Comin' at 'cha with another update! -pointedly ignores the fact that I've been M.I.A. for close to a month-

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I came to staring at the stalactites hanging from the high ceiling of the cave, Hannah soon popped into my field of vision followed by Ji ji and Zee. They all had a varying degree of worry written on their faces. I groaned a bit, mostly from frustration but I did have a horrible headache that had formed right behind my eyes.

“I told you we shouldn’t have done this.” Hannah fussed as she slowly lifted me into a sitting position.

“No, you didn’t.” Ji ji shot her a look of mild confusion.

“Well, I thought it.” Hannah dismissed the conversation and I slowly flicked my fin in an attempt to get my bearings.

“Guys, enough bickering. It seems I failed to calculate how mistrusting my mother actually is. When we meet back up with Robbie I’ll have to remind him to be a bit more firm.” WIth a small wave of thanks towards Adalet the four of us swam out of the cave and back towards town. Once we had arrived at the dilapidated fountain in the center of the city Hannah and Ji ji had to go off on patrol. Zee offered to keep me company but I had a feeling she’d want to have a few words with Drew, I assured her that I would be fine and after much persuading she swam off. I decided to call it a day and turn in, as I swam up to my designated alcove in the massive shale wall that served at the sleeping quarters for the whole town I swam into the ten by ten crawl space that was what I called home. Mermaid only require about 3-4 hours of sleep, though in reality it was something akin to a meditative state. It wasn’t uncommon for merfolk to experience extremely vivid out of body experiences and while I was exhausted from today’s earlier events I was a bit apprehensive to submit to slumber. Nevertheless I fastened the netting across the entryway to secure myself in my alcove, curled up, and drifted off to sleep.

“Nazzy! Be a dear and grab me my glass of sweet tea, it’s on the counter.” I responded in the affirmative and managed to snag Mrs. Lambert her ‘sweet tea’. I handed it off with a knowing smirk.

“That’s some sweet tea Mrs. L.” I struggled to wipe the smirk off my face.

“Just what are you insinuating Nazzy? And please sweetie call me Margaret.” I could only shake my head in disbelief at the antics of my best friend’s mother. It was then that Laura decided to interject.

“Oh is that the name you’ve chosen this week?” She lifted herself out of the pool and went to towel off. Monica Lambert was going through what one would describe as a ‘Mid-life Crisis’. She just went through a nasty divorce and was now trying to ‘redefine’ herself. The housewife had gone through two name changes and was currently in the process of moving. Laura, my closest confidant, was taking this all in stride. I had known the modern day southern belle since she moved to Maine in 5th grade, she had a very noticeable southern drawl that was paired with a very staggered way of speaking. She would pause often in between sentences, and took her time choosing her words. My mother always said she’d make a great pageant queen, I’d only snicker in response, Laura’s one main flaw was her sailor’s mouth. She cursed as if it was her birthright and had no filter, it’s what drew me to her in the first place.

“Don’t get fresh with me young lady.” Mrs. Lambert wagged a manicured finger at her daughter as she continued to float around in her innertube.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” The response was laced with sarcasm, and if Ms. Lambert picked up on it she didn’t comment.

Laura motioned for me to follow her back into the house. As we maneuvered around the heavy boxes she took on a forced casual tone. “So, have you decided yet?” I shot an irritated glare in Laura’s direction as a flare of anger flashed through my body.

“Can we go ONE day without you bringing him up?” I flopped down on the L-shaped couch and braced myself for another round of back and forth with Laura.

“For the love of all that is good in the world can you please just make up your damn mind? I mean it’s bad enough that you keep moping around but for fucks sake woman just cut the boy loose already!” Laura threw her hands up as she paced in front of me gesturing wildly.

“But-”

“No! Don’t say it. If I hear ‘but I do love him’ one more time I’ll be sick. Naz, you are one smart chickadee but when it comes to men you are thick as a brick.”

“Well-”

“Well nothing. It’s just not fair to either of you to drag this along. I mean, I’m getting a headache and I’m over here on the sidelines.” Laura flopped down on one of the plush La-Z-Boy recliners in the crowded living room.

