The deep waters were the bottom part of the entire ocean. They were the most spacious and intense area out of all the bodies that made up what everything knew as 'water'. They were the darkest, the coldest, the harshest to live in. Oxygen was scarce, heat was hard to come by, and food even harder. If anything did survive this far down, there were drastic measures taken from nature and time in order to allow such beings to fight and pass along life to their offspring.

'Teeth' was the first thing that came to mind. Teeth, thin bones, and very fragile skin. Most things in such depths were practically inedible in their own right because their insides were gooey and their muscles were weak. Not like the creatures up above who had actual fat and thick bones to work around.

Down in the depths, nothing could be seen and nothing could see...even with some having adapted to the sheer lack of light. Many had huge, bulbous eyes to pick up the tiniest glows; others had eyes directed upward or in different directions. Creatures looked radically different from one another and had their own offenses and defenses...although most of it was offense. The primary defense that everything had was darkness.

Since food was so scarce, movement was a liability. Swimming after something when you weren't guaranteed of getting to eat it was a huge issue. The ability to float and wait for food was probably the best defensive measure many were granted. Thus all one could do was float in the open water...a waiting predator to some, but prey to others. While creatures up above could sink and raise due to certain organs allowing such movement, the pressure down below was too much to let any such thing occur.

The pressure... It was enough to push a living being into itself, collapse bone and muscle without mercy. It was ever-encompassing and never-ending. To escape such pain, many lost the organ allowing them to float since it would have been crushed anyway. The barest of pockets in the body were all that were available to hold fast in the water; the rest was up to basic movement and energy.

It was the lack of these pockets and their minimal use which kept many of these creatures at the bottom. What allowed them to survive was also what kept them there. Most that tried to go past the lower waters, where the pressure let off incredibly, would balloon up and die. In most cases, some creatures would be able to last in the middle waters for a short time, even in the upper waters, but then die soon after due to such drastic changes. IF one was lucky enough to survive long enough to escape to the depths, retribution at leaving only awaited one's return.

Pain. It was intense and long-lasting. It seeped into every breath, every heartbeat, every vein. It made any movement agony and the wish to eat non-existent for a long time. One's own body would use up its resources in order to stabilize the organs, keep the gases in the body moving, and help the mind from turning insane. Rest in a safe place was the only thing that helped...and time. If one could hide in a place without worry of being eaten whilst getting back to normal, that was.

Such a place was her home.

Thankfully, her clan was large enough to pose a threat to those in the area. They were some of the smarter beings that had bonded together long ago, who kept their mates close for survival and the continuation of their species. They were maybe a few dozen at best, but they were close-knit. They watched out for one another and in times like these, when she was incapacitated, they kept an eye on the cave entrance so that nothing could sneak in looking for food and find her.

Never was such peace of mind a more needed thing than when she could do nothing but barely think. When all she could do was keep afloat in order to not sink to the rocks around her and heal. When the thought of sleep and rest was a luxury because she wouldn't be sitting in the open for anything to come snatch a limb away. Worrying about becoming food wasn't on her mind right now; only the pain.

How long did she remain limp as she waited for things in her body to sort themselves out and return to normal? Heartbeats determined time in a place of pitch black and each one of them was agony. Her veins pulsed slowly and painfully until the movement of her own blood was no longer a hindrance to her. Only when her organs expanded a little more with each shallow breath and she was able to twitch her fingers, finally move her arms, did she know that she was getting better.

It was exhausting to think, but thinking was the only thing she could do in perfect stillness. Often times, her mind was overridden with annoyance at having to feel this because she was best suited to many areas. The deep waters were her home, the lower waters her neighbors. Going there was easy, even if it was dangerous. It was the middle and upper waters which she could handle for a time, though this was always the result. Such was the issue of being suited to the worst and being able to handle the easiest.

It wasn't hard to consider her irritation with clans in the middle and upper waters. They would die if they ever came down here, whether from the pressure or being eaten in the darkness. Chloe may have been a weakling against such severity, but she was right about it. The darkness was 'cold and scary' and while she 'absolutely refused to go to such a horrid place', it was as she described...but more. Chloe lived in a land of light; she would never understand the deep waters.

While such words were certainly true, constantly saying them to her face didn't lessen the feel of her home being tarnished by someone who would, could, never be there.

She knew that those who lived in the middle and upper waters feared her because of how she looked, even with as ornate as she was. Most of it really was for defensive measures; the wide fin at the end of her tail and those at her sides were only to make her seem bigger than she actually was. They were practically see-through and the fins at her sides all but useless.

Except when it came to her tail.

Never had she so wanted to use the paralytic toxins resting under the folds of her scales more than whenever she received the looks she always got. It was a horrible urge, one of perverse happiness to make them all unconscious, even if it was only for a little while. They would get up and move...and perhaps treat her with a little more respect when she gloated over their ineptitude because of her abilities. At how she could easily eat any of them while they were helpless and chose not to.

