A Crash, A Song, A Wave

Chapter 11

TW in the description (Read carefully before this chapter)
Art by Inkendz! Thank you for this heartwarming piece!

Eshe POV

"Tell them to increase the number of Rusalki in search party A, and I want search party B to most further east. There is a lot of sea we haven't explored yet."

"Yes, my Chieftess." Eshe's Captain said with a salute before swimming from the stone room.

Eshe looked at the leather map before her. It was covered in scratched Xs. Places they've searched but come back with nothing.

"There hasn't even been a sign of them," Eshe said to herself.

She slammed her fist on the table, causing documents to fall everywhere. Her untouched lunch fell to the floor, where a passing Dungeness crab quickly scooped it up.

"Where are you?" Eshe said, staring at her map for the millionth time.

Over the past month, Eshe had sent over a dozen search parties. All to find them. Find him. But every time, her warriors came back with nothing: no news and no sign as to where they might have left.

"Those old geezers should have stayed where I left them!" Eshe barked. "How the hell am I supposed to find them now?"

"Find who?"

Eshe jumped as Ksenya came floating in.

"No one," Eshe said, quickly hiding the map.

Ksenya eyed her for a moment but didn't press any further.

"Where is Mishka?" Eshe asked, trying to act casual.

"She is with Gabriella and Giulia at the Pescheria right now. They were painting their nails, and Misha wanted to join. So our daughter might come back with pink nails tonight."

Eshe laughed at the image.

"Oh, wonderful."

Ksenya smiled, but it quickly faltered.

"My love," she began in a tone Eshe knew would lead to a sad conversation. "I've been thinking more and more about... well."

Ksenya took a deep breath.

"Come here, love. Tell me what's on your mind." Eshe said, offering Ksenya a seat on her lap.

The skyscaled female accepted and took a seat. They wrapped their tails together as Eshe put her arms around Ksenya's small waste.

"What has you upset, my darling?" Eshe asked again.

Her partner gained a faraway look in her eye.

"Do you remember the conversation we had on the yacht? Before the battle."

Eshe did, but she didn't want Ksenya to know that.

"Remind me." She said.

"I said that I.... I missed him. I wanted to see him again, and I questioned whether leaving him with the Azlo pair was a wise choice. I don't know anymore," Ksenya said, shaking her head.

"It was the right choice at the time. We've talked about this."

But Ksenya wasn't convinced. Clearly, this had been bothering her for some time.

"He will be almost a decade old by now. And I.... I've not seen him grow." She said, her voice shaking.

"You put him in the safest place possible, my love. The world wasn't a safe place for Skyscaled Rusalki back then. You gave him a comfortable and quiet life. A life where he wouldn't have to fight for his right to exist. A life you've had to live."