Blood in the water

CHAPTER 1 - CURIOS

— I just think there are other movies to see, okay? Dad doesn't let us get out much, so we ought to make a smart choice. — Alina pled to her brother as the two were surrounded by the sea below their waists. — I'm sure some plain-looking man is bound to do great things in a speeding car against his enemy, but we have fantasy movies, we have comedies, we have— she then stopped upon feeling a splash of water on her cheeks, and looked at the source of it. — Don't splash water on me when I'm talking to you!
— Sorry, it's just, you tend to get a little... too talkative when we're up here — Dagon raised an eyebrow.
— That's because I feel like no one understands the deep complexity of my thoughts when we're down. And by no one, I mean you.
— Are you calling me stupid? — he teased, making Alina let out a chuckle.
Dagon had been in all the fondest memories Alina could think of. Older by four years, he was the one who had first brought her upshore, who had started teaching her spoken language, and who went after her everytime she stayed a bit too long. They joked around and sometimes fought, but she admired him a lot. She gazed at his hazel eyes as they stared at the patch of land about five meters from them, eyebrows frowning. They had the same eyebrows, the two of them. Thick, dark and arched in a square manner; the hairs of similar colors as well. His nose was a bit larger, lips less full and the skin a bit darker — caramel, as she heard a human once describe. Alina realized she'd drifted off into wander again when the man pulled her by the arm so they could hide their heads behind a rock.
Tilting his head to the side, he drew her attention back to the patch of land. It was a tall and large wall of stone surrounded by sand. Behind it was a forest that led do land, which they knew because it was one of their connection points. But of course, connections go both ways, so they had to always be aware. It was only after about ten seconds that Alina heard it: footsteps in the sand. And as if that was a command to them, the pair sunk back down to sea in a swift and rapid motion downwards.
Alina felt like Dagon had more heightened senses than her for this type of stuff. It was like he could tell humans were near even before there was clear evidence of it. Of course, that was what living in that world was all about; and he had four years more experience.
Once they were deep enough, the two stopped swimming to recompose. Looking at his somewhat relieved expression from yet another successful escape, she raised both arms up to the sides of her head, so as to complain that a human had crashed their party. Dagon laughed and shook his head; his sister liked the upshore way too much for her own good. In fact, it was one of the reasons why he always tried to accompany her there. Can never be too careful, he'd claim to her rolling eyes.
As he tried to keep going, Alina held his arm and pointed up. Dagon squeezed his lips together. That's enough sunbathing, said the shake of his head, receiving a miffed look from her in response. I'm 25, I can take care of myself, is what her look retorted. The man then bent his fingers over his palm at his mouth's level twice, telling her it was lunch time, and finally convinced her to go.
Physical traits considered, what the two siblings had that was most alike was the tail. A silver cartilage brushed with pink, blue and green overtones that shifted depending on the angle, creating a beautiful iridescent flow. Of course they'd be recognized as family as long as both kept their emotions under control; elseways, the tails could shift to different shades. Perks of having a water-witch for a mother.
Once the two reached their house, Alina went straight to her parents, who had gathered some seaweed and crabs. She rattled her fingers towards them with the palms turned down, their way of greeting each other, and grabbed the food her mother was keeping strapped on her belt. This made the older woman notice Alina's black-painted fingernails, to which she let out a small laugh. Dagon soon joined them, and the two proceeded to tell all about their latest movie-related discussion.
Later, in her room, Alina went and opened her chest. Most of the items inside it were things she had picked up above, all being held down by rocks and ropes. She laughed when seeing a waterproof mascara a friend had once gifted her, proudly claiming she'd be able to put on makeup underwater, but failing to realize all the product inside it would spill out, or rather spill up, if she were to open it there. She ended up never really using it, but kept it as a fond memory. Looking to the corner of the rectangle, she found her phone, safely kept inside a waterproof case — which had been a goddamn long ride to find, by the way. Turns out phone case manufacturers aren't really worried about ensuring just how many kilometers down their pieces of plastic can last for. Alas, the winning one seemed to be working, and still allowed her to switch the on button and touch the screen.
The 80 missed messages had Alina shake her head. Man, it's like those who have their phone on all the time are forced to type on it all day long. And to think that a lot of the ones in that group were in the same place right now! Most of the things were just memes, selfies of some of them, or what Alina figured were products of conversations she hadn't been a part of — such as "Here's that link you asked for, Tai". She smiled while going through the topics her dear friends were covering, stopping when one mentioned her name and laughing to herself upon reading it.

Cairo
@Alina, when are you coming back home?
Alina
I have another home, you know.
...
Cairo
One that us normies can't breathe in. It's very segregating, if you ask me.
Alina
Yeah, sure, all of you are very normal.

After scrolling down the rest of the messages, Alina put away the phone and went to swim around for a bit. Going through the place she lived was fun, but it was also quite ordinary most of the time. And ever since she discovered the above-sea world when she was little, she was struck by all the new things she could see, and touch, and taste, and feel, and live. Her parents, of course, always insisted on the dangers of it. But danger is a part of life after all, and you just have to choose how to deal with it. Alina always thought she was bound for more than living around merpeople like her, establishing a routine and staying in the same place. She wanted to explore the whole world and all it had to offer. And so, before she noticed, she was swimming upshore once again.
Splashing out onto the surface always felt great. The sun shone against her eyes, the air surrounded her, and with a swift move of her fingers, she was able to breathe in that environment. Simple magic trick that genetics had granted her. Alina leaned against a rock and started splashing her tail above and below the water level, adoring the calming sound that produced.
Turning around, she gazed at the land ahead. If she squeezed her eyes, she could see through the forest beyond the rock wall and into signs of civilization. She'd been there, of course, but it was nice to observe from the outside as well. The figures passing by, the voices if she listened closely enough, the honks of cars coming from even further away, the footsteps...
Footsteps. She looked to the corner of the wall and saw a leg stretching in that direction for a fraction of a second before sinking until she was fully underwater, heart pounding against her chest. That was a close one. She let herself calm down for a few seconds and, having the rock in front of her to back her up, slowly brought her head back out.
There were no sounds, but still she was afraid to take a peek. Alina stood as still as she could, closing her eyes so she could focus better. Birds chirping. An airplane way further in the back. Leaves of the trees tickling with the wind. No sounds that seemed to come from a human; and humans are usually loud. She looked down at her tail and it was starting to turn a bit green — and that one meant danger. Well, either danger or fear. She and Dagon would have endless discussions about it, her arguing that those are two different things and that she didn't ever feel afraid; she was just cautious whenever her tail turned green as a sign that danger approached. He would counter claiming that "a sign that danger approached" was, in fact, the very definition of fear.
But alas, fear had nothing on the woman's curiosity. She had to come out to look. How did she see a leg and now it was quiet? Was it a dying person that collapsed on the beach? Or was her mind deceiving her and no one was ever really there? She had to know. Being the utmost careful, Alina shifted to the side in order to have one eye unprotected and free to look. The sun was beginning to set, but she could still make out that it was in fact a person. A man was sitting down at the sand, leaning back on the rock, and had his eyes closed. He wore all black clothes, had some bruises on his face and looked very tired.
She had made out a human was there, and nothing assured her he'd keep his eyes closed, so it was go time. And if Dagon was there with her, they'd be back home by now. But for some reason, she couldn't look away. It was as if some sort of spell put her eyes on a straight path that led to that man's face. His damp, dark hair, his frowned eyebrows, his soft-looking lips. And then, a strange new sense of curiosity overcome Alina.
She had to find out who that man was.