Nothing came in to bother her during such an extensive recovery time, though she could hear quiet voices bouncing around the tunnel walls to her ears. The distraction broke her of her hatred and she was glad. While she didn't like to be called a mere bottom-feeder, despite being of the Tench clan, she couldn't act on such feelings when in the presence of the other clans. Everyone down here had to know what was going on above because other clans were partial to certain things many others were not. They needed such an extensive communication network in order to survive and she couldn't let her emotions damage it in the slightest.

In the end, she was forced to swallow her words and poorly hide her temper for the sake of others.

Garbled words soon came in waves and she would catch snippets of conversation by the others. Some of them concerned her, some food, some on the immediate area and going out in it. It gave her something else to concentrate on when waves of pain would hit anytime she experimented with more movement...only to find herself unable to leave her space just yet.

It was only when words of 'visitor' and 'clan' came to her that she realized something new was happening. Someone from one of the other areas had shown up and she needed to be there. Those ruling an area included the parents and the offspring, should the children not currently be away somewhere else. If she was home, it was pretty much required that she be there to greet the visitor and listen to the report.

She WANTED to be there because she needed to hear the words first-hand to memorize and give to others. Her parents had good memories and could give her the necessary information to pass along, having done the same thing that she was now doing, but it was a personal matter. This was her job and although she wasn't fully healed, she needed to push past it and focus right now.

Movement was slow and achy, but not impossible. She gradual twisted a few times in the slightly confining space to get used to her tail again before heading out of the opening and through the tunnels. It had been a long time since she moved, but her stomach was still protesting the extensive lack of food. The last time she had eaten was up in the middle waters and she had only taken a little because of what awaited her. She had more than used up that energy and was working on her own reserves.

Food awaited her amongst the rocks, even if her stomach felt less than adequate to receive it. If she was going to be present, and hopefully attentive, she needed something to fuel her mind for what was to come. Since going out into open waters was still too dangerous, she settled for the algae that grew along the rocks. It was easy to find in its dull glow and she took a few careful handfuls, trying not to scrape her skin as she pulled it from its roots.

As she ate, voices came much more frequently and she knew they were about ready to give a report. She grabbed one final chunk and stuffed it in her mouth as she twisted, heading down the tunnels for the group.

Her parents were there, of course, along with one of her other siblings, plus Nathaniel. She slowed as she poked her head past the entrance to a large area full of glowing algae. None of the other clan members were present, mostly intentionally so, but probably out to gather food somewhere. Not like the tunnels didn't take their voices and bounce then around, allowing the others to hear some of the conversation anyway.

For the most part, ruling families talked to ruling families and allowed the rest of the clan the simplicity of living life without having to care for everyone else too. It was the main family's responsibility to watch over everyone in the clan and keep them all safe. Should something happen, the family had to be the first one to respond. Such were the rules in place long ago that kept things simple for some and gave direction to others so fear didn't override everyone and get them all killed.

"Oh, Marinette...I didn't think you'd be well enough to join us."

She pasted on a smile as everyone looked her way while she slowly propelled herself through the space to them. "I heard that we had a visitor." She side-stepped, stopping next to him. She gave him a courteous nod and he responded with one. "I didn't want to be rude if there was a report to give."

"I could have told it to you later."

She smiled across the way of her sibling, hearing slight annoyance in the tone. "I'm sure you would have. It's just something I like to be in on is all."

"Well, now that all are here that are able to attend, shall we get started?" Tom broke in. The group lightly beat their tails to keep afloat and looked to members of their respective Tench clan. "Nathaniel, please begin."

Nathaniel bowed his head and looked to them all with large, black eyes. "Marinette, I'm glad that your trip to the surface hasn't done you any permanent damage. When I'm finished with my report, please enlighten me on your time above and what you learned from the other clans."

She nodded, mentally shuffling that request away to find the necessary information when he was done.

"As you know, our land is near the vents. We rely on their warmth for survival in the colder areas up north near the trench, along with the creatures that live near them. Lately, we've been unable to get near them like usual when we hunt for food. The heat from the vents has been increasing and has driven many of the creatures away. We noticed that some of the shrimp and other clawed beings that live around the very edges of the vents have been farther away than usual. It hasn't reached our caves yet, but it has killed off some of the coral that grow on the vents, which is concerning as you know."

Nathaniel's tail swished erratically for a second, showing his unease. "We've also seen lights shining in the depths recently too. We think it's the humans again, like it was before." He looked to Marinette and she nodded, remembering the incident well.

How could one forget almost being caught by the humans and pulled upward, as they saw many other creatures have happen to them...

"The...creature was all one color and the lights it had were like the sun. The same thing that seems to appear whenever any of the other clans happened upon the humans. It always seems to be some round, oddly-shaped...thing that has bubbles clamoring to the surface at odd times. None of us got near it and made sure we were watching safely in the distance. We don't think their lights were bright enough to reach us where we hid."

"It's good you stayed away." Sabine broke in, relieved smile on her face.

Tom nodded in agreement. "Nothing good will ever come from being too curious. Marinette has told us stories from her reports of clans in the upper waters who had bad run-ins with humans."

Nathaniel looked his way. "But what could they want down here? Did they know of the temperature changes with the vents and come to see? They could get much closer than we did despite the heat. We couldn't figure out how they did it, but maybe the creature has really thick skin." His head shook helplessly, unable to figure it out. "They stayed for a bit, took some things from the floor, and then just left. We were happy, but it still doesn't explain their presence in the first place."

