Swimming: It was an instinct that always could be performed with no effort and pretty much straightforward. Under the current circumstances, however, it was a lot more complicated than simply propelling your body forward through the water. No, the situation that was transpiring was a lot graver. The act of swimming as fast as physically possible was not for fun or leisure this time. Right now, it was for the sole purpose of survival. To get away from the danger. To make it back home safely. To live and not die.
Her heartbeat was becoming faster and faster, feeling as if it were going to explode out of her very chest. Her brain working on a very rapid level, endorphins rushing through her body. A single thought played over and over inside of her head, like a mantra to be repeated in an order to focus: Swim… Swim… Swim!
She took a quick look back, regretting that she did upon seeing the inevitable. What had been sinisterly following her this entire time was starting to gain up on her. And no place for instant retreat was in sight. She was a single figure in a vast expanse of turquoise water, hopelessly trapped without any other second plans left. Her mouth opened wide, her face covered with an expression that was a proportionate mixture of shock and panic.
She picked up the pace, swimming at a speed she never thought that she would have to go. It was practically pointless considering her slowly worsening circumstances, but it was basically the only available option that the poor thing had left.
Finally reaching a point of the ocean in which she could pause slightly and recollect her senses, the figure placed a gray paw over her wildly beating chest. Her body still apace after being chased by whatever unrecognizable thing had been following her. She was unsure of what the thing was exactly (or what its origins were, for that matter), but right now all that mattered was figuring out where in the deep blue she was. And more importantly, how in the world she would make it back home.
A swoosh sounded off around her, making her ears perk up in unfortunate curiosity. "Do I dare look around?" she murmured to herself, frightened at what could possibly be awaiting her next move.
She cocked her head to the left, to the right, and to the left again before confirming that the coast was presumably clear. Although she didn't really want to, she knew she would have to look behind her. After all, she would to swim back in that direction in order to get back home. Her face twitching with consternation, the figure turned around to nothing. Absolutely nothing to fear, just the entirely average sea of bright blue waters and sand-covered grounds. She exhaled, deeply breathing out a sigh of relief. Her previous discomposure was just a false alarm.
After reassuring herself that there was nothing dangerous within range, she decided that it was just about time that she carry on back to where she needed to be. Relieved, she swam on without any worries coursing through her anymore.
The watery pathway was quaint and as it should be, but something simply seemed off about it. It made her become confused, wondering if this was the way she had gone or if she was going the wrong direction. In contrast to the typical cerulean waters, the ocean seemed to get darker and darker. However, this was not the darkness that spawned from the fall of nighttime. This inky blackness was something else. Something unexplainable. Something that could not be understood, even if she wanted to try real hard and comprehend it.
A faint sound reverberated nearby, causing her to pause and getting her immediate attention. It almost as if the noise was a shout or a cry of some sort, though she wasn't exactly certain about what it really was. She squinted her eyes, quizzically observing her darkened surroundings to see if the source of the sound was getting closer.
As fate would have it, the resonating noises got closer. They belonged to other mer-mammals (a set of five, to be exact), all of which were shouting as they retreated from something that was not in view. Three of them, complete strangers to one another, scattered hopelessly upon getting further away from the unknown. Another two, a mother and her undoubtedly frightened kit, stayed close and tried hard to stay collected.
She stretched out a paw, hopelessly trying to get one of the retreating mer-mammals to see or hear her. "Hey! Come back, where are you going? What's-"
Suddenly, she couldn't see anything. The top of her head all the way down to her fish-like tail was no longer visible, not by her or any other figure that just might have been present.
Her breaths became rapid and more shallow with each one she took, not making the situation any better.
"Judith," an ominous, disembodied voice called out.
The uncanny sound of it made her pause in surprise. Whatever it was awaiting her, how did it know her name?
Collecting whatever bravery was left in her, she dared to reply. "H-Hello?"
"Judith," was all she got in response.
"W-What a-are you-"
But she didn't even get to finish what she was about to say. Her words were cut off by something forcefully thrusting her deeper into the darkness. A scream sliced through her, but it became no longer audible as whatever it was manipulatively held her back.
"JUDITH!" another voice called out, only this time it didn't sound evil. It was quite recognizable, even within a crowd of a thousand strangers. It was the sound of her mother's voice calling out for her…
"Judith Laverne Hopps, I have called your name about a hundred times already! Come on, get up and get yourself ready. A big day is ahead of you!"