“If you would let me get a freaking word in edgewise-” I stopped myself, forcing the anger down to avoid a fight. “I’ve made my decision. I’m going to transfer. This opportunity is just too great to pass up. I mean I’ve been dreaming of going to Bowdoin for years and now I’ve got the chance. The good far outweighs the bad and I can’t remember the last time Ethan and I’ve been better than ‘rocky’. Plus I think we could really benefit from some distance.” I avoided looking Laura in the eye as I explained myself. Once I had finished I risked a glance, relieved when I saw a look of barely contained joy on her symmetrical face.

“Oh thank GOD!” Laura sunk down in the recliner as she stifled a smile.

“You don’t have to water down your joy for me. I know you aren’t exactly a fan of Ethan.” I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes in mock annoyance. Laura shrugged and reached for one of the many boxes that littered the living room. Casually pawing through it for a minute or two before she let out a loud ‘Ye-Haw’ and proceeded to jump up from the recliner and do a slightly raunchy version of a square dance.

“You know, I’d ask. But past experience tells me I don’t want to know.” The exasperated voice of Mrs. L had Laura freezing mid hip thrust. She chuckled and attempted to to a sloppy pirouette over to her mother but tripped on the box she was digging through and went flying into the salmagundi of boxes and suitcases in the livingroom.

I woke with a migraine and a pang in my heart. The memory stayed in the forefront of my mind as I swam to the infirmary to see if Dr. Kaiser had anything for my monster migraine. I passed through the flimsy fabric that lined the infirmary and provided a bit of privacy for the patients. I glanced around, looking for the telltale red shell of the doctor, before I could locate him my eyes locked on a familiar face.

“Ajit?” I blurted out the merchant’s name before my brain could send the signal to close my big mouth. Those expressive brown eyes locked with mine and for a second I felt as if I was drowning. It was only when I started coughing violently that I realized I was, I had started taking in water through my gills and my lungs spasmed at the sudden onslaught of water, Aj set down the large piece of scrap metal he’d been examining and swam over to me. After a couple of thumps on the back I had expelled most of the water from my lungs.

“Are you alright?” Aj’s eyes held nothing but concern and as I stared into them I wondered if it was possible to blush underwater. Once I was able to form an actual sentence I tore my eyes away from his flawless face and answered.
“Oh yes, I’m fine.” I waved my hand flippantly and hoped it would leave it at that.

“I do hope it’s nothing serious.” His posh English accent made him sound more sincere than I was sure he was.
“No, no. Just….allergies.” I had to actually cross my arms to stop from slapping myself across the face for the idiocy I had just uttered. I was lucky that Aj though I was joking and cracked a smile.

“Allergies, right. Naz you’re a riot.” His smile was genuine. I saw my chance to change the subject and I took it.

“So what’re you here for?”

“Ah, had a nasty run in with some rusted parts from the salvage yard. Came to Dr. K to get patched up.” He held up his left arm and my eyebrows knitted together in concern as I saw the plastic-like bandages that were wrapped around his hand and forearm.

“Yikes, glad to see you’re still in one piece though.” When Aj gave me another one of his killer smiles in response I half expected the water around me to superheat and boil me alive. I heard other girls gush about how they ‘just melted’ under the gaze of a crush and I always thought they were exaggerating but my god those eyes.

“Yeah, well it’ll be a cold day in hell before I let some scrap metal get the best of me.” He gave me a wink and was about to add something else when Dr. Kaiser’s voice interrupted.

“Nasrin? Good to see you again my dear! Is there something I can do for you?” He scuttled across the cracked marble and stopped in front of Aj and me. He clapped a hand on Aj’s shoulder and looked to me for a response.

“Oh, yeah. Do you have anymore of the basil oil? I woke up with a migraine again.”

“Hm, lucky for you I’ve got one or two more doses. I’ll go get them for you.” He scampered back to his makeshift office to retrieve the oil.

