The Mermaid's Reckoning | ONC 2024

Chapter 11

Something was different. Pretie couldn't identify what was different, exactly, but as she swam beside Ephyra, the mermaid's hand still in hers, she knew it was true. Something was different. Something had changed—and it wasn't just the elastic fluidity with which she moved her tail, though she was beyond thankful for the reduced effort it took to flap it.

With the lack of pain in her limbs, Pretie found herself able to better focus on the environment around her. She could enjoy the cool ripple of the current against her skin, the golden rays of sunlight slashing through the ocean's surface. Her hazel eyes caught on a school of fish to her right, so far away that the creatures were hardly more than silhouettes. 

"Look." She heard a voice murmur in her ear. Pretie flinched in surprise, turning to glance over at Ephyra. The mermaid wasn't looking at Pretie, but to their left. The girl followed her gaze. She gasped as she caught sight of what Ephyra had pointed out to her. A whale.

Pretie had lived by the ocean her entire life. Her bedroom had a view of the sea. And yet the girl had only seen whales a few times—and even then, it was never more than a brief glimpse of their flukes protruding out of the water or a spray from their blowholes as they came to the surface for air. None of that could hold a candle to the majestic creature swimming before them, its tail moving in great, sweeping waves. She could feel the rumbling vibrato of its bugling call.

"It's beautiful." Pretie whispered, her eyes wide as she watched the whale.

"They're beautiful." Ephyra corrected in a soft voice. She gave Pretie's hand a gentle squeeze. "See? She's got a baby."

Sure enough, as the whale tilted to its side, she noticed a young calf swam just above. Pretie felt an amazed smile tug at her lips as she stared at the pair, transfixed.

"I've never been this close to one."

Ephyra chuckled softly, a glint of mischief in her eyes when she looked over. "Would you like to get closer?"

"What?"

"The calves are always super curious, and the moms usually let them explore. To an extent, at least. So... Would you like to get closer?"

Pretie's excited grin was the only answer the mermaid needed. With a smile of her own, she tightened her hold on Pretie's hand and guided her in the direction of the whales. She stopped them when they were still a reasonable distance away—though it was still rather overwhelming, Pretie had to admit, being as close as she was to the giant creature. She stared at the whale's dark grey hide, its skin speckled with white spots. She followed the sweeping curve of its mouth and could nearly spot the hairy baleen she knew lay beneath. After a moment, her gaze latched onto one of the whale's eyes, its large pupil taking her in.

Focused as she was on the mother whale, Pretie hardly noticed the calf had swam closer until it greeted her with a high-pitched chirp. She sucked in a breath, backing into Ephyra as the calf drifted closer, tilting to one side as if to study her.

"It's alright," Ephyra assured her with a soft laugh, nudging Pretie back. "It won't hurt you. Just wants to check you out."

The girl chuckled. "Check me out?"

"Not like that, Prettypants," Ephyra teased. "But I wouldn't blame it if it was."

Pretie felt her cheeks heat. "Oh my gods, Eph."

A smile twitched onto the mermaid's lips. "I like it when you call me that."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I do. It's nice." 

"Well... I'm glad."

A flurry of movement interrupted their conversation—which Pretie was okay with, considering the building awkwardness—as the whale calf floated closer. Pretie stared with wide eyes; the calf was close enough that she could stretch out her arm and touch it.