Two Tails, One Rotten Heart

A new discovery

Living in the ocean made one accustomed to the silence. It was only above the water that the sea was loud and reckless slamming against the stones or crashing upon itself if there was a storm. As Nala lay in bed she was enjoying the quiet until a loud snore interrupted and Nala sighed before turning her head to see Asherah emitting another loud snore with her mouth hanging slightly open. How does Cari put up with this every night? As much as Nala appreciated the two girls staying with her the whole night it was now getting uncomfortable with the snores and Cari breathing directly into her ear. She shifted her weight slightly testing out the pain in her back, it was more of a dull pain now and although it still hurt she needed to get out of this bed. Nala moved onto her back slowly, moved Cari's arm, detangled her fingers from Ash's hair and slithered her tail out from under the other girls before getting out of the bed. Cari and Ash curled into each other but didn't wake up which Nala was grateful for as she started to move out of the room.

She didn't make it very far, only to the hallway before she had to stop and catch her breathe. It had never occurred to her how many back muscles sirens used to swim around. Nala felt as she did her first day in Atla when she could barely use her tail but she kept swimming slowly. It was too early for anyone to be up and Atla was silent and empty as Nala made her way through the city and then away from it. The seaweed garden was as beautiful and mysterious as ever, the large strands stretching up to the surface and so packed together you could never guess what you would find in there, perhaps a lost sister. Nala made it to the clearing where she had last seen Ula before collapsing against a rock. The pain in her back was much worse than before and now felt like more of a stabbing sensation forcing Nala to rest for a couple of minutes. She wanted to pull herself together less Ula find her near dying on this rock that was if her sister came. In Nala's mind Ula came here once a day waiting for her sister to stop being so stubborn, ready to apologize for that stupid fight but the minutes turned into an hour maybe two and no one came.

Nala forced herself up and didn't hesitate before silently moving through the seaweed again in the direction Ula always took after turning away from her. She could practically see her sisters black and white tail bidding her to follow. Nala knew it was stupid and the warrior in her trained by Ash herself was snarling in her head to turn back. If she came across any mermaids she would be in no condition to fight. I'll just look, that's all. I won't actually leave the garden, the seaweed will hide me. It'll be fine. Despite her inner mantra Nala wondered if the sirens, if Cari, would go to war if Nala ended up dead or at the mercy of the mermaids. The seaweed garden came to an end and Nala paused still hidden by the stalks. She didn't see another city or even a town just an empty plain full of sand. Ula was not here.

She waited there and waited somewhere but no city magically appeared and no sister either. Nala wasn't sure what she was expecting, maybe she should come back at a different time, maybe she had missed Ula but she didn't think so. More than likely Ula was not coming and maybe Ula wasn't the one who needed to apologize... Nala was ready to turn back but something caught her eye. She withdrew further into the garden tense and ready to fight if needed. Up ahead, swimming up towards the surface was a figure, it couldn't be a siren. They moved in packs if they were going up to the surface and Nala could see the fangs and claws from here. No, it had to be a mermaid and a foolish one to go so near above. Light from the sun caught and reflected off the mermaid and Nala could suddenly see the black and white of her tail...could it be? Nala wasn't even aware of moving but she was swimming again following the girl as she skimmed the surface before diving down again and continuing forward. She wasn't sure how long she followed but the girl came to a stop just floating there before moving more carefully between rocks and the shallow water here. Nala followed her towards an outcrop of rocks that looked...familiar.

Letting the mermaid go on ahead Nala took a risk and stuck her head out. The smells hit her first. The smell of people and their sweat, fishes, bakeries, the smell of sunlight and grass. The sun was shining and it was so bright it was a couple of seconds before Nala grew used to the blinding sensation and was able to actually see. See the boats that bobbed near the docks and hear the men yelling orders and the people yelling in the market. It was almost exactly the same image as when she and Ula went into the market. Their old town. Why would Ula come here? Those rocks looked familiar because Nala saw them from their cliff and probably saw them after the sirens saved her from drowning. Nala wanted to destroy it. The whole town. She wanted to strip it of everything important and drown the people until no one remembered this waste of space. She let a growl escape her before sinking back down and following the path of the mermaid who may or may not be her idiot sister.