“You know, you might want to change your sleeping pattern. You may be getting too much sleep which is causing the migraines. Not everyone needs four hours ya know. Try sleeping for two or three hours instead of four next time. That should also help with those out of body experiences.” I was a bit surprised at the new merfolk biology info. I nodded slowly, mulling over the advice and intending to put it to use in the future.

“Thanks Aj, I-” Before I could say another word a chorus of hoops and hollers. The filmy curtains parted and a group of mermen swam in.

“Aj! Man, we’ve been lookin’ all over for ya!” The largest of the group, tossed an arm across Aj’s shoulders and gave him a shake. I vaguely recalled meeting him once or twice though I couldn’t recall his name.

“Yeah, came to get patched up, Harold.” Aj motioned to his bandaged arm and the others nodded.

“We need ya back down in the trench. We’ve found a couple more ship parts but no one can figure out what goes where.” Harold shrugged his shoulders and his eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

“Right, well Nas as much as I’d love to stay and chat some more the rest of my recovery team is useless without me.” With one last flash of his amazing smile he ducked behind the cloth curtains with the rest of his team following behind. I only had a second or two to mentally smack myself at that trainwreck that was my social skills before Dr. Kaiser returned with a small vial in one of his front pinchers.

“Alright, this is the last of it, my dear. It probably won’t be restocked for a couple of weeks so if you find yourself in need of migraine relief before then I’m afraid I won’t be of much help.” I took the vial, downing it in one gulp. With one last wave and a promise to fix my sleeping schedule I headed back to the sleeping quarters in hopes of finding Zee. She wasn’t in her sleeping quarters so I assumed she would be at the gang’s usual hang out. I wasn’t really in the mood to deal with everyone else and have to explain what was going on so I decided to go back to the surface and wait for Robbie to return to get the full report.

Lol wow, where did you dig this up from? cx I haven't really kept this updated (though there's not too much to update) but here we go!

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When I broke through the surface I grimaced at how awful the air quality is, no matter how many times I went up the adjustment was still quite unpleasant. I opted against lounging out in the sun, not wanting to need any of the sunburn slave Zee got from Solly. I took to swimming laps instead, singing a medly of indie pop songs quietly to myself. By the time I spotted the lone motorboat zipping its way across the water I had already switched to Disney songs and my stomach was starting to cramp up a bit from the exercise. I took to treading water, greatful that Robbie understood the urgency of the situation. He slowed the boat down and idled a few yards in front of me. I pulled myself up halfway hooking my arms over the side of the boat, the edge under my arms.

“Well?” I prompted.

“Hello, to you too Nasrin,” He grumbled and I pursed my lips in dismissal, “Right, well unsurprisingly she didn’t really take me seriously. I mean she understood why I was uneasy but without the full explanation she didn’t really see the need to stay away.”

“Fair enough.” I nibbled at my bottom lip as I quickly went through our options from here. “Robbie, I really appreciate you helping me out but I’m going to need you to keep an eye on my parents until I come up with a Plan B.”
“Sure, I’ll see if I can weasel my way into her next couple events.”

“Great idea, I guess you’re not as clueless as I originally thought.” I flashed a smile to show him I meant no harm. All jokes aside I hoped he could tell how grateful I was. I could only imagine how frustrating it would’ve been if I didn’t have a way to connect with the surface world.

“Uh, Nasrin. There’s something else,” He paused and I narrowed my eyes, uneasy at what he would reveal, “On my way out I passed by Oliver I can’t be 100% sure but I think he recognized me.” It took me a while to quell the rage that boiled inside of me at the mention of that asshole.

“Just wonderful, of all the things I didn’t need, having Oliver meddling was at the top of the list.” If Oliver became suspicious there was little doubt in my mind that he would resort to violence to get his way.

“I’ll keep a low profile but I don’t think I’ll be able to keep a close eye on your parents...especially if your mom mentions my concerns to Oliver.” Robbie’s eyes glazed over and I knew he was imagining exactly what Oliver would do to him if he found out.

“Don’t worry about it. All you have to do is keep your distance.” My arms were starting to hurt, the edge of the boat digging into my triceps.

