Of Land and Sea

Forbidden

By the time Elliott finally returned to his school, darkness had fallen over the caravans, the bioluminescent glow of the plankton they kept being his only source of light to travel by. The night watch had stopped him briefly, demanding to know his identity, but once he swam forth to the light of their posts, they recognized immediately who he was and let him pass. After all, Elliott was known in his school for his completely bizarre appearance, unlike any others they had seen among all their years of travel. Even his siblings didn't look an inkling like him.

It took some maneuvering to locate his family's position, but soon he was reunited, being greeted by one of his sisters; a craftsmaid with the untamed beauty of an emperor angel fish. "Hail, scavenger," she clicked, swimming out of her brother's way to join him at his side.

"Hail, craftsmaid," Elliott clicked back, careful not to bump into anything. "Deeply sorry it took me so long to return. The sea was unkind with its bounty today, I could only locate a pittance of shell. This area, while beautiful, does not seem fortuitous to us scavengers."

"Indeed, the other scavengers reported much of the same. The shells of the most remarkable beauty were homes to other creatures, and what was free of life was often broken or too small to be useful in crafts. It seems us craftsmaids will have to perform other duties during our stay here," Elliott's sister clicked, keeping close to her brother. "Unfortunately, there have been reports of much human debris in this area, so it seems we will be busy with that kind of work this it appears..."

Elliott frowned at this, he never really liked hearing about the pollution they ran into. The sea was his beloved home, to hear it be tainted with objects from above was never anything his school wanted to hear. But it was inevitable, as wherever humans resided, the debris was sure to follow. "The area I explored seemed clear, thankfully. I am happy to report that the fish are thriving most wonderfully."

"Well, that's good at least. But sadly, not many can say the same. The debris seems especially bad in one area, close to where the freshwater and sea meet. Many items called "Joja." It's simply deplorable, the amount of trash that was found," the craftsmaid clicked, a mixture of sadness and anger in her tone.

"Joja... wherever we go, that word seems to follow. I do not know what this Joja is, but I've come to hate it above all else," Elliott clicked out, brow furrowing in frustration.

"Indeed, and our brethren of the freshwaters report much of the same. No matter where, Joja seems to not be far. It is most disgusting..." Elliott's sister paused for a moment, before grabbing her brother's arm to stop his movement forward. "Oh right, before I forget, our deep diver was looking for you. He would not tell me what for, but he said it was important he see you as soon as he could."

Elliott fell silent at this, understanding she meant their father. He began to nod, the new action he learned today, before he stopped himself and instead clicked with an "I understand. I shall go seek him now."

"Good. You do know how he hates to wait. I shall part ways here then, I will see you for feasting in a few moments. Travel safe, scavenger," Elliott's sister clicked, releasing her brother's arm from her grip.

"Travel safe, craftsmaid," he clicked back, turning himself around to swim the general direction of where the deep diver was most often located.

As was per usual, the deep diver was in the area Elliott expected; away from the rest of the family, preparing a plan to dive into the abyss soon for any too deep debris. As Elliott swam towards his father, the merman in question looked up, and his expression went from blank seriousness to a quiet rage. "Hail, scavenger," he clicked, slow and deliberately, accentuating a contained anger.