After an entire year working near solely on Souls, I finally come back to finish this chapter. It's a mighty seven thousand words long, and we're almost ready to draw to a close on the first arc! I promise I'll try to get up the final chapter of Alignments before the year ends.
In the meantime, enjoy the story.
Helen had been having quite the day, she would think. Between meeting all these people in the kingdom of no foreigners, then that strange mark from the Fates, and then the strange guy who had attacked them, and then meeting Her Majesty Aqua Regina, not to mention, learning that she had been chosen for some grand design of the Fates to save the world and whatnot… Oh, it was getting hard to track the events, alright, and all that was just within one day! Not even, as she reminded herself. Just a few hours had passed, and everything that was going on was making her head spin.
Being pulled into the water by one of the two scary girls she had met that day was certainly topping that list of 'things that were confusing her', at least, for now.
"I thought I was going to die," the strawberry blonde groused, tossing her head a little to push her long hair away from her face, as it had been since it was lengthened back to her natural dramatic curls from the practical bob she had as a human. Her bright blue eyes locked firmly onto Jasmine as she huffed, resurfacing to breathe in the cool night air. Oh, sweet ocean goddess, she missed the ocean, even if she had only left it for an hour or so.
The Panthalassan girl scoffed as she followed Helen back to the surface of the water, lifting her wet hair out of her face and slicking the short black locks back to leave her face unobscured. "Both of you are mermaids," she dismissed in a deadpan tone. "You know you'll breathe fine underwater. Not like you'd die, aye?" She frowned as a clump of short hair fell right back down between her eyes, but shrugged and left it as it was.
Helen threw the girl a glare for stating the obvious, her brow knitting together as she puffed her cheeks out in indignation at the statement. "I said 'I thought'!" she exclaimed angrily, raising her tail out of the water to smack it onto the surface, sending a big wave towards Jasmine.
Jasmine sank underwater, avoiding the wave, but not before throwing Helen a cheeky-looking grin and a content laugh.
Luna surfaced only moments after, laughing again after a strange, unexpected silence from her. The mermaid grinned at the two of them, not bothering to remove her ever-present hair from her right eye at all. "I know, but you were sudden. Very quick. It's pretty amazing, you know?" The corners of her lips lifted into a smirk as she glanced at Jasmine. "Even if you took me by surprise back there." The mermaid huffed at the statement.
"Being quick is better than being dead," Jasmine quipped as she resurfaced, only to have to quickly duck under again as Luna splashed her with a wave. "Hey!" She looked vaguely annoyed at being interrupted when she broke the surface of the water again, shooting Luna a nasty glare. "Like I was saying, merc work and being who I am in foreign kingdoms needs me to be quick or it's goodbye."
Luna snorted at the black-haired girl. "Let's gang up on her!" she called to Helen, and with a nasty-looking grin, she sent a big wave at Jasmine with her tail, looking positively gleeful to be splashing the taller girl like that.
Helen pouted as Jasmine ducked again, an indignant look on her face as she felt water splash her from behind. "Hey!" she cried out, turning around as quickly as she could to catch Jasmine right behind her. She smacked the surface of the disturbed water with her cerise tail fin, creating a medium-sized wave that chased after the Panthalassan at a dangerous speed.
"Oh, I can't believe I'm acting like a child again," Jasmine muttered, her tone light but her words complaining, even if she was faintly smiling at the exchange. She ducked underwater again, escaping the wave, but this time, she didn't resurface. It wasn't hard to guess that she was probably heading away from the two mermaids now.
The purple mermaid dashed past Helen in a blitz of lilac and faded white, diving into the water and trying to catch up to Jasmine. "I can't believe it too!" she called, looking back over her shoulder to look at Helen. "This is the most fun I've had in years! Come on, Helen! Let's catch her!" She dived underwater again.
Not wanting to lose sight of either of the duo, the strawberry blonde mermaid got straight to it, easily swimming past Luna and reaching Jasmine — who had chosen to run on the seabed rather than swim — in a matter of strokes of her tail. The girl hadn't really been the fastest, but her petite build made her more streamlined and let her swim much faster than her taller peers. "Luna, corner her on this side!" she commanded, keeping her arms to her side as she fought to keep up with Jasmine, who had begun to run faster and into erratic directions.
The Panthalassan suddenly jumped up mid-sprint after changing directions once more, catching Helen off-guard as the mermaid scrambled to stop charging in the direction she had just been going in.