“Oh I’ll keep my distance alright. I’m familiar with his handiwork.” A shiver ran through Robbie.

“So am I.” I muttered under my breath and slipped back into the water. An apologetic look flickered across Robbie’s face.

“Nas-I’m sorry, I-”

“Don’t worry about it,” I brushed off the apology, “Look I’ve gotta get back. I’m on patrol duty in the Chasam.”

“You’re patrolling the what?” Robbie raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

“Forget it, I’ll see you in a week or so, yeah? When’s your next sailing thingie?” I waved my hand dismissively when I couldn’t come up with the proper name for his sailing excursions.

“My next sailing thingie is in two weeks, I’ll meet you over by the grotto then?”

I nodded before dipping back under the surface, glad to be free from the smog in the surface world. I swam back down to the city, to meet up with Zee and Cal.

“And where’ve you been?” Cal asked, his arms crossed defensively.

“Swimming.” I answered vaguely. I could see Cal debating on if he should push for details or just leave it. Lucky for me he decided on the latter.

“Well, so glad you could take a break from your busy schedule to join us for sentry duty.” Cal took off for the Chasam. Zee and I followed suit.

“Were you talking to that sailor boy?” Zee whispered under her breath. I pursed my lips, hoping to avoid a scolding.

“No.” I said unconvincingly. Zee’s nose wrinkled at my response, her eyes filled with worry. She grabbed my hand and pulled me aside, motioning for Cal to continue on without us. I avoided her gaze as Zee was struggling to come up with how to phrase what she would say next.

“Look, I’m all for finding your inner peace or whatever, trust me I know how the whole ‘restless spirit’ thing feels like. And you’ve known me long enough to know that I’m not really one for lectures or whatever but this is important.” Zee paused to make sure I was actively listening.

“I know what you’re going to say and-”

“No, you don’t.” Zee interjected, “I’m not trying to rain on your parade or anything but you need to make sure that the people you interact with on the surface world have at least one degree of separation from your friends and family.”
“One degree of separation?” I tilted my head in confusion.

“Yeah. You know the whole ‘everyone’s connected by six or fewer steps’ theory.”

“Oh, like the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game?” I vaguely remembered the concept.

“Who?”

“Nevermind.” I shook my head, not wanting to get into it.

“Rin, I’m serious. You can’t interact with anyone you personally knew from your previous life. I mean you’re pushing it with this Ronnie guy.”

“Robbie.” I corrected absentmindedly.

“Rin.” A flash of irritation flickered across Zee’s face. I know I should probably take her more seriously, but I had enough on my plate to think about.

“Honestly, Zee...” I struggled to find the words to explain why I couldn’t cut ties with Robbie just yet.

“Just...be careful okay? You're on a slippery slope.” Zee’s eyebrows knit together and her hazel eyes held concern. I pointedly avoided her gaze as we reached the edge of town. I was glad when we started our descent into the abyss, the consuming darkness meant that Zee wouldn’t be able to stare me down.

Once we reached the Chasm I made a beeline for Aj’s stall. Upon arrival I was surprised to find the merman who’d fetched Aj from Dr. Kaiser’s earlier today. Harold, if I remembered correctly. A flash of panic arose as I wondered what could possibly have kept Aj away from his stall. As I approached Harold I tried to keep my face neutral.

“Hey...Nasrin?” Harold tiled his head as he waited for me to confirm if he remembered my name correctly. I smiled and nodded.

“You’re Harold, right?”

“Yeah,” He beamed, happy that I had remembered his name as well, “Here to buy a mirror? Or are you looking for Aj?” He waggled his eyebrows and I couldn’t help but smile.

“I was actually hoping to find Aj.”

“Well, he’s still in the trench trying to piece together this warship we found. We think it might be a German U-boat.” I didn’t want Harold to dive into a lengthy discussion on World War II submarines so I quickly tossed out a question.

“Do you have any idea on how long he’ll be?”

