XV. People and Places, Good and Bad

"Orm?!" For a moment Tatiana thought she was just hallucinating from the sudden shock.

But no, her eyes were not deceiving her as she expected. Sure enough, her Atlantean houseguest stood there on the deck of the nearly-wrecked boat.

"I thought you said I didn't need to be concerned for your safety."

"W-what are you doing here?" cried Max.

"I grew wary of your arrangements when I saw the storm brewing. It's not safe to be out on the water when it's like this, something you-" Orm whirled around to face Max, staring the other man down. "-Should know. How could you put her in danger? How could you have been so careless? I thought you cared about her, that's why you were taking her out on another one of these dates."

Well, clearly he had been listening to what she had told him.

"What about me?" cried Max. "I could have been hurt too."

"I don't care about you at the moment, I care about Tatiana."

"What is up with that guy? Always so defensive. What even is your relationship with him anyway?" Max turned to her and demanded.

The shock and fear was quickly turning to anger, bubbling up within her. "Really Max, it's none of your business! And I'm so done with you right now!"

"Yes, as am I," Orm agreed. Then he turned back to her. "Let's get you home." He guided her away, both of them leaving Max standing there gawking and speechless after them.

"Thank you for what you did back there - I was pretty scared to be honest..." She didn't want to think about what would have happened to them had Orm not shown up. The thought made her shudder.

"I think we should get you home before the storm picks up any more."

"Yeah, good plan."

Once at home, Tatiana sat in a full on daze. Thoughts of what could have happened had Orm not arrived and intervened still shuddered through her.

"I knew I had a bad feeling about that guy," Orm said. "I knew better than to trust humans like him."

"'Humans like him'? I'm a human like him."

"No, not like him. You're much better than he is. That is why this world is so bitter, full of people like him. That is why we Atlanteans and those of the sea suffer at the hands of such humans."

"You know, you can't always put people and places together like that. Often places are poisoned by people's actions. Lots of times, people will turn against each other, thinking this group is better than that group and so on. And then they won't like a place because 'those people' are from there. Really, we can't group people like that. Sure, there are a few bad people out there, but not all people. It's dangerous when we think that way - just look at history, it's full of that."

"Well I still don't like him."

"Neither do I, not anymore." She heaved a heavy sigh. "Well, that's certainly not how I expected tonight to go."

"How did you expect it to go?"

"I'm not sure, but definitely not that." She looked at him. "Thank you, for what you did. I know I keep saying that, but I want you to know how grateful I am, even if I can't really express it the way I want to right now, still being shaken up and all..." He words trailed off. She was blabbing.

"I understand. And you came to my aid when I needed it, so I will do the same for you." This was the first time he acknowledged ever needing help, let alone from a human.

"Thanks. Whew." She shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut tight. "Usually when I want to distract myself from something or make myself feel better, I watch my favorite movie - want to watch it with me? It's about Atlantis."

That didn't surprise him. "What's a movie?"

She smiled for the first time since he had come to her aid. "Let me show you..."

Minutes later, they were watching what Tataiana called a 'movie' or a 'film' on what she called a DVD. It was about Atlantis, so she thought he would like it. It was called Atlantis: The Lost Empire.

"Well, that was certainly an interesting interpretation of my homeland," he said once the film was over.

"Is it anything like that in real life?" she asked him.

He smirked. "Even better."

Her eyes glowed and he was glad she was clearly feeling better. "I've always loved that movie, it was my favoute when I was a kid - still is, honestly. It's part of how I became so interested in Atlantis in the first place. I was desperate for more information on it, so I'd read or watch or listen to anything that had Atlantis in its name. And now, one mention of it and you can't shut me up! As you know..." She finished off her enthusiastic speech with a chuckle.

"I like that, how passionate about it you are. I like that about you."

"Oh, well, thanks." His words seemed to surprise her.

"I always thought all humans hated the ocean, and didn't believe in Atlantis."

"Lots do - don't believe Atlantis exists that is. But lot of people - if not most - love the ocean."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah! Like love, love, love the ocean! I live on an island, and I love the ocean! I love spending the day at the beach. When I was a kid, my parents could hardly get me out of the water because I just wanted to swim all day!" She chuckled fondly at the memory.

"So then why do humans pollute the ocean and hunt and wreak so much havoc on it if they like it so much?"

She sighed. "Good question."

"It doesn't make any sense."

"No, you're right, it doesn't. We haven't solved that problem yet." She covered her face as a large yawn overtook her. "Well I think that's a sign that I turn in for the night - besides, my scare from earlier took a lot out of me."

"Yes, you should rest, that will help you feel better."

"Yes. Thank you again, Orm." She gave him a warm smile before leaving him and heading into her room.

I know it's been a long time between updates, but don't worry, the Aquaman universe holds a very special place in my heart and I am fully committed to this story! And now we have a title and release date for the sequel! :D

Shoutout to the great Atlantis: The Lost Empire!

Thank you so much for reading and, as always, I hope you enjoyed! :)