My Secret Mokona Gift to koichama is a Merfic post Clow setting…
It was a calm day, no storms or activity but some fish and birds to disturb the surface of the ocean's water when there was a bend in the fabric of time and space.
SPLOOSH!
The first body fell into the body of water, and moved to bob at the surface as he looked around. Gathering his bearings, the sound of a larger splash as two more fell soon after, water pelting the back of the brunette's head. Syaoran turned around to see his travel partners try and bob at the surface as well, before a sudden weight atop his head. Mokona cheered, "Puu~ we're at the next world~" Mokona said seeming to not have a care in the world.
"Nice landing manjuu; we're in the middle of the frickin ocean," grumped the ninja, the armour from their previous worldly venture weighing him down in the water and making it more difficult to stay afloat as he treaded the water. Fai's particular wear actually acted as a buoy.
"Mokona is doing her best," the small creature said in defense.
"Now Moko-chan…" Fai cooed at the white creature, "don't take him too seriously; Kuro-drenched is just sour because we had to leave Gamza Country before he could have fun fighting with the local enthusiasts."
Kurogane muttered under his breath. It was true he had been about to have some action and the men and women there had looked like promising physical entertainment, and then the earring had started to glow and the three (four) of them had left Gamza Country rather quickly.
Syaoran barely tipped his head where Mokona was standing. "Can you sense anything, Mokona?" he asked politely before the other two could start rough housing.
"MM… it's faint but there feels like there is magic beneath us," she answered pointing her stubby paw towards the water.
"Great," grumbled Kurogane, "and what are we supposed to do to get down there; grow gills?"
"Well we could~" Fai said bobbing closer to the ninja. "It could be really fun you know."
And Kurogane was about to give a retort to that, before he realized he already knew the answer. Magic.
Syaoran had to ask, "Do you know a spell like that, Fai-san?" Because he hadn't learned one to do that and Kurogane was without any real magic of his own.
"Mm, I read a spell to turn people into
mermaids~" he said the last word real sing-song like.
"Mermaids? Does this world even support stuff like that?"
"Well, we could either just bob around here, waiting for someone to find us, try and swim to wherever the shore is, if there is one or we can go see what's down below. And the best way to do that is as mermaids," Fai pointed out holding an index finger up. Kurogane hated to admit it, but Fai made mermaids sound like the most logical and moving forward choice.
An hour later… the three men were trying out their new seaforms, each as unique as the one that was magically transformed into a mermaid. Mokona of course was the exception and didn't need a mertail, but then again Mokona was Mokona. Syaoran's lower half resembled a salmon fish - silvery scales near the top and sandier brown on the bottom with flecks of red and a tapered fin. Fai's lower half was grey blue coloring, a fusiform form with a dorsal fin just before the milky pale flesh, with a fluke to help him swim swiftly. What really stood out was the irridescent see-through blue-green seaweed like flightless wings that seemed more decorative that to serve any actual purpose on his arms, on his fluke and for elf like ears. And if Kurogane wasn't mistaken, his head looked longer, his smile spread wider. Kurogane had a different half, his skin gray and rough, like a shark's. Syaoran had informed them it was a sand tiger shark, to be precise. He'd gone on to explain a little more about them but beyond a few basic facts, Kurogane wasn't that interested.
Fai smiled with Mokona in his arms and they had been making hyuuing whistle like noises as they swam around the area. Echolation as far as Kurogane was concerned due to their voices echoing in his head.
Since the area they were in was relatively quiet, any other creatures must have been further downwards, they stayed near another as they explored the area, swimming towards the magical feeling.
As the light faded overhead, and the water grew dark, the three could still see due to their biological enhancements from the spell. However Syaoran suggested they should rest so they could be prepared for the next day. Fai insisted they should all hold hands so they didn't lose another during the night. Kurogane didn't go for it instead opting to act as sentry, and Mokona kept him company.
The first mermaid they found was gathering shells off of the seabed. Her pale arms were full of even whiter shells with small patterns on them. She had similar iridescent flightless wings upon her arms, white hair that fell across her back and chest and a blue fish swimming beside her. Hearing new movement, she looked up and saw the three males, and smiled up at them. "Greetings travelers," she said in a melodic voice. Perhaps in another world, she had been a songbird, but here she was a mermaid gathering delicate shells. As delicate looking as she appeared.
