Whalesong - The Deep Fanfic

Chapter 1 - The Whales

The whales.

The whales had kept her company all these years. She had heard their songs since she was a baby, too little to know what they were, too little to understand their meaning.

They had watched her grow up and watch them with wide eyes as they passed by her sub. They were one and the same, she and the whales. They lived in the ocean, and so did she.

They had been there during her first night of life, singing a gentle lullaby passed down through thousands of generations to which only she knew the words. They had watched, with listening ears, as her mother taught her about them, what their singing meant, and in what waters they lived.

They had been there when she took her first steps, when she learned to swim for the first time, and when she was first allowed to go swimming by herself. They had been there when her brother was born, although they didn't sing for him. They passed by, silent as she had never heard them before.

The whales had been the ever-present factor of her life, amongst the changing underwater ecosystems and tides. Not even the moon stayed the same. The whales brought her comfort, gave her a base on which she could count on. They brought her closer to the sea, told her their names, and let her into their secret world.

Nobody knew the true meaning of whale songs unless it was for echolocation. But she did. She knew that they were sagas of ancient whales, names only mentioned in myth, stories only told through song. Beautiful stories of breaching in the pale moonlight when the sea was undisturbed. Of loss and love, of heartbreak and sadness and pain. Of triumphs and tragedies. Of whales and humans working together in a sea-based kingdom long forgotten.

She could hear all of their songs. Not just the higher parts, but the lower parts, parts that normal humans couldn't hear. She was the solitary exception to that code. The songs sung deep about the sea-based kingdom were inaudible to everyone but her, and she kept the legend a secret.

They understood her, and she understood them. From the leader of the pods to the newest calf, they all knew her and would get to know her better each time they passed by her submarine. Their calm whispers made her feel like she was a part of their pod, and she was, in a way. They breathed sea salt, and so did she.

Whales were the most powerful animals in the ocean. Their sheer bulk made even the megalodons she had seen look small. The biggest blue whales were almost thirty feet bigger than the megalodons, anyway.

The whales in their pods had kept her company when being the only sixteen-year-old on a submarine got tough. Even though she didn't see them as often as she would have liked to, she knew they were always there, somewhere, in the sea, waiting for their next interaction with her. And she waited for that day. She waited, and waited, and waited and listened for their songs.

And when she was back with them, it felt like she had infinite power to do everything.

Still, the whales couldn't take the place of a human, a real friend, who laughed and talked and agreed with her. They couldn't stand in for a real human relationship, one with feelings and thoughts, even though the whales had plenty of them. In a way, they lacked what it meant to be a companion.

Even the loneliest whale in the world had a friend.

***

"Do you think whales have names?" Ant asked no one in particular as he stared outside the Aronnax's windows at the pod of sperm whales.

It had only been a week since Ant had put the Kraken to sleep, and they had spent that week close by the gates, letting Ant regain his strength before they did anything else with Lemuria. Now, he was back to his old self and very impatient waiting around, ready to open the gates after having closed them after he rested for a short bit.