At the Bottom of the Ocean for a Night || Samuel Draco || Alea Aquarius

Chapter 4 Dragons and Cakes

Sammy woke up when he heard voices coming from the direction of the entrance. He stood up and felt for the pendant in the pocket of his flex. Next, he pulled the air bronn over his head again. Twan appeared. "Sammy! Good. You're awake. Come out, please." So Sammy came out. Fussel followed him.

Alea was waiting in front of the rock, a Finja was just swimming away. Alea looked very relieved. Sammy faltered. "Hi Sammy. We were so worried, why did you run away?" "Uh so..." Sammy lowered himself slightly towards the bottom of the sea. Neom, who was also standing with Alea, swam to him. "Come on Sammy, you said yesterday you were going to tell Ben about it today. Why don't you tell Alea?"

Sammy shook his head vigorously. "Maybe later. Can we wait until tonight? I want to spend some more time with the seal whisperers." Twan shook his head. "You're just putting it off."

Twan was right. Neom was right, too. He put it off, but it would all be fine. "Good, let's go then." Sammy swam to Alea. "I'll tell you at the Crucis. Twan, do you want the Flex back? Ah, and what about the frame of Fussel?" Neom shook his head, "You can keep both of these as a memory. Of course, I hope you'll come and visit us."

Sammy smiled. "Thank you," he looked at the floor, "Are the others awake yet?" As if at a signal, Jusou swam towards the seal rock. "I'm sure Gewa is still asleep, Emmy doesn't want to be disturbed when she's in her room," Neom said. Can't we wait for them? You'll have to feed the seals right away. I can still help!" "I'm sure Emmy and Gewa are making an exception today. Wait here." Jusou swam off.

"Do you think Emmy thinks it's okay too? I mean, she was pretty cool when we talked." Sammy rubbed his hands nervously. Twan nodded and said, "Yes, she's not really happy here. She likes the seals very much, but she would much rather go to Trosk. Her mother, however, is, well, very worried about Emmy. When she's old enough, she'll probably leave us." Sammy thought for a moment. He misses his parents very often. His parents wouldn't have been like that, would they?

Sammy came back to the present when Alea started talking to Twan. She asked if they would organize a local seal race. They engaged in a conversation about the opportunities they had. Gewa swam up. "Sammy's leaving?" Sammy nodded.

"Alea? Alea Aquarius?" Emmy, Emmy's seal, and Twan swam up. Alea smiled. "Good morning." Emmy let her seal pull her around the group. "Emmy, Sammy has to leave, Alea is here to pick him up." Sammy looked down. "Do I really have to? I like it here."

Alea nodded slowly. "Ben is really worried. The sooner we get back, the better. He contacted me when we were almost in Obel Tatun. I came back as fast as I could." Sammy continued to look at the ground. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to take your vacation away... I really should go now, right?"

Sammy looked at the seal whisperers. "Can I still have a hug?" The others swam up to him and hugged him. Emmy hesitated for a moment. Twan was the first to break away, "You are always welcome with us. Promise you will visit, will you?" Sammy and the others broke away as well. Sammy nodded and smiled. Twan grinned back.

"I think we can go." Alea nodded. Sammy got on Fussel and they swam off. As Alea and Sammy moved farther away from the rocks, Sammy looked back and waved to Twan, Neom, and Jusou.

Sammy could see the Crucis getting bigger the closer they got. The ship had barely moved since yesterday. Sammy climbed onto the deck. Ben was waiting. Sammy silently fetched Fussel on deck as well. Ben watched him. Alea also came to the deck.

"Sammy, why did you run away?" Sammy paused. He'd said he'd tell Ben. "The day before yesterday. Because of the day before yesterday." "Come in first. Alea, thank you for bringing him back, do you want to stay a little longer?" Alea shook her head. "I want to get back to Lennox as soon as possible. Whatever you have to tell, Sammy, you can do it. Tell me when we visit again."

"Thanks again for bringing me back." Sammy waved goodbye to Alea.

On the sofa table was a glass with a bottle of apple juice. Sammy sat down and Ben poured him some apple juice before sitting down next to Sammy. "So?"

So Sammy told him what he had been thinking the day before yesterday. That he doesn't know what her parents would think of him if they were still alive. That he loved all his friends, but never found anyone really attractive.

He was still nervous, but he was shaking less now. Fussel was snuggled against his feet. "That's why you ran away? Oh, Draco." Ben pulled him into a hug. "Please don't just run away in the middle of the night again, will you?" Sammy nodded. He was relieved that Ben responded so well. "Promised?" "That's a promise!"

Niki came out of the bathroom, saw Sammy, and walked up to her. "Sammy, you're back! Is everything ok?" "Yes, yes. I think I want to make a adventure diary entry first. I've met Seal Whisperers underwater!" "Can we listen?" Sammy thought for a moment, but then nodded. He jumped up and took his cell phone out of his cabin.

Back on the sofa, Sammy finally took a sip of the apple juice. Sammy started recording. "Sammy's Adventure Journal, 22 July, 7 years after Orion, entry 2023."

He talked about the seal whisperers, the things he had learned about the sea world, the list, the seals, the rocks they lived in, and the seal races. "I also got on the list, I'd like to be a sea person."

Ben tapped him. Sammy nodded. "Are you sure? I mean, that's something you can't undo." "I've thought about it for a long time, but I think I'd be happy as a sea person. I want to be a seal whisperer." Ben nodded. "If that's what you want, then do it." Sammy smiled happily at him.

The day was quiet. They wanted to continue sailing tomorrow and had set the autopilot. Sammy sat on the deck and looked at the sea, Fussel was looking for food. Niki came to him. "Do we want to bake chocolate cake? I'm in the mood for chocolate cake." Sammy definitely wanted to. "Sure!" Sammy ran ahead to the kitchen corner. Niki followed him slowly. Sammy got all the ingredients and Niki took out bowls and spoons.

Ben, Niki and Sammy sat on the deck and ate chocolate cake. Fussel sunbathed. Sammy thought about what he had experienced in the last few days and that it wasn't so bad that he didn't have to be with anyone, he still loved his friends.