It’s been two weeks since we fought the Zorre and I got the pommel and entire handle of my own dagger through my abdomen. It was only today that Syren and Menya finally let me out of our cabin.
I decided to simply wear my bandages. With Syren’s bizarre paranoia, she now had me covered from my hips to my right shoulder. From some reason she thought if I exposed my former abrasion I might get irritated and try to rip at the skin again.
I rolled my eyes thinking of her overprotective insanity.
The early morning sun had just barely breached the horizon and the air was crisp as it blew through my loose hair. I had been stuck in the cabin for so long; the cold wind was nice against my skin.
My ear suddenly twitched to the sound of fibers rubbing against wood. I tried to ignore the sound, but since my hearing had enhanced during my forced absence I still had yet to control it. The noise made me want too tear my ears off.
I growled angrily toward the sound, though I kept my face in the direction of the coming warmth of the sun.
Wherever it was coming from and whoever created it stopped the motion generating the ear sore, I think after hearing my quiet feral roar. I smiled in satisfaction.
Then it began again.
My nails dug deep into the old, beaten wood along the starboard side as I glared fiercely at the calm sea water slopping up and hitting the ship.
“Who the hell is making that annoying sound!?” I screamed.
A sudden sharp thud followed by a gasp caught my attention and caused me to turn around. On the ground a bucket of a strange looking and smelling liquid was spilt on the deck and a few ropes and high up about twelve or fifteen feet was Kayne hanging onto a slick rope with one hand.
I gasped, throwing my hands over my mouth. I had forgotten how high and clear my screams were now. I ran over to him and looked up; his face was red with exertion and shock.
“Kayne, oh my gosh, I’m so so sorry! I forgot!”
He grunted a laugh then groaned in pain.
I moved to stand directly beneath him. “Kayne let go of the rope, I’ll catch you. Not well or comfortably, but you shouldn’t be hurt.”
“Are you crazy?!” He shouted with effort.
“No. I’m trying to help you.”
“You can’t catch me, I’m too heavy.”
“I’m even stronger than I used to be, just let go.”
He said nothing.
“Kayne let go! Would you rather break your leg or your neck!?”
He still said nothing but I thought I may have heard a grunted response.
“Alright. Are you ready?”
“Yes. Let go.”
He released his grip and began plummeting toward me. My initial instinct was to move out of the way and not be crushed by a full grown and muscular man falling at me from over a dozen feet in the air, but I swallowed my fear and closed my eyes, waiting for the impact.
His weight hit me. I barely had time to hold my stance steady without breaking my own legs in the process. Once he was entirely in my grasp I tightened my hold and fell backward. He was heavy.
“Holy shit, you really caught me!” He blinked.
“I told you I would.” I tried to keep my voice even, although my limbs were a little shaky.
He quickly pulled himself him up; while his back was still turned I took a moment to express my bodies shock with a strange pained contortion of my face. I’m sure I would have looked very silly. Kayne cracked his back then turned to me and lowered his hand. I grabbed it and he pulled me up.
“I’m sorry about your …uhh…” I looked toward the strange substance spilled on the deck “…your work.”
He chuckled.
“Don’t worry about it. I can do it another time; it’s not super important right now.”
He reached for an already slightly dirty rag and started trying to clean up the mess I had caused. I heard a noisy rustle come from below deck. The day shift must be on their way. Unfortunately the crew that worked while the sun was up had a tendency to smell…weird. I wrinkled my nose at the memory.
“Well, I’m sorry for the problem I caused you and I think I will be going away from here now.” I began walking away with my hands held behind my back.
“Wait. Where are you going? You just got here.”
“Um, let’s just say ‘the foulest’ are descending.” I nodded while keeping my eyes and nose alert.
Kayne nodded knowingly. “See ya then.”
I leapt at our cabin door and quickly thrust it open and closed myself inside. Only a second later the men poured onto the deck, shouting and laughing loudly. The sounds and smells danced in my mind with a furry that made me nauseous.
I slid my back along the wall with my hands held tightly over my ears. UH! Stupid senses!
“Noir?”
Syren was standing by an open window with her head cocked in confusion.
“Noir, what’s wrong?”
I groaned. “Everything is loud and smells; I can’t shut it out! How do you and Menya do it!? How!?”
She smiled and gestured for me to come to her. So I did.
“It’s not hard to control, but it takes time. For now come with me.” She gently reached for my hand and held it between hers.
We both stepped up onto the window’s ledge, looking out at the water as it conjoined after being swathed by the ship.
“Take a deep breath.” She whispered.
I did as she said and we leapt.
