When people say Theorbo is an odd creature, they are backed up by statistics. In his world, Theorbo is only one out of a recorded 73 cases of an anthropomorphic fish or fish hybrid being a euryhaline, an organism who is able to adapt to a wide range of salinities. Basically, they are able to survive in freshwater and in saltwater. These 73 are only a small percentage, less than 5%, of the total known population of fish anthropomorphics known to society.

He knows he’s a euryhaline, and he takes it to his advantage. He lives in Lake Superior, but frequently takes trips swimming past the Soo Locks, and through the rivers in order to get to the warm Atlantic Ocean regions, especially during the winter when the lakes freeze over, to explore some new places while he's otherwise restricted. However, he sometimes makes the assumption that everything and everyone else who is able to swim is also a euryhaline.

Today, he is on a unique trip to the Indo-Pacific Ocean - his first ever time there. Completely enjoying himself, he makes friends with a pom-pom crab and several sea stars that climb onto his tail and latch on. He knows better than to rip them off and cause them damage, and soon, the pom-pom crab climbs on board too. Soon, he notices a blackwater river trailing into the land, a Western region of Malaysia. Not ever really having experience in blackwater environments before, and curious what they are like in places other than the Americas, he decides to take his new friends with him up the river.

Well, we get to the present scene. The blackwater river is home to some beautiful Asian arowana (Scleropages formosus), and the sun hits beautifully across the darkened water. The light beams across the schools of fish, as well as the arowana, casting a blue shadow across parts of Theorbo's body. He is entranced by the gracefulness of the arowana, but something is up…

He doesn't notice it immediately, but the pom-pom crab is pinching at him urgently. One of the sea stars detaches in a panic... They are absorbing too much water and being shocked. They aren't able to survive in any salinity like he is, and that blackwater river is a purely freshwater environment, unlike the saltwater ocean. Theorbo of course assumed they'd be alright just the same way he'd be, but as soon as he realized they were panicking, he remembered not everything in the sea was also a euryhaline, grabbed them all up, and raced as fast as he could back out to the Indo-Pacific Ocean. Luckily, the sea stars and the crab survived, but it was certainly a close call! Nonetheless, Theorbo took the rest of the day off to settle his heart rate. He tells himself he won't make that mistake again, yet as forgetful as he sometimes is, it'd be a miracle if he didn't.

Drawn by  Sapphi
Artist's upload: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/63987743/
Circa February 2026