*Play Song*
"And here we are! Our first stop is a bay adjourning the famous Phoenix Peak!" Aphmau shouts, securing a sturdy hand on the speedboat's mainframe to gesture broadly at the picturesque scene before them.
The snorkelers "oh-and-ah" at the site, their giddiness, and excitement electrifying the air as numerous ones snap some photographs.
Aphmau circles the boat with experienced grace, despite the petite boat's consistent swaying, double-checking the clientele's gear.
As soon as they are cleared for departure, the eager vacationists begin their descent down to the crystal waters. The unpolluted liquid sloshing benevolently against the alien figures as they bob along the sea's surface.
As Aphmau helps the last of the snorkellers off the boat, she discerns a young girl cowering at the bow of the boat on a cushion, eyeing the water with distinct fear and distress.
Aphmau merely smiles kindly, making her way over to the girl, practically scaring her with her soft voice. "Hey there...."
"I-I'm okay miss.....really, I-I'll just watch...." The girl stammers with a dense austral accent, her baby blue eyes glistening with anxiety.
"Look, I'm not gonna make you do anything you don't want to.....I was even scared of the water at your age...." Aphmau says as she takes a comforting seat also on the cushion at the front of the boat.
"Really? But...you have this job...you must go out into the sea all the time...." The girl states, hugging her knees close to her chest, the sun glaring down on her freckles and striking blonde locks.
"Well, once I realized that there is no joy in just worrying about what's out in that ocean....life got a lot more easier...and more enjoyable...." Aphmau suddenly stands up, swiping from a nearby bin a snorkel and goggles, fastening them speedily to her head as she balances herself at the tip of the bow.
Turning back to the girl, Aphmau flashes her a confident smile as she remarks: "Sometimes you just gotta let go..." before proceeding to dive into the clean water below.
The girl clamors to peer over the side, an innocent smile playing at her lips as Aphmau thrusts two thumbs up her way, before swimming her way over to the tourists.
The girl giggles as she rests her elbows on the boat's heated frame, feeling the casual bobbing of the waves as she considers the submerged humans. Though her grin wavers, as her perceptive eyes, detect something lurking in the deep. Something big, and something unclear.
Although she tried to dismiss her thoughts with Aphmau's inspiring words, the looming irregular-shaped figure combatted her mind, almost like a shadow, it neared the tourist group with startling speed.
And the words left the little girl's lips too late, as the screams pierced the seemingly calm atmosphere.
The girl watches in absolute horror as one of the snorkelers, a blonde middle-aged woman who was one second just floating amidst the calm surface, the next thrashing momentarily unnaturally before disappearing below.
"Mom!"
Have a nice day my crystals!
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Phoenix Peak: The Darkness Within ~Aarmau AU~
FanfictionIt's just simple island living for Aphmau Shu Phoenix, and the rest of the few inhabitants which occupied the island, Phoenix Peak, just off the coast of O'kasis. They lived happily, despite the rumors that the island was supposedly haunted, and all...
