Deep Water and Scales
“The only warning was a sound like a bubble popping.”
With an almost-delicate sound, the floor have way, and Human-Amir plunged straight down with a shout of surprise, only for more water to pour from the ceiling atop him.
Humans could swim, but not well enough to withstand hundreds of gallons of water thundering down.
Vree struggled against his crewmates’ hold, but to no avail.
“The human is drowning!” He snarled. “Let me go, damn you!”
“That water is near a hundred meters,” Ript told him, panting with the effort of holding him back. “You will sink like a stone and both of you will die.”
“We will find a way!” Vree struggled harder. “Humans are hard to kill- we will find a way!”
“Humans are, but you are not human!” Bitt said from the other side. “ and you can barely swim in STILL water. Perhaps-“
The argument was interrupted by the sound of pounding feet behind them. Vree half-turned in time to see Human-Nerea blaze past them at a run.
She barely slowed to kick off her shoes and rip off her garments, before diving into the water fearlessly.
Fizzt wasn’t quite fast enough to grab the crazy, naked, human.
“To the water’s edge,” Vree Commander, and shrugged off the other two. “And find a way to turn off the torrent!”
The water had overflowed its containment and was rising quickly, but their humans had yet to reappear. Ript joined Fizzt at the control panel. Vree tugged Bitt towards the tank, and the lower levels to try and see if their humans were still alive.
Clouds of white bubbles obscured their view, but Vree peered through them anxiously nonetheless, his tail lashing with anxiety. He liked both of the crew-Humans, and both of them had saved his life more than once in the past.
“Got it!” Ript called, words heralding the end of the torrent. Just in time, as the water was halfway up Vree’s thighs and would be above waist-height on a human. “Can you see them?”
“No,” Vree replies glumly. “How long can humans hold their breath?”
“Four minutes is average,” Fzzt spent the most time talking to the humans. “Human-Nerea said more, sometimes but we were interrupted before She could clarify.”
Vree sighed, and stared into the tank, wondering how long they should wait before giving up. As the water cleared, something large flashed red and white though the dark water.
“There is something in there,” he said, and ran up to the surface to try and get a better look. “A large marine creature with scales.”
“Did you see blood?” Ript wanted to know, and Vree shook his head. “Or movement? Anything?”
“No I- wait!” He stared into the water, and then scrambled back when he did indeed se movement, heading quickly for the surface. “Look out!”
Belatedly he realized that, with a meter of water covering the floor, the creature was certainly not contained to just the pit anymore.
He need not have worried.
“That sucked,” Human-Amir said bitterly when his head broke the surface and he finished coughing up water. Vree immediately hailed him up and away from the potential danger, because the scaled creature was still in there. “So that pit goes a LONG way down, for future reference.”
Human-Nerea was next to appear, but she raised a hand to stop Vree when he went to lift her out.
“I’m alright,” she said calmly, but Vree was already moving when he saw the white-and-red just below her. “No- wait-!”
“You… have a tail,” he said dumbly when he had the human suspended over the water. “And scales.”
“I know,” she sighed, and now that he listened, her voice was different. Like there were more frequencies there than usual. “We need to talk about my species classification. Put me back in the water, please- and watch my spines.”
Spines. She did have spines, that flared out along her dorsal and sides. Obedient- and somewhat shocked- Vree put her down and she stabilized herself with ease.
“Is this really the place?” Human-Amir asked wryly, although he looked much better now. “Or the time?”
“We ought to see what’s down there, and now the water is aerated,” Human- human? Nerea said reasonably. “And I already have my scales on.”
“Be careful, yeah?” Amir dug in his pocket and produced a small, waterproof light for her.
Before Vree could say anything, she vanished underwater with the light.
“What…?” Britt found his voice first, and Vree was sure his muzzle looked just as confused. Humans had scales? That came out in water?
“Nerea is a mermaid,” Amir said like it explained everything. When he realized how little that meant to them, he explained more. “She can tell you more, but if she gets submerged in water, her tail and gills appear, along with some other stuff. She saw me go under and came down to get me.”
