. We'll know when we arrive," Jill told us as I looked at my watch, this is getting suspenseful, I don't know what to expect, warm welcomes or cold stares. I'm putting my money on the latter, seems a more likely to succeed bet.

"The tunnel is ending," Calian notified us of the new development as we looked out into the deep dark blue, the shining light from the tunnel behind us fading into non existence. "So, where is the sub going next," huh? the ice is descending, it is falling? No, more accurately, "This submarine will be ascending to open air."

"I guess I'd have to say bonjour next," because we are soon going to be meeting whoever's above and I hope it will go as well as it is.