Restless Waves

Chapter 24

Sorry that everything's going a little slow! I had a bit of a family related emergency at the beginning of the week! All sorted now.

I have 9000 notifications to get through... RIP :') I hope you enjoy the chapter ;)

- Sian

Rowan pulsed with envy as Kaerius laid across the bed. He had to limit himself to the uncomfortable chair if he was to keep himself awake all night.

"There's a shop across the road. I should get some food. You're probably hungry too?" Rowan asked. Kaerius lifted his head, almost forgetting that Rowan was sitting by the window. He had been quiet for a few hours.

"I hungry."

"What do you eat in the sea? Fish, I'm guessing. I could get you some salmon."

Kaerius perked up. He knew what salmon was. He jumped off the bed, getting used to his odd human legs.

Rowan grabbed the key and his wallet, and they set off down the corridor. This time, they took the stairs. There was a crowd of people around the lift. Rowan wanted to avoid embarrassment as much as possible.

"I meant to ask earlier, but why can humans see you now?"

Kaerius shrugged.

"It makes things much easier for me. I don't have to look like I'm talking to myself." Rowan then smiled. Kaerius barely talked back to him, so regardless of whether he was visible to the human eye or not, Rowan still spoke to himself.

The shop was directly opposite the hotel, and Rowan lead Kaerius to the Sandwich Isle. They scanned the sushi until Rowan thought that Kaerius might not like other stuff with his fish. "Don't you usually eat raw fish?" he asked quietly.

"Raw?"

"You know, not cooked."

Kaerius stared at Rowan like he was nothing more interesting than the sandy floor of the ocean.

Rowan dragged Kaerius to the cooled section, and they found the uncooked fish. "You eat this sorta stuff... I'm guessing," Rowan said when Kaerius grabbed five bags of cod fillets and shoved them in the basket.

"Hungry."

Rowan chuckled and wandered off to find his own food. Kaerius followed, and it took him almost a minute to realise that he was smiling. He forced his lips to flatten and clenched his jaw when he wanted to keep walking until his chest pressed into Rowan's back.

To Kaerius, everything about the situation was wrong. He was a Thalassic Mortal on land, he had legs. While everything felt wrong, everything felt right, too. Being with Rowan made Kaerius happy. It blocked a void inside of him. Kaerius had felt content for most of his life, but he didn't know what it felt like to wake up excited and to live with a purpose until he felt Rowan's soul buzzing close. Rowan had a thirst for life that Kaerius wished he had.

When they were out of the shop and returning to the hotel, Kaerius stared at the back of Rowan's head. He couldn't stop thinking about how Rowan made him feel. The human was so positive about the bond, and it was killing Kaerius on the inside.

"Are you okay?" Rowan asked when they reached the hotel room. He kept feeling waves of an emotion that made him breathless.

"I fine," Kaerius replied, holding his head high as he sat at the bottom of the bed.

"Are you missing the sea?"

Kaerius nodded, then frowned and said, "No."

Rowan hummed a response. Kaerius's efforts to pretend that he had a heart of steel reminded him of his mother. If Rowan couldn't feel how Kaerius felt, then he would believe that he was cold-hearted. Maybe that was the case with his mother. Maybe her toughness was all just an act.