“Don’t know, he’s probably gonna go to the surface to stock up on sand dollars afterwards so it’ll be a few hours.” Harold shot me an apologetic look and I nodded in thanks before going off in search of Zee. I was half surprised to find her in a heated argument with Drew, I gauged the escalation and decided I should probably make an attempt to mediate.

“It’s like I’m talking to a brick wall.” Zee griped as she put her hands on her hips.

“I don’t get what the big deal is.” Drew’s lips tugged down into a scowl.

“The big deal-you know what? Forget it.” The last part was whispered and I could see Zee emotionally shutting down. I had arrived too late, there would be no reconciliation at this time. Drew’s eyebrows knitted together and he opened his mouth as if to say something but thought better of it and opted instead to swim off in the opposite direction.

I had a terrible sense of deja-vu watching the lover’s quarrel. It was painfully familiar and eerily similar to many of the arguments Ethan and I had. Communication was our biggest obstacle, Ethan was a classic man’s man, emotions weren’t really his ‘thing’ and anytime I pushed for meaningful conversation he would shut down. It was hard for him to comprehend how I felt in certain situations and oftentimes I felt as if he didn’t truly support me.

“He never listens.” The defeated complaint from Zee snapped me from my thoughts. I faked a smile and opened my arms for a hug. Zee complied and a squeezed her tight, I had only met her a little while ago but already I felt so close to her.

“Well, we will just have to make him listen.” I suggested as Zee pulled back, chuckling a bit. Even though I didn’t know the full history of the ‘Drew and Zee Saga’ it didn’t take a whole lot of studying to realize that the two had a lot of love for each other. A cacophony of screams tore my attention away from Zee and towards the edge of the marketplace. A small crowd of merfolk and marine life were swimming towards us. The panic in thier eyes gave me cause for concern. I glanced at Zee who had a worried look on her face, though she didn’t move from her spot even as the crowd swam past us. I almost screamed when I felt a hand clamp down around my forearm. The shout died on my tongue as I saw it was just Cal.

“It’s Pettifleur.” The way Cal spat out the guide’s name, as if she had committed some awful crime. “She’s got Tulio and his groupies in tow.”

“Who’s Tulio?” As soon as I asked the question Pettifleur came into view, my eyes widened as I took in the three creatures that accompanied her. I knew I was staring but I couldn’t help it, my brain tried to process exactly what I was seeing but it was struggling. As the group came closer I instinctively tried to swim away, my flight response finally kicking in. Cal still had a death grip on my arm so I didn’t go far, I glanced at him and was surprised to find a steely sort of determination on his face. Has he no fear? I thought to myself, Zee was visibly shaking as she watched them approach. I was a bit confused at to why she didn’t swim away, but I didn’t have time to speculate as Fleur greeted us.

“Calvin! And look it’s Cece and Natalie!” That seemed to drag Zee out of her state and she glared at the guide.

“Zee and Nasrin. I know you’re from Aussieland but surely they aren’t this dumb down under?” The zing had me smiling despite myself. Pettifleur’s upper lip curled in annoyance.

“Well I’d love to stay and chat but I’ve go to get Tulio and the gals in to see Dr. K.” The false smile on her face contradicted the iciness in her tone. She swam past and as Tulio and ‘the girls’ swam past us I instinctively leaned into Cal, not daring to look the unwelcomed guest in the eyes. As soon as I felt they were out of earshot I spun around to face Cal.

“Who-or what the hell are they?” The panic in my voice took me by surprise.

“That’s Tulio, and the other two are Grimmau and Xanatha.” He pointed at the creatures as he said their names.

“Wh-” Before I could get the question out Cal answered it.

“The girls are Ponaturi, a sort race of light fearing goblins. They can walk on land but only at night. They drown and devour unsuspecting innocents though they’ve been known to go after a merperson or two.” I thought back to the two creatures, their inky black skin that seemed to absorb any surrounding light, the long, curled talons that extended from their fingers. The eerie, sickly green glow that emitted from their large eyes, which reminded me of those Big Eye paintings that were popular back in the 50s.

