Myth: The Sea Awakens

[Weeta]

Weeta giggled at that, shaking her head vigorously to display her obviously short hair. "You wouldn't anyway!" She swigged the water, guzzling the sweet coolness of it, and then reached up to tug on Mr. Glasswater's long locks. "Maybe I'll hafta hold back yours!"

She chortled, laughing so hard at her joke that she nearly fell over, and the raven swooped in and nicked most of the jerky while her eyes were squinched shut with glee. "Hey!" Weeta shook her finger at the bird, but didn't grab the squid back. What the bird wanted, the bird could have.

Mer held many beliefs about birds; as beings tied to the sea they were in awe of the creatures of the air. She sighed, fingering some of the dried fruits suspiciously before putting them in her mouth. "Will we be there tonight?" she asked innocently. Over Land was mysterious to her, but she couldn't imagine that they would not reach their destination within a few hours.

[Mr. Glasswater]

At that, Glasswater gave a deep laugh.

"Tonight? Oh heavens no, girl."

The thought that they'd be in Ha'lainn Inniu by nightfall was quite humorous to him, and he leaned his head back, eyes closed, and still chuckling to himself.

"It will take us at least three or four days at the very least."

Popping a small bit of bread into his mouth, he caught the look on her face. It was priceless, and he would've laughed aloud once more had he not felt pity for the poor Mer. Instead, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and drew her close, angling his head down so that their hair touched.

"Do not worry, Weeta-girl, the land is not all bad."

Sweeping his free arm out, he indicated the forest around them.

"It is beautiful like the sea; in its' own way. And like the sea, it is big. But that is why your Elders sent you with me... "

He gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"... I will keep you safe."

[Weeta]

Weeta huddled in close to his body, though the Glaucans do not radiate heat like the Mer do. Looking up at him, she saw his gill slits opening and closing like they were gasping for air, and she willed herself to resist reaching up and touching them.

"How can you stand it?" she whispered, looking out at the grass and the trees and the vast expanse of NOT OCEAN. "Its so... different. It doesn't move."

Perhaps she would suffer from landsickness, as was often heard of in the many stories of the few Mer that ventured from the cliffs. The sea was in constant motion, and even their cliffside homes swayed and shifted in the coastal winds. Weeta felt dizzy as she found herself concentrating on how still everything was, and she hopped up immediately, flapping her arms around as if that would keep the disorienting illusion under her feet at bay.

[Mr. Glasswater]

He watched her stand, trying to get her bearings and steady herself. It was true, his own people were so closely connected to the sea that normally landtravel was looked at as a hindrance, but there were still a few Glaucans who ventured out from the waters. For some, the land was a necessary part of life, and those who spent any long amount of time away from the ocean were few and far between. Himself and Ariadne found it easier than most of their kind to be upon the land; and even then Ariadne more than him.

Biting into a piece of dried fruit, Glasswater gave Weeta a lopsided grin.

"The land moves too; it is only more subtle than the waves you're used to. The wind travels over and makes the grass sway and the trees dance. You only need to look a little closer at everything.

"In fact, even further south there is a great sea made of sand. The winds move and shape it every day, and no two sandwaves are the same ever."

Finishing the last of his meal, he bundled up the parcel before rising to his own feet.

"But we are not going that far. The sand ocean is a long way off; farther away even than Ha'lainn Inniu."

[Weeta]

"Ugh," Weeta said, making another face. "Forget lunch, lets just get this over with." She walked over to the horse, standing beside the animal that loomed over her. Grasping the stirrup, she scrambled up the side of the horse, ending up on her belly in the middle of the saddle.

The horse whickered and sidestepped as she wiggled around on top of it, but Weeta was determined not to be afraid of it any longer. Getting her hands underneath her the Mer stood up, balancing adeptly on the moving animal. "Lets..." she wavered, putting her hands out for balance. "...go!"

Actually this was sort of fun.

[Mr. Glasswater]

A wide smile, and Glasswater reached up to grab the little Mer around the waist with his hands, depositing her back on the makeshift seat he'd fashioned for her.

"You keep on like that, and I just might need to get you your own horse."

Matraca, the raven, strutted about in a tight circle on the animal's rump as the Glaucan heaved himself up into the saddle once again. He started his horse off at a brisk walk.

"Now. I suppose we could arrive in Ha'lainn Inniu in three days, but that means we'd have to ride fast."

[Weeta]

She wrapped her arms around the Glauca's waist, pressing her head against his back. "Then... go fast." Weeta sighed. "I'll just hafta get used t' it."

[Mr. Glasswater]

"As you wish."

A hiss to the horse, and Glasswater urged the animal into a fast lope. Long strides took them over land at a dizzying pace, and he felt Weeta's grip grow tight around his waist. Matraca, not expecting the sudden movement, had hopped up and into the air, taking flight above them.

For the better part of the rest of the day they traveled as such, and every so often Glasswater would slow the horse to a brisk trot. It was never for very long though before they were once more racing through wood and over grasslands.

The Glaucan only hoped that Ariadne was waiting for them in Ha'lainn Inniu.

[Weeta]

For her brave talk, Weeta still traveled with her eyes shut. The faster the horse went the smoother the ride was, but as the sun stretched for the tree lined horizon behind them she was battling with growing nausea in her stomach.

When Mr. Glasswater finally stopped and said they could make camp, her bravado was gone. Weeta slid off the back of the horse, groaning and holding her tummy. "I don't feel so good..."