"We'll get you!" Luna called with a snarl that sounded patently false and even a little bit playful. Evidently a bit more skilled than Helen was at maneuvering underwater, she shot upwards after Jasmine with nary but a slight collision with Helen as their tails bumped against each other. "Stop running!" she ordered, a laugh entering her tone.
This game of tag was becoming ridiculous, but Helen didn't mind it at all. It was becoming so insanely fun that the blonde wondered why she never did it when she was younger. Oh well, that was something to think about later. Gonna win this one! she declared triumphantly in her head, chasing after Jasmine as the bump with Luna set her on the right path, her crystal blue eyes sparkling with determination to catch the other.
Jasmine slowed down, almost mockingly turning around to shoot them a grin, but when Helen was sure she could reach her by stretching out her arms, she shot off again with a cocky laugh that just further fuelled Helen's determination. "Aww," she taunted, grinning, "did the widdle babies think they could catch me?"
"We're gonna get you!" Helen shouted, reiterating Luna's earlier statement. She had no plan in mind, save for one thing, really… She began swimming in circles, trying to create a whirlpool with her speed. She was getting a little dizzy when she realized she had succeeded, and with a Cheshire grin, she shot right out of the middle, watching her handiwork with a satisfied look. It was getting bigger by the minute, and she had no means to control it, but she hoped no one would get hurt.
"You two are insane!" Jasmine yelled at the two, but an amused laugh could be heard as she moved further back from the whirlpool, only to be tackled by Luna into a sudden hug soon after. "Hey!" she shouted, trying to throw off the mermaid. "Get off me, you loon!"
"Insane? Said who?" the Antarctic mermaid playfully declared with a loud, boisterous laugh. Even Jasmine seemed to be having trouble shaking her off, though not for the lack of trying, it seemed. "No way!" Luna retorted with a snicker. "You should feel honored that I'm tackle-hugging you, friend!"
Helen laughed at the black-haired girl's predicament, trying to act the role of the villain, though the simple fact that she was unable to maintain control over the monster of the whirlpool she herself had created just shattered any and all resemblances she could muster. "You asked for it!" she announced with a grin, attempting to put as much flamboyance into that simple sentence as she could, though it fell flat as she laughed aloud. Eh? Helen pondered over Luna's words. Does that mean she considers me a friend too? It was surprising for her to notice that over simple hours, they had already grown on her.
As Helen inched closer to Jasmine and Luna, and at the same time, moved further away from the gradually expanding whirlpool that she had formed, she heard the awkward laughter from the Panthalassan girl. She looked over, seeing the pale girl gently pat Luna on the back and awkwardly attempt to return the hug. Her dark blue eyes flickered over to Helen and locked gazes with the mermaid. 'Help me', Jasmine mouthed to Helen with a slightly panicked look on her face.
Abruptly, just as Helen thought it was fine to relax, Luna tore away from Jasmine, making a break for it as the purple mermaid dashed off past Helen, shouting, "Helen can't control the freakin' whirlpool! Make a break for it!" With that cry, she dashed off like a pale lilac bolt of lightning, laughing like a maniac.
"It's not like I can't control it now," Helen protested with a laugh, trying to use the laughter to hide her inward cry of defeat. That monster was getting bigger. She dreaded to think of what would happen if it got further out of control. "I was never in control of it in the first place." Yeah, that's not an excuse, Helen, she scolded herself.
A hand around her wrist made her glance back up at Jasmine as the Panthalassan girl walked past her, brushing off her clothes. "Come on, Helen," she said, "we don't want anyone getting hurt here." She offered the blonde a little chuckle at the situation as she let go, nodding after Luna.
Helen just continued her nervous laughter, anxiously admiring from afar as her creation just got more and more dangerous. "So, uh, what're we gonna do from here?" she asked, making a face as she stared at the rapidly growing whirlpool. Oh gosh.
"Get out of the water?" Jasmine idly suggested, the girl running a hand through her short black hair as she observed the scene. "That thing'll calm down by morning, give or take some time, after all." She caught up with Luna as the Antarctic mermaid slowed down and stopped, looking at the whirlpool from afar.
"Agreed," Helen said with a sigh. She had no choice but to accept defeat in this matter now, she supposed, but it still stung a little to have to do it. She had auto-defeated herself with that statement, though. Jeez, how pathetic. "I'm not not sorry," she mumbled, hoping the double negative would help mask the fact that she was apologizing. Was it obvious to the others that she didn't like to do it? Well, it wasn't as if she did it on purpose; create the whirlpool, that was.
