Triton's Destiny

Part Ten

Maki was up early the next morning, his excitement making it impossible to sleep. 'We have a date at the bakery.' His heart flipped and jumped in his chest every time he thought of the words Tristan said. A date. With Tristan. At the shop that smelled so good and created such delicious treats. Well... He assumed the things other than the lemon tarts were delicious too. Tristan had recommended the caramel cheesecake, after all, and he considered Tristan to be trustworthy. Besides, anything had to be tastier than bites of lukewarm fish and seaweed salad. He couldn't wait until he completed his morning chores and could escape to the surface again. He was so giddy with anticipation that he almost couldn't contain it.

After a perfunctory breakfast of the same bland things he always had, he grabbed his pouch, slung it over his shoulder, and swam outside to make his rounds of the kelp forest. His face broke into a wide grin when Ika zipped through the water to greet him, her whole body rocking back and forth with how hard she was wagging her tail.

Maki grabbed her up in a hug, twirling with her and nuzzling their noses together. Ika Ika! A stream of fine bubbles floated up from his gills as he laughed. He asked me to come back, Ika. He wants to take me to the bakery. Oh my gods, little one, I'm so excited! Maki knew that Ika couldn't possibly understand what he was babbling about, but it felt good to tell someone.

And for what it was worth, Ika did seem to catch onto his elation. She wriggled out of his embrace and swam quick circles around him, making him laugh again. When she stopped in front of him with her big eyes sparkling and a smile curling her fishy lips, he took her fins and danced with her, reveling in his overwhelming joy.

Wow, Maki. What's got you so happy this morning? When he turned, he found a pair of amber eyes smiling at him, soft pink curls floating in the water around them and pearly pink and orange scales glinting in the filtered sunlight.

Maki released Ika with another nuzzle and darted over to his best friend. Hanalei! He took her free hand and spun her around. Oh, Hana... I'm so happy today!

Yes, I can see that. I'd love to know why so I know how to keep it this way.

He couldn't tell her, of course. He couldn't tell Hana the real reason why it felt like his heart wanted to fly and about the joy in his soul which lit him up from inside. He wasn't supposed to even be seen by humans, much less go on a date with one. But he was powerless to contain his happiness and, frankly, he didn't want to. He was going to spend the afternoon with a beautiful, interesting man, and that made him want to dance circles in the water until the surface waves churned into foam.

Gods, he wished he could tell Hana all about it. And if Tristan was a triton, he wouldn't have hesitated a moment in doing exactly that. If Tristan was like him, then Maki's people would celebrate their new relationship and encourage them to explore their feelings. But Tristan wasn't a child of the sea, like Maki was. He was human, and in the eyes of the triton race, humanity equaled danger. So Maki had to keep his reasons to himself. It pained him to keep the source of his happiness concealed from the people he cared about the most, but it was the only way to ensure that he and Tristan would be able to see each other.

It's just so pretty today, he lied. And Ika is here. And now you. No one's hurt, everybody's healthy and happy, and that makes my soul soar.

Well... Hana gave him an apologetic grimace and brought what she was holding against her body over to him. Not everybody is healthy.

Oh... His expression fell into empathetic concern as he looked down at the small creature curled in Hana's arm. It was an elver, a juvenile eel, with a nasty gash in its lip. Oh, poor dear. What happened?