Rough Waters [ Armageddon x WhiteLily ]

Armageddon

Armageddon

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The freedom was always a wonderful feeling.


It was undeniable for any merperson to not feel jubilant and light-hearted when swimming freely about the seas. The independence, the feeling of being freed from any bindings or regulations, was a beautiful feeling that Oricon was far more than happy to embrace and keep close. Even with his size, he loved to pump through the water quickly, with the sea life flying past him in colorful blurs. It was a feeling that a human could never fully find, unless they were to skydive, or bungee jump, or complete an arduous, excitable feat. It pumped adrenaline through his body just as much as it pumped the feeling of freedom through.


Usually, Oricon would just travel and travel, catch what he needed to sustain himself on the way, maybe settle down in a location for a few nights and allow himself some peace of mind and rejuvenation from a few day's swimming. The merman loved to explore and find unique places, and it felt as though every portion he had swam through seemed to carry it's own extraordinary features that were special to it's spot. Many other merpeople and humans alike were smart as to not mess with a beast such as himself, so finding trouble along the way was rather rare.


The time was nearing to sunset now; the clouds were melting into beautiful colors along the horizon, pinks, oranges, yellows, and although the sun wasn't quite resting on the horizon, it was slowly, slowly nearing, the colors beautifying and accentuating in their vibrancy with each lower dip that the sun made. Every so often, when Oricon would come to the surface for air, he'd take a moment to gaze at the colors wondrously. Sunsets, though common, were always a sight to witness for the easily-fascinated creature, and he felt the serenity and beauty the sunset invoked balance with the rushing adrenaline from his swimming. He'd be searching for a place to settle down soon, considering it'd been perhaps four days since he'd properly rested, and the view of the sunset convinced him further to find a carefully distanced place to rest from the humans. Though he didn't bring harm to them, they would likely bring harm to him if they had a chance, and he didn't want to take that chance.


But all-in-all, the day seemed rather . . . pleasant. Threats were low, and the lovely rush he had received from his swimming was now starting to make him lightly drowsy. He'd be starting his search soon, after he swam for a small stretch more. His swimming had become slower, calmer, as he took in the new underwater scenery, occasionally coming up and breaking the surface of the water to get air.


As he continued his path, he came across a spot in the ocean that seemed more serene than what he had previously experienced. Quieter, less bustling with busy sea life. His gaze swept about the underwater scenery before his head tilted back up, squinting as he observed the surface of the water instinctively.


It was when his gaze suddenly caught on something and froze that he noticed there was a difference.


He blinked once when he noticed a foreign shape causing light ripples in the water at the surface. His squinted eyes widened in surprise, the odd shape instantly triggering that reckless curiosity of his. Though his sensible side attempted to hold him back, he quickly shook it off in a familiar urge to discover and quench his curiosities. He couldn't simply continue without putting this inquisitiveness to rest. It was second nature for him to want to find out, and he was intent on doing so.


With a small, wistful grin, he began a slow ascent towards the side of the object, fascinated, remaining as quiet as he could in fear it'd suddenly scurry across the water and away by the waving of his tail, despite the object being so still.


[ @WhiteLily ]
 
The tears had long stopped and dried in Angel's eyes, but their tracks had made their marks on her sun tanned face and her blue eyes were still puffy and red like she had just swum for hours. The young woman, laying in the bottom of the boat, alone in the middle of the ocean, had taken solace in the silence and allowed herself to release the pain, anger, and hurt she had kept bottled up inside for weeks. Angel had always been known to be sensitive, but seeing the people around her crying and hurting, Angel had put aside her own feelings to tend to those around her. Now, though, she was allowed to feel for the first time since her father had died. Looking up at the sunset colored sky, Angel had realized she had needed the catharsis and felt better. Not good, not okay, but better.


Sighing and sitting up, Angel winced at the pounding headache that raged in her head. Moving to the back of the small speedboat that had belonged to her father, and now was hers, Angel crouched at the open back, dipping her hands into the cool salt water and bringing a handful up to splash her face with. The boat was specifically designed for divers, with an upper deck for the cabin and small lounging area, lots of storage for gear and supplies and a hard top cover to keep the sun off the divers. The lower deck had a small galley, head, and two bunks. The back of the boat was open to the water, easy access for jumping on and off. Angel had rarely bothered using the proper method of getting off the boat, preferring to leap from the much higher bow.


