Blood in the water

CHAPTER 4 - MISIUNE

— Tell me this message is a prank of some kind.

— Oh, boy, I didn't know you'd be calling me to lash out — Dagon's voice came through the phone. — But no, it's true.

— You left without me? Why would you do that? — Alina shrieked.

— Because I got called on a mission, and I knew you'd want to follow me in it.

— And what, I'm too incompetent to fight demons? — she angrily stomped her feet around the beach as the sun began to settle.

— Don't say that, you know you're amazing. I just—

— Wanted to protect me — she mocked his voice. — You have to let me risk myself eventually, Dag.

— No, that's not it — he replied, shutting her. — I actually just wanted you take some time off of all this. Ever since what happened, you've been fighting the stingatoare night and day. You never let yourself just stop, and look around, and live a little.

— Yeah, whatever.

— Promise me you'll try to have some fun? — he asked just as Alina looked up to see Sorin was arriving.

— Promise — she smiled. — Call me if you need anything, yes?

— Of course. Te amo muito!

— Te amo mais — Alina replied before ending the call, then raising her voice towards the man. — Any luck on your mission?

— The best — Sorin raised the brown paper bag he was holding, sitting in front of where Alina had just settled. — I brought wine as well, don't know if you can get drunk, but...

— I can and I thank my lucky stars for it — she grabbed the bottle from his hand and took the dagger from her boot. Sorin frowned in surprise to see her proceed to calmly stab the cork and start to twist it up.

— Cheers, I guess?

— Yeeeah — Alina replied while raising the bottle to then take a sip from it, making the man laugh. She then handed him the bottle, which he traded for one of the sandwiches he was holding. The two then started eating in silence and enjoying the gentle breeze around them. Eventually, Sorin drew his attention away from the food to look at Alina. She had been kind and honest with him from the moment they met, and he owed her to be the same.

— I'm running from some people — he exclaimed, making Alina look at him. — I know I said I didn't want to talk about it, but... I figure you'll understand. That's what our life is like, right? Always running.

— Yeah — she smiled in response. — Must be even tougher for you, though?

— Why?

— Well, if shit goes down, I can just run off off into the sea. You could be like... kidnapped and be made to prove you're a wizard.

— Yeah... But then, so could you, right?
— Well, I look human when I'm on land. I've had... bad people mistake me for human before — Alina looked down.
— What if they throw you in a bathtub or something? — Sorin suggested, and she shook her head with an amused smile.
— Wouldn't matter. I have ways of... magic. I can have human legs while on water if I want.
— Really?
— Yes. It's not often I would want to, though.

Alina observed Sorin's wide smile and a shiver bolted through her spine. It was like that smile brought light, and in their world, that could be difficult to see. His eyes were the same; they were kind, she could tell. He certainly hid a lot of secrets in them, but they also looked like a stillness amidst a storm; like the sea once it settles and lets the sun shine through it. His voice, another indicative of how he had chosen to deal with the gruesome circumstances their kinds had to deal with. It was like velvet, soft and warming, steady and sweet, whether he was telling a joke or opening up. She didn't know of his story of what he had gone through, but being different surely meant he lived through then and some, and yet chose to be kind. God knows she had met plenty of the ones who went the other way.
— I have to get going soon — Sorin broke the silence.
— Going where?
— That is the question of the hour — he grinned. — I guess to wherever I can, for as long as they can't find out about me.
Alina bit her lip, not sure if she should say what had popped in her mind right then. She knew that if she asked anyone — her mermaid acquaintances, at least — they would say helping a stranger would not turn out well. But then, since when did she hear advices? Besides, looking at her hoard of friends, not helping another kind of creature just made no sense.
— I know of a safe place for you.
— You do? — he looked hopeful.
— Yes. It's a hotel. But not a human one, it's for... our type. All our types. I can get you there. But we should leave soon.