Serenitatem

Chapter 2

"Its not that difficult, Tal. Just learn how to kill something."

The young mermen of the colony were hard at work preparing for the return of the older members of the colony. After saving the tenth merboy from slicing his finger off, Tal was nearly ready to swim away screaming. Instead, he decided to talk with Kenta, the only person he considered a best friend. The young merboy was busy cleaning a horribly barnacle-crusted knife, but always had time to give Tal advice. Kenta had these calm, gray eyes that seemed to be full of wisdom, even though he was only fourteen.

Tal sighed as he faced his friend. "But Kenta, that's not why I want to leave! I want-"

"To explore the ocean. Yes, we all know." A flick of Kenta's blue tail was the only indication he was getting irritated. "I hope you realize that you can't just do things the way you want them all the time. You have to compromise." He emphasized this word with a rough scrape to the blade.

"So you mean I learn how to hunt so I can go on the trips and see the ocean at the same time." Tal could see how that made sense.

Suddenly in his ear, two voices whispered, "Why do it the hard way, when you could do it the easy way?"

Tal and Kenta whipped around to see two identical faces grinning at them. Denali and Rukiani were the only mermen he knew who were actually related by blood. They had arrived as a matched set, down to the last purple scale. Tal knew which was which only because Rukiani cut Denali's black hair short last week when he was sleeping.

"We could help overhearing-" Rukiani began.

"Eavesdropping," Kenta muttered.

"But we want to give you our advice," Denali finished.

Tal looked at them skeptically. The duo had a reputation for getting into semi-dangerous trouble. Like the time they thought a puffer fish would make a good toy. Or the time they lured a shark into the seaweed forest. But on the other hand, if they had an idea that didn't take as long as learning how to properly use a spear, he was intrigued.

"I'm all ears, " he told them.

Rukiani leaned in close. "The plan is, sneak out of the lagoon at night."

"What!?" Tal exclaimed. "I can't do that! I'll get caught."

"Wrong," Denali intoned. "The sentries get lazy at night. After you pass the seaweed forest, you need to swim quickly and quietly past them." He put an arm around Tal's shoulders reassuringly. "And we know you're the best at that."

Yeah!" the other chimed in. "It'd be a piece of cake." When they put it that way, it actually seemed possible. In fact, Tal wondered why he hadn't thought of it before. Probably because he never broke the rules on his own. He always tried to negotiate with his father and when he was restricted, he let it be.

Kenta, who had been listening intently, spoke up. "So what's the catch?"

The twins beamed. "Tal has to let us come!"

"Oh, no way," Tal said immediately. "You two would give me away before we even left the lagoon." They were too loud and they swam in a slightly jerky motion. Definitely not fast enough.

Denali and Rukiani glanced at each other. They seemed to have a silent conversation. "We'll give you time to think about it."

After they swam off, laughing, Tal turned to Kenta, who did not look pleased. "What?" he asked defensively.

"Nothing," Kenta sighed. "I thought you'd have more sense to listen to me instead of those two."

After the hunting party returned that evening, Tal was given the privilege of being told a highly descriptive tale of how the giant squid was killed. It was customary for some of the mermen to tell of their exploits but for Tal, it felt as if it was targeted a him specifically. Mostly because Sebasou was telling it.

"Its tentacles were whipping through the water in all directions at once. I held my spear aloft, trying to get close. As soon as I did, the beast released black ink everywhere, nearly blinding me..."

Tal huffed, releasing a stream of bubbles. "I think someone forgot that there were others helping him the entire time."

Kenta rolled his eyes but said nothing. He was sitting next to Tal at dinner, still trying to convince him sneaking out was a bad idea. And to not let Sebasou get under his skin.

Well that part was failing. Tal was so angry, his tail was churning the water under the stone table. From the other end, his father gave him a withering look. Control yourself, he seemed to say.

"When it was finally dead," Sebasou concluded. "I looked around at my comrades and we reveled in the victory." His blue eyes locked with Tal's green ones. "I took a special moment to gaze at the beautiful, blue water that surrounded me. How lucky was I, to live in such an amazing world."

That did it. Kenta saw the look in his eyes and tried to grab him, but it was too late. Tal shot up and swam at Sebasou with brilliant speed. The older teen hardly knew what was happening before Tal slammed into him. The entire colony began shouting as the two began wrestling like a pair of trashing eels. One out of shock, the other out of fury.

Tal flipped and twisted in the water so violently that all he saw was bubbles and sediment from the sandy floor all around him. This was so much worse then when he fought with Anyir. He lost all sense of direction when one of Sebasou's fists landed in his cheek. His back was slammed into the sea floor. Before the other could land another punch, Tal wormed out of his grasp and was able get behind him. Sebasou figured out what was going on and tried to flip him off but Tal wrapped his thin arms around his neck and held tight. It was worse than the time he had tried to ride a dolphin for the first time. Tal was bucked all around, upside down and to the side. The water was a blur and all noises were foggy. It made his head hurt but he didn't let go.

"TALMUNO!" The two younger mermen froze as Menlo came forward. He looked angrier than he had ever looked before. "That is enough," he growled. Tal quickly released Sebasou from the headlock. Sebasou rubbed his neck and glared at Tal, fire in his eyes.

Tal glanced uneasily at the colony. They were all silent, waiting to see what would happen now. Menlo didn't really have a title, but he was sort of their leader, and the whole lagoon seemed to hold its breath.

"Come with me, Talmuno," his father said. Tal meekly followed him away from the others. When they were alone, Menlo rounded on him. "What on earth has gotten into you?" he shouted. "A fight in front of the colony?"

Tal flicked his tail uncomfortably. "I'm sorry, but that leech was asking for it! He was taunting me!"

"And so you resorted to violence?" his father shot back. "What does that tell him about you? It shows you are riled up and he can get you that way!"

Tal hung his head. "I'm sorry, Father." A wicked part of him wasn't sorry for fighting. Sebasou deserved it. But he was sorry for making his father disappointed in him.

Menlo ran his hand over his head. "I know you want to jump right into things and see the ocean, but you're not ready. You need to be patient. Think about it." He left.

Tal sat on a rock and thought about it. He felt a flare of anger that his father didn't think he was ready. How could he know what Tal was feeling? Only he knew himself entirely and what he was ready for. The pull of the ocean was like a call home. It beckoned him, teased him everyday. He wanted to let it envelop him in its embrace. After feeling it for so long, Tal could hardly resist anymore.

By the time he made up his mind, dusk was falling. Tal found the twins goofing off by their cave. The two stopped playing when he swam up to them. "I'm going," he told them quietly. "And it's going to be tonight."