Terram et Mare

Secundo

—REGIO—

Imber flashed me an uncharacteristic fiery glare as she handed over our singular basket of meat to the tribe leaders, surrounded by Spatior and Denato with 2 or 3 baskets full.

Her aggressive expression morphed into one of utmost apology as she bowed and presented it to Tempestas and our just ruler of the land, Agitabit. Tempestas, the foolish gilled thing, smiled a gentle smile and took our somewhat full basket despite the clear disappointment of Agitabit who shook his head and gripped her shoulder, shooing away Imber after asking her name.

"So we failed?" I said with an air of carelessness.

"To please them? Well of course, since I can barely hunt and you spent the first few hours slacking off and yelling at the wildlife." She snapped, startling me, but I was wise enough not to show it. I would hate to give this stuck-up Denato the pride of having scared a brave and bold Spatior such as I.

She ran her fingers through her silky blue-green hair and I felt the subconscious need to counter it by ruffling my own of a rust red hue. She arched an eyebrow, an action I was already familiar with in the short span of time I had spent with her.

"A little rash, thinking that I'll fall for you if you just muss up your grizzly mane artistically." She snickered indignantly. I stepped back, appealed and disgusted by her assumption.

"An intellectual such as I flirting with a blue like you? Horrific. Unheard of." My face contorted into a frown.

"Good. I was worried I'd have to follow through on my drowning threat. The Splitting is beginning. We can separate now."

I scanned the crowd for Concale, my friend whom I had lost in the crowd earlier that day. I eventually found him standing with his arms crossed next to a lanky Denato boy with a grimace on his face. I didn't want to deal with another troublesome Denato. Imber was quite the handful already.

"I'd rather not. Granted, I'm not sure what's worse, interacting with another one of you drifting scum or spending the rest of the ceremony with you."

She ceased to respond so I grabbed her hair and yanked it as gently as I could, resulting in a squeal of pain and panic which satisfied me.

"What??" She hissed at me.

"My parents taught me not to get frustrated at those who don't know better because they're too idiotic to understand, but you are just too much!!"

"Sorry, your highness, but just because you act high and mighty you aren't allowed to ignore my questions."

"That question has no answer that I can give!"

I saw her cheeks flush ice blue, flustered at how annoying I must have been getting. She deserves it, after all. Filthy races like hers playing in the sand like cavemen then coming to shore and pretending they're as intelligent as we are. My father once told me to pity them for they were childish leviathans who would hopefully learn one day that it's much more civilised to live on the land in this day and age, but Imbra was too quirky and snappy for my liking. I wouldn't give her the gift of my pity, for she didn't need nor deserve my discerning eye, so in it's stead I would gift her scorn.

The two tribe leaders joined on our makeshift stage of drift wood and bamboo. We, of course, could have done better, but Tempestas shouldn't be allowed to even graze our handiwork. We were in fact doing her an immense honour, just allowing her to walk on our spare planks.

"We have put all the baskets together. Those with a lackluster amount of meat have been combined and will be given to the Perennis Tribe to store for the winter time." Agitabit said proudly. Tempestas smiled sweetly at him. Denato women are such pushovers.

"Excuse you?" I heard Imber growl next to me.

"Oops, did I say that out loud?" I teased, playing it off as well thought out joke. She shouldn't expect any less from me, of course. We are a much more important race, building more cities like Greece and Rome and less like Atlantis. She shushed me rather aggressively.

"Thank you, Agitaibit. We will store our share of the food gratefully and well."

They shook hands as is custom, Imber clapping proudly while I wondered on my own how our very own leader could bear to touch a Denato without a form of cleaning agent on standby.

"Now we award the pair with the greatest amount of meat collected, of course." Agitabit boomed, somewhat bored by now, as was I, for we could send the sea dwellers back into the ocean. We always deserve the best. I felt my neck flush orange with pride. Tempestas whispered the name of the victor into Agitabit's ear.

"And the winner is..."