Wings of Fire Ship Stories. (ON HOLD FOR NOW)

Ripnami

     I dove into the warm water, feeling the bubbles that rose up from my scales. My wings ached, my back ached, my talons ached, my tail ached.  My whole body ached.  But it would be worth it, to see Riptide.  I closed my eyes for a moment, feeling the water seep between my aching scales, easing the pain a little.

     Suddenly, a bright light flared through my closed eyelids.  My eyes opened instantly to see Riptide flashing his scales at me.  "I'm glad you decided to come." He flashed, grinning.  "I was supposed to meet you at the island, squid-brain." I flashed back, looking down my nose at him like Mother sometimes did.  

     "The island's still a day's flight away, and I can tell you're exhausted."  He flashed back, a concerned look crossing his snout.  I sighed, exhaling a swirl of bubbles.  No one had ever been able to read me as well as Riptide.  Even Sunny  couldn't have guessed that my brain was woozy from exhaustion, and yet Riptide had revealed that information in less than thirty seconds. 

     "Fine, squid brain. And may I ask how did you come to that conclusion?" I flashed at him.  He shrugged.  "I can just tell."   He flashed slowly.  "Come over to my cave for  dinner?"  Riptide asked me.  I nodded, too tiered to flash anything.  "Than come on, you jellyfish!"  Riptide flashed, grinning, as he swam  towards his home. 

*     *     *

     By the time we arrived at Riptide's cave, my brain felt like it was swimming through honey.  "Um... exactly when was the last time you slept?" He asked, worried.  "Uh..."my head lolled a little as I tried to remember.  "A week ago? I think?" I said. Riptide's jaw dropped. "A week ago?!  How- why?" He asked, looking at me, surprise and terror warring on his face.  

    "I was too excited." I said simply. Riptide grinned.  "Oh, I see. Did you miss your favorite squid brain?" He asked, teasing.  I nodded. "Yes, I did. I don't see you very frequently these days." I said, holding back a yawn.  If I yawned, Riptide would be sure to send me straight to bed.  Though, maybe that wouldn't be so bad.  I couldn't hold it back anymore and the yawn escaped my snout. "Someone's tired."  Riptide said.  I sighed. Of course I was tired.

      "Here, I'll take you to the bedroom." Said Riptide, touching my talon.  I nodded, too exhausted to say anything.  Riptide half led, half dragged me through the tunnels to a fairly large cave with a wide bed of wet seaweed on the stone floor.  I wobbled over to the bed and flopped down on it, closing my eyes. After a moment, I felt Riptide settle down in the bed beside me.  I was surprised, but I didn't react.  I was way too exhausted for that.

*     *    *    

      I woke up what must have been a few hours later, much less tired than I had been.  Riptide was laying next to me, and my tail was twined with his.  He was awake. I blushed.  "Have you not had better things to do than this?" I asked gesturing to our blushing faces and twining tails. "Nah." He said. "I prefer sleeping here with you."  

      I blushed harder.  "Squid-brain." I flashed with my tail stripe.  Even though our tails were tightly twined together, he understood the message and grinned.  He nudged my side. "That's no way to treat your host."  Riptide said in a mock lordly voice.  I laughed.  He sat up. 

     "Aww, do you have to go already?" I asked, not trying to hide my disappointment. "No." Riptide answered, grinning, but his face was worried.  I sat up across from him on the bed.  

     "Tsunami." He said, his voice serious.  "Yes?" I asked, tilting my head curiously.  "I guess I knew it all along..." he said, his voice trailing off.  "What?" I asked, confused. Riptide looked worried and... nervous? What was wrong?

     "I love you, Tsunami."  He said, looking me in the eyes.  "Riptide." I said, carefully watching for his reaction.  "I love you too." He smiled weakly. "That's a relief." He said, joking.  He leaned forward. So did I.  And he kissed me. I kissed him. I didn't care what mother thought.

     When we pulled away, he was smiling.  I was, too. "What is your mother going to say about this?" Riptide wondered.  "I don't know. Probably something along the lines of: 'Tsunami! How could you! He's a mere peasant! You're grounded for the next century!" I joked. He laughed,  our eyes meeting. "Squid-brain." We flashed at the same time.