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A Fish Out of Water- Chapter Seven
"Ha ha ha!" Trowa's carefree laughter mingled with the sound of the crashing waves. His smile beamed, almost matching the noon sun in its brightness. He was perched sidesaddle (There was no other way without legs, undignified though it may have been.) on a silvery dolphin, who was chirping happily. Members of its pod swam next to them, equally enjoying the merman's fun. A little ways behind, Quatre flew watching them.
If Trowa had empathy like he did, he would've known the seagull was sulking. And just the fact that he was doing so made him sulk even more. Quatre knew, with more sense than any other bird would have, that he should be glad Trowa was this happy, the revelation of his secret making feel liberated and more energetic than ever. But the fact that he was enjoying himself with these creatures, who were mammals, like Trowa's man half, but lived in the sea like his mer-one made him feel, if he was willing to admit it, quite jealous, hurt and really left out. How he wished it was just the two of them again! But the sunny day made the sea creatures float to Trowa like bees to flowers.
For the first time, Quatre regretted his friend's attachment to animals. The same thing that brought the two together was just as likely to tear them apart. Perhaps he treated all creatures this way, and Quatre was nothing special. What troubled him the most was the nagging idea that Trowa belonged with these dolphins (or any animals like them) and not with himself. Though he was as tied to the sea as he was to land or air, and not a thing would take him away from it, at the moment he still felt as out of place as a rooster at a hen party. But he continued following, unwilling to leave Trowa just yet, no matter how much the youth ignored him. That is, until a great splash knocked him out of the sky and replaced almost all of the air in his lungs with water. He let out an angry shriek. Since Catherine, who had only done minimal damage, he'd never been so insulted. Angrily chattering at Trowa, who hardly had time to murmur an apology, let alone realize what he'd done wrong, he flew away, now quite willing to abandon the merman he thought was his friend.
* * * * * *
"What's gotten into him?" Trowa wondered aloud as Quatre flew over his head. Like most clueless males of his species (and most others) he was oblivious to the distress he'd caused. He looked down at the dolphin he was riding for an answer. The animal might've shrugged in confusion, that is, if he had shoulders. "Maybe he doesn't like dolphins?" It snorted in contempt, as if to say, "He obviously has no taste."
Trowa frowned at it. "Well, I'd better follow him, make sure he's okay." He slipped off the mammal into the water. The pod swam away, making cheerful sounds by way of goodbye. When they were out of sight, Trowa began the chase after his companion. But a new sound stopped him in his tracks.
"La la la la. La la la la." He cocked his ears like he would a dog. Someone was singing in the distance. He could just make out a rocky cove some ways ahead, though he could see no one. But the rocks could be in the way.
He hummed along for a moment. "Where have I heard that song before?" he wondered. He snapped his fingers. "Princess Relena's birthday party!" How could he forget? The girls had only been singing it for over a week (When the princess was in a good mood, that is). It was the main theme to the musical that had been performed in her honor, about a mermaid who fell in love with a human and bargained with a sea witch to get legs. He'd thought it was sappy at the time, but the princess seemed to grow even more fascinated by it with each passing day before she disappeared. Could it be her?
She did love to sing, Trowa reasoned. It certainly was worth checking out. Figuring Quatre could take care of himself for a bit; he set out in the other direction toward the shore, following the song.
* * * * * *
Unaware of Trowa's total abandonment, Quatre was brooding on a rock in the middle of the ocean. He ignored the distant call of seagulls that wanted him to come join them; he didn't fit in there either, despite what Trowa had thought at first. If he were a really self-pitying type of person, he might've started singing "I'm All Alone in the World" from Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol. Fortunately, he had too much pride to go that far. And technically, that wasn't true, really. There was plenty of his kind, though no one exactly like him. And they were perfectly accepting of him (especially since he proved himself so useful). But somehow their feelings towards him paled in comparison to what Trowa might think of him. And this was odd, since his friends used to be so important to him. He didn't know when or why the change occurred; it just had. Quatre let out a birdlike sigh. And things had been going so well between them too. Trowa had been quicker to open up to him then his own sister; that meant something didn't it? He picked up a pebble with his claw and dropped it into the water, half-heartedly hoping it would hit one of those meddlesome dolphins in the head (unlikely since they weren't very close by at the time). The thought only made him feel worse; he normally wasn't the kind of person to wish harm on others, no matter how little.
Hovering in that position, he could see a small, but familiar figure moving rapidly towards the shore. Quatre screeched in horror. Trowa? But what was he doing? He was in a hurry; he could see that. Something very good could be happening or something very bad. And, judging from their present record, it couldn't be very good. Putting aside his hurt to make room for his worry and concern, Quatre flew after him to find out what on earth, air and sea was going on.
* * * * * *
The song grew louder and louder as Trowa approached, but he still could see no one. All he saw was a cave across the bay, with only rocks the slick black of a wet seal's hide surrounding it. If the area was inhabited, he had no idea, but inside the cave there was definitely water.
If Relena is held captive there by land creatures, we have the advantage in there, Trowa thought. The idea made him feel more comfortable and secure than he would have normally thought was wise, and he left his dagger in his pouch, confident that he wouldn't need it. He dove under water for stealth and was met with a surprise: No fish were in sight, not even a guppy.
"Oh, well," he said to himself, not feeling bothered by it in the least, though that was a clear sign something was amiss. In a few quick strokes, he was inside the caves. There was water, but it was much shallower than he had first thought; and the walls and ceiling were covered with shining crystals of different hues. The colors here would put the Sank Kingdom to shame; the merman mused in awe.
The singing suddenly stopped; and he popped his head out of the water to better see what was going on. A gentle rustling caught his ears and he turned to see soft blonde curls, creamy pink skin and a sky blue tail.
"Middie?" he said the first name that image brought to mind. The mermaid turned to face him. No, it wasn't her. "She's even more beautiful," he breathed, the traitorous thought floating out of his mouth. Indeed, the girl's blue eyes captivated him. She smiled shyly, as if she'd heard the compliment, and beckoned him towards her.
Trowa creeped forward like he was approaching an animal that he didn't want to scare away. Her smile widened, making him more relaxed with each step. A wicked glimmer flickered in her eyes, but he took no notice, though his own eyes were locked on her.
"Hurry, hurry," she called to him. Her voice was musical and almost unreal. Closer, closer, Trowa felt his torso brush against some kind of netting, like what a fisherman might use, but he only continued moving forward. Now his tail was in it, and his arms were caught too. Trowa gasped for air as the thing tightened around him and the world went black.
To be continued…
