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It had been many tides since Haluk and his mate Sabah had been isolated from their kin, that fateful day when an entire island crashed down on their home. In the panic that had followed, they'd been separated from their only daughter, Kelebek. They'd had to flee for their lives, and amid the chaos, they'd become separated from...everyone.

Starved and exhausted, the pair had found a cave to stay in, to rebuild their strength enough to go on. When they'd emerged the next day and explored their new surroundings, there hadn't been even a ripple of activity. Everyone they knew, their friends, their Queen, their beloved daughter. Everyone was gone. Either they hadn't made it, or were scattered to the four currents. Their proud civilization, fallen.

They'd explored a fair amount, to be sure. They'd ventured as far away from their cave as they'd dared, looking for other Naiad, but to no success. So Haluk and Sabah had made a life for themselves. They filled their cave with pretty trinkets, hunted and gathered for food, spent each night in the warmth of one another's embrace. It was a comfortable living, and they weren't unhappy. Sabah had cultivated quite a garden of plant life. Haluk finally found a taste for vegetation. It would be somewhat idyllic if it weren't for the loss of their daughter. They thought of her often. They preferred not to believe that she'd been lost to the sea, but rather that she'd found a cave like theirs to inhabit, had made friends with fish like she always did, and was making a life for herself, just like they were. Maybe she'd even found a group of Naiad to be with. That would really be best. She'd been a sweet girl, but always a little odd.

This morning was like all the others since they'd been living in this cave, but Haluk and Sabah had no idea that their life was about to be turned upside-down.

A glimpse of red outside the cave caught Haluk's attention where he had been preparing their evening meal. Too big to be a fish...

He dropped what he was doing and grabbed his spear from its resting place on the wall. He'd been a guardsman, once, and though he was out of practice, you never forget your training. "Sabah, get to the back," he said softly, but urgently. He glanced back to see that she had done so before slowly moving toward the mouth of their cave home, concealing himself in the shadows.

He was...incredibly surprised, but not enough to drop his guard, to see that the figure outside inspecting their garden was another Naiad. They hadn't seen another Naiad in many, many tides. He narrowed his eyes as he watched her. She didn't look like anyone he remembered. Indeed, she didn't look like any Naiad he'd ever seen. Subtle differences between her form and theirs made him suspicious. This was a different type of Naiad. How could he be sure she would be friendly?

Then again, she might know where their kin had settled--or not.

Either way, Haluk wouldn't act without consulting with Sabah. He backed away from the cave entrance and went to the back where she was waiting. "There's a Naiad outside." He held up a hand to Sabah's reaction of glee. "We can't be sure she can be trusted."

"Does she have a weapon?" asked Sabah.

"A small knife. She was using it to make markings on shells."

Sabah scoffed. "A scholar. I doubt she would put up much of a fight. Besides, if she is researching, which I suspect she is, she must be taking that information somewhere. A society."

"We could follow her back to wherever she came from."

"And then we'd appear the hostiles, and if she is prone to attack she'd be more likely to do so. Besides, here is our home. This is our territory; if we're to approach her, best to do it here where we know the area." Sabah hadn't been much of a tactician before, instead preferring the comfortable life of a court Naiad, but life here in the wilds had honed skills she hadn't known she had. Truthfully, Sabah was ecstatic to hear of another Naiad nearby, and wanted to talk to her before she moved on. With any luck, and Sabah hoped against hope this were the case, this foreign Naiad came from a civilization, and perhaps some of their Aernyn kin had found it. She longed for the days before...perhaps they could find their place among a new society. "I'll approach her," said Sabah resolutely. "You can hang back with your weapon. If she engages, I'll evade and you can surprise her."

Before Haluk could protest, which she knew he would, Sabah made for the entrance of their cave. She lit up her face with a smile as she waved. "Sister!" she exclaimed to get the red female's attention.