Blood Pearls

IV

He swam around the rock a couple times before jumping upon it. He ducked slightly so he could still see over the rock but not be seen by others. Sliver-blue eyes scanned the beach for the blonde. An annoyed sigh escaped from his mouth as he flicked his tail in the water. He poked his head higher over the rock, he tried to see if it was the angle that was giving him the issue when it came to finding the other.

The dark haired boy's eyes widened when he saw a couple rather close to the water. Both wrapped in each others arms, their lips touching. He swore he knew that girl. He inched himself up the rock to get a better view. The young boy nearly fell off the rock when he figured out exactly who this woman was. "No way." Penn said to himself, "I would know you anywhere." He said studying the couple.

Meanwhile, Dylan kissed her with the deepest passion he could muster after indulging in a few recreational fun-items. "Mm, Yarra..." He called her name softly. "I love you."

Her heart thumped in her chest, her long brown hair cascaded down her back just passed her buttocks. The faint yet warm sea-breeze jostled it around gently. "Dyl… I-"

Yarra's gaze shifted to the rocky barrier around the backyard of the beach house with a small opening to the open ocean. She noticed a pair of icy-blue eyes staring at her from within the dark. She would've been scared if didn't know exactly who's eyes those were. "What's wrong babe?"

She had a drink in her free hand. "I'm thirsty! Yeah… I'm so damn thirsty."

Dylan looked down at her hand that was occupied with a cup. "You already have a drink though."

Her pretty green eyes looked down at her hand and she flung it as far as she could. "And now I don't. Babe, please?"

Dylan raised an eyebrow but shrugged his shoulders after giving her a kiss he headed inside. The moment he was gone, she marched with vengeance. "Penn! Penn I know you're there you little fin-flipping, sushi-roll damn it, what the hell are you doing here? Have you gone insane?!" She reached over and smacked him upside the head. "You could get yourself killed out here!"

"You're one to speak." Penn mumbled, rubbing his head were the other made contact. "By the way, that hurt. And why are you yelling at me when you're pretending to be something you're not?" Penn questioned the female, as he shifted on the rock moving down to hide better.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Penn, there's so many things you don't know! Gosh, I wish I could talk to you but I can't right now..." She sighed. "Let me say goodbye to Dylan first. Stay low, don't get caught." She heard the beach house door open and Dylan slightly stumbled down the stairs with a drink in each hand.

"Hey, there's my thirsty girl." He stopped in mid-step and thought about it. "Sorry, you're not thirsty- thirsty, you're physically thirsty."

She giggled and pushed herself away from the rock. Walking towards him.

'She knows how to use those things so well… exactly how long have you been playing both sides, sis?' Penn thought angrily to himself, though he couldn't peel his eyes away from the situation.

"I know what you mean, thanks my knight in shining armor." Yarra took a generous sip of the drink. Then she downed the rest of it.

"That's my girl!" Dylan praised as he picked her up, simultaneously dropping his drink that he forgot he was holding. She instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him. "Damn, I've gotta be the luckiest guy in the world."

Yarra's cheeks blushed heavily. He was always saying these nice things to her. It made her feel so… special. "I wouldn't disagree..." she told him with a smile. "I have to go though."

"Nah, it can wait, can't it?" He furrowed his brows and frowned. She was leaving this party way too early. "Let me take you home."

She giggled, knowing exactly what would happen if she let him take her home. "Baby I can't. Please, it won't be long before I'm right back here in your arms. I promise."

He sighed dramatically but hugged her close after he let her back down on her feet. "I love you."

Yarra smiled genuinely. "I know, I love you too. Trust me, I'll be back."

Dylan finally let her go and headed back into the beach house. Yarra took a run for the rock wall. She jumped and stuck the landing just before diving elegantly into the open ocean. When she was submerged into the water, her legs fused together and her long accentuated tail formed. She always had the prettiest fluke in the family.

"So Yarra was it?" Penn questioned his sister, still sitting on his rock with arms crossed over his chest and his tail flipping in the water resulting in small waves. "You wanna talk? So let's talk."

"Yes, because Yamit is a lame name." She heaved a sigh and swam a bit closer to her kid brother. "Penn, there's so much you need to know. Where do you want me to start?"

"Well most likely from the beginning. I wanna know it all." He stated, as he looked over his shoulder at the people dancing and just seeming to be having the time the time of their lives. Penn turned his attention back towards the other, he wished he could even have five minutes of that freedom.

She leaned against the rock that Penn was still perched upon. "I couldn't stay away from him Penn." Yamit (also known by her alias, 'Yarra') bit down on her bottom lip. "Do you remember that tragedy four years ago?" She asked him softly. "You might not remember it… we each saved someone?"

"The ship that flipped?" He questioned remembering the two boys being tossed in the water. His eyes widened in realization. "That Dylan, he's one of those kids isn't he?" Sliding off the rock.

She nodded right away. "Instead of staying away… I came back to see him. Dylan." Her cheeks tinged pink just saying his name. It made Penn roll his eyes but on the inside… he kinda wanted something like that too. "I saved him and they would have died if it weren't for us, you do know that right?" Yamit continued, not letting Penn get a word in edgewise. "It made me think… this was a second chance. His eyes, my goodness those eyes. I've been coming up here for awhile now." She gave Penn's shoulder a light squeeze. "I'm sorry I never told you. Mom and dad don't know either."

