Stolen Scales

Chapter 21

They keep swimming through the city with Alai occasionally pointing at things as Kyma gazes around in wonder. Once or twice, Alai has to explain Kyma's situation to the guards, but there are no longer any angry confrontations. They begin to pass one building, but surprisingly, Alai pulls Kyma into it. Once inside, Kyma looks around with confusion at the empty room. She looks at Alai in confusion, only for Alai to smile and pull her deeper into the building. Faint noises begin to emanate from another room, and Alai holds her finger to her lips before motioning for Lyma to follow her into the room. She quietly swims into the room, and Kyma barely restrains her gasp at the sight of an underwater classroom.

From the front of the classroom, the teacher notices them and halts her hand movements in confusion and surprise. She does a small flurry of motions to her class before swimming over to Alai and Kyma. She signs carefully, and Alai signs back. Despite not understanding the signs, when the teacher looks at Kyma in surprise, Kyma knows exactly what the conversation was about. The teacher bows to Kyma, who gives her a nervous smile in return. Then the teacher swims back to the front of the class and signs to all her students. Almost as one, the children turn to look at Kyma, who swallows painfully at their attention. They bow, and Kyma gives them a small wave.

Alai tugs on Kyma's arm once more, and they swim out of the classroom and resume the main tour. They stop to go inside a few more buildings, and then Alai leads Kyma to the farthest side of the city, where the buildings are against the walls of the cavern itself. They go through another small tunnel until they emerge into another, higher cavern with much smaller buildings. Alai pulls Kyma up to the top for a much needed breath, and smiles at her.

Kyma frowns. "Where are we now?"

Alai grins. "We're at the living portion of the city, of course!"

Kyma frowns again. "No one lives in the other cavern with the rest of the city?"

Alai laughs slightly at her. "Oh no, you would drown in your sleep if you lived there. All the living quarters need their own access to an air supply, so we live in this cavern. This cavern has another tunnel to the throne room as well."

Kyma's frown turns thoughtful for a moment. "How long can we actually hold our breath for?"

"Between forty five minutes to an hour. There are a few merrows who can hold their breath for even longer than that, but they are rare."

As they continue talking, Nami and Fala pop up in the air pocket beside them. "Alai, could we go explore on our own?"

Alai nods. "Have fun!"

Nami grins at her and waves at Kyma before diving back down with a splash, followed by Fala. Alai looks at Lyma again and her grim turns wider.

"Are you ready to explore the living seacity?"

Kyma smiles at the name for this part of the city and nods before she smoothly dives back down into the cavern. Alai follows a moment later and beckons, taking Kyma towards the buildings by the wall first. They skim along the sides  of the buildings, and Kyma notices little intricacies carved into the stone to distinguish each building from the next. About halfway through the cavern, Alai stops at one of the buildings. She ducks inside, but Kyma makes no move to follow her. It's not her house, she shouldn't intrude. When Alai notices that Kyma hasn't followed her, she pops back out and grabs Kyma's arm. Despite some nonverbal protests form Kyma at being pulled into a random home, Alai succeeds in pulling her into the home. Kyma continues resisting, so Alai pulls her through the rooms and into another air pocket.

Once they emerge, Alai practically shouts. "Kyma, calm down!"

Kyma shakes her head frantically. "I shouldn't be in here, it's not polite."

Finally, Alai registers what is causing Kyma to panic and relaxes. "Kyma, It's fine. This is my house."

At that, Kyma stops fighting. In fact, she stops any movement besides the occasional tail flicks to keep her afloat. "Why didn't you let me know that before? I thought you were breaking into a random person's house!"

Alai laughs. "I'm sorry, you're right. I should have let you know. Now that you're not panicking, can I show you around?"

Kyma nods. "Yes."

"Okay. This," she waves at the little chamber around them, which looks similar to the waterfall cave at the Facility, but with a larger area on dry land, complete with beds placed on it. "This is the sleeping pool. Directly downstairs is a living area. Next to that is an area to prepare and eat food." She grins. "Can I show you now?"

Kyma laughs, and nods. "Yes, you can show me."

"Good, now follow me!"

Alai swims down into the living area, which is set up with stone ledges for seating. Up above the doorway is a bundle of green material, which Alai pulls down once she sees Kyma's curiosity. The bundle is a seaweed curtain, which covers up the doorway once it is down. Next, Alai pulls Kyma into the kitchen. In the kitchen is a counter, presumably for preparing food, with a stone ledge beneath it for some tools. The inside of the ledge dips slightly to prevent things from slipping out. On the opposite side of the room is another seating ledge, with a large storage ledge beneath it. Once Kyma has thoroughly acquainted herself with the house, they exit and resume the tour.
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What did you think of Alai's house? It was strange to try and design it in a way that involved lots of water flow. Please tell me if you think I missed something and how to improve it. Thanks if you do! Happy reading, and I'll see you next chapter!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.