2
"Why did you bring her here?" a male voice hissed angrily.
"She was going to die! I couldn't just leave her!" another voice, this time female, answered calmly.
"She is a human, and not to be trusted!" the first voice got louder.
"Shush! Don't wake her," the female voice demanded softly. "She needs rest."
The male snorted. "She needs to leave."
I tried opening my eyes but my muscles wouldn't obey. Open! I yelled in my mind, irritated. My eyes cracked open and I was practically blinded. I screwed my eyes shut again and groaned against my will.
"Shushie! She's waking up!" the female said earnestly.
"I didn't say anything," the male grumbled but the female just shushed him hurriedly. Then they were silent. After a few moments I realized that they were waiting for me to wake up. I made a serious effort to open my eyes and keep them open. My eyes finally adjusted. I blinked and pushed myself onto my elbows. I surveyed my surroundings. I was lying on a strange water bed in a small room. The walls were a calm blue and there was a blue door and a blue-ish tint in the air. Or...
It wasn't air.
It was water.
My eyes widened and I almost started freaking out. My eyes didn't sting, my throat felt pinched shut so I couldn't breathe through my mouth or nose and a sharp pain was pinching the sides of my neck. Something else that I realized was that my bangs were floating in front of my face like they normally would underwater, but the rest of me wasn't which meant either I was wearing something heavy or there was no air in my lungs. I grabbed at my throat and felt something metal on the sides. I heard a polite cough to my left. I turned and saw two people standing, or floating I guess, there. Or wait. They weren't people they were... Zora? I think that's what they were called. Anyway, the Zora on the right was male. He had blue scales and a golden helmet that went down between his eyes and partially over his long fin coming out of the back of his head. He was gripping a wicked looking spear with a frighteningly sharp blade on it. He did not look happy to see me. I wasn't very over-joyed about his presence either.
The Zora to his right however, was smiling warmly. She looked like a mix between a Zora and a Hylian. She had blue and yellow scales but her hands and feet weren't webbed. She had human hair that was dark blue at the sprouts but slowly turned lighter until it was white at the tips. She had no ears. She was wearing a calf-length dress that was cut diagonally at the hem in front but was covered by a pale purple, transparent fabric.
"Um, hi!" the Zora girl said cheerfully but a little nervously. I blinked, not trusting myself to speak.
"My name is Vivian Klain and this is Kroy," she gestured to the Zora man next to her. "What's your name?"
I opened my mouth and surprisingly no water entered. I didn't say anything. I tried to speak. I really did, but every time I tried my throat pinched and didn't allow my voice to work. So I just closed my mouth.
"Can you speak?"
I shook my head.
"Well then I guess you can't tell me your name, huh?"
I shook my head again. *Well, duh.*
I pointed to myself and held up ten fingers.
"You're ten?" Vivian guessed.
I nodded then I pointed to her.
"How old am I?"
I nodded again.
"Oh, I'm seventeen," she smiled.
"Can I leave now?" Kroy asked impatiently.
"Yeah, you can go now," Vivian answered, barely glancing at him.
"Thank you!" I heard him mutter. He quickly swam from the room. Vivian came over to me. She sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Three things you might want to know," she began. "First, you're in different clothes."
I blinked and pulled the covers off of me. If I could've gasped I would've. I indeed, was in completely different attire. All of my old clothes were gone. I had tall boots with long flippers on my feet. They had a thin layer of Zora scales covering them that made them have a blue glint. The boots went above my knees. I had a short skirt that was blue but got darker as the hem neared. The skirt went to slightly above my knees. It also had a few layers of scales but these were thicker. A black belt with a silver buckle as looped around my waist. I was wearing a dark blue shirt that was tucked under the belt. The shirt had long sleeves and a collar. And, as you might've guessed, a layer of thick scales. My hair was in a loose braid. I can't believe that I hadn't noticed that before. When I pulled it over my shoulder to look at, a strip of my hair had turned blue and matched the color of pure, blue water. Woven into my braid were numerous scales. The whole outfit was a bit large for me.
"The scales keep you and your clothes dry. Vivian told me.
When I glanced suspiciously at the ones intertwined into my hair Vivian giggled.
"I couldn't resist playing with your hair a little bit!" she admitted . "It's not often that I get to do a human's hair!"
I raised an eyebrow. *A little bit?*
"Okay, second," she leaned closer to me and spoke quietly into my ear. "I'm not a full Zora. I'm actually half Zora, half Hylian."
I was surprised to hear this. I knew that she didn't look full on Zora, but I didn't really think it was possible for a Zora and a Hylian to breed.
