The sun had passed three full lines across the sky. On the fourth rising of the moon, she figured she should head back. Not because she necessarily wanted to, but she just knew, and feared, the return pressure in her home. She had been above for so many moons and suns and had changed more than she thought, but now it was only going to be a detriment.
Her tail had healed enough for normal swimming and although the hole would always be there, there was no more blood anywhere. Even when she tested it yesterday by swimming to the farthest down she could tolerate, her fearsome escort at her side, it gave her no trouble.
It was time.
After that day of testing her limits and finding her good enough to travel, she had been unable to hide her sadness. It showed in her face and her eyes because Adrien commented on it. He asked questions, but she only requested to be left alone and disappeared into the space granted to her while she healed.
She rested on the bottom of the reef space and listened to the sounds of his clan coming and going in the water. She thought about her time with him and their conversations. She remembered his emotions and his smiles. In those few days, she was amazed at how much different he acted when she was around him the most of the day and night. When she barely knew him, she didn't think much of him...didn't care for him. She knew what she needed and trusted in her own clan, in her own home. But...after spending such a long time with him...having such good memories to think of...she was sad to leave him.
She had to go back. Her family probably thought she was dead by now. She had never spent so much time in any part of any clan's area before. She worried for their sorrow and wanted to reassure them that she was okay...more or less. But, leaving here...
She had seen much from him, had come to know much from him. And she had shown much from herself too. Things she had never done to those outside of her own clan.
The depths were a place of no light. One couldn't see past the length of their arm, past their own nose, in such a place. Expression was pointless and necessary. A smile wasn't something she cared to show. Not when fear and the unknown loomed outside of her cave. There was no reason to smile in a place like where she lived. But...amongst the reef...
Never had she been more conflicted to stay in a place that wasn't her own. She had adapted to the lack of pressure, the light, and the changes in sleep. Going back was going to be far more painful than she could ever imagine and knowing she had to face it to let her family know she was okay.
At one point, when she knew Adrien would be asleep, she swam to the surface during the night and stared out at the 'stars' again. She watched for a long time, ears partially in the waves and gills taking painful breaths. The stars calmed the agony for a while and she wanted to stay amongst them forever so she didn't have to worry about being in between two worlds right now.
The feeling of being pulled in two places at once ate at her so much that she returned to the reef space and scratched the walls to relieve her suffering. She stopped only when it marred the skin enough to draw blood and then fled to the nearby kelp field, tearing strips from the dirt. She covered her face with her hands and stifled a scream to relieve her pain, but only felt slightly better.
Never had she ever felt like this! She had always been so impatient to get home and see her family, to swim around the dull glow that was her caves and rest in the space she called her own. Up here though...up here, she also had a space to call her own. She had eaten great meals that could have been something her parents and siblings could have all eaten for the day. She had seen human sights she never would have thought possible and even poked her head above the waves! She saw stars and the moon clearly as opposed to being under water.
Because of Adrien.
She had known fear, beauty, excitement, thrill of the hunt, fun conversation, and smiles. All in the time of a few days and nights.
She hadn't wanted to face him for that final evening in the heat of her own, chaotic emotions. She didn't want to part feeling like this. It was always a long time before she came out of the depths to give a report and it would definitely take much longer to heal and that would reflect on when she'd see him next. Knowing that made her reluctance to leave greater than her wish to see and reassure her family. But, she had to let her family know what had kept her and why. She couldn't wait any longer. Part of her didn't want to. She was always a guest here; she would never be able to live amongst them and feel part of a clan with how she looked.
Even when the moon finished its journey across the sky, she wasn't in any better mood to go home, but she had to leave and didn't want for the sun to finish its pass over the sky again. Besides, once they got far down enough, light wouldn't get there anyway. It would be okay to leave with the light because Adrien would be next to her on the way down while she got used to the lower waters.
The fear of knowing how much she would be out of her own element had her panicked as much as her time in the trench. She wished more than before he would be able to see her home, but he couldn't. She didn't want him to experience the pain she would be forced to endure for so long. She wondered now, after having spent time up with the sun and the moon, how many suns and moons she took up healing and how many she would use up this time.
At length, when the moon was gone and the rays of the next sun were starting to brighten the reef, she exited her space and went for his. She entered his space silently, fingers lightly clasped together.
"I'm ready..."
She looked to the bottom of the space he used, finding the weapon resting there, although he had wrapped the sharp end so it wouldn't accidentally hit him. Even with his tough skin, it would still pierce through with no trouble.
She looked up when he slowly neared, seeing his eyes sad...sad as what she must feel right now. It was a strange sense of comfort to know that perhaps he felt just as she did for the same reasons. That he had spent so much time thinking about her going home and had the same thoughts.
She stared into his eyes. Such an interesting color. The light that managed to get into the space lit his hair that interesting hue and she stared at him as if memorizing everything about him.
At length, as if the quiet unnerved him, he forced a smile and briefly touched her arms before slowly going for the exit. She turned not even a pace later and followed him out. The morning light made her tail change the water red and her skin glowed white. He doubted he would probably ever see such a thing until she returned...provided it was during the day. He watched her tail move, seeing the hole there and was amazed that such a thing happened.
