It felt as if I couldn't breathe. Was I seeing things? Was it my imagination? Without thinking, I sped forward, slicing the water into twin wakes. I would see who this was. Reaching the fishing net he was fiddling with, I entered his line of vision.
He seemed just as surprised as I was to see someone of his own species. Dropping the net he had been so busy with earlier, he slowly waded over to me, his eyes as curious as a cat fish's.
"Uh...hello..." I said, weakly. Could he even here me across the water? Just in case, I waved my hand, the universal sign of 'hello'.
"Hey..." he answered, clearly able to hear me. His voice was bubbly and warped in my ears, just as I guess mine was in his.
"You...how did you get like that?" I asked, hoping he'd have the same answer as me.
"W-Well..." he mumbled, looking shy. "I got really sick one day...I had a fever, and my skin was peeling, and...I was in a lot of pain. My parents, they...they drowned my in the moon pool..." It seemed painful for him to talk about it. "To put me out of my misery."
"That's awful..." I whispered. I would be traumatized for life if my parents held me down, drowning me.
"Well, how did you get it? This...mutation?" he asked, trying to sound happy.
"It was just as you had it. I became deathly ill, feverish even. My skin was raw as if someone had rubbed sand paper on it, and it felt as if my insides were burning. I went for a walk outside of my homestead, and knowing I'd only be gone a few minutes, didn't use liquigen. Some sharks shattered my helmet, and I drowned." I explained. I had no shame in the way I 'drowned'. Just like the Serfs, the pioneers boasted about fighting sea monsters, like sharks and devil squids.
"Really? You drowned too?" he exclaimed, shooting forward so he was right in front of me.
"Yes...I grew gills, and fins, and basically...turned into a fish." I answered. He seemed quite curious, even more than I was. "My parents kicked me out when they found out, though..."
"Oh...I'm sorry. My parents just let me sink when I drowned. They don't even know I'm still alive." He said.
"Hm. I live in ColdSleep Canyon now, in a crystal cave. Do you...wanna see it?" I asked, sheepishly.
"Ah-! Sure!" he yelled, excitedly. Smiling, I led him down through the treacherous reaches of the canyon, and into the small tunnel that led to my home. He seemed shy at first, but seemed to come out of his shell when he saw the jewels lining the walls. He picked at the shining crystals, and seemed amazed at all the colors.
"You live here?" he whispered, still gazing belatedly at the walls.
"Yup. I have for about a week now." I answered, sitting against the wall I had cleared.
"I wish I lived in such an amazing place...I just live in an abandoned homestead. It's all flooded, and there's no heat or light." He murmured.
"No light? Isn't it scary?" I asked, somehow snapping him out of his wonder.
"Well...not really...I can see really well in the dark. Can't you?" he asked, pulling his attention away from the crystals.
"Yeah, but even still. Being in complete darkness...isn't it lonely?" I asked.
"Well...sometimes...but, I have lots of pets." He said with a chuckle.
"Hehe! You're just like my sister. Her room is full of fish tanks." I said. "She'll come home with things scarier than devil squids."
"Whoa!" he laughed. "I was an only child."
"Well, sometimes it's a blessing, and sometimes it's a curse." I said.
"Well, I would have loved to have a sibling. Even an older one. Just someone to go fishing with." He said a little sadly. "Ah-! Where are my manners! I haven't gotten your name!"
"It's Mefreet." I answered, enjoying his worrying.
"That's a nice name...mine is Hatori." He answered. "Not as nice, I know."
"It's a fine name." I said, standing up. "Now that I've showed you where I live, now you have to show me where you live!" He abruptly turned around, seemingly startled at my outburst.
"Ah...you don't want to see where I live..." he answered, trying to persuade me.
"Hey, I showed you my place! That's not fair!" I yelled, pointing my finger at him.
"Ack-! Fine, fine, I'll show you. It's not a nice place, you know." He whined, shimmying through the tunnel that connected my cave and the ocean. "You probably won't like it."
"Try me." I said, crawling through it after him.