"My mother was a Hylian, my father a Zora," Vivian continued. "And lastly, uh, I don't mean to alarm you but..." she pointed at my neck. "To let you breathe... we had to... give you gills?" she said carefully.
I reached up and touched the sides of my neck again. There was certainly metal there and in horror, I realized that they were metal slates slid into my neck. That thought was disturbing. I stared at Vivian in terror.
She grimaced. "You'll have to keep those in for two more years so that the gills form."
*Two more years?! Why'd ya stick these things into my neck in the first place?!*
"Where's you're family?" Vivian asked.
My heart jumped into my throat. Mom... Dad... Rikilio...
Tabari.
I'm pretty sure I was crying at this point but it's hard to tell since I was underwater. I turned away from Vivian not wishing for her to see me like this. She saw anyway.
"Oh, I' m sorry for bringing up the subject!" she moaned.
I blinked back the remainder of my tears and instinctively wiped underneath of my eyes with my sleeve. I shook my head.
"So, uh, different subject!" Vivian announced quickly. "Can you do charades and try to tell me what happened to you?"
I shrugged in an *I'll try* sort of way. So I did try. I stood up. I fanned my face.
"Heat," Vivian guessed.
I nodded. I tried indicating fire by making large motions with my hands and making a burning sound with my mouth.
"Explosion?" Vivian looked confused.
I held my hand horizontally and tilted it to show that she was getting there. Vivian thought for a moment.
"Ooh! A fire!" she cried.
I nodded. I grabbed my throat and coughed a few times then I indicated to the air (water. Whatever).
"Bad air? No! Smoke!"
I gave Vivian a thumbs-up. Then I showed breathing motions even though I couldn't breathe through my mouth.
"You inhaled too much smoke!" Vivian figured out.
I nodded vigorously.
"Oh is that why you can't speak?" Vivian realized.
I shrugged then nodded.
"Oh, ouch!" she sympathized. "But since you can't talk right now I don't know you're name. So I'm gonna give you one..." Vivian tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm... how about Aisha?"
I shook my head.
"Cryanna?"
I shook my head.
"Sonierra?"
I shook my head.
"Davina?"
I shook my head.
"Liora. Soshanna. Wittle. Jozenne. Valliri-"
I clapped my hands, which believe me is very difficult to do underwater, and nodded hard.
"What? Valliri?" Vivian asked to verify.
Grinning I nodded.
Vivian smiled.
"Valliri. I like it! I was just rambling off names. Valliri is actually a Zora name but if you're sure,"
I nodded again.
"Good! Valliri it is then! Until you can tell us your real name!"
I smirked. But inside I was frowning. I wasn't so sure that I'd ever be able to speak again.
"How long do you plan to stay here?" Vivian asked.
I shrugged.
"Where do you live?"
I looked away.
That told her enough.
"Oh..." she breathed.
I bet she was thinking that the fire had burned my home. Which, pretty much, it had.
"You could stay here," a smile crept onto Vivian's face.
What?! I yelped in my mind.
"Yeah. You could live with me! I have an older sister who's all Zora but I've always wanted a little sister!"
I blinked.
"Are you okay with that? Living here?" Vivian asked, a hopeful smile on her face.
I thought about it for a few moments. I had nowhere to go and this Zora/Hylian girl seemed very willing to take me in. Why not? I nodded, but then I quickly pointed to the door.
"Oh." Vivian flapped her hand dismissively. "Kroy lives in Zora's Domain we don't have to worry about him. Or anybody else for that matter! We've just gotta make sure that my sister takes a liking to you." Vivian giggled. It sounded like water linking against glass. "I'm sure that'll be easy! You're easy to like!"
I blushed furiously.
"Do you know how to swim?" Vivian asked.
I held out my hand and tilted it.
"Oh, we gotta do better than that!" Vivian dove forward and grabbed my wrist. "Come on!" She dragged me outside. We emerged into a huge open expanse of water. In fact it looked like...
"Lake Hylia!" Vivian announced with pride. "It's really difficult to live here, what, with the Water Temple and all, but since my father was the head of the guard of the temple, it was real easy!" she gave me a quick tour of the area while I took it all in. It really was breathtaking. The way the sun filtered through the surface and how its rays cut in through the dark water. How crystal the water was. The plant life, the creatures... it was all very beautiful.
"This is just the spare room. Our house is up there," Vivian pointed to a structure above us with half of it submerged in the water, and the other half on the land.
"My sister lives in the lower half and I live in the upper. Oh! But listen to me rambling on and on! We need to get you some swimming practice if you're gonna live here!"
