Chapter 4

I sleep late the next day, and find myself restless for the meeting to come. My excitement is overpowering. My parents have already left for their jobs when I woke up, and I have about an hour to reach the meeting place and speak to Boren again. I leave our home, and swim to the surface, to find Boren's already waiting for me, but he is not alone.

"Brycilia, this is a friend of mine, and most creatures of the forest, for that matter. This is Rubeus Hagrid," Boren introduces, indicating the large human on his right. The man looks as if he himself lives in the great forest behind him.

"You mus' be the mermaid Boren here tol' me abou'! He told me tha' you 'ave bin 'avin trouble with yer speech. Don' surprise me much, I've met some of yer mer-folk in all me years of workin' 'ere, an' you'll be glad ter hear tha' I've got just the thing for yer!" The giant of a man pulls a small bottle out of his pocket and holds it out to me. It is filled with a pearl white liquid. "Drink ther lot an' you should be able to talk above an' below water, an' it's permanent. Made this one meself," he says, standing straight with what I can only call his pride. I smile as I take the bottle from him. I trust him, for I have heard of him from others of my kind. From what others have told me, he truly is a friend of all creatures, for he has saved each type of creature in this forest at least once each. I put the bottle to my lips and drink everything I can. I feel like I swallowed ice, ice which has settled in my throat, causing me to cough.

"Sorry 'bout tha'" Rubeus Hagrid says apologetically. "I should 'ave warned yer 'bout that. Don' worry, though, it don' last very long, then you'd be able ter talk to yer heart's content."

My coughing subsides just enough for me to say, "Thank you... Rubeus Hagrid." Talking is still difficult, but most of the pain comes from the coughing and maybe the strange liquid from the bottle.

"Yer welcome, an' by the way, call me Hagrid," the large man says, his beard shifts, eyes twinkling with laughter. I think he is smiling... Though of course, it is hard to tell since most of his face is hidden by his hair and his beard. "So, yer name's Brycilia, ay? That's one thin' abou' your kind, you all 'ave pretty names." I smile at the compliment, though to be complimented on my name is something I have not heard of before...

"By the way, lass, do yer happen ter be related to a nice young mermaid called Mithryl?" Hagrid asks as he tilts his head to the side, frowning slightly.

"Yes. She is my mother," I reply in surprise, being surprised even more by the lack of pain I feel as I speak. "Why? Do you know her?" The man nods. "She never told me she ever met a human." The man chuckles.

"Yeah I met 'er, nice lady, she is. You look jus' like 'er. But anyhow, we met a while back, twelve years ter be exact, so before you were born. Her mate 'ad bin eaten, an' she came to me with what was left, askin' me to heal 'im, 'e 'ad bites all over, an' one arm was missin'. There was nothin' I could do. I told 'er to move on, since there was nothin' tha' could be done. She understood in the end, and when she gave birth ter yer, she came up one day while I was ou' checking on the squid, an' said she took my advice, an' fell fer her best friend. Is she still alrigh', yer mam?" Hagrid asks in concern. I nod my head.

"Yes. She is fine. Do not worry, she is alive, well, and happily married to my father, Malsenna," I assure him, and he calms down straight away.

"Well, that's good. Well, gotta be off, then. Bin negotiatin' with some of Boren's kind, tryin' ter get some phoenix droppings, after all, their tears are said ter heal wounds, but their poo? Stuff works like a spell," Hagrid says, grinning as I cringe.

"Please do not say you touch their poo. And besides, what are phoenixes?" I think I have heard mention of them once of twice before, but I cannot really remember, though I know they are a type of bird...

"The phoenix are mos' probably the prettiest birds alive. They can set fire to themselves, an' when they die of old age, they are reborn from their ashes. So I guess you can say, they are ther figures of rebirth!" Hagrid says, grinning broadly, perhaps for the fact that I am asking about these prettiest of birds. "An' as fer touchin' there poo, I don' just touch it, it has ter be rubbed in like a cream, get deep inter burns an' rashes an' the such. Yer migh' 'ave ter have a shower afterwards, but trust me, it is worth it!" I still am not completely convinced, since letting such things fade with time has never cased me any harm, and neither has it caused harm to any of my friends or family, but I suppose from what I have heard so far, humans do not seem quite as patient as us Meloskans, and also considerably more vain.

"By the way," Hagrid says finally as he checks a large watch strapped to his thick wrist, "I 'ave enjoyed speakin' with yer, if you need to talk or my help or anything, here," he says as he hands me what looks like a smooth, round, blue-grey pebble. I do not entirely know what to think of the gift, but before I can thank him for the pebble, he starts to explain. "If yer need me, squeeze it 'ard, an' it will alert me where you are so I can find you an' help you. But... If you could go ter the surface though, tha' would be good... I'm not a very good swimmer," he says as his face turns red. I frown.

