Smiling Critters
Klaus the fish

1
In the whimsical, vibrant world of the Smiling Critters, where every creature embodies a distinct emotion and radiates positivity, there existed an ancient, forgotten magic. This magic wasn't always kind; sometimes, it ensnared and transformed. Klaus Heisler's story begins not in a fishbowl, but within a forgotten, ornate orb, deep within the Whispering Woods β a place where shadows of old magic lingered.
Originally, Klaus was not a fish. He was a promising young German exchange student, bright and a bit too confident, with an ambition to uncover the world's hidden secrets. During a daring solo expedition into the Whispering Woods, driven by tales of an ancient, shimmering orb, he stumbled upon it. Believing it to be a harmless relic, he touched it. The orb, however, was a vessel of ensorcelling magic, designed to capture and hold beings whose hearts held a certain blend of cynicism and unexpected loyalty. In a flash of emerald light and a puff of iridescent smoke, Klaus was transformed, his human form replaced by that of a goldfish, his sharp wit and cynical observations now housed in a perpetually swimming, perpetually smirking aquatic body.
He was eventually discovered, not by the Smiling Critters themselves, but by a young Jonathan Smith, who, with his innate kindness and boundless curiosity, ventured deeper into the woods than most. Jonathan, bewildered by the talking goldfish, took him in, sensing a peculiar, almost brotherly connection.