[$] Making Waves (for ShadowEternal)

[Rent_junkie]

In the depths of the oceans there laid a secret. Mermaids existed. They knew how to get along well with the other animals and respect the ocean. All this lead to a peaceful life. But peace isn't always the best. Aqua wished for adventure. Something exciting and different. Something like the surface. Once a month mermaids were able to grow legs and go to the surface. His family always thought that was to dangerous and wouldn't let him go. But now that he was an adult he didn't have to listen to them anymore. He was finally able to see what all the fuss was about.  

[Rent_junkie]

Weston - Age 28 - 'Wayward Prince'

As the second son to a prominent fishing kingdom, he was always expected to be used as a bargaining chip for spreading his family's empire. As his twin sister proved herself to have a great head for business, was skilled at fishing, and could barter other prince's to sell their own castles just for a day with her, it was evident he was not needed. As a result, Weston often stayed cooped up in his room readings books about fairy tales and imaginary lands beneath the sea and above the skies. He would love to go on an adventure of his own but his parents couldn't have him 'falling in with pirates and besmirch their good name'!

And yet, they were perfectly fine with him going out to 'fish'. If he could get half as good as his sister, they considered it time well spent on self-improvement. In actuality, he just threw out a net at the back of his ship while drifting along the coastal waters so he could read his books in peace. Lately, he found himself curious about mermaids. There were so many different books about them and yet none of them made sense. Sometimes the books spoke from sirens to sea wenches while others called them curses of maidens or children who died at sea. A bit dangerous, but he wanted to investigate the waters near his kingdom, since the old librarian once made a off-hand comment about the cove on the far side of their city used to be full of mermaids until their kingdom rose up. Today, using fishing as an excuse, he planned to do some lone diving and see if he could find any remnants of said mermaids. Maybe he'd even discover where they went?  

[Rent_junkie]

Tonight was the night. It would be Aqua's first time leaving the ocean to really be a part of the humans on land. He didn't know what to do or how to act. None of the other mermaids were any help. It had been so long since anyone else had left the waters. All he got was others telling him humans were dangerous and that they were the reason they had to leave the cove. He couldn't get a straight answer about what was so bad though. Some said they put mermaids in tanks. Others that they just left them to dry out on land. The worst stories where that they liked to eat them. He couldn't believe any of it though.

To prepare for his trip he had been coming close to the surface everyday. He had found a small boat with just one human in it. The human seemed to come to the same spot almost everyday so it made it easy to study him. Aqua was glad his hair and tail were blue to blend in with the water better. It seemed like the human didn't really pay much attention to what was going on around him though. He was always just reading. Aqua liked that though because he enjoyed reading too.  

[ShadowEternal]

Weston wasn't reading his books today. He was wearing a diving suit, checking to make sure the edges were sealed. As a native of this kingdom, and part of a fishing family, he could stay underwater for long periods of time. Though he only swam for fun or to explore. But he was doing it seriously today.

"Alright. If mermaids really did used to be out here, artifacts should still remain as folks stopped coming out here too." He contemplated tying his hair back, then shook his head at the pointlessness of it all. He prepped his goggles before putting them on.  

[Rent_junkie]

Aqua watched him wondering what he could be doing. He had never seen what the human was wearing before. He got a little closer curious about what the change in appearance could be about.  

[ShadowEternal]

He grabbed a small satchel made of netting to use to hold whatever trinkets or such he might find. Finally ready, he sat on the edge of his boat, double-checked the moorings so the boat wouldn't get carried off, then he leaned backwards into the water.

He let his body sink a few inches before he started to propel himself through the water, getting used to the temperature and density of the underwater realm he was now in. His body twisted and turned with the flow of the water almost as naturally as those who lived in it. Satisfied, he began to look about, not realizing that he wasn't alone.  

[Rent_junkie]

Aqua loved coming to the cove and since the others didn't come here anymore he used the caves to hold interesting things he'd find while swimming around.

Seeing the human fall into the water at first he thought he might need help. But the way he moved through the water was impressive. Aqua followed behind him doing his best to stay out of view.  

[ShadowEternal]

Weston swam through the cove, getting a feel for the place. He was glad the water was warmer her for it made everything clearer tham cold waters. It allowed him to spot the odd trinket here and there. The itemswere clearly human, but they were clean and recognizable. Very little rust, did someone stash it here?

After an hour, he rose up to grab some air and better view what he found.  

[Rent_junkie]

When the other surfaced he took the chance to swim to the cave and see what he might have grabbed. Aqua love human things and didn't want to lose his collection. He left before the other could come back though. Surfacing himself he looked at the sky to see that it was darkening. It wouldn't be long before he would finally be able to walk on land.  

[ShadowEternal]

Weston closely examined the items from his sack. "Yeah, I was right. This is human stuff! And someone put it here... I should put it them about and try to catch them." He muttered as he walked back to the waters' edge. Plunging into the clear waters once more, he didn't notice his footsteps treading where humans had long not been had disturbed some small rocks that rolled down into others. As he swam about to the set the trinkets around, he didn't notice the danger he was in before it was too late.

As he set one item down, he saw a growing shadow which made him look up. Seeing various rocks falling at him, he tried to swim out of the way, but he couldn't turn around in time as a sizable rock hit him in the back of his head. Startled, he let out a breath of air and his vision blurred.  

[Rent_junkie]

Aqua dashes over to him. He wasn't fast enough though and saw the other get hit. He grabbed him after that. He pulled him on to land so he wouldn't drowned at least. He really hoped he'd be okay.  

[ShadowEternal]

Weston was startled when he felt something on him. Then he realized it was a part of arms pulling him to safety. Back on land, he took huge gulps of air, but his vision hadn't cleared up just yet. "Thank you...for your help. Are you from the city? If so, I'll make sure my parents repay you for the help." He tried to look in the direction of his savior, but could only catch the blue hues of the ocean.  

[Rent_junkie]

"No I've never been to the city. Are you okay?" He looked up at the sky for a moment and then back at his own tail to see it was in fact changing. He finally had legs but he couldn't express his excitement right now. "Is it far? I might be able to help you back."  

[ShadowEternal]

Weston was surprised to hear that his savior was an outsider. "Oh, well, then I welcome you to this faraway kingdom of ours. I'm...Weston." Savior or no, throwing around that he was the second prince could bring unwanted attention. So he introduced himself as a normal person. The rest would be handled once he got his sight back and saw exactly whom had saved him. "Ah, well, the city would be quite far on foot. I took a boat to get out here quickly after all."

He gently rubbed one of his eyes to test and see if they were damaged. No pain, so it was more than lightly just from head trauma. "If you know how to operate it, we can use it to get back in under an hour of sailing..."  

[Rent_junkie]

"My name is Aqua. It's nice to meet you Weston." He smiled getting to meet his first human. He did wish it was under better circumstances though. I've never used a boat before but I have read about it so I might be able to do it."