“You were under for six point eight minutes,” Ript said dumbly. “You have never beat your time of three point two. How-“
“She kissed me,” Human-Amir was clearly feeling alright, because he moved over to the control panel and began examining it. “Kiss of a mermaid can save a man from drowning.”
“Is… is that a trait of her kind?” Fizzt asked cautiously. “Like the scales?”
“You mean did i know she could do it?” the human asked vaguely, and pressed a button. The tank above them shifted away and let light flood into the room. “I mean I knew she was a mermaid. There’s a couple Others around. Hell, technically I’m an Other, although my stuff is learned, not inherent.”
This was all entirely new to Vree and he stared at their human, who gave him a slightly-apologetic shrug.
“Are these… Others… a differing species?” Vree found his voice after several minutes of blank confusion.
“Some,” Human-Amir said casually. “Mermaids started out human but got changed into something else and breed true. Fae look human when they feel like it. Vampires are dead, but they were human before they died. Sorcerers- I’m a sorcerer- are human, but have magic. It’s complicated.”
In reply, Human-Amir snapped a flame into life. It danced across his fingertips looking for something to burn. Vree stifled a hell of surprise, but only just. Behind him, Ript started to curse. “I cast spells. Nerea’s stuff is mostly just related to what she is. The songs and the kiss and all.”
This was more than Vree could handle. Humans were bad enough, but now they had this… ‘magic’, also? Perfect. Just perfect.
“It just goes straight down,” Human-Nerea reappeared, red hair dripping. “Looks like this is filtration for the ship’s drinking water.”
“It just goes straight down,” Human-Nerea reappeared, red hair dripping. “Looks like this is filtration for the ship’s drinking water.”
She hauled herself out of the water and looked around with a sigh. “My shoes and dress are gone, aren’t they?”
“Will you be okay barefoot?” Human-Amir stripped off his coat and gave it to her. It was long enough to fall to his knees and would cover her completely.
…if she had legs again any time soon.
As if to answer Vree’s thought, the… mermaid? Lifted her tail out of the water. Moments later her scales fell away, leaving human skin in their place.
In seconds she looked completely human, and stood.
“Should be,” she said calmly and smiled up at Vree. He only blinked at her, just about at his limit for human oddity for the day. “Did you explain?”
“The existance Of Others and that you’re a mermaid and I’m a sorcerer. About the Kiss. Thanks, by the way.”
“Any time, but hopefully not often. Vree, are you alright?”
No, Vree was not alright. Vree was very confused. Explanations could wait until after they got back to their own shop, but-
“Do we reclassify your species?” He asked, because it was the only thing he could think to say.
“Don’t bother,” Nerea seemed pleased by the answer. “Others are almost entirely human-base. Unless someone tells you, just assume we’re all human.”
“Well there’s Blaec-“ Human-Amir started, and Human-Nerea rolled her eyes in the human sign of exasperation.
“Lord Petos doesn’t count,” she said pointedly. “Lord Peters is nearly thirty thousand years old and does whatever he wants.”
“Who… or what… is Lord Petros?” Vree was sure he would regret asking as he ushered his humans out of the water-filled room. “We are going back to the ship.”
“But we aren’t done exploring!” Human-Amir protested, but Knew perfectly well that Vree would carry him if he made a fuss. Human-Nerea seemed content to go, but then, she was missing footwear, which often made humans uncomfortable.
“Lord Petros is a Dragon,” she said, and let Vree lift her onto his shoulder when they came to the hallways. There were sharp bits everywhere and her feet would be cut if she walked. “He is very old, very powerful, and none of the rules apply to what he can or cannot do. You probably won’t meet him, but if you do, use his title, not a species moniker.”
“He’s friends with my grandfather,” Human-Amir said casually. “The Human Galactic Empire is very polite when Blaec wants something. Last time I saw him, he was about the size of a Destroyer.”
A human destroyer was eight thousand meters or more. The thought of a creature that large was enough to make Vree’s tail flick nervously.
“And this Lord Petros can look human when he cares?” He asked, just to be sure.
“Yeah, often enough. It’s not like he can fit inside most ships anymore.”
Great. Shapeshifter. Immensely powerful ancient shapeshifter who, presumably, was somewhat picky about manners.
“You will have to explain all of this.”
Why were humans always so complicated?
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