Welcome to Gaia! ::

The trek down hadn't been fun. Aki walked carefully on the narrow stone walkway, trying not to slip on the slick, unidentifiable layer of grime. Coral kept to the shadows, intangible, waves of disgust shedding from her. The walkway terminated abruptly as another tunnel intersected theirs, and Aki hitched the backpack she was wearing a bit higher. One large step, and she straddled the shallow stream of refuse...it took a serious push, and a bit of hope, to bring the entirely of her weight Over to the other side.

Struggling to catch her breath, not truly wanting to breathe, Aki gagged and set down the pack. It was a good place...as far as sewers were concerned. The four two tunnels intersected neatly, right at this very spot, and a single grate let in a touch of the light and bustle from overhead. Wiping her forehead on the back of her arm, wishing instantly she hadn't, Aki took a seat atop the stiff framed back she was wearing.

"Your turn."

Her voice was husky behind the bandanna she wore over her face, but Coral would have understood without the spoken words. Slowly, disdainfully, the Fiend materialized. She wrapped her skinny arms closely against her body, tail coiled high. She waited until Aki was focused, ready to resist, before she began.

It started with a simple note. High and warbling, crescendoing with a sudden crash. Another followed, rhythmic, and another, until the notes blended together into a surging swell of dizzying strength. Aki's eyes fluttered closed as the desire tugged at her, enveloping her like an under tow, threatening to drag her down. It was a powerful call, convoluted and voluptuous as the sea itself.

She had no idea how long Coral sang. Several times, Aki gasped for breath, unaware she'd been holding it, eyes still closed. Her hands slackened on her pack, and though she was not the one being called to, she would have gone to Coral had she not already been by her side. Overhead, the light flickered and changed as people wandered on the street overhead...overshooting, and turning absently back without being aware of what drew them.

Coral's song altered, into something delicate and intimate, and Aki's eyes opened slowly. This was a new song, something trembling and precious, a thin promise that floated upon the notes that were already faded. Why had Coral changed?

As Aki's eyes adjusted, she saw. They had a bite.

Her first glimpse was a roiling flash of slick, speckled skin...curving upwards out of the wastewater before vanishing back under the surface. Just a hint of spine, too thin, and a scissoring shoulderblade....until that too was gone.

"You did it, Coral." Aki was amazed. It seemed the song of the sea was powerful, even to those removed from it.

Your turn.

The Fiend shot her guardian a bitter look and her own words back to her, uncomfortable at having been manifested in such a place for so long. She faded slowly, sinking back towards Aki's shadow as Aki opened the pack.

As soon as the song ended, the roiling stopped. Already the creature (creatures?) were fleeing. Unstoppering the canteen she pulled from the heavy bag, Aki began to pour...clear, trickling saltwater splashing down into the muck. It floated on the surface a bit like oil before dispersing, melding with the filth.

Aki's hand began to shake. She'd brought only two canteens, and this one was nearly half empty. She continued to pour slowly, hoping, as two webbed hands emerged slowly from the dark water below.

They cupped gently, capturing the sea water. Long curved claws and spotted flesh, Aki shuddered at the tattered fins that ran along the backs of the skinny arms. Slowly, the small figure emerged...the top of her head breaching the surface, hair floating upon the slick like a girl monster from a bad japanese movie. It's eyes were white, and its lips parted to reveal a flash of needled teeth as it desperately funneled the sea water over its face.

Aki swallowed, and stopped pouring.

It seemed the creature noticed her for the first time. Hissing, pars of translucent gills opened and fluttered at its neck, spiny ends tapping rapidly against the water. As soon as it started to sink, Aki started to pour once again, every last drop until the canteen was empty.

The sewermer was still basking, face tilted back, as Aki opened the second canteen.

"I need something from you. I have more of this..." She shook the full canteen, and the distantly female figure reacted. Its long eel like tail convulsed as it rolled, its pale pupilless eyes holding Aki's gaze. It's mouth opened again, one hand opening and closing as though it wished to snatch the bottle from her.

Coral, I think I need your help. Calm her?

Coral heard her guardian's silent request, and 'hummed' to herself...a faint and distant melody, like a sea shanty caught on the wind. It was enough. The beast quieted, hands slapping weakly at the stone ledge Aki stood upon.

"I have...water." Aki poured just a taste, just enough to prove the other bottle held the same, before capping it. She ignored the high keen of distress, grateful as Coral picked up her own volume in return. "We offer you the call, the memory of the sea. Can't you hear it?"

She had no idea if the thing spoke a language they shared, but Aki spoke anyway. Keeping her eyes on the twisted mer, she reached into the back pack again...pulling out a small ice chest with a locking lid. Carefully, she unlatched it, and stuck one hand inside...emerging with a little ocean salmon, far from spawning but sweet of flesh. It flipped powerfully in her hand, silvery body arching, and the mer at her feet froze.

Give them something they want, her son had urged. But what could a free mer want? Not much. But an urban creature, trapped in the waterways below the city? Aki had no trouble guessing once her plan fell into place.

She lowered the fish slowly, watching the speckled girl tremble. Her gills fluttered with unbearable need, flinging a fine spray of sewer water between them. As soon as it was within reach, Aki pulled the fish back. Instead, she showed a tiny glass vial.

The creature hissed again, desperate as the fish was withdrawn. Aki offered it another quick splash of ocean water, but that was no longer enough. It garbled in a high, keening voice, in a language Aki could not decipher, but she could guess as to the meaning. Give me the fish.