We slipped into the water like arrows, hardly disturbing the surface and barely a splash followed our plunge. I had always found jumping into the water a little disorienting even when I had the help of Syren to guide me. My eyes reactively blinked several times to the foreign sensation of salt water rubbing against them. Once I could see clearly I felt Syren tug on my arm and we started swimming closer to the reef.
The water was warm and comfortable, like being wrapped in a blanket. It was also quite serene beneath the waves and not so painful to my senses either; I wouldn’t mind living in the water, although after a while I would most likely become a giant shriveled prune or something.
I laughed at the image in my head, suddenly releasing all the air I had gathered in my mouth, which startled Syren.
We stared at each other for a long while and the longer I held my eyes on her the wider Syren’s seemed to get. I was about to gesture to her but she abruptly thrust her hand over my mouth and gripped my body tightly. We were moving very rapidly through the waters; everything just happened so fast and I was completely shocked and confused as to what the hell was going on.
The reef beneath us was shrouded in the foaming bubbles left behind by Syren’s incessant pumping to get to the surface. However the more I watched the waters swirl and fizzle out of existence, I began to notice that my chest felt very warm and my head throbbed as well. The pulsing beat of my head seemed to flow as though I were dancing with the bubbles I watched so closely.
My body then reacted to the feelings. I immediately tried to inhale instead finding that I only pulled against the firm clasp of Syren’s hand. Her speed then increased and I in turn began to help reach the surface.
The instant my nose broke free I took a deep breath, inflating my burning lungs and calming my heart and brain’s cries for oxygen. Before I even opened my eyes I felt the sting of a wet hand collide with my already wet face which forced me backward slightly.
“Noir! How irresponsibly stupid are you lately!!! You almost allow yourself to get killed by a simple Tore, you get seriously injured twice while taking down a small Zorre, and now you just release all your oxygen while being over 75 feet below the surface of the ocean!!! What is going on?!?!”
I blinked, my mouth was hanging open and I held my hand to the throbbing welt that now covered the right side of my face. Her eyes glared intensely at me, the golden color melted with a furry I had never seen before on such a kind, placid visage.
“…I…” Grumbling noises vibrated in my mouth, which sounded like ‘I’ but honestly I have no idea what I was saying. The crease between her narrowing eyebrows darkened at my response.
“I don’t know.” I whispered.
It seemed Syren didn’t mind my answer as she sighed heavily and looked toward the sun, still high in the clearness of the day.
“Never mind, it’s not important now.” She spoke with a definite yet also gentle tone before turning to face me.
She reached her hand toward my wounded face and nodded sagely. “You’ll be fine; I apologize for striking you.”
“No, it’s alright… it was my fault.”
She nodded yet again in response and took hold of my hand. “Take a deep breath and hold it until I say otherwise.” A golden eye looked firmly at me.
I inhaled as much as I could and we dove down in sync, heading straight for the reef. I tried to keep my mind clear as I went in hopes of not furthering Syren’s apparent temper toward my actions.
My eyes seemed to inadvertently glance at her as we swam, although her face was blank and emotionless as usual. She noticed my staring and quirked her brow in confusion; I swayed my hands side to side and shook my head as best as I could. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, but then continued on as though nothing happened.
We finally reached the reef. Hundreds of creatures fluttered around the many plants decorating the rock. The brilliant colors distracted me; they were even more beautiful now that my eyes were stronger. However I had barely any time to admire them, once I began drifting away Syren grabbed my arms and pulled me away, directing us toward a small cave opening. It looked almost nothing like the one we had entered to find the Zorre. Instead this cavern was bright and wide and further back a gentle pattern of sun glinted water was dancing along the floor of the cave.
Once we entered the opening, Syren and I began swimming straight up heading for what appeared to be large air filled room hidden within the reef. I felt the break of the water’s surface and took a deep breath; the air had a salty taste but was otherwise fresh enough.
The trove was more like a room then a cave, the rock walls were relatively smoothed down and on the ceiling there was an opening covered with some sort of clear substance; couldn’t be glass, could it?
Syren was already out of the water and onto the stone flooring, her hair now perfectly dry in appearance as though the water simply slid off. I frowned slightly, my hair never did that. I swam for a moment and then walked through the shallower water until I stepped up to the floor behind Syren, who had started walking toward a small type of waterfall pouring down quietly from a hole in the wall. I turned my head in confusion while watching the gentle flow; I wondered, half dazed, where on earth that water could be coming from.
“Sy, what is this place?” I ran my fingers against the rock, tracing patterns as I went.
“Elvish cave, they are located in every water source in the world.”
I walked to where Syren knelt by the basin like pool formed by the waterfall and sat beside her. It wasn’t until then that I noticed that on the other side of the room past the water was even more cave, however it looked like part of a basic styled home had been built there.