Judith bolted upward as her terrifying dream faded away. Fear and darkness were overcoming her no longer, the compelling voice of her mother being the first thing to greet her on what would be another fine morning.
While the dream was dissipating from her, she could still sharply remember a lot of it. If she were to say anything about it, however, her parents would probably just tell her not to worry about it and that it was simply a dream. Her grandfather, on the other paw, would've put it bluntly and urged her that the dream meant something. Especially with such dark visuals like hers. How she wished he was still here, so that he could perhaps hint at whatever the blackening of the waters meant. If he were here, she would have swam straight up to him and told him all of the vivid details.
It has to be some kind of omen, she thought.
However, she quickly dismissed her thinking before it started to take over her brain. As her mother said before, today was going to be a big day for her. One in which Judith was not really that excited about. Tonight would be the observance of a great ceremony, one that would mean a lot. It would be the ceremony in which she would be officially crowned as the next of kin to rule the kingdom in which her mother solemnly protected. Any individual would be more than happy to live the life of royalty, but for Judith it was more of curse rather than a blessing. In short, the poor and unfortunate mer-bunny didn't ask for any of this.
"Judith!" her mom exclaimed from the other side of the door. "I am not calling your name again!"
"Coming!" Judith replied.
Judith stretched arms out wide, yawned and pulled herself out of her bed. Slowly swimming over to her bedroom window, she opened the drapery and let the naturally-occuring sunlight of the waters brighten her environment. The luminous rays of light warming up the room, creating a more radiant and effulgent atmosphere. The dazzling luminescence reflecting within the glass of a large, silver mirror that Judith made her way over to.
Gazing at her reflection, she quickly surveyed her figure. Delicately fixing her ears, she looked back at the mer-bunny that who was staring back at her. She examined her thin, gray frame that the mirror was projecting, as well as the dark but stunning dress that hung over her shoulders and down her frame. The sparkling tail of hers, a soft aqua color with hints of violet, glimmered within the brightness of her now fully illuminated bedroom. The mer-bunny grabbed a seashell bracelet (one of many from the assorted collection of some of the finest underwater jewelry) that sat idly on the stand beside the mirror. Placing it gently over her gray paw, she looked at how it appeared on her arm before fastly swimming over to bedroom door that remained tightly shut.
Judith placed a paw delicately on the silver doorknob and turned it, being greeted by the slightly irritated look of her mother, Bonnie Hopps. With her paws crossed and her tail impatiently flickering, her mother stood sternly in front of her.
"Sorry," the mer-bunny shallowly breathed as her mother put a paw in hers. The two of them darted down the spacious hallways, swimming their way past other unoccupied rooms and around a bend.
Bonnie turned her head as they continued onward, noticing an unusual look on her daughter's face. "Judith, what's the matter?"
"Oh, nothing," Judith replied faintly. "Just had a bad dream was all. I was running from this thing I couldn't see. and then there was just this darkness."
Bonnie nodded her head. "Oh, I see. Probably just bad nerves. I remember clearly when I was your age that I stressed about the same thing, but everything went as it should and then I realized there was nothing to worry about. Now come on, we've got-"
"A big day ahead of us?" Judith interrupted, rolling her eyes at her mother repeating the same statement.
Bonnie caught a glimpse out of a window that she and her daughter passed up, looking outside at the current outside conditions. "Pretty calm weather today. Let's just hope no storm or bad current comes in tonight."
Judith simply stayed silent as she followed her mother's lead to where others were waiting to help her in preparation of the ceremony. She tried to keep her mind on what was soon about to happen, but her thoughts lead back to the dream.
No, she told herself this time, you need to calm down. Mother's probably right. It's all just your bad nerves.
That was what she continued to tell herself for the moment: It was all just a dream. There was no omen or meaning behind it and there was nothing to be afraid of.
Author's Note: Hey everyone! Well, the creative juices were flowing inside of me once again. And this is the result of another one of those silly, stupid ideas that starts playing inside of my head. I know it's very unusual, but I thought it'd be something interesting to write out so I got to work on it. Hopefully it's the start to something fun and adventurous. :)
Hope you enjoyed this little introduction to the underwater world being established, and hope you look forward to seeing where this story goes. I know it's short, but I'll be adding more as soon as I possibly can. I hope that you'll enjoy what I've got cooking up for you guys.
As always, let me know what you think. Your thoughts, good and bad, are always appreciated.
'Til next time! :)