[Mr. Glasswater]

Following the Mer, Glasswater gave her a concerned look and reached down to steady her.

"You don't look so good, Little Cousin. Come, sit down beside the trees while I unpack our things."

Leading her to a small and out of the way thicket, the Glaucan was gentle as he helped to ease her down. That task finished, he made quick work of pulling their bedrolls from the saddle, along with an extra blanket.

Returning to where he'd left Weeta, Glasswater laid out one of the bedrolls for her, and scrunched up the blanket so she could use it as a pillow.

Beckoning for her, he gave her a kind smile.

"Lay down here; rest and sleep for the night. You'll feel better come morning."

[Weeta]

"O...okay," she said, snuggling down into the blankets. They were rougher than she was used to, but she was too dizzy and sick feeling to complain about it.

After a moment of laying still, she hopped up. "I need some water," she moped, accepting the canteen from the gruff Glaucan. After drinking her fill, she capped it and sloshed the water around next to her ear. "Its... not the same," Weeta mourned. "I'm used to hearing the waves."

[Mr. Glasswater]

There was a sly grin sent her way, and Glasswater once more went for his saddlebags, this time pulling out a wrapped bundle. Moving to sit down beside his Mer companion, he carefully unwrapped the cloth to reveal a conch shell.

"Sleep with this next to your ear, and you will hear the ocean waves crashing all night long. I sometimes use it when I miss the sea myself."

He gave a wink.

"And so does Ariadne."

[Weeta]

Her eyes widened, and she took the large shell carefully in her smaller hands. "Really?" Weeta held the shell to her ear dubiously, and she slowly smiled. "I hear it!"

Then her stomach lurched and she ran for the privacy of a bush as the snack they'd eaten on the trail came back up. Glasswater smiled, leaving the shell on her blankets where she'd hastily dropped it and set about making camp. A small fire brightened up the growing darkness of night, and when Weeta finally felt well enough to climb back into her blankets the Glaucan appeared to be asleep.

With the shell by her ear, she closed her eyes as well. Murmuring into the night, she said, "Thank you, Mister Glasswater..." Weeta yawned, the exertion of the ride and her sickness drawing her down quickly into a deep sleep.

[Mr. Glasswater]

Glasswater was up before the early morning dawn, quietly going about the task of preparing a small meal for himself and Weeta. It would not be much, since he didn't want the little Mer to be sick for the rest of their ride to the Fian city, but it would be enough to fill their stomachs. Bread, a small amount of spiced oil and shrimp paste spread, and a lightly grilled fish steak that he'd been given before leaving Peer.

He sat, turning the fish over the campfire on a spit.

He drank occasionally from the flask of water, staring at the flames in front of him. They took his thoughts to the lantern that he carried, and the Glaucan frowned to himself. Kariun had gone mad, stealing the thing. And for what? To start a war? There was no wealth attached to it, nothing of value to redeem it in any way. The only thing that it'd brought them all was death and suffering.

Glasswater sighed, taking another sip of water.

[Weeta]

Weeta stirred in her sleep, her slim arms wrapped around her body. "...I'll swim..." She jerked, one arm flinging up over her head. "I'll go... no... no Mata, my hammock is put away..."

The Mer sat up suddenly, blinking sleep from her eyes with the nictitating membrane that kept her large eyes safe in the ocean. "I'm ravenous!" She lurched to her feet, blanket falling off her like a wave from a rock. Weeta staggered towards Mr. Glasswater, her hair sticking up in all directions as her stomach rumbled. Other than a little dizziness, she felt much better than the day before.

[Mr. Glasswater]

Pulled from his thoughts, Glasswater let a smile break his sombre features as Weeta made her way to the campfire. He held the water flask out to her.

"And how did we sleep last night?"

A look was sent to the conch shell still on her pillow.

"Ocean dreams, I hope?"

[Weeta]

She yawned, stretching mightily for her size before taking the water flask. "I dreamt that something was chasing me," she said, uncorking the flask and drinking deeply to rinse the sleep from her mouth.

Weeta held out the flask and using her affinity for water caused the liquid to rise up out of the mouth. A glob of water was sent hurtling over to the bigger Glaucan, splashing on his shirt. She giggled.

[Mr. Glasswater]

Not entirely shocked by the Mer's playfulness, Glasswater winked ather before flicking a small twig her way.

"Little Mer girls who like to get their big Glaucan cousins wet usually tend to go without breakfast."

The look she sent to him made him laugh aloud then, and quick as anything he reached out to snag her up with his hands and deposit her solidly on the soft earth beside where he sat. Ruffling her hair with one hand, he took the roasted fish from the spit and laid it on a loaf of bread spread with the shrimp paste.

Splitting their shared meal, he handed one half to Weeta.

"Now, something was chasing you, you say?"

[Weeta]

Accepting the roasted fish gratefully the small Mer nodded. "Yeah," Weeta said around a big mouthful, "Funny thing is, Ariadne was with the people chasing me." She wiped her mouth on the back of her hand.

She shrugged, pulling more of the warm flesh of the fish apart with her fingers. "Justa dream."

[Mr. Glasswater]

Arching an eyebrow, Glasswater bit into his own meal, chewing thoughtfully.

"I've a feeling that the only thing Ariadne would chase you for would be to ask for a new tattoo."

More quiet moments passed as they ate, and soon enough Glasswater rose carefully. It was time to begin packing up their small camp, and kneeling at his bedroll to gather it up, he spoke once more without looking at the Mer.

The tone of his voice had changed to one decidedly more serious.

"Kariun is dead."