Water

Wave Twenty Four

Forced to follow her team at breakneck speed through the network of tunnels, Leira panted as they passed through the anteroom and into the main chamber. Hundreds of eyes turned to face her as she swam into the cavern – her tail marked her as alien amongst the sea of red ones. But she didn’t have time to worry about that; Leira nearly crumbled at the noise that filled her mind. She brought her hands to her head and tried to squint through the sounds that were taking over.

          There were so many them, all of them thoughts, projected into her mind at once. Although used to the underlying whirr of contact with the Herd in her mind, this was something else. The Guardians encouraged silence and isolated thoughts. Here, everyone was connected and projecting aloud. To Leira, it was chaos. Hali looked at her thunderously, so she hesitantly removed her fingers from her ears. It was almost too much to bear.

          Almost all of the Scouts were gathered, relaxing before they left upon a fresh current. As her eyes swept the giant chamber, Leira saw several sandbasins dotted around the perimeter – all of them in use. Many other Scouts were fussing over the shells and pearls they wore as ornaments. They all bore far more decoration than the Guardians, trinkets gained from their travels. Others were changing the bindings in their hair. Some were simply lounging on the large rocks scattered throughout the hall, and Leira saw several younger Scouts darting in between the mass of tails, playing chase.

          Lowering her eyes to the seabed, she tried to shrink against Hali as they passed through the cavern. Hali made no sign to acknowledge Leira, but didn’t move away from her either. As they wove through the array of tails, she began to pick up snatches of individual thoughts, rather than the blur of noise that had her greeted her before.
(-seen her tail?)
(We heard she failed-)
(We heard she killed someone-)
(Darya insisted that we-)
(-isn’t happy about it. Nor is Kai, but he-)
(-fail soon enough, and then we think-)
(-eel sorry for the ones who have to train with her.)

          Leira risked a sidelong glance at Hali after this last snippet. Hali lifted her chin and arched an eyebrow in the direction of the Mer who’d projected it. The Mer glanced back unapologetically, then returned to his conversation. Leira couldn’t hear anything further from him though, and realised he was projecting in much quieter tones.  She could still sense him if she wanted to, but he was easier to tune out.

          Desperately trying to follow Firth’s orders and remain connected, Leira experimented. It wasn’t the same as being a Guardian. Guardians could completely cut off from the Herd and experience silence. They could project thoughts easily inside another Mer’s mind without being overheard. But she discovered she could remain connected to the whole Herd, the Scout clan, and her team, all on different frequencies, yet still hear her own thoughts. Not having to listen to all of them at once instantly relieved her. Besides, she reasoned, if she really wanted to, she could disconnect entirely – but she wasn’t sure how Firth would react if she kept that up. It wasn’t Scout behaviour.

          After an eternity, they reached the end of the main chamber and escaped into the waters outside. Leira noticed Hali went first, followed by Tal, then Nerida. Then her. It didn’t take a genius to figure out the chain of command in this team.

          Following Hali’s lead, Leira found herself darting along a well-lit passageway that led beyond the Citadel’s wall. The sharp, rocky wall had been installed to give the Mer a sense of boundary, and ownership. Leira felt a small thrill shoot through her as they passed beyond it and out into open waters.

          Kai was waiting for them. He unshouldered a seal-hide bag and a rare smile cracked his cheeks as Leira projected her astonishment at such an unusual piece. He felt her next thought too, full of wonder and curiosity. Had he been up -
(No, Guardian, we haven’t been up to the Surface. And neither will you. A shark dragged this seal far below, to the depths. We…intercepted it. Got a Weaver to make us the bag and used the seal flesh to treat it.)

          Kai paused, then thrust his arm into the bag. He pulled out three simple wristpieces – each was a small shell, bound with strips of seaweed. They were nothing like the ornate piece he wore on his own wrist. His was made from a clam shell, so it could be snapped shut whenever he desired.

          Leira secured the piece to her wrist then held out her arm, like the others. Kai reached back into his bag and drew out four small orbs of Source light. They were glowing brightly with white light. He placed one orb onto each of their wrists and Leira felt a small rush of power as hers clicked into place. Her orb flickered as Kai roared thunderously:
(No, fool! Don’t draw on it! Leave the energy in the orb – it’s to power the light!)

          Leira flinched as the others chuckled at her in bewilderment. Had she drawn on it? She hadn’t meant to – nevertheless some of the energy from the orb had definitely flowed into her. But she’d used wristpieces thousands of times and that hadn’t happened before.
(Did the Guardians teach you nothing?) Kai continued angrily, a strand of black hair breaking free from its binding as he shook his head. (Let us simplify things for you.)
He projected his thoughts slowly and mockingly, as though communicating with a young one.
(We are Mer. We live in a herd. The Herd draws upon Source energy to live, to think, to create, to light. The Sources we have are hidden, guarded apparently.) Kai emphasised the word guarded. Leira winced. She knew all this – they all did. But Kai continued scornfully.
(As long as we stay within the Citadel’s limits, we can easily draw on the Sources. If we have to travel away from the Nest, we take some Source energy with us to light the way.) He held up his wrist to demonstrate his glowing orb. (We can survive away from a Source for several tides, as long as we make it back to the Nest in time without DRAWING ON OUR BLOODY WRIST-LIGHTS!)

          At this, her three teammates rocked forward in silent laughter, their tails bumping as they swished with mirth. Leira felt hot tears forming in her eyes and she dashed them away with the heel of her hand.
(I didn’t do it on purpose!) she snapped back angrily.
Kai raised a grizzled eyebrow at her.
(So the Guardians really did teach you nothing then. Least of all manners.)

          Leira began to snarl at Kai, but he caught her wrist and the action threw her.
(Rule One, Guardian. You don’t project at us, unless we tell you to.) Still gripping her wrist, Kai drew her close to him through the water. Their faces were almost touching. He snarled and a blast of bubbles escaped his lips. A strange emotion flashed across his eyes and Leira averted her own to avoid the challenge. The others were silent, watching the exchange with shocked faces.

(Come,) Kai grunted at them. They followed in silence as he led them further away from the Nest, into the darker waters.