Now though, Angel just stared into the watery depths, remembering her free dives with her father. The man had been her inspiration and coach, always encouraging and pushing his daughter to do and be better. Who would do that for her now? Laying on her stomach and letting her hands dangle in the water, the sea lapping up onto the deck and getting the girl wet. Angel knew she should be heading back to shore, but she didn't feel like it, slowly convincing herself to stay overnight on the water. She still had enough gas to get back to the dock in the morning, and there was food in the galley. It was dangerous to be out so far alone, but Angel needed to be alone for now. Sighing again, Angel let her head fall onto her arms, wanting to forget about everything for now.


((Woot! Got three!))
 
As Oricon neared the object, he suddenly slowed to a stop when another set of ripples began appearing. He narrowed in his vision, and found something wading lazily through the water, coming from the side of the object. It obviously wasn't a fish; it looked connected to something above rather than alone and fully submerged. This stoked the flame of curiosity higher, his head doing a gentle tilt to the side for a brief moment. The object lapped at the surface for only a moment, causing a wider ripple to wave across the surface as it scooped upwards and disappeared back onto the larger object. Peculiar. There was no going back now - whatever this thing was was just begging for him to take a look, and he swallowed as he began a slow ascent up once more, keeping his lapping tail steady.


The silhouette was becoming clearer to his sight as he approached. He examined the smooth white surface that was now coming into a better view, and as he studied it further, he came to a conclusion that the object was in fact one of those human contraptions forged to be out on the seas without swimming - a boat. The name evoked a sense of nostalgia from him for but a small moment. He remembered the odd little tales and scary stories told about boats when he was a youngling. It was silly, now that he thought back on it, to ever have believed such fantastical stories. He only remained with this feeling dwelling in his mind for a few seconds before he pulled himself back into his fascinated concentration again. This is no time for dilly-dallying with childhood stories, Oricon!


He finally reached close enough to touch the bottom, and stared up at it for a moment, eyes flaring. He allowed one of his arms to rise only very slightly to put a soft touch on the bottom, finding the surface to be as smooth as it had appeared. From what he had been told, boats usually contained humans on them. Hm. So does that mean . . . He suddenly felt his heart quicken with anticipation. There's human on this contraption? He pulled his arm back down, his head tilting around and his tail doing a small lap to the side. The edge of the boat was now visible, and he saw something among the rippling view. Something was resting on the edge of it. Could it really be? . . .


Oricon felt the curiosity start pulling him upwards. He hadn't encountered a human in a while, not so closely. What an interesting opportunity this was. Carefully, he neared just a bit more towards the edge of the boat and began his ascent up, his head breaking the surface of the water, yet remaining slightly hidden. After a deep, quiet breath of preparation, he allowed himself to rise higher.


The merman, rather than rising fully, allowed himself to peek up over the side of the boat, realizing that he was only a few feet away from a human figure who had their head rested against the boat's edge, face obscured. Golden eyes warmed inquisitively. The human's hair was black, splayed around in locks, and it's skin was tan. And, of course, the human was rather small in comparison to his size - he could carry them far too easily in only one of his hands if he wanted to. That's all he could really get from the position the human was in. It was so enthralling to be so close, though. He could touch the human if he wanted to. Though he knew that they frightened easily, especially when confronted by something far larger and potentially more dangerous than themselves. So, Oricon simply allowed nothing but his nose and above to show visibly, unsure why the human was in the position they were in. Usually, they walked on their two legs, right? Stood up straight? Why was she obscuring her face from the world? She'd miss the pretty sunset if she did that. He felt like saying something, asking her why, yet resisted, his cautiousness kicking in again. His mouth became a slight frown.
 
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Angel's heart longed to dive into the water and feel the coolness cover her skin again. It was her true love, the ocean. Diving in it to depths people should never be able without the use of an air tank, there was a danger there that gave Angel such a thrill. Finally after a few minutes of laying there and composing herself, Angel finally sat up, flicking the excess water off her hands before rubbing them on her shorts. Looking out over the sea, the sunset just touching the horizon now, Angel let herself smile. This was her favorite time, when the sky and earth touched and reflected one another like two perfect paintings merged into one. Putting her hands on her hips, Angel let herself soak in the beauty for another moment then turned to go into the cabin, then she paused her eyes frozen on a human face, very large human face. Her mouth dropped open and she staggered back until she hit the other side of the boat,


"Oh my God, oh my God!" Angel was freaking out, her voice high pitched as her very blue eyes met warm gold ones. The young woman had heard of merpeople, had known they existed, but she had never seen one in person before and never this close. The merperson, Angel couldn't tell if it was a male or a female from just the nose up, was MASSIVE and not at all what she had imagined they would look like.