"So where do they think you go? 'Cause I found out birth giver has known I've been coming up here for a while." Penn stated, a little annoyed that he was the only one getting in trouble. "Well I found that out earlier today. Although I'm happy you found someone that makes you smile." The younger of the two stated. "How often have you been coming up here? Ever since we saved them?" That's when it clicked in, the blonde he was speaking to earlier. That must have been this Dylan's friend they saved four years ago, why else would he hate the sea so much?

"I've been coming up here… pretty much since then yes." Yamit bit down on her lip again. She figured what his next question would be. "Penn, being up here… isn't all it's cracked up to be."

"Now you're starting to sound like our parents." He said slightly heartbroken. "If it isn't all that it's cracked up to be, why do you keep coming back? Answer me this, dear sister."

Her green eyes connected with his icy-blue. "Because I love him, Penn. I didn't think it would matter this much. No… I didn't think he would matter to me this much."

"Sounds magical." Penn said pulling his sister into a hug. "Couple more questions. One, clearly he doesn't know about your tail? I figured… with the way you hopped the rocks and all."

Yamit squeezed Penn, then let him go. "See… if a merperson dares to come to the surface, they can earn their land-legs. It's complicated but let me try to explain." She took in a breath, sharply exhaling. "If you fall in love with a human and they return your feelings… a kiss from them, gives you legs." She could see the wheels in Penn's head beginning to turn wildly. "But they have to return the same feelings. They have to love you too or it won't happen." She shook her head, her long hair floating in the water around her. "But there's consequences. I'm not talking being grounded to your chambers. I mean serious… serious consequences. You have to do a lot of thinking before you decide if this is right for you."

Even though this mostly was a lecture, Penn sat through it. At least she was going on about something that held his attention.

"You mean there isn't a spell, it's gotta be love?" Penn said, almost upset. "What kind of consequences? How serious? Right now I'd be willing to do anything." Penn inquired.

She smiled, her brother had such an imagination on him. "Yes, it's 'gotta be love'. Penn… y'know how grandma is two hundred and ninety-seven years old?" Penn hadn't met up with her very often. He wouldn't say he was close to the old sea-witch – as his father called her – but he knew of her, yes. "If you choose to have legs and love a human, you choose having legs… over having a long life. I don't know of any merperson turned human… who's ever lived passed thirty years of age." Yamit tucked her hair behind her right ear. "And you have to decide… at twenty-one, if you choose land or sea, and whatever choice you make… you make it for eternity, however long you may live. Do you understand?"

"That doesn't sound fair. So you either find someone in the sea and can live for many years. Or give up your years and find true happiness on land." Penn's eyes widened at the thought. "So does this mean... you have to figure out if you want to be with Dylan by your next birthday?" Not likely the idea of losing his favorite sister.

She solemnly nodded. "Yes, that's right. Forever." She pulled herself up over the rocky wall just a bit. "I love him so much, I know he loves me too. I just… I don't wanna hold him back. What if I'm not the one? Sure he loves me right now… will he still in a few years from now?" Yamit would be lying if she said she hadn't thought about bearing her man's children one day. "I'm most fearful about mother and father. Would mom come after Dylan? Have him killed for… brainwashing me or something?" She sighed. "You know how unpredictable she is. I adore her and all but the woman's psycho."

"I believe father would be alright with it, he'd just wanna see you happy. But our psycho birth giver, that's a different story." He looked down at the water, wondering if she knew he had taken off again. "I can't tell you how she'd react, 'cause she freaked earlier on me for coming up here. Although it's not like you're the heir, so you might not get in too much trouble."

Yamit nodded, Penn was correct. "You're right. You see it as annoying, we saw it as… she really never cared about us because you were her gem. Even if you piss her off, you're still the golden boy." She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not mad, it is what it is. But it took a toll on Anyssa. Why do you think she ran off with the first merman who would take her?" She flipped her tail to make some ripples in the water. "If I choose legs over life essentially, you understand I'll be exiled from the sea right? I'll..." she sniffled slightly. "I'll never be able to see you, or mom, or dad… or any of our family ever again. But on one hand… I might be lucky enough to have my own with Dylan. But if I choose family over Dylan… I'll never see him again."

Penn could see by studying his sister that this decision really seemed like a hard one for her to make. She was pained by it and he could see it clearly on her face.

"That's... a real tough choice. It sucks because I wouldn't be able to sneak up here and come up here and see you." Penn said, thinking about how it must have been like for his six older sisters. "Y'know, I never meant for you guys to feel left out or less loved." Penn said taking his sister's hand.

She hugged him. "I know you didn't. It's just how mom is, she isn't getting any younger. It must be scary for her too." She tugged his arm. "Come, we'd better get going before my love thinks about skinny dipping with us." She giggled when Penn scrunched his nose up. He forgot humans liked to… jump into the ocean without their clothing. They both dove under the surface, headed home… for now at least.