The ocean was dark, the currents around bringing with it a chill that went deep and settled into one's bones. Spending much of his life down deep, deeper than most Nova went, Hiawatha didn't mind. The cold was much better than the tropics, where he felt like the water itself was trying to boil him alive. Here, it felt tolerable. Natural. It made him feel lazy and content.
It was also boring. Once the shock of the strange life down here wore off, there wasn't much here. It felt so much more quiet and bare than it did where the whales swam. Where the fish shimmered in the sunshine. They were plenty beautiful down here, glowing as they did in the darkness. He'd loved to watch them swirling around each other in their intricate dance. But it was time for a change of scenery. And maybe some company. He hadn't seen another Nova for what felt like so many years. Not ever since he'd decided to go so deep into the ocean to see what was down near the bottom.
Hiawatha had been born where it was warm. Where the bottom of the sea had been decorated with all the colors of the flowers that grew on the surface. Where the fish, as bright as butterflies, flitted from one bit of coral to the next. They lived near enough to the shore that he could make out the parallel to the flora and fauna he was used to growing in the grass of the meadow. His parents had always told him never to go too near to the shore. Thinking back on it now, he'd wished he'd never listened to them. Oh, what fantastic mysteries must there be in all that unexplored expanse?
As was the case now, as he had grown up, Hiawatha had become disinterested in the beautiful landscape of the reefs. He could never seen to settle down in one place for very long, always yearning to see what else was out there. Or maybe it was the fact that his family was just so boring on their own. Besides their beautiful tail fins, really nothing else going on for them. They swam around and they had their own moments of fun, but that was it. They didn't even go outside the territory that had called their own. Not unless food drove them that way, which it rarely did. Was it any wonder that, as soon as he'd reached adulthood, he had left? The surface still seemed too out of reach for him, and so he had dove down deeper and deeper.
Floating in silence, the Nova stallion glanced up. He couldn't see the sun, wasn't sure if the sun or the moon was out. Than he looked around him and sighed. Yes, he was very bored of this same scenery. Without another glance to the depths, he flicked his tail and swam for the surface. Slowly, the water around him brightened and a yellow ball grew brighter and brighter just above him. Good. So it was daytime.
When he broke the surface, Hiawatha squinted his eyes against the brightness assaulting them. He lowered his face back under the water, opening the lids and training himself to look at the rippling waves above him until his eyes adjusted better, than breaking the surface once more.
All around him was the ocean. The wind was gentle, making little waves that sprayed him softly in the face. He looked up at the sky. After being down so deep, there was no telling what time of day it was. West of the rising sun there was known land. If he waited just a little bit, a hour or two, he would know in which direction the sun was going and be able to direct himself in the accurate direction.
And so he waited, drifting lazily on the surface of the ocean and enjoying the breeze in his face.