"It's easy to get rid of a whirlpool," Luna said with a confident smile, swimming closer to the thing very, very daringly. "You just have to spin in the opposite direction—gah!" she cried in surprise as she swam too close, her hair and tail fin getting caught in the strong outer currents of the whirlpool. "Helen!" the lilac-tailed mermaid cried in surprise. "I'll get you for this if I get injured!"
"Luna!" Helen shouted out, but before she could dive forward herself, Jasmine was already on it, holding an arm out to hold her back as the Panthalassan shot forward, a blur of black and blue that looked barely be visible to the naked eye.
An apology really wasn't going to cut it this time, was it?
Battle Royale Pichi Pichi Pitch
"I can't control it! Help!"
A loud scream filled an empty cavern, occupied only by five mermaids with hair and tails of various purples. They had been chasing each other, but one of the quintet's cries had drawn the other girls' attention back to her.
A young lilac mermaid anxiously swam towards her friend, reaching out a hand to try and grab the orchid mermaid's hand as what was once a small whirlpool got out of hand, trying to consume the other mermaids and bring them into the chaos that was the center of the growing whirlpool.
"Sophia, spin the other way!" the lilac mermaid cried to another mermaid, a younger one with mulberry hair and tail. "I can't reach you!"
"I-I can't!" the girl cried, nearly ready to burst into tears. "I can't! Help me!"
The orchid mermaid looked back at the lilac one, a determined look entering warm purple eyes. "I'll go and save her," she told the other firmly. "I'll be fine." And with that, she pulled herself free of the lilac mermaid's hold, diving right back into the fray. "I'm coming, Sophia! Just hold on for a bit!"
"—una! Hey, Luna! I'm coming!"
Luna's purple eyes snapped back into focus as she jerked herself from the memory, seeing Jasmine breach the strong currents of the whirlpool to reach the eye of the storm. What was she doing? She was going to—going to… A sharp pain shot through her left shoulder, and her features contorted together in an expression of pain. The whirlpool was carrying her along in circles, and she was getting dizzy.
A pale hand reached out to her, faintly covered in scars, but though Luna tried her best to reach out, her left arm refused to listen, and her right arm was simply too far away to be able to do anything. Jasmine suddenly shot forward, and as her hands clamped down on Luna's right shoulder, she was pulled free of the currents, and both of them tumbled outwards onto the ground, Jasmine thankfully ending up cushioning Luna's fall so her already injured arm wasn't jostled more.
"Thanks," Luna muttered, pulling herself back up. "I can't swim the other way like I did when I was a little younger," she said with a huff, though immediately, she cringed as it moved her arm. "I think the currents may have dislocated my arm or something… other than that, though, I'm fine, I think. Just a little shoulder. I'm fine." The lilac mermaid tried to move her arm and instantly regretted the decision. "Thanks."
The dark-haired girl rolled her eyes, slowly picking herself up and dusting herself off. "Can you swim?" she asked. She didn't wait for Luna to answer, though, and after a quick scrutinizing, she shook her head and carefully picked the mermaid up, carefully avoiding Luna's left arm. "Scratch that."
Luna huffed, letting the Panthalassan carry her over to the shore, where Helen was pacing. "I could swim," she muttered.
Jasmine ignored the statement as they finally reached the shore. She set Luna down onto the ground and winced, rolling her shoulders. "How much do you weigh?" she jabbed, though an amused tone crept into her voice at Helen's bemused glance. "You weigh a bloody ton, and that's saying something!"
The Antarctic mermaid laughed a little as she transformed back into her human form, nursing her injured arm, a mock pout coloring her lips. "I ate a lot after I got out of my problems," she said with a huff. "Plus, I'm a chef. So sorry about that." The sass, she hoped, was tangible. "And I'm not that heavy." At that, she broke out into a grin and laughed despite the pain in her arm.
"Yeah right…" Jasmine rolled her dark blue eyes, scoffing in amusement at her statement.
"It's true, you know! I bet you're heavier than I am!" Luna said with a smirk. She turned to Helen and smiled. "So, I'm a little hurt, but I'm in a good mood," she said cheerfully. "Bygones be bygones?"
The blonde didn't pause to even think about it. "Deal."