“And Tulio, he’s a Leviathan.” Zee whispered the word as if it was a curse. While Grimmau and Xanatha were frightening, they had nothing on Tulio. Serpent-like, with a lengthy, scaly body and pectoral fins on either side. His reptilian like head was menacing and his large curling maw, akin to that of a Chinese shishi, was lined with long, needle point teeth. The greyish, silvery scales that glinted when he moved were almost alluring if not for the hoard of scars that marred his form. And those eyes, the golden irises were uniform save for the string of pearls shaped pupils that divided it down the center, and they held an air of something I couldn’t quite place but it made me feel incredibly uneasy when those eyes landed on me. I had never seen nor heard of a Leviathan but there was an ancient sort of aura that emitted from Tulio and I knew I never wanted to encounter him again.

“What the fuck is a Leviathan?” The question popped out of my mouth before I could stop it.

“An ancient class of sea dragons. Like biblical ancient,” Zee responded. “In fact he’s one of the last. I think it’s just him and Miguel now.”

“There’s another one?” I whispered in awe, trying to imagine another great beast such as Tuilo.

“I wonder what he’s doing here. He never leaves Kolumbo.” Zee mumbled.

“Only one way to find out.” I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw Cal take off after the unwelcomed group of guests. Zee and I looked at each other, silently agreeing that we couldn’t let Cal go confront Pettifleur without some sort of back up. As we swam back up through the Abyss I wondered just where mermaids go after they’ve been devoured by an ancient sea beast.

Not entirely happy with this update, might redo a large portion of it but for now here it is!

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When we arrived in the town square I was surprised at how empty it was. There wasn’t a single soul in sight, I assumed everyone went to their hidey hole at the sight of Tulio. Speaking of, the serpent was at Dr. Kaiser’s clinic, or rather he was around it, the Leviathan was far too large to fit inside the infirmary. We caught the last bit of Tulio and Dr. K’s conversation.
“Your help would be greatly appreciated.” I looked around a bit frantic as a deep, sly voice echoed in my head. It took me a second to realize it was Tulio’s voice. Even though his mouth didn’t move his words rang clear as day in my mind, it was an uncomfortable feeling. It felt intrusive, like the words were scratching at my skull, trying to get out.

“I’ll try my best. Though I’ll be honest it doesn’t sound like any sort of ailment I’ve ever encountered.” Tulio only nodded his massive head in thanks, Cal took this opportunity to interject.

“Dr. K’s free to treat who, or whatever he pleases but Pettifleur needs to take her merry band of travelers out of the city.” The venom that was in Cal’s voice took me by surprised. I had seen Cal annoyed many times, but the sight of Cal fighting back his barely contained anger was kind of frightening. I made a mental note that I never wanted to be on the receiving end of his hatred. Tulio and company did not appreciate the harsh dismissal, the Leviathan turned to look at Cal. I flinched when his eyes shifted to land on me for a moment before narrowing to stare at Calvin. He moved with an alarming amount of speed, before I could blink his slightly opened maw was inches from Cal’s face. I had to stifle a scream. I felt Zee’s arm wrap around my waist and she pulled me back a few feet behind Cal.

“The sea is for everyone, fishboy.” Tulio’s voice had taken on a mocking tone. He had puffed up a bit, the spear like extensions that ran along his spine stood erect. He looked like a snake ready to strike, I wanted to grab Cal and pull him out of harm’s way but I was frozen with fear.

