A Land Of Sea

Water is Deeper than Land

George loved the water.

Most merfolk did, of course, but he couldn't imagine himself ever leaving it. He knew friends who sometimes longed for the chance to walk alongside humans, but he could barely fathom it. The water was fluid, and calm, where the surface was rigid and harsh. Humans were bound by the confines of one part of the land, where merfolk had the whole world to explore.

Sure, he couldn't touch the human trees, or climb the roof of a house as he had heard they were called, but why would he need to, when he could swim as far as possible into the depths of the blue until his gills could hardly take it. When he could play games of tag among the largest coral reefs belonging to his world, despite the warnings of his mother that he could damage his scales, or be spotted among the shallow waters by passing fisherman boats. When he could go shoaling, blending in beautifully with the deep blue fish who shared his ancestry, running the risk of being caught up in the net of the 'dangerous humans,' so he'd been told.

While most would practice the deadly sport for the thrill of it, to be close to humans maybe, or to get a glimpse of the surface themselves, George went shoaling because he felt at home. And when the sunlit surface waters began to darken thanks to the storm brewing overhead, he could simply slip out of the group of fish by diving down, letting himself fall to deeper waters and head back to his pod.

That is what happened today, and though it was forbidden, he couldn't help but take a chance at seeing such a large school today. It was rare nowadays, to find schools larger than a few hundred, but he could have sworn there were at least a thousand among this group. It was a bit colder this time of year, however, so he wasn't surprised. It was most likely they were migrating for the season, and a few smaller ones had joined up.

It was however beginning to storm, and his innate fear of the thunder and lightning caused him to sink to his pod once more. It wasn't that he didn't have reasoning for it-other than instincts completely taking over-he only rarely heard of storms. Storms so proud and raging against the gods, storms so violent and untrustworthy that even they, the creatures of the moon's tides, could not bear to stand up to them as they battled their heavens.

As he neared the large water cave they'd found a few days ago, a small figure swam out and he grimaced slightly. Uh oh. She was shouting, and George's pace slowed a little as he approached her.

"George Davidson! What in Poseidon's name do you think you're doing!?" She held a dried coral fan in one hand, waving it upon herself as she grabbed George's arm, dragging him through the cold and bringing him back to the cave-like he wasn't already headed there. "I was fine, Aunt Niki!" They entered the sea cave, a few heads from the pod turning their way at the sudden commotion, and Niki dragged him deeper in.

"Cara! Look what your son has been getting into again!" George rolled his eyes, yanking his arm from her grasp and rubbing it. Looking up, however, a familiar face swam up to the two.

His mother, gasping slightly, put on a slight glare directed straight at him. "You better not have been out shoaling again, you know our rules on that! For heaven's sake, you could be kidnapped, or killed, or worse! Those fish swim far too close to the surface and you know that, George."

"I'm 24 mum, I know how to handle myself." He held back another eye roll, wondering how it was merfolk were so overprotective. "Besides, these are the safest waters around, nobody's spotted a ship for weeks. I wouldn't do it if I didn't know that."

She scowled back, not buying into it. "That doesn't change the fact that the surface is dangerous." He bit his tongue, refraining from saying something like 'I never even went close to the surface anyway,' knowing that if he had the sense to talk back he'd find himself grounded to the seafloor for eternity.

Suddenly, a familiar voice popped up behind him and he whipped his head around to greet it.

"So George, I was thinking about the latest migration patt- oh, hi Mrs. Puffy." Karl's mouth shut, and George bit back a chuckle. His mother's eyes only narrowed, and she made one last glance to George before disappearing once again. She muttered quietly, "If you two didn't have the pod to protect you..dear gods, I swear.."

He grinned at the boy now beside him, thankful to have a forgiving mother. Aunt Niki was long gone by now, so George turned to Karl and headed to a new area of the cave with him as they sought to catch up on some things.

George loved the water.

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Word Count: 855
Date: 03/05/21

Author here, hopefully this doesn't flop ._.
Also a lil note- voting and commenting helps :)