He was almost thankful for his idiocy those few days ago. It was a gift after the danger was gone. She was so interesting and he liked being around her. She wasn't a stoic fish with no emotions, who merely looked eery because her eyes and body glowed in the water. She was amazing and strong and brave and funny and fun to be with.
He was more than sad to see her go. Judging by the look she didn't bother to hide, she was as well.
"We should...leave now..." She murmured, not looking to him. She slowly swam for the wall and was over it without bothering to check for safety. She knew now, much more than before, that she was strong and he had helped her to see that. He had helped her come to realize that she may be prey, but sometimes prey was stronger than just waiting around for something to come eat it.
He followed in silence. He snuck peeks at her as they went down, but she never looked his way. He stared at her, wanting to speak, but feeling unable. It was perhaps the first time they had swam so far without saying a word.
He supposed that such sorrow was normal given at how close they had become in such a short time. Despite their differences, they acted well together. She went along with his need to explore places and he gave her the opportunity to see things she had never known. She wasn't too annoyed at him for dragging her along the whole time.
The darkness had more than crept up on them as they went down. The sun tried to follow as much as it could, as if wanting to go with her, but failing. She had almost numbed herself and her feelings as the pressure gave her something else to concentrate on, but once the darkness started becoming too much, it only reminded her that she had to part from him soon.
Before his eyes would be entirely useless and they were just over halfway through the lower waters, she abruptly paused and face him. He stopped and turned to her, worried something had happened to her, but her eyes were averted. She barely moved and her hair covered most of her features before a hand slowly moved it away from her eyes.
"Are you okay?" He queried, tail slowly pushing him closer. A hand moved and lightly touched an arm. "Is it the pressure?"
She quietly shook her head, unable to meet his eyes. "It's...not that..." She murmured. Her eyes closed before she looked at him with the full force of her feelings. All the sorrow, the longing for him, the wish to stay, the need to go home. Her lips twitched in an effort to smile, but found it useless once again.
His mouth opened as he took in her eyes and all she was showing him. At length, a hand rose and lightly rested on her shoulder. "I...I understand..." He looked to their tails and the remaining depths below. "I also wish you didn't have to go, but...your home is down there. That's where you were born and where you spend most of your time. Your family, your whole clan, is down there. I don't have the ability to say I'd miss mine as much as you must miss yours because I like to explore and my clan is never all together at once. Sometimes I don't see my father for an entire day when he goes in open water. That's just our clan...but, not yours."
His lips twitched. "As stupid as it will be of me to say this, I'm glad I took you up to the human's world. I would have never come to know you otherwise. I wish that...perhaps I could spare you the pain you will feel upon your return home, but we both know I would never last long in the deep waters."
"You wouldn't." She quietly agreed, nodding. "I could never let you come to my home for a report knowing that you may die because of it." Her lips twitched and she managed more of a smile at a sense of irony that assaulted her. "I used to think that...that your clan was just lazy. That you wouldn't, couldn't, adapt. I used to think you and everyone else in the middle and upper waters would never do what we had to do in the deep waters, but it's not like that. You can't...and I won't let you endanger yourself just for my sake."
Her hand moved and rested over the one still on her shoulder. "Y – you...have become...more important to me than I thought. You're not just one of the tiger clan; you're Adrien. You're funny and strong and curious. You smile a lot and it makes me smile. I have never felt so much for one creature aside my family. You will never be able to be called my family, but...I hope that I can call you my friend..."
He beamed and clutched her hand in both of his. He stared at the small fingers in his, more than touched at her words. "I would...very much...like that..." He managed, eyes squeezing shut. "Yes...I would. Thank you." He looked at her, finding a kind look on her face. "Perhaps I already thought of you as such and had never given it such a name." A smile crept over his face. "A friend. Yes. That sounds very nice..."
She withdrew her hands after a moment, feeling more than better at their conversation, and slowly kept descending. The short time was also nice to get used to feeling the pressure. Even with as slow as they went, now just enjoying each other's company in the silence, it was starting to get to her. It was pressing her skin and she was glad that she had hunted before this sun arrived.
The pain started making itself known on her face and what little he could see at such darkness made him want to touch her again to comfort her...but it was worthless. There was nothing he could do to help her aside from take her back up. But, she needed to see her family and get back to her normal life. He had been greedy to take her away for so long; too happy to wait while she healed and was happy for every motion of the sun across the sky that they were together.
Part of him wanted to feel horrible for all that he had made happen. He had injured her, kept her longer than she originally wanted, and made her go places she might not have wanted to see. Her injury forced her to stay up above, where below would only bring terrible feelings until she could stand them again. All of that was his fault, but her words kept the thoughts away with greater ease than before.
"I almost wish that I could borrow your weapon again for the rest of the journey home."
He looked her way as her voice suddenly cut across the water to him. He remembered it in his space in the reef; having put it the way it had been before he gave it to her. He suddenly wished he could loan it to her until she was well enough to see him again. "I should have brought it..." He mumbled, almost to himself.