Battle Royale Pichi Pichi Pitch
Shelia yawned lazily as she surfaced from the water, having loosely followed the group, but not before she had gone hunting. Her fiery red heels sank into the dense, wet sand, much to her annoyance, but it couldn't be helped. The water demon strolled on along to the trio that stood at the edge of the water, willing her fins and horns to vanish despite how much she wanted to let it stay like that.
"Oh, so you're here," she said out loud, purposefully trying to draw their attention as she pushed to control her lisp. The redhead braced her hands on her hips, her claws lightly tapping on her studded belt. "You just left me there, alone, huh? Ah well, I had a chance to hunt for some fish while chasing after all of you, so not all was lost." She leaned her weight onto one hip, rolling her bright yellow eyes.
One of the two mermaids – Luna, Shelia reminded herself – glanced at her with violet eyes and spoke, her right arm nursing the left, "That's good. You seem to like things fresh and raw." Her arm was hurt, somehow, but Shelia didn't smell blood. Probably just a dislocation, though, from the way she was holding it.
"That I do; it's a demon thing," the redhead said with a nod, flashing a grin with sharp teeth despite being in a human-like form. "So, what happened to you girls? You look like you've been through hell!" she exclaimed, the thought of a battle exciting her despite the fact that she had missed it. She took a closer look at them – only Luna was injured, though the Panthalassan girl, Jasmine, looked disheveled as well.
"Helen here," Luna nodded her head at the flustered blonde behind her, "decided that it would be fun to create a gigantic whirlpool and it ended up catching me up in it." If her left arm wasn't injured, she'd probably be gesturing. She stopped, leaning forward a little and squinting. "You can still see it too."
Shelia's arched brows rose in surprise. "That was your doing?" she inquired. "I did see it, from a distance as I came up here. Wondered what such a thing would be doing so near the shore. You kids just started wrecking stuff as soon as possible?"
"She started it." Luna was pointing at Jasmine now, the latter of which looked somewhat affronted at having the blame for the situation pinned on her.
Helen fidgeted with her fingers, looking away as she blew out her cheeks in what Shelia supposed was indignation. "It was supposed to end just like that." She sounded a little apologetic, though the demon could see the hint of pride that lit up her blue eyes.
"Try to control it next time," Luna said to her. She shook her head after a moment, muttering something that Shelia couldn't catch without her fins being present.
"Will see what I can do," Helen answered, her voice sincere and honest.
Shelia moved her arms, crossing them in front of her chest, though still cocking a hip. "Don't put yourselves in danger for nothing," she cautioned. Especially since those two weren't involved in dangerous business like she and Jasmine were. The Panthalassan girl could probably be trusted not to do anything too foolhardy, Shelia figured. "Generally not a very good idea."
"We know that," Luna snarled, a scowl on her face now.
Shelia chuckled in amusement at how quickly the mermaid's attitude changed from friendly to hostile. "Psshhht," her lisp wasn't making the sound any better, "don't get mad, kiddo." Shelia chuckled. "Just teaching you bunch… So, why were you all out here to begin with?" She'd like to have a reason as to why she was made to follow them all the way up to the surface, at least.
"Jasmine was being mean!" Helen protested with a pout. She huffed, turning away from Shelia in what could only be indignation. "I followed Jasmine and Kazi up here."
Luna didn't seem to take the redhead's comment well either. "Aren't we allowed to be?" she shot at the demon, a scowl on her face. "It was a small stroll outside; a walk!" As soon as she finished, the mermaid recoiled, frowning at something.
Jasmine decided to give Shelia a proper answer, the dark-haired girl having chosen to remain silent for the better part of the exchange. She folded her arms over her chest, almost languidly rolling her dark blue eyes. "Luna decided that it would be funny to shove me into the water for a moonlight dip," she said sarcastically. She reached a hand out to lightly smack Helen on the shoulder. "And don't give me that look. You were the one who brought up going into the bloody water at this late… or early, it looks like."
She was right – Shelia could see a big orange ball about to peak up beyond the sea's surface. Jeez, had it really been hours since the whole thing had started?
"Gosh," the redhead said, rolling her eyes playfully, "just don't get yourself killed." She frowned, her playful, teasing tone shifting. "So, hey, what's the plan now?" she asked. "We do have a plan, right?" She couldn't stop the mocking words that followed, not that she really bothered to. "Nah, of fucking course we don't."
Neither Luna nor Helen seemed enthusiastic about that statement, and almost as if they wanted to avoid the topic, they headed off inside.
"I'd prefer to have a plan, of course," Jasmine deadpanned, bracing her hands on her hips as she met Shelia's yellow gaze. "But, of course, we seem to be rather…" she paused as if searching for a word to use, "…lost, in what comes next."
