The Voice I Was Given.

Cruise Ship

        River returned to his pod somewhat disheartened, but also feeling like a heavy weight had been lifted off of him. Before he had left, Grace told him that she was going to surprise Hypatia with a cruise, which the two of them were going on together for the next two weeks. River agreed to have his pod follow them to protect them from other sirens. When Grace muttered something about how she wasn't sure six sirens were going to be enough, River smirked to himself. He had pretty much a small army on his hands, and a small army that listened to him no matter what he asked them to do. As long as he kept them fed, they were willing to trust him. River decided that following the cruise ship would be a good thing, because he could just sing and have the people on board throw food down for them. He also decided that he wouldn't reveal himself to Hypatia until she was already on the cruise ship.

That night, he made sure that his pod went hunting and each ate more than enough. River had the females in his pod watch over the youngest and make sure that they ate the fish and crabs they found. Of course, his pod knew that this meant that they were going to be travelling through places that didn't have a lot of prey, so they didn't question it. River was so excited that he was going to see Hypatia that he swam around the bottom of the ocean, gathering the prettiest things that he could find. Shells, coins, even pieces of dishes that he found interesting. He filled a satchel that he had also found and slung it around his shoulder. He got quizzical looks from a few of the other sirens, but, per usual, they didn't really ask anything. They knew that River was a strange siren, so there was behaviors that he had that they often ignored.

The next morning, River went to the beach, where Grace was already waiting for him. She told him where to go and what ship to look for. When Grace asked again just how River thought that his little pod was going to help them, River just started to snicker and signed, you'll see. This was the first time River had actually felt alive in so long. He didn't care how Hypatia would look or if she would still be angry, he just wanted to make her happy again.

But, the moment he saw the ship, River began to panic internally. It was like every single horrible scenario suddenly came to mind. Of course, River hadn't really thought about how thousands of people would react to about a hundred sirens. Surprisingly, no one had noticed them yet. Perhaps it was the fact that, from a distance, they looked like a bunch of tourists taking a swim in the ocean. Finally, the pod started chattering to him with questioning tones. He tried his best to explain what was going on with whistles, but there was only so much that they could relay with those signals. So, he whistled for them to go underwater, where they swam deeper and deeper until it was about as light as dusk.

What are you doing? the red-haired siren, who River called Switch, asked, different sections of her lighting up. Every light meant something else, and so they were able to communicate perfectly with their bioluminescence.

You just have to trust me...I made a mistake that I need to fix. And this is how I'm going to fix it, River tried to explain without revealing that he was in love with a human.

Switch just looked even more confused. You never make mistakes. We have always been safe because of you. And how will following humans make something better?

River wasn't sure how to explain at this point. If he revealed that he was friends with a human, he would probably lose the trust of his pod. Or would they be more in awe of him? He wasn't sure. Sometimes he felt like they were blind followers just because he happened to be the biggest and strongest siren they could find. Other than Switch, there were only about four other sirens that he regularly communicated with, but he wouldn't really call them friends. They were just part of his pod. Nothing else.

We used to be human. I had a friend, and I hurt her. I need to see her again. River felt as though this summary did a poor job of describing the mess that his entire life was.

...Human...? Switch ears flicked. Are you sure? Are we devouring our brethren?

Well...I guess? I never really thought about it. We aren't human anymore, of course, so I don't think that's the same thing. Don't throw me for a loop, Switch. River growled.

Switch snickered. Very well. We will humor you. Just make sure we are warned before you take crazy excursions into highly human-populated areas.

River nodded. All of you, stay down here. It'll be safer if you aren't noticed until we are in the opened ocean. Right now, I need to find someone.

With a few powerful strokes of his tail, River surfaced, gasping as he switched to lungs from gills. He looked around, trying to see if he could spot Grace. She had said that she would signal him somehow, but they had never clarified what that signal would be. River wished that he had more time for preparation, but, for moments like this, planning was never really a part of it. Suddenly, he saw it. The bright flicker of a mirror being held up in the sunlight, and, right next to it, the familiar head of lilac-purple hair. After all this time, Hypatia had hardly changed at all. But, as River got closer, he could see that she had. She had a tiny grin on her face, but it was the wide smile that she usual had. Something about her seemed older, tired, and sadder. River hated to see that look in her eyes.

"I'm still not sure, Grace," she was saying. "And why are you putting on lip gloss right now?"

"Oh, it's moisturizing, and I forgot chap stick," Grace replied innocently. "Tia, you need to get out of that tiny, cramped house at some point. Besides, I think that you'll enjoy this trip. The weather is supposed to be perfect the entire time."

Hypatia sighed. "Sure. Well, thank you, Grace. I think I'm just not used to getting out of the house anymore."

"That's pretty obvious," Grace snorted. "Come on, unwind. This'll be fun."

The two of them walked away, and River felt grateful for Grace. She was probably the only reason why River was able to see Hypatia again, and she was a very kind and caring friend. It assured River that, even if he wasn't able to fix things with Hypatia, she had Grace, someone who could stay by her side forever. He was also glad that Grace had been able to convince Hypatia to go on the cruise.

Now, all he had to do was figure out how to talk to Hypatia.

...

River and his pod followed the cruise ship all day, River trying to figure out when he could possibly catch Hypatia alone. On this particular cruise ship, there was a little balcony on the outside of some of the rooms. Grace had told River which room that they were going to be in, and so River kept on looking up towards that balcony. Before long, the sun had set and the stars were beginning to pepper the sky. That's when Hypatia came out, the left side of her hair in cornrow braids with beads woven through them, looking out over the ocean. Just as always, Hypatia took River's breath away and made his heart speed up. Without even thinking, River began to climb up the side of the ship, his claws able to cling to the smallest of grooves. Just below Hypatia's balcony, River's senses came back to him and he began to panic again. River was beginning to have second thoughts when Hypatia suddenly looked down and her eyes widened.

"River?" she whispered.

Slowly, River pulled himself up onto the balcony, a guilty look on his face. Tia, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry I didn't mean to hurt you this badly. I love you so much I can't believe that I did that to I. I-

Hypatia gently placed her hands on top of his, effectively stopping River's apology. "I'm the one that's sorry. I should've done this earlier."

She cradled his face in her hands and pulled him down to her face, gently kissing him. River's eyes widened for a second, and then he closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around Hypatia and winding his fingers in her hair. After so many years, after all that had happened, she still loved him.

She loved him.