Water

Wave Fifty Six

Reeling, Leira sped across the space between them. As she got closer, she realised her mistake. From a distance, the Mer looked exactly like her mother. Closer, she could see she was looking at another version of herself. Instead of Sirene’s deep golden hair, the Mer had dark brown hair and eyes, and proud high cheekbones, like Leira’s. Her tail was a deep amethyst colour which highlighted her pale delicate skin. Pearls and gems were strung around her body, and shells dangled from her ears.
         
(It’s true then.) The mirror-Leira projected in the same light tone as Sirene. Leira scrunched her eyes, confused.
(How, how can this be?) Leira’s projection sounded thick with emotion.
Hali joined them and looked suspiciously from Leira to the other Mer.
(Guardian.) Her thought was laced with suspicion. (Did you know abou-)
Leira rushed to reply. (No, Hali. I swear. I don’t know who she is.) She turned to the Mer.
(Who are you? What’s your name?) The Mer looked at her as though trying to process her words. She scratched her head absently while she formed her reply.
(We’ve no names here.)Leira blinked in surprise. No names? How could that be?
(Where are you from? How did you get here? Are you my-)
(Hatchmate?) The Mer finished her thought. (She thinks I must be,) she thought simply, nodding toward the Mer who’d led them to the nest.
(But how are you here?) Leira demanded.
(This herd found me a long time ago, caught in a current. Must’ve swept me from our hatching site. They brought me here.)
(And you can connect with them?)
(In a way. I sense them. Their thoughts aren’t quick, like yours. Your mind is full of worries, and your thoughts dart at me like fish. Theirs are slow and full of peace.) She rubbed a hand across her forehead, and Leira guessed their conversation was painful for her. She tried to slow her thoughts down, but she had so many questions.
(When did your herd build this, erm, nest?)
The Mer looked at Leira, confused. (We didn’t build it. We found it.)
It was Leira’s turn to look confused. Herds didn’t just find nests – they created them. Trying to find some common ground, she gestured to the precious gems scattered across the Mer’s tail.
(Pretty.)
         
At this, the Mer’s face lit up. She twirled to show Leira the full effect of her decorations and Leira smiled appreciatively. A few of the other Surface Mer noticed Leira’s reaction, and they sidled over, wanting to show off their own ornaments. Soon the four friends were surrounded by the ragged, wild Mer – all of them brandishing their decorations. Leira herself sagged under the weight of strings of pearls they looped around her neck and shoulders. Shells - turned into rings - were pushed onto her fingers. Precious stones, worn smooth by sand, were pressed into her tail. Looking up, she saw Hali, Nerida and Tal had received the same treatment. Hali looked far from impressed at her impromptu makeover, and flicked her tail in agitation. So studded was it with jewels, that it glimmered beautifully in the light – the jewels offset her red scales perfectly – and the Surface Mer chuckled with delight. Giving in, Hali allowed herself a small smile. She trailed the Surface Mer with Leira and the others, as Leira’s hatchmate led them to a peaceful section of the lagoon. Leira didn’t take her eyes off her sibling as they swam. She couldn’t believe another piece of Sirene and Eli existed.
         
Large slabs of rock extended from the ocean, and the Mer dragged themselves onto them. They lay upon the surfaces, sunning themselves in the gentle breeze, as waves lapped at their tails. Leira wondered idly whether any of the Surface Mer worked. She supposed not, judging by the state of disrepair their nest was in. Still, she couldn’t help envying their lifestyle. Hali was apparently thinking the same thing. She looked over to Leira from the rock she was reclining on, and projected serenely,
(They must have a great number of Sources here, if all they do is lie around all day, draped in riches.) Leira nodded to show she’d heard. The same thought had occurred to her. She knew where Hali’s thoughts were taking her. She was wondering if this herd could spare a Source. The thought seemed wild to Leira – Sources were so precious. But this herd had welcomed them with open arms. Perhaps if they could convince their own Herd to relocate up here, they’d be welcomed too. There was clearly more than enough to go around. 
         
Leira watched as Tal tried to project to some of the Surface Mer. He thought slowly and carefully.
(You’re so lucky to live here!)
The Mer closest to him jumped at the volume of his thought, then turned to gaze at him blankly. Leira could sense one of them begin to slowly project thoughts of contentment at Tal’s compliment. He didn’t notice, and shrugged to Nerida as he settled back onto his rock, muttering.
         
A horn sounded and the Mer looked toward it before diving back into the water. It was some sort of signal for them. A Surface Mer grabbed Leira’s hand and pulled her toward their nest. Leira shot a look at Hali, who nudged Tal and Nerida. They shadowed Leira, keeping close. Leira’s hatchmate led them through the decaying nest. Passing through crumbling caverns, and peeling walls, Leira noticed all of them had holes in their ceilings to allow the light from the Surface to drift in. Using natural light must conserve so much Source energy, she thought. She wondered how many Sources they had. Before she could ask, they passed a large pit in the seabed. Two Mer were inside it; only their heads and shoulders were above the ground. Leira wondered what they were doing. The sour tang of ammonia drifted to her on the current and she scrunched her nose in disgust. She saw similar looks on her friends’ faces, but the Surface Mer didn’t notice. She kept swimming as though everything was normal, eager to reach the cause of the horn.
         
They swam across the lagoon until they were at the far end of it. Streaming through a gap in the rocks was a shoal of hogfish. Their orange scales gleamed and their long snouts moved rapidly as they snuffled along the seabed. Nerida laughed at the sight of them, unused to seeing the colourful creatures of the shallows. The other Mer who lived in the nest all crowded round the shoal. Leira wondered why.
         
Without warning, one of the Surface Mer drew a spear from behind his back and plunged it into the nearest hogfish. It squealed and struggled against the weight of the spear that pinned it to the seabed. Blood flowed from it, sending the rest of the hogfish into a frenzy. Before the shoal could scatter, several other Mer joined the fray, pinning hogfish with spears. Another Mer swam amongst them carrying a rock. He used it to strike the heads of the struggling hogfish, killing them instantly. Horrified, Leira could only watch as the violence unfolded. Her hatchmate watched too. She was smiling.
         
(We eat well here,) she thought brightly to Leira.
(Eat? You mean you…) Leira’s thought trailed off. The truth began to swell within her. Back in her Herd, they didn’t need food. The Sources sustained them. She turned to her hatchmate.
(How many Sources do you have here? For your herd?) Leira watched as the other Mer wrinkled her brow.
(Sources? No, we have no Sources.)
(So, this nest, it didn’t have Sources in it when you found it?) Leira was certain she knew the answer, but she asked anyway.
(No,) came the proud reply. (The herd who made it had run out. They wasted away. They couldn’t adapt, like us. We’re free from all that.) Leira considered this for a few moments. She watched as the Surface Mer rounded on the corpses of the hogfish, and began to tear chunks of flesh from them. They stuffed them greedily into their mouths, blood and oil running from their lips. Hali, Tal and Nerida watched on in silence. A small tear ran down Nerida’s cheek, and her lip trembled as she struggled to keep her composure.
         
(Don’t you worry about other herds coming here? To steal from you? Shouldn’t you live further down?) Leira asked.
(What could they possibly take? We’ve no Sources to steal. Besides, the fish down below are ugly and quick to get away. Up here, the fish are slow. It’s warm. We have light on our skin and pearls to wear. None of that down below. How would we ever survive?)
They didn’t seem that free after all, Leira thought.