“Those who play nice are welcome to stay but we all know you have trouble sharing.” I had a feeling Cal was referencing a specific incident and judging by the reaction that Tulio had it wasn’t pleasant for either party. The beast lunged for Cal, his mouth opening to clamp down on the offending merman. Zee let out a scream as she watched Tulio go after Cal. I assumed Cal had done this before judging by the almost effortless way he darted out of Tulio’s trajectory. Unfortunately that put me and Zee directly in harm’s way, I realized what was happening too little too late and if it weren't for Zee’s instinctual fearlessness I would’ve been lunch. I felt as if my arm was wrenched out of its socket as she hauled me away. Tulio was gearing up to strike again but before he could Cal had grabbed ahold of his tail. The Leviathan turned to snap at him but Calvin was already out of striking distance. Gimmau and Xanatha didn’t take too kindly to the assault on their companion and darted forward, screeching like cockatiel on a rampage. She rushed forward and rammed into Grimmau (or Xanatha I couldn’t tell them apart) who went sailing sideways with an audible ‘oof’, unfortunately that left her open to Xanatha (or Grimmau, they really look similar) who opened her canine-like jaw and clamped down hard on her fin. The scream that left Zee’s mouth was gut wrenching and shocked me out of my frozen state. With a shout I grabbed for the attacker and got a fistful of hair, the texture took me by surprise but I held steadfast, and yanked as hard as I could. Her head snapped back and another screech escaped her mouth. The commotion caught the attention of a few townsfolk who had been in hiding up until this point.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw an enraged looking Drew darted out from behind the cafe and went after the offending Ponaturi. The glint of the three pronged trident that was gripped in his hand caught me off guard. I tried to reach out to stop Drew but Cal slipped an arm around my waist and pulled me back, I wriggled a bit but gave up once I saw that he had Zee in his left arm. Cal let me go and nudged me forward, I swam beside him, my body on autopilot. I spared quick glance behind me to see how Drew was fairing and I wished I hadn't, I watched with wide eyes as he ran one of the Ponaturi through with the trident. The creature seemed to dissolve before my eyes, just denigrated. I turned away in horror, unable to continue to watch the carnage.

Calvin placed Zee on a mostly flat boulder that was just outside the sleeping quarters. She yelped as he took to examining her mangled tail, I winced at the sight and found myself getting a bit nauseous. The almost translucent fin was shredded to ribbons, blood seeping out and tainting the water around it a deep red. Cal turned to me and said something, though it felt like he was talking to me from the bottom of a well. I only nodded absentmindedly as I stared at the gruesome injury. The edges of my vision started to blur and soon a familiar scene came into focus.

The echo of the shotgun was deafening in the silent forest. I was almost knocked to the ground by the powerful recoil and was lucky that Ethan was standing behind me to catch me as I stumbled back.

“Watch yourself now, babe.” He gave me a pat on the back and moved to examine the bleating deer, I followed tentatively, my hands shaking slightly. I gasped a bit as I saw the large cervine laying on his side panting heavily, a small circular hole in his side had a steady stream of blood trickling out of it. It’s eyes were wide and darted about as Ethan leaned down to run a hand across its flank. It flinched and attempted to stand, only managing to get halfway up before collapsing again. It let out a pitiful wheeze, and lifted its head a bit. Ethan reached for the hunting knife that was strapped to his side and grabbed the deer’s antlers. As he made to draw the knife across it’s jugular I gave a shout.

“Oh, Ethan no!”

“It’ll suffer if I don’t.”

“Can’t you just leave it?”

Ethan gave me a puzzled look before shaking his head and swiftly ending the deer’s life. I found that I couldn’t look away and as I watched the light leave the buck’s eyes a heavy feeling settled on my chest. It was later that I realized, while sitting with Ethan’s family with a plate full of fresh venison, that feeling was guilt. I stared at the barely cooked steak with slight disgust. Mr. Bouchard was kind enough to give me the best cut. ‘Her first time oot an she snags a ten pointer!’ He had chuckled heartily and gave me a few pats on the back. My stomach was in knots as I glanced around the room at the others who were tucking into the various cuts that came off the kill. I pushed the food around my plate as I tried to push down the awful feeling that had been clawing at my throat since I’d put down the deer.

The scene dissolved away and was replaced by the grim reality in front of me. Despite the state that Zee was in she had a look of concern on her face. My lips tugged into a soft smile, here she was fresh out of a life threatening situation and she was worried about me. I flinched a bit when Dr. Kaiser seemed to appear next to me, he set to work on Zee’s tail. She cried out again when he touched it and the doctor shook his head before reaching into his medical bag for a syringe that was filled with an opaque liquid. He swiftly stuck the needle in Zee’s upper arm and after a few moments she fell asleep. Cal gathered her in his arms and followed Dr. Kaiser to the infirmary. I didn’t follow, opting instead to swim up to my sleeping quarters and try to calm down. It wasn’t long before I was asleep.