"Who are you?" She managed to ask, her voice tight and high with fear, her hands gripped the side of the boat. What if there were more of these giant merpeople? What if her boat were surrounded and they didn't want her here? They could easily tip her boat and drag Angel down into her ocean to drown, "If you want me to leave, I will." She said, her voice shaking.
 
Oricon watched the human rise from it's position, and was then able to classify that the human was a female. The body type wasn't masculine enough, and it held curves to it rather than the flatter areas of a male. He blinked once, observing as the female human turned her gaze towards the sunset. Oh, there we go. There didn't seem to be a need to tell her that she'd be missing it anymore - from the soft smile on her lips, he knew that she had already taken notice of it, and thought of it as beautiful, just as he did. It made his own concerned expression soften back into something peaceful, yet continuously curious towards the antics of this female. She seemed to struggle to rip her eyes from the sunset as she began to turn, but before he could submerge and hide himself from view, her gaze froze on him. Her eyes were fascinating. They were the iciest blue he had ever come across.


But unfortunately, not all was remaining calm for the female as her expression became frightfully awe-struck. In her shock, she stumbled back away from where he was, and he suddenly felt his gaze brighten with another emotion of confusion. Why is she backing away with such terror in her steps? One eyebrow rose inquisitively. He felt a notion of both intrigue and surprise appear when the female human began speaking quickly and shakily, her voice risen to a high pitch. It was then that he actually realized that he probably didn't seem as harmless as he usually acted. His expression drooped slightly, his head rising just a tad. No, don't be scared, I'm not bad. He wanted to speak, but was now cautious on scaring the girl any further.


She spoke again, her tone slightly calmed, yet still trembling quite a bit, obviously in the fright that had been in her walk. She asked him who he was, and after a beat of silence, offered something that brought an onslaught of surprise into his mind:


'If you want me to leave, I will.'


Oricon felt his features become matching to his emotions of surprise as the silence ensued. Leave? No, what a silly thought, why would he want her to leave? He blinked once and rose himself up a little further to view, his mouth coming into her range of vision, which was set into a soft frown, waiting for a pause of silence before parting his lips to signal he was about to speak, as to not make her jump. His voice was deep, brewing with confusion and a pinch of anxiety as he responded:


" . . . N-no. No, no, don't leave."


He let another beat of silence ensue. He had no idea if the human would calm down when hearing his voice and it's complete lack of hostile intentions, more so desperation in his tone, actually, but sure hoped. He swallowed and spoke again, keeping his tone of voice rather quiet:


" . . . I didn't mean to scare you, I'm sorry."


He rose a tad higher, his neck coming into view. He at first had felt like backing away, but the female human seemed to have done that job herself. His expression held undertones of the guilt that was dwelling in his gut. In all honesty, scaring her was the least he wanted to do, but that seemed to happen with any human he chanced upon. He kept himself where he was, his curiosity urging him to approach further, but his guilt and sensible mind making sure to keep him where he was.
 
This was quite possibly the single most terrifying moment of Angel's life, more so than the time she was caught in a rip current, but this was a different type of fear. It was one that Angel knew she had to respect. The merman, it was a man she could see now, was huge and could very easily get angry for whatever reason and Angel would cease to exist. What surprised her the most though was the girl half expected him to make the squeaks and clicks of whales and dolphins, but instead he spoke calmly and in a low tone. He didn't want her to leave and he seemed genuine, but his eyes caught Angel's attention the most. They were so expressive and warm, just like the golden sun that was shining over both of them. Loosening her grip on the side of the boat, Angel cleared her throat, trying to sound more normal and not so scared out of her mind. She also realized she'd been staring at the merman for a very long time,


"Sorry,"


Angel said, shoving her shaking hands into her pockets and dropping her gaze to the floor of the boat,


"I've never met a merperson before... I... I don't know what to think right now, except..."


