Art Book 1 (2020-2021)

story thing pt. 2

Bold and Italics is Aquatic; Bold is writing; and italics are thoughts (I will continue to edit this later)

Days pass in blurs, only individual moments standing out. A kindly nurse, stroking my shoulder, flashing dimly "You will be okay honey, eventually", a brief struggle as they tried to take the yellow scale away. Waking up, I feel deep in my body that I am done sleeping, that I will either move on or make peace with her decision. The kindly nurse swims in, and beams at my open eyes. Spotting my slate, I write "How long have I been asleep?" while sitting up. I get worried as concern crosses her face, and she only answers with two words. "Two weeks...". I sit up fast, nearly falling off of the large clam that is the med beds. "Two weeks... no way." I scribble at her quickly. All she does is nod, and sign my release form.                                                                                             Swimming out of the hospital, I find myself near the far end of the gorge that houses the Underwater Kingdom. I guess I've never really appreciated the true beauty of the kingdom, as I drift on the current to my home on the outer and upper edge of the gorge. I stare at the anemones, the kelp curtains and the abundant fish as I swim to the ledge that leads to my cave. Swimming inside, it gets shallower until I am in only air. As I was our tribes first known and accepted hybrid, I had special accommodations that many members provided for me. A community of all tribes gathers together to make the best accommodations for hybrids, and I'd even heard that there was a town specifically for hybrids, something like Possibility or Hope or something. The inside of my cave was dry, a special effort with some Mudwing allies to carry the air down, and many plants lining the edges to renew my oxygen. Sighing, I just slither over to my bed, laying on the soft, dried mosses and kelp, inhaling the salty vapor. I don't want to sleep, but my lids fall anyway.                                                                                                                                                                                            The flapping of wet feet wakes me up, and I groan my displeasure. Peaking a single eye open, I see Pelegia standing there. I frown and turn my face away, not willing to talk to the source of my issues. "Cichlid, I know you can hear me. You haven't gone deaf." she says, and I hear the slide of her wet tail on my floor. "Gaia, if you can't shake off the water outside of my main den, you can just stay out." I mutter as she impatiently huffs. "Alright grumpy scales, blame it on me. But I'm not the one who told her, just remember that." I hear her stomps echo out of my cave, and I feel the tears build up again. Shaking them off, I stand up and walk to entrance, wading into the water. I am about to duck under when wet arms are thrown around my neck, dragging me under. I knew you would chase after me Gaia flashes at me, grinning. I just roll my eyes and point to the air again.                                                                                                                                            Inhaling deeply, I begin to speak. "Gaia, I am very sorry that I reacted like hat, it was uncalled for." I smile tenetivly, and sit in the sand that was gathered in the shallow pool. Shrugging, she just lazily flashes Fine with an equally small smile. Swirling the sand with my tail, the silence deepens and I yawn again. Quirking an eyebrow, Gaia just eye rolls at me. "Haven't you been sleeping nonstop for like, 2 weeks?" She asks, teasing. I roll my eyes at her, and step out of the water, shaking the water off the best I can. "Okay, I'm tired. I haven't exactly been sleeping well for the last few weeks. Either stay or go, but I'm sleeping some more." With a final nod, I walk back into the main cave. Flopping down, i squish the bedding around until it's comfortable. I watch Gaia walk in and lay on my extra nest. Good thing that's there... I think to myself. Of course it was meant for Fantasia... I have a physical wince when I think her name. "Hey Gaia? Can I ask you something or are you asleep?" whispering, I shift to look at her better. "Mmph?" a sleepy grumble comes from the nest. "How is Fa- she... how is she doing?" I can't even say her name. How pathetic. I grumble. The silence stretches, and I begin to wonder if she has fallen asleep. "Well... she is kinda, well, okay. It's been weird without you there of course, but also sorta normal. She hasn't even asked about you, and I've been in to see you several times. I dunno what is gonna happen." The tears pool again, and this time I don't fight them, just letting them slide silently down my face. Soft snores fill the cave soon after, and I try to sleep, failing when memories of better days start tearing through the carefully made barrier in my mind.