The Waves Are Ours |Virgato|

Chapter 20: Recall

"Last night was amazing. I still can't believe that we pulled the whole thing off," Joel spoke as he swished his tail behind him as they glided through the water.

"Me neither," Chris agreed, swimming alongside him.

He honestly couldn't believe they'd pulled it off. People had been coming up to them the whole night after commenting how good they were. The person that had come to watch Richard play had commented that they had talent, but hadn't offered anything else. Richard was a little disappointed but considering the circumstances, he was glad that they'd at least said that. The way it was looking, he wouldn't have even had the chance to play for them at all.

He could see Erick and Richard standing at the edge of the water that came up to their waists. It was already an incredibly hot day today and it was still early in the morning. The sand had felt like it was burning their feet as they'd walked across it. Chris was tempted to suggest that they stay in the water all day, as it was much cooler.

He swam side by side with Joel as they headed towards the edge of the rocks that surrounded the cove. As they swam, Chris couldn't help but look over at Joel and smile. He was swimming so well now that it was almost impossible to tell that he hadn't been doing it his entire life. He could bet that Joel would be able to swim out in the deeper part of the ocean now. He wondered how far they could get before his father used the currents to pull them back to the merkingdom though. He'd love to one day show Joel the wonders that lie past this small cove.

"We should try going up to visit the reefs one day," Chris suggested. "It's kind of like going to the aquarium, but it's all in front of you. We can swim right through it too."

Joel's eyes lit up as he turned to Chris, "That would be amazing. Could we really do that?"

Chris nodded, "We would have to watch that no divers see us, but honestly, most people usually just pass us off as a dolphin, diver or just another fish," Chris mentioned as he thought it through.

"That's okay. It sounds awesome. We learned a lot about The Florida Reef at school, so I'd love to see it for myself," Joel nods.

"What do land people learn at school about the ocean anyway?" Chris questioned curiously.

Joel grinned and began explaining to Chris all about The Florida Reef. He talked about some of the animals they'd studied in a class he'd done on marine animals. There was also a lot about the pollution in the ocean. Chris agreed with that, merpeople talked a lot about that as well.

Joel came to an abrupt stop though, his words dying midway through a sentence. He pointed to something up ahead. Chris slowed to a stop just in front of him.

Chris followed his finger to where he could see a dark moving shape up ahead. Chris squinted, almost backing into Joel. It was an unusually large shape, though he was sure he could see a small glimmer of color.

"Do you think it's more seaweed?" Joel let out a small quiet mumble, "Maybe even a shark?" he questioned with a hesitant look at Chris.

Chris shook his head. It was certainly large enough to be a shark, but he'd seen the small glimmer of color, so he wasn't so sure. Sharks were usually a dark grayish color. Though whatever it was, it was coming closer towards them.

He turned back and noticed Joel was trembling. He reached out and took his hand.

"We'll wait until it gets a little closer and then we'll head back to shore okay?" Chris told him, hoping to calm his nerves.

When he looked behind him, he could make out the form of a mermaid as the figure came clearly into view. Chris frowned, realizing it was Luna. Chris could only wonder what she was here for. Last time he'd spoken to her they hadn't parted under the best conditions. He'd noticed her watching them at the festival last night, but they obviously hadn't talked.