"Wasn't something said about the Arctic?" Shelia interjected. "Think we should go there?" The demon tapped her claws against her skin in thought. "I mean, I really would rather not, but Her Almighty Lightiness or whatever hinted us in that direction. Unless she's trying to get us killed, 'course, sending us to the damn Arctic." The demon scowled deeply at that statement – the Arctic wasn't just dangerous, it was a damn death sentence, especially for her and her kind.
Jasmine grunted in agreement, the black-haired girl pursing her lips into a thin line as she assumed a thoughtful position, her eyes narrowed and brows furrowed tightly together. "You, Kazi and I are going to be on the short end of the stick," she figured, "and Lila will draw attention, even if she's not mistaken for one of us. And we still have another major problem too, without even getting into trying to enter the Arctic without getting killed." A heavy sigh left Jasmine. "Of all places," she muttered begrudgingly, "why does it have to be the Poles?"
"Think we're gonna meet more of those crazy evil people?" Shelia asked after shrugging at Jasmine's initial assessment. Evil was a term a lot of people threw around, but the redhead didn't think any other word fit better to describe the lot. "I mean, the throne guy was probably part of something bigger, according to the damn goddess wench. Just what's gonna come next, huh? If we don't get killed or jailed or something in the Arctic," as unlikely as it was, "do we get eaten by a damn villain next?"
The following scowl from the Panthalassan girl told Shelia that nothing good was going to be said before the girl even said it. "Sloth is one of the traditional Seven Sins, Red," Jasmine responded after a momentary pause, her scowl deep. "There's bound to be more." The way she said it was in a slight matter-of-fact manner, but her expression said that she was hoping to be wrong.
"Seven of us, seven Princesses, seven Sins; I see a pattern here and I don't like it," Shelia admitted, a frown coloring her lips. "Oh, dang it, if that's the case, I'm just gonna… I don't even know!" She threw her hands up in defeat, shaking her head. Smoothing back her red curls out of her face, she continued, "So, I guess we have another Sinner waiting in the Arctic along with all the other kind of threats to our lives, huh?"
"After seeing what Lazy had in store for us, I think we signed out own death warrants," Jasmine replied idly, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Going to the Arctic is a death wish in and of itself, but I suppose that's what the Fates want from us, right?" She shook her head and huffed. "The worst thing that could happen is the mermaids seeing us, especially the Arctic army. They're as vicious as they get and they want our blood. I'm sure that we can take on a few squads, but if they mobilize an entire battalion… yeah, that's something I can't do anything about.
Ohhh, that wouldn't be a scenario that Shelia would have been happy to find herself in. Aren wouldn't be glad with her for going along without a plan either, maybe. The old woman was always harping on about training, and she was always ignoring that… Still, though, Aren would have probably agreed that going along with the Fates would be the thing to do. It still didn't mean that she liked it.
"We're in trouble," the demon stated quite bluntly, stifling an urge to groan and smack her face. "Oh yeah, and if we're right and there are seven villains to us, if they're all as strong as the dude we fought, then we sure as hell better hope they won't unite as well."
Jasmine managed a weak smile that seemed a little forced. "I hope that they don't," she said in response. "And we still need to search for the last of us, too… if we only have six of us, that can't be right. The Fates mentioned something about being united and divided or something along those lines, yeah? Maybe together we have some sort of crazy power… or something. Just… not singing." She frowned, making a face at the idea. "I'm not exactly good at it."
Speaking of singing, though… "You know what's kind of surreal to me?" Shelia asked the other girl. "I need to work in a group of seven. Because we all know that the best things come in twos." She held up two clawed fingers to emphasize her point better. "Hell, I have to save the damn world when I'm not even complete yet! Everything I've learned has changed." She snapped her fingers in the air. "Just like that."
Blue eyes snapped over her, analyzing and vaguely confused in their gaze. "You look pretty damn complete to me, Red," Jasmine remarked. "Unless you mean that you're still looking for a partner of some sort." Bingo, she hit the nail right on the head.
"If I'm 'Red', then I mean 'Blue'," Shelia explained, leaning forward a little with a hand on her hip. "It hasn't been the right time for her to come to me, yet, but she will, someday, or I'll go to her. We're destined to be together, us sisters. You lot might not know of the demon legends of this bloodline. I might be powerful now, but on my own, I'm nothing. I need my sister."