Angel looked up at the merman, her own curiosity bubbling to to the surface and taking over.


"How do you know English?"


The question popped out of Angel's mouth before she could stop herself and she blushed, looking down again,


"Sorry, that was rude. You don't have to answer that if you don't want to."
 
Hm. The human seemed to hold a spark of fascination, only passing through the icy orbs of her irises momentarily as she kept her gaze trained directly onto his own gold pools. His expression lifted slightly from it's saddened state to make room for the returning intrigue. The intrigue of a human was so similar to that of a merperson; her curiosity invoked more curiosity out of him, a rather silly statement in his head that he could have chuckled at. Luckily, she seemed to be regaining control of her fear and began settling down, which also brought a creeping sense of calm back to Oricon in unison. She let her grasp on the edge of the boat relax, and stood back up slowly, clearing her throat to speak.


She apologized to him, something that made a smile threaten on his face. He managed to resist, allowing her to speak again and explain she'd never encountered one of his kind before. Well, many humans haven't, his mind replied without sound. It was very rare to encounter any type of merperson, especially his kind, which were the rarer of the species. His tail did a small flick underwater when she paused for a moment, glancing up at him and asking him probably one of the most amusing questions he had ever been asked.


Now he simply couldn't contain the smile that pulled the corners of his lips up, watching her suddenly look back down and mumble an apology with a tone of embarrassment.


The chuckle that he was holding back slipped out, rumbling in his throat. He responded to her question with the amusement showing partially in his voice:


"We have to know English in order to communicate with humans, so we're taught it as children."


After a beat of silence passed, he allowed the small smile on his face to fade slightly in thought as he tacked on an ending piece:


" . . . But we do have our native tongue. We use them both about equally. English for verbal communication, Orca for commands and beckons."


Questions were fun for him. They were fun to ask and extremely fun to answer. He didn't realize it might come as somewhat of a surprise with such a willing response, and probably wouldn't realize that any time soon.
 
"That's why you're so big, you're an Orca!" Angel gasped, taking a step forward and letting her hands fall out of her pockets, suddenly eager and curious. It was contagious, feeding itself with every moment in the merman's presence. Sure, this Orca-man was huge and intimidating, but his smile made his entire face warm up, except for the glint of sharp teeth. Angel made a mental note to avoid those, she knew what they could do to muscle. Orcas were Angel's very favorite type of marine mammal, their dangerous beauty was intriguing to the young woman who had fallen in love with them when she had first sighted a pod years ago on a trip in Alaska. It seemed this girl had a craving for beautiful danger, wanting to capture it for even a moment so that she may relive it, while also knowing that her life could be taken at any moment if she were to slip up even once.


"But why are you so far South? Don't..." She asked, walking forward again so she was in the middle of the deck now, rather than pressed as far away as she could get, but Angel stopped her line of questioning and smiled sheepishly,


"Sorry, I just... I've wanted to meet a merperson for so long, and to meet one here, at this time... It's just kind of wonderful," Angel said with a brighter smile and a shrug before putting her hands in her pockets again and looking up.


"Hold on a moment," She said and hurried around the boat, climbing onto the bow and out in the open so that nothing was between her, the sun, ocean, and the merman. Standing there, Angel would be able to see the merman without the overhang obstructing anything. Her bare feet expertly gripped the water slicked fiberglass as she smiled at the merman,


"There, now we can see one another better. I'm Evangeline by the way, you can call me Angel."
 
The fascination made itself all too apparent in her tone of voice, the awe of intrigue making his heart swell with a bit of pride. She moved closer towards him, and he let his eyes light up further. That expression of hers pulled him in. Her piercing eyes wide, softened with her interest; just the awe-stricken detail in her face made him smile a bit more. He felt like getting closer himself, but once again resisted. With his size and hers, he'd have to be very gentle with whatever he did. He also seemed to only just now start gaining a pinch of trust, and he wouldn't want to break that by making a move she could possibly see as threatening.


He caught on to her question before she even finished it, and went into a state of thoughtfulness once more as he attempted to pick out an answer to it. But before he could respond, she excused the question, speaking of how she had always wanted to meet a merperson, and how this was such a wonderful moment for her. His tail did another small flick underwater in a sense of delight. He had no idea that he was fulfilling the wish of a human until now, and seeing her own joy about it made him quite happy inside for unknown reasons.