Fai smiled back at her, "Greetings," he greeted the female, who was even paler than he. Her scales sparkled softly in the water, and her aquamarine eyes shone, a near match for the color of this area of the ocean. Fai couldn't help but be reminded of other charming young women he'd grown to know, although this one was none of them. She was her own person.
"Karyoubinga…" called out another voice. Another female. And Kurogane quietly swore at Fai if they'd found the Mermaid version of that one Amazonian tribe - Syaoran had read them a tale of a tribe that was all females because they killed the evil and destructive men until they realized they were only good for reproduction so lured men in to mate with before killing and then eating them..but didn't finish his statement, as a similar, although older mermaid appeared carrying a trident - Fai teased Kurogane and quietly asked if that was a hunting fork.
"Sister…" the first mermaid sound happily, turning to face the other, with a joyful expression, before she and the blue fish swam over to see her, carrying the seashells before floating there in watery suspension. The other closely resembled the other, although larger in build, and a large white fish swimming near her shoulder.
"Should you be out my sister?" the elder spoke in light reprimand.
"I am feeling well today, so I wanted to gather some seashells. I was going to surprise you and make you a new necklace, but you found me first" the younger, the elder had called her Karyoubinga, admitted in a sheepish, still melodic, voice.
Garuda, otherwise the white fish that followed the elder sister, swam over and began to investigate the three men and Mokona waved a paw at it, smiling at it friendlily, and making a Puu~ noise at it. It was perhaps because of Fai's similar markings to the sisters that they had been invited to follow to where the maidens lived.
Karyoubinga lived with her sister, Karura, in a palace designed of white pillars, lush aquatic flowers growing around the place. There were others there, some darker skinned and some fair skinned, all guarding the palace with spears of the two tined and three tined kind, as though a subtle sign of power and competence. Their tails looked similar to the two ladies, but not as fancy, those flightless iridescent wings not at all present, and Syaoran speculated the decoratives was just one more subtle sign of affluence. He thought to inquire later to confirm his beliefs.
Young maidens greeted the six of them with pleasantries and concerns for Karyoubinga's wellbeing. The men could take a hint that the younger sibling was not of the best health most days. Before a mer the size of a child by the name of Aizenmyou came over and greeted Karura. There was a resemblance about her to a different princess; she looked familiar while being someone entirely different altogether. "Lady Karura… Kendappa and Yama have come for a visit." she said in a sweet tone. She seemed excited, and Fai wanted to gush on how adorable she was. Although both names rang familiar bells to the two older, the second wasn't so familiar to their adopted son.
The library soon held great interest to the travelers, as their books were made for being underwater. There were also walls that were carved into in the language of this sea world. Syaoran immediate begun to try and translate the older writing of these people, that bit of him and his clone the same as other worlds. A lady mer with the same face as the doctor from Acid Tokyo was casually swimming about the underwater library. Before the adults left, Fai noticed the books being put away had a very similar title to a series he'd discovered in Lecourt. A City with no Mer.
Fai swam off to talk to the older sister, and Kurogane ended up finding and watching the younger ones, from a distance. Aizenmyou he noticed soon fell for the same tricks that Kendappa played on her, and in a way, she vaguely reminded him of her elder self from his world. Kurogane contributed it to more of her leadership over her friends. Her trouble streak seemed to leave her mostly as she had matured into the Queen. It was different to see the older sister of his Master as a young kid. Still, she was also a strong child, shown more when she playfully summoned over her other friend, Yama. From talking to another mer hanging about the youths, he learend that the warrior mers often fought each other, and the older ones often had a lot of scars because of this. The mer brought up that he probably didn't hang around any porpoise mer. The perplexed look gave away a curiosity of his. Even though it was true, he was curious as to why the maiden had said that.
"You're with that dolphin prince right?"
Close enough.
"The dolphin and porpoise mer have this weird feud going on between them…Best just not to get involved."
Kurogane made a small noise of acknowledgement, before asking what it was that she did around there. Apparently she helped keep the coral clean with mother shark mers.
Fai smiled at Karura as he approached. She had a polite smile. Fai was curious of what life was like at the palace, interested in the social dynamics here, the politics, and what need were the guards. Karura was polite but also spoke her mind. Fai had no authority over her, so she felt free to do so. In exchange, she had Fai share stories of foreign places, of lands where people had legs instead of tails because they had to have a story for why a royal mer, a warrior shark and a salmon who very oddly hadn't been to the huge salmon school had so little knowledge about the world down there.
