Water

Wave Four

 (Where is she? Why can’t we hear her? Why can’t we sense her?) Eli wasn't sure whose mind the questions had come from – his or Dale’s. A shot of dread coursed through them as their minds merged. How had Leira managed to evade them and cut off her presence? Eli looked at the network of caverns they’d been chasing Leira toward for the course of the morning. He felt Dale’s distress and frustration mirrored in his own expression as they swam to the cave entrances. The caves had been used for generations to test potential Guardians; they usually provided enough shelter for a Mer in training to evade Testers for two full turns of the tide. Never before had a Mer been completely cut off during a Test. But Leira’s being had gone.

          Dale stopped short of the main cave, its entrance casting long shadows over him. He paused as though listening intently and Eli knew he was searching for signs of Leira. Dale straightened his back and turned to face Eli, shaking his head. If she was in there, they’d know it. Either something had happened to her, or -

          (She went up.) Dale thought it with a tone of incredulity and perhaps admiration.
(She wouldn’t. It’s too dangerous.)
(Then why can’t we sense her? She went up; out of range.)
(I’m telling you, she’s my daughter. She wouldn’t risk it, risk us, the Herd. My girl-)
(Your girl wanted this more than any Guardian I’ve ever known. She went up.) Eli wouldn’t, couldn’t, believe what Dale was suggesting. But there was no other explanation for Leira’s absence.

          In sync, the two Mer turned their faces to look upward. Eli saw the faintest of glows far above them, depicting the hazy line where the waters began to change as depths turned to shallows. They were already far above their Nest, above their usual territory. To venture further upward was unheard of, yet clever. Eli knew Leira’s cunning, and marvelled that she’d formed such a plan so quickly. To swim up and stay out of their range for one day was intelligent. Foolhardy, brave even – but smart. They could use that kind of thinking in the Guardians. It was almost a shame they’d seen through her strategy, but it was too much of a risk not to follow her. They needed to retrieve her from the dangers above.
(We go up,) they thought. In a flurry of bubbles and dirt, they swept their mighty tails and began to reel away from the caverns.