She asked him to hold on a moment and went around to one of the sides of the boat, climbing up onto the slippery-looking front and getting even closer to him by doing so, his view of her now unobstructed. Now it was true that he could touch her if he felt like it, but most likely wouldn't with his sensibility keeping him in line. She stood, his view of her still somewhat underneath her, and to fix that, he rose himself up further out of the water to about eye level with her. He noticed that she seemed rather short anyways, in comparison to some humans he had seen, so it didn't take too much for him to get to eye level. The merman allowed his expression to become calculating once more, studying her with that insatiable fascination of his. She looked healthy, and tan, as he had previously ruled. His gaze went from her feet to her face as he spoke to him again, announcing her name - Evangeline.


Evangeline.


He whispered it under his breath. He hadn't heard such a name from another human. It rolled off of his tongue nicely. The name only heightened his intrigue. She gave him an alternative nickname as well, Angel. Immediately, he was reminded him of the angelfish merpeople, a race in his species that possessed stunning colors and patterns in their lower halves, a peacemaking race, for the most part. Her eyes reminded him of that vibrancy that the race attained. His voice was wistful as he spoke again, his tone soft and tinged with wonder, "Angel." He did a crooked grin. "That's quite a nice name, Angel." He matched that to his own name mentally and felt his mind do a dip in mood. His wasn't nearly as beautiful, showing more strength and power than anything else. But, out of courtesy, he decided to give her his own name.


"Well, Angel, I am Oricon the Third, of the Northeastern waters. But," he thought for a moment, "there's no need to say that all, just Oricon or Ori is fine." The merman did a smaller smile, his shoulders lifting and dropping in a shrug as he spoke of his nicknames. He had decided that if she gave him an alternative, he might as well give her one or two as well.
 
This was just so incredible for Angel as she stood on the bow of the boat, eye to eye with the merman. He was amazing to Angel, and she was entranced by him. She could watch him for hours if she had the time, and his permission. Even now, Angel kept her eyes on the merman as he gently moved up and down in the water, the waves gently lapping against the boat, she so longed to dive into the water to look at him from all angles, just to see if he was really what he said he was. There was so much Angel wanted to ask him but so little time, but the woman swallowed her curiosity, for the moment. After the merman introduced himself, Angel smiled.


"That is a really nice name, Oricon... Ori." She said, sinking down to sit cross legged on the boat, her hands resting comfortably on her knees. After her initial fear of the merman, Angel was now very comfortable in his presence, her naturally friendly nature taking over and opening her up to conversation,


"So, the Northeastern waters. What is an orca doing so far South from those cold waters? If you don't mind my asking. Are you separated from your pod?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. Angel knew quite a lot about the behavior and travels of orcas, studying them when she could for when she began her studies to become a marine biologist.
 
Oricon felt himself bubbling with happiness when Angel called his name nice. Compliments weren't a very normal occurrence, seeing as how his culture didn't really compliment on small things like that - orcas would usually show things like fearful respect to the larger males like himself. But that didn't mean at all that it wasn't a wonderful feeling whenever he did get complimented. You could just see the elation making his heart quicken to an extent. Oddly, he resembled an excited puppy whenever he showed off happiness the way he was, the interest overflowing at this point in his eager mind. He watched her sink down fluidly into a sitting position, something that Ori couldn't really do himself, unfortunately. All he could do was lower himself back down into the water a tad more, getting back to the same level as her again out of courtesy.


There was a moment of peaceful silence before it was broken by the soft voice of Angel once more, causing his dimming eyes to light up once more in attentiveness. The young woman asked of why he was so far South from his homelands, a question that even slightly stumped Oricon. His eyes became concentrated as he tried to conjure an answer that made an okay amount of sense. After a beat of silence, he glanced back up at her and allowed an odd little smile to come to his lips, managing to capture an honest answer to give to her.


He responded to her question slowly, still in a bought of wonder, " . . . Well, being part human'll tend to make you wonder about new places, right? At least I think so." He paused for a moment before continuing, his tone softer and more thoughtful, "It might be just me who decided to travel this way, I wouldn't be surprised. But . . . adventure is out there. Why spend all of your time in the same old waters when you have the potential to travel to newer, more magnificent ones?" An ambitious smile came to his face, one that warmed his eyes further. It was quite true - the thrill of new locations was too difficult to ignore. He hoped that'd be satisfactory for her expectations.
 