And so we practiced. All day. I learned to dive from land, I mastered diving while in water, I got quite good at swimming underwater like a human but failed at doing it like a Zora. I swam on the surface very well with all strokes and soon I was splashing around and playing tag with Vivian. She was just about to grab my ankle for what felt like the millionth time when a voice cut into our game.
"Vivian? What are you doing?"
Vivian stopped swimming and I followed her example.
A young Zora woman was swimming over to us. Her scales were blue and pink. Her eyes were covered by her pink coral hair that faded to yellow at the end. She had a short skirt and a strapless shirt over her chest and part of her stomach. The Zora woman arrived in front of us.
"Vive, who is this?" she asked casting a sideways glance at me.
"This is Valliri," Vivian answered.
"Valliri, huh?" the woman looked over me and when she realized that I was a human her mouth dropped open. She shook her head and turned to Vivian.
"How? And why?" she said as calmly as possible.
"She was in a terrible fire that took her house, family, and voice. I found her passed out on the path by the River."
The woman opened her mouth to say something but Vivian cut in.
"If I left her there she would've died. Please, Vikktorri, she's only ten!"
The woman, or Vikktorri, looked at me appraisingly. She sighed.
"You have always wanted a little sister, haven't you Vive?" she said with a grin.
Vivian began to smile wide until Vikktorri spoke up again.
"But..." she began. "Valliri has to beat me in a race first."
"WHAT?!" Vivian cried.
"Whaddya say Valliri?" Vikktorri turned to me, smirking. She held out her webbed hand for me to shake.
"Don't do it Valliri, it's a trap!" Vivian tried to persuade me.
I shut her out. I grabbed Vikktorri's hand and shook it grimly. Vikktorri laughed.
"You're on, little girl!" she taunted.
Before I knew it, we were standing on a ledge a few yards above the surface of the lake.
"Ready!" Vivian called out.
I planted my right foot in front and positioned my left behind it. I saw out of the corner of m eye, Vikktorri doing to same.
"Set-" Vivian continued.
"GO!" Vikktorri screamed before it was time.
Confused I stumbled forward but stopped myself before I got to the edge. I turned to glare at Vikktorri but she wasn't there. I felt a hard shove from behind and I cried out in my mind. I tumbled over the edge of the platform but I quickly grabbed onto the side of the ledge before I was fully off.
"Valliri!" Vivian yelled.
Vikktorri grabbed my wrist and yanked me up, laughing.
I stood up and brushed myself off, glaring angrily at Vikktorri. We got into position again.
"Ready, set GO!" Vivian shouted before Vikktorri could scream and make me fall again.
We dove in.
At first Vikktorri and I were even but I began to pull ahead. When my head was a couple feet ahead of her's I began swimming to the side to avoid her trying anything. I suddenly felt a hand grip my ankle and yank me back. Then Vikktorri was above me. She kicked the small of my back and sent me down aways in the lake. I floated, dazed, for a moment before kicking back into gear. I got an idea. I dove to the bottom of the lake and swam as fast as I could along the bottom. I glanced up. Vikktorri wasn't even looking down. And she had slowed. I smirked and sped up. My turn. I thought.
I passed by a building embedded in the ground. I was past it though before I had time to examine it. But I did have time to feel a strange sense of darkness wash over me. I pushed it aside for the moment and kept on swimming. That isn't my focus right now. I surpassed Vikktorri. I began my incline. I got to the surface but I stayed just below it. Then a hand grabbed my ankle again. Was Vikktorri really trying this again? Before I could stop myself instinct took over and I lashed out with my feet. My heel connected with something hard and the hand released my ankle. I figured that I had kicked her in the head. Whoops.
I reached the other side of the lake and kicked myself above the surface. I emerged just in front of Vikktorri.
"What?!" she yelped when she saw me in front of her. "How did you-?
I clapped my hands loudly and glared at her with a look of, Shut up right now, you bastard.
Vivian came swimming over to us. She had a huge smile on her face.
"Well?" she said to Vikktorri smugly. "Valliri beat you!"
Vikktorri stared at me open-mouthed.
"A human," she breathed. "You're a human. And you. Beat. Me."
I simply nodded.
"Wow," she said, and a grin began to grow on her face. "Wow."
"Vikktorri, she can stay now. You made a deal!" Vivian said slightly angered.
Vikktorri seemed to be snapped out of her trance. She looked from me to Vivian and back again. She clapped her hand on my shoulder. I couldn't see her eyes but I could tell that she was staring deep into mine which was creeping me out.
Suddenly her face changed for only half a second. It was gaunt and her eyes showed. They were blood red and had streaks of black fanning out underneath of them. Her teeth were pointed and her nails were digging into my shoulder. Then she was normal again.
She grinned. "Welcome to the family."