The demon hadn't expected Jasmine to know what she was talking about, but recognition seemed to appear in the other girl's dark blue eyes. "Red and blue, hmm? You're an anglerfish," she said, "aren't you? Like the Black Beauty Sisters from the generation of the Guardian Princesses."
Shelia grinned in excitement at the mention of her predecessors. "Oh, you know of them? My predecessors, surely they were memorable people," she stated, her yellow eyes gleaming in excitement. "Ah, just hearing about the way that they fought their battles and refused to back down… so admirable!" Her eyes glistened as she spoke. "I am an anglerfish, yes. The red anglerfish, in fact! I am the next Red sister after them in a tradition that has lasted as long as our kind has! I've heard so much about all kinds of ancestors and their deeds, but the Black Beauty Sisters were truly something else."
Her red lips were pulled into a frown, then, as she thought of something else. "However, it seems that I'm still on my own, incomplete…" She was already eighteen, and if her partner was yet to be born, that was just unthinkable!" The age gap will be quite huge this time, it appears." She sighed at the thought.
"I'll be frank with you, Red," Jasmine said, a sharp, mirthless grin on her face at Shelia's statement. "What I've managed to read about your predecessors is anything but flattering, but that's to be expected, I suppose. Mermaid literature cannot claim to be unbiased. Atlantic Academy's library had a personal memoir of the Green Guardian Princess, or so it claimed. I… snuck into the restricted section and read it once or twice. They were a team of backstabbing traitors, or so the memoir claimed, though she did hold a much higher opinion of Mimi than Sheshe, for whichever reason."
Shelia wasn't surprised in the slightest by that – the mermaids were always so judgmental, and it wasn't like they had never caused any atrocities either. She hummed in acknowledgement of what Jasmine had said. "I know the mermaids would have a lot to say, but I trust the judgment of my predecessors over any of those silly mermaids." She chuckled at the notion of her trusting a mermaid's opinion – now that was just hilarious. "I've read their memoirs, you know? Those of my predecessors. They were ambitious and cunning for sure, and I find it really admirable."
She paused a moment to let it sink in for the other, younger girl, and clasped her clawed hands together. "I do know what Mimi did as well, though. She documented it quite thoroughly in her personal journal. It was pretty unusual, I admit, but she was a friend of Her Holy Brightness, under rather unusual circumstances. While Sheshe, my direct predecessor, made huge sacrifices for her kin, to the point of facing the Ancient Mikeru himself despite knowing that it meant certain doom! Whatever Greenie said about them was simply what she, a mermaid, thought." Shelia stopped for a brief second, and continued, "And you know how the mermaids have viewed our kind, yours and mine, based on actions at war."
And if Shelia was to be honest, despite not quite caring much about the states of affairs in the mermaid kingdoms, she knew that the Ocean War – the First Ocean War, because there was bound to be another – hadn't helped in the slightest when it concerned the status of Panthalassans and demons in the marine world. Why, she would have thought it was better if they had stuck to their own kind to form communities, but apparently, that wasn't the case for many.
"You have a point," Jasmine acquiesced with a casual shrug of the shoulders, "but I never took much care about those kinds of things in the end, especially not when I was in school." She grimaced. "Everyone is judgmental, but those mermaids are especially so, even if they're in friendly areas like the Atlantic." She walked past Shelia to stand at the edge of the water, looking out at the horizon as the sun rose into the air. She raised a hand to shelter her eyes. "They've been dominating the oceans for so long that they think they've got the right to do so. I wish things were black and white, sometimes. Everything would be much easier."
"Mhm." Shelia nodded to her point and walked over, joining her. The light was bright, but not unbearably so like the Ocean Goddess was, just the kind of light that made it a little hard to see. "I wonder if they'll ever stop dominating the oceans, honestly. As long as their Royals and the Goddess and all the other rulers too are mermaids, they're gonna have the upper hand," she muttered, a hint of bitterness clear in her voice. "I wouldn't mind sharing the seas with them if we were their equals in society, but it appears that for some," like the Poles, "just merely not murdering us on sight is too much to be acceptable."
She saw Jasmine's jaw tighten as the girl grit her teeth, a scowl on her face. "Maybe some of that blame falls onto the Panthalassa Clan," the Panthalassan girl muttered, her gaze shifting to the shore. "The older history books say that there was once a time when demons, mermaids and the Clan could live in peace. It was a very long time ago, granted. Then the Panthalassan Revolution happened five millennia ago; something about the royal family losing their prestige and power, and letting the military commanders assume power. Aqua Regina stepped in then and sealed the entire clan away."