Ori is so full of expression! Angel thought to herself as she smiled at the merman, just watching him. He was so inquisitive and attentive to what Angel was doing, and she felt suddenly very self aware of everything she was doing, saying, and even wearing. Her shorts and tank top were very normal for her, but what about for Ori? Did he have a concept of clothing, or anything that went on the body? She was just watching him a lot, but she couldn't help it, questions running through her head before Angel could catch them and ask them, though, she figured if there were too many for her to ask, there were probably too many for Ori to answer. His answer for her questions about his currently being in the warmer waters made Angel tilt her head to the other side. She guessed she was only thinking about how orcas in general migrated, not mermen.


Angel squinted her eyes, trying to see Ori more clearly, the details of his face and body fading together. Angel frowned when she realized that the sun had finally set and the light was quickly fading into the ocean,


"It's getting dark..." She sighed, standing up,


"Will you be here tomorrow, or are you planning on continuing your traveling?" Angel asked, hoping desperately that Ori would be there at least in the morning so that Angel could say goodbye before he left. Standing up, Angel ran her hands over her shorts, trying to find something else to look at besides Ori, realizing she was staring quite a lot.
 
Ori found the curious little tilt that Angel's head made as endearing to his inquisitive attitude. Once again, the urge to get closer to her came back up to the surface, only to be hastily pushed back down. He was actually doing very well controlling himself, as odd as that might sound. Usually, the merman wouldn't even resist going in for physical contact when it came to humans. He had no idea how or why his mind was being so careful with this girl. Maybe it was her name, maybe it was her eyes, maybe it was her first reaction to seeing him, the fear she had expressed. Whatever it was, he was glad that it was there to keep him in check.


Her eyes seemed to narrow at him, which suddenly made a bought of confusion push into his mind, his half smile fading. When she frowned, he became even more confused, and slightly concerned. He felt like voicing it, but before he could open his mouth, she spoke of the day turning into night with disappointment in her voice. His head did a small perk up as he glanced towards where the sunset was, only to find that the orb of golden light had already sunken below the horizon, and saw the sky had begun to darken to signal the oncoming night, bathing the two in twilight. He felt himself do a small frown as well. He had forgotten that humans had homes on land that they returned to nightly. He was too immersed in this odd encounter with Angel to notice.


His gaze turned back to her when she asked him if he'd be in this area tomorrow. Hmm. He hadn't thought of that, either. She sounded so hopeful, he felt like it was a crime to have to say no and continue on with his journey. He was pulled down into a pool of indecisiveness, his brow furrowing thoughtfully. This area wasn't too bad. It was warmer, of course, but he was sure he could adjust, even for only a couple of days more. He knew he'd become extremely guilty if he hurt the young woman's hopes. His impulsive curiosity jumped forward before he could do anything about it, and his brow unfurrowed as he spoke in a slow tone, "Well . . . my previous plans were to continue traveling, but . . . but I think I could stay here for a little while longer." His gaze went from the front of the boat back up to the young woman, awaiting her reaction to his news.
 
Angel smiled gently, her gaze softening as she shifted from one foot to the other, the air cooling rapidly even though the days were warm. She knew a marine layer would be settling in quickly, and the fog would make everything cold. When Ori spoke, Angel focused on him again, She wanted to take another step forward, to reach out her hand and touch his face. The way he looked at her, it was like she was the only one in the world that mattered, the only one he wanted to know at that moment.


"Well, I don't want to keep you from getting where you need to be. If you need to leave..." Angel looked down, trying not to show how much she wanted Ori to stay,


"I mean, if you need to go, I understand. I guess we can say goodb..." Angel's voice stopped in her throat, an emotional block that reopened the fresh wounds that hadn't healed yet. The last person she had said goodbye to was her father, before he had left to go on his solo dive, and now he was gone for forever. Tears welled up in Angel's eyes and she turned away from Ori,


"I'm sorry..." She sniffed, wiping her eyes and turning back to face the merman,


"We can say 'see ya' now and you can be on your way. I wasn't planning on going back to shore tonight," Motioning to the boat, Angel wandered back towards the cabin, taking carefully measured steps backwards.
 