"Why are you turning red?" My kind only ever change colour when we are ill, which makes us pale, or when we die, when we turn grey. Hagrid turns a deeper shade of red.

"We humans, we tend ter change colour due to what we feel. When we are, ahem, embarrassed," he turns redder still. I look on in amazement, "Well, we turn red an' 'blush,' which also happens when someone, er, well, flirts or seduces us. We also turn red when we are angry, or at least some of us do... I'm sure you'll figure it out, centaurs can blush too yer know..." Hagrid says, which causes Boren to turn bright red and Hagrid to laugh heartily. "Anyway, time ter go, an' I'll see yer later." And then he was gone into the forest he seems a part of.

"He seems nice," I say, looking to the place he disappeared through.

"Yes. Hagrid is a good man and has done much for my kind and many others. We all owe him our lives and respect," Boren says as he joins me at staring at the place Hagrid went through. The silence grows to become uncomfortable, though. I try to find something to talk about.

"What is your favourite colour?" I ask finally, Boren turns and gives me a long look.

"Brown. Why?" He says, frowning in confusion.

"Because I consider you a friend, yet I know nearly nothing about you," I say softly. He seems a little surprised that I call him a friend, but a smile soon spreads across his face.

"What about your favourite colour?" he asks. I think carefully for a short time.

"Orange, like the setting sun," I say, smiling at the images that rush to my mind of every sunset I have witnessed, and the sunset I saw with Boren. "What is your favourite legend?" I ask. Under the lake, to pass time we make up tales of heroes and villains and great beasts in need of slaying, among other things, of course...

"My favourite legend... I know what it is. Among my people, we share this one story, not necessarily a legend, nor a myth, just something to tell the young ones at night. There was once a human lost in a great, grand forest when the sun is at its peak. He walks on and on, hoping to find answers. He has never had any family to call his own, never had children to raise or parents to love. He was an orphan, unloved and alone, and he often wondered if he has ever, or will ever have a family like everyone else. Suddenly, a beautiful woman appears before him.

'You wish to see the family you have never known,' the woman says wisely, and the man nods his head slowly, cautious of this woman's sudden appearance.

'You need not search any further. Climb this tree to the highest branch, and as you climb, the more you'll see.'

The man looks to the tree to the woman's right, and he begins to climbs up the trunk to the first branch of the tree. There he finds an elderly man.

'Who are you?' The man asks his elder, confused and wary.

'I am the grandfather you never met, but always wished to see,' the old man says, eyes twinkling with curiosity and love. Confused and reluctant, the man climbs to the next branch of the tree, this time finding a beautiful young woman in a dress which seems to be made from the darkest, but purest of water, flowing with the wind itself, untamed and unafraid.

'I am the sister that was never born, but had always held you to her heart,' she says softly, which brings a tear the man's eye. What had happened to this woman? Why had she never been there with him, for him? What had denied her the chance to live? He climbs up to the next branch, and finds another woman, though this one is slightly older, but just as beautiful.

'I am the mother who was taken from you, who could not love you, but always wished to.'

'Mother,' the man says, the word alien to him, but strangely comforting. But still, he tears himself from that branch, and moves to the next. Here is yet another woman, one of about his age, and the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

'The am the wife you are yet to meet, but will share a life time with soon enough.' Memorising her beauty and her stunning smile for when they finally do meet, he climbs to the next branch, which is the second from last. Here he meets an older man with a sad shadow clouding his eyes, and who looks just like him.

'I am the father that was taken from you, live long, my son, like I never could.' One more branch left. The man does not know whether he wants to meet the last of his family, but he moves on anyway, and he climbs to the final branch. A boy. A young child, barely ten, is what he is greeted with.

'I am the son you are yet to have. Climb down the tree dad, don't stick with old ghosts forever, climb down, meet mom and let the tree keep growing... let our family keep growing...' And when the child finished speaking, he looks up, which causes the man to do the same. Above him, he sees many more branches which he had never noticed before, and on each branch is a person, all looking down at him with hope for a future written on their faces.

'Don't let us die out dad. Forget the past, and live your future.'

And that's my favourite story. What about yours?" The centaur asks, bringing me back to the present.