“Uh…what is this place used for?” I pulled my attention away from studying the large comfortable looking bed to focus on Syren, who was staring blankly at the rippling water.
“We elves use them. Those who choose to live outside the three Elvish cities surrounding our capital use these to stay in rather than inns. We live differently. Also whenever an elf travels they will use these. There are also several within large trees in a few of the forests as water is not always near and convenient.”
“Oh. Interesting. Is this where you always go? I never see you sleeping on the ship.”
“Yes. The stench gets to me.”
Her face was still blank as she slowly touched one finger into the water of the basin. The ripples immediately froze in place and the water fall stopped as though someone pressed pause on time. I blinked several times, I opened my mouth to question her but she suddenly opened her own mouth and began formed words quickly. The only sound was a high pitched muttering type of noise.
The echoes confused my ears; I wasn’t sure whether the sound was painful or soothing and as I went to block out the blare, the still water flashed and a green and gold wall appeared in the water.
“Tephyr? Tephyr, are you there?”
“Syren?” A warm female voice called out from the water and suddenly a lovely though slightly aged face came into view.
My eyes widened as I watched Syren begin speaking with another person whose face’s reflection was essentially in a large bowl of water. I found myself focusing mostly on her large amber eyes, which reminded me a bit of my mother’s.
“Syren, where are you now? Perhaps I can send an escort for you?”
“No, that would take far too long. Once we are closer to the gate, I’ll be sure to call again to either you or Sai. Until then Menya and I shall be fine. Regardless I should hope that her skills will have been enhanced enough that no more than one or two should be required to pass.”
“Alright dear. If that’s what you wish.” The woman’s eyes turned to me. “Hello, Noir. I hope you’re well.”
I had still been gawking at the water, so that I hardly noticed when the woman’s gentle voice was addressing me.
“You seem in good health, young still but maturity will come. Give your father greetings for me dear. Syren, do take care.”
“Yes Tephyr, farewell.” Syren touched two fingers to her forehead and the woman in the water reciprocated.
I still gaped.
“Noir, close your mouth.”
I quickly did as she said. Syren stood up gracefully and then abruptly the water started falling again, startling me from my awkward position which caused me to tip over.
“Uh, sorry. I was just a bit baffled.” I pushed myself up to follow after Syren.
As we headed toward the clear water which lead out of the cave and back into the ocean, I spotted the darkened, almost opaque mass of a person heading up to the surface from our exit.
“Sy…” I pointed to the stranger and wrapped my hand tightly around her wrist.
“I see him, Noir.”
“Him? Him? Who is he?”
“I cannot tell yet. Most likely an elf in need of a place to stay; we should leave if that be the case.”
A bright red head of hair broke the surface without one once of grace, splashing every which way and finally settling as a young man came out of the water. Once he was up on the stone flooring his steps stopped cold and I felt Syren’s body go rigid.
“Syren?” His voice echoed with a masculine, yet excited tone.
He shook his head once and all the water drops fell right off his hair, which was held in a high pony tail similar to how I held mine only his hair was much thinner. His Elvish ears protruded delicately from his head, which drew me to see his very handsome, smooth face. Syren was still unmoving by my side and so I stepped out a head of her.
“Hi, um, do you happen know my friend here?”
“Obviously I do. I called her by name, didn’t I?”
I sighed. “Fine. What is your name then? I obviously don’t know who you are.”
He scoffed at me irritably and crossed his arms. My protective anger was starting to flare uncontrollably as Syren was still not moving in my grasp. I know I should have worked on calming myself, however yet again it seemed my hypersensitivity to my own emotions was getting the better of me.
“My name is not important; especially to you…you’re not even a full elf, are you? Hybrid.” His strong, narrow orange eyes glared at me with sarcasm and annoyance.
In the back of my mind I was shouting that there was no need to be so aggressive toward him, he was messing around, that’s all. But something about Syren’s unresponsive, almost statuesque nature made my hair stand on end. Nothing ever perturbed her. Ever.
“Syren, please, I never expected to find you here. But now that I have I would like to speak with you.” The man stepped towards me and Syren, and shockingly I felt Syren take a step back tugging on my arm ever so slightly as she went. That set me off. My own grip on her wrist tightened greatly and I crouched a bit in reaction.
He stepped closer again, his hand held out to us. His head tipped down a bit, flaring the color of his eyes. “Syren, come on.”
I growled at his voice, even to my ears I sounded more like an animal than a person. And in one swift motion he took a whole foot toward us and Syren’s wrist slipped from my grasp. My emotions flared violently again and I lunged at him.