Ori's brow furrowed again in concern rather than indecisiveness. He wasn't easily fooled - he could hear the disappointment she was attempting to mask. He felt rather hopeless watching and listening to her at that moment, unsure of what to do and feeling upset that he couldn't formulate a solution. What really sent his worrying into more of a frenzy was when she suddenly choked on the word 'goodbye'. He could practically hear her holding something back, and his head did a small tilt to the side in his worry as she turned around for a moment and then turned to face him again. She apologized to him, sniffling. Was she crying? Oh no, did I make her cry?


When she finished her sentence and began backing away, Ori was suddenly snapped from his worried trance, blinking rapidly. No, he felt bad. He couldn't continue on disappointing the young woman so terribly. The desperation brewed in his mind, and he suddenly began to speak, his tone much more anxious, " . . . No, n-no, p-please don't cry!" His voice rose a tad on his last word, and his body seemed to react with it far too quickly for him to stop himself. He leaned forward, one hand rising from the water, his fingers hooking onto one of the sides of the bow, coming closer to her as he did, his torso rising further out. There was a moment of calculating silence before Ori suddenly realized what he was doing, and his eyes widened at the realization, making him quickly slide his fingers off of the side and his body lower back down to his previous position.


"I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry." His tone now seemed more guilty than anything, and his gaze momentarily turned down, feeling a tad ashamed that he might have possible frightened her. Once this bought of guilt passed, his gaze averted back up and he spoke again, his tone now showing traces of honesty, determination, and desperation all in one, "But I'm not going to be leaving. I've decided that. O . . . okay, Angel?" Ori allowed himself a smile, an encouraging smile, hoping that his words would lift the sadness from her features and leave from her pretty face, light her icy eyes back up again.
 
When Ori had grabbed the boat, the ship had listed towards him and Angel's feet lost their grip on the fiberglass and she started to slide back towards the water. When Ori let go, Angel stumbled back but regained her footing. He was so worried, everything about him was apologetic and concerned. His warm gold eyes were sad and Angel couldn't help the pang of guilt she felt inside.


"Oh Ori," She said, walking back towards him,


"None of this, me crying or anything, has anything to do with you. I promise." Angel stopped at the edge of the boat, standing where Ori had grabbed. She gave him a half smile, but it wavered,


"I'm glad you'll be here tomorrow, I really am." Angel nodded and sighed before knowing that she had to get inside now, the marine fog starting to settle in now. Shivering, Angel wrapped her arms around herself,


"I need to go in now, I'll see you tomorrow."


Leaving it there, Angel turned and went back into the cabin, the tears flowing freely now. She was happy that she would see Ori, but Angel was missing her father now desperately, and her feet took her to the bunks where they had slept. Angel stared at the twin bunks, one on top of the other. As a child, Angel had begged her father to let her have the bottom bunk. Most children wanted the top bunk, but here the bottom had a window that looked out into the water. During the day it was light enough to see fish and things, but now the water was pitch black. Drawing in a shaky breath, Angel turned away and went to change in the bathroom, suddenly aware that there was a merman out in that inky blackness.


The next morning, Angel woke early, automatically on her training schedule, even though she could choose to stay in bed if she wanted to. Rolling out of the bunk, Angel groaned and grabbed a light blue bikini from her bag and went to the bathroom. Once changed, the young woman went out to the bow of the boat, the morning chill sending goosebumps over her skin as she stood on the very tip of the boat. Taking a breath, Angel closed her eyes as a breeze lifted her thick black hair before bending her knees and launching herself off the boat in a graceful arching dive. The cold water was a shock to Angel's system, waking her up more than coffee ever could. Kicking out in a dolphin kick, familiar muscles waking up and working again, Angel pushed herself through the water feeling powerful and like herself again.


Diving deeper, Angel thought about her father again, swimming next to her in his scuba gear, cheering her on and making sure of her safety. There was none of that now. No one was here to make sure she would resurface. Kicking down again, Angel felt the pressure on her ears grow and she made herself stop, turning back upright. Floating gently upward, Angel watched above her as the sky grew closer and closer until her head finally broke the surface and the woman drew in a breath, her head clearing.
 
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