"Oh, it is not as good as yours, your story is beautiful, but I have always loved the story of the current and the evening tide. The legend is that the current and the tide were once Reef Mages, which are the offspring of Meloskans and Wizards who mated together. So, the legend states that these two young Reef Magi were two of the most powerful, one could use the water to push objects to and forth, while the other could wash the water over the land itself, allowing the inhabitants of the water to finally be on land, before returning them to the water once more, along with some surface objects, of course, such as some fruits and shiny objects. One day, though, they met in a cave far off from the homes they lived in. Everyday after that first meeting, they met in the same cave, and they fell deeper in love. However, they were not the only powerful ones. The Deep knew about the couple, and she wanted the current for herself, and so she killed the evening tide and took the current to her lair in the deepest darkest part of the lake, where she forced marriage upon him. However, the evening tide was not happy with her death, she denied passage into Aquilia- the after life- and instead, in a burst of bright orange light, rushed to the rescue of her beloved. She found The Deep's lair, her spirit swam in and began her search for her beloved. What she found, though, was the current chained to the wall of a darkened cell. He could barely breathe, barely move, and was so weak. The Deep came in at that moment, and with a screech, said 'You! I killed you! That I remember!' A fight began between The Deep and the evening tide, The Deep's spells were strong and dark like the darkness surrounding them, but the evening tide was not of this world any more, and so not even the darkest of spells could harm her. In a fit of rage, The Deep shouted out 'If I cannot win him over, neither will you!' She cast a spell on the current, and he fell limp where he had been standing, and the chains which bound him fell away. In her rage, the evening tide called upon the waves, and banished The Deep to forever be bound to the land until the day she died. The evening tide, with her sought out revenge concluded, swam to her mate's side. A glow surrounded his body, until before her stood the shimmering spirit of her beloved. 'Now we have forever,' he whispers, and even now, their spirits work together, the current telling the tide when to wash out, and the tide providing her strength to her beloved current.

"I know that is not as beautiful as your story was, we have better ones, such as the tale of Mother Moon, and Scribe Narrenthilia tells the story much better, but I always thought that the story is very beautiful..." I trail off and find myself unable to meet Boren's eyes. He chuckles.

"I think you will find that I rather enjoyed your story of the current and the evening tide. It actually told me a lot about you..." He smiles kindly, and I return it. "Now, you asked me two questions already, I think I am right to presume it is my turn to ask now... What is... your favourite animal?" I frown at the question.

"My favourite animal? Well, I do believe it has to be the unicorn. I have never seen one myself, but I hear they are very beautiful and are so white, they actually glow. I also heard that they are one of the purest creatures in existence." Boren chuckles.

"I do not know why, but you do seem the sort of person to be so in love with unicorns... personally I have always loved Griffins. They are fierce creatures with the body and the tail of a lion, the head and wings of an eagle and long razor-like claws, and they are beautiful and majestic and simply stunning..." As Boren says this, his gaze seems to drift further into the distance with a look of fascination and longing in his eyes, and his body shifts as if he were ready to leap up and get his dream animal here and now.

"That sounds... unusual..." I say, picturing a weird looking creature that looks terrifying and ugly.

"Trust me, you will know it when you see it. Anyway, next question, since you asked two, what is your favourite constellation?" I blink in confusion. Constellation? I know none! Well, except for one constellation...

"The constellation Barendorgue, or... the one that looks like a Meloskan..." It is Boren's turn to be confused now.

"I am unaware of such a constellation..."

"Well, it is there! It is..." I look up at the sky to see if it is dark enough to be able to see the stars yet. Faintly I can see it.

"There! The constellation Barendorgue." Boren follows my pointed finger, and seems to find the constellation I am speaking of.

"Do you mean... that one there?" He points at Barendorgue, and I nod my head. "But... That is the constellation Draco! How were your kind able to make a fish-dame out of a Dragon?!" I frown, and look up again at Barendorgue.

"How were your kind able to make a dragon out of a Meloskan?" Boren looks down at me blankly, before he shakes his head, as if to shake the confusion from his mind.

"You fish-dames truly are insane... Anyhow, my favourite constellation is Sagittarius," Boren says with pride. I frown.

"And... which one is that constellation?" For the rest of our meeting together, Boren explains to me what constellation Sagittarius is, and I find out more of his likes and dislikes until the sun is nearing the horizon.

"I think it is time to go now, little fish-dame," Boren says from where he rests in front of me. I sigh.

"Yes, I suppose it is. Thank you for finding Hagrid to aid my speech, and thank you for everything since." Boren smiles softly, before standing, and with a wave to me, leaves into the forest. Tomorrow we shall meet here again, as we have for the past few days, that I am certain of.

A/N: Aquilia is pronounced as 'Akilia' rather than 'Akwilia', just wanted to throw in that one little comment...

Also, as always, don't be afraid to review, your reviews could help morph my story which ever way you want, and I assure you, I'll reply to each review, even if it breaks my keyboard doing so. And also, I know I said that there might not be any Harry Potter characters in my story in my summary, but may I remind you that I said there MIGHT not be any characters from the books/films, besides, this is a fanfic about magical creatures, not letting Hagrid join in on the fun is like me not pouring milk into my tea! But of course, that's just personal opinion...