"Hah," Shelia muttered, no sense of triumph in her voice. "It's utterly ridiculous, I swear. A war happened in ancient times, one side won, and even today, the side that lost, and those that helped them, has to be punished for it. It's completely ridiculous." She scuffed the sand below her platform heels in frustration, growling.
Jasmine seemed to find something amusing about the situation, as her next addition held a bit of mirth. It was mocking, regardless, but she sounded entertained by whatever she had in mind. "And let's not forget that the mermaids only won because they had a goddess on their side. That same goddess now has to depend on us, a team comprised of at least two Panthalassans and a demon, to save her world." She gave a short bark of laughter at the irony of the situation. "She's not the same person, but the principle of it, that's just… ridiculous."
Shelia paused, taking in that bit of information, and she too laughed. That was true – it really was ridiculous. The demon sighed a little as she glanced out at the rising sun and the pale blue sky – it was early in the day, but it was already daylight. It was almost surprising how quickly time had passed.
The demon pursed red lips together. Maybe she could get used to this.
Battle Royale Pichi Pichi Pitch
The Panthalassan Revolution.
Just hearing the mention of that made Kazi grimace. Five millennia and it still hadn't helped him a bit whenever it came to that accursed war. The total devastation of his people still managed to haunt him in dreams and living nightmares, he swore, even when it seemed like everything was fine.
The man shook himself out of the memories and cleared his throat, speaking up from the doorway to his house, where he had been standing and observing both the girls outside. "If you're going to hang around, do come in. It's rude to loiter." He moved to the side, nodding towards the living room, where both Luna and Helen had gone.
Jasmine glanced back over her shoulder at him. "Sorry," she called back, making to walk away from the shore and back towards the house. The sun was climbing higher in the sky at this point too, and the girl shielded her eyes from the daylight with a grimace. "I think we'll keep that in mind in the future."
Kazi just shook his head, leaning against the door. "Care to come inside?"
"Alright." Glancing back at the demon, who was still looking out over the sea, they spoke quickly before Jasmine walked on without her, letting the redhead stay there for a while longer. "Sorry for walking out like that earlier. Helen was outside," the girl said to him as she passed, walking inside.
"It's quite alright," the man said, dismissing it quickly. They had been reading for a while, after all – or more accurately, he had been letting her soak in some of the more essential bits of information about their kind. It would help if she had any form of basic training, but as far as he knew, it was close to none. He could work with that, though. "Ready to continue? We can move on to the practical portion now."
Jasmine thought about it, pausing for a while as they walked past the two mermaids and the Ancient, all three seated on the couch and talking to each other. She nodded. "Sure, why not?" she muttered. "I've got to admit, though, it seemed simple in theory, but it's… complicated… to get to it," she said, seemingly unsure about her choice of words. She shrugged.
"It will become easier with practice," Kazi assured her. And he was more than certain that she'd get a lot of practice with the events that would possibly come up soon. "I taught you to bring forth your power before. Now you'll have to learn to control it. That will be the hardest part of the beginning, but once you surmount that obstacle, your path will be much easier to travel," he described.
"I guess I had better get started if that's the case. There seems to be a lot to learn," the black-haired girl muttered. She sighed. "How hard can it be?" she muttered to herself, her shoulders dropping slightly as Kazi led her into an empty room.
The Panthalassan man would have preferred to reinforce the room just in case of any accidents, but on short notice, the empty room would work fine. "This room will do," he acknowledged with a nod of the head, directing Jasmine into the middle of the white-walled room. "Now, focus on the power inside you. Draw it out, slowly," he stressed. That part was so important that it was hard to describe how. He couldn't count how many people who hadn't remembered that had gotten severely injured by the backlash.
She nodded. "Right, slowly. Got it." She closed her eyes, cupping her hands together. It wasn't long before the crest of the Panthalassa Clan, an intricately glowing golden cross, manifested on her brow.
So far, so good. "Focus on the power," Kazi instructed, watching her. "Let it take a shape of your choosing and mold it with your will. Try and form a sphere with it." Magic tended to run wild and free without direction, while the basis of spell work was the force it into a certain pattern, hence why the exercise was one of the first steps needed. As with everything, though, there was also a middle ground; guide the magic as was needed and use force to conquer it if it tries to defy, but never force it where it can't obey. The consequences would be messy at best.
