She was falling. Falling and screaming, but her mouth instinctively clamped shut as she hit the water. She was a good swimmer, but she wasn't powerful enough to overcome the forces that dragged her into the depths. The blue of the water faded to hazy grey as her brain screamed for oxygen. She couldn't breathe, there was no air. Flailing desperately, she gained a few inches closer to freedom. Towards the light and the air. But a flash of blue and silver in the deeps distracted her, and hands were pulling her back. Alarm bells in her mind as the urge to scream overcame the compulsion to keep her mouth closed. She sucked in water. The pain as the water rushed into her lungs was excruciating.

Hands were shaking her. She opened her eyes, but everything was a murky blue. She gasped in the water and panicked, her reality a nightmare. Bubbles floated up to join with infinity as she shrieked hysterically "I can't breathe!"

"Of course you can" said the little merr. "In through your nose, out across your gills. Slowly now, it was only a dream, Riani."

Riani struggled to do as instructed. Inhaling water went against every biological imperative she had ever felt. She touched a single hand to her throat where her gills were fluttering, and felt the cool rush of water passing over them. As she remembered how to breathe she relaxed and stared at her sister. "Thank you Ariel." She said.

"I don't understand how you can forget to breathe!" Exclaimed her sister. "Even when I have the horrible abyss dreams and the pressure is cracking my lungs and the fish have monstrous teeth and bulbous eyes, I still wake up okay."

Riani shuttered. "It must be part of the curse of the land dreams." Long ago Riani had asked her father why she, alone of all her friends, dreamed of falling through the air. Why she sometimes feared the life-giving waters around her. He had explained that some merrs were chosen to dream of other worlds, but Riani saw it as a curse more than a blessing.

"I wish I had land dreams." Ariel said wistfully.

"You really don't." Riani replied.

"I do, too!" Ariel exclaimed. "But let's not argue. I'm hungry, and Frailly needs you go to the marketplace. Father's in his workshop, but Frailly said you're old enough to go alone now." And with a flick of her tail, Ariel exited the room, leaving a vortex in the water behind her.

With a grin, Riani disentangled herself from her bed. Made of twisted strands of seaweed for durability, it was a combination hammock and cocoon crafted so the tides couldn't sweep her out to sea in the night. Riani didn't necessarily believe the tales her father had told her of the monsters that rose from the deep in the night, but she did know that sharks patrolled the reef in the twilight hours. Either way, she was content to stay inside at night. But now it was daytime, and she was going to the marketplace. Alone! She rapidly combed her fiery red hair with a shell comb, and exchanged her gauzy sleeping shift for something more practical. In her excitement, she nearly tore the fabric. Snatching her bag of many pockets, she exited her home through her window. As she passed the kitchen area, Frailly called out "get some shrimp if there are any, and some of that kelp wine that your father likes."

Riani smiled agreeably, but said nothing. Around her, the reef was beginning to stir. The tropical fish were beginning their routine of eating, spawning, and seeking refuge in the coral. Their myriad colors and shapes drew her eye in the predawn light. As she swam the water lightened in color from the predawn sapphire to a brilliant aquamarine and the other merrs began to stir from their reef apartments. Through twisting avenues of coral, Riani swam; and in a routine so perfect it appeared choreographed, they joined her.

Focused on her surroundings as a whole, she nearly bumped into a stately merr wrapped in a jellyfish cloak. "Excuse yourself, Miss Riani." The woman said as she patted her head to ensure not a single silvery hair had escaped her shell combs.

"I beg your pardon, Madam Lydia." Riani fell in pace with the woman. Lydia Mother-of-Pearl, was the grandmother of one of Riani's friends, but was also a stickler for manners. "I didn't mean to bump you, but the reef looks especially striking this morning."

Lydia surveyed the reef wryly. "I suppose it does. I still remember my first trip to the marketplace; I was convinced that the coral was glowing. Although certainly I was older than thirteen when I made the journey."

"Frailly and Father were busy this morning. Otherwise, I'm sure I would have been supervised." Riani was bursting to get away.

"Yes, well I am certain your mother knew what she was doing. Be on your best behavior Riani, and be on guard for thieves." Frailly isn't my mother, Riani thought obstinately. But she agreed nonetheless. She watched impatiently as Lydia's slate blue and pearl disappeared into the school of merrs, before ducking behind a fan coral for an alternate route.

The reef merr were as similar as the reef fish were unique. But as they approached the marketplace, the monotonous sea of silver-blond hair, blue eyes, and blue fins showed more diversity. At the marketplace merrs of all factions peddled wares. A loud mouthed reef merr had a net of nudibranch and was extolling their virtues to a knot of shoppers. Next to him, a black haired cave merr with a violet tail eyed him warily with silver eyes as he purveyed lobster. Reef and cave merrs had a violent history, but commerce trumped tradition. A shady looking merr with dreadlocks skulked in the background with a basket of medicinal sponges and a look that promised he also carried sponges for recreational purposes. An aeolian merr from the kelp forests to the East nearly lured Riani to his booth with the promise of a fine new tunic. But before she could examine his wares, all of her attention was shifted to a young girl with brilliant hair the color of the coral at the far end of aisle.

"Oysters!" She promised. "Oysters as salty as the mangrove swamps."

Riani had never seen another merr that looked like her, even in the marketplace. And true, this merr child had scales of various shades of blue and silver on her tail instead of turquoise and gold, but there was a close resemblance. "I've never tried oyster," she admitted as she approached.

"They're delicious." The girl said. "Slurp one down, after one taste, you'll want my entire basket."

Riani gagged at the texture, which was similar to sea slugs, but enjoyed the taste. The salt content was, as promised, higher than the ambient ocean levels. "They're definitely interesting." She agreed. "Wherever did you find this delicacy?"

"My sister and I foraged in the mangroves." The girl explained. "We hid them under our rock so no one could snatch them away."

"Mangroves. But no one lives out past the rocks!" Riani protested.

"Sure they do." A lanky boy with tangled tawny hair swam up next to the child, and draped an arm around her protectively. "And by the looks of you, milady, you belong with us. Now are you planning on buying some oysters?"