Fai learned that the mers had a pecking order amongst their different varieties, and each had some born with royal markings like Karura and her younger sister, and Fai as well, and that Karura and her people had an alliance with the Northern tribe of Orca mers led by one Ashura. And while all that interested him learning of a game he could play with Kurogane because of what type of mer he had been magically whisked into was definitely worth looking into.
"Kuro-swim…" Fai chirped, hours later, and their boy still in the library reading, "I learned from Lady Karura a game the two of us can play."
"Ah? What kind of game?"
"It's a game of trust; they call it Flipsy Tipsy…"
"Flipsy Tipsy? Sounds like some kinda alcohol game." Except he hadn't seen any here.
"It's not… say Kuro-tan … how much do you trust me?"
"I… what kind of question is that?"
"A relevant one," Fai said swimming closer to Kurogane.
"Idiot, with my life," Kurogane answered.
"Then this might be a good game. Seeing as Flipsy Tipsy you'd put your life in my hands."
"What are you talking about? You still haven't explained a thing about it."
"Well, Lady Karura explained that you can only play it with a shark mer like yourself since if you push shark mers onto their back their lower half become paralyzed. She explained since shark mer breath by moving through the water, they can die if they don't move. Some of Ashura's orca mers are known to force a shark mer onto their back before holding the shark mer down, suffocating them, before they rip out and eat their tongue and liver while dolphin mer mostly only kill one if the shark mer is attacking someone they want to protect.. Yet lots of others use it as a real bonding experience because they have to trust the other enough that they won't leave them to die."
Kurogane looked at Fai. "Was all that necessary to hear?"
"I thought Kuro-sama should know more about what he'd be agreeing to if he wanted to try a new type of bonding experience with me" Fai said and pulled off a small pout. "Besides how often do you think we can have experience like this? I mean, it's not every world we get to be mermaids~" Fai prattled on, even though he didn't have to as Kurogane had already made his decision.
"One condition," Kurogane told Fai, leaving a pause there for it to sink in, before using his real hand to grasp hold of one of Fai's hands, Fai looked down at their conjoined hands before looking back up to Kurogane's face. "We're not letting go during it."
Fai grinned at that, in a 'just wait until I tell Sakura chan just how sweet~~ Daddy can be ' way. However he slowly swam, slowly had Kurogane move to be upside down; prepared for if Kurogane's survival instinct tried to kick in. It didn't as Kurogane trusted that Fai wouldn't just leave him to drown there intentionally. Fai wore a small smile as he began to pull Kurogane closer to him and swam for the both of them, before he asked how Kurogane was doing, and Kurogane was able to grunt out a 'fine' just fine.
The area they were in was hardly inhabited right then, and as Fai swam them further out, it grew pretty quiet as no other mers were there at the time. The ocean was a big place and so it made sense there would be pockets where there was solitude. Which was alright with them, since they were more open around people they knew and trusted. Fai smiled at Kurogane, and would check frequently if he was still doing alright. To the point he growled out, "I'll let you know if I'm not."
It was about fifteen miles away that Fai swam for the both of them, before Kurogane saw something and told him to hold up.
"Hm? What is it, Kuro-puu?"
"Your turn to go belly up."
"Eh?
"Trust me."
Fai looked at Kurogane curiously before swimming so Kurogane could move again and he was the one upside down. "Uwaah~ how pretty," he cooed aloud.
Overhead was the full moon, a bright light shimmering down on the ocean below, and swimming through the water looked to be fireflies. Fai reached out with one hand to catch one, but without the moon's illuminating light, the firefly looked to have disappeared.
By now, a thing like an invisible firefly was not too surprising to the magician, but it was fascinating to watch them. "Kuro-pii now your turn to swim for us~" Fai said with a big grin.
"Lazy," scoffed Kurogane chidingly, before making a small smile anyway, and slowly swimming around so Fai could watch the fireflies flit around the water, like stars shimmering in the night sky. And while they were a beautiful sight to watch, Kurogane preferred the one he got, with Fai's eyes lit up watching that different sky and that honestly bright smile on his face. Kurogane quietly smiled, as he gently squeezed his hand.
"Doesn't it just take your breath away?" Fai asked in that dreamy voice he sometimes used.
"You take my breath away," Kurogane quietly replied.
And Fai looked at him and wasn't sure if he should be taking that metaphorically or literally, considering.
They spent four days in that aquatic world before Mokona's earring began to glow, and they left this country for the next.