"Right, a sphere," Jasmine repeated, inhaling deeply, opening her eyes to confirm before she closed them again. Sparks of electricity danced at her fingertips, and it swirled into her cupped hands like it was liquid, shaping itself into a rough sphere before the corners and edges smoothed themselves out, correcting into a near perfect shape.
Kazi nodded in approval – it wasn't the best result he had supervised before, but she was certainly doing above average. Now, if she could maintain that standard, the basics would be no trouble for her. "Very good for a first try," he told her. "This is an important exercise in controlling our powers. With practice, it will become second nature to you." He himself replicated the exercise, calling forth a glowing white sphere of light, a perfectly proportioned shape with no imperfections visible to the eye. It radiated warmth and glittered under the room's lighting.
She stared down at the dark sphere that swirled in her hands, darkening and lightening, but always remaining a deep purplish-blue hue. "I'll keep that in mind," she said, looking up and glancing at his sphere and her own. "Is this going to pose a problem?" she asked quizzically, more than likely referring to the stark difference between the two of the,
"Your orientation is different from mine," the white-haired man explained, seeing the look in her eyes. "You are Dark, I am Light. It's a minor difference in our people, as the only ones I know of that can be either of one or the other. It's hard to say whether it will be a major problem or not. The main difference will be as to what we tend towards, of course."
She frowned as she heard that, brow furrowing. "In the end, it's all the same, right?" she asked.
"It should be, essentially," Kazi waved off. "Though those who align under Dark are more intended for sheer destruction. The power of Dark Panthalassans is more often than not chaotic, but despite that, it's very powerful even if you're unused to it. In comparison, Light Panthalassans tend more towards healing and shielding and leans towards order." He noted the expression on her face – mildly annoyed, more so just frustrated, and added, "It's not a bad thing. You'll be more powerful when it comes to direct attacks than I am."
Jasmine sighed – it seemed like he had managed to calm those worries – and conceded with a nod. "I suppose you're right. I just hope it doesn't mean an increased chance of being a psycho." She coughed, muttering something under her breath that Kazi didn't quite catch.
"Shall we continue?" Kazi offered, giving her a kind smile to try and ease her worries about the subject. In response to the questioning gaze he got, he continued, "Try changing the size of the sphere."
The girl stared down at the sphere of darkness she still held in her cupped hands and closed her eyes again. "Right." Slowly, the sphere expanded in size as she moved her hands apart, and after a small prompting from him, she let it shrink back to its original diameter.
"Keep the construct steady while changing its size and shape," he instructed next. "Doing them apart is easy. Don't keep it in a fixed state."
Another affirmative from the girl as she went back to concentrating. It was going well at first – the sphere flattening out into a vague cuboidal shape as well as expanding steadily in size. And then, abruptly, the dark construct began to flicker, the shape exploding outwards in what was best described as a shower of electric sparks. Thankfully, the majority of the dark energy surged backwards into Jasmine, vanishing and lessening the potential destruction.
"Great, I messed up," she groaned, looking down at her fingers and lightly flexing them with a grimace.
"You're still learning," Kazi corrected gently. "Don't worry about it. This technique helps one to learn to shape the energy we harness into our spells. It teaches control and focus. I didn't expect you to master it in one day, and nevertheless, you did remarkably well for a first try."
Jasmine paused to consider his words, then sighed. "You're right. I got too demanding of myself." She shook her head. "I do that a bit too much when I'm learning things, got to remember that I shouldn't be overzealous," she muttered as if chastising herself. She ran a hand through her dark hair, exhaling slowly.
"Do you want to rest," the man offered.
Reluctantly, she nodded. "Maybe that'd be good." She flexed her fingers with a grimace on her face. "I'll be fine in a couple of minutes," she promised, "so we can continue then. Just hope that the feeling in my fingers comes back by then."
Ahh, aftershock. He should have expected that – it usually happened without fail. He extended a hand over hers and muttered a quiet spell under his breath, letting his hand glow with a warm light that would ease the discomfort she was feeling. The light slowly receded after a few moments and he stood back, nodding to her.
Jasmine flexed her fingers, looking thankful. "Thanks," she commented with a grin, rubbing her wrist. "That's a handy little trick to have." She sounded more bemused than anything.
He chuckled in amusement. "It comes in handy, alright."
She nodded, and after a few more moments' pause, she exhaled sharply. "I'm ready," she clarified. "Let's get to it again."
"Alright. You know what to do now."
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