She smiled and shook her head. "It's okay. I will manage the trip slowly and be extra careful." She gave an amused noise at the last time she used it. It felt like so long ago. "I didn't really tell you what happened to your weapon after I was attacked. It fell into the trench after it was shaken from my hands. I almost didn't want to go after it because the pressure in the trench is much worse than even the bottom of the ocean. The trench is so much farther down and the pressure is so much that almost nothing can live in it."
"I didn't know where the weapon could have gone, but I knew that if I didn't find it immediately, I would never see it again. I finally decided to just go and get it. That's when I was attacked a second time by that eel in the rocks. I paralyzed it and stabbed it in the darkness."
He was silent for only a breath merely because he was too overwhelmed to be able to speak. "Thank you..." He whispered, looking her way. A smile graced his face. "I'm sorry that you had to go through such danger for my sake, but I am grateful that you went down after that weapon. It's not just any random weapon. Father made that to give to mother when they were both youths. It was a memory of the first creature they had ever killed together. Another can always be made, but it's special to him. He passed it along to me after she was killed by humans. I...I actually asked for it as a memory of her."
She was unable to think past this information and the emotions he caused at his words. She was now glad that she underwent such danger to get such a precious item back for him. She had nothing like that because both of her parents were still alive and she was very loyal to them. She would be very sad if either of them were killed by anything.
"Killed by humans..." She quietly echoed. She looked his way. "But...you spend so much time around humans... Why would you if your mother was killed by them?"
He grinned. "I guess it's where I got my curiosity from..."
She smirked. "Well, I hope you control that while I'm not around so you stay safe until I can see you again during my next report. No more shallows." The wharf returned to her and soured her mood. "I...I don't ever...want you in such a dangerous time ever again."
"I promise that I'll stay safe until we can see each other again."
His words were honest and she knew he meant them. He would do all he could to honor those. She felt much better at just hearing them.
The darkness enclosed upon them so much that without her cave's algae, it was near impossible to see him. Since he let off no light and no light could make him glow, it was only by her tail that she could see him at all. She paused amongst the pressure, trying hard to keep the pain out of her voice. "I think we should stop here." She murmured, facing him. She rested a hand on his shoulder and looked to his face. "Thank you...for everything. Please have a safe journey home."
His fingers found hers and rested over her hand. "You as well princess. I owe you so much and I will never be able to repay you. I hope that my friendship is satisfactory for you for now."
She smiled and nodded, though he couldn't see her. She should have shifted at that, but she remained rooted in her spot.
He took that time to speak what was on his mind, since she had no wish to leave just yet. "I know that I should feel much worse for this but, I'm glad that we went to the shallows. I'm happy that we could spend those days and nights together. I'm glad to be able to find out about you and your home. Thank you for sharing your time and allowing me to change your mind about yourself and my clan. I hope your recovery is much faster than it may take."
"I hope to see you soon Adrien. Please stay safe." Without another word, she took off first in a slow, careful descent.
He remained where he was as he listened to her tail push the water around. He smelled her for as far down as he could before she was gone from all his senses. He stayed there for what felt like a long time, remembering her words of being able to 'feel' things in the water. He could see nothing and wouldn't know if something big was swimming right at him right now. The only reason that thought didn't scare him was because he smelled nothing nearby.
"What can't see can feel and hear; remember that."
He still did, even after all this time. He stared in the direction of his tail, mind curious. A thought grew at a quick pace until the urge to move was too much. He gave in and started swimming after her, trying to be as quiet as possible to keep from scaring her or alerting anything else he couldn't see and could hardly smell. He went as slow as he could and moved slower with each passing stroke of his powerful tail.
It hurt! It hurt so much and his insides felt like they were being crushed by the reef! It was like a huge rock had been rolled over him and left to squish him flat! His teeth grit as he tried to keep going, to push himself and see what it really felt like.
He didn't know how far down he had gone, but it was too much. He couldn't continue. Even when she had pinched his ear as hard as she could that one time did it hurt as much this! His tail quickly propelled him up through the water, hoping he was going up, without any concern about what was around him. He had to escape that pain! He sped through the water, feeling the pain slowly disappear as he hurried up. Only when the light slightly returned did he finally stop and look to the darkness with wide eyes.
Such a place was where she lived every day. Such a thing was what she had to get used to after every trip to his home. He was more surprised, knowing he must have a long ways to go before he could get to the bottom of the ocean. He didn't know the distance down, but if the pressure only kept getting worse, he knew he wouldn't survive a journey to her land. He would be attacked on the way to her cave, if his insides even lasted long enough to get there!
A sense of respect more than before overcame him and he was astounded by her...by his friend. She was so much more than amazing. She was incredible and he could now only imagine, even a little, of what she went through. He couldn't explain the feeling at that, but it was so much that it kept him in that space of water for a long time before he could move his tail in the direction of home.
Sad ambiance music: youtube com/watch?v=a_Am4cHMBKM