Gabriel's words returned to her. "Gabriel recently told me: 'if nothing happened that you know of, they may have just been curious about that area' and 'we've seen them occasionally go down into the depths and some of the clan has followed in curiosity, but never gotten close enough to be noticed'." She recanted. She rested a hand on Nathaniel's shoulder, reassuring smile on her face. "The humans have never intentionally come down to take any of us. Gabriel may have been right in that they might just want to know what's down here. Since they live in a world entirely opposite to ours, they might be like the tiger clan: too interested in everything for their own good."

Nathaniel smiled and nodded. "It's good to hear those words. I'll pass them along to my clan. I know they'll be happy to know that the humans don't care for us personally and aren't coming to take all the food."

His mood quickly changed, his black orbs looking to the rocks below. "The vents are still a problem though. If such heat continues, or gets worse, we may have much more trouble finding food. It is one of our hunting spots and we can't afford it to affect us. As it is, snow is much of what we eat, much like yourselves, but we still rely on those that use the vents for food. If the worms die off, we know we're in trouble."

"The gases from the vents aren't too horrible for you, are they?"

Nathaniel shook his head. "We've adjusted to being near them. It's just a little difficult to be so close for so long right now." A hand went to his chin as his tail swished in agitation again. "I've already told my clan a few things to keep them from worrying about the lack of food, which, as you know, is always an issue down here."

Everyone was silent, minds working to try and figure out the sudden difficulty which seemed so out of the ordinary. Marinette finally shook her head with a sigh, unable to grasp anything logical. "It sounds like you're already doing everything you can and have done for your clan for now." She finalized, tone slightly sad. "I feel like we won't add much to it right now, other than please keep an eye on the temperature and pressure of the vents. Something notable seems to be happening because of this and we want to be prepared should it occur." She gave a smile. "Just don't tell your clan that last part."

Nathaniel matched her smile. "I wouldn't dream of it. They can be a scared bunch of fish at times. Perhaps telling them to keep their eyes wider than usual will help keep them occupied until we learn what's going on. They have a tendency to come and go, so they can provide the clan with good information which we can give to others."

She nodded. "The clans above will want to know if it ends up affecting them as well." She squelched a sigh, knowing that such big news would eventually force her above to report this. She just got back and still wasn't better, yet she had to return?

'Ugh...maybe I can draw it out a little more until I feel somewhat better...'

When Nathaniel finished the report from his clan and the deeper waters that he had visited farther north, she went into what she found out from the middle and upper clans. She reported on what Alya and Nino gave, what Gabriel said, and what Chloe reported around her own areas with accuracy. Nathaniel listened and nodded at parts, asking questions where necessary. When she was done, he thanked her for her job in traveling up and doing the major work for the lower and deep water clans, which she mentally held close.

It was nice to know that someone appreciated such grueling efforts!

Only would those living amongst the pressure be able to say 'thank you' and truly mean it. Those that had organs allowing them to float could die if they went to the depths and those at the very bottom would be eaten up above if they didn't possess her level of intelligence and paranoia. She knew what lurked above and sometimes those creatures were much harder to evade than down here. Especially when her abilities left her.

When all was said and done, her family swam out to the large opening of the cave with Nathaniel and bid him goodbye before he exited the main entrance. Speech was quiet in order to keep from alerting everything out there that something was nearby.

Once Nathaniel's tail was silent and unable to be heard, they all turned to each other with matching apprehension.

"I'm going to have to go look into this sometime soon, aren't I?" She queried first, not looking entirely happy since she was still mending.

Sabine laid a hand on her shoulder. "I'm afraid so my dear. I just hope that the heat isn't something too much for you to handle."

She gave a humorless smile. "At least it'd be a nice change from the constant cold."

"I could always go for you."

She looked to her younger sibling with a smile. "I appreciate the effort, but I know that you'll need to head off for your own reports soon." She received a glum nod, guessing correctly.

"I'm a little worried about what those temperatures will do to the surrounding area if they get much hotter."

"Do you think they'll come this far south?"

Tom looked to Sabine. "Well, the distance isn't that horrible between the trenches so it's possible. We'll need to find a way to discuss this with the rest of the clan and somehow find ways for them to be vigilant whenever they head out into open waters for food. Their extra eyes will help in the meantime until Marinette is well enough to travel."

She smiled, trying not to sigh too much. "I've already adjusted to some of the pressure, papa. I imagine that it won't be too much more time before I'm well enough to head north and successfully dodge danger until I can reach the other trench."

As much as she really wasn't looking forward to setting out from home after just reaching it, she had to mentally prepare herself for doing so yet again. Such were the responsibilities of the children after all...

Soft ambiance music: youtube com/watch?v=0c0FBSUd1Hk

(Marine) Biology time!: En wikipedia org/wiki/Deep_sea_fish

Hydrothermal vents: en wikipedia org/wiki/Hydrothermal_vent

Marinette's species in story...very loosely used: en wikipedia org/wiki/Tench