I awoke with an upset stomach and opted to skip breakfast with the troupe. The encounter with Tulio still had me shaken. Instead I swam around town, hoping to run into Pettifleur so we could talk about what she mentioned last night. I knew that it probably wasn't a good idea but it was tempting. Pettifleur said she knew someone who could help me protect my family, I had the feeling that it was a bit sinister and not entirely above the board but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested. I felt as if I was at a standstill with Robbie, he could only do so much. I mean, I really appreciated what he was doing for me but it just wasn't enough. The thought of Robbie reminded me that I was supposed to meet him in a few minutes.
I flagged down Ji-ji and told her to let the others know that I was going to the surface for a bit, she asked if I wanted company. I declined. After the blow up with Cal I really just wanted to sort myself out before rejoining the group. As I broke through the surface I gagged at the poor air quality, annoyed that I was still not used to it. As I waited for the familiar colorful sail I watched a flock of terns hunt for their lunch. Just as the last of them had managed to snatch a silvery fish from the sea Robbie's yacht came into view. A few minutes later he was waving me over, I dove into the water, surfacing again at the edge of the boat. It was just Robbie this time around and I was a bit impressed that he was able to manage this vessel all by himself. As I hauled myself over the edge of the boat I was almost knocked back into the water by a large mound of fur. I yelled and grabbed onto the rail, unsure of what was trying to attack me.

"Major, get off you goofball." Major. That name rang a bell and as I was getting my bearings realization dawned on me.

"Oh you've GOT to be kidding!" I turned to glare at the drooling canine that was seated next to Robbie. I could hardly believe my eyes. The beast that had inadvertently caused my demise sat before me, tail wagging, blowing his hot breath in my face. I had trouble coming up with the right question.

"Crazy huh? Oliver really did a number on Ol Major but he pulled through. Vet's said it was a miracle." Those muddy green eyes of his were filled with amusement.

My eyes narrowed and I felt a wave of annoyance wash over me. What kind of sick nightmare was I living in? I died, but the menacing mutt got to live? Where's the justice in that? We both got the same treatment from Ollie, why did I have to die while Major was saved? Who decided that a slobbering mongrel deserved to live while I had to pass on? I knew it was irrational but I was livid. Suddenly everything that happened over the last 24 hours bubbled up to the surface, combining with my anger of discovering Major survived to create one massive wall of rage.

"What the actual, literal fuck?" I could tell Robbie was caught off guard by my exclamation.

"Wha...?" He had that half smile on his face and I had a sudden urge to slap it off.

"In what twisted, fucked up world do I die, and Fido here gets to keep on trucking?" The smile had slipped off Robbie's face, confusion taking its place.

"Nas-" I cut him off.

"No really, what kind of bullshit is this? What do I have to do to get on Major The Fucking Miracle Dog's level?" As the sound of his name Major gave a deep bark and bounded towards me again, attempting to lick my face. In my rush to get away from him I lost my balance and fell back into the water with a scream. I realized as I was coming up to the surface that Robbie had jumped in after me. He broke through a second after I did and I gave him a puzzled look.

"Sorry, it’s a reflex.” That lopsided, goofy smile of his was back and I shook my head in awe.

"You are the only person I know who’s tried to save a mermaid from drowning.” A look of realization flickered on his face though it was soon replaced by amusement. He busted out laughing and soon my face broke into a wide smile and I was chuckling along with him. We made our way back onto the boat and Robbie made sure Major didn’t jump on me again as I pulled myself up. As he started to catch me up on what was going on I noticed most of my anger had dissipated, and by the time he had to head back a pleasant numbness had settled over me. I watched the boat disappear over the horizon and debated on if I should head back to town or lounge about on the surface for a bit longer. I chose the latter and spent the rest of the morning soaking up what little rays shone through the heavy clouds, trying not to think about Pettifleur’s suggestion.