"First, I want this." Slowly, Aki raised the vial to her own face, and blinked heavily. She stayed that way for a moment, pantomiming, before sending another silent message to Coral. Longing. Sadness. Despair.

Coral obliged. Her tune changed, becoming the hungry wind over the waves. It was the reedy, haunting sound that caused sailors to pine upon shattered sea rocks, the song that drove ships upon reefs and strong men to tears. It was a song of desire, loss...it was the perfect song.

It was beginning to be too much. The creature was gasping, above the surface too long...yet still straining for the flipping fish Aki held. The seawater had washed its face clean, and she could almost sea beauty there. A desperate, mottled beauty, and it made her suddenly sad. How had she gotten here? Was she trapped, lost? Discarded like a goldfish? Aki wavered, close to dropping the fish out of pity.

Coral's song wavered as she tried to speak a warning at the same time. Fight her song.

Her song?! Was the sewer mer....? Aki tried to focus, and the creature's face suddenly changed. Where it had been hopeful, for a moment, it was now shattered. Its weak spell had been broken. Crying out, mewling like a drowning kitten, it reached both arms upwards towards the fish and sobbed.

That was what Aki had been waiting for. "Those tears...are mine. The fish is yours." Slowly, she reached the vial forward with one hand, and settled the cold glass against the mer's cheek. The girl flinched, but did not dive...her eyes were focused on Aki's other hand, which was slowly moving the salmon into view. Skinny throat working, the mer stayed silent, eyes wide and shining with unshed tears. Aki pressed, feeling sick to her stomach, and shining silver tears rolled like mercury down the girl's mottled face. Aki held there for a moment, watching with disbelief as they collected at the bottom of the vial.

Her attention had wandered though. Quick as a flash, the mer grabbed the fish....yanking it from Aki's hands and darting suddenly back. Aki gasped, arms wheeling, and found her balance suddenly as a small, coral hand settled on her shoulder. Sending a surge of gratefulness that made her Fiend blush, Aki rocked back on her heels to catch her breath.

The vial was less than half full...but she was more than half prepared.

"Wait! I have more!" She hurried to prove herself, and yanked another fish from the chest. Salty water dripped from it as it thrashed, trying to yank from Aki's grip.

The mer froze in the center of the channel, half of the salmon protruding sickeningly from its disdended mouth. Slowly, as though it didn't believe what it was seeing, it again closed the distance between them. Aki held up the vial, gave it a small shake, and then held up the fish.

Suddenly, a connection was made.

The creature approached the edge without fear, throat constricting as it forced down the last of the first fish. With one hand, it guided the vial to its own face. Aki shuddered at the feel of its sticky, clammy hands...curving nails scratching against the back of her fingers. Willingly, it began to breathe heavily, gills fluttering. With the other hand, it reached for the new fish.

Aki waited until its frustration built, slick tears once again welling. She teased it just a moment more, but they both knew it would end up with the fish. She'd brought only a few, what could fit in the little ice chest, but it seemed to be enough. As soon as she pulled the vial back from the creature, it snagged the fish and bolted...wolfing it just as fast as the first.

Shaking, both with stress and disbelief, Aki capped the vial. It looked like quicksilver, sloshing and pooling in the tiny vial of its own accord. Carefully, she tucked the vial away. She had what she needed.

Aki straightened and took a slow look around. Maybe they could get out through- Her train of thought derailed suddenly, as a pair of reflective eyes glinted at her from across the way. Swallowing, sudden visions of being mobbed flooding into her head, Aki forced herself to look closer.

It was a girl.

On the stone ledge opposite theirs, across the river of filth, a tiny figure sat. Aki stared, feeling faint. It had legs. It also had the unmistakable mottled skin and delicate, fluted gills...tiny webs lining its arms, hair matted and stuck to speckled wet skin. A child! But...why with legs?!

A sudden fierce hiss wrenched her attention away. The mer she'd been feeding coiled, mouth gaping to reveal rows of needle thin teeth. The warning was unmistakable, as was the connection. Mother. Child.

Slowly, Aki reached back into the chest, grabbing the last fish. It was the smallest, but the most vivacious....flipping back and forth in her hand with a surety that it would escape. In one motion, Aki withdrew it and hurled it across the way, straight towards the child.

It wasted no time. With both hands, the child guided the fish into its mouth, and with a distant crunch as thanks, it dove silently from the ledge and down below the surface. Aki watched the ripples slow, and turned her amazement to the mother.

The mer was settled now that her child was safe, and she watched Aki with wary eyes. Bright scales still stuck to her face like crumbs, and glassy lids flicked for a moment over her pale eyes. Something was said, something garbled and watery, but Aki could only nod. A child?!

She hefted the rest of the canteen in offering. She had gotten what she came for. Willingly, the female approached, and tilted back her head, arms raised. Aki poured it slowly, to the last drop, and watched the mer fill her mouth. Cheeks puffed, the creature watched her just a moment longer before diving.

Aki wondered if she'd saved the mouthful for the child.

"Let's go. I need...a shower." Her voice was rough, thick with lingering disgust and emotion. The vial was safe, and the backpack nearly empty. The trip home would be unpleasant, but not nearly as rough. Slinging the backpack over one shoulder, Aki zipped it shut, and sent Coral